Adventures

Ping, the cat who chews on air, has recently found a new place to sleep.

On top of the litter box.


Side view:


Here's a video (from November-ish) of Rowdy and Crackers yawning in their hammock:


I acquired the new raccoon, Casper, on Sunday evening. He's still getting used to being in a totally different environment, and he wants nothing to do with Rowdy and Crackers yet, but he'll come around. Currently, he's in a giant dog kennel inside the habitat - he can see, smell, and have little interaction with Rowdy and Crackers (through the locked kennel door), but he's still secluded in his own safe space. Once he's fully integrated into the habitat with the other two raccoons, I'll have to take some pictures and videos of him. Until then, this one photo will have to suffice:

Thanks for y'all's words of encouragement and love yesterday. It really helped, more than I can express.

Fin was ready. As I held her in the vet's exam room, waiting for the vet to come in and administer the drugs, she was so peaceful and calm. It helped knowing that both of us were ready. The vet came in, talked to me for a couple of minutes, administered the drugs while I held Fin, and that was it. So peaceful. Dustin buried her on the farm a few hours later.

I woke up this morning at peace because I knew I had made the right decision. I'm still sad about her (I've already cried several times this morning), but I'm spending the day cleaning the apartment, moving things back to their original places (since Fin spent most of her time in the spare bedroom/office, I'm deep cleaning it and making it back into our office again), and generally feeling okay. It was the right decision, made at the right time. She's free, now.

About three weeks ago, I bought special prescription cat food for Fin, which was supposed to help her kidneys function to the best of their ability. She didn't eat much of it, so I bought a different flavor two weeks ago. She didn't each much of that, and so this week, I put her back on the normal cat food that she liked. She's barely eating any of it. :-( She's also having more difficulty walking, and she's stumbling more than she used to.

It's time to let her go. I called the vet this morning, and while they don't have any openings tomorrow, they suggested that I call tomorrow morning and they'll give me a time where I can be worked in.

Ugh, this sucks.

I'm taking Fin to the vet on Saturday. I don't have an appointment so they're going to work me in. I don't know what's going to happen or what I'm going to do with her.

Last time I took her to the vet in August, the vet said she has the beginning stages of kidney failure, although it's very faint. I presume that's what's going on, now- she gained a bit of weight back in the fall (not a lot- about 8 ounces- but enough to prevent me from euthanizing her in November because I couldn't justify it), but she's lost the weight again, despite being fed wet food 1-2 times a day and have a constant supply of dry food to munch on. She's hitting the litter box only 30% of the time now, and we're at the point where we've shut her in the computer room, put a tarp down (and a sheet on top of that, so the pee doesn't pool on the plastic) and hope that she'll at least make it to the tarp.

I don't think I could rationalize euthanizing her if it's a behavioral thing. If there's nothing physically wrong with her but she's just peeing and crapping in inconvenient places, I can't put her down. It's not fair to end her life just because it doesn't mesh well with my own. If it's a physical thing, where she's only expected to get worse instead of better, I think I would be okay with euthanizing her. To determine this, it'll probably take a round of bloodwork (which costs about $100, though cost isn't a concern) and the results won't be in until the middle of next week. So if bloodwork IS done, it probably won't be this week. But I don't even know if bloodwork is necessary to determine her quality of life has dramatically decreased to the point in which it's acceptable to euthanize her. I'm so lost.

With every other domestic animal I've taken to get euthanized, I've known it was time. The cats had stopped eating and lost a bunch of weight and had loss of their excretory systems. Cody stopped eating all together and didn't want to move. I truly believe that the cats and Cody told me and my family "I'm ready to let go." THEY decided when to give up; THEY decided when it was time- we were just the avenue in which they were led into a peaceful end. I have absolutely no regrets about the way our domestic animals have left this earth (or rejoined it). Even though I knew it would suck and I'd be in a lot of pain, I knew it'd be selfish to make them suffer on my behalf. I was willing to take that sacrifice, and cry for them and bear that pain, rather than have them live another day in pain.

But I'm at a crossroads with Fin. She's in this in-between stage, where I'm unsure of whether it's time or not. When she meows, I'm not sure if it's in pain or loneliness or boredom. I don't know her as well as I've known my other furry friends- Fin has only been with us for 8 months, while the others were with us for over 10 years. I feel confident that I'd be able to make that call with Kudzu or Ping (even Nat, although she hates us), but with Fin... I'm just not sure. It's my responsibility to make that call and I'm so lost as to what to do. I don't trust myself to make the right decision; to do it with no regrets, yet. I'm hoping that the vet visit this weekend will give me some sort of clarity. Or at least I'll get the clarity that I'm so desperately searching for by spending some quality time with her this weekend. I just need her to tell me what to do. :-/

I've had this stray cat for two weeks now. In those two weeks, I've put up signs everywhere I can, listings on every website imaginable, and I've only gotten two inquiries about her. One phone call last week from a woman who lives in the neighborhood and then an e-mail today from a woman who's on the complete other side of town, recognizes it's a long shot, but still wanted to contact me anyway. Unfortunately, neither of the women are the owners of this stray cat, so she remains in our spare bedroom. I'm fairly certain that I won't find her family. :-/ I've talked to several animal rescue groups and they've all told me the same thing- they're full because it's kitten season, but if I can hold onto her, get her healthy, and foster her for awhile, then they might be able to take her.

The stray cat isn't doing as well as she should be. A week and a half ago, I took her to PetCo's low cost vaccine clinic and got her vaccinated and tested for fiv and feline leukemia. Luckily, she has neither. I also sent away a fecal sample, and while I don't have the results of that back yet, I'm fairly sure she's negative for worms (I dewormed her the first day I got her, in addition to poking through her poo looking for worms).

But she's not gaining much weight, despite the fact that I'm feeding her kitten wet food every day, in addition to dry cat food. She's currently five pounds, 12 onces. Which is really small, especially considering her age (5-6 years old). She should weigh about twice that. Because she hasn't been putting on much weight, I'm taking her to the vet tomorrow. Not the PetCo vet, who only sees the animals for less than a minute while giving them vaccines, but a real vet visit with my family's vet, Gwinnett Animal Hospital. I called them yesterday and got a quote for how much an exam and blood work would cost and today I called to make an appointment and request a discount since 1) this is a stray cat and 2) my immediate and extended family has been loyal customers for over 20 years. Luckily, they're giving me a discount (albeit not a big one), so I've got an appointment for her tomorrow morning at 11:30.

I have to admit, this whole process has been pretty frustrating and discouraging. Even with my connections to vet's offices and animal groups, I still haven't gotten very far. I called ten vets in our area, asking if they did low cost spays or vaccines for stray cats, and none of them did (even the ones who advertised it on their websites!)- they all quoted me at about $300. Project CatSnip is great- it's only $45 through them, but it doesn't really lend itself to people who work because of the hours you have to drop off and pick up the animals. We don't qualify for any programs that are based off of your income because we make too much. I even had my "Found Cat" posts on Craigslist flagged and deleted because I put them in the "pets" section and not the "lost and found" section (it was the first time I've ever posted to CL, too). It's been so incredibly discouraging. Unfortunately, there just aren't many places that help you out for doing the right thing anymore. She's such a sweet cat and I'm just trying to help her out, but it seems like everything is against me. I was nearly in tears yesterday when I called my vet's office and they said they would help me out. I'm just so thankful that amidst all of the rejection and difficulties, someone is willing to help me out.

I just wish I could change the world.

I have three cats and one of them has a problem.

Kudzu is addicted to menthol.

There, I said it.

I recognized she had a problem about two years ago. I'm allergic to bug bites and they itch like crazy. The only cream I've been able to find that actually helps with the itching is Johnson and Johnson's Band-Aid Anti-Itch Gel (formerly called "Rhuli gel"). This stuff is incredible and has menthol in it as a cooling agent. It also makes Kudzu a little crazy. Any time I use it, she'll jump up on top of me and start wildly licking my leg (or arm, or wherever I put it). When I try to push her away, she'll just jump back up and start licking again. I try to pull her away and she'll latch onto me, digging her claws into my skin.

Unfortunately, this addiction has taken over her life once again. I've got a sinus infection and decided to pamper myself by buying Kleenex with Menthol. Bad idea. Kudzu keeps on licking the Kleenex. If I turn the box upside down, she'll use her paws to flip it back over so she can lick it. I've hidden the box underneath binders where she can't get to it.

Not to be deterred from her addiction, she's found the dirty Kleenex in the trash cans and she's gotten her high from those. I've had to pull her out of the trash can FIVE times today, which only makes her even more desperate to get her fix. She's hit a new low. When I look at her, digging into the trash and smothering her face in menthol-flavored Kleenex, all I can think is "Amy Winehouse, my cat has you beat."

I'm tempted to just give her a Kleenex to suck on and lick so she doesn't eat the snotty ones in the trash, but I'm not entirely sure if it's healthy for her. I Googled "menthol cat" and came up with a couple of forums where people talk about their cat's obsession with menthol (and one person whose cat chewed on a Menthol cigarette), but nothing that states whether it's safe or not. Anyone have any idea?

ETA: Here's a video of her licking the Kleenex. See all the Kleenex in there? Snot: I has it.

I has a new cat! Happy almost birthday to me! :-) This is her Petfinder.com profile. We're changing her name, though.

She's currently in our computer room, hiding behind the futon. We'll leave her in here, separated from our other two cats, until Friday. That way she can get adjusted to living in a new home and being with us before being introduced to Kudzu and Ping. On Friday after I get home from work, I'll let them sniff each other out. This works out pretty well because I'll be home next Saturday and Sunday, and Dustin will be home Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, so between the two of us, we'll have four days to supervise the interaction between the new cat and our other two cats.

I'm excited.

I've had a busy weekend. On Friday I took my last exam and packed up and came home. I left everything in my bedroom and then went to Outback with my family for dinner, only to return to find my hamster cage on the floor from where the cats knocked it over, and no hamster in sight. It's been two days and I still haven't found the little booger. I just hope she doesn't starve to death 'cause that'd be inhumane, but I won't be heartbroken if I don't find her again, either. She's a bitchy little hamster.

Yesterday I went with my aunts and my cousins to some fancy girly luncheon place and ate lunch and celebrated my aunt's birthday. She gave me more drugs. Yea for drugs. After lunch, we went to the wedding dress store where Laura's dress is so she could put it on and let everyone gush. It's a gorgeous dress. Some of the dresses in there were really frilly and lacey and junk...defintely not what I'm looking for. But her's isn't too lacy or frilly or anything. Then we came home and I went into Decatur to meet Christin for dinner and pick up the fish from her. The rest of the night was spent transporting the fish to my house, cleaning out the tank, and loading the fish back in it. Unfortunately, our flourescent light finally died, so I've got to go get another one soon. I spent several hours on the phone last night with Dustin, which was nice, since he's not in town this weekend. :-(

Today I woke up at noon, then ran errands for most of the day. I returned a book to Borders, picked up a new flourescent light in hopes of fixing the fish light (nope), and dropped off mine and Mom's engagement rings to be appraised. Her prongs were loose so they'll be fixing those, as well. Mom said she feels naked without her e-ring on and I have to agree. I've put my promise ring back on that finger, but it feels funny because it's not as heavy or thick as my e-ring band. Alas, they'll be ready on Wednesday, and then we'll feel normal again. Or at least, as normal as we were before.

I went to Valvoline today to get my oil changed, and much to my surprise, obliviousbobby was working today! So he changed my oil and made my car happy again. AND he gave me a discount. 'Cause he's absolutely awesome. I called Dustin out of excitement that I got to see Bobby and he was so nice to my credit card, and I told Dustin that if he ever kicks the bucket, Bobby shall be my replacement husband. Yesh.

Anyhow, then I came home and cleaned out the attic a little bit. We have so many old boxes up there and styrofoam pieces from computer and printer boxes that it's just gotten to be a mess. I carted over 9 garbage bags full of trash out of there, and I hope to clean up more this week. It's such a mess up there! I found the partial remnents of some animal, although I'm not sure what. Raccoon, maybe? Definitely a putrid smell, definitely something dead, and definitely not a squirrel (wrong coloring). I didn't clean it up, though. lol Then I went over to the farm for dinner, then came back and watched The Simpons while cutting the cat's claws and putting blue Soft Paws on them. They're not too happy with me at the moment, though. Oops.

Tomorrow will be spent at the farm, doing some computer work for my grandmother and baking tons of Christmas cookies!

To the cat people: Has anyone on my f-list ever used Soft Paws or Soft Claws on their cats? I'm interested to hear other's experiences with it.

I just put them on my cats tonight, and I'm wondering how many will be off in the morning. I'm hoping to train them to wear these so they don't claw up furniture, wherever they end up.

I'm not sure whether the cats will end up living with Dustin in Tennessee, or with my parents here in Atlanta. Since I'll be living in the dorms this semester, I won't be able to have them with me. If they live with my parents, I can see them often (college is only 30 minutes from home). But my parents don't really want to deal with having two more cats (in addition to the two they still have), and I hate to stick my cats, that are my responsibility, on them. If Dustin takes them, they'll be further away so I won't be able to see them as often, but I'll have less guilt about him keeping them. However, as I just learned today, the duplex doesn't allow pets. So we'd have to be stealthy, like ninjas, with them.

I hate the fact that I can't live with them. When Dustin got the job here in Atlanta, he said we could keep Kudzu, who I was fostering at the time. Then we got Ping (yes, we changed her name from "Stinky" to "Ping", because she no longer farts) in January as a friend for Kudzu. We had no idea Dustin's job would transfer him 300 miles away, and instead of living with him my senior year of college, I'd be back in the dorms, where pets are not allowed.

I'm so lucky Dustin's okay with caring for them, and I'm so lucky my parents have offered (Dad more grudgingly than Mom) to keep the cats, provided I pay them monthly for litter and food, and cut their claws and stuff. It could be worse- I could have to get rid of them completely, and that just breaks my heart. But it still sucks knowing I won't be sleeping with them anymore in a month, and I have to figure out who keeps them until I get out of college and I can care for them myself.

Blah.