I don’t think I shared this one. If I have, please to be excusing the redundancy!
I really, really needed a laugh this morning, and it did not disappoint.
Tag: cats
Pet Food Part Deux
Just for the record, I ended up going with Evo (turkey and chicken) for Harriet and Felidae Cat and Kitten (chicken and turkey) for Pandora. Evo is kind of wacky, in that it’s meant to mimic a raw diet. It’s super high in protein, but has no grains whatsoever. After I fed Harriet her tea (4-5pm feeding), she sat in front of the cupboard where I store their food, with her ears clamped down tight, and sang to it. She likes it.
Pandora was also happy with the switch. She’s had Felidae before, so I’m sure she’ll do well on it. I opted for the non-senior formula, because I’m not convinced that senior foods are appropriate for cats. At least, most of the senior foods I’ve seen, which have been higher in carbs, and lower in protein and fat. They also tend to be less smelly and palatable. Because cats are super reliant on their sense of smell and taste, and since those senses deteriorate with age, senior cats often turn into finicky eaters. In order to keep them thriving, it’s important to make sure they can smell their food, so that they will eat it.
I also got some good pointers for making homemade food (dog) from one of the dog newsgroup folks. I’ve got some more researching to do, and am going to sign up for a Yahoo group she recommended. I’m seriously considering switching Harriet over to at least a partially homemade diet.
This recall BS scares the crap out of me.
Pandora’s Box
Lest anyone think that Harriet was the only one who enjoyed the package from Canadia, Pandora would like to demonstrate just one of the ways in which a cat can show her appreciation of boxes.
Speaking of Spring
We’ve had a few days where the temperature was warm enough to open the windows. Yesterday was not one of them! It was too warm. Saturday and Sunday were beautiful, though. I opened all the windows, and Harriet installed herself in the bedroom window, where she could stand on the bed and rest her chin on the sill. Pandora chose the studio window, where she could keep an eye on the parking lot and all the comings and goings.
The space she’s wedged herself into really isn’t big enough for all of her to fit, but she doesn’t seem to mind.
Thawing Out
Pandora basking by the space heater
The new furnace was installed today, and it is working beautifully. I’m looking forward to actually sleeping tonight, instead of listening to Mr. Upstairs, who is–even as I type–dropping free weights on the floor above my head. Really, I can’t think of a single nice thing to say about the guy right now, so I’ll just leave it at that.
Sunday Pet Blogging
Harriet thinks I’m some sort of pillow, and Pandora thinks the beanbag footstool is some sort of bed.
Brand New Bed
I also picked up a new bed for Harriet while I was out yesterday. She needed somewhere comfortable to sleep while I’m in the studio. Even though it’s carpeted in here, the floor is cold (damned heat vents are up by the ceiling!), and she’s a delicate flower.
Harriet was disdainful at first, and for awhile I thought I may have actually bought a cat bed by mistake. Eventually, Harriet decided to give it a try. She spent yesterday afternoon and most of this morning sleeping in it. I’m glad I opted for the one with the nesty sides, because I think it’s a big hit. (And, as you can see by using the cat–who is on the petite side–for scale, Harriet is on the small side herself. I was afraid at first that the bed wouldn’t be big enough, but once she curls up, there’s room to spare.)
I wish I could have slept the morning away lazily, but I had to get up for Mr. FedEx. It’s a good thing I did, too, because he showed up at the crack of dawn. And now, even if I wanted to take a nap, I couldn’t, because Mr. Upstairs has his teevee blaring away. I think he must have had custody of his children this weekend, because there were small pitter-pattering feet, very loud cartoons, and the world’s longest one-fingered rendition of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” on the keyboard. The last was cute for about twenty minutes, but after that, my ears started to bleed. Also, the front hallway smells like someone cooked rotten pork with ginger and oranges. O ick.
Thursday Catblogging
Pandora likes to sleep on Harriet’s blankets when Harriet’s not looking. It pisses Harriet right the hell off, though. She’s jealous, and can’t stand it when the cat usurps her spot, even when she’s not using her spot at the time of the usurpation. The nice thing, I suppose, about being an old cat is that you just don’t care. You sleep wherever you want, whenever you want, and you ignore anydog who tries to bossypants you into doing otherwise.
Catblogging
I woke up this morning to find that my furnace was not working properly. Again! This time, it cycled on, and even produced heat, but it would only run for 20-30 seconds before shutting off. So, I went to work for a few hours, came home, and called the repair guys.
This is the third time the same two guys have been to my apartment to fix stuff. Last time, Pandora sneaked into the furnace while they weren’t looking. This time, they were wise to her stealthy ways and averted her attempts to explore. The also both took time to pick her up and pet her, which was nice. She’s an awfully gregarious cat, so she really enjoys the extra attention.
She also spent some time playing with the dog’s toys (she has a death wish), including a tennis ball. Pandora rolled around on the floor with the ball between her front paws, kicking it mightily with her back feet. When she’d finally subdued the ball, she lay on her side and wrapped herself around it, then gave it a good wash. Clearly, she was feeling her oats this morning.
The antics reached a climax when she stole a wadded up piece of paper from the trash can in the studio. She knows she’s not supposed to take paper[1]. So I told her to drop it, and she took off running through the house like a bat out of hell, paper wad crammed firmly in her thieving little mouth. Now, I’ve been lured into the occasional ill advised and unintentional game of keep away by dogs, but never, ever, EVAR by a cat.
So what did she do when I caught up with her? She dropped the paper wad and instantly started to wash herself furiously. Like she had no idea that she’d just stolen the damned thing, nor that she’d flown the scene of the crime, nor that the evidence had just two seconds previously been in her mouth, and was now lying rightnexttoher. “I’m sorry, were you talking to me?”
Pandora has always been a bad, bad seed. The photo below was taken in 1996, at about the time when she developed her paper/cloth fetish. Note the pure eeevil emanating from her.
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[1] We–Pandora and I–have discussed her paper/cloth fetish on numerous occasions. I don’t mind so much that she’s a rotten little thief, but when she carries paper wads through the house, she meows. Because her mouth is stuffed full of paper, it’s difficult to tell whether she’s on a murderous rampage or she’s going to hork up a hairball. O ick. I can’t stand the sound, so I do my best to keep mouth-sized pieces of paper and cloth out of her reach.
Pandora in the Sun
The top photo was taken in 1995, the second one in 2001, and the last four in 2004. The top two were taken with a point-and-shoot Minolta 35mm. The bottom four were test shots taken when I got my Canon T-50 (I don’t remember the lens specs, and my mom has custody of my Canon right now so I can’t check, but I think it was a Tamron). When I was shopping for a film SLR, I wanted an older, used, all manual body. I read all sorts of bad reviews of the Canon T-50, but folks I knew and could talk to in person said it was a decent entry level camera body. And, they can be picked up dirt cheap from places like KEH and B&H, so I felt like it was worth the risk. It turns out, though, that the Canon T-50 takes by far the best pictures of any of the cameras I own. I love the way it handles light and shadow (I couldn’t have taken this photo of Harriet with my digital). I’m lazy, though, and I suck at getting film developed, so I loaned the Canon to my mom when I got a digital camera.
red paper boat 