Category: Pets

Pets, Photography

Polly and Henry

Shelly

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The cats have discovered the Amazing Cat TeeVee (AKA the patio windows). They spent most of the weekend out there, either napping or watching the birds and chipmunks.

(And, my photos are any indication, I never put my shoes away.)

Oh, and Harriet’s ear? Totally F-I-N-E. She made a big, fat liar out of me! Dr. Koch said he scoped and prodded and even tugged on the (supposedly) sore ear, but he couldn’t find anything wrong, and Harriet didn’t complain. And he’s right. She’s back to normal now. That ear sure was sore this morning, though. Weird!

My Garden, Pets, Photography

Dew

Shelly

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All the flower seeds I planted, at least the ones that sprouted, were eaten one night by either bunnies or Mr. Groundhog. I’m going to have to replace them with mature plants or maybe with containers. So far, they’ve left the stuff in containers alone. The tomatoes are getting big, and so are the peppers I got from a coworker. The peppers I planted from seed are still really small, though, so I’m about to give up on them. Since the tomatoes still need to be thinned a bit, I may sacrifice the baby peppers to make more tomato space.

In other news, Harriet spent Friday at the vet. She was chewing her feet again and suddenly developed a sneeze and runny nose. I was afraid it was something contagious, but after spending the day observing her, the vet thinks it’s just allergies. He recommended putting her back on Benadryl, and if that doesn’t help, then Chlor-trimeton. If those don’t work, then we’ll try prescription antihistamines.

The Benadryl seems to be helping. She’s not chewing her feet and her sneezy, snotty nose has improved. But, now she’s developed what I think is a bad ear infection. One ear is super painful, and I can feel where it’s swollen, along her neck. Poor dog! She’s feeling too rotten to police the cats, so I know she has to be miserable. There’s not much to be done for it until I can call the vet tomorrow morning. In the meantime, we has sadcakes.

Speaking of the cats, they have finally decided that they’re in charge. They spent last night doing Indy 500 laps around the living room, chasing each other, while I was trying to watch TV. It wouldn’t have been so bad if they hadn’t kept cornering off the couch. Also, Henry has discovered the kitchen counter, and it doesn’t matter how many times I push her off, she bounces right back up. Ditto Polly with my computer desk. She jumps up, I push her off, and she bounces right back up again. They are nothing if not persistent. Alsoplustoo, cute. Very, very cute.

Crankypantsing, Pets

Freecycle Crankypantsing

Shelly

In the past week, there have been the following posts:

1. Offer: Older black GSD x Chow who’s NOT good with other animals, and who is getting crankier with age. Why do people think it’s okay to pass off a potentially dangerous animal?

2. Offer: 7 year old male tuxedo cat, being rehomed because it keeps “getting on the new baby,” and the owner “doesn’t like it.” I can’t even imagine how that’s allowed to be a problem. Have they not considered restricting the cat’s range until the kid is a little older?

3. Offer: 2.5 year old timid male Beagle mix, being rehomed because the family doesn’t have enough time for him. I hope he does find a better home, but I just don’t understand why people get pets when they clearly don’t understand how much work they are.

4. Offer: MinPin x Beagle x Pug, good with kids and other animals. Owner does not have time for him.

5. Offer: Rainbow kittens! (Seriously. One is pink? I have no idea what that means.)

6. Offer: Female St. Bernard, very aggressive toward other animals. Again, why on earth does the owner think that it’s okay to pass off a (huge!) and potentially dangerous animal? (The woman getting rid of the St. Bernard is now looking for a smaller bed.)

7. Offer: Two Basset x Pomeranian x Dachshunds (male and female). They were Christmas presents that “got too big.” They were supposed to be 15 lbs, but are more like 50 lbs. Yes, that’s a huge difference, but what do people expect when they give mixed breed puppies as gifts? They should expect to be surprised.

The female has been spayed, but the male is intact. They are “too big to handle.” I expect the more accurate assessment would be that they are untrained and therefore hard to handle. Size has bupkis to do with it, if the dog has even a little bit of training.

8. Offer: 8 year old MinPin. She’s shy and apparently not good with kids.

I realize that crap happens, and I realize that people’s circumstances can change drastically. In those cases, people might have to rehome their pets. But if you’re getting rid of an animal because you underestimated how much of your time it would need, or if you “don’t like” its behavior (training and management, folks!), then you screwed up.

On the other hand, if you’re responsible and moderately clueful about evaluating temperament, this is one way to get a potentially awesome pet. God only knows what the true reasons are for these folks getting rid of their animals, and their loss could be your gain. I got Harriet from similar circumstances, and though she’s not anything like perfect, she’s been a wonderful dog.

And, lastly,

7. Wanted: “I’m looking for a good horse and a pony thanks…” And that was the entirety of the post. Good luck with that!

Pets, Photography

Cone Free

Shelly

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I can’t believe how quickly the kittens have learned not to bite and scratch while playing. It only took a couple of days for them to get the idea, and a couple more for them to figure out that they can play with claws and teeth, as long as they are gentle. Even with all her claws out, Polly didn’t leave a single scratch on me. Good kitties!

Pets, Photography

And More Cuteness

Shelly

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I love the orange tabby patches on Henry’s back legs. The one on the other side is even bigger.

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They like to sleep, curled up together, under an old wooden stool, under my desk. The stool has been used as a cat scratching post for years, a tradition started by Ms. Lea’s Isis and later carried on by Pandora and the rest of my cats. I think it’s funny that the kittens have adopted it as their own.

Pets, Photography

Henry

Shelly

She was flopping around on the bathroom floor and being impossibly cute, so I had to take some photos.

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The cone can, in theory, come off at any time now. I took it off for a few hours last Thursday night, but Henry did some vigorous licking at her incision, so I put it back on. The incision looks fine, but the skin around it is a little raw. We’ll try again tomorrow, but I’d rather err on the cautious side. And besides, it’s not like the cone is hampering her ability to get around and play, so I don’t think it’s a big deal to leave it on a few more days.

Speaking of playing, I picked up one of those bendy sticks with feathers and a tinkle bell on the end. Somehow, Polly got it down from its hiding place. She played with it for a couple of hours yesterday, and then Henry got hold of it and spent 3-4 hours playing with it. So much for it being an interactive toy! Henry even carried it into the bathroom with her, when she used the litter box, and then carried it back out again. That was $5 well spent.

Harriet is still not amused, but she’s being very good with the kittens. That may be because, so far, at least, they’re being respectful of Harriet’s personal space. I’ve been able to leave them out together while I’m at work, even. Heaven help the first cat to jump up on the bed, though. I have a feeling that Harriet may have strong opinions about that.

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Pets, Photography

Kitten Update

Shelly

The kittens are getting used to the dog, and the dog is (slowly) getting used to them. She’s not really cranky about the cats, but she has a serious jealous streak, and she thinks it’s her job to be The Fun Police. Both of these are problems we’re working on. For now, calm interactions are being rewarded.

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They kittens were spayed on Friday and came through it fine. In fact, when I brought them home that evening, they didn’t even seem to notice that they’d just had pretty major surgery. They did start licking at their incisions, though, so I had to put The Cones of Shame on them.

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They both figured out pretty quickly how to eat and drink with the cones on, which is good. The problem is that they keep getting litter in between the layers of plastic. I’m constantly having to clean their cones after they use the litter box. Not so fun, but they should be cone free in a few more days, so it’s a short-term issue.

Oh, and if you ever want a good laugh, try watching two kittens staggering around like drunken soldiers while they get used to The Cones of Shame. Apparently they forget how to walk when you first put cones on their heads. Who knew?!

Henry is turning into a total mush. She doesn’t care how I pick her up or hold her. She just purrs and purrs and purrs, as long as you’ll pet her. Polly ended up being the more outgoing of the two, which surprised me, because she seemed flightier than Henry. Probably the most surprising is that, while they play with each other and groom each other, they aren’t inseparable. They’re perfectly comfortable hanging out in different rooms.

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Harriet thinks the couch should be a kitten free zone. I sympathize with her, I really do, but all good things must come to an end, and she’s just going to have to learn to share. Not today, though.

Pets, Photography

Introducing Henry and Polly

Shelly

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Henry (left) and Polly (right)

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Polly (with Henry behind her)

I said that Henry was the more outgoing one, but as soon as I opened the bathroom door and started taking pictures, Polly came out of hiding and stuck her nose in the camera. I love both of their markings. If you look closely at Polly, she’s got orange stripes leading away from the outer corners of her eyes. Henry has cream colored back feet, which are super cute.

(Please ignore the rumpled bath mat, which they’ve pulled down from the side of the tub. Stinkers.)

Pets

An Announcement

Shelly

I’ve been waffly about the whole cat search thing. Do I want an adult cat or a kitten or two kittens? If kittens, should I go for younger ones or older ones? Do I get them from the shelter or the paper or wait until they show up on the doorstep? I just don’t know. So last night, my neighbor was out on her patio. I went over to ask her if she knew of anyone who had cats or kittens needing homes. Her mom lives on a farm and has a steady stream of dumped animals, so I figured it was worth a shot.

And it was! Her mom has two six-month old littermates—a tortie and a torbie, named Polly and Molly. They’re the perfect age for me, the coloring I was hoping for, and best of all, I will only have to rename one of them, since Polly was at the top of my name list. Surely, these are Teh Kittehs of Destiny? Best of all, her mom was at her wit’s end, because she’s at her maximum capacity for cats. She had decided she’d have to take these two to the shelter, where she was afraid they’d be put to sleep. So I’m cutting out the middle man and taking two cats out of the shelter loop. This makes me very happy.

My neighbor is spending the day at her mom’s, so she’ll bring the kittens to me when she gets back tonight, at around 8pm. She was a little concerned that I might not like them, as A) they are not cute little babies and B) I’ll be taking them sight unseen. Ha! 1) I am weird, and I really do prefer young adult cats to cute little kittens. 2) I Every single cat I’ve had has been unknown to me before-hand or picked at random from the alley, so I assured her that that wasn’t an issue. About the only things that would be deal breakers would be refusal to use a litter box (they are both already litter trained, so not an issue) or extreme aggression. Also not an issue, as she said they are both very sweet natured.

So if all goes well, I shall have kittehs tonight! Photos will be forthcoming (probably not until tomorrow), as well as a final decision on Molly’s new name. Polly will obviously keep her name, but I have an aunt named Molly, so I think I’d better rename her. The kitteh, not my aunt.