Barley is a sweet dog who was attacked by another dog. She had to undergo extensive surgery to save her life. Go read about her here and please help out if you can – remember that every bit helps!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I have captured you, dastardly mouse!”
Note the litter stuck to her foot. When I let them out of their room in the morning, about half the time they go running into the bathroom. Mariette likes the tub, and it was a little damp from Fred’s shower a few hours earlier, so of course – when one has damp feet, what does one do immediately after vacating the shower? That is correct, one puts on one’s litter shoes.
Angelo, hangin’ on the stairs.
Chillin’ on the stairs.
I’d been out working in the yard, and brought them a couple of gum balls. We have Sweet Gum trees all over our property, and the lawn is carpeted in Sweet Gum fruit, which we call gum balls (see what they look like at the top of the page here – right now).
Aside: OF COURSE Martha Stewart has instructions on how to make Sweet Gum wreaths.
Mariette took a break from batting the gum balls around.
And then she grabbed the one Angelo was playing with.
Eventually, both gum balls ended up at the bottom of the stairs, where I stepped on them. In bare feet. Which is always pleasant.
Angelo, lookin’ pouty.
Mariette, lookin’ smug.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stinkerbelle knows what you’re doing, and you should be ashamed of yourself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Previously
2013: “Don’t you go riling up my babies, lady.”
2012: “Do NOT boop my nose, lady!”
2011: Ohmygod, SO RUDE, taking pictures of the pregnant lady from behind.
2010: “I! HAZ! A! COMPLAINT!”
2009: Fred thinks Beulah is ugly.
2008: No entry.
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
Oh I love Stinkerbelle’s judgemental little face!
OK…as Robyn has brought up the topic of litter feet… My 20 year old torti Cagney (her birthday’s today!) has arthritis and often as she gets out of the litter box, one of her paws lands in the wet litter. I try to clean it off whenever I see it (which she hates). Sometimes I don’t get to it before it dries and hardens. Any thoughts, other than having her wear galoshes, on how to prevent it? Or which kind/brand of litter might be the least problematical? I’ve tried both clumping and non clumping. Non-clay litter is not an option. While I prefer Tidy Cat overall, it seems to make the hardest clumps on her feet.
(Boy, if ever there was a word that looked like what it was, it’s ‘clumps’)
Webbthistle, I’m going to post your question in Friday’s post, but in the meantime, I have no helpful advice for you. 🙂 Since non-clay litter’s not an option, that takes away the only suggestion I had (crystal litter), so hopefully someone will have something more helpful for you!
I assume you use a hooded litter box or other box that only has one way in? If so, my advice is get a low sided litter box that can be entered from any side. Of course this can be a hassle if your cat is a litter kicker, but I assume with the arthritis she can’t kick that much. My parents had a 17 year old cat with the same situation and that’s what they did. It didn’t stop litter feet all together, but it cut down on them. They used clumping litter because that’s what she was used to. I hope this helps!
This isn’t about the cats, but I remember an April Fool’s prank from years ago back. Are you miraculously expecting this year too? LOL
Some people got so mad about that, that I am never doing another April Fool’s prank again! 🙂
Traca, I remember that too. I was reading early in the morning, actually believed Fred & Robyn were soon to hear the pitter patter of little feet. Great April Fools joke, but they actually DID hear the pitter patter of little feet — many kitty paws running to & fro!
Stinkerbelle still has those gorgeous blue eyes!
I need some advice on dealing with bullying/aggression between my 2 tom cats. I have Sammy, who is almost 3, he was plucked out of a tree at the mall when he was about 8 weeks old and was wild for several weeks before he decided being a part-time house cat was the way to go. He has 2 older sisters and for the most part, they get along pretty well. The problem started when my aunt passed away and I brought her 2 cats, Sophie and Thomas Irvin, home with me. They are both 10+ and exclusively outdoors. Sammy used to be bullied by a neighbor’s cat and he has found out that he can bully both Sophie and Thomas Irvin. Most of the bullying is directed at Tom. We go for periods when it’s not too bad and then something seems to set Sammy off and he stalks Tom, there are physical fights and I’m concerned about Tom’s safety and well being. I can’t keep Sammy in the house, he would tear it down. Any suggestions as to how to tone down the aggression?
Joni, I don’t have any good suggestions for you, and will post your question in Friday’s post. Out of curiosity, how long have Sophie and Thomas Irvin been with you?
are there vertical spaces in the house? Cat trees, etc
Sammy is indoor/outdoor and Thomas Irvin is strictly outdoor. There are trees and lots of places to get in and under but the problem is if Tom goes for one of them then Sammy just follows him to continue the fight.
I will take litter shoes over poo paws any day!! 😉
I’d take either over litter AND poo paws! (But ugh, yes. Poo paws are the worst. Especially when the cat in question tromps all over the place!)
crazy teenage kittens
I was talking to the head of the rescue about screen doors – they have on on their foster room – took off the screen and replaced it with the small chicken wire. 🙂
That’s a good idea!!
When Robyn first mentioned the pet screening, I assumed she was refering to hardware cloth- a stiff wire screen with 1/4″ mesh. I always figured that if I ever had a screened in room I’d have that on the inside and real screens on the outside.
Thinking that Stinkerbelle might’ve heard what you said when you stepped on the gumball in bare feet…!
and on a scale of 1 to stepping on a lego, is a gumball #9?
There’s a little more give to a gumball, so I’d call it a 8 or 9. 🙂
lol @ scale of 1 to lego..
Robyn-sorry about your foot. I am glad you didn’t do any April Fools Day prank. I never did understand the purpose of such things (but then again my family says I have no sense of humor anyway).
In looking back, to 2012 (my favorite little kittehs-you always remember you first anyway) I noted that you had mentioned what a good name Calgon was in reference to something Emmy might have been thinking. So I want to remind you, that if any new little kittehs come wandering into your life soon that Calgon, Dawn, Pledge, Woolite, Charmin (cause you would just want to squeeze him to death), Febreze, Downy, Bounce, Cascade, Cheer, and twins Spic and Span.
ahh.. yes, the “I have a wet food I must step in litter” syndrome.. if only there was a cure..
Thanks for the guidance and support on Cagney’s litter foot issue, friends. The reason non-clay solutions are off the table is that they were all tried already – and most resulted in problems worse than litter foot! We do have a low sided litter box. I’m thinking that Cag’s low-vision might be a factor in her not missing the puddles…
“Stinkerbelle knows what you’re doing, and you should be ashamed of yourself.”
She knows what…..that I am spending time looking at kitties on the internet instead of being productive???? I will never be ashamed! 🙂
I hate Sweet Gum trees and their offspring.
I love Stinkebelle…