I have such a soft spot for the senior kitties after having my Boo for 21 years. I wish I had know about the Liqui-Tinic for her. Is it a new product?
I don’t know if it’s new – we’d never heard of it before two weeks ago when we got it from the vet. I can say that I highly recommend it, though – Spanky’s doing well on it.
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Sara L. over on LH’s FB page has already mentioned this, but for anyone who has to have a kitten-fix and can’t wait for Katie’s baking to be done, head over to this live cam.
I’ve been watching this guy fostering litters of kittens since last summer. This litter will be my third. I keep a screen open almost all the time and check on them periodically throughout the day. They are a great distraction (well, sometimes TOO much of a distraction and I don’t get work done….) One of the viewers has put up a great FAQs too that’s a pretty entertaining read; it’s here.
And…. while I’m loading up on links here anyway, let me throw one to a cool report about a medieval texts scholar who found inky kitty paw prints on one of the ancient manuscripts he was studying. I posted it on my business FB page (top entry at the moment)
The cat video just below it is pretty funny too.
OK, I’m just procrastinating now so let me try to get back to work now…
Thanks for the links!
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I’ve been wanting to report back on my big cat and say a gigantic THANK YOU to whomever it was that mentioned that mold could be the source of his problems. Long story short, we discovered a source of mold that the big cat was getting into. Within one week of removing it, he was 80% better. He is now about 95% better, and my vet swears she never would have even THOUGHT of mold, so she’ll be checking other cats with perplexing symptoms from now on.
I now have a public service announcement to make for any readers living in cold climates. Our indoor kitten got frostbite on Friday night/Saturday morning by sleeping pressed up against a window. She is lucky to have escaped with only the skin on one paw missing. She’s going to be fine and is currently limping around with a huge leg cast on, but we had no idea that a window could cause frostbite like this. So if you have cats in a cold climate, insulate your windows, or keep your cats away on cold nights!
I’m so glad that your big cat is doing so much better! And also glad that now your vet is aware of the mold issue.
Thanks for the frostbite warning, too – I certainly would never have thought that that could happen!
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Now, what’s going on with gorgeous little Baby Beans? Why has that little sweetie not been adopted?
I am hoping his people find him soon!
His people haven’t been along yet, but surely it won’t be much longer. Who could resist his gorgeous, attitudinous, tiny little self?
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Hang on, I’m trying to do the math on “If even one of those kittens is half as gorgeous as me, they’ll still be twice as gorgeous as any other cat in existence.” Does “any other cat” include both the kitten AND Corbie? Because if not, I think we’d better hope the most gorgeous kitten is only 49% as gorgeous as Corbett, else Corbett’ll just pop right out of the world like a soap-bubble the minute that kitten hits the floor! If it does include Corbett, though, that puts him at being… what would it be, four times as gorgeous as any other cat? Which is nothing but the glaringly-obvious truth.
You crack me up, Elayne. But I think you know that I do NOT do math, so now I’m worried that Corbie will pop like a bubble when Kate’s babies are born, because they’re guaranteed to be GORRRRRRRRRRRgeous!
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I giggled a bit when I saw the 11 1/2 pounds. My orange kittie is a perfect weight at 17!
Well, I don’t doubt that Lunk will end up being that big – he’s only 9 months old, you know, still a baby!
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I laughed out loud at the “bakin’babies” picture too !!! That is priceless !!! I guess with all the extra fur on Kate there will not be an alien belly video clip. You can try to get one and think of it as a challenge 🙂
Speaking of the alien belly video, we surfed to YouTube on the Xbox the other night, and that video is a whole ‘nother level of awesome when you’re watching it on a 55-inch screen!
Kate does not appreciate me sitting and staring at her belly, so I haven’t seen any babies moving. But I’ve felt them!
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Lunk reminds me so much of my Buddy. I wanted to give you an update – In June you were kind enough to post a message because my Buddy got out and I couldn’t find him. Well a few nights ago I saw an orange tabby butt running off my porch from the food bowls. Last night I got a look at the face and I’m 98% positive it’s my Buddy!! He’s scared though, but when I called his name he stopped and turned like hmmmm that sounds familiar. So I’m going to get a cage and try to catch him this weekend and well just hoping it all goes well. It’s been 8 months since he got out and he was only about 1 years of age.
And then:
He’s home!!! I got him tonight – didn’t even need the trap – had my door open (will probably get sick but its worth it) and finally coerced him inside (had to do it twice, first time he got out again) and I got him. He’s in the bathroom calming down and until I can get him to vet to get him checked out, but he lets me hold him and love on him with no fighting at all. I don’t remember when I’ve been so happy!
Yay! That is absolutely awesome news, I hope Buddy has given up his wandering ways, now that he knows how good he’s got it inside!
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Brandywine was one of your mommas and she was a tortie
This is true! I was only thinking about mamas who have given birth here, not the other ones I’ve had. There was Brandywine, who was a tortie. There was Mia, who was a gray and white tuxie (I occasionally see a picture of Mia and think it’s Joe Bob!) There was Catie, who was also a tortie. Then there were Kara, Maggie, and Emmy, all brown tabbies. For that matter, let’s not forget Maxi, who was also a mama, and she’s black.
So, the tally: Three brown tabby mamas, two tortie mamas, two black mamas (including Kate in that), and one gray and white tuxie mama.
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I’m not surprised she’s not a climber – can you imagine trying to jump off the ground (gracefully no less) with 3-5 squirming little babies inside of YOUR tummy? 🙂
and
Could that have anything to do with her being gravid? A cat that isn’t much for climbing will want to climb even less in that condition.
Of course as soon as I said I hadn’t seen Kate up off the floor at all, I walked into the room to find her on top of the little cat tree! It could be her pregnancy that makes her want to keep all four feet on the floor, but Emmy was pretty big, and she spent almost all her time in the wall basket. There’s not really a lot of climbing involved in getting in the wall basket – there are steps leading up to it – but I don’t blame her for feeling safer on the floor.
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Saw Batman and Robin tonight and Robin has lost his one white whisker, but Batman still has the little mole behind his ear plus I can tell them apart just by personality. Robin lurves a snuggle. Baby Beans was out with the big guys and played with the feather teaser. Gave me some attitude, but didn’t draw blood. He doesn’t look like he’s growing at all. He looks half as big as he should be.
Awww, Baby Beans. I wish he’d get his bratty little self adopted! (Though I’ve told Susan that if too much time gets by and/or they decide he’s not adoptable, he can come back here for as long as need be. He couldn’t possibly be any less trouble!)
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My household gained an orange boy today. A local shelter had put Garfield on their urgent euthanasia list because he developed a cold. He was scheduled to be euthanized at 2 pm today, so I called this morning and went to get him this afternoon. He’s 8 years old and was surrendered by his owners because they moved. He started purring as soon as I got him home and hasn’t stopped. He’s incredibly mellow and affectionate. I told my husband that we didn’t really “need” another cat, but that this cat needed us. He has to stay isolated in the guest room for a couple of days because of his sniffles, but I’m so glad I took this leap of faith for this sweet boy.
Awww, Noelegy, bless you!
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Nipples! Side note, my preggo cats would shed skin around the nipple right before birth. How do I know this? Ask the three who determined the best place to have kittens were in my lap.
You must have one comfy lap! I’ve eyeballed Kate’s nipples again (still no pics, SORRY, you weirdos) and there seems to be more skin around them than there was. I don’t think her milk sacs are full yet, but I’ll confess that I didn’t actually touch them because she was giving me A Look.
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Did you freak out when you saw Miz Poo up high the first time? I’m pretty sure I would have – I would have been sure that she couldn’t get down!
I was a little worried, but she saw me looking at her, and was happy to prove that she could get down if she wanted to.
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Okay, I’ve gotta ask – and please forgive me if you’ve addressed this before – what makes Da Bird different from all of the other “fishing-pole” cat toys? I’m always looking for new toys for my guys, but hesitant to buy yet another “thing-on-a-stick”. I’m hoping that Da Bird is infused with magic rainbow sparkles, and that my cats will love it. The mystical, elusive perfect toy!
It’s made so that when you swish it through the air, the feather end spins, and it makes a noise that sounds very much like a bird flapping its wings. The cats always immediately snap to attention when they hear it, even if they’ve never seen it before. I’ve had fosters who were obsessed with it, and would climb up a bookcase to grab it and pull it down. It’s definitely different from any other fishing pole toy I’ve tried.
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Ok, so if the same guy who said Lilybet was pregnant said this one is… I’d get a second opinion! lol Except that belly kind of gives her away. What a lovely black beauty she is!
They were two different vets. This one appears to be right, but I’ll be glad when Kate hands over those babies and proves me right!
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HOW do you take pictures and play with da bird at the same time?? I’d love some action shots of my Boo Radley but I’d need an extra hand!!
Usually, Fred’s running Da Bird, and I’m snapping pictures. I’ve tried taking pictures while waving it for the cats, and I am NOT that coordinated!
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Lunk is Kennebec, yes? When/how did he become Lunk?
I think it was almost as soon as I brought him home after he’d been returned to Challenger’s House. I said something about him being a big guy, and Fred said “He’s just a big lunk”, and it stuck!
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I got Da Bird because of this website as well. I have many “things on a string” toys, but only my younger cat was interested in those. With Da Bird, my 16 year old three legged cat went BONKERS! She rarely plays with anything, but something about that toy just does it for her (and stragely enough, our other cat doesn’t like it much). Thanks so much for letting me know about this toy, it has given my husband and I so much joy to see our Bonnie play like a kitten again! Here is a link to her playing with it (sorry it is so dark).
What a cutie! I really think that the noise the feathers make are what gets their attention. They think it’s a real bird flying around up there!
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HA – I love it!!!
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[Squirrels are] Jerks like this?
(I love the picture of the cat. “It makes this much mess, and you won’t even let me kill it?!”)
You have killed me dead. Is that the cutest freakin’ thing or what?!
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are you sure you don’t want some cute fluffy ducklings??
SO very very very sure. Because cute fluffy ducklings turn into big ducks, and I SO do not want more than four ducks out there!
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So, do you at least eat some of the duck eggs? Yum!
Since George and Gracie are known as BWD (Big White Dogs) among my fiber friends…perhaps the bird is just a BBB (Big Black Bird). We have hawks and vultures here in the city, too, and it takes me a minute to figure out which one I’m seeing…so BBB.
I usually bake with the duck eggs.
I am so going to use BBB from here on out. Generally anything that soars over the back forty gets called a hawk around here, but BBB works much better!
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So I bought one [a Da Bird] as well from Robyn’s link last time (Robyn, you should see if Amazon can set you up with referral fees 🙂 ) and when it came in, it is definitely like “crack” for cats!! My 4 girl kitties beg/cry/whine for it every evening. My hubs and I can’t even sit down until we played 15 minutes of kitty crack. They enjoy it so PLUS they are getting their needed exercise. I just hope they keep at it for years to come.
I may have mentioned this before, but I fear that I’ve only thought “I need to mention this” and never, you know, actually MENTIONED it. When I link to something at Amazon, I use an affiliate link (which Fred signed up for a zillion years ago), and if you buy the thing I mentioned, we get a few cents from your purchase. It usually adds up to $20 – $30 every three months, whereupon we get a gift card from Amazon… and I buy something for the cats or the fosters, of course.
I’m going to put a note in the sidebar so that it’s clear that we do make a little money from the Amazon affiliates’ program. And just so y’all know – if I link to something at Amazon and you find it cheaper elsewhere, not only should you buy it where you find it cheaper, but you should also leave a comment so that everyone knows where to find it for less!
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You need another choice on the poll: I already had cats but Robyn convinced it was awesome to foster.
How ’bout a whole new poll addressing the fostering issue!
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“Yeah, you come over here and touch my belly again, I’m going to have to put the smack down on you.”
“There’s a difference between a belly RUB, and you just sitting there with your stupid hand on my belly trying to feel babies moving. Let me tell YOU – they’re MOVING. They’re moving PLENTY. You’ll just have to take my word for it.”
“I’m well aware that you’re back there trying to get pictures of my wide belly. STOP IT.”
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We need more pictures of Alice Mo fuming!! Since tomorrow is TGICD (Thank God it’s Corbie Day), could you perhaps find a pic of Alice Fuming at how gorgeous Corbie is?
“Yeah, he’s back there, all “Look at me, I’m so gorgeous! I’m Corbie! I don’t have anything brilliant to say, I just get to lay here and look beautiful!” Well, gag me. ::fume::”
“She knows she secretly loves my gorgeous self, she just can’t admit it.
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Previously
2012: Sights from around Crooked Acres.
2011: She loves to thwart me, that brat.
2010: Odds ‘n Ends.
2009: No entry.
2008: No entry.
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
Geez. Are my cats the only ones that have no use for Da Bird? Big cat runs and hides when he sees it and the kitten will watch it, but won’t move a muscle to get it. You know who uses it daily? The dog. In fact, we’ve had to hide it from the dog because he goes INSANE when he sees it. He’s half Shiba Inu, which are bird dogs, and I’ve seen him snatch a bird out of the air from our yard, so it sort of makes sense, but I swear I bought that thing for the cats!
The laser light is the toy that I have to hide from the dog. The cats enjoy the red dot but the dog is OBSESSED. The cats would rather leave the room when it comes out now.
All of my three cats ignore the red dot. “Not real, buddy” they seem to be saying.
I have to hide the laser light from my cat. He loves it and if he sees it in your hand, he will run out into the middle of the room ready for you to turn it on. If he sees it on the counter, he will jump up there (bad kitty) and bat it onto the floor to signal me to pick it up and play with him! Love that little man!
Oh the dog loves the laser light, too. It’s hidden away with Da Bird!
When my Star was an only kitty, she did not like Da Bird. She’s a mouser, not a birder, and prefers to attack things that run along the floor. We used to drag Da Bird (Oh the humanity!) for her and she loved it. Since we got Leo, who is indeed a birder, I think his jumping around inspired her and she will now, occasionallly, jump for the flying Da Bird.
My parents arrived Thursday with their dog, Molly. After reading these comments, I got out Da Bird to see if Molly wanted to play with it. She did not – but she’s having fun with one of the cats’ toy mice!
LOL! I didn’t think you’d have a Alice/Corbie pic at the ready!
OK, let’s see… A Newt/Stinkerbelle picture!!
I cannot imagine how much pain I’d be in after trying to get Stinkerbelle and Newt in the same picture. 🙂
Great post today! Question for a new poll:
Which is cuter?
Baby squirrels
Baby kittens
Wet kittens
Pregnant momma cats with moving bellies of kittehs
Baby ducks
Baby children videos found on youtube while looking for all of the above
ALL of the above!!!
Given that I have a blog full of recent wet kitten pictures, I’m going to have to go with wet kittens. Those pics are even more fun when you’re not the one giving them baths 😉
Your “Les Miserables” post was AWESOME.
Thank you! You’re so sweet. (That one was a LOT of fun to write too… not so much in getting the material)
Noelegy – you CHANGED the world!!! 🙂
Seconded. You rock, Noelegy.
Bless you for taking the new boy in! We’d love to see a picture of him!
Aww, y’all are making me all misty. I will send Robyn a picture. The new orange boy is now named Gary. My hubby immediately renamed him when I said I wasn’t crazy about the name Garfield, and the cat wasn’t responding to it anyway. When I immediately thought of “The Music Man” and the song “Gary, Indiana,” it stuck. Gary is just about the mellowest, most laid-back cat I’ve ever seen. So far, I have cautiously introduced two of my tribe to him, but he hasn’t joined the general population yet. My hubby is falling under his charms, because if there’s one thing my hubby is a sucker for, it’s an affectionate cat.
The reality is that I woke up Tuesday morning of this week just like any other morning, started reading my Facebook feed, and just couldn’t take one more of those “Urgent Death Row” posts. It sounds corny, but I decided that if this was all I could do was to change the outcome for just ONE of those animals, that was what I was going to do. I was prepared to love him even if he was scared and standoffish, but he immediately settled in and paid me back a thousandfold with love. The “urgent” postings still ache my heart, but I know I made a difference for this sweet little guy, and that’s a good feeling.
You’re a beautiful human being!
Gary!! Love the name!!! PICTURES!!!
YAY NOELEGY!!!
Disclaimer: Except when you give him catnip, as it turns out. Gary is a ‘nip fiend.
Three cheers for Noelegy! (and hubby)
And extra scritches for Gary 🙂
I always wanted to call a cat Gary! I love it!
I bought a Da Bird, also on your recommendation. Maia is afraid of it. She will watch it but if it gets too close, she runs a mile! Barney (who I wanted to call Gary…sob) LOVES IT! It’s the best toy ever, and we have to fight with him to get the feathers out of his mouth if he does catch it! He does not like it when we put it back in the drawer!
I can’t wait to meet Kate’s babies! I love your baby kitten posts!
Corbs and Alice Mo. Gorgeous.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4V9uNrFTOGY
I’m sure someone has mentioned this before, but maybe you could use some character names from Justified for an upcoming set of kittens: Raylan, Ava, Boyd, Arlo, Wynn, Limehouse, Mags, Dewey, Doyle, Bo, Quarles.
Kate is absolutely gorgeous. I have a few long-haired black cats, but they are fluffier and not quite as sleek as Miss Kate!
I feel like Raylan and Boyd have been used before, but I’ll have to check!
I just looked at the photos of cats who did not want their pictures taken, and I must say I laughed and laughed. That was a wonderful contribution to the level of fun in this world. I sent the site to all my friends. Even the ones that do not like cats.
Thanks.
Cat lovers, you MUST read this.
http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/08/one-cat-three-lives/
Oh, and on an unrelated note, a friend of mine met Grumpy Cat!
http://www.austinchronicle.com/blogs/sxsw/2013-03-08/yes-you-could-totally-meet-grumpy-cat-at-sxsw/
Not that I don’t like kittens and cats (cuz I DOOOOOO!!!), they really need to spay and neuter…same with their neighbor up the road…. just say’n.
Oh, I didn’t even catch that. Yes, I hope they spay and neuter, too.
May I just say that, for that first link, you should really have a Kleenex or two thousand ready.
Has anyone done an Egyptian theme for cats yet? Also, more than a few of those could tie into royals.
I bought Da Bird for my cats and they LOVED it… for about half an hour ’til one of ’em grabbed and pulled a little too hard and the baton snapped in half and Da Bird attachment came off… oops! I managed to MOSTLY fix it and it’s now a favorite of my cat, Albus — the other three are just too rough to play with it, so I only pull it out when Albus and I have alone time each night (long story, but Albie is bullied by my other three cats, so I take him to my mom’s house with me for a couple hours every night to watch TV and play/snuggle so he doesn’t feel like the Most Picked On Kitty Ever). Da Bird is starting to look a bit worse for wear, so I’ll probably have to replace it sometime in the near future. Oh, and my dog (a chihuahua) loves it as much as the cats do, too ;D
I haven’t been reading here long, but the pictures and videos sometimes remind me of Maru, the Japanese cat. Have you seen the YouTube videos? One of my favorites is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHwntRpLobU .
Robin lost his whisker of power? Awww, I hope that he didnt lose his superpower of being adorable.
My 20 year old cat, Caesar, has had a rough several days. Because of his age, I always watch for the “look” that will tell me he’s ready to move on and join his two sisters. This week, he was declining rapidly, but didn’t have the “look” in his eyes. He was hardly able to walk, it took several tries for him to stand up and lay down. Then I saw blood under his tail and nearly panicked. I called the vet urgently and she had me bring him in right away. Turns out it was a ruptured anal gland and it was causing him incredible pain. Vet shaved his back side (he’s a long haired cat) and cleaned it some, gave him an antibiotic shot, and sent pain medicine home for him. Now, two days later, he’s much improved and is moving much easier. He’s just not ready to go yet.
I’ve ordered some Liqui-tisin (with the permission of my vet) and I’m hoping it will help him feel better overall. I’ll let y’all know if it helps him.
Glad to hear he’s doing better! Venerable old man he is 🙂
YAY!! I see that Baby Beans *finally* is adopted. So happy for him.