9-12-14

Posted on by Robyn

Jump to comments

Robyn, my Bruiser always sits on the chair opposite me quietly watching me eat breakfast, knowing that when i’m finished there’ll always be a tiny piece of egg or cheese left for her on the plate. All I can see are her ears and eyes and it cracks me up.

I’ve often wondered how you manage that. Is Corbs the only one who pays attention?

I put up with a lot from the cats that other people wouldn’t, but I do NOT share my food. They know it and don’t bug me when I’m eating. But in the past couple of months, Corbie’s started doing this thing where he climbs up onto my desk, settles into his favorite cat bed, and quietly watches me eat. So I started giving him my plate when I’m done, and he licks up the remnants. He’s the only one who does it, and if he tried to be pushy or demanding about it, I’d stop giving him my plate. But he just sits there so patiently and it makes him SO happy to get a little bitty piece of scrambled egg, that I give in. He knows I’m a suckah.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SOOOO, since there are no silly cat questions I am going to ask one – my mom has a cat that is around 3yrs old or so. Female gray regular old cat. No special breed. She eats fine and drinks and uses her box okay as well. The thing is her tongue kind of sticks out/hangs out A LOT. Mom is not too worried (and lives on a fixed income so has ZERO money to do anything about it anyway) but I am curious if it is something to be concerned about. Mom is thinking maybe she has an abscess but like I said will not be doing anything to “fix” it. It is sounds serious-(like life threatening) to you I might be able to help her out with things.

Connie said: if it is something new, you might want to have the vet check the mouth. It could be a sore, it could be cancer, it could be something else, it could be nothing.. if the cat has done it all it’s life, then it is probably just a quirk of the cat.

I agree with Connie’s answer!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

oh and can you just send off the male ducks to freezer camp.. donate it to the freezer guy or something :p

If I were to send the male ducks off to freezer camp, I’m pretty sure I’d be joining them pretty quickly. 🙂

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Is that Alice Mo up there in the corner

It is – she likes to sit there and watch the birds at the feeders in the side yard.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I want to hear about everything that makes the ducks jerks. Everything! I know it’s got to be funny. Crooked Acres days are the best!

sourpuss said: Oh, it’s most certainly not funny but if you insist on knowing the horrid truth, this will tell you all you need to know. I warn you, it’s not pretty & it may change your mind about them (it sure changed mine).

I started watching that video and decided there was more about duck penis than I would ever want to know, so I stopped watching. 🙂

For me, the male ducks chasing down the female chickens and trying to have sex with them DESPITE THE FACT THAT IT HAS NEVER ONCE WORKED is what annoys me. But I will say that I’m glad that the hens have figured out that they can go under the coop to get away from the ducks, so even though the roosters don’t protect them (which is their JOB), they have a safe place to go.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OT but I just came across this article titled Man Spent 15 Years Building A House For His Cats and I just had to share.

I love it!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Do George and Gracie know you passed up not one but three perfectly good fire hydrants just for the sake of some ducks?

Shhhhh, don’t tell ’em!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Btw, have you ever seen a peacock spider?


YouTube link.

Not in person, but I LOVE THAT VIDEO.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Robyn, can you tell us more about Polo’s insulin injections? Like, how you have to hold him and where the injection goes, etc.

This is what the syringe looks like, next to a 2-liter bottle cap for size reference.

I was going to get a video of Fred doing the actual injection, but he refused (HMPH), and there are tons of videos on YouTube about it anyway – I recommend this one.

The needle is so small and thin, that I don’t think Polo even feels the injection; he certainly doesn’t react at all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Catfish questions.

Catfish: are they blue, channel or flatheads or a mix? And do y’all still feed them or are they eating whatever is in the pond now?

They’re Channel Catfish. Fred still feeds them a couple of scoops of floating fish food every evening.

I forget, is there a liner for the pond? otherwise, would those burrows cause issues?

No, there’s no liner in the pond – as far as I know the burrows shouldn’t cause any problems, though I wouldn’t recommend standing too close to the edge at the deep end!

I’m wondering if the catfish have any predators once they’re grown. The dogs? I can’t see the ducks or chickens taking them on.

The dogs won’t mess with the fish, and the ducks might eat tiny baby catfish, but from what I’ve read the ducks have more to fear from the catfish than the other way around. Every now and then, a heron tries to land on the pond – and I’m pretty sure they’d love to eat a catfish or two – but George and Gracie always run them off.

So if you got 200 catfish, how many do you have now??

Yes, inquiring minds want to know! I’m not up to speed on the mating habits of catfish to know if they procreate quickly or seasonally & what the success rate is of their offspring if there are no predators around (besides Fred). How many does he fish up/freeze during the summer? Tell us!

I have NO idea how many catfish we have now. A ton, I would imagine! The catfish are definitely procreating, because every time Fred goes out to fish, he has to throw back about 10 little ones for every full-sized fish he catches. When he fishes, he usually stops after he’s caught 5 or 6. At the moment, I think we probably have about 10 of them in the freezer. He needs to get back out there and do some more fishing, so we’re stocked up for the winter before the cold weather hits (though we have a few months before that happens, I guess.)

Would you consider stocking it with other kinds of fish like trout or tilapia?

No, we’re not really interested in other kinds of fish – and I’m not sure there’s room in the pond for more!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was taken through the window, so the picture’s a bit cloudy, but Lisa took this picture of Marshall and Monday at Petsmart recently. How ADORABLE is that?


Agh! SO SWEET.

Down at the bottom of the picture, you can see Blaster’s paw (this was taken before he was adopted, obviously).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Polo, lookin’ smug as he kneads and kneads.


Eyes o’ Lurve.


Such a pretty boy!

Fred reported yesterday that while he was walking at his treadmill desk, Polo came into his office, jumped up in his office chair, and howled and howled to be petted. Fred gave in (how could he not?), and after being petted for a few minutes, Polo went on with his day. I guess he just needed some love all of a sudden!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Tommy likes to keep an eye on those birds and squirrels. You just never know what they’re up to!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Previously
2013: ::CHOMP::
2012: Impossibly Petey Pickle would be an excellent name for a sitcom, wouldn’t it?
2011: Princess Poutyface not only has a forever home, she also has a forever sister!
2010: No entry.
2009: No entry.
2008: My monkeys are going to the pet store today! ::sob::
2007: Fred spends so much time talking about how gorgeous Stinkerbelle is, that I feel like he’s having a midlife crisis, only instead of dumping me for a younger, prettier model, he brought The Other Woman to live in my house.
2006: No entry.
2005: “Is someone in the kitchen? OH MY GOD! SOMEONE’S IN THE KITCHEN!”

Comments

44 thoughts on “9-12-14”

  1. Having a diabetic cat for 17 yrs…I would like to add that I found BD brand of needles the best. I used their short, ultra-fine.

    I used my index finger, middle and thumb in a triangle pattern to pick up the fur…it sorta makes a nice “fur tent” and insures a nice void area to deposit the insulin subcutaneously. 🙂 If you ever find yourself with a diabetic cat…don’t fret. The first injection might make you nervous and all, but that quickly passes, especially when you know that you are keeping your kitty healthy and literally saving his life. When I would go on vacation, I would preload all the needles necessary for the time span when I was to be gone. This insured the proper dosage and prevented my kitty sitter from making a mistake. So, they would come over, feed, scoop and play with my kitties…and give one little injection. If you have a friend in the medical field, that is a bonus. Else, you can easily teach them with an empty syringe that has all the air pushed out.

    By the way, good video choice, Robyn.

    1. A lot of people don’t know this, but if the insulin your cat uses is Lantus (glargine), Lantus comes in a pre-loaded pen! It’s a 300-unit device that is pre-loaded, and all you have to do is snap a pen needle onto the end of the pen, remove the shields, dial for the number of units you want, and go. Do clear any air bubbles (done the same way as with a vial), but I find that using the pens is a lot easier and a lot less wasteful than the vials.

      1. At the time, Lantus had not been tested for feline use. Also, Josh (my dear boy), had become insulin resistant and he got “fancy” insulin.

        Isn’t the pens more wasteful if you are using less insulin than the pen holds? The vials can be used till empty.

        1. No, not at all. Each pen holds 300 units with 5 pens in a box. There’s a dial that you set for the number of units that you need.

          As a human diabetic, as opposed to a feline LOL, I’ve used the vial/syringe combo and the pens. IMHO pens are much easier than the vials. The vials need to be refrigerated making them hard as far as any sort of day long outdoor activities. I went through some pretty hilarious setups trying to keep vialed insulin cold. The pens only have to be refrigerated until you use one. Once in use they actually have to be stored at room temp. The drawback is they’re only good for 28 days once out but I go through a pen in less than 2 weeks.

          1. That makes sense. Fortunately, my kitty was indoor only – thus never far from the fridge!!!

            Most kitties use only up to 3 ticks on a 1/2 cc syringe. My boy…was well…special. He used 13. I don’t know if Lantus has yet been tested on felines, so I do recommend someone thinking of using it to contact Lantus first. It works differently than standard insulin (keeping the user more “flat” than the standard bell curve) so its application to felines may differ from standard. Consult your vet, also!!!

    2. We had a diabetic cat, and we always gave her her shots while she was eating. She was so food motivated that she never even noticed. The first time I did it, I was so nervous that I drank a finger of whiskey beforehand. It’s super-easy once you get the hang of it, though!

      1. I’ll just add: There are a series of those videos made by the same guy. They really are quite humorous and some are more informative than others but for the most part they’re all kinda of cool, IMO. I guess what I like about them is that I tend to remember the info more because he makes it funny, rather than if it were dispensed in a more serious fashion. I tend to be a visual learner but, sometimes, that can work against me (as in the case of the duck video… I did NOT need to see certain things in that one) lol

        1. That reminds me that I did notice that there were more videos by the same guy and I meant to check them out. I’m going to do that right now!

  3. That Polo really knows how to be charming, the pictures and the story are both beyond cute. And whatever story Dennis was telling Monday to get her to follow him to that magical place was definitely true. Hopefully there will be plenty of adoptions soon!

  4. awwww…. my sweet baby Marshall has himself a little girlfriend *melts*

    Now I hope that whoever adopts ‘He of the Fantastic Stripes’ also adopts our little marvelous Monday!

    Polo really does seem like all-around well-adjusted kitty so I really hope someone who’s not afraid of his condition steps up soon to take him home because it’s kind of obvious he’d be a great new addition to someone’s family.

    But FURST (u c wut I did thar) our adorable & most precious Tricki needs her people to come for her!!

    2. Hear ye….hear ye…. DON’T BE AFRAID OF HIS DIABETES! Think of all the people out there with the same disease and they live just fine happy, healthy lives.

  5. Does Fred love the ducks? Just wondering since you said that you’d be going to freezer camp if you sent the ducks there. 😉

    1. Yeah, he really likes them (though he disapproves of the behavior, of course). He likes the way the male ducks walk around muttering under their breath. 🙂

      1. …and the fact that they can grow them larger each season! LOL. Sorry I went there….but you KNOW all human males are jealous! Ha

  7. Y’all, please keep my Truman (5 month old black male kitten) in your thoughts. He is scheduled to have his left eye removed around noon CST. We think someone popped him in the eye during playtime, and it swelled up and despite vet care, he lost the sight in it.

      1. Waiting to hear back from the vet. Preliminary blood work showing elevated proteins and globulin, possibly indicating FLV or FIP. Hoping for the best, but apprehensive all the same.

    5. Good Luck! Earlier this year my (5-7 year old?) cat was diagnosed with glaucoma and she ended up losing her vision in one eye (I couldn’t catch her to give her drops in her eye 3x a day). The vets guessed the eye was bothering her so we had it removed. The recovery took no time and now that her fur has grown back in she looks great. She is also a much happier cat, so I think the eye had been bothering her for a long time. Piratekitty is pretty awesome. And I can recommend this cat toy for recovery. http://www.amazon.com/Gama-Electronic-Pirate-Laser-Novelty/dp/B00HCS91NK

  8. so let us get this straight – George and Gracie protect the chickens from hot air ballons and jets but not maurauding ducks and protect the catfish from herons. your dogs are weird

    Polo cracks us up – drive by petting please!

  9. ((hugs)) to Truman!
    UPDATE: I was the one who asked about the kitty with her tongue sticking out and if you thought that was serious or not. Well, I don’t have the vet results yet but my brother’s gf was able to help out and take her in for my mom. I’ll keep you informed.

  10. “and if he tried to be pushy or demanding about it, I’d stop giving him my plate”

    Yeah, Bruiser learned that the hard way and why she now sits in the chair opposite mine. She’s a good girl.

    1. I have no idea why, but I think Bruiser is such an adorable name for a girl-cat. Could you maybe post a picture of her? I am just really curious how she measures up to her name.

      1. Not sure how to post a photo here, Robyn??

        Bruiser is a sweet little calico/tortie. When they were kittens, she looked a lot like Nance’s Julie, but now their faces are different. (I’ve never met Nance,just stal.., er, followed her blog)

        1. She sounds very cute and the description is picture enough! So she got her name, because she is essentially the opposite?

        2. If you want to email the picture to me, I’d be happy to post it, Maxie! (Sorry, I don’t know why I didn’t see these comments until just now!)

Comments are closed.