So, do tell us the x-acto knife accident story. I have very weak hands, and am scared to death of cutting myself in my crafting adventures.
Back in June I got a box from Amazon that was just the perfect size for a cat cave. I decided I’d cut a door in the front, and put it in the fireplace in the dining room, where Newt likes to hang out. I got the door cut, and then I was all “Oh, you know what would be cute? A cat-shaped window in the side – and that would make it easier to see if Newt was inside the box!” I sat down in the chair at my desk and drew the outline of a cat head on the side of the box. Then I grabbed the X-acto knife and did exactly what we ALL KNOW you’re not supposed to do: I started cutting the box toward myself. I was about halfway through the outline when my hand slipped, and I stabbed myself in the inner thigh right through the shorts I was wearing.
THE BLOOD. I mean, it wasn’t shooting out, but there was a lot of blood. I pressed a paper towel to my thigh and it stopped after a few minutes.
AND THEN.
I started feeling light-headed. I was all “OH MY GOOD GOD, I STABBED MYSELF IN THE FEMORAL ARTERY AND I AM BLEEDING OUT INTERNALLY WHAT A STUPID (and yet perfectly appropriate) WAY FOR ME TO DIE.”
I did not die, and I’m not one of those people who faints at the mere suggestion of blood, but apparently seeing that much blood made me woozy for a minute.
So if you’re going to use a sharp cutting instrument, I suggest you cut AWAY from yourself. But I know it’s a waste of time to warn y’all, ’cause you just think you know everything. I mean, I KNOW better, and I can’t swear I won’t do it again in the future.
PS: Fred finished cutting the outline (AWAY from himself) in the side of the box, and the box stayed in the fireplace until last week, when someone (JOE BOB) sprayed the front of it, and then I tossed it. But Newt loved it while it was there, so it turned out to be a good idea.
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Hey – I just noticed that this is the anniversary of the famous “The Downfall of Senator Stanley J. Boogerton” post. I read that at least once a year.
I love that post so very much. The reaction shots between Mister Boogers and Miz Poo just crack me UP every time.
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Does Stefan stay outside all night? I would think that he would get too cold or does he have someone to snuggle with?
He stays out all night when he wants to – he’s welcome to stay inside, but sometimes he howls to go out. There are at least 8 sheltered houses on the property, including three with heated beds on the front porch. He’s got his pick of warm places to sleep – though given how much he sleeps during the day, I suspect he does a lot of hunting at night!
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I found this litter scoop this year and well… it has changed my life. I have 7 of them now and I also got them for Christmas presents for my cat owning family. It is $5.23 at Walmart.com
I wanted to make sure everyone saw this, just in case you’re in the market for a new scoop, and the KKat Innovations scoop I love so much isn’t for you!
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Are the babies still wearing their collars, or are those older pictures?
They’re still wearing collars – they look so much alike that they (well, I) still need them. When they’re ready to go off to Petsmart, I’ll put nicer-looking collars on them so the cleaners/adoption counselors/potential adopters can tell them apart. I’ve had to adjust the collars a couple of times, since the kittens insist on growing.
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Abby’s a girl on a mission!
“What you doin’, weird lady?” wonders Chesnee (and Iva in the background).
Charleston, the little poser.
Such fabulous whiskers, that boy.
Abby has such gorgeous eyes.
“Huh. Where’d THAT come from?”
That face she’s making is KILLING ME DEAD. She’s totally doing her De Niro impression. “You talkin’ to me? You talkin’ to me?”
Tiny Raleigh in a tiny basket. (Okay, he’s not all that tiny. In fact, except for Charlotte, he’s the biggest kitten. But he still fits in that tiny basket!)
Iva in the sun.
“Wut.”
So, in an attempt to be helpful, I went ahead and ordered some silvervine toys from Chewy last week. I ordered the Vitakraft Purrk! Fish, the bird, and the mouse. These three toys are all hard plastic toys infused with silvervine (according to the instructions), and the kittens were certainly interested enough. They sniffed them all over, and bit at them a little. Every now and then they’ll smack at the toys, so they’ll play with them – but they don’t LOVE them.
However, I also ordered the Deep Sea Bug and the Desert Bug, which are soft toys that come with packets of powdered silvervine to sprinkle on them. The problem is that I opened the packages to get the toys out, and the kittens were instantly 100% in L-O-V-E LURVE with these toys. They’ve been playing with them like crazy, and so I haven’t bothered with the silvervine. So A++++ to the Deep Sea and Desert Bugs, and “meh” to the hard plastic toys.
Abby, playing with one of the Deep Sea Bugs.
(I’ve also ordered some silvervine toys from Oskar and Klaus, and haven’t received them yet. I’ll report back when I do!)
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Video! The kittens, playing King of the Castle on the hammock. Goofy monkeys.
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“HALLO INNERNETS HOW YOU DOIN’?” Jake seems particularly loony here, doesn’t he?
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Previously
2015: Rickles wants HUGS.
2014: You KNOW there was a feather teaser up there!
2013: Silvio and Stefan. Twoo wuv.
2012: No entry.
2011: No entry.
2010: “I was restin’ my eyes, lady.”
2009: He might not be paying attention to me, but he still doesn’t like it when I leave!
2008: If I could knit, I’d knit a duster-type coat with big pockets in it, so I could load a cat or kitten into each pocket and they could keep me warm all winter long!
2007: “I vant to be alone.”
2006: No entry.
2005: I think Mister Boogers thinks he’s Sugarbutt’s Momma. He’s always grooming him like crazy.
I’m also prone to mishaps with sharp things, so I’m definitely not judging!
Did anyone else think of this (https://youtu.be/6mWiPaQ872c) while reading the first bit up there?
HAHAHAHA!!! I remember that one! Perfect comparison! 🙂
Hahaha – I miss that show!!!
I miss it, too! Sitcoms like Frasier are few and far between. There are a few on now that I love, like Big Bang Theory, Life in Pieces and American Housewife.
I am screaming laughing at this!!!!! But I first thought you were going to show the SNL clip of Dan Aykroyd bleeding out as Julia Child!
The Fall of Senator Boogerton is probably my favorite post of all time.
You can’t help but laugh! Definitely at the top!!
I got the Squashbugs jail scene banner. MADE MY DAY!!!
“Let. Us. OUT!”
Me too and ME TOO!!!! 🙂
The story with Mr. Boogers and Miz Poo was hysterical! I hadn’t seen her looking so young and pretty! Earlier I had just known her as older and regally beautiful.
Advice needed.
Our two 12 year old indoor cats (littermates, have never been separated ever) have been showing increased aggression towards each other over the past few months. It’s always triggered by seeing a strange cat outside the window, but I’ve had to separate them 3 times when they start to howl at each other.
Yesterday it must have happened when we weren’t home. My partner got back to one agitated, tense cat (Pollux) and one agitated, hiding cat (Castor). Neither is badly injured (both some cuts and scrapes) but after hours apart, they started hissing and howling at the sight of each other both last night (~3-4 hours apart) and this morning (~9-10 hours apart).
Evidently this is something called Feline Redirected Aggression, and the recommendation is long term separation followed by gradual reintroduction. Has anyone tried this before?
Our strategy is to confine one cat at a time in one of the bedrooms with food, water, and a litter box, allowing the other free roam of the rest of our (not very large) apartment. The thing we can’t decide is whether to confine them in the same room (ie switch them into and out of the spare bedroom), or separate rooms (ie Pollux gets the spare room and Castor gets our bedroom). Thoughts?
Thanks for any tips, this is very stressful!
first things first, you need to stop that other cat from coming around. Do you know if it is owned? There are ways to deter a cat from coming on your property such as motion activated sprinklers. Site blockers might help too. You can buy window film that you can just place on the window (it is not adhesive, it just sticks to the window) to allow the light in and prevent them from seeing the other cat.
Rescue Remedy might also help in your situation.
Window film, done. Keeping other cats from coming around is an impossibility, I’m afraid. I live in a big city with a feral cat colony on the next block and lots of outdoor pets around, not to mention squirrels, raccoons, skunks and coyotes (hence why my cats are indoor only).
Day 2 of separation and it’s going ok so far – the confined cat is often upset, though one of them is handling it better than the other. We’ve settled on confining them to our bedroom, which is a safe space for both, and switch out every 6-8 hours. Got Feliway diffusers and the window film. Now it’s a matter of deciding how long to wait until we try very gradual reintroductions.
One positive note: Pollux was whining about being confined and poked his paw out under the door. Castor sat and watched and looked like he wanted to play, not like he was scared or angry. I am still going to take things slow, but I took that as a happy note.
Meg, I’m so sorry I missed this comment when you first posted it! Luckily Connie had good suggestions (thanks, Connie!) I second giving Rescue Remedy a try. I think that the fact that Castor seemed more curious than scared/angry is a good sign.
I was going to say that I’d recommend using the same room for confinement – since it’s a safe space and they’ll be able to smell each other all over the room, it might make the reintroduction easier.
Thanks to you both. Day 4 of separation and it’s still going ok – they accidentally came within a few feet of one another this morning when I was switching them (didn’t latch the bathroom I guess) for a bit and didn’t react at all, so I am hopeful. Thanks for the kind words and support!