McLovin’ would like to warm his toes by the fire, pls.
Yesterday started out as one of those really cold days, and we bitched and whined about being cold, and Fred built a fire, and we harrumphed about how it was supposed to be in the 40s, but it didn’t look like it was going to come anywhere near that warm, and then Fred went off to the co-op to look for a heated water bowl for the chickens and I started doing what I’d been putting off for too long: dumping the dirty litter out of the litter boxes, scrubbing them down, and refilling them with clean litter. GOD I hate doing that, and I always put it off for longer than I should, even though it’s really not such a big job. It’s one of those jobs that needs to be done and it isn’t that big an undertaking, but I just hate doing it – like dusting.
It ended up taking me about an hour to get all four litter boxes emptied, scrubbed, dried and refilled. Usually I scrub the litter boxes outside, filling them with soapy water, letting them soak for a few minutes, and then scrubbing them down and rinsing them. That wasn’t an option yesterday, obviously, what with the arctic chill, so I used my favorite cleaning spray, let them sit for a minute, then scrubbed them down with cleaning rags.
As always, the task took longer than it should’ve because the cats were all freaked out “Whatcha doin, Mom, are you taking our litter boxes away, WHY ARE YOU TAKING OUR LITTER BOXES AWAY WHERE WILL WE PLAY AND HARASS EACH OTHER?!” and had to get in the middle of everything.
And of course, once the litter boxes were all filled with clean litter, the secret signal went out and every friggin’ cat in the house had to take turns going into EVERY LITTER BOX and stink them up.
Once the litter boxes were emptied, scrubbed, and refilled, I threw on my heavy winter coat and started taking bags of dirty litter over to the trash can.
“The nightgown really makes that outfit,” Fred said, laughing at me. Yes, I was still in my nightgown, had a parka over it, and sneakers on my feet. I was quite the fashion statement, but hell – we live in the country. If you can’t wander around in your nightgown and parka in the country, where can you?
I got the laundry started, and then Fred mentioned that he might go back to the co-op and see what they had for standalone heaters. When we were in Lowe’s Sunday, we looked and looked at the heaters, but couldn’t decide on one and ended up leaving without one. It’s my hope that I can talk Fred into a pellet stove for the front room before next winter. I don’t think I’m going to be successful, but hope springs eternal and all that jazz.
Since I had a ton of stuff to take to the recycling center, I suggested he wait ’til I take my shower, then we could run both our errands together. He grudgingly agreed (because when he decides he wants to do something he wants to do it NOW and doesn’t like to wait around) and off I went.
After the recycling center, we stopped at Tractor Supply to see if they had any water fountains for cats (like the Drinkwell), because I’d noticed that Spot was having an issue seeing where the top of the water in the water bowl was, and what he likes to do is practically get in the damn water bowl and swim around and make the surface of the water ripple, and then he tromps through the water he splashed, and leaves footprints down the hallway and down the stairs WHEN I JUST CLEANED THOSE FREAKIN’ STAIRS NOT TEN MINUTES BEFORE and I don’t want to have to kill him because then I’d have to make up a story for y’all about how he ran away and didn’t come back, oh well, he was old! Maybe he went off to die!
So Tractor Supply didn’t have a cat water fountain – which wasn’t surprising, I hadn’t expected they would, really – and they also didn’t have humidifiers (ditto), and Fred looked at the standalone heaters for a few minutes before we headed to the co-op.
Fred stood and looked at the heaters for several minutes while I looked to see if they carried cat fountains (nada) or humidifiers (nada again), and we talked about the heaters, and we dithered and talked some more, and ultimately decided to wait (though he doesn’t know the reason I’m so willing to wait, which is because Operation Convince Fred to Buy a Pellet Stove will be going into full force over the summer, and it might run along the lines of “You get some goats, I get me a pellet stove”, whereupon I expect him to point out that MY stuff (as seen in Operation Convince Fred We Need a Roomba – “You get a rooster, I get me a Roomba”) is always more expensive than HIS stuff, and then I’ll have to say “Yes, but YOUR stuff is always a bigger pain in the ass”, which is SO TRUE), so we left.
Which reminds me – do you have a cat water fountain? Do you love it? Leave me a comment and tell me what kind you recommend. I’ll be at the pet store on Wednesday and plan to get one then.
We got home and Fred went out to work on the chicken coop and I did more laundry, cleaned the kitchen, put more wood on the fire, made a shepherd’s pie to have for lunch, put together meatballs for dinner, put laundry away, and finally vacuumed the entire downstairs with the Dyson. First time I’ve had to vacuum in about a week. Lupe the Roomba does a fabulous job, but when it comes down to it, the Dyson still needs to make a trip around the house every so often to keep things really clean.
About 2:00, when I was sitting at my desk eating lunch, the smoke detector in the dining room went off, and I realized that the wood in the fireplace was smoking a LOT, and the house had filled with smoke. I tried to turn the smoke detector off, but I couldn’t reach it, and I had to ask Fred to come in and help.
We ended up opening windows through the house (the front room was especially smoky) for ten minutes to get rid of the smoke. Luckily, the temperature had actually reached the mid-40s as weather.com predicted, so it wasn’t too bad.
Annnd.. that’s it. I made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner (which we had with leftover vegetable medley), I finished the laundry (my new coat from LL Bean, of which I was so proud? I dribbled food down the front of it OF COURSE and had to wash it. Damnit. But YAY! for coats that are washable and don’t have to be dry-cleaned.), I thought about dusting but decided not to because I didn’t wanna. We spent the evening watching TV, and were in bed by 9:30.
We’re so exciting, aren’t we?
Hey. How ’bout some pictures?
Skittles is such a pretty girl.
Did I mention that Skittles is a pretty girl?
When Kathy came to visit a few months ago, she brought this basket for me. It’s an egg-gathering basket! Unfortunately, the girlz have been horribly lax about producing eggs lately (if we get two eggs, it’s a good day), so I put cat toys in the basket and put it in a corner of the dining room. Mister Boogers pulled all the toys out of the basket, pushed it away from the wall and claimed it as his.
Miss Momma was watching Fred eat his bowl of bran flakes, and he took a bran flake out of his bowl and laid it next to her to see if she’d eat it. Which is when she gave him the dead-eyed Tony Soprano look.
“Ah hets yew.”
Previously 2007: more than once I got frustrated and called Fred at work and wove an impressive tapestry of profanity that impressed him 2006: No entry. 2005: No entry. 2004: You don’t actually have to say the words “You’re a dumbass” to get the idea across, and thus when your wife is mad at you later and you so very innocently say “Are you mad about something?” and she says “YOU CALLED ME A DUMBASS!” and you say “I did NOT call you a dumbass!”, you are wrong and she is right and you’d best commence to begging for forgiveness, you fucker. 2003: Little bastard. 2002: I can’t believe I’m FUCKING FALLING DOWN. 2001: No entry. 2000: I apologize for the lameness of this entry.]]>
We recently got a Cat-It fountain for our cat (Iron Chef Cat Cora, hee!). She freaked out for about a day or so but now she loves it. She seems a little panicky every time we take the dome off for refilling, as though we’re depriving her of a beloved friend.
Aside from the ease of use and the replaceable filters, we’ve found it worth the money because it’s kind of amusing watching her walk around with one side of her face wet from drinking from the dome!
We have a cat fountain (Petmate FreshFlow) and our two cats love it. It seems to encourage them to drink more. It’s fairly low maintenance and easy to clean/refill.
Hi Robyn,
We have the cat drinking fountain at this link : http://www.petguys.com/-029695248600.html. We have had one now for about 2 years. We did not get it at this supplier. I think we used just an internet search and found this particular fountain and the user comments seemed pretty positive.
The cats love it. It is pretty quiet except when it needs water then it makes an air sucking sound. I usually have to add water once every day or two. I use water from my Britta pitcher since I pamper the cats way too much. Plus I thought it might make less calcium buildup on the fountain. I don’t know if that helped or not but we have not had any buildup on the fountain. We have three cats drinking from it. You might need to get two fountains or maybe one that has a bigger water capacity since you have so many kitties. I have to clean it about once every week or so. I would suggest you order extra filters at the same time you order the fountain to save on shipping.
The picture of Skittles reminds me of this pic from I can has cheezeburger
http://icanhascheezburger.com/2008/01/17/funny-pictures-go-go-gadget-arms/
very cute.
We have a Drinkwell fountain (the Original, not the Platinum)for our four cats and I really like it. I keep it away from their food and in a corner, so it doesn’t fall prey (as much) to floating cat hair and dribbled food. I top it off with fresh water every day and completely refill it and wipe out the bowl every few days. Every few weeks (maybe every 5-6?), I run it through the dishwasher (minus the motor, duh), clean up the motor, and change the filter.
I’d recommend the Platinum, for no other reason except it has a snap-on lid. The Original’s lid just kind of sits on top, and our cats bat it off. I tape it down now, but I’d like to upgrade to the Platinum.
Our cats all seem to like it and the water level is pretty low when I top it off at night. No problems so far, and we’ve had it for 18 months.
We’ve had the Drinkwell fountain at our house for at least 6 years. At one point, it served the needs of 4 cats, but we’re down to just two now. The cats absolutely love it and aren’t quite sure what to do with a bowl of water anymore. Just like Elaine, I use water from the Brita pitcher for their highnesses, but the fountain also has a carbon filter. It seems to spend a lot of effort in filtering out the cat hair (one of our girls likes to wash her paws before drinking), so I thought I would take away some of the actual water filtering effort. We have the extra tank thing for the back of it and I usually end up filling it every two to three days, depending on the humidity level in the house. We love it, though, and I highly recommend it!
I have a Drinkwell and it ROCKS! It’s very easy to clean, which was something that majorly concerned me. Also, the filters are very easy to replace. DO NOT get the cat grass accessory!! I got it to give my cats something to chew on besides my plants and the grass is nice for about a day and then it gets all slimy and gets stuck in the water regulator and it makes you gag a little when you have to clean it out.
They recommend that you clean the bowl out every week and then clean the regulator every 2 weeks but I usually do it every week since I’m cleaning the bowl out anyway and it isn’t any bigger of a pain in the ass to clean the whole thing. Plus the little boogers like to put their paws in the fountain, presumably to clean the litter off, which means that there is always a fresh supply of litter in the bottom of the bowl.
Have you looked at the litter box cleaning info on http://www.catinfo.org/litterbox.htm ?
It seems like it would take forever, but it keeps my boxes fresher than before and is really not a pain at all.
I hope you get your pellet stove — but THIS is why you should have goats! Sugarbutt certainly deserves one of his own….forget Fred. 🙂
http://farmwife.wordpress.com/2008/01/18/a-reason-to-have-goats/
I like the basket shot — what is it with cats and baskets anyhow? Oh, and I gave up on the fountain idea because I can’t even put out a bowl of water without the cats playing in it until it’s gone (ie all over the floor) They have to get their drinks in the bathtub.
Hey Robyn
I wanted a heated water bowl for the feral cat I feed but they were crazy expensive. My solution was to get a used crockpot from a garage sale (or you can find them at thrift stores). I just put a plastic bowl in the ceramic liner and turn it on low and it keeps the water from freezing just fine. If you find the water gets too warm just line the ceramic insert with a old teatowel or such.
We’ve had a cat-it fountain for a couple years but since the water here is really really hard and full of calcium we were having to replace the pump a few times. Now we have a dog-it fountain (more powerful pump) and using bottled water in it, no problems whatsoever as long as you don’t have huge rolling tumbleweeds which get stuck in the filter 😉 It’s fairly low maintenance, we top up the dish every couple days and refill the dome once every couple weeks. Take it apart to scrub it approx once per month. It works great with 3 cats but seeing your volume of creatures is about double, it may require double the maintenance… Still, worth it cause the cats drink a ton!
Farmwife:
They have to get their drinks in the bathtub.
D’oh!! Thank you. You’ve just saved me one hell of a lot of headache.
I cannot believe the things that are so obvious, yet so invisible to me until someone else points them out. It’s a wonder I’ve survived this long.
I have no water fountain advice. My cats drink from the same bowls the dogs do. Although I do have many hilarious stories involving cats knocking dogs’ heads right into the water as payback for hogging the bowl.
What the hell is a pellet stove, though? Should I be bargaining with Pookie for one? Inquiring minds want to know.
I have 2: the Cat-It water fountain and the Drinkwell. I like the Drinkwell better because it’s easier to clean and maintain; the cats like the Cat-It fountain better because they like to lick the water off of the dome.
With 7 cats right now, though, I really have to stay on top of cleaning them and changing filters. I have to clean them about once a week, or they start getting really funky and uncooperative. I have to break down the pumps and clean them too (that’s how my last Cat-It fountain died a quick death). The Cat-It one can be persnickety about the water level, but as long as you keep it well above the pump (so no air gets in), it actually works really well.
I’ve had a Drinkwell for the past two years and my cats love it. When we first got it, they went through a phase where they kept knocking the reservoir accessory over and the water would go EVERYWHERE. We fixed that by backing it up in to a corner, and in our new place, they aren’t interested in knocking it over anymore.
If you get a drinkwell fountain, make sure you get the one with the reservoir on the back. We have the original one and I have to add more water every day. I had a different brand fountain with a reservoir and I’d only have to add water once a week or so. (only one cat though)
We have a Drinkwell and our cats love it. One cat likes to drink from the fountain part, and the other likes to drink from the bowl. Maintenance is pretty easy – we wash the whole thing out about once a week. We also have the reservoir attachment so we don’t have to refill as often, which is handy if we go out of town. One of our cats has urinary crystals and the fountain was recommended by her vet as a way to increase her water intake. It’s really helped.
We also had the Drinkwell. When I stayed on top of cleaning it it was great. But there would be times I wouldn’t and it was such a pain in the ass to clean then. But then, I apparently wasn’t smart enough to keep it away from the food dishes. One of the cats liked to put pieces of his food in the water to soften it and of course wouldn’t get them all back out. It would dirty it up that much more quickly and if I didn’t clean it right away it’d be pretty nasty.
But yeah, the cats loved it. Alas, we gave it away because we’d end up having to many “discussions” about who’s turn it was to clean it. Heh Of course, this was before we had a dishwasher. Hmmm, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad now. Less cats, none that like to put food in the water anymore and there’s a dishwasher to wash it. Maybe, just maybe.
If you are looking for a good movie, based on a true story, check out Cinderella Man with Russell Crowe and Renee Zellweger. Keep a box of Puffs nearby!!!
Not sure why I didn’t post this when you were talking about movies…I guess I want to be the odd woman out on cat drinking day 🙂
I just check out the litter cleaning site left in the comments and came away disgusted by myself. I then went and cleaned out my cat’s box. Thanks for the forum for my kick in the pants, my cats send two paws up. (no thumbs, doncha know)
They’re talking about Pellet Stoves today on TreeHugger. Must have read your post.
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/01/lets_talk_about_1.php
No need for a fountain in my place, the damn cat leans right over you for a long drink out of YOUR water glass. While you unknowingly give a sweet pet and back scratch. Fuckin’ ballsy cat.
I’ve had a Drinkwell fountain for several years now. (Remember, I have 6 cats, plus 3 strays.) Every time I think it might be on its last legs, I clean it and it’s fine. I’m thinking I need the extra reservoir now with this many cats, though. I may have to buy a whole new system if I decide on that, as I think they’ve changed designs a bit since I got this one.
We bought the CatIt on the advice of my brother who tried a few different ones and found his cats liked the CatIt best. Gus loves licking the globe as the water flows over it and he indeed drinks far more than he did before. Plus, its a lot of fun watching him circle and find the perfect spot to catch the water. Hoping this plus the new diet keeps him crystal free from now on.
We had two of the drinkwells, and I always wished I had bought one of the ones that flows a stream of free water versus one that flows water over a slide or dome. Plus, I hated having to fill them all the time and clean out the hairballs — and this is with only three cats.
Since Fred is so handy, you should see if he could build you a large watering dish with a fountain using cheap-o aquarium or decorative fountain parts. It seems like a lot less expensive, plus you could make a big ol’ bowl to accommodate all your kitties without what would probably be multiple refills per day.
Ha– I’m surprised nobody else asked this, but why were you eating while wearing a winter coat? And also, do you have a recipe for the Shepard’s Pie?–Thanks!
Skittles is a very pretty girl!
I have a question about pellet stoves though. They go on the outside of your house, which I like, but do you have the smokey smell in the house still? I don’t like that smell. I was in Walmart the other night and some wood burning folks walked by and they just reeked (sorry for those of you that use it, it is the honest truth). This is coming from me, a SMOKER who even smokes way outside because I don’t like the smell in my house (I know I have issues). 😉
We have the same issue in our hall with it staying in the 60s and though we don’t live in the hall, it does make issues with the adjoining rooms that we have to leave the doors open.
Geez can you tell I am cold? LOL I can’t believe how deep I am getting on heater q and a! 🙂