Another Hot spell

Nero looks like that doll house belongs to him! He's very cute!

Here's is Koshka. She's been getting more social recently. When my parents and friends cat sit during the two trips I took to the UK they had to go and find her to make sure she was still alive. She was also deathly afraid of children. I'd take her outside and if she heard a kid within 100 yards she'd be hanging off the glass doors handle trying to get in. She wasn't found or gotten from the animal shelter, but I count her as a saved kitty. We got her from a house that was disgusting, like health hazard disgusting, cat litter piled about two feet high in the middle of the kitchen floor. The first time we saw her she was hanging upside down in a five year olds arms. It was bad; I wanted to take all the cats. My DSD has been really good to and for her. She is no longer scared of children though she is still a bit skittish, but my friends no longer think I'm making up having a second cat.

She gets chased by Nero all the time, but she can beat him up 9 out of 10 times if she decides to. I've seen her just box Nero's ears. She's bigger and meaner than Nero, but allows herself to be harassed most of the time.

She is also unreservedly my cat. She was supposed to be my brother's, we room mated together for four years, but when he moved out he bowed to the adage that cats pick their people and left her with me. She won't sleep on me, but she'll sleep near me, which is more than she'll do with DH and DSD, but she has been surprising us recently with her affection, so who knows what the future holds.

What a precious picture. We had a black cat named Trouble (because he was usually in it) and he was the one who brought home Pookie. He died shortly after and I always wondered if he brought home his replacement. Took 2 months before she would let me touch her, she's a Siamese mix according to the vet.

Koshka's a Lynx Point Siamese with tabby body type. We didn't know that when we got her. I actually found it out on here when I saw another cat that looked just like her. To the point that when I showed my brother the pic he asked when we had those shelves.

Koshka looks like she could be related to Gretchen. Isn't it amazing how cats that have been mistreated can learn to trust again and be wonderful pets?

I love her dearly.

Though if she doesn't stop "going" where she's not supposed to my DH might strangle her. Any suggestions? We've tried the cat begone spray, electric cat box, other things, it's late and I can't think, but I just found another one in the hall.

Has she been checked by a vet? One of ours had a kidney problem and it hurt her whenever she "went" so she would try another place trying to get rid of the hurt. Sounds weird but the problem went away after we had her taken care of. Something to think about anyway.

I know this sounds evil, but we're so broke right now i can't do it. When we get caught up if it's still a problem I'll try that. I have heard of that. But, it is both 1 and 2 if you will.

Not the same problem then. If you can't afford it, you can't, you're giving her a good home and that's the most important thing.

It really sucks not having money! We should be caught up in a couple months, I hope.

I can relate, raised three boys on my own for a long time. That's why I appreciate what we have now. Hang in there!

I will! I know we will get through this. At least we will if I can keep my DH from having a nervous breakdown, he isn't dealing well.

All the cats are beautiful! Zhinu hope your kitty finds the "right" place soon. You may wish to put out multiple litter boxes around the house if possible. Some cats like a clean spot every time if you know what I mean.

Also folks..no need to buy fancy cat toys..just clip some long stem allium. My cat Fiesty was after these all day. She would "bing" them with her paw and watch them spring back up.

This message was edited Jul 15, 2008 5:19 PM

I have some garlic flowers right now.

I think the second litter box is the next step.

Zhinu, welcome to DG. I don't think I've yet said 'hello' to you. If at any time you do think your kitty has a health problem, there may be a pet help/rescue organization in your town that could help you with the vet bill. Where I live, Pet Protectors assists people if their pets need care but they can't afford it. I wonder if there is something similar in Olympia.

I should look into that. I would like to get her in to be safe. I'll call animal services tomorrow.

Going in the wrong place can be:

Urinary tract or bladder irritation
Bad habit
Passive/aggressive behavior

The first one does require a vet and I know (firsthand) that you can't always run to the vet for that.

If it's a bad habit in a single spot or type of spot, then you might just try to keep her away from those spots. Some cats are drawn to clothes on the floor, for instance.

She may be marking because she's lower in the kitty pecking order than your other cat and she feels like this is the only way she can express her "position". Sometimes, isolating them (at least for awhile) can help. Most cats, like dogs, won't soil their own area. If you can put her in her own room for awhile, that might help.

Just some thoughts. I know how hard this can be.

I was able to get some help with the finances to go to the Vet. I called Concern for animals and they'll cover the visit. I might have to pay lab and medicine. I also might be able to get a grant from Animal Services to help cover that. So, tomorrow we should be taking her in.

This message was edited Jul 16, 2008 11:26 AM

mauryhillfarm - Thanks again for the tip!

That is awesome. I'm sure it'll go a long way toward your peace of mind (in several ways).

My problems are definitely with twogirls, who have cystitis (irritation of the bladder wall, rather than infection) which is really not treatable (other than making them drink water, yeah, right) and who feel inferior to the others and "fight" among themselves. I periodically take them in to get a urine test and it comes back negative for infection.

I've been trying to get glucosamine into them on a regular basis (it's supposed to thicken the lining of the bladder wall to protect it from irritation by the acidic urine). Apparently, female cats prone to this will get it in the darker months up to the age of 7. They don't know why.

Today's good! 74 degrees, sunny, not too much wind. Too bad I'm having cramps and stuck inside babysitting.

Today was excellant! Actually got some work done outside. Unfortunately it was cleaning out the garage :-( instead of yard work. We've got new garage doors coming, ours don't want to open sometimes and they're sagging. Glad the weather is behaving.

Hey Sally, I'm not sure if you're still following this thread or not. But the storm that they were predicting has finally hit. Possibly headed your way? It's not nearly as eventful as the last one.... so far, but it's also much drier and striking down more often. Always entertaining up in these hills!!

Hey Red!! I was jus thinking that we hadn't heard from you in a long time as I opened this thread. How's it going (other than the storm). It's hot here tonight, but doesn't feel or sound like thunderstorms at all. You guys have had so many this year.

Good job, Sally. A clean garage and new doors in time for winter. That sounds very cool.

katie59 - I think we're supposed to get them tomorrow. That's what I heard at least.

I know, I have been meaning to check in on some thread and see what has been going on. Thanks for asking and thinking of me!! I've been putting in either really long hours or really exhausting hours for the last few weeks. Pretty much just getting to a few dmails here and there and not much more. It's not going to get much better either, at least for this weekend. This round of storms managed to start starting forest fires this afternoon and so I will be putting some time in with the fire crews (since they are stretched thin) for at least tomorrow and started doing that as soon as my regular shift ended until almost 8:30 this evening. But, it's all good. Makes the days interesting. How about you and the cats? All faring the crazy summer weather all right so far?

Ohhh.... I hope that's not the case zhinu! The rain would probably be good. But not the t-storms!

Rain is supposed to be here Saturday.

Zhinu (Laurie, right?) - thanks for the info. I hadn't heard that (and I'm such a news and weather nut - I hate it that I missed that. :-)).

RC - Be careful, careful, careful. I'll keep good thoughts for your safety. There have been too many firefighter deaths in the last couple of weeks. It's dangerous work. I admire you all. You must be in good shape. Sheri, (outtamygourd) and her DH were firefighters in Southern California for years.

It's all good here with the five dogs and 11 cats, though, as usual, I need to vacuum, LOL. I'm headed to Corvallis on the weekend of the 16th to move my folks' stuff from their house and celebrate my dad's 90th with him. So much of the family comes to these events that we have quite an exciting time. My dog sitter has apparently decided not to call me back, so I'm in the desperate dog-sitter search state now and trying to develop a Plan B.

Uh oh. Rain? I guess we need it, but I need to work outside . . .

I love Corvallis. I lived there for a summer when I was a kid.

Really? What a small world. The Willamette Valley is so beautiful. I would live there if I wasn't so planted here.

I've thought about moving down to the area between Portland and Ashland, but it would be too much of a headache to move out of state; custody issues.

wow, definitely a small world between the other natives and the Fire fighters. I didn't know that about outtamygourd and her DH. Even more of a small world. It's not as if there tons of them/us around. (although, there are quite a few). And I will definitely be careful. Too bad we don't live closer Katie. I'm a pet/house sitter here on the side. Fortunately, I don't have anything linedup for the next month or so in the event that the fires hang around. (doubt that, they're somewhat small) I was just at a place for three weeks (the other reason that I haven't been on much---super slow computer there) with three dogs that like to be inside and 2 long haired cats. Ohhhh the hair! and its the labs that do the most shedding! I don't believe that i've ever taken care of 5 dogs and 11 cats though. I think the most that I have had is 3 cats, 1 dog, i turtle, and 4 ducks. that was interesting in itself.

Laura - bummer about the custody issues. But it's nice up here.

RC - my 5 dogs are pretty easy - sighthounds, so they are a lot like cats when inside. many of the cats are the ones "left over" when we rescued a colony - the ones that I couldn't adopt out. I'd love to know someone reliable who isn't overwhelmed at the thought of taking care of them. I don't think it's that much, except trying to keep on top of the hair (which, apparently I don't. LOL).

Well, It sounds as if it would be entertaining at the least with the potential to be fun and interesting. So, I guess if either one of us ever moves towards the other, it's something that we might be able to work out. :-p

And of course, if you're ever up here visiting (and are game to experience all the cuddling - these guys are good cuddlers. Okay on a cold night - not so great with the heat) please let us know!!

oh definitely. That would be much fun! Do you have a picture of all of "the crew"?? I would love to see it

Hi redchic! Missed hearing from you. Thanks for the heads up, I went out and put a couple of plants under cover. There was an alert a few minutes ago for Mt Hood, but didn't mention here yet. Waiting to hear what Chuey says on the weather report.

Please do be careful. I've been following the fire in Mariposa county because my brother lives there. He wasn't in danger (they got it stopped before it got to him), but was prepared to leave if he had to. I hope these storms don't cause any more fires, I like the ones early in the spring when the fire danger is down.

Still working on the garage, behind it actually, we decided to get rid of our 25 yr old storage area and put in a proper shed so I can put things up out of the elements without having to clutter DH's garage. Distruction was fun, clean up is a pain. And we're getting new siding on the house in a couple of weeks. I'll be broke for years!! But we had some dry rot so the work was needed.

Chuey thinks the storms are going past us, maybe sprinkles late tomorrow. We'll see how good is forecast is. Thanks again. Hope you can keep in touch once in a while.

Picture please! Sounds like a blast to me. But I've only got 2 cats and can't keep up with the hair. It is getting better, I've started brushing them often, it helps. Now they come and want me to do it, so I've created a different problem I think.