Even though it is near IMPOSSIBLE to organically find - San Jose Parks n Recs has an exercise program that is very… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…4 days ago
@jonk Seriously hilarious! It does look like a hair product commercial! 6 days ago
Here is our cat before she got annoyed with me trying to take her picture. There are two main reasons I have a lot more pictures of Nessa than I do of Teagan. One, Teagan is black and very difficult to photograph. The lighting has to be right in order for her features to show. And two, she hates it. It used to be that I could NEVER get a shot of her. She just didn’t like it. Nessa doesn’t care. You can be in her face or across the room and she is like, “Whatever.” Or she may not even notice. But Teagan used to have a NO-radar. She could be dead asleep and her NO-radar would wake her up and she would leave. “NO! You are not taking my picture!” She is better now, but she is still difficult to photograph. You might imagine how many far away (so she hopefully wouldn’t notice I was taking a picture) or blurry (because she noticed and is leaving) pictures I have of her. She is beautiful so I would try!
We do somethings that we think deter the cats from the tree. As with most years we put our tree on a table. This helps keep it out of the cats’ way. With our first cat the weekend we brought the tree in the house she spend two days throwing up. My husband is convinced that she ate a needle and it bothered her stomach so ever since then we are fastidious about needles on the floor. I vacuum often when we have a tree that sheds a lot. One year, when the tree was on the floor, I was vacuuming ALL the time because the cat would walk by with tail up and knock a load of needles off the tree. Another reason why we put our tree on a table. We are fortunate to have a very tall ceiling where we put the tree. We have also experienced cats drinking the tree water. That can’t happen.
BC, as in Before Cat(s), I had purchased some “Tree Saver”. It goes in the tree water and supposedly it helps the tree last longer. Well, can’t put that in the tree water with cats. Don’t know what it is in, but I bet they shouldn’t be drinking it. And so we don’t do that, but also, “they” say that the pesticides and chemicals that the trees are grown with shouldn’t be ingested by cats. So it is not a good idea for cats to drink the water that the tree is in. Plus, even though we replenish the water daily the dish doesn’t get washed and the water is just sitting in there for a month . . . cats don’t need to be drinking that. So my hubby came up with a simple cat deterrent. He just cut some cardboard and put it over the tree’s dish. Normally, it can’t be seen. But this is a different kind of tree, it doesn’t have any low branches, so the dish can be seen. But that is ok. It not THAT noticeable and it keeps the cats out of the water.
The cardboard keeps them out of the water and since they can’t get to the water they don’t jump on the table. That means neither needles nor ornaments get knocked down.
Now this is only the third Christmas that we have had these cats and so far so good. In fact, what I did this year was so out of the ordinary, yet they didn’t bother anything. I was in a rush to get the boxes emptied and put up so I just pulled a bunch of the stuff out of the boxes and left it lying around. And we had boxes in the house for weeks. And to my knowledge, they didn’t bother anything. Nessa liked to jump in and sit in the middle of some garland that took me days to hang.
I do play with them A LOT during Christmas. I make sure I get up early so we have a lot of play time. Also, since I am home, when they ask (and they DO ask) to play, if I can, I stop what I am doing and play with them. I figure if they are not bored then they will not mess with the Christmas tree and decorations.
I also tell them “No!” for just looking. If they LOOK at the tree, I say, “No.” They are really good girls because not only is there a tree in their house it displaces their tower. I figure we have about 30 days. At least we did with Spot. Day 31, she let us know she was done.
How does your cat handle a tree inside the house for a month?
Ahhh, I was looking up black cats, because I was curious. When we were thinking about adopting the cats we have someone mentioned to me that it was hard for black cats to get adopted and she had to explain it to me. I mean, I am aware that there is a superstition around black cats, but I didn’t know that was what she was talking about. I think it is sad that a lot of black cats don’t get to live because of superstition. So I looked up Black Cats and Wiki told me otherwise. I mean in addition to there being a superstition that black cats bring bad luck, there are some countries that think black cats signify good luck. So YAY!
If you are Scottish you may believe that “a strange black cat’s arrival to the home signifies prosperity. In Celtic mythology, a fairy known as the Cat Sìth takes the form of a black cat. Black cats are also considered good luck in the rest of Britain and Japan. Furthermore, it is believed that a lady who owns a black cat will have many suitors. However, in Western history, black cats have often been looked upon as a symbol of evil omens, specifically being suspected of being the familiars of witches, and most of Europe considers the black cat a symbol of bad luck, especially if one crosses paths with a person, which is believed to be an omen of misfortune and death. In Germany, some believe that black cats crossing a person’s path from right to left, is a bad omen. But from left to right, the cat is granting favorable times. In the United Kingdom it is commonly considered that a black cat crossing a person’s path is a good omen.”
Some believed black cats could shape shift into human shape. Some thought they were so evil that there were mass killings of black cats. But some sailors thought having a black cat on the ship brought them luck. And some sailor’s wives kept one at home thinking it would protect their husband’s at sea. Pirates believed that the kind of luck brought by a black cat depended on the direction of its path, if it walked toward a person they would have bad luck, but if it were walking away they would have good luck. But in the United Kingdom they thought the opposite, coming towards a person good luck and walking away bad luck.
So, really what the superstition of cats being bad luck equates to is black cats having lower adoption rates as cats that are not black. If you don’t have any sort of hang-up about a black cat and you are going to adopt a cat, I would encourage you to look at black ones first. Some people prefer to have black cats.
I’ve never had any superstitions about black cats so aside from not wanting two cats, I didn’t have a problem adopting a black cat. Although, I will admit that both me and my husband had a period of adjustment when the cats came home and were allowed out of quarantine. It was odd to have dark cats walking around. We were used to a lighter cat . . . a tabby. So a black cat and a tortie was kind of odd at first.
Our black cat is a super sweet girl who always has a lot to say. We are LUCKY to have her!
Seems like I am posting a lot about cats. I recently posted about how you can use a box and/or packing paper to entertain a cat or two. Either the box itself will do the trick OR your can bring life back to a forgotten toy by using it in conjunction with the box. Well, a couple of days later I was given a bag with something in it and when I empty the bag I left it on the floor. Next thing I know I hear a cat diving into it. Then she hides. We played a bit. Then a couple of days later I am in the room and I THINK I see Nessa come in the room, but I don’t stop what I am doing to look. When I finished what I was doing I looked around and there was no Nessa. And I think, “Dang, I really thought I saw her, I must have been mistaken.” I go to move the bag and I am surprised by a cat in a bag. She loves this bag.
Here is Nessa in the bag with Teagan playing from the outside.
Here is Nessa in the bag getting my finger.
Then on FaceBook I saw someone post a video about a guy who built his cats a maze made up of 50 boxes. I watched it without reading the story attached to it only to find out at the end of the video it was Cole and Marmalade. Awww. I love Cole and Marmalade! Many of us do! Click the picture to go to Youtube to the video in which Cole and Marmalade’s dad builds them a maze made out of 50 boxes. Then he throws treats in the boxes so they jump into the boxes to get their treats.
See? Boxes make the best cat toys! It is great exercise for them, too.
I probably should have warned you . . . I have a few cat post brewing. They have been swirling around my head. I thought it would be best (for me) to just get them out. You may have seen me mention that we have two cats. You may have also seen me mention that one cat is tiny and the other cat is big. They are actually about the same size, as in, the same length and the same height. And in fact, they are not large cats. I would say they are medium, if not small. The are NOT large. But one is heavier than the other. The heavy one makes us think we should try to have her eat less and the thin one makes us think we should feed her ALL the time. But I think she is comfortably thin. I mean, when I look at her or pick her up, I kinda freak out because she is soooo tiny. She is thin . . . her bones stick out and they knock together when you pick her up . . . but . . . she is in charge of her eating. It is not as if she doesn’t have access to food. She is just a very lean cat. If she had any issues that I notice about moving or toileting, I would be concerned, but she moves like the wind. Just last night I heard my husband make a flabbergasted noise in another room and I asked him what that was about. He proceeded to explain how Nessa, the thin one, just moves like there is no stopping her. It doesn’t matter what is in the way she will get around it, she will jump over it, fly past it, sail under it . . . just MOVE. She moves in very amazing ways so I am confident that she is pretty healthy despite her small frame. But . . . I still try to get her to eat more.
I probably have mentioned how I will put the wet food down and Nessa will lap up all the liquid. Then she will go away. Teagan will come in and eat off one plate. Then sometimes she will go away. Then later on Nessa will come back in and eat some. Then Teagan will come back in and sometimes she finishes what is left . . . but sometimes not. It is really difficult to track who eats what. When you try to watch them and monitor them then they don’t eat. So leaving them to their own devises, probably ends up that one eats more than the other. So with that in mind I discovered that Nessa likes one brand of cat food that Teagan does not. In fact, Teagan will only eat one kind that I have purchased so far. Nessa will eat others, but not Teagan.
One day Nessa was in licking her empty plate and I thought, “Hmmm. Maybe she will eat these fish flakes I have. (And have had for a long time.)” Oh my word! She gobbled them down. I thought, “Well, I don’t even know if Teagan likes them because Nessa just sucked them down.” So I decided to buy more.
Well, Teagan does not like them, but Nessa will gobble them up. She will gobble up a pile then look at me and make her little squeak for more. So I will give her more. Teagan will not touch them, even though they are bascially tuna. So . . . this is another thing that I can feed Nessa and not fear that Teagan will eat it all. But then I feel bad because Teagan asks for something, too. But the whole point it so get more food into Nessa.
Anyway . . . I just thought I would share this treat that my one cat considers crack-like. I think they might make us go broke because we are down half a bag already. I thought we had gotten them a while ago, but we just got them Friday.
Do you have a treat for your cat that they LOVE? What treats do you give your cat?
When we first got Spot the Cat I wasn’t working. I think I was home for a few months. But when we first got her I still didn’t want to get her a big scratching, lounging type of tower. I couldn’t decide on a tower and I thought it was a good idea to change up her play structures. I thought that having large sturdy boxes that we could change was better for her to play in. I thought it would help her from getting bored. When we first got her my husband worked at a company where there was often surplus boxes around. He worked at a box company so sometimes the mock-up box created for a client would go unused. About once every three or four months either he would bring home a box or we would use one that we had something delivered in. He and I took turns cutting the box. We would cut “doors” and holes in it so she could jump in and out of it or crawl around. It is amazing how much fun cats have in boxes. Eventually we got a tower, but when we had access to a big sturdy box we use it, too. We do the same thing with our two cats now. Boxes and packing paper seem to be items that bring endless hours of entertainment and/or help bring the interest back in a toy.
A while back we got something in a big sturdy box. My husband cut the doors and holes in it and we gave to the cats. They love it. I have made my husband suffer through keeping the box. I move it out into the garage (and this is where the suffering comes in because it gets in our way) every once in a while, taking it away from the cats. I keep it out there for a month or so, then I bring it back in. I think this one, I had it out there for a long time this last time I took it out because my husband threatened to throw it away quite a few times. When I brought it back in the house it was totally worth all of our “suffering”. Our cats, especially Nessa when crazy over it. They rubbed all over it and jumped in it. Nessa was ALWAYS in it. They love their box.
It works well because Nessa is such a tiny light cat, she can jump up on it. Teagan can be on it, but she is not as much of a jumper as Nessa. The chase each other in and out of it. We use the fliers to have them play in the box. They love it.
Christmas is coming so the house gets crowded with the tree so the box will be going out again soon. It will be out for a few months then come back in.
But the packing paper will probably stay for a while. We use that to entertain the cats too. It comes and goes. So many things come packed in packing paper we always have some around. The cats love that too. Teagan will NOT tolerate a flier being under the paper. Or anything for that matter. She can be sound asleep and if you put a toy under the paper she will jump up and pounce on it. She is hilarious when it comes to something under the paper.
Nessa likes to play with toys and the paper, too. It is really as if the toy is brand new.
Two easy ways to bring life back into a neglected toy – use it with a box or packing paper. Also easy and simple ways to give something to the cats to play with. The box alone and the paper alone provide entertainment. Add a toy to it and there ya go.
Does your cat love packing paper? Do your cats love to play in forts made of boxes? Do your cats get hours of entertainment out of packaging?
Awww. Here is my first little girl. This is Spot the Cat. I came across this while looking for a picture to post for today’s Friday Photo. I decide on this one. This was from June 2011. She was a sweet cat. She was an angel.
Last week my husband says to me out of the blue, “Do you know who I have been missing lately?”
I said, “No, who?”
He answered, “J. I’ve been missing J. I have been thinking about her and I think I need to get together with her.”
And I said, “Well, I miss her too, the last time we had plans with them they had to cancel. So I would like to see her, too.”
Ha. I believe this was his plan all along. Well, maybe not ALL ALONG, but I bet from the finish of the project. You see, my husband commissioned “J” to do a piece of artwork as a gift for me. So he made plans for us to go to lunch today. And he had me open my gift at lunch.
This is our cat, Spot. We used to say that she had a squirrel boyfriend. There probably was more than one, but I can’t always tell them apart. There was one that used to come up to the sliders and visit with Spot. That is how it seemed. He – and I can’t swear by that either – used to come up close and just chatter at her. And she would sit there with big eyes just looking intently. Sometimes she would glance at us as if to say, “Do you believe that? Do you hear what he is saying?” Sometimes he would just stay on the fence and chatter at her. His chittering going along with his butt. He had a butt dance going on.
She had many yard animal friends.
The print is super cute and it is framed and matted very nicely, but I am not a photographer. I didn’t want a reflection of myself taking the picture so I took it at an odd angle and didn’t get the entire thing (frame and matting). The colors are not showing up as nicely in the photo as they are in the actual print.
J is quiet the artist. In fact you may have seen her work . . . it makes its rounds on Facebook ALL the time. Those of us that love her come together to make sure that she gets credit for it. Many know her by J although her website is Judy Clement Wall. While I have purchased and sent many of her cards, now I am the proud owner of a one-of-a-kind commissioned art piece by JClementWall. Made that much more sweeter because my hubby commissioned it for me AND it is a reminder of our sweet angel. And what, but a totally personal doodle would have my cat, her boyfriend, and a hummingbird in it, with a blue background (which could be coincidence).
Our cats are still young and they don’t throw up. I think that as cats age their digestion changes — just like us humans — and they might not be able to handle the fur as well (not that we humans lick ourselves and get fur bellies). I think when they get older is when they start yacking up hairballs. Also, some cats just do it all their lives. I thought all cats did it all their lives, but as I said, our cats don’t. So, that is when I began to think it was an age thing. But, of course, the minute we have an inexperienced cat sitter, the cats throw up. Cat/cats we are not sure. Poor sitter didn’t know what it was. We think it was a hairball, but those of you that know hair”balls” they don’t resemble a “ball” at all. They look more like hairLOGS and then you start to wonder what end it came out of. Ok, gross, I know. TMI maybe, but c’mon . . . us cat owners know what I am talking about. So anyway . . . we have this dear friend of ours do us the ultimate favor and watch our girls and one of them throws up. Figures.
He does his best to try to clean it up. I will tell you it took me years to figure out how to do it on our carpet. So, I am totally fine with there being a spot in the middle of our walkway because he did his best and the most important thing was that we had someone watch our girls. I didn’t even care about the spot. When we get home, I don’t even bother trying to clean it up “better” for a couple of days. Then, I think, “Geez, I really should see if there is something I can do.” So I spray some carpet cleaner on the spot. I think I’ll just leave it and let it soak in.
This is what I find. Nessa sits there and watches it the entire time. She sees the foam and doesn’t move as it disappears. Hilarious. I don’t know if I sprayed it again to just have her be entertained for another hour or so (I really have no idea how long it took, I didn’t pay attention), but I sprayed it again. And she sat there the entire time watching it.
And, much to my HUGE surprise, it totally worked to get up the spot. YAY! So, not only did the spot come totally up . . . the process was entertainment for my cat. Maybe cat owners understand my excitement. Anything that does not harm my cats but can serve as a source of entertainment . . . . I am all for it! Anything that helps get those little brains and bodies occupied—WHOOPEE! So this was a double win! Well, actually it made me crack up . . . so I count it as a triple win!
Nessa, she is a thinker . . . she is fascinated by things. The foam disappearing completely fascinated her. Ha!
You might think this is one of the stupidest things you have ever seen. In fact, you might not even know what you are seeing. (Sigh). Well, I was planning on posting it on the anniversary of my cat’s death, but I was pre-occupied as I often am at this time. I am pre-occupied with death, but that of my father’s and trying to handle that stuff. Our cat died June 25, 2014. It has been three years, but just like with love ones that you are close to you still miss them not matter how long it has been. This picture here is a picture of her paw print. The last one she made in the litter.
Dumb. I know. You can’t even really tell what it is. But I know. I know that I didn’t swish it away right away. She was such a great girl. Here is a picture of her paw print.
Does your cat love packing paper? Do your cats love to play in forts made of boxes? Do your cats get hours of entertainment out of packaging?
