What was the first time you can think of when Stinkerbelle expressed her displeasure for kittens? I assume there was hissing and smacking involved.
You know, nothing really sticks in my mind. Stinkerbelle’s never been a fan of other cats (except her Tommy, of course), and has always warned them off with a growl and a hiss or two if they get too close. Kittens are usually pretty good about respecting the growl, and the only cat she has any problem with at this point is Jake, who is weirdly obsessed with her. She’s so rarely on the floor that when he sees her I’m pretty sure he thinks she’s a completely new cat, and he goes running after her to be friends. Stinkerbelle rarely has to unleash the wildcat scream these days, but when she does it’s a sure bet that Jake is involved.
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Look what I stumbled across!!!! 🙂
Oh, da STOMPIES! Doesn’t his sweet face kill you?
I love Love Meow!
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My old man Atticus is 15 now – a diabetic, although doing quite well, with a touch of peripheral neuropathy in his hind legs. As a result, he more often than not ends up stepping in his clumping litter after he’s peed – he can’t tell what he’s stepping in. And of course, this usually occurs within 15 mins of me walking out the door for work. He ends up with clumpy legs and paws, and I end up having to bath his legs in the sink, which as you can imagine, is the highlight of both our days. So, my questions – any suggestions as to what I can do to prevent this from happening with clumping litter, and secondly, is there any alternative any one can suggest, even non-clumping? I have 4 cats, and although they have no issues using the one box when it’s clumping litter, I don’t know how it would be using non-clumping for all of them.
Two suggestions came immediately to mind – first, maybe try a litter that clumps faster? I mention this option because I recently switched from Fresh Step to Cat Attract, and I’m surprised at how much more quickly the Cat Attract clumps than Fresh Step did. Whereas with the Fresh Step it seemed that the pee kind of soaked into the litter before clumping, the Cat Attract clumps right away – with Fresh Step, I had kind of flattish clumps, which sometimes stuck to the bottom of the litter box (no matter how deep the litter was), but the Cat Attract gives me round balls. I fear I’m not explaining it very well, but my theory is that if you have a litter that begins clumping (and clumps harder) right away, then there won’t be wet clay for Atticus to walk through. (Also, I should mention that Cat Attract is way more expensive than the other brand of litter that Dr. Elsey’s carries, Precious Cat. I imagine – someone can correct me if I’m wrong – that Precious Cat and Cat Attract are the same litter, only Precious Cat doesn’t have the attractant in it.)
The other option (and I haven’t tried this kind of litter, so hopefully someone who has/does can jump in) is maybe try crystal litter. As I understand it, the urine sinks into the crystals, and thus (hopefully) Atticus wouldn’t be stepping through wet litter on his way out of the litter box.
Y’all have suggestions, thoughts, recommendations? Please chime in!
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Now I’m all curious about your Fresh Step cliffhanger.
I wish it was more exciting! I’ve been using Fresh Step for years, buying the big 42-pound bags at Sam’s for $13. Recently they either changed the formula or Sam’s started carrying a different variant of Fresh Step (I don’t know which, because honestly I never paid attention to the type of litter I was buying, just that it was Fresh Step clumping), and the dust is beyond belief. Now, Fred has complained about the dust from the litter in the past, and I’ve told him to just suck it up (I am a kind and loving wife) because it was inexpensive and worked so well. So when even I am complaining about the dust, then that is some REALLY dusty stuff. Every time I scooped the litter boxes, dust billowed throughout the room. It was horrifying. I had to vacuum every day (never mind that I probably ought to vacuum every day ANYWAY), otherwise the floors would constantly be covered in dust.
So I began the switch to Cat Attract litter a couple of weeks ago, and I’m finding that the Cat Attract clumps better and harder than the Fresh Step did, AND it’s 1000% less dusty. I’m probably going to try switching to Precious Cat in a few more weeks, because as I mentioned above, I assume it’s the same litter as Cat Attract, only without the attractant. And Precious Cat is around $10 cheaper per 40-pound bag, so that seems worth trying it out.
One other thing I did, when I made the switch, was to add about a cup of activated charcoal (I bought this stuff, but feel free to let me know if you see it for less elsewhere) to each litter box, and so far we’re pretty stink-free.
So, that’s why we’ll be Fresh Step Paws Points-less from here on out! I wish there was more drama and intrigue involved in the story. 🙂
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I know y’all don’t have enough places for the cats to get some much needed rest…
I know, right? I love that tiny daybed SO MUCH! And the Lotus Cat Tree (but lord, is that thing expensive!) And… well really, I’ll just take one of everything. If only we had more floor space… Fred says another 5 years in this house, and it’s going to be wall to wall cat beds. Like that’s a bad thing?
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Do you think Jon Snow’s eyes are gonna stay blue?
I think they very well might! Arya, Brandon, and Hodor have all gone through the eye color change, but Jon Snow’s are still blue.
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Ok, two things about that blue ham-mick, 1, it’s clearly melting the kitty! and 2, if the kitties lay on top, why is there so much fur on the underside?? Or is that just sticking through as he melts into it?
Isn’t that terrible? I suspect that it’s a combination of the fur moving through the fabric as Sugarbutt moves around, the kittens playing underneath it… and maybe it attracts dust bunnies as they roll by? Also, possibly I missed washing it at the beginning of last month. I usually get all the cat beds/ Ham-micks in the house, but occasionally I miss something. Probably that’s more than one month worth of fur on that fabric. 🙂
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14 Tips For Taking The Perfect Cat Selfie
HA – that is awesome!
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Robyn – another story for you. One of your cats has a tiny little speck in his eye, right? After you posted about that, one day I noticed the same thing in Frank. It’s so small it’s barely noticeable, but it’s there. I mentioned it to the vet at the end of Frank’s yearly exam and she couldn’t believe I had found something so tiny. Turns out it appears to just be a cyst, not the other (worse) option. I’d have never known to look for that sort of thing while looking into their pretty eyes without your post! Your blog not only makes me really happy each morning, it’s quite educational.
Yes! Tommy has a speck in his eye that is, basically, a freckle.
Who says you can’t look at kitten pics AND be educated at the same time, right? 🙂
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I saw this on the internet and thought the wonderful world of kitty lovers needs to know about this. It is good for keeping the dog out of the “kitty treats”, diabetic or special diet felines out of the regular food for the other cats, keep the dog out of the cat food, etc.
You can get versions that are magnetic (attached to collar), a little RDIF tag, or via your pet’s microchip. Can be programmed to allow in one cat or multiple.
It might look pricey at first, but cats live many years and you can also use it for many cats throughout your life.
That’s really neat.
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After seeing how much Sugarbutt loved his ham-mick these last few years, I thought it would be fun to order a couple for my new kitten, DaisyBug. OH YES, she loves them so… She sleeps and plays on them every day. I highly recommend them. The Forty Paws web design updated just recently and it’s really spiffy… and my little DaisyBug is there posing on her new ham-mick! 🙂 Here is the updated address.
Thanks to the wonderful advice from you and your readers regarding adopting kittens in pairs, I adopted a little brother for her to grow up with. So now I have a sweet little six month old gal who was lovingly bottle fed by her wonderful foster Mom at the local humane society and a spunky, lovey little five month old guy who was also lovingly raised by his foster Mom at a local no-kill animal shelter. You foster moms are THE best! Thank you for generously giving your time & love to these furry little kittens and their kitten Mamas.
I’m so glad that DaisyBug loves her ham-mick! She is one cute little cutie pie. 🙂
I’m pretty sure that I can speak for most other foster moms when I say that getting a tiny kitten and doing all the work of getting it healthy and happy is so very much worth it when they go on to great homes like yours!
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Here’s a question for you, Robyn, (and perhaps other fosterers): Is it considered bad form to work with more than one shelter/agency as a fosterer? The agency I currently foster for often has me fostering a single, well-mannered, adult cat for several months at a time. We have no other cats or indeed other animals to care for, and in many of these cases could easily take on kittens at the same time. (Or, for example, there’s a shelter that needs fosterers only for a few weeks at a time that could easily fit between fosters from the other agency.) Is it “cheating” on one or the other?
I don’t believe it’s considered bad form or cheating, and I think that you should go for it! 🙂
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Norbert, Ember, and Ruth pile up for an afternoon nap.
“WHAT.”
I love how Ember’s draped over Scorch. There’s nothing cuter than kittens all curled up together.
“Not sure I care for your new comforter, lady. Is kinda busy.”
Ruth takes a moment in the sun to decide what to do next.
“Who, us? Fighting? We’d never!”
As long as you’re comfy, Scorch…
I think it’s safe to say that they’ve hit their long and lanky stage.
Oh, these kittens crack me up.
Try to calm down and chill out, Ruth. GOSH.
I forgot to mention this yesterday – the Dragons are 3 months old! Awww, can you believe it’s been three months since this happened?
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Arya loves a Mylar ball.
::thlurrrp::
Arya thinks that ceiling fan is somethin’ special, for sure.
Ever notice that it’s the instigator who complains the most when the one he started the fight with gets the upper paw?
“Okay, you go that way! And I’ll go THAT way! Let’s meet up by the cat tree!”
So the thing is…
I’m starting to think…
That Hodor’s back feet just never touch the floor.
Maybe he’s got an invisible balloon tied to his tail?
Yep. That must be it!
The Starks hit their own milestone – Brandon’s over two pounds and Arya and Jon Snow aren’t far behind! (Weight chart here.) They’ll be 8 weeks on Monday (and two months next Saturday), so they’re well within normal range. Hodor’s a few ounces behind, but he’s always been smaller. Maybe that’s why he’s always got his back feet off the ground, because he’s so light!
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Corbs, beautiful Coooooooorbs!
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Previously
2012: “Oh, lady, is so so so hot. The only thing that make me feel better is cookie. COOKIE. You has?”
2011: “Maybe I’ll cut this bratty little Spice for flipping over the Ham-mick.”
2010: “I disapprove of this behavior.”
2009: No entry.
2008: No entry.
2007: Really, here at Crooked Acres, it’s sometimes best to just look the other way, and not ask aaaaaaany questions.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.