Comments on: What Fun

By: Bryan

Bryan — Fri, 11 May 2007 17:17:54 +0000

Usually Dot will jump up on the wrist rest at some point during the day, and I can take care of it with a flea comb. The flea comb also alerts me to any problems as she shouldn’t have fleas considering the cost of Revolution.

She likes being combed, but types horrible nonsense on the computer and usually ends the session by laying down on the keyboard.

By: hipparchia

hipparchia — Fri, 11 May 2007 06:28:36 +0000

combing is the best solution, by far. my cat loves to be combed, it’s a drug for him. he comes running at the sound of a brush the way normal cats come running at the sound of the electric can opener. the dog, on the other hand, seems to think that evil poltergeists are pulling all his fur out.

By: Bryan

Bryan — Fri, 11 May 2007 00:32:21 +0000

Actually I’ve increased the combing, which is easier. She’s been shedding more because she’s annoyed by the kitten’s. She’ll just have to get used to it, as they will have to understand that she is the alpha.

By: hipparchia

hipparchia — Thu, 10 May 2007 23:23:45 +0000

that anti-hairball food never worked for me either. or for the cats.

if you want to try the mineral oil trick with dot, you can put a dab of vaseline on your finger and then quick! while she’s not looking! wipe it off onto the cat. aiming for the face [somewhere near the mouth] or a paw usually means that more of the vaseline gets ingested [when the cat licks it off]. other places on the cat, and the cat is likely to try to wipe the stuff off onto the furniture [ask me how i know this].

i think i read somewhere that vaseline and mineral oil, both being oils that are not absorbed by the cat’s innards, can rob the cat of fat-soluble vitamins, so you wouldn’t want to use it more than once or twice a week, and only during the worst of shedding season.

my pets seem to be stealth kings. i wake up in the morning to find stuff re-arranged, and come home in the afternoon to find more stuff re-arranged.

By: Bryan

Bryan — Thu, 10 May 2007 04:30:34 +0000

Karen Marie, my vet says that trying to get Dot to take anything she doesn’t want to take without knocking her out is good for a bloodletting. She is currently laying in my lap an purring mightily, but trying to give her medicine, or even applying the anti-flea stuff between her shoulder blades requires a Levi’s jacket and leather gloves. [She was a really cute kitten.]

My vet has appeared on Animal Planet removing an arrow from a goose, and does the neutering of the feral cats, as well as most of the wild animal work in the area, so he’s not timid, but he knows Dot.

The kittens heard me writing about them and came out from under the computer desk to cause trouble. They are “boneless” and squeeze into the narrowest of spaces. The are now being subjected to “THE TONGUE”.

By: Bryan

Bryan — Thu, 10 May 2007 03:35:43 +0000

Given that Dot and Sox tend to be “drama queens” when it comes to hairballs, I can usually clean them up immediately. As a korat, Ringo only has a single coat and doesn’t really have a hairball problem.

The catfood industry owes me refunds, because they said the stuff I bought last was a hairball cure, and it didn’t work.

By: karen marie

karen marie — Thu, 10 May 2007 03:32:55 +0000

mineral oil is the answer to your cats’ hairball problems. decades ago a vet explained to me that vegetable oil soaks into the cat’s intestine, causing the hair to stick to the intestinal wall rather than exiting greasily out stage left, however mineral oil, which is not a laxative but a lubricant, does the trick. no loose stool, big reduction in the poor cats vomiting.

i’m jealous you get to have a litter of kittens. i have two adult black-and-white cats to go along with my two aging cocker spaniels. they’re fun but nothing beats a box full of kittens!

By: hipparchia

hipparchia — Thu, 10 May 2007 02:51:31 +0000

it's a requirement here: all hairballs can only be picked up after a barefoot human has stepped on them. the human considers this to be a huge improvement over the original situation: all the hairballs being deposited on the sofa or in the bed.

By: Bryan

Bryan — Wed, 09 May 2007 17:15:09 +0000

Steve, the fires in Okaloosa County have been contained but are still smoldering, but they have bigger problem in the county just east of us, Walton, so we are getting a bit strung out.

OH, TS Andrea has just appeared.

By: Steve Bates

Steve Bates — Wed, 09 May 2007 16:27:06 +0000

Bryan, I’m more concerned for your and your mother’s safety. Stella’s people live in a small community about 20mi WSW of Atlanta. You’re a lot closer to the fires than they are, and I gather the winds are pushing them in your general direction rather than theirs (correct me if I’m wrong). Stay safe… and remind Ringo that you are not a scratching post.