Gracie wanted me to remind y’all that you can vote for her once a day over at the Greenies competition. You know, if you wanted to. Hey, don’t look at me – I’m just passing the message along!
Reader Chrissy asked:
Our newly adopted cat, Kiero, will only eat his sister’s food. And by “sister” I mean, our dog Leona. We put his kibble in front of him and he will turn up his nose but as soon as we pour Leona’s food into her bowl, Kiero makes a beeline for it. Leona is good about sharing but we’re worried that Kiero isn’t getting what he needs as far as nutrients. He sat for nearly 6 months in a cage at our local animal shelter with two other cats and ate fine according to the employees there. I’m sure he’s just enjoying having the freedom to try something new but we’d like to get him on his own food. Do you have any suggestions?
I don’t have any suggestions myself (except to maybe separate Kiero and Leona at feeding time so he can’t get to her food? Is that an option?), but I know someone out there has a good idea, so y’all feel free to share your tips! (Chrissy, check the comments over at Love & Hisses, too, I’m posting this over there as well.)
After I mentioned the Flehmen response in my entry for yesterday, Katherine (Nate and Dora’s Mom)(Nate and Dora were formerly River and Inara, Kara’s kittens) sent me this picture:
Here is Tucker with his reaction after drinking water out of an igloo at a horse show. They do this all the time if they smell something odd, stanky, etc. I never figured out why he did it, except another horse had had a drink before him. Back wash? When one of the mares was in heat, she’d turn and spray pee on them. Naturally this was their response to that rude behavior! They ARE gelded, don’tchano. But we still had her fenced off from them.
Tucker’s all “WHY I NEVER!” Hee!
I swear upon everything holy – ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME SPRING OF 2012 ROBYN?! – that next year I am growing one – ONE, SPRING 2012 ROBYN, NOT TWO, NOT TWO AND A HALF, ONE – row of tomatoes. This nonsense where I plant two and a half rows of friggin’ tomatoes and then hardly ever get any decent tomatoes is FOR THE BIRDS. I’m going to plant one row, twenty four plants, and I will lavish love and attention upon every one of those tomatoes, and if I get a ton of decent tomatoes (NOT holding my breath), then that’s fabulous and if NOT, then I will buy a shitload of tomatoes at the farmer’s market to roast and freeze, and I’ll call it good enough.
BY GOD.
I think I mentioned that I yanked up the jalapenos on Sunday because they were starting to get all drama queeny and wilty and annoying, and I’ve made a ton of sweet pickled jalapenos, so it’s all good. The eggplants never really yielded anything decent, so I’m putting eggplants on the “if you plant any of these, I will rip your face off FRED” list for next year, and I’ve pulled up those plants. The acorn squash plants were doing really well, and then they all of a sudden started dying off, so in the end we got three acorn squash. We got about ten butternut squash, and may get more before all is said and done.
So at the moment, I’ve got about ten cabbages growing in the raised beds, two and a half rows of tomatoes in the big garden, and a half row of okra. Oh, and the Bhut Jolokia and bell peppers and Tabascos are still coming in, but those only require attention from Fred (if he wants something done with them, it’s his job to harvest them, I’m not messing with them), so the garden is pretty undemanding for the time being.
I thought about getting Mums for the front porch like I did last year, but the Begonias and Periwinkles on the front porch are still looking pretty happy, so I think I’ll keep those there ’til they start to die off and skip the Mums this year.
We’ve hit the time of year where I go through twice as much laundry in the course of a week, because I start out the day in jeans and a sweatshirt and switch to shorts and a t-shirt by mid-morning, then switch back to jeans and the sweatshirt for the evening. I’m not complaining (that was one long, hot summer), just reporting!
Do y’all remember Gail, who had a kitten literally follow her into her car on the first day of school? I posted a request for help for her here.
Well, last week I got an email from her. She’d had the kitten tested, and he came back as a strong positive for feline leukemia. Gail was, of course, heartbroken, and I couldn’t offer her anything but sympathy.
BUT THEN.
I got this email from her:
So after spending yesterday trying not to cry in front of my classes and fratically contacting all of my old contacts from running an exotic shelter, and pulling in every favor for every ferret and iguana I took in, I found a place for Oscar Wylde.
Sunday, we are traveling to upstate new York to a lovely woman who runs a shelter. She is going to quarantine him for 60 days and re-test. At that time, if he is negative, I will take him home (as I should be moved into a place by then) and isolate for another 60 days and retest. Either time, if he is positive (going to use the bone marrow test I think), she will take him into her groups FeLV+ building where he will free roam with 13 other positive cats.
No matter what, he is getting a chance. I did not want to take him to the local FeLV+ shelter as he would be put in with all the other positive cats and would have no chance to see if he can fight it off.
Feel free to share with your group. I am so glad I insist upon isolation when bringing foundlings in. I just wish I had instant tests on hand. And that this kitten wasn’t so damn cute. Thats him sitting on top of max’s lap in the bathroom. Poor thing, it is a really small bathroom.
Raven, my 6 month old tomorrow calico is a star crossed lover. She sits outside the bathroom door and talks to him day and night. He purrs against the door and tries to stick his paws out. She really wants him.
I thought some of y’all might be wondering what had happened with that kitten. Doesn’t he look like the sweetest little character? And the name is so awesome that I’m adding it to my list of potential names for future fosters!
(Keeping my fingers crossed that Oscar Wylde tests negative in 60 days – but SO glad that he’s got a place to end up, whether he retests as positive OR negative!)
“This little tiny toy duck tastes like chicken. GETIT? TASTES LIKE CHICKEN!”
“You aren’t laughing. Clearly you have no sense of humor.”
Their eyes are such a gorgeous color right now.
Charlie gives me the attitude.
Letting the Peppers Gang have the run of the upstairs is working out so well that I’m hesitant to give them the run of the house. They seem perfectly happy to hang out upstairs that I don’t see any need to push it. Adding Buster to the permanent resident mix is enough upset for the moment (even though there’s not been much of an upset, really) that I think we’ll stick with things the way they are for the time being.
Harlan’s all “And your mother dresses you funny!” and Sally’s giving me the hairy eyeball, all “That’s right, he said it! You wanna make something of it? I will mess you UP!” and Lucy’s all “Yeah! What they said!”
“Hey, guys! Come see what she’s wearing TODAY! TOTAL class! Why, that t-shirt’s only three sizes too big, and I think the shorts are older than she is!”
I cannot stand how cute Lucy is. When I go upstairs to hang out with them, she flops down on her back next to me and she trills at me until I rub her belly. And woe betide me if I stop petting before she’s ready for me to stop!
Invisible dance partner.
Harlan’s pot belly cracks me up.
Leaning tower of Everett.
She keeps her eyes on the prize.
Sugarbutt, in Stinkerbelle’s bed atop the kitchen cabinets. It’s odd – that’s been Stinkerbelle’s bed for months and months. Then last week, when Buster decided he’d start hanging out on top of the cabinets, directly across the room from her, Fred put a cat bed where Buster was hanging out. Next thing I knew, Buster was hanging out in Stinkerbelle’s bed, and Stinkerbelle was hanging out in Buster’s bed. Then suddenly Sugarbutt was all “Don’t mind if I do!” and he was in Stinkerbelle’s bed, Stinkerbelle was in Buster’s bed, and Buster was in Jake’s bed on the platform in the corner. Where was Jake? Hanging out in the box on the floor. Jake’s so laid-back, he doesn’t care.
Another odd thing: I happened to catch sight of Buster about two feet from Stinkerbelle one day. She was hanging in her bed, he was hanging out near her. She wasn’t growling or hissing or having hysterics. I do NOT know what that was about, because she’s never taken well to having other cats that close to her, except for her beloved Tommy. If it turns out that she’s developing a crush on Buster, I will be beside myself. THAT HUSSY BETTER NOT STEAL MY BUSTER FROM ME, is all I have to say.
Previously
2010: Poor ol’ Egg
2009: No entry.
2008: No entry.
2007: “Hmm,” I say to Mister Boogers. “It’s almost 80 outside, but only 74 inside. Imagine that!”
2006: You really don’t want to fuck with the Plumbing Mafia.
2005: “GodDAMN you, Mister Boogers!” I yelled.
2004: “This book makes me want to have a baby!” I said to Fred when I was about halfway through the book. “Let’s have a baby!”
2003: No entry.
2002: Gag city.
2001: I think you know what I’m thinkin’.
2000: I’d like to return to my regularly scheduled life, please.
Cats have to have Taurine in their food or they get serious heart problems.
If your cat will only eat dog food right now, start adding Taurine (usually found in capsules by the body building supplements) to her food. This is not ideal, but should get you some time to start mixing her food into the dog’s food slowly to transfer her over.
If you’re willing, I would also try to give her small chunks of raw beef or chicken or raw egg yolk to add some naturally occurring taurine. As long as she’s a healthy cat, she should have no problems with any germs that may come along with the raw meat.
I would suggest feeding the dog away from the cat, dogs are unpredictable and can get territorial with their food. We have always had dogs and cats and never had any problems. About 3 years ago we had taken in a new kitten that my friend found. It was Thanksgiving weekend and the kitten ventured over to the dogs food while he was eating. He was a 160 lb Great Dane/lab mix, she was a 6 week old kitten. He bit her. (NEVER a mean bone in this dogs body,never snapped at a cat and let them crawl all over him) but it happened. $1800 in emergency vet bills later the kitten survived but she has a permanent tilted head. It was touch and go for awhile. We always feed the dogs in a closed room now as the cats are very interested in their food. They will eat their own when they get hungry.
Does the dog have food available 24/7? You might consider re-adjusting the feeding plan. At a minimum, the dog should be allowed to eat her meal cat free. Territorial wars over food can be unpredictible. Alternatively, it doesn’t take dogs long to learn to get their fill at feeding time, removing the food bowl after a set period of time – when done, they wait until the next feeding time (usually 2x per day).
In our house, I have one cat that LOVES dog food. When it is feeding time for the dog, she gets one single piece of dog kibble. By then, the dog is finished eating and the cat will return to her own food. But she will drop everything and run to where the dog is fed if she knows or even thinks there is a remote possibility that it is time to eat. The brat has been know to tear holes in the dog food bag or knock over the dog food bin.
Our cats have food available 24/7 and the dog is smart enough to leave their food alone. But then dogs are WAY smarter than cats 🙂 Wait, did I just say that? Gracie and George for the win!
The cats are so dang finicky we give them plenty of time to eat – after all the trauma from their early years with not enough food and living in a cage, poor babies.
Good luck!
Hmmm. I think I’ll plant FIVE rows of tomatoes next year. That way we’ll be sure to have plenty of maters all summer long. It won’t be that much more work.
I can’t believe how much stuff that damn Winter Robyn ordered from the seed catalogs though. Then where the hell is she when it’s time to plant?
Shush, you brat. 😀
PS: Winter Robyn is such an asshole.
We live right outside of Houston (in Magnolia, one of the horrific wildfire areas) and I have NEVER gotten a good tomato crop. This year, with the drought and all, I just gave up and didn’t plant anything. I have grown quite fond of the Farmer’s market and the roadside stands. I love my garden, but this has been a fun year of low-key canning, freezing and jamming! I am seriously considering doing this again next year.
The “no sense of humor” picture should be cropped and recaptioned, “The last thing you will ever see.” (c:
So happy about Oscar Wylde. He is such a pretty boy!
I hope Oscar Wylde turns out okay. He’s a tiny little heartbreaker! He looks like he’s a Turkish Van cat. http://www.swimmingcats.com/
Could you ask Nate & Dora’s mom to send some picture of them? Also, does she have a blog where we could see the cats?
Bella, there are recent pictures of Nate and Dora here. Katherine doesn’t have a blog.
Maybe the cat would prefer a different kind of catfood? Or canned food? Worth trying a few different kinds. And separate them at mealtimes, a cat who only eats dog food won’t get the taurine it needs- and the cat can become blind.
Name suggestions for your next foster kittens:
Afoof Meehow
Kaipurr Meehow
Mamurp Meehow
Bella, I hope you saw the pictures of my beautiful Nate and Dora. Thanks for asking about them. I WOULD have a blog except after reading Robyn’s for so many years I see that my life is not even close to as interesting as hers. My blog would be boring. Albeit it would be filled with GORGEOUS kitty photos. And horses!
Hi, Robyn. The same thing happened to my cantaloupes! They were doing really well, flowering, and developing fruit. One fruit grew 3 times in size in one week…then, all of a sudden, they’re practically dead! We let that one big cantaloupe stay on the vine and I gave up on it although my husband kept watering them…then, one day, a critter stole the fruit ~ plucked it from the vine and carried it a yard or so away, leaving teeth/claw marks on it. Anyway, I wonder what happened with my cantaloupes (and your squash)? My coworker, who dabbles in the garden, thinks it’s too cold where were are to be growing cantaloupes. We’re about a mile or so from the beach in San Diego, so it’s cool most of the time, but I thought for sure we’d at least harvest a couple of cantaloupes! I did harvest my first ever produce ~ a Sweetie tomato. The funny thing is I didn’t know how big these things are and it turns out they’re only the size of a marble! Cute, though, and tasty, although I barely tasted it since I had to share it with my husband; it was our first harvest ever after all. 😉
I have to say, I never would have thought of San Diego as being cool!
LOL at you having to split a tiny tomato with your husband! 🙂
Maybe the better way to say it is it doesn’t get hot enough for cantaloupes, which supposedly like heat. When I lived in Los Angeles, I was always cold when I went to San Diego; very noticeably cooler. The average high, according to weather.com in the hottest month, August, is 77 (with average low of 67 in August), and it’s probably lower than that the closer to the ocean you get. It’s not cold but maybe not hot enough for heat-loving cantaloupes? I don’t know!
I bet that’s it, I know that cantaloupes really like the heat.
Seriously, I always think of California as being hot all the time, so this is an eye-opener for me! 🙂
There are certainly parts of CA that are hot ~ Palm Springs, Bakersfield, Death Valley, etc, in the summer. But the coast is usually pleasant ~ in the low to mid-70’s in the summer and mid-60s in the winter ~ year-round. I get cold easily, so I usually need a jacket when I’m in San Francisco, even in the middle of the day in the summer! It’s a good place to be visit in the summer to get away from the heat. 🙂