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No matter how much the cats fight, there always seems to be plenty of kittens. Abraham Lincoln
A really slow week at my place tigerwise. The weather gave us a touch of fall for 3 days and the tigers figured that was a signal to just sleep between meals. Or push books around and knock over the water glass on the dining table as I’m reading. Nagi nudged a stack of books and dumped a full glass in my lap the other evening. I’m beginning to feel a little like Foghorn Leghorn with Nagi as my little chicken hawk. Also thinks I’m his personal rag doll.
Kismet has pretty established herself as Queen. For a 17 year old she’s pretty spry. My phone, answering machine and phone books sit on one of those little typing tables we had when we used typewriters (remember typewriters?). It’s a little high for her to jump up on but she has no trouble jumping from the dining table to the phone table. Had to put a stop to that nonsense so I put a chair partially under the phone table with a box next to it so she could step up to her favourite spot of the moment. The chair back is high enough to keep her from jumping from one table to the other. Igraine, Maste, Skoshi and Nagi, though, jump right over it.
I do wish I could teach Kismet to tell time. It’s okay for her to start bellowing for breakfast when the alarm goes off at 6 during the week but on the weekends her biological clock doesn’t match up with mine. I hate getting up in the dark on weekends. Feurae, who I could not get to stay on the waterbed, now plops down beside me just before Kismet starts her breakfast demands. They’re so weird.
Maste is in my lap with his happy feet. Every pair of pants I have, long and short, have a section over the left front pocket that has been reduced to threads due to Gigi’s kneading over time. Maste is her replacement. He’s just the happiest little guy. As soon as I sit down he usually jumps right into my lap and starts kneading. Wants his head rubbed. He’ll sit in my lap as long as I let him.
Brutus is coming out of his shell more each day. Still shy around me but gets along with the other tigers really well. His current favourite thing is as monorail kitteh on the back of one of the couches.
Share your tiger stories with us. Old, new, we love ‘em all.
I’ve met many thinkers and many cats, but the wisdom of cats is infinitely superior. Hippolyte Taine
147 Comments
Caturday!
Brutus is a grouchy lookin’ fella
Hi Elliott
My Brutus isn’t. He should be though, he’s on a diet. Previous guardians left food out all day apparently and he played Friar Tuck. Looks sorta like him too, girth wise. Really a sweetheart.
Yay, Caturday!
Afternoon. So, where’s yer tiger tale?
Still morning here. Abner wanted out the minute I got up. He dashed out the door and decided to squat on the hill right across from the kitchen window, watching to make sure his show was being observed as I made the coffee.
I’m “treated” to the parade to the litter boxes every morning. “See, dad, I’m peeing on the floor right in front of the litter box. Nyah.” (Igraine)
Ugh! I wish I knew how to stop Gracie’s box habits (or lack thereof, more accurately).
Gracie started by relieving herself on our bathmat, progressed to the carpet under the dining room table and then proceeded to our couch. I’ve tried absolutely everything to stop this behavior! We’ve tried feeding on the soiled spots, removing rugs, rescue remedy…nothing stopped the behavior.
Gracie is now an indoor/outdoor cat. Thankfully, she has a strong preference for outdoor, and only asks to come in for her meals. After her tummy is full she demands her freedom again. Maybe that’s what she was saying all along.
Igraine is my first experience with one who refuses to use the box to pee. She uses the box to poop. Haven’t figured that out. I just clean it up. At least she’s regular and it gives me a good idea of her output.
Maybe that is what she was saying all along. Huh.
Merlin says all the regulation size boxes are too small for peeing! *Sigh.* I tried the box in the bathtub for awhile but I don’t have room for that and Colette’s needs too. He prefers to go outside anyway, so it’s mostly not an issue until the *dead* of winter. I’ve rigged up the his usual box with guards and plastic to accommodate his “style” because that’s just easier than cleaning up all the time.
I always use vinegar to neutralize the odor ~ recommended to everyone!
Rule #1 at our house is No feline shall be fed by a hooman in the morning hours. Kibble is offered for the takin’ 24 hours a day, but under no circumstances shall a cat be served before noon.
I have been woken too many times by aggressive purrs, whiskers in face, and the Mr.’s personal favorite–cat butt on the pillow. (Cat spreads hind legs, lifts tail and places bare butt delicately on pillow, swiveling bottom to find most comfortable location.)
The Law at my place is 2 meals a day, left out for an hour and a half and that’s it.
I have a 24 hour kibble bar available. The youngest nibbles down through to the bottom of the bowl, and then he buzzes me till I level it out. There can be three quarters of a bowl of kibble left, but if there’s any bit of the bottom of the bowl showing, he’ll just starve, or so he says. Kittehs can be sooo dramatic.
That’s pretty darn cute!
My Merlin *requires* that I put food in teh bowl when he comes in. He walks right by the *leftover* kibble and asks for fresh!!!!
Feeding time at my place is an adventure. Only Brutus vocalizes, the rest are around my feet trying to trip me so I drop the food container and they don’t have to deal with those stupid bowls and the miserly portions.
LOL! Cat food flying! I remember the first time I stepped on Merlin’s tail while preparing food. He was so shocked! He just didn’t *know* that could happen by accident if he didn’t keep himself in order in the kitchen! But I kinda miss him laying right in the middle of my galley kitchen, underfoot …
‘The dish is too white!’
btw, SD do you have a flickr account?
I can help you with pics for your post, just email me at EllieElliott AT gmail DOT com.
Yep, that’s what I used to link to these. Are you talking about posting the pix in lieu of links?
yes, if you want to post the pics in your post. Nothing wrong with the links :)
I was thinking about bandwidth cuz I usually link to 5 or 6 and I don’t have any pix of my newer tigers. I did read the instructions on embedding them. *g*
I am blessed with kittehs who wait politely until I get up then dash to the breakfast table. Kibble 24/7 rounds the edges, I think. I planted organic catnip plants on Friday, they are almost completely gone this morning.
Speaking of gone, I can’t find Belle anywhere. She took off last week for two days, noise out of joint at a new kitteh AND goggie at the same time. She came back for three days, spent her time in in my lap or following me around, very unusual for this kitteh. She’s been gone for another two days, and it just seems like she was saying goodbye. I’ve been leaving the garage side door open at night, just in case.
Grace got her flv test – negative – and first shots Friday. Doc says she’s 5 months old, not three like she looks. She had bad mites, which we fixed, and otherwise is healthy. Madison the feral no longer has ribs showing and barely flinches when we come out to visit. I think it’s time to rent a trap.
aww sorry about your kitteh, my Sweet Pea hardly comes around these days, jealous of the youngest. I think she hangs next door.
Hopefully patience with Belle will pay off. I’m keepin’ my fingers crossed.
With Madison I think I’d wait until I could at least touch him without spookin’ him. I like them to trust me somewhat before I scoop ‘em up. I think it makes the transition easier.
Mommybrain the Kitteh tamer! Really makes you wonder where the kittehs get their ideas to be pesky or polite, huh.
My Gigi was *supposed* to be a kitten when we got her. She started dropping baby teeth and doubled her weight in a month while battling the aftermath of a bacterial infection from which she almost died. Turns out she was 5 months old! I see a growth spurt in Gracie’s future!
I do hope Belle comes home. *Even* my Colette ran away for a couple of days years ago after I left them with teh catsitter the first time.
I can just picture Belle, with her hobo stick, pouting off to teach you a lesson.
The possibility of disappearing kittehs keeps me up at night. I hope your little sweetie comes home soon.
New signs appear in our neighborhood just about every week looking for a lost cat. Freaks me out.
One of the reasons I keep mine indoors. I don’t sleep well with one in the hospital, much less out.
Yep. I never intended to have anyone spending time outdoors at all. Abner’s vet recommended that he stay indoors because his coloring and little pink nose made him more vulnerable to the sun. I’m racked with guilt at times.
But, both of the cats seem much happier now, to be honest. Quality of life is important too, not just quantity. I wouldn’t like to be stuck inside all day either.
I think Min and Yang were happiest when they could come and go. They were a lot younger then, too. Max next door is certainly happy as a clam but he has a real cat lady taking care of him.
I’m holding open the probability that she will come home.
Good idea to wait, SD, on Madison. That’s the thing I’m trying hardest to teach Sprout, trust. He wants to dress the dog up in a Yoda costume or pack the kitteh in a shoe box (with a big hole in the side so she can escape immediately) and I keep gently pointing out that trust is a thing you can’t mess with around animals.
I thought the rescue remedy was working with Belle.
Reader, I started using the sawdusty version of Feline Pine in the boxes and it makes a huge difference in the odor level. Whatever the active chemical is in pine, it neutralizes the urine smell and adds no synthetic fragrance to the mix. I HATE the scent of most litters when mixed with pee. It is more messy if you have a flinging kitty, like I do. Half the litter is on the floor when he’s done and if I don’t get to it quickly, someone will pee there just cuz oooo, a new litter box.
Oh mine is a litter-flinger too! Especially when burying poo. I use the crystals liquid-abosrbing litter and it flies a good distance.
I asked my vet yesterday about Rescue Remedy. There’s also a product called Composure that one of the techs gave me to calm Min down when I brought her to the vet. She didn’t mind a ride to the vet when she had her sight but when she became blind it stressed her out no end. Composure worked like a charm. Vet said that with any of those products sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. Dose with Composure was more but I used an oral syringe with Min for all her meds so it wasn’t a problem.
Look! A new litter box!! Or just any old reason to break training. Too funny!
Litter flinging, I got nothin.’ They all do it as far as I can tell. I thought covered boxes were the answer … but that’s another whole story. *sigh* I’ve organized a battery-powered broom on the back of the bathroom door (have to have boxes upstairs for Colette) and just have to sweep once a day … it was nasty in the old days.
I’m just paranoid about urine stains from accidents so I use vinegar. I also rinse the litter boxes with vinegar. Allergic to all deodorizers, etc.
I’ve been using the Sweat Scoop wheat litter since when it was a whopping $30 a bag. My first Merlin was a huge cat and he peed only once a day. Eventually I tested some cheaper brands and found this stuff absorbed faster than the others so he never got his feet wet! :-)) Clumping and generally no smell if you keep it topped up and add baking soda periodically. I also tested “old” stuff and “new” stuff and they don’t care … good thing when it was $30 you can have a level of hygiene without throwing stuff out. It’s down to $11 now. I’m allergic to the pine stuff … :( and probably all the other brands.
Trust is huge. I really try to have them be safe and better whenever I touch them. And if I step on a tail (by accident of course) I wander after them and apologize like crazy. Can’t always keep the “promise” with nail clipping and all but I do my best not to cause any pain and make amends if I do. I think it makes a big difference. Some people just drop cats rather than put them down gently on secure feet!! Just try that with a blind kitteh. Feh.
Merlin seems to think it’s normal to be dropped so he squirms and then kinda drops himself!!! We’re working on it.
Caturday!
Slow week here, too. Although, through successive “requests” for sleeping arrangement modifications, Merlin is ecstatic that I finally figured out *what* he really needed! Which happens to be the spare chair moved again (it had been moved to an intermediary position totally by coincidence …?) over by my computer chair, with the bigger basket (brought up from the floor to replace the smaller basket) and a third towel for comfort (thank you very much). He spent the entire night there after most of yesterday and he’s still there now! First time in my life I can just reach over and pet a kitteh while I do my computering.
While I was putting this together Merlin was like: “OH WOW YES THAT’S IT!!!!” Just takes time, fellas, that’s all. I *thought* the piano was the best spot: maybe for the summer, heh. It’s actually one of my favorite things: getting big purrs in response to my contributions to bedding arrangements.
My Gigi went through a period when she woke me up at 4 am every single morning. Jeesh.
We are in the process of putting a stop to the nonsense of Merlin scratching the bedskirt to bits if he wants attention. And he got in serious trouble last night for jumping the little blind kitteh to get my attention. Zero tolerance on that even though he means no harm. He’s supposed to leave her alone!
So, he’s learning ‘no’ and will sometimes stop pestering in response. Trouble is I don’t *always* mean it.
Two cats. At two ends of the dietary spectrum. We’re whittling Merlin’s weight down. He came to me from a cramped highrise. And he’s the biggest kitteh I’ve ever had + the weight he’s lost. I remember when I thought Gigi (at 12 lbs) was a big cat. Not. Merlin gets VERY hungry but we’re getting there.
And little Colette is older so her good appetite is important. But I don’t know where she puts it all. She gets three meals of soft food a day (no teeth) with vitamins and she cleans the bowl and asks for her meals regularly. It’s a big day when she’s leaves some behind. And with all that she’s a bit skinny!!!! But her energy is good so no worries. Keep the chow coming!
We had trouble with Gracie’s weight for a while too. We had to switch to light cat food, vet’s orders.
Good lord, that was hard. The marking behviors increased. It was a constant whinefest. Abner revolted and started picking on Gracie for spite.
But when Gracie went outside, all that changed. Room to roam thinned her out.
My Gigi was a dilute calico and they are supposed to have trouble with weight. After recovering from her rocky beginning she started to gain weight. I was using the vet-recommended food for awhile but it didn’t really help. She was always hoovering up food like she was starving. One day I got some vitamin powder from the vet and they raced to the kitchen the minute I opened it!
Turns out my kittehs, especially Gigi needed vitamins. Badly. The vitamins did the trick. She stopped hoovering food and she started to drop the weight. Never had any more trouble with her. I use vitamins off and on. High quality food off and on. I don’t use the most highly advertised brands or vet brands. With my older kitteh and Merlin’s weight, I’m back to the vitamins. I’m using a brand called “The Missing Link” now.
Poor Gigi had such bad tummy troubles she eventually had a biopsy when she got fixed. Same week I had fed her some plain poached chicken (on catsitter’s advice that it might be allergies) and she got sorted out in 2 days!!!!!
I’ve done homemade diets in the past ~ that’s nice but takes time. Ever since Gigi, I always give some meat as a treat from time to time. I think it’s good for their systems. But mice contain grains, so it’s natural for them to eat a variety.
LOL. This morning Merlin tried the Oatmeal Cake I made last night. Really, I asked? Yes. And he ate a few crumbs. Looking for excitement, I guess. It’s a first though, that’s for sure!
What high quality foods do you use? Years ago my vet had a tech who was also a nutritionist. At the time she said that Science Diet (before all the designer types) and Iams provided the best nutrition in dry food. Mine will eat both.
I’ve got a supermarket brand (President’s Choice here in Canada) that I like because it doesn’t contain as many additives as your fancy brands like Fancy Cat, etc. It’s a good price as a base food but I know it’s not high in vitamins. So I add the vitamins. But it smells nice to me and I’m sensitive to all kinds of chemicals so my nose is a good metric.
My local pet food co-op has a number of wholistic brands, some of which I have never heard of before. I have to have the tiny cans or food goes to waste so I’ve tried what they have in tiny cans from time to time and what I like now is the Wellness brand. Colette says it’s really good stuff.
They also have brands that are exotic mixes with chunks of meat and fish (like whole sardines) in them. Colette says: feh. Sometimes I buy plain people-style sardines/herring in oil for Colette as a treat.
So, I alternate the store brand with the Wellness brand … except when money gets tight like right now and so we eat more store brand but we have vitamins.
For kibble, I have tried a couple of wholistic brands (can’t remember the names) but for current Merlin he’d been on Whiskas so we started with that but I was able to mix it with the *new* Iams stuff in the beige bags and he took to that quickly. It’s often on sale at the supermarket. And I really like it. I’ve used Iams in the past and never liked it as much as this stuff.
I’ve tried several vet brands and even local frozen, raw diets (for cancer). My wholistic vet recommended a high-quality commercial brand that was DELIVERED TO THE HOUSE for awhile but the business closed and I can’t remember the name of the brand. Those were the days.
I’m generally suspicious of vet brands: I really think it’s a marketing thing. My wholistic vet’s practice sells them as a business thing and because people expect them but he NEVER mentioned them even though they were sitting in the waiting room!!! He told me about six other alternatives to get elsewhere.
In spite of all that I have to add that my first Merlin had urinary crystals and he had to have a vet prescription brand. I really hated that stuff but I never could find an alternative “cure” for him. Today I would take him to the wholistic vet to have all that cleared up ~ but it might be expensive.
My orange tabby, (well really fading more to blonde as he ages)Buddy loves to have his head petted. And to be petted along the back backwards with spread fingers. But no tickle the tummy and only scratch it if it’s presented to you. He does back of the sofa monorail too! He hovers for the rest of the milk in the cereal bowl in the morning.
But mice contain grains, so it’s natural for them to eat a variety.
My last tuxedo, Emma, loved our house in the mountains. She ate mice and lizards most of the time, about which diet our vet wrote a paper in vet school, calling it the perfect diet for felines. I loved not her headless, eviscerated calling cards.
My vet has said repeatedly if they could figure out a way to can mice it would be the perfect diet.
I had a wholistic (and very spiritual) vet for awhile … $$$ but the guy’s got a huge following and he sorted my little Colette out that’s for sure … he said: “their time outside is part of the bargain they make living with us.” It all depends on you and your kittehs. I walked my first Merlin (rescued stray) on a leash every day once I *got* that he was going to be getting into fights that led to regular vet visits.
I bought this house at least 50% because it and the grounds have features that are great for cats, like they never have to go near the street and have half a block of park out the back door …). Little Colette loved being outside and she sits on the deck every morning when she wants. But with her blindness she’s not really interested in wandering (whew!) now. So I take her out sometimes in the grass late at night.
My Gigi had to be out. And current Merlin was going nuts being an apartment cat.
It all depends. If I had cats that couldn’t go out I would get a multilevel cage/run for them so they could enjoy the outdoors.
But lots of cats are happy inside, that’s clear!!
Not many people agree with me, especially not cat people but even though I love my kittehs dearly, I can never keep them exclusively indoors. They are meant to be outside, just as we are. I take as good care as I can that they are safe, having open windows and doors in strategic places in case they don’t come home before I go to sleep (which until Belle they always did) and most of mine are in and out, out for maybe an hour a day. Mine wear bells.
Maybe in the city I’d keep ‘em in, but here on the edge of suburbia they are as safe as they can be. We don’t have much traffic.
I cherish the time they are with me and love them to pieces, but I figure if you love them, you gotta give them what they need.
If I didn’t live in the city mine would be indoor/outdoor.
Mine all come when I whistle! I guess I’m teaching them that. If I whistle when they are inside they come too which is very entertaining.
Sometimes they may dawdle a bit but within a half hour at the most they always come. Merlin talks to me while he’s on his way! It’s always worked except the few times kittehs were blatantly mischievous/disobedient, stuck on the roof (another story), or sick (only unexpected once praise the goddesses and I should have known better …).
And it took me awhile but I have collars and tags on them when they go out now, just in case.
I swear Jewel teleports. She goes through the door while you’re looking at the knob, or while you’re turning around, just like you weren’t standing there, and then you spot her twenty feet away. (I learned not to chase her. Doesn’t work, just makes her treat it like a chase game.)
She likes going out, anyway, and will stay out all night if she can manage it (or most of the night; she’ll start wanting in around 2am).
I wish I had pictures of Harry and Sammy outside. They were long-haired farm cats, and Sammy was especially fond of walking through trees. On branches no wider than her feet.)
Hey SD and others!
SD, irrc you said something about pet insurance, but that was before I got my rescue cat, so I didn’t pay enough attention. So, anyway, you or anyone have any advice about pet insurance?
6 yo Maine coon poly. Ms. Beauty Cat. She’s SUCH a polite cat. She merows plaintively in the wee hours, to make sure I’m awake before she jumps on the bed, so as not to startle me. 3-4 times between 12:00 and 5 am now. Ouch!
reader- thanks for the info about vitamins- found it at The Animal Rescue site:
The Missing Link® Feline Supplement $12.95
You are most welcome!
I used this stuff in the 1990’s and when I couldn’t find anything else this year it turned up! They have some for dogs too!
Follow the instructions ~ keep it in the fridge. I put about a 1/4 cup in a glass jar in the fridge for daily use and to keep from re-opening the package etc. It says use it up in 3 months (?) but that’s probably just ’cause it’s got some good oils in it that may go bad if you mistreat it.
Meow!!
reader- thanks again. I will def. get some for Tootsie Ms. Beauty cat. I do worry about her nutrition. When she came to me from the shelter, I was told that she had been eating IAMs hairball formula (dry food), with wet food occasionally as a treat.
So, I kept to that. But, she is an odd cat. She would eat the IAMs dry food, and let the “wet food” dry up. I tried tuna (I was looking for a special treat to reward her for taking “cat medicine”- she had a respiratory infection when I got her from the shelter). Canned tuna is not good for cats on a regular basis (as you probably know), and she threw it up. I tried making cat food- boiled chicken etc. No go. No interest. Still preferred dry food.
BTW, my vet told me that IAMs “hairball formula” was just fine. She is Maine coon… So, once when I couldn’t find IAM’s hairball, and had run out of dry cat food, I bought some other kibble stuff– “ideal for the indoor cat”, and within days, I was finding yucky looking spit up cat vomit.
Went back to the IAMs “hairball formula”, and no more hairball vomit. I did ask my vet, first visit, “what does this IAMs hairball food have that deals with hairballs?”, and he said “mineral oil”! Okay, I looked at the contents just now, and can’t see “mineral oil” listed, even tho it’s a human laxative. But, the oil part seems to be the key.
All the hairball remedies as I understand it are based on oils of some sort. I like the current IAMS dry food (they’re selling it as a wholistic formula, in the beige bag) and I think I was using the hairball formula for a while too. It’s nice food. You can spend a lot more on a specialty kibble and there’s not much difference.
One of the reasons I was looking for vitamins was both my cats were a bit dry (dry fur and dry pads) and I was giving them omega-3 from capsules until I found the missing link stuff again. It’s perishable because it’s got lots of oils in it.
You might have trouble getting Ms. Beauty to eat it with kibble … it’s hard to describe, it’s kind of a crumbled powder. But if vitamins are a real problem for her she might eat it straight. My cats did with the first vitamin powder I brought home years ago ~ they were starved for the nutrition.
If you still have problems, try sardines or herring ~ you know in the tins your dad may have liked. Other (un)likely options include processed cheese slices (I know, I know, but they crowd around …). I had an abyssinian that went nuts for french fries and brie rinds (not at the same time …). Pan fried salmon works sometimes (and salmon has lots of good oils). Aiyeee!! Some poeple use butter but be careful not to give them too much intense fat.
You might try finding a local (or online) source for some wet brands that are organic, etc. Try only one tin at a time, though. Maybe you have a health food or pet food store in town that stocks these special foods. Some of them aren’t great either. I like the Wellness brand.
Once she eats the missing link stuff she might be ‘willing’ to try other foods if her nutritional needs are being met. Good luck!
reader- I am not sure that Ms. Beauty cat is missing vitamins, but I have been worried about feeding her dry food only, so I was really interested in your comments. I mean, I tried “wet food” too, but only the grocery store stuff, and she let it dry out in favor of the IAMs hairball formula. I will check out the Wellness wet food stuff.
Ms. Beauty cat does like butter, especially when it’s melted on something I’ve prepared for myself. Like, a “patty melt”. But, she seems to be “self-regulating” on this account. If I push to give her extra butter, she knows her limits!
There’s quite the debate over dry vs canned food. My vet simply says to feed ‘em what they’ll eat. If I leave the butter out Gabby will get into it but regulates himself. I see that little groove in the end of the butter and go, aw, man, I left the butter out again. Little devil ate the end off my turkey sub Fri evening while I was on the phone.
And just how many times have you been told, SD, to stay off the phone!
SD- if you read before, I mention that Ms. Beauty cat was not so interested in wet canned food. She really preferred the kibble. Odd I thought. But, cats is cats.
Yep, I saw it. I’ve a couple who won’t touch canned food. Got 2 males that can’t have dry food cuz it forms crystals in their bladders (Ptah and Tama-chan). Kismet gets canned due to her age, 17. Dry is hard for her to eat.
SD- I don’t have all of the cat variations to deal with that you do! I am only dealing with one cat, and that’s a challenge!
Ms. Beauty cat is only 6, and has teeth, so it’s different from your Kismet.
btw, did you you see my early comment about pet insurance? I may be wrong in my recollection, but way back when I thought you had mentioned something about having pet/cat medical insurance. Forgive me if my memory is incorrect. But, way time back, I remember someone at FDL mentioning that they had such, and how it saved them from financial ruin in the process of saving a kitty.
I don’t have it but I know folks who do. I just don’t know anything about it so I can’t say whether it’s a good idea or not. If they don’t play the games the human insurers do I’d say it’s okay. I have a special relationship with my vet so the bills are never a burden. I’m allowed to pay them off as I can. Blaze cost me a little over 3 grand and it took me a while to pay that off but never got one reminder or comment. I lost Blaze in Aug 04 to cancer. She was 15. Have I said lately how much I hate cancer?
SD! Oh my! Heart-breaking about Blaze. And, you have a very wonderful vet.
Obviously, I was misremembering in connecting your name with cat insurance. Someone at FDL, long while back mentioned that they had pet/cat insurance, and how it had been helpful in staving off an impossible financial burden. I just can’t think who it was.
I was thinking about this re: Ms. Beauty cat, because Maine coons seem to have some particular genetic problems, and I was was thinking ahead.
I would certainly encourage it if you can find someone who has used it to their satisfaction. Blaze was originally diagnosed with Inflammable Bowel Disorder. Vet couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her so went in and took some tissue samples for biopsy. Fancy lab in New York. IBD. Long term treatment and we thought after a little over a year we were making headway. Then she stopped eating. Like Gigi, xrays showed cancer in and around the stomach. I rescued Blaze from my friend Joe’s uncle’s place up in Brooksville. She’d been living on her own since Uncle Skinny went into a nursing home. Joe alerted me to her one day when he went up and saw her hanging around. We went back up and I caught her. Min, Yang and Blaze, the Three Mouseketeers. Some wonderful memories.
SD- yes, on point one, as to getting pet/ cat insurance. Whenever it was I saw it mentioned positively at FDL, the idea was totally new to me. And, as I said, I didn’t have Ms. Beauty cat back then. And, back then, the current debate about human health care/ insurance was way on the back burner, so obviously I didn’t think about the way insurance cos. operate in dishonest ways.
And, it’s hard to know what is best for the kitty. I had a long discussion with my “best friend” from college days after her Smootie was put down. And, plenty of tears from both of us on the phone when Smootie was diagnosed with terminal kidney failure. Smootie had infusions at her home to keep him alive, but this was not nice for him. My best friend did what she thought was right, but wondered after if she should have let him go sooner.
Hope you know what I mean.
Yep, I know what you mean. Renal failure is the most common cause of natural death among older cats. Caught early enough a renal diet can prolong their lives just with the reduction in protein. After they reach 10 I make sure I get blood work on them yearly even if nothing else is going on. Min’s renal numbers showed just a slight uptick 2 years before she died but the renal diet kept those numbers stable all that time. That slight uptick, however, spelled a kidney with less than 50% efficiency.
My friend Joe has 2 in renal failure that he infuses. Both of them get up on the table for their 75ml of fluids. My vet is real good at saying when it’s time. He absolutely will not prolong a life if there’s no quality of life there.
Thanks. So you know what I mean. I know of one cat who was okay with infusions for 2 years. But, Smootie was not happy at all from the first effort for infusions. Smootie’s mother is now on a renal diet, because this kitty (Cougar, mother of Smootie) has same problem. But, there’s only so much you can do, and if the kitty is miserable, it’s time to make a hard choice.
Well, SD, as you have gathered, Ms. Beauty cat prefers dry food. I gotta say this was not what I was expecting. And, I was not expecting that she would reject my efforts to make her “special home-cooked boiled chicken” cat food.
I thought long and hard about the home prepared diets. With the number I have it boiled down to being too expensive and time consuming. There’s one school that touts a raw diet for them but my vet worries about salmonella.
I was certainly not suggesting that you do this, or advocating for this. I was just looking at possibilities, given that I have only one! cat to deal with.
And, I think your vet was right to worry about salmonella in a raw diet. The idea of a “raw diet” seems a bit extreme to me, and certainly not anything I ever thought about for Ms. Beauty cat.
Rather, I think about how to keep her exercised and amused!
No, no, I tidn’t think that. I was just thinking about my contemplating it here a couple years ago.
reader- also, if I read your earlier comments correctly, you are a fan of Sweat Scoop.
Oh, yes, Swheat Scoop!!! I started when it was $30 a bag and I am a frugal person. But my first Merlin used to get his feet wet with urine when I used the other cheaper brands!!!
Clean cat feet leaving the litter box are PRICELESS.
And the odor control is great without any scent as long as you keep it topped up. No waste.
reader- bear with me- this is relevant to Swheat Scoop!
I hadn’t had a cat in a good long while, because of “kitty grief”. But, I was going to Ithaca NY for a year on academic sabbatical, and I found a house to rent, or suggested. Sounded perfect. And, then via email to the owners, I said, I don’t suppose you could include a cat? Well, I don’t know what prompted me to say this. LOL.
But, as it turned out, they had been very worried about what to do about the cat. They were going to Boston for a year, and apparently cats were being killed by coyotes in Boston. So, I rented the house and the cat! LOL.
And, they had been using Swheat Scoop for kitty. I inherited a bag of Swheat Scoop, and so, I discovered how wonderful it was!
Yes, Ms. Beauty cat uses Swheat Scoop, and so do I! LOL.
caturday is my favorite day of the week!
rosie is “helping” me type while the other four sleep. but it’s a beautiful day and i’m going back out in a bit. maybe i’ll take kismet for a walk — all my tigers live indoors but rosie and kismet learned to walk with leash and harness. rosie thinks it’s a big yawn, but kismet loves it and will sometimes, when i’m out gardening, holler at me until i take her out with me.
hope belle is home soon…
Selise- sometime you’ll have to tell me how you trained them to walk with leash and harness. I bought such for Tootsie, but she turned into “rocket cat” when I was trying to give her antibiotics- so I know I cannot over-power her to get on a harness. Apart from that effort wrecking our relationship, she is 8 lbs. of pure Maine coon muscle. That doesn’t sound like that much, but I’m no match!
My first cat learned to walk with a figure-8 harness. She was young, though,barely a year old.
Training was very, very gradual; I read it in a cat care book, I think; got scads from library because I knew nothing about cats when she came to me.
First, I think, just show it to her, for a few days, then maybe lay it over her back, see if she’ll walk around with it on. After a few days of that, try slipping it over her head; don’t bother adjusting snugness until she shows she’s comfortable. If she freaks, take it off immediately.
Once she will wear it willingly, let her walk around, dragging leash part behind her a few times a day, over or 4 days, then try picking up your end of the leash.
You get the idea. Don’t even plan to go out with it on her in less than 2 weeks, maybe 3.
Overpowering skittish kitties is rarely a good idea, unless it’s a matter of life and death. *g*
oh, thanks for that info. Okay, I admit I don’t know what a figure-8 harness is. But I don’t think that’s what I bought- what I bought is really a harness, with one plastic snap. Mind you, I bought this when I was piling up on cat supplies the day before I adopted Tootsie from the shelter. I’ll try to do the google to find out about different kinds of harnesses. But, I really like the general idea of introducing this gradually. I’ve had her since Jan. and she is really quite a shy cat.
She’s always been an indoor cat, but I had this wild idea of getting her to go “walkies” to ride in the car, esp. for vet visits. Or to get used to that for vet visits.
Way long ago, a cat of mine got hit by a car, pelvis fractured. Nothing to be done but wait to see if she mended. Meanwhile, I put her in a box in the back of my VW van every day when I went to work, and went out to check on her every few hours. Eventually she did mend, even to the point that her tail was restored to function. (Vet had said it might need to be amputated). After that, she LOVED to ride in the car. Almost caused me to drive off the road once when she was rubbing my ankles while I was driving her to a vet appt to look at some ear infection!
okay, this is the harness I bought. It doesn’t look like what you mean by “figure 8″
http://www.petsmart.com/produc…..Id=3140458
Keep the advice coming please!!! ;)
That looks similar to the harness I have for Dan’l (tho his is marketed as the smallest size for a dog).
I don’t really know why I got a harness for Dan’l but from the first time I put it on him, he’s been comfortable in it. As long as I’m around, he’s fine in it but if I try to tie him up to something, he’s out of it in a flash. But he walks me, I don’t walk him.
hey! good to “see” you. So, Dan’l is a cat? Silly man, why would you try to tie him up to something? Maybe I am misunderstanding. If Ms. Beauty Cat was going to the vet in the car on a harness and leash (dream on!) I would certainly tie down the leash so she couldn’t get under the car pedals (had that happen before Lol)… ?
Well, he actually rides in the carrier to the vet (or long distance travel when just the two of us).
But it was an attempt when moving to take an easy route in hopes that he would sit quietly and not get underfoot or not take off because the door was open.
Ah, so this happened during moving? But, so, even tho he got out of the harness, he didn’t run off and leave you?
Fortunately, he just ducked into the house and back into a closet. And he has ridden in rental trucks wearing the harness and out roaming free but there was another person on those trips to keep him out from under foot.
Good kitty! I mean, he didn’t run off to somewhere unknown. Somewhat different, because not outside the house, but I had a cat run off, never to return during moving.
Now wait a minute… what do you mean that Dan’l was wearing the harness “out roaming free?”
Running around free in the cab of the rental truck.
Ah, okay. Roaming free in the cab of the truck! LOL. So, the harness was on so that ? The better to catch the cat with?
He rode all day wearing the harness with no problems and I could add the leash and give him a quick walk when he stopped for gas or such.
Okay! now I see. Pit stops for the kitty too!
Dang, Dragon. I’s been busy all day and thot Caturday wasn’t happening this week. It’s bigger’n ever. Congrats!
Here’s a link to a little fluffball of cute our sonny found. If it’s a repeat for you guys, well, I figure it’s worth repeating anyway, sooooo.
I’ve often felt like this of a morning, but never this cute, sigh.
Enjoy. ;->
http://www.cherveny.com/pics/cat.gif
Oh, Adie ~ what a dear sweet cutie you have there!
Sonny spotted it and sent it on to us. Family of hopeless hapless helpless but happy kitty lovers here, heh.
Oh, that’s a great find!
BTW, I had a “rental cat” during a sabbatical. I didn’t know this til after, but the cat liked to go walkies with the peeps. Would trot along after mom and kids on neighborhood walk. No harness required!
When I first got Min I had to lock her in the house or she’d follow me all over the neighborhood. I walked to the library quite a bit and had to cross a busy 4 lane street so I’d lock her up.
When I used to walk my tuxedos, my Gigi would be outside and around and she used to surprise me in the park by showing up and gathering with us, following along, coming up for some petting. She clearly “loved” it. “Oh, look, we’re all here! Outside! Together!” And then she’d race around the park and back.
One night I was up at the tennis courts in the park to see the fireworks downtown through the trees for Canada Day and my first Merlin showed up out of nowhere to join me!!! It’s one of my best memories of him.
Wow.
Oh my! tears!
I’ve never walked a cat but I’ve walked with several of them.
When we brought our newborn Sprout home from the hospital we lived on an acre and a half and had animals, in the suburbs. The day after we got home hubby had this notion he wanted to show Sprout the boundary of our land, so we set out with Sprout in a sling, three dogs, three goats and a cat, walking single file up hill and down trail, then standing on the hillside watching the sunset.
Our older neighbors got a big kick out of the parade.
It would have been remarkable … but WITH GOATS they knew they were watching a legend in the making!
Harness and Leash. I’ve had 2 cats ~ both tuxedo males, formerly strays ~ that didn’t mind a bit and didn’t need any training. One couldn’t go out without getting in fights so he got to be out tethered on the deck as well as “walkies.” All my other cats have hated the idea. What can you do.
The second guy got walked until a year after getting fixed. He was quite young. One night a couple of years later he came out with me (off leash) and walked up the block with me on my way to a community meeting. I came out of the meeting 2 hours later and he was sitting in the yard across the street STILL waiting for me. Sweet boy!
tejanarusa @ 49: What great instructions ~ you must be very patient!!!
As I said above, I had a “rental cat” for a year”. And, yes, she liked to go walkies with family members. She did the same thing you describe, as I was told- would follow husband (of human family!;)) to work (he walked to work) but only so far. And, then when he returned from work, cat would appear and finish the walk home! Cats is strange!
BTW, I’ve read other accounts of cats going walkies (of their own volition to follow human) and waiting for return journey.
There was a fabulously popular cat book by a human that was given a Scottish Fold that described this… lemme see if I can remember the title….
This is the best Caturday yet. Thanks, folks.
Kitty momentum is building!!! Keep the faith.
LOL. Ms. Beauty is one smart cookie!
Sounds like you can use butter for your vitamins all else failing. You might put some butter in/on any new wet food you try to introduce.
That being said, IMO most of the commercial foods are pretty awful. Even some of the organic stuff is a turn off. We need to be picky for our cats. As if they aren’t picky enough.
Oh, the other thing you can do is mix water with the kibble to make a wet food. Now Ms. Beauty may HATE that or give you some kind of medal.
I have started adding filtered water even to the wet food because of the dry fur and pads, because I was worried about everybody drinking enough, and because less ends up on the floor if it’s a bit sloppy.
Some cats do just fine on kibble. They say it’s better for the teeth.
reader-
The only reason I gave Ms. Beauty cat wet food in the first place was because the rescue place suggested it as a treat. If she’s fine with eating kibble (and she seems to be) I’m fine with that too. I just want to make sure she is getting her vitamins, so I will def. get some of that “crikey I forget now supplement” that you linked. :)
I did a homemade diet years ago. It’s manageable with a freezer, but it takes time. I wouldn’t let a cat think that was the definition of cat food or they could reject everything else you might offer, speaking from experience … and I couldn’t possibly manage it now. I can barely find time to cook for myself, either.
OT: 60 Minutes is covering the coal ash spill ~ it’s an explosive piece.
On the other hand, Ms. Beauty cat turned her nose up at my “homemade” concoctions. Make no assumptions re: cats. ;)
I have lost 2 to cancer (associated with the feline leukemia) and another to sudden unknown cause. Can’t go through the cancer again. When I needed to adopt again I made sure this one is from a known home. No more strays for me for awhile.
I don’t think Ms. Beauty cares about food ~ she just cares about teasing Valley Girl!!!
Generally I try to stay away from all insurance. Too much trouble, not enough value. Had my troubles with the *&^% insurance companies.
Ah, Ms. Beauty is not a tease! She’s a very innocent tho odd cat.
But, I have to say that part of the adoption process really pissed me off. I found Ms. Beauty via a shelter at petfinder.com. The ad said that she was “negative for Feline AIDS/Leukemia”
So, I went to adopt her, and the shelter person, in the midst of having me sign some long contract, said, “oh, by the way, we didn’t actually test her for FIV or FeLV, since she’s always been an indoor cat. But, if you take her to the vet and she tests positive, we will take her back”.
That just so totally pissed me off.
Whoa.
No kidding.
What a bunch of blankety-blank idiot FRAUDS.
YEP!!!
I was totally unprepared for this. I haven’t done extensive research on cat adoption agencies since that experience, but what little I’ve done gives me a rather dim view, at least enough to know that these places are not all they seem. After I adopted Ms. Beauty, I found another “Maine coon” via petfinder, and drove 60 miles to check her out. This “Maine coon” was not actually a Maine coon, and when I started asking questions, I got really rude answers. She was really a sweet cat, and the fact that she was not a “Maine coon” as advertised really wasn’t the problem. Rather, it was the attitude of the person who was running the adoption place that really troubled me. Somehow, the person felt that I had no right to ask.
So, that made me realize that just because someone puts them self forward as a “cat adoption agency” it is wrong to assume that they are totally trustworthy. Sad.
I got Min from the SPCA after Tiye II succumbed to renal and liver failure. I couldn’t sleep without a cat in the house and couldn’t bear to get up to an empty house. Then a friend brought me Isis, a gorgeous creamsicle kitteh with a feather boa tail. When she went missing I was making the rounds of all the agencies looking for her. I found Yang at Animal Control. She was 8 weeks. I went back the next day and brought her home. Other than that all mine have found me one way or another. I found out later that my next door neighbor had killed Isis while drunk and whacked out on pills. Buried her in his yard somewhere. He and wife had split and he had moved back to Ohio when I found out. He got in trouble with the cops in Ohio over drugs and hooked a hose up to his exhaust in the garage. Good riddance, mf.
{{{SouthernDragon}}}
Beautiful Isis, what a cryin’ shame.
She was gorgeous and an absolutely precious kitteh. Talk about regal.
*tears*
I’m lucky enough to have some pictures I took of her with an old fashioned *g* film camera.
oh, that is totally sick. I come from a family of cat lovers. But, not everyone feels the same. Once, when I went back to CA to visit my mother, one of her cats “Moonbeam” a stray she adopted, had a Beebee ? shotgun pellet in her ear, which my mother then gently eased out. Yep, I saw my mother do it.
When I got Min from the SPCA the intake sheet, which I still have, said “Injured stray.” I never knew what was injured. When the vet did the xray that showed the very aggressive oral cancer it also showed a BB embedded in her skull. I never felt it in the 18 years I had her.
Oh my! It’s just so sad that people feel that cats are targets for beebee guns. And, yes, I did see and feel the beebee pellet in Moonbeam’s ear, and watched while my mother eased it out.
God damn world is full of creeps. Gets me down.
Couple years ago one of my neighbors found one of the stray kittens with his eyeball outside the socket. Took him to the local vet the next morning but the vet couldn’t save the eye because it had been outside the socket too long and dried out. The neighbor asked me if I would take him. I said of course. He brings me this little kitten, maybe 10 week old max, with this eye that I did not like the looks of. That was a Saturday morning. By Sunday evening pus was draining from the site. Took Mojo to my vet first thing Monday morning. When he called the other vet they had not done any tests. My vet cleaned up the shitty surgery. Mojo was leukemia positive. I couldn’t bring him home. Broke my heart. I had spent all weekend holding that little guy. My vet kept Mojo for about 3 months before he found a home for him. I happened to be there when the lady came to pick him up. He had grown into a gorgeous little guy and the techs all said what a little lover he was. Broke my heart again. I sometimes wish I hadn’t been there that day.
Awwwwwww.
Oh, crikey. But, it’s a huge concern for people with other cats who might get infected.
Yep and it’s rampant among some stray colonies. One of my co-worker’s son found one and has him, BC, at home. It’s not transmittable to dogs or humans so he’s okay. He knows all the precautions.
roflao!!!!!
Before I knew what was happening and had time to catch my breath after diagnosis I was into chemo with one of mine. It was a BIG deal cat hospital and I will never go anywhere near another place like that. They misrepresented the length of treatment AND the poor cat did not take well to it. The cats have NO way of understanding radical treatment so it’s not kind, as far as I can see. That was all before I could figure out if I should even try to afford it.
So we stopped that. But I still tried to save his life. And the next one. My neighbourhood vet calls it “heroic measures” and she means the poor “owners.”
It’s very difficult. Life insists for all of us, including the tigerz. WE do the best we can. I’ll do less not more in future. And you can spend a bundle on palliative care too. You have to handle it the best way you can. If that means insurance, do what you need. It works for some people.
In these matters, it’s not about logic and bottom lines.
Funniest damn vet quote I have …
The acupunture-vet said of the chemo-vet:
“Oh, I know him. He has all the bedside manner of a spotted newt.”
Think British accent so spotted is two words. And she was right.
After a couple of vets treated Colette for constipation … a third vet announced that this was an early sign of kidney weakness and hadn’t the other vets mentioned that??? Why no, they hadn’t.
She also had recurring painful dental infections which we never did beat before she lost all her teeth. NO worries. She doesn’t care: even caught a mouse a few months later.
She’s small and was terrified and completely stressed out for her first year of life. She’s brave, strong, and very happy and confident now but it was a long process.
So that’s all why I had the wholistic vet run her through a course of homeopathic treatments until her live blood images came up super-healthy.
No sign of kidney failure. Blood is good. We’ll see. Fingers crossed.
(((Colette)))
((SD & Tigers))
It’s so sad about the leukemia. I didn’t need the lecture from the spotted newt vet on being a feline leukemia household. Made me understand what leprosy or AIDS must be like. Colette tested negative for feline leukemia after my Horatio died in spite of dire predictions. My understanding is the mating behaviour ~ or being a kitten ~ puts them most at risk. And I had my first Merlin tested (negative) but he was infected already anyway.
If my current Merlin turns up positive one day it will be the neighbourhood. I doubt it at this point but it would be really sad.
My vet said that most cats have built up an immunity to the virus once they hit 6 years. Younger cats are the most at risk. The virus is spread through saliva. Water dishes and grooming each other are the most common means of spreading the virus.
What great information! That explains a lot!!!
I can certainly relax about Colette. Gigi was probably negative too.
Thank you!
Oh, perhaps this is already implicit/ clear, but the vet confirmed that Ms. Beauty cat is FIV/ FeLV negative. The only reason it matters is that if I have to board her at the vets, say if I travel, cats have to be negative on both accounts.
Saliva? Ms. Beauty cat is intent on grooming my hair every evening round about 3 or 4 am. Cat slobber to the max. I endure because I am still trying to make friends with her.
Too funny. She loves you!
You got that right. Valley Girl’s her baby.
Mine loves clean hair. She rubs her face in it for a while, then starts to groom it. It’s okay except she forgets that we’re a bit fragile in places. Pointy ends hurt when they’re used as clamps.
Would you please tell that to Nagi? He likes to nuzzle my long hair and my shoulders look and feel like pin cushions.
dropping back in – SD, so sorry to hear about Isis. What a terrible person that man sounds. Terrible people are the real reason I try to keep mine in – scary.
Valley Girl – re the harness – I cant seem to find a figure 8 harness at the moment either…it was very light, all one piece. But I’m sure the others will work fine. The accomodating to the harness does take some patience, but it was worth it.
On the other hand, our “walkies” ended quickly – a friendly golden retriever came loping up the hill ahead of his owner (I knew them, but the kitteh didn’t) – kitty cat panicked, pulled away heading for a big patch of tall weeds. Dumb me, new at kitty care, afraid she’d hang herself on the weeds, picked her up.
Some of the scars are still visible.
We only went out “walking” on the balcony after that.
I haven’t tried it with any other cat for that reason; there are always so many dogs out for walks, we’d be bound to meet one.
I really hate to admit that humans are now what will keep mine in but it’s the truth. I really loved watching them play outside and playing with them. Inside and outside have one thing in common, though. They can always find a place for a couple z’s.
I’ve got a few old scars, too. *g*
No outfit is complete without cat hair and scars.
Crikey. I am being defeated by the computer and the cat! I tried to post a comment earlier, but computer problems.
Ms. Beauty cat has just come into the “computer room” to claw the carpet and make loud pitiful merowing noises.
SD, PJ- She licks my hair. Short or long. Clean or greasy. Okay, gotta go figure out what she wants now! ;)
School night, time fer me to climb into my tree.
This has been a real hoot. Thanks, all.
Be good to yourselves, and all other living things.
Namaste
Thanks for hosting Caturday, SD. I’d love to see some pictures if that ever becomes a possibility…
Your wish is my command. *g*
Igraine
Nagi
Maste
Feurae
A young Bapu
Ptah
Skoshi
Gabby
Shiimsa
Tama-chan
I need to get a digital camera to update with Kismet and Brutus
Tama-chan looks like my current Merlin!
And Skoshi is soooo cute with that nose. And ALL those toes!
And, SD, … not to be alarmist or anything, but really, really … I um … I REALLY don’t think it’s safe to take Nagi’s picture … it may not even be safe to LOOK at that picture. Be careful! Be VERY careful!
Oh, Caturday!
What a beautiful family! Nagi looks like he’s a handful. You can see it in his eyes. And I bet Ptah likes to run the joint. He beams with confidence.
You’re right on both counts. Nagi is the original mischievous kitteh and Ptah can be a real thug.
It’s Tuesday AM and Belle is back. She’s been hanging out in the bushes in the back yard, it turns out. Everyone but me (dogs, other cats, hubby) knew she was there.
She’s miffed. Harrumph.
That’s good. Shows she wasn’t planning on splitting. Anybody been feeding her? Take her some food, sit down on the grass and have a long talk with her, with lots of sweet nothings. Start feedin’ her outside, whatever it takes to keep her around and safe.
Thanks, Nagi seems to have hypnotized everybody. He is a treasure, that’s fer shure.
Your tigers is beauty, SD. I was especially drawn to Nagi.