5/14/10 – Friday

 

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You can read Fred’s entry about his book and how it ended up on Kindle, here.

 

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Until June 30th, Kaye is donating 20% of sales to the Red Cross for Nashville Flood Relief. If you mention that you came from Bitchypoo, she’ll add another 5% for a total of 25%!

So go check out her Artfire and Etsy sites and buy buy buyyyyyy! (Don’t forget to mention that you came from Bitchypoo!)

 

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We had a sad incident yesterday morning (we’re fine, the cats, dogs, and chickens are fine, before you start worrying). I glanced out the window and saw that Newt had a squirrel in his jaws. The squirrel was fighting pretty hard, so I told Fred what was going on. He went out to get the squirrel, and of course as soon as Newt saw Fred, he started running. Fred eventually caught up to him, and took the squirrel away, then waved through the window at me to get a box.

The squirrel was hardly moving, and we were pretty sure that it was going to die, but we wanted to give it a chance, so we ended up putting it on a soft blanket in a cat carrier, and put the carrier out in Fred’s workshop. Fred checked on it regularly, and then suggested that we try giving it some kitten formula to perhaps give it energy. Fred syringed some formula into its mouth, and it swallowed a little. Then I got out a bottle, and he tried giving it some more. She swallowed some more, but she also didn’t seem to have any control over her limbs. He put it back in the carrier, and I headed off to run errands.

He told me, when I got home a few hours later, that he’d ended up putting her down. She clearly couldn’t move, and when he went out to check on her at one point, she had chewed one of the toes on her front paw completely off. He surmised that she was probably paralyzed and couldn’t feel anything, so opted to put her down.

And I know someone’s going to ask, so this is how we put small animals (voles, chicks, squirrels) down when they’re critically injured:

Soak several paper towels in ether, which is commercially available as diesel or gasoline engine starter at any auto parts store. Put the paper towels into a sealed container large enough to hold the animal, and leave them for several minutes. This lets the fumes build up to lethal levels. Put some dry paper towels down over the wet ones, and lay the injured animal on them (probably you would want to make sure you didn’t inhale any fumes). Reseal the container. In very short order, the animal will go to sleep, then die quietly. Make sure you leave the animal in there long enough for the ether to do its job.

(Copied from one of Fred’s entries.)

 

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Is Jake more into kittens (or, these current ones anyway) than Elwood? I got to thinking, and realized I never really see pictures of Elwood with them.

Elwood tolerates the kittens, but Jake really LIKES them. And for that matter, the kittens really LIKE Jake, too. Elwood will allow a kitten to snuggle up to him, but Jake encourages it. So yeah, to answer the question, Jake likes kittens more than Elwood does. Elwood’s mostly interested in where the next snack is coming from. I tried to get a shot of Jake and Elwood together, but Jake was having none of it. Elwood is HUGE compared to Jake, it’s absolutely amazing to me, the difference in their sizes.

 

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I haven’t read all comments, so I don’t know if it’s been mentioned, but I have you looked into Bio-identical compounded HRT? I have been on compounded BI HRT for more than a year and a half. I feel it saved my sanity and my life, and I actually think it helped me LOSE weight. My ovaries were doing a whole lot of nothing at age 43, and I have never felt better since I started my compounded prescription. I got it from a hormone specialist at my OB/Gyn office. My insurance doesn’t pay for it, so I gladly pay out of pocket for it!

I’ve considered it, and at some point I’ll likely broach the subject with my Gynecologist, but so far it looks like switching to a half-dose on my estrogen halted and reversed the weight gain.

A couple of people suggested that the weight gain could be due to stress. I don’t feel particularly stressed out, but that doesn’t mean I’m not, right?

 

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I wish you good luck with finding a job! I’ve been trying for months to find ANY p/t job…. like at Lowes, Home Depot, CVS, Walgreens, Staples any damn place….. apparently no one is hiring!!!! What are we in some kind of recession or something?

and

My opinion about employment is if you are not asking anyone else for financial assistance then it is none of their business. I’m not surprised that you are looking some too. I hope Fred can find a great new position and you find something good too if you want/need to. Good Luck!

I should take a moment here to confess to y’all that I don’t really WANT to get a job. But with Fred out of work, I thought that if I got a job, it would at least slow the rate at which our savings are being spent, which would mean we could go longer with him out of work, if necessary. So I decided to make a good faith effort at applying for any jobs I’d be qualified for, but let’s be honest – I haven’t worked in 10 years. I doubt my resume is getting a second glance. I’ve talked about going back to college once Fred’s employed again, just to have some schoolin’ under my belt (haven’t had any learnin’ in 15+ years) and to put on my resume, and there’s a community college conveniently located not ten minutes down the road. We’ll see.

 

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Dear cat lovers,

I have a dilemma. So almost every evening I go jogging on this pretty tree-lined path in the middle of Phoenix, AZ (yes, there are trees in Phoenix). And the past three times I have jogged, there is this cute young cat who hangs out near the path. Tonight she followed me part of the way as I was jogging. She has no collar, is kind of dusty from being outside but otherwise looks like she is well fed. I want to take this cat home and turn her into my sweet baby kitty. But what if she has an owner? I don’t want to kidnap this cat and take her away from her family. On the other hand, this beautiful tree-lined path is adjacent to a very busy road. In fact, I saw her attempt to cross the road a couple of times. It is a situation where this cat could get hit by a car very easily. What should I do? I fear for the cat’s safety but I certainly don’t want to cat-nap her from her owners if she has them?

My suggestion would be to bring her home, and then put up flyers in the area. That way, if she has owners, they can get in touch with you, and no harm is done. If she doesn’t, well, then you have a sweet baby kitty! (And please let us know what happens!!!)

Anyone else have suggestions?

 

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Our indoor cat Lola is a little over one year old. She is fixed and is not declawed. The problem is that she is stalking the door now and whenever we open it, she runs outside and hides under the neighbor’s car, or in the bushes or under our deck, etc. I’m so afraid she is going to get lost one of these days. What should we do? If she got away, would she find her way home?

My suggestion would be to keep something by the door to scare her away – I’d use a can of compressed air or a spray bottle of water. You could scare her away, then get out the door without her escaping.

I imagine that if she were to get away, she’d probably hang around in the area and you’d be able to catch her later, but there’s no guarantee – and I’m concerned that if she gets out once and finds out how AWESOME it is out there, she’ll just redouble her efforts to get out.

 

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I was having dinner with friends last week and talking about selling my late father’s house, splitting the money with my sister, and buying myself a small house with a yard. (I’m currently in a small condo with no patio or balcony, but near the beach.) One friend asked why I wanted to move after 30 years in the condo. (I’m 57, and most people my age are going from houses to condos, not the other way around.) I said so no one could tell me how many cats I could have. He said, appalled, “You want more than TWO cats????”

I doubt he could even imagine the Robyn/Fred household! 🙂

By the time I am 57, we will have won the lottery, of course, and we will buy a small island in a warm place, and we will have a sweet little cabin, and the cats will roam free and I will call it SWEET PUSSY ISLAND. Oh, yes I will.

 

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YOU, Miz Ander$on are TROUBLE! We went to the SPCA this weekend to pick up a replacement cat buddy for my husband and the 21 year old cat and we ended up with TWO kittens. This here DOG person, blames you and your house of cats. If you can have 20 and still be sort of sane, surely we can handle 3 cats for awhile.

No word yet on how the dog introduction is going to go. I suspect there will be some unhappiness on the part of the cats. For now, everyone is sequestered.

Oh sure, eeeeeveryone blames the pusher. Hey, man, I’m just here to encourage you tryyyyyy the drug. If you get addicted, well, that’s not MY fault! 🙂

 

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I work in a hair salon, and I’ve learned that if you use fabric sheets, they create a layer of waxy buildup on the towels, making them less absorbent.

I knew that, actually, and I don’t use fabric softener on the towels or cleaning rags. Actually, I don’t use fabric softener on anything but cat beds, now that I think about it. I do use straight white vinegar as a fabric softener, but there shouldn’t be any build-up from that… right?

 

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Okay, I am owned by ten cats. It’s a work hazard from being an employee at an animal shelter. Anyway, I have an orange feline, inappropriately named Blossom. Now I’m wondering…do orange cats make stinkier stinks?

Okay, orange cat owners, weigh in on this topic! I can tell you that Sugarbutt could peel the paint off the wall. Spanky’s not too bad (but he’s not all orange either), and I can’t really vouch for Newt, since I think he usually uses the great outdoors as his litter box.

 

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Robyn: I was bored so I started reading your posts from years back. On this date in 2003 you posted the following:

“The best part of the zoo, my friends, were the baby pygmy goats. My god in heaven, they were the most adorable things I’ve ever seen. Seriously, I was this close to snatching one up and tossing it in the Jeep. I said to Fred “Someday, if we have a house on enough land, promise me we’ll get some pygmy goats!” He wouldn’t, though, damn him.”

Now that you have Crooked Acres I was just wondering where those pygmy goats are???

Shhhh. I’m older and wiser and I know that I don’t want goats! Fred wants to get goats to eat, and I AM NOT GONNA EAT GOAT (don’t waste your breath, I’m just NOT GONNA), so don’t go putting ideas in his head.

(It would be awfully cute to have a couple of pygmies out there running around, though, wouldn’t it?)

 

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The pictures and videos of Jake are fantastic.The meowing one cracked me up and that boy has some large paws in the second video. Is it the angle or is he gifted in the foot department? He appears to be a major piece of work.

It must be the angle – Jake is actually a pretty small cat, but of course all cats have big ol’ rabbit feet (the better to haul ass when need be, I guess!), and his are comparable to the rest of the cats.

 

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Friday question/request: Are you growing veggies etc this year, and where are the pic’s of them, woman! 🙂

We are, of course, though there’s not much to see at the moment. I’ll try to get a picture this weekend to share – but nothing’s very big. I’m dying for my first tomato of the season, so hopefully the cold weather is gone and the hot weather will encourage the garden to grow!

(Pictures of the garden and part of the “orchard” will be up in Monday’s entry!)

 

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Where’s Elwood? I never see any pix of him….is he camera shy??

He’s not really camera shy, he just tends not to be around when I’ve got the camera out. He’s a solitary creature, our Elwood. I did get a few shots of him, though!

“Hey, I can do the crazy eyes, too!”

Trying to get a shot of Jake and Elwood together (that’s Elwood laying down), but Jake would have none of it.

He really likes to hang out in the kitchen in hopes that food might be accidentally spilled.

 

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I have accused my KIDS of pooping in the litter boxes because of both the stink and the size. They deny involvement.

Oddly enough, this reminds me of my favorite George Clooney story, which I read in a magazine years ago:

“Richard [Kind] had this cat that he loved and adored,” Ben Weiss tells me. “So George would go in the bathroom, and that’s where the litter box was. And there would be cat shit in there, so George would clean it up and flush it down the toilet. Then Richard would go in there and say, ‘God, it’s so weird. My cat hasn’t taken a shit in forever.’

“George went along with that, and kept cleaning the box for a few days. Richard went to the vet to get some kind of thing to make the cat go to the bathroom. The poor cat. The cat’s shitting, and George is still cleaning it up. And then finally George stood over the cat box and took a giant shit. And finally Richard goes in there and says, “Oh, my God! Kitty!” (Source)

 

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Miss Maura is doing well in her new home with Kathy in Birmingham!

Poor Kathy got to see first-hand what Maura is like when you try to do something to her she doesn’t like. That cat is one of the hardest cats we’ve ever had to pill – and it’s stunning to see Miss Quiet and Laid-back fight for her life when you’re trying to pill her. She might be quiet, but she knows how to stand up for herself!

Things have cleared up for her, so now she’s been let out to explore the house and meet her brother Beau. Kathy said that Maura is submissive, but stands her ground. Beau gets all wound up, then runs away. I suspect that as a little time passes, Beau and Maura will ultimately be good friends.

 

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“What?”

This is Bolitar. Doesn’t he look like his name should be “Buster”? He totally looks like a Buster to me.

“WHAT YOU WANT, LADY???”

 

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When Kathy came to get Maura, she traded this cat bed for Maura’s favorite cat bed (so Maura would have her bed and not feel nervous in her new home), and I left it on the table – temporarily, I thought, ’til I could decide where to put it. Miz Poo located it, and declared it hers. I guess that’s where the bed will stay!

 

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Previously
2009: I swear to god that if I had a brain, I’d be dangerous.
a href=”http://www.bitchypoo.com/date/2008/05/14″>2008: The hetred will never steer you wrong.
2007: Ugly, but somehow oddly appealing to me.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
2004: Memeriffic.
2003: “One of the cats brought in a baby possum and it appears to be dying.”
2002: A mother can dream, can’t she?
2001: I almost shot a red bean out of my nose, I was laughing so hard.
2000: No entry.