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Hello again. It’s Sunday so it must be time to pull up your cat and share some kitteh chat. Kuroneko and I have made it through another week. I think sometimes she resents me going to work. I’d like nothing more than to let her outside unsupervised but at the rate cats disappear around here, I just don’t dare. I think I’m going to start looking for a place closer to the ground, much closer to work and further from busy streets and parking lots that have an over representation of young males. My lease is up in June and though moving is such a friggin hassle, I think Neko would be happier if she had somewhere to be while I’m at work.
I grew up in the country and keeping indoor only cats is very foreign to me but Kuroneko is such an important part of my life that I won’t put her outside in such a high risk environment. I’m always seeing new kittehs around here. Their two leggeds move in and let them outside and they hang around for a couple of weeks and the POOF! they vanish. I’ve put posters up in the mail room before, attempting to warn new residents to keep an eye on their cats because we have one or more people around here who really hates cats and new cats don’t last long but management won’t leave them up.
Sorry for the downer. On to the pictures.
Kuroneko picture of the week: She’s stalking my camera (or actually the wrist strap on it)
Obligatory cute kitten picture of the week: Hello fuzzybutt! From Cute Overload
Okay, you’re right, this isn’t a cat video. It’s a dolphin rescue with a twist. the dolphin found a group of humans and presented itself for rescue.
That dolphin video is really a wonderful example of how intelligent dolphins are. It is, in my opinion, compelling evidence for sentience. Right down to the group of people the dolphin chose to present itself to, the act shows that a lot of thought went into it. I mean, who better to present yourself for rescue to than a group of people that are A) there on a daily basis and B) are only armed with cameras? Presenting itself to fishermen might have been the last thing it ever did. Anyway, it warmed my heart. I guess it’s a good thing they weren’t Japanese.
I hope everybody has a wonderful week ahead, (regardless of the number of legs one has), but please remember to set aside time to spend with the animals who share your life. Let them know they are loved and adored. See your fonts in the comments!
89 Comments
Good morning. Come and share your animal stories with us!
Good morning, Margaret, etal. I haven’t been around for awhile altho I’m usually lurking because by the time I get here and read all the comments, it’s too late. However, my animal story this week is about how my two poor kitties had to shift for themselves for my five day hospital stay. I think they missed me, cause they seem to want to hang out with me more once I finally got home. Truth is, they really didn’t have to shift for themselves completely. Once a day either my nephew, my niece or my son came by and fed, cleaned up their litter, and generally hung out or played with them for an hour or so, but it’s not the same as having me here all the time. I suspect being alone at night is their least favorite thing, but then, what do I know? I was in the hospital!
Caturday!
Good morning everyone, glad your are back home again Ann.
oh and I HATE moving.
My previous companion (LS) I think began as a barn cat since she was not socialized until after she first came to my sister but she was an indoor cat for all the years and in fact, would run from the door for the most part. (Although she would often meet me at the door when I cam home each day, she was always poised for flight in case it was someone else coming in with me)
When I adopted Dan’l, I had to promise he would be an indoor cat and keep his claws. He has gotten out a few times, mostly for overnights until he got out while I was in NH. There are just too many potential problems for outdoor kittehs.
I didn’t even know you were in the hospital. Hope you’re alright now?
LMAO! Neko does that. And then when she sees it’s just me she stretches all out and usually winds up laying on her back, silly thing.
Feel well soon wishes to Ann, and
Elliot, you’re moving? Very far?
Oopsie, Good Morning, again, Peg and thanks for the cat and chat post.
It’s been raining most of the week and still is today. The four leggeds here keep looking at me like it’s My Fault. (I don’t think so, anyway.)
Kuroneko always gives me a nasty look when it’s cold and windy on the balcony. Then she heads around to the front door and demands I open that, (cause it’s sure to be warmer out there, right?), then she slinks off to her closet of solitude.
Better, but still leery of driving, tire easily, but getting better. After three or four days they decided I had pneumonia,but that’s on top of what is termed as “end term emphysema” which just means the early part of stage 4 emphysema. I think I had a light case as pneumonia goes, because I believe I was a lot sicker the last time I was in the hospital a few years ago. Today I’m trying to catch up on laundry, etc., and I can tell you that it’s getting harder to keep up with housework. Also have lots of new drugs and a new cardiologist to get used to. If only they could actual do something about the shortness of breath. Seems I spend 15 minutes cleaning and half an hour after catching my breath, doing breathing treatments, etc. Getting older is not my favorite thing.
I think we could tell the animals it’s Obama’s fault.
Oh, see? Now I’m being brattish.
I’m running out to the market for a few, but will come back to hang out a bit when I return.
I noticed that Om Ali deluked at the end of Talking Heads. Maybe she’ll pop in and tell us how her new kittehs are doing.
(I.C.U.)
Had a guy at work insist on coming in though it’s been obvious he’s had the flu for weeks. Then it turned into pneumonia and he was finally ordered to go home.
Bratty or not, have a great day! :)
The guy at work was endangering everyone he works with. The nurses at the hospital remarked that the halls are full of patients waiting for a room due to the flu outbreak (I didn’t have flu). Said they hadn’t seen it so bad in previous flu bouts. Does this mean you all have no paid sick time?
We don’t have much for hourly employees but this guy is on salary and could have stayed home without losing a penny.
Brat’s Back.
Are you hungry? Stawberries, razzberries, bananas and some Texas Ruby Reds.
Not four legged food.
But, I’m going to make some bacon pretty soon, and that will get them a’comin’ a runnin’.
It’s pouring rain now, almost like, oh, what’s the term? Cats and Dogs?
I made my run at the right time.
Wow. Sounds like Spring has sprung early there.
Maybe he hates his wife. You know, like Pat said, she should work harder to excite and please him.
(Imagine how much he hates the President because that man kisses his wife so much. On camera.)
Well that’s frustrating!
Peg, on the way down and back up the hill, I noticed trees with little whitish-pinkish flowers budding. The Black-eyed Susan’s are already coming big time.
You tell me. It’s only January.
Sorry, forgot the link.
Black Eyed Susans.
Plus, there’s lots o’ green on the hills, which will be just more fodder for wild fires. It’s always something, ain’t it?
Ooh, ooh. House of Games is on my free movie channel. Lindsay Crouse and Joe Mantegna. Might have to cuddle down with a dog and some pillows.
Actually, I know both him and his wife and they are very much in love still but he’s very dedicated to his job, despite his protestations to the contrary.
I know. It was 79 degrees here on Friday! Our lows have been as high or higher than the average high temperatures for this time of year.
I’m glad I was wrong. What the world needs now, is love sweet love.
Or, at the very least, respect, loyalty and caring.
I heart you, Peg.
No!
I just hate doing it — it’s traumatic, Peg was talking about moving in her post.
Hi, everyone. Our indoor kitty got out yesterdat evening. It has been in the low 20s here in bear country for the last several days. Yesterday it eased up to just above freezing. Each day this week when Abrazos got out he would run to the end of a path by our fire wood and lie down until we got there to pick him up and bring him back inside. Well, yesterday with the temperature so relatively mild, he ran down to a neighbor’s house. Ms. BearCounty went after him but he ran away and got under a porch so she couldn’t get to him. I went to see what I could do, but he was gone. I checked for tracks. One kitty set went out toward the road and disappeared; the other set seemed to head toward our house across the swamp in the neighbor’s yard. I came home and we ate supper. Ms. BearCountry decided to go out again but he was right there when she opened the door. He came right in, ate some supper, and headed over to lie in front of the fire place to take a warm nap.
You should have informed the crew here. There would have been many good thoughts directed toward you and no bad ones.
Hello, cat people! Today I determined that I had to start on my errands beforeturning on the computer. at all.
All this week, especially, it seems that I tell myself I will just spend a few minutes online, then get down to tasks. But every single time I’ve ended up looking around hours later, only to see that I’d done nothing. So, i’ve just got back from doing most of the out-of-the-house tasks. Might be one more to do; thinking about running down to the cheap hair salon for a quick trim (bangs especially are making me ka-ray-zee.)
Kittehs have been pretty good lately. Poor Big Boy, though, took a step back in his socialization to indoors when I was away at my mother’s at Christmastime. He had begun staying inside, comfily ensconced in his soft bed, even when I went out. Before then he always ran out the door whenever I left. And now, after five days of my absence, during which he came to eat, but stayed outside, he’s back to that habit. Poor little guy.
*whew*! That would have had me terrified!
Poor Big Boy. I don’t know if you can ever expect to get much more than that from him.
I know. I was positively thrilled when it became possible for me to go past him and out the door, while he stayed put. And was still in his bed when I came back hours later. He was close to spending the whole day and night indoors.
It probably helped that the nights were getting chilly. Right now, it’s so warm, as you know, that the incentive to stay in is less.
I wish I could afford to set up a kitty cam. I’d love to know if he’s using the living room litter box. He often meets me in the living room or dining room when I get up these days, so he could well be. Otherwise, I wonder if he’s holding his bladder long enough to cause harm.
I put out new corrugated cardboard refill-scratching boxes last week, and sprinkled them with the catnip they came with. My three were thrilled, and surprise! Big Boy came in from the kitchen to investigate. He walked as if being inexorably, but relucantly, drawn to the scent. He didn’t roll around in it, but he did sit on one of the new refills for awhile. I was so pleased!
Oh, I see. Sorry.
But, I think moving is a wonderful motivation for “tossing”, er, recycling. :)
I meant to say I’m glad you used the dolphin seeking-help video. I saw that somewhere this week,and was very impressed.
This must be dolphin video week, because somewhere else I saw this one which is equally amazing. It’s a group of dolphins forming a swimming life raft to hold up a dying dolphin. It’s just jaw-dropping.
Of course, the article quotes a scientist as saying the behavior could occur without “the need for empathy” for various evolutionary reasons, but I don’t care if that’s so, it’s still amazing.
Hi, demi. I loathe moving, too…the idea of either packing up or tossing/recycling my too-much-stuff is so daunting…
When I moved with my ex, we argued about tossing instead of recycling. I wanted to keep stuff out of the landfill, he just wanted to get rid of it and not be bothered about it. And I fear the stress of moving would press me to tossing, too.
I planned to have a yard sale last week, but was daunted by just the amount of work and planning to do that. And what if all the little tchtotchkes didn’t sell? Oy! Maybe in the spring…
I saw that one too! Remarkable, isn’t it?
ahh, liberation
apparently it’s not an option for me ;)
It’s the height of arrogance to think concepts such as empathy, intelligence or cleverness only apply to Homo sapiens.
Yup. Dolphins are remarkable creatures. And of course, just ’cause this is the first “report” of such behavior doesn’t mean it’s the first occurrence. Surely we don’t see 99 1/2% of what dolphins do. Or any other critter in the wild, right?
Elliott, are you saying you’re in thrall to your stuff? lol. I probably am. So much little stuff that has accumulated somehow…
Agreed. Absolutely.
I’m not sure I can classify dolphins as an animal anymore. There is a whole lot going on in their enormous brains.
Occasionally he is able to escape and run away. He usually goes into a woodsy area and is back in about two hours. At first we would get worried because he is not used to the problems outdoors. Even experienced cats will make a mistake that ends badly. We now feel that he is on his own if he won’t come right back. We don’t want anything to happen to him, but he is always trying to get out if the door opens.
Uh-oh, look what I found over at ICanHasCheezburger?
I was looking for something I saw the other day, but this made my jaw drop, too.
re stuff:
yes, yes I am, it owns me.
LMAO! That one is so great!
Since I can’t reply to more than one comment, I chose the last one. Elliott and tejanarusa, also, I think, have the same view as I do. “Experts” often tell us that we can’t anthropomorphize the actions of animals because they can’t think or feel as we do. Apparently these “experts” never look at the animal life as it is lived. If you don’t anthropomorphize their actions, you have no idea what they are doing or why they would even do it.
Oh, good grief. Too cute.
Thanks, tejanarusa. What will those darn cats think up next?
I have toomuchjunkaphobia. Too much stuff makes me break out in hives. I get itchy just thinking about stuff.
I moved eleven years ago out of a house I’d been in for 20 years, where I raised 3 kids. I said goodbye to lots and lots of stuff. Now, I’m trying to keep even. About once every couple of months a Rescue Mission truck comes to my house and I make sure to Pitch some stuff. One month I focused on electronics. Another month I ransacked my kitchen and gave away anything that I hadn’t used recently.
My mother’s house has piles Everywhere, and I get itch just thinking of having to deal with all that down the road.
I’ve never been able to have an indoor cat. (And yes, there have been some very long nights fretting.) But it is their nature. The cat I have now needs to go out at least once every night — but he is happy to stay by my side all the rest of the time.
I clearly remember watching a crow hide a goodie under some leaves in the front yard. S/he knew exactly what s/he was doing.
I envy you
Here’s one we can all identify with here.
Ah! Here’s the one I was looking for! Should be handed to everyone adopting a kitteh for the first time.
We all have different talents, Ellie, what can I say?
When I had to go through the house and garage those years ago, I had a friend come and help me and she taught me to be Ruthless.
I figure it’s now or later and I just chose to go with Now. :)
Choose.
Kuroneko started off life as an outdoor only cat. These days, even when she manages to get out, she doesn’t go far and the minute I close the front door behind her, she rushes back, meowing to be let in. After I found that out, it’s saved a lot of effort chasing her down, which is a game to her.
I just went on a Picky hunt. It’s still raining and I wanted to make sure he’s inside. He was laying on top of me when I fell asleep on the couch earlier.
Yup, he’s on the pillow of daddy’s office chair. Whew. I mean, it’s really wet out there, so I’m glad he’s in. He’s spending more and more time inside. Poor old guy is really slowing down.
Maybe he’s retiring from bird chasing and squirrel hunting…
How old is Picky, demi? He certainly has a lovely outdoor room, but not very useful in a downpour.
Sleeping on Mom, or Daddy’s chair, no doubt is more attractive on a rainy winter day.
hello caterfolks,
Snow since about 2:00PM, changing to sleet and ice and then rain overnight and then sleet and ice tomorrow morning. Mcat is practicing her her best napping routines, getting pretty good at it, she is.
Like tejana, I’ve been attempting to do choirs first. Three loads of laundry and straightening up in the laundry room. Put some hourly limits on daily computer use not related to business.
I was invited to a pie and ice cream social last evening in support of some political action based on my extensive volunteer time last year in the recall work. Skipped the ice cream (as I have for over twenty years) but had slivers of a half dozen kinds of pie and had a nice time with the others in attendance.
Oh, Peg. He has. He’s retired. He’s also retired from fighting with the other male cats. You’ve seen how serene and handsome he is. But, he used to always have some rag tagged ear or gouge. He was the kid who always had antibiotic ointment somewhere. Once he had a sliced retinae. Gosh, that wasn’t cheap, not to mention the cone of humiliation. It was something else, and Chris fashioned a special food dish for him for that one.
But, it seems that he has looked at reality and is choosing to go for safe and cozy now. (Scares me, ya know? He and I have lived together for 17 years.)
I think he’s around 17 or so. My honey called him Old Man this morning. In the few moments of Not Rain, we let him out and stood there watching him. Hind legs on the ground, paws up on the bird bath. Little pink tongue licking up the fresh rain water. You know his whole name is Picillo. Lately I’ve been calling him Picardo.
You’re not a fan of Ice Cream? I didn’t know that.
You’ve gotten to me quite the man about town, being invited to so many Affairs. Cool.
Wow. 17. I hope I’m blessed with Neko that long or longer.
You heard the quiver in my voice, didn’t you?
I’ve thought it through, and considering our ages, 60 and 60 and the dog is 4, I think I’ll get another kittie when the time comes. I think we can pull that off.
Sigh.
(You saw that Ruth is on a road trip to PA, right?)
Yep, I saw that about Ruth. I can’t imagine my life without an animal in it, though there is something to be said about the freedom one has without the responsibility of an animal. Still, for me the pros far outweigh the cons.
Absolutely. Mr. P and I had the most wonderful conversation the other day. Just a rubbin’ and a scritchin’ and Direct Eye Contact.
I was imagining that he knows me just about as well as anyone, ya know? I’m probably putting human behavior on an animal, but, yet, I’m inclined to go with the dolphin stories above and believe that even my plants react to me when I touch them and purr and sing.
Nonquixote, I bet you’re a’fixin’ suppah ’bout now.
What are we having? If life’s a feast, than let’s do a pot luck.
I’ll bring spaghetti with marinara.
(And, ps, if you guys and dolls aren’t up for a pot luck, that’s okay. I have stuff I prolly should be doing. :)
Getting ‘about,’ town here is all of a half a dozen long strides, nothing to brag about. I don’t think I could define it as an affair. Seventy people, a none inspiring speaker and getting shut out on question and answer period at the end. I can count the ‘affairs,’ on two fingers, demi.
I noticed Ruth’s mentioned route, and it would not have been easy for her to stay ahead of the mess, the same one we are on the northern tier of.
Yes, I heard the quiver. Seventeen is the oldest any of my cats made it to. I’ve been asking myself since we lost Richard if I dare to get another cat. He thought he had plenty of time to live with the ones he had, although he had decided not to take any more kittens.
I’m 63 now, and figure I’ll be okay with this bunch, who 7 y.o. (who knows how old Big Boy is…four or five, maybe?), but what if I took on a kitten who was a long-lived one? If I do, it had better be an older rescue, no young’uns.
Aw, man, did I miss an appearance by Ruth? Is she going to visit Spuds in Pa? Really sorry I missed her.
She described her travel goals at talking heads this morning. Yes to PA.
Thx. Just read thru that thread. Sounds like she’s planning to move, the way she answered the question about which vehicle she’s driving. I did have the impression she had moved back to Tx only because her mother’s health required her to come home.
We’ll miss her, if she does. Wasn’t it just a week ago ChicagoDyke was suggesting a TX meetup, with cooking? I wonder where she is staying while Ruth is gone.
Oh well. I have fed the kittehs (Big Boy had not been seen for a couple hours, but turned up outside the door a few minutes after I pulled the food bin off the cupboard shelf and fed the other guys. Remarkable hearing.)
What mess, dear?
Ya gonna get me all anxious and stuff.
AC2 or JClausen was suggesting Decorah, IA for a Midwest Meetup last week too. That’s about 7 hours, doable for me depending on what work is in progress on a particular date.
http://radar.weather.gov/Conus/centgrtlakes.php
Ewwww. I did hear on the radio that there was a freezing storm hitting the north central part of the country. Guess that’s it.
Hmmm. So she was in MO last night, maybe she’s staying below the storm states…hope so.
IA? Sheesh, it’s probably 7 hrs from me to Ruth’s Texas home…lemme see…
According to Mapquest, about 19 hours to Decorah!
Sheesh, I’m begging off a case in Laredo because two to three hours is too far for me (at least for going to court after the drive. I’d need a nap, for sure.)
Yikes.
Ruth, in my experience, is nothing if not a Smart Person. If it looks to be getting ugly, she find a place to hunker down. And, then Ohio is not That Far from PA.
Godspeed, sister-friend Ruth.
Crap. I suppose it doesn’t matter anymore now that Richard’s gone but as some of you know, I had a health scare. Not many of you know how bad a health scare it was though. My GP had all but told me to pack my bags for the last trip though, due to my symptoms so it was an enormous relief when the preliminary diagnosis turned out to be wrong.
The point of bringing this up is that I did tell Richard and he had actually agreed to take on Kuroneko for me if it came to that. It’s hard to imagine that barely six months ago, I thought I was going to be the one who needed find someone to care for Neko and now he’s the one who is gone. Fuck. :(
Never fear! She said she was going to stop in southern Indiana tonight to avoid the mess that she was well aware of. I think she’ll be safe.
If Ruth left MO and made it into Ohio in rain today, that would have been a very good day.
Nice chatting, great diary Margaret, I loved the dolphin video. Was it dolphins that evolved from cats or the other way around? ;^) Thank you for efforts here, again.
Good Evening people.
Goodnight and have a great week ahead!
Peggy, no, I sure didn’t realize it was that scary. You know I’d have taken Neko if it came to that. (Don’t know how happy she’d be with the other three, but we could’ve managed.)
You’re right, it’s just amazing how suddenly the tables turned. And it seems to me it hadn’t been that long since he had accepted his most recent rescue, from an elderly person iirc, and we’d had that discussion. Life plays tricks on us all.
And to Peggy at 80 – southern Indiana? Wish I had known…coulda sent her to some friends. Wonder if she’ll go through, or more likely past, Bloomington? Oh, I read that “below Columbus” as meaning Columbus, OH. Which is where – in Columbus, actuallly, or just outside — my family used to stop for the night driving from Indianapolis to York, PA, or Fayetteville, WV to the grandparents.
I remember ’cause we often stopped at the same big motel that had my favorite motel pool evah. I’d be in and out to the pool as soon as we checked in. Good memories. (pre-interstate, right on US 40).
Like I said, she’s a Smart one.
Thanks for the reassurances, Peg.
Big Hug for hosting this time together.
Hope your week goes well, productive and safely.
(((Peggy Anne)))
Trust me, you were plan B. :)
Honey, you’re giving me goose pimples.
Gonna say Night Night, sort of again. :)
Oh, good, glad to hear that. ; )
yes, goose pimples. And at that, I guess it’s time to say goodnight, and wish everyone a good week, and lots of cuddles with your four-leggeds.
Don’t fret. Though it turned out to be chronic and annoying, it’s not life threatening.
I guess I’m going to wrap it up too. Thanks to attendees and lurkers and I’m sorry we missed some regulars today. Have a great week ahead and oya!
Meow and goodnight!