Your best places for the up-to-date info on Maggie this weekend is to either check the spreadsheet – as the time of each entry passes, I’ll do a cross-out of that entry and a note on the side – or you can check the Facebook page from time to time, I’ll post there too.
Whenever it happens (unless it’s the dead of night, mind you), I’ll be there with the camera and my phone to make sure everyone knows what Maggie’s status is!
Would you please let me know where you found the X shaped scratcher? I think my boys would really enjoy it. Thank you!
That is the Petstages Soothing Cat Easy Life Hammock and Scratcher. I got mine by using my Fresh Step points on the Fresh Step website, but they’re apparently not offering it any more. The only place I’m able to find it online is at Amazon, here.
It’s probably just about the most popular piece of “furniture” (if you can call it that) in the house. There’s always a cat on it!
Sounds like a cat got on your dresser and ran off with the dead wasp’s body (I hope) 🙂
Well, my dresser is about the only piece of furniture in the house the cats can’t get on top of (partly because it’s so high and they can’t jump that far straight up, and partly because it’s always got stuffed piled on top of it and there’s no room for them), but I like to think that that murderous wasp limped out of the crumpled up piece of paper towel and plummeted over the side of the dresser before being eaten by a cat. Our cats regularly attempt to eat live, buzzing-around wasps, I’m sure a half-dead wasp would be no trouble for them!
So I gotta ask how your phone is doing now that you’ve had it a week? I know you did post a short follow up when you got it. I actually did get the same phone myself but went to Wally World and got mine. This is completely new to me since I only had a basic cell phone before. It was really easy to set up and get a new phone number. I’m learning all the ins and outs of it. My husband actually has this exact model too (which I didn’t know since I don’t pay much attention to it), so he has been helping me out setting it up. I’m liking the FB, Twitter and mail things on it but finding it distracting. 🙂 What kind of plan did you get? I started off the smallest since I don’t really use my phone to call out a lot. I usually only have it for emergencies. At least if I start using it a lot, I can upgrade. My hubby is jealous because my plan is so cheap while he pays a lot for his and has a contract. This is through another provider and not Virgin Mobile. Anyways, thanks for the recommendation!
After using it for a week, my only gripe is the battery refusing to last for more than a day and a half. I did turn the back light way down (it was a little too dark when I turned it all the way off), and I did set it to not use the wireless in the house all the time, and that did help the battery last a bit longer (thanks, you guys who suggested those two options). I’d like it if the battery lasted longer, but it doesn’t kill me to plug the phone in every night, and I bought a car charger just in case I’m far from home (ha) and need to call someone or check my email.
I downloaded some free bubble-popping game, but what I find is that when I can, say, stand in line at the grocery store and check Facebook or Twitter or my email, I tend to do that rather than play a game.
I REALLY like the camera on the phone, I think it takes a pretty decent picture – I snapped a shot of Alice at the vet yesterday and was able to post it right to Facebook, which I liked.
I got the cheapest plan, the $25 a month, which includes 300 minutes a month and that’s far more than I will ever use. The unlimited text, email, data & web is what appealed to me the most.
If I spent a lot of time on the phone or a lot of time traveling and couldn’t plug the phone in to charge every night, I might have a problem with the battery not lasting very long, but that’s not an issue for me, so I’m going to say that the phone is a definite two thumbs up for me!
My new baby in her protective yellow case.
My aunt used to joke that she would never let a cat of any form in her house so my mom and me as well as other friends of my aunt would hide cat objects in my aunt’s house. Occasionally, we’d get a letter in the mail with the object when she found it. We would always leave a clue with the object so she could figure out who gifted it to her. My favorite on was a whisker that my mom found in the car long after our cat passed. My Mom set it on a shelf. She found it and knew it was from us. A few months later, the whisker came in the mail. Ha Ha!
I love family stories like that – your aunt sounds like a hoot! 🙂
How do you weigh your cats? Do you (or Fred) weigh yourself with and without cat, or do you have a scale that measures 20 lbs or less? My big boy is on a diet and I would like to track how he’s doing, but I don’t have a home scale and I don’t remember them being that accurate anyway. Thanks.
I own one of these scales, which I bought last year (I think). Before that, I weighed kittens in a bowl on the kitchen scale, but once they get past a certain age and weight, that isn’t very easy to do given how hard they can flail.
I saw this and thought you’d like it.
That is so neat! One of the things I hate about cross-stitching is having to chart everything out myself when I want to do a particular saying. This is going to come in handy!
Is Fred in fucking shorts already?! Is it warm enough there for fucking shorts! I hate you guys. Until babies you know, but until then…
Fred will wear shorts pretty much year-round, though in early January he switches over to jeans. But I should add, if I MUST be truthful, that I was wearing shorts on Tuesday because it was close to 80 outside. 🙂
I was 13 years old and took in a stray cat, much to my mom and dads dismay. She was very pregnant. I would watch her lay on her side and see the babies rolling. From the time I saw the babies rolling, to the time of delivery was exactly 5 days. Not sure that will help you with your wait, especially with all the variables.
Adding another tidbit to that story. I woke up around midnight hearing little “mews” coming from down the hall. I knew that my cat had had her babies, so I followed their “mews”. Where was mama cat? On top of my 8 year old brothers chest, licking the 3 kitties she just gave birth to!!! I turned on the light, which awoke my brother (the light woke him up but not a cat giving birth to three kitties and all the bloody mess, go figure) and he looked down at his chest and screamed like he had just seen a monster, which I am sure looked like he did. Anyway…totally useless info, but a funny story, no?
Definitely a funny story!
Today on the radio (in Dallas, TX no less) they mentioned a controversy surrounding a bill in Maine to name the whoopie pie the official state dessert. You know, of course, who I immediately thought of 🙂
Mmm… whoopie pies…. I could go for a lobster roll for dinner and a whoopie pie for dessert!
I wonder if Alice and Miz Poo are going to turn into Mean Girls, making fun of Stinkerbelle and spreading rumors about her?
That would not surprise me in the slightest. They certainly have the Mean Girls look about them, don’t they?
Are those starters in your house? We only have two cats, but every time I either try to start plants or nurture little ones from the nursery, my cats have a field day destroying them.
Oh, good lord no. I’d never in a million years try to start seeds in the house, and for that matter the only way I could see having any kind of plant in the house would be if it was hanging where the cats couldn’t get to it. Our flats of started seeds live in the garage, upstairs in front of the window where the sun shines for a good part of the day.
When you started the seedlings in the styrofoam egg containers, did you poke a hole in the bottom for the water to drain? Or line them with pebbles or something? Or will water just drain thru the styrofoam? Or are you just so careful that you don’t overwater them? Because I can see an epic mess in my future were I to try that!
Fred’s a notorious overwaterer when it comes to seedlings, so I poked holes in the bottoms of the egg cartons. Otherwise they’d drown and I wouldn’t have my 90 tomato plants to keep me busy this summer!
You should download WordFeud for the Android! It’s a fun crossword game, similar to Lexulous on Facebook. Also, I will bet you would like Angry Birds almost as much as Snood. 🙂
I suck pretty badly at Angry Birds. When those GODDAMN pigs smile at me I want to kick those motherfuckers. I’ll check out WordFeud, though, and continue to hope that one day there’ll be such a thing as Snood for the Android.
It seems like your group can adopt the heck out of cats! I mean – you’re not the only foster mom and there seems to be space opening up fairly often. Do you know about how many adoptions your group does? And how many they take in?
My other question is kind of icky – but I’m asking anyway. You don’t have to answer. But, I know that vets will spay pregnant females – is that something that you guys are against doing or is it a timing thing? Not that I hate kittens – I’m just curious.
In 2010, Challenger’s House took in 180 cats and kittens and adopted out 169. That’s a lot of cats! (When I told Fred the numbers, he said “Did WE keep the other 11?” Ha!)
Someone asked about spaying pregnant cats last year, and I’ll just cut and paste what the shelter manager said then:
Yes, we do spay pregnant cats and yes we have spayed them right up pretty close to term. Every spring we get call after call about pregnant cats. Although we do spay many of them, most of us hate to. So early in the “season” the first couple pregnant cats we take are left to have their babies. When foster homes are full and there is no more space available then it becomes necessary to spay them while they are pregnant.
Rufus reminds me of my sister’s cat Louis Arnold (she always gave her cats two names). He was so gorgeous and would actually come running from the other side of the house if we called him. Like all boy kitties, he was very affectionate.
Now I want to adopt Rufus. I’d have to name him Rufus Windsor or George Pompidou or something silly like that.
It seems like cats need two names, doesn’t it? I tend to add “McGee” many of my cats’ names (Suggie McGee, for one.). Alice is usually either Princess Alice or Alice MO-rales (and I’ve recently taken to calling her “Alice Mo” and “Ally Mo”). Elwood has become Elly Belly, and Jake is, of course, Loony Pants. Something about two names just rolls off the tongue a little better for some reason.
Poor Joe Bob. Can you please get him a bigger box? He is making me uncomfortable. That has to hurt with corners and creases all up in his pits. Cats are such curious creatures.
I have GOT to do an experiment where I put two boxes down – one large, one small – and document the way Joe Bob and Spanky insist upon cramming themselves into the smaller box. It must make them feel safe. Maybe they’re reliving the feeling of being wee babies in the womb.
Yesterday I was talking with my husband on the phone, he laughs and tells me “Squiggy is licking Lenny’s ass.” I say “Are they on your lap?” “Yes” My question to you is, do any of your kitties lick each others butts? Lenny and Squiggy are litter-mates, would that have anything to do with it? Or are our kitties especially disgusting?
ALL kitties are especially disgusting. Not three hours after I originally read this question, I saw Corbie lick Rufus’s ass. Rufus put up with it, and then looked appalled and ran away. I had to ask Fred if he’d seen any of our other cats do it, and he reminded me that Mister Boogers used to do it all the time. ALL the time.
Cats are so nasty.
Love those blue boys!! It was hard to tell them apart as youngsters, not anymore. Does Elwood let Jake have any of the treats?
Although Elwood is a big eater (obviously), I find that Jake is the one who’ll come take food right out of your hand. He’s much smaller than Elwood, but he’s not starving to death. Maybe Elwood’s got a slower metabolism. Yeah, that’s it!
Any changes in Maggie’s behavior? (We want kittens!)
No changes – she just keeps getting bigger and bigger! Still eating tons, still coming over for love and petting, still greeting me at the door and talking to me!
How’s Rufus finding the great wide world?
Rufus is spending the better part of the day under the couch in the front room. He lets me pull him out from under the couch, and he’ll sit in my lap and purr. I take him into the guest bedroom and give him some time to use the litter box and eat without interference from the other cats, then I open the door again. Sometimes he stays in the guest bedroom and hangs out on his cat tree, and sometimes he sniffs around the house a little before he ends up under the couch again.
Yesterday, Corbie hung out with Rufus for a little while under the couch.
I think Rufus will come out when he wants to – until then, I’ll pull him out from time to time and give him lots of love and snuggles.
Nooooooooooooope. Nuttin’ yet!
Under the guest bedroom bed.
Laying in my lap, purring up a storm.
Alice on the cat tree in the front room.
Yesterday, Alice had to go to the vet. She cried pitifully all the way there, and then she fought like a little demon when they tried to take her temperature (which they were ultimately unable to do), and then she gave the vet the dirtiest look when she dared to listen to Alice’s lungs.
Poor Alice has allergies, and the pollen is making her sit around with her mouth open because she can hardly breathe through her nose. I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t something worse, and was relieved to find out it wasn’t. Like her daddy, Alice just suffers from allergies. She’ll have a miserable week or two, then hopefully she’ll feel better.
Not that being all stuffed up has slowed her down, you understand. She’s still eating just fine, picking fights, playing.
Just occasionally, she needs a nap. With her fangs showing and her tongue sticking out a bit.
Previously
2010: And I said, “We have a lot of cats.”
2009: For they are fearsome creatures.
2008: “My flabby sections” would be an excellent band name.
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: The spud is officially licensed.
2004: Ain’t it always the way that when you call someone names in your journal, secure in the knowledge that they’ll never see it, they always do?
2003: (And before you say it, yes. You shouldn’t give a shit what I think, either.)
2002: Is it just me?
2001: No entry.
2000: If you knew you’d get $341 million for being treated savagely and cruelly for 7 years, would you do it?