OT September Chit Chat

[agate]

HOPE YOU'VE BEEN ENJOYING YOUR BIRTHDAY, CHERIE!

[Lady]

Cherie, I wish you a very Happy Birthday a tad late. I'm glad you had a wonderful day

[Frog42]

Happy Birthday Cherie!

[renee]

The virgo sun sign has risen.

HB2U, Cherie

[Virginia]

Happly late birthday to you Cherie!!

Howie, sorry you have been feeling, shall we say, not so well lately. At least you do have a nice neighbor. I am a dog person I must confess, however I am so glad you have your three cats.

Well, actually I did have a cat (kind of) until my work ran out in May. I probably told you all about him. A lady where I worked took him in as a newborn kitten and bottle fed him. He was kept in the building where I worked and for some reason just took up with me. He stayed on my desk in my in-box until he got too big and then we moved the in-box and got him a bed and put it on the corner of my desk. He stayed there a lot. The people I worked for own the building. Half of it is now being rented out and they have put him in the other half. One of the men goes by everyday and checks on him and gives him food. However, this is a far cry from how he was treated. We gave him special snacks and picked at him and played with him all the time. He was six the first part of May and was never declawed so no one wants to take him home with them. They say it is very hard on them to declaw them that late in life. I've never had a litter box and wouldn't even know how to take care of it, but there is never a time that I don't think of him and think how hard this has been for him - so loved and now just food and nothing more. He must be very lonely. His name is Max, because he was found in the back of a Maxima car that had been hauled in to a junk yard.

This has been a long week-end. Have been by myself all week-end. Looks like most of the neighborhood is kind of deserted. I have read and done a little house cleaning, but I wish I could walk better and go out with people. I don't like Holidays anymore because of this.

Jeannie, glad you could read everyone's post. I remember when you could not do that.

I am so excited for Peg! I just hope is goes wonderfully well both in Florida and after she gets back home. It will be interesting to see what happens.

Gabriella, you are at home with us, so just stay right here and talk to us the way you always have. MS and MG - what a combination.

Hope everyone had a nice Labor Day week-end.

Virginia

[agate]

Vicky, those kitties are very handsome! What a shame that you had to say goodbye to them!

Virginia, I know how you feel about these long weekends. They can be almost too quiet.

About your cat--Is there any chance you could take him where you are now? I agree that declawing an older cat isn't a good idea at all. I have my doubts about declawing in general but vets have told me it does no harm if they're going to be strictly indoor cats and if the declawing is done when they're young.

Litter boxes aren't a bad maintenance chore. The clumping litter that is available now seems to be easier than the old kind. Cats hardly ever need to be trained to use a litter box. They just naturally use it. You need to remove the "clumps" daily, rinse the box out from time to time and replace the litter in it, and that's about it.

I live in a small apartment and use a litter-box liner for convenience. It's a bit pricier but saves effort for me. I change the litter about once every 3 weeks but stir it around and remove the clumps about once a day.

I've had cats that had been outdoor cats but had to become indoor cats. They made the transition to strictly a litter box without any problem.

Or maybe you could talk somebody into taking him with his claws. Scratching posts often work well, and the claws can be clipped.

I hope your cat will find a home.

[Gabriella7]

Cats

Howie, I really do like cats and we've had a lot of them when our boys were little. Not too many were "lap cats" tho. My middle son had a beautiful grey short hair with green eyes that was the best with taking affection and would sit for hours in my lap. Over the 40 years we have lived in this house the traffic on our road has increased to the point that having a cat is out of the picture. We have a large lab who doesn't seem to like the cats that sometimes past thru our yard so an inside cat is out of the question.

Cats are able to entertain themselves better than dogs. We had 3 kittens when the boys were little and those kittens climbed my sheer curtains and ruined them but had a great time I'm sure. They can also entertain their owners when they are kittens. Enjoy your pets.......while they are kittens.

Gabriella

[Gary]

Until MS came to visit (and never leave) I was never really a "cat" person. Since we bought our first farm when the kids were really little we have always had cats around, it has been a necessity as the mouse population would have over run us. But as I am now permanent resident of the couch the cats have learned that they can push the 2 dogs out of the way for my lap. And in the winter the cats snuggle with the dogs to see who can steal MY body heat. We do have outside cats that never even come close to the doggy door although we do have presents delivered to the back porch and sometimes (yuck) even inside the house. This weekend they even caught a magpie and were so proud of themselves. As it was still alive I was not so happy.

My wife had to spend the weekend with her mom again. She is just not doing so good. She had a cyst removed and as she is a breast cancer survivor it was hard on her. My idiot SIL was suppose to be available this weekend as she lives closest but at the last minute she went camping so my wife had to go. My BIL took his youngest to college and was in contact by phone but needless to say that my wife had smoke coming out of both ears! We are thinking that it is going to became necessary to make arraignments for her to live at our house. Since I can not sell the farm with the real estate market the way it is I am thinking that I might add a mother in law quarters either to the house or build something separate. There is way too much stress on my wife as she worries about her mom and when she is down there she worries about me being home. I have plenty of people I could call on if I needed something. The folks that rent our farm have become close friends (single mom with 9 kids) and they get after me if its hot outside and I am puttering around. Had to laugh as last month she told her boys that the only reason to bother me was if there was a fire and it better be a big one that they could not put out by themselves.

I am still not 100% it has been slow going. I finally went a whole week without a Dr. appointment. Sad that has become a milestone. I started ordering my meds 3 months at a time through the mail the UPS driver must think I am running a pharmacy. Looking in the kitchen cupboard it looks like I am running a pharmacy but it does save me some money and trips to town at the last minute because I forgot to get a refill. I am out of the doughnut hole so it doesn't make a lot of difference as at this point my meds are covered 100%. It is amazing that a box with my insulin and copaxone can be carried under one are and is worth close to$10,000.00 .

It is back to summer weather temps this week as it is low to mid 90's I am so ready for fall and that is not my favorite season but the heat is worse. I dont really need snow or temps in the teens but enough is enough plus as it has not rained in 2 months (normal for us) everything is dusty and dirty. We have an old 1949 GMC truck with a 3,000 gallon water tank on the back that we are pulling out of mothballs to sprinkle the gravel road in front of the house to try to keep the dust down. As we have water rights from the Snake River we can drop a pump in the river and fill it up. With my wife breathing problems the dust is hard on her.

Agate we have a litter box for convenience as in the winter the inside cats dont want to get there toes all wet and dirty.

Cherie did you and Dave do anything special for your birthday? Besides clean up the yard after Irene passed through of course.

Be healthy everybody.

[renee]

Virginia- the therapeutic effect of a cat or dog can be tremendous.
You and this kitty have history together, too.

I got my first cat, a 7 year old, from my sister.
He is going to be 12 in october, "mistuh Claws-like-talons" right now
but he knows where he can scratch.

He also incorparates nail biting into his grooming- so convenient
when I can't grab him or bring him to a pro.
I use feline pine for cat litter and flush the cat refuse in the toilet.
Am I going to hear about that????

Pine pellets, minimal stink, and little tracking.
AND I believe I discovered that my cat litter is actually the
same pine pellets bought to fuel wood furnaces- at a fraction
of the pet store price.

My mental health and happiness is far better
for having a companion that occasionally barfs, has needs
and is affectionate.

A benefit of having a clawed cat is that it will catch unwelcome rodents
to show you its appreciation.

[SalpalSally]

Virginia- the therapeutic effect of a cat or dog can be tremendous.
You and this kitty have history together, too.

I got my first cat, a 7 year old, from my sister.
He is going to be 12 in october, "mistuh Claws-like-talons" right now
but he knows where he can scratch.

He also incorparates nail biting into his grooming- so convenient
when I can't grab him or bring him to a pro.
I use feline pine for cat litter and flush the cat refuse in the toilet.
Am I going to hear about that????

Pine pellets, minimal stink, and little tracking.
AND I believe I discovered that my cat litter is actually the
same pine pellets bought to fuel wood furnaces- at a fraction
of the pet store price.

My mental health and happiness is far better
for having a companion that occasionally barfs, has needs
and is affectionate.

A benefit of having a clawed cat is that it will catch unwelcome rodents
to show you its appreciation.

I think I love your Cat, Renee.

Do you flush the pine pellets too?

I may have to get a Cat one day, probably an adult or an adult doggy. I can't train another pup or kitten... And I know when it's my doggy's time for doggy heaven, I will not be able to live without a furry companion..

[renee]

Pine pellets disintegrate into a fine sawdust after enough...wettings.
I scoop out the most disintegrated pellets, flush- moderate amount-
and replenish.

"This place may be a cat house,and the roof may be hot but it rarely
smells like a cat house." -not Tennessee Williams.

I have seen a program in my area placing older cats with wise, mature,
persons such as ourselves - no fees.
The cats are spayed or neutered w/ shots.

Spaying, neutering and shots are optional for their potential owners.

[JTwin]

Rodeo weekend, Labor Day,, I love this rodeo, was rodeo queen, 4 years running, also was barrel racing in the rodeo,, lots of good memories,,

Peg

Hi everyone,

I am new to this thread and so late to comment on this post. I have a lot of good memories about my horse(s) and entering them in radio contests too. Stock mostly. I was never a rodeo queen though! Did you have an awarding winning horse?

Loving horses here and my dogs

[JTwin]

I meant rodeo. LOL!

[Pegakafarmgirl]

Hi everyone,

I am new to this thread and so late to comment on this post. I have a lot of good memories about my horse(s) and entering them in radio contests too. Stock mostly. I was never a rodeo queen though! Did you have an awarding winning horse?

Loving horses here and my dogs

Hi there fellow horse/person.. a award winning horse? yes we did, but he had a incurrable colic, and we had to put him down,, Sonny was our top game horse..
Now I just ride {yes I still ride}, my quarter horse, down the trails,my husband trained him, to take care of me,,.he is worth his weight in gold,,

[JTwin]

My horse was American Saddle Bred. 4 white stockings. I used to ride her in stock. She was such a beautiful horse. I would love to have another one and I may one day. My best friend tells me "no more animals!" and she has a very strong argument going. LOL! I'm sure I could still ride a horse but I'm not so sure I could care for one. A lot of work goes into maintaining a healthy horse as you know. How does your horse take care of you, Peg? I'd love to know more about that.