...at one time...
the keyboard isn't big enough for more...
here we see Mackie & Mattie...
who are often joined by Murph & MJ...
I gave these two the "bum's rush"...
put the rug back on top of it...
[as I do a number of times in the day...]
and went on into the office...
I returned in moments to find this...
Mackie, so thankful I put the rug back on...
he prefers to lay on the rug, on the keyboard...
as opposed to the keyboard without the rug...
on other fronts...
Fluff's eye now has an ulcerated cornea...
the vet says she has no sight in it anymore...
but removing an eye in a kitty of her age [17]...
is not an easy surgery for the cat to recover from...
she doesn't seem to be in pain...
has gained weight[she's NOT on steroids...]
her digestion has gotten better...
but her eye is loosing the battle...
so I put salve in it every few hours...
pet & adore her, as is her due...
and hope for the best...
she seems perfectly happy & totally herself...
[demanding, imperious & haughty...]
my friend Creamer, however...
is back at the vets for a couple of days...
to do "tests" for thyroid, sugar, liver...
whatever is causing her to have unremitting diarrhea episodes...
interspersed with periods of regularity...
her last couple of bouts of "pudding" diarrhea...
were left on the bathroom floor...
which I almost stepped in at 3 AM...[yuck]
so we have to figure out her situation...
she's 13 & way too skinny for the first time ever...
ALL the others are back to normal weight...
I'm guessing she'll be there through the weekend at least...
on the dog front...
I've been searching for a while now...
for better ways to control Molly...
MM suggested a Halti collar...
she described a former dog of hers...
as almost choking itself...
pulling against the choke chain...
making gagging noises...
and still "pulling"...
that's Molly, to a "T"...
choking herself, gagging...
and still pulling harder...
my only mistake was getting it too big...
and she pulled out of it....
so....
since Calico had suggested an Easy Walk harness...
and I had also gotten one of those too...
I put it on her...then the Halti collar...
which I snapped to the chest ring...
where the lead attaches to the harness...
perfecto !
wearing both...we took a walk without ANY pulling on her part...
we walked steadily and even encountered some other dogs...
I have to get a smaller size...
so the Halti won't fall off...
but both of them worked...!
no more back pain or dislocated fingers !
many thanks to both MM & Calico...
for their advice...
it just goes to show...
you can teach an old catsinger...
new doggie tricks...
here you see them both[in black] hanging with the lead...
of course, this has been an immense help in dog control too...
here you see Molly inside her new crate on 2/2...
then I made it her "den" by covering it...
a perfect spot to chew dog stuff & play growl at cats from...
she goes into it without any bribes or downcast looks...
I generally make sure that she has something to chew...
she stays in there anytime there's cat food "set out"...
or if someone is here, trying to accomplish something...
she also stays there at night...
she has become too playful with my old kitties...
Sneaky Pie & a couple of them, give her "what for..."
when she's too rough...
but I've seen her chase a couple of the old guys...
and I saw her "pounce/roll" Charlie...
he wasn't hurt, but she's too strong to be that rough with them...
so if I'm sleeping, outside working, not home...
or just busy with stuff...
she is quite content to be there, in her den...
if I'm about in the house, eating, watching TV...
she's out...though I have seen her go in even then...
and since we now seem to have a solution...
to the "walk/pull" problem...
things should get better for us all...
as for the "stuff"...
let's just say that I pray...
that "my ship will come in..."
before my pier collapses...
7 comments:
I'm so glad Molly is becoming a more manageable dog, but my heart sank when I read about your kitty problems. Poor Fluff, poor Creamer. Everyone is aging and having problems at once.
I wondered about Fluff's eye. Can they leave the stitches in permanently? Or will the degraded tissue continue to cause her health issues? It's all so dreadful.
As for the keyboard, why in the world would the cats want to lie on a hard lumpy keyboard anyway? Is it always plugged in and warm?
...the keyboard is NOT plugged in...but cats seem to have an interest in all things plastic...
go figure...
I just heard from the vet, Creamer still has diarrhea but the tests have all been good[sugar, thyroid, fecal parasites]...she'll be there all weekend...it doesn't stress her anymore so it's a good place for her...
Fluff worries me...her eye looks worse every time I look at her...
her health is good and she doesn't seem to be in pain...but I've seen this before and it has "remove the eye" written all over it...
I am so glad that I happened upon your blog today! Consider me a new "virtual" friend.
What good news about Molly! She just needed to know that YOU are the "alpha" person around the house...although the kitties probably all feel that THEY are each "the alpha!"
If I believed in incarnation I would want to come back as one of YOUR cats! You are a terrific "cat mommy!"
Hugs,
...thanks y'all...
we had another totally "pull-free" walk... Molly used to charge around dragging me down the street...now, she walks with me...NO pulling at all...
today we watched the black Persian cat at the corner near the park stalk a mourning dove[she had NO chance...]
but then as the cat saw Molly watching her & beat her retreat, to watch us pass from her porch...Molly was very contained...
she wanted SO much to chase...
but when I said "no"...she didn't...
whined a bit, but didn't...
she REALLY wants to play "chase" with my kitties, who don't want to... so the crate is a Godsend there too...
bit by bit, I begin to "grok" canines... felines are 2nd nature...
dogs..a mystery...
Dogs are really much simpler than cats. As any pack animal, dogs just want to know their place in the hierarchy. If they do, and the people are strong alphas, they aren't stressed and anxious (and misbehaving - a vacuum in the power structure puts everyone on edge). Cats have a much more complex relationship to people - if they feel loved and secure, they want to please their people, and need emotional interaction with us. Or, as my husband says, "Cats are your friends; dogs are your minions." He's REALLY more a cat person than a dog person.
...your hubby sounds like my kind of person...I'm much more a cat person...
I do truly feel an interaction on both a spiritual & companionable level with cats that I've never had with dogs...
if I'm in a bad mood, the cats DON'T take it purr-sonaly... a dog will...
I've always liked working better in a collegial environment, delegating authority...
I can BE alpha...it just takes a lot of energy...
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