Pet(s): Photos & Discussion

[bosawks]

I'm a sucker for a "tongue licking the nose" picture, don't know why, I just love them.

So, that's my vote, they're my kryptonite...

[stillshimpy]

Thank you! That was one I was debating too! I'm ordering it :-)

[Petunia13]

6 hours ago, ABay said:

Thanks! I'm sorry the photo is so dark! It was my first attempt to post one and I kept getting messages about the size and none of my eiditng programs was helping. Ugh. If I can master the system over the weekend I will bore you more.

Its something that changed with the site. After the upgrade when it allowed us to post pics and gif without going through a 3rd party hosting site. Any pic or gif I would upload and it would automatically adapt to fit. It was easy and intuitive. Only maybe 2 weeks ago it begins saying every pic was too big.

keep in mind some of these were pics and gif I posted after the upgrade with no error message or trouble. Very strange. 

[Maharincess]

@ABay,  they're beautiful!   They look like velvet.  I love black cats. They're so sleek.   I've had two black cats,  Snowball and Panther.  I had a spotted tabby named Cheetah when I had Panther.  

I love all of the pictures so don't ask me! 

Happy Anniversary!!!

Edited July 1, 2016 by Maharincess

[riley702]

Love that little white tip on her tail.

[riley702]

On 6/29/2016 at 2:46 PM, Bastet said:

[bosawks]

Happy Independence Day weekend!

Edited July 1, 2016 by bosawks

[ABay]

Sister Bertrille!

[bosawks]

50 minutes ago, ABay said:

Sister Bertrille!

Awesome!

[FlyingEgret]

2 hours ago, bosawks said:

Happy Independence Day weekend!

Holy Ears, Batgirl!

[Bastet]

Quote

I'm thrilled you've got a new kitty, and a gorgeous one at that. She's terribly cute. Looking at the pictures, I can't imagine how she managed to become a "bargain bin kitty" and wasn't snatched up long ago.

Well, she bore no resemblance to that in the shelter.  You could barely see her, because of how she hid, and then once you did you just saw sad eyes and a tightly curled, shaking mass of fear.  I see this and think, "I must help this cat; in a home environment, with love and patience, she'll do much better."  Most people see this and think, "Why would I take on this unknown project when there are other cats here coming up to the front of their cages and asking to go home with me?"  (Especially now, during "kitten season," when there are utterly adorable little furballs everywhere you turn.)  And I can't fault that; if you're adopting a cat from a kill shelter, you're saving a life, and I'll applaud that so long as I can move my hands. 

But see what five months worth of people missed out on?  Yeah, she spends a lot of time in her hiding spot, and it's work getting her to eat.  But I read or watch TV over her ears when we get in bed, because she tucks herself in under my chin.  So I just wish there were a few more people willing to take a chance. 

I'm anxious about the fireworks, given how scared she is of the unknown/unexpected.  She's fine with the TV, so that can mask some noise, and I have triple pane windows, so it shouldn't be terrible to begin with - and fireworks are illegal here other than at sanctioned shows, but that only stops some people - but Maddie used to hide under this same bed on the fourth, and fireworks and thunder are the only two things that ever scared the unflappable Madeleine.  A nervous nelly like Riley, I don't know what to expect.

[slf]

On 6/30/2016 at 2:32 PM, stillshimpy said:

Happy Anniversary, ABay.  The photo looks great :-)  She looks like a sweetie.  

Okay, before we left the St. Louis area I had Oscar's portrait taken by the same photographer who did Pud's picture (one of those shots is my avatar).  I'm trying to figure out which shots I want from the gallery. 

If anyone wants to take a look and chime in, here's a link to the gallery with Oscar's photo shoot.  Pud's in it too and obviously the ones of me crawling out of the frame are not going to be ones selected :-)  If anyone has time to take a look and tell me if one stands out to you, it would help my indecisive mind.  

Oscar, ready for his close up.

Oh my God, he's such a handsome dog (Pud's super cute, too)! Those are great pictures and this one is probably my favorite. 

[krimimimi]

Ha! I think that was my favorite one, too, because he's just being such a dog in it*. It oozes character. But I didn't want to suggest it, because I don't think it's the prettiest one, just the most appealing one to me, if that makes sense? I also liked a couple of the ones with them together, but figured Oscar deserved a solo shot. Those are some really great pictures, though. Hard decision. Good photographer, and lovely models.

 

* Same goes for the one where he's flopped down on his side, so over the whole photoshoot and with a leg in the air - that was a total "dog" shot, heaps of character, but less pretty than the others. Those are the kinds of things that end up on my lockscreen, because I look at them and see the character. (My current lockscreen is the dog barking at me to hurry up and take the picture already, she's had quite enough, tyvm...)

Edited July 3, 2016 by krimimimi

[Petunia13]

@stillshimpy your dog has an amazing smile. I like the profile shot where he looks to the side and you can see it real good. It was such a natural moment, where you can see his character and dignity.  

Edited July 3, 2016 by Petunia13
wrong name/SN

[krimimimi]

2 minutes ago, Petunia13 said:

@krimimimi your dog has an amazing smile. I like the profile shot where he looks to the side and you can see it real good. It was such a natural moment, where you can see his character and dignity.  

No, Petunia, those are stillshimpy's dogs. 

Edited July 3, 2016 by krimimimi
I've only got the one... ;-)

[stillshimpy]

Thank you, bosawks, krimimimi, Petunia and slf! 

I really appreciate the help.  So from that shoot I get to select 12 digitals (I keep the digital file and get them printed if I want to) and as many prints as I want (I'm going for 3). 

Oh my God, he's such a handsome dog (Pud's super cute, too)! Those are great pictures and this one is probably my favorite.

Thank you, he's a really nice dog too, but I love his big jowls.  That photograph is actually one I'm getting an 8 x 10 print of simply because whereas the others are really good photos, that one is just very indicative of his personality.  Pud is a super good girl too.   I'm a very lucky human.  

Good photographer, and lovely models.

Thank you :-) and Lynn really is just an awesome photographer.  She's particularly gifted with animals.   When I made my first list of shots I had more than 20 selections, so I really do appreciate the help.  

[stillshimpy]

Good grief, just get all of them.

I subscribe to this school of thought also.  I don't generally have a lot of restraint when it comes to my dogs.  

bosawks, one of the things that makes that picture so incredibly awesome is the lifejacket.  I don't know why that just tickles me so, but it completely does.  Ears in the wind, safety measures being observed, general vibe of being ready to cheerfully conquer.  

Awesome shot!  I keep going back and looking at it :-)  

[stillshimpy]

Good grief, just get all of them.

I subscribe to this school of thought also.  I don't generally have a lot of restraint when it comes to my dogs.  

bosawks, one of the things that makes that picture so incredibly awesome is the lifejacket.  I don't know why that just tickles me so, but it completely does.  Ears in the wind, safety measures being observed, general vibe of being ready to cheerfully conquer.  

Awesome shot!  I keep going back and looking at it :-)  

 

[Maharincess]

I've been trying to add a picture for an hour but it keeps saying it's the wrong size.   The picture is of the dog that showed up at my daughter's house the other day.  I mentioned above that my daughter had two different dogs show up at her house in just a few days time. They were both Australian cattle dogs.  They found the family of the first dog.  They've have the second dog for about a week now. They've taken her to their vet to see if she had a microchip and she doesn't.  They've hung flyers all over the neighborhood and in the stores in the area.  They've posted to all of the proper websites and called the local shelters.  Nobody has come forward for her. 

The vet estimates that she's around a year old and she's a great, great dog, they brought her over a few times and she's such a cuddly little sweetheart.   My daughter and her family already have Rufus and 2 cats.  She also tries to herd the kids.   They just can't keep her right now but refuse to take her to the shelter.  I told them to try the breed rescue for our area and see what they say. 

But...I'm thinking about keeping her instead.   My brother had a dog like her named Skeeter and I loved him so much.  I'm very seriously thinking about keeping her.  

I'm going to keep trying to post these pictures of her. 

@bosawks that is the cutest picture I've seen in a long time. Thank you for posting it, I was in a bad mood and she cheered me up right away!   I'd like to ask your permission to save the picture to my phone if that's OK.  I'm going to use her as my antidepressants.  That smile and those ears could cheer me up on the worst days. She looks so happy. 

@stillshimpy,  I'm very late in this but Oscar is gorgeous.  The pictures were all so beautiful that I had a hard time choosing favorites. 

Edited July 5, 2016 by Maharincess

[auntlada]

@Maharincess, The first time I tried to upload a photo, it kept telling me it was too big no matter how small I made it. At some point, I refreshed the page, and then it would upload. I think every time I tried, it was adding the new photo to the old photo even though the old photo didn't really upload because it was too big.

Edited July 5, 2016 by auntlada

[stillshimpy]

Aw thanks, Maharincess, he's a wonderful dog and we're lucky to have him :-) Someone else's loss was absolutely our gain.  Speaking of.....

But...I'm thinking about keeping her instead.   My brother had a dog like her named Skeeter and I loved him so much.  I'm very seriously thinking about keeping her.  

Doooooooo iiiiitttttt.  It's fate. :-)  

[Maharincess]

 

I did it!!!!!    Thank you @auntlada!   I had to crop the picture to get it to work but I wanted to crop the kids out anyway. 

This is Pepper.  This is when they brought her to my house and I gave her a bath and clipped her nails.  She's so soft.  I think I'm going to keep her.  I agree with you @stillshimpy, it's fate. I told them if I keep her I'm changing her name to Destiny.  Of course if her family comes forward we would give her back but so far there's been nothing.  We don't know what more we can do to find them. 

Edited July 5, 2016 by Maharincess

[Bastet]

Riley celebrated our national holiday by taking her first poop in four days (cat poop can transform into a terribly exciting thing when you've been waiting for it -- I made calls to Grandma & Grandpa and Auntie) and eating the most cat food she's consumed since she's been here.  Thus far, she's been dining primarily on people food, but I discovered she loves raw chicken liver, so by chopping some up and mixing it in with cat food and pouring some of the "juice" over the whole thing, I got her to eat just about 1/2 can today.  Yeah, at 200 calories/can, that's half a day's food for most cats, but for her it's good.  I'll offer her some baby food and poached chicken as a midnight snack before we go to bed.

She's doing really well with the fireworks.  Not well enough I could have gone to my parents' house for burgers, hot dogs, and my mom's delicious homemade onion rings as per usual (OMG, I want them so much!), but well.  This is the time of night she's normally very active, and tonight she's not, but she's not hiding -- she is awake, but stretched out with my pajamas at the foot of the bed.  Pajamas which are normally stowed behind the pillow shams, but I never made the bed today -- and we spent a few hours in it this afternoon watching The Closer and napping.  I've been so tired since I got her (even though she only kept me awake the first night)!  I think with nine months away from my life-long habit of sleeping with at least one cat, my body forgot how to ignore the movements and such, and my sleep is being disturbed throughout the night without me fully realizing it.  I'll adjust.

Having never stayed home on the 4th since moving into this house, I didn't realize how much you can hear the local show from here.  Add in the individuals setting things off, and it's occasionally really loud, but she's hanging in.  People?  Terrifying.  Unseen bombs going off?  Okay.  Interesting cat.

Maharincess, I'm so glad to hear you probably have a new companion.  What a cutie!

Edited July 5, 2016 by Bastet

[Maharincess]

I'm glad Riley made it through.  Some of the noises around here got pretty loud, my cat Trixie wouldnt get off my lap.  She actually never gets off my lap but she was more clingy tonight. 

I'm trying to share my favorite picture of my crazy cat but again it's saying it's too big.  I cropped it just like the other one.  Oh well, I'll figure it out. 

Isn't she cute @Bastet?  The kids love her and she them but she keeps trying to herd them.   I've had herding dogs so I know how to work with them but she's a bit young still.   I wouldn't even think about keeping her if I didn't have the outside space I have. I am in no shape these days to exercise a dog like these breeds need to be exercised, but I have space she can run. 

 

I'm still not sure though.  I really would prefer an older couch potato kind of dog who has had a tough life, needs lots of love and just wants to hang out. This is a puppy.  A breed of puppy who needs a lot of exercise and stimulation and socialization. Sigh. 

Ideally we would like to find her family but the more time that passes the more I'm thinking nobody is looking for her.  We've posted flyers at area vets, shelters, online and anything else we can think of but nobody has come forward. 

[bosawks]

@stillshimpy Alli is a big believer is safety first!  She initially wasn't pleased with her doggy PFD but could now care less.

@maharincess I think Alli is vain enough that she wouldn't mind her picture being on everyone's phone.....

I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday and that all the pets emerged unscathed, happy and tired.  For the first time ever I think she was glad to see me head off to work so she could rest.

Edited July 5, 2016 by bosawks

[stillshimpy]

She's adorable, maharincess.  You can also try posting her to Nextdoor.com and select the largest area possible.  

I'm still not sure though.  I really would prefer an older couch potato kind of dog who has had a tough life, needs lots of love and just wants to hang out. This is a puppy.  A breed of puppy who needs a lot of exercise and stimulation and socialization. Sigh.

You can also try contacting a breed rescue if you're unable to find her people and decide against keeping her.   Of course, all that exercise is actually good for  people too, so there's that too!  

I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday and that all the pets emerged unscathed, happy and tired.  For the first time ever I think she was glad to see me head off to work so she could rest.

We took the dogs to the beach to tire them out first thing on the weekend, they're both really afraid of fireworks, so we always stay home with them instead of going to see the fireworks.  Pud is semi-okay with them, but poor Oscar is one of those dogs who thinks the world is ending and like a lot of enormous dogs, he wants to be a lap dog when the big bangs are going down.  So we take turns being Oscar's person-shaped teddy bear while other enjoys some brief freedom of movement before Pud gloms on. 

[EighteenTwelve]

Bastet, I'm one of those "took home the difficult one" people.  I went to the humane society looking for a friend for my then-two-year-old orange cat, and came home with the one-year-old tortoiseshell cat that had been in the cage plastered all over with "SPECIAL DIET" "DO NOT FEED FROM PLASTIC BOWLS" signs.  Turned out to be a corn allergy, not a plastics allergy.  But mostly I took her home because she was frantically washing any part of anyone she could reach, and I translated that as "Get me OUT of here!" So I did.  And a week later she cost me $2500 in emergency vet bills because she swallowed a threaded embroidery needle.  That was how I learned she's obsessed with string/thread/shoelaces/etc. But I still have her, and she turns nine in September. 

Edited July 5, 2016 by EighteenTwelve
HTML tags don't work

[krimimimi]

Darn cute, @EighteenTwelve. Good for you!

@Maharincess, not too long after we got our German Shepherd puppy, I ended up on crutches. And as luck would have it, Mr. Mimi needed knee surgery when she was six months old. It was a great look, his and hers crutches, and a bouncy pup in between. Now hubs wasn't on his crutches long, but in preparation for when he was, we got a used treadmill off ebay and trained our girl to walk on it. It's worked out so well for us, we use it to this day (three years later). We don't let her run on it*, she can run in our yard, in the fields or at the park, but it helps keep her moving enough to satisfy her needs and keep her super fit. It allows us to focus walks (three a day) more on socialization and/or interaction with hubs. And because we're fond of technology, we let her watch dog TV (a special cable channel with material designed just for dogs), doggy youtube videos, or listen to recordings to spice up her workouts. She really enjoys watching television, and will request that we turn "her shows" on for her. She'll also ask us to fast forward when they hit a "boring" patch, which I think is really funny. Sometimes I feel like a human remote control.

I also got a bunch of agility equipment that I trained her to use in our yard. Basically I can stand around (or sit) while she runs the course in circles around me, but she gets a real kick out of it. And it's just a bunch of PVC tubing and a fabric tunnel that I can easily change around for variety and takes up virtually no space when packed away. I was thinking of trying Treibball next, which is good for dogs with built in shepherding firmware. And we play a lot of searching games, for treats, toys and people.

While I really miss going for walks a couple of hours a day like I used to, having our pup really enriches my life, and keeps me from going as bonkers as I probably would otherwise. But I'd hate to have that benefit at her expense. Ultimately, using a bit of technology and equipment with plenty of love and creativity means she doesn't suffer any real negative consequences from my restrictions - her needs are being met, and we're both very happy.

So please don't let the "guilts" stop you from being happy, too. There's no way a dog of yours isn't going to be given the best possible life.

* At six months, that's an issue anyway, but as a rule, people treadmills tend to be a bit short for large dogs, and you don't want to train them to shorten their gait. You either need a long treadmill (there are some out there, but it makes it harder to pick up a good deal) or you shouldn't let them run on it. (You can tell by looking at them from the side on it.)

[harrie]

Been on vacation, so please pardon my catching up –

ABay, I love your cats! And belated happy anniversary with them.

stillshimpy, all those pictures are great, how could you choose?  Oscar and Pud are both beautiful -  I love the pictures of them together.

Bosawks, I love the shots you get of Ali.  Part of what makes it for me is that you can tell she’s having a ball – the joy is infectious.

Bastet, I’m really enjoying the Riley chronicles. There’s something magical about the discovery process that happens when you bring a new critter into your life.  

Maharincess, Pepper/Destiny is beautiful. It’s funny how animals sometimes find us, despite our best efforts.

Eighteen Twelve, beautiful cats!  We had an orange cat for many years, and she was the coolest (and very eccentric, but in a cool way) cat.  We also had a tortie for many years, whom we chose from a litter because she looked like the least adoptable, and are still a little scarred by the experience, much as we did love her.  Sometimes torties are a little crazy, and ours definitely was.

Krimimimi … Dog TV?  We do not have this, and Comcast acts like we have everything we could possibly need.

I love reading everyone’s pet stories and updates!

[stillshimpy]

Here's DogTVs site, harrie. It's by directTV but you can also download the app for Roku, Fire TV (oddly enough the site doesn't mention that, but you can) Apple TV and Chromecast :-)  So if you have a device that runs streaming services, you too and can see Dog TV :-)

[krimimimi]

Ooo! I never thought to check if we could run it off an app. I'll have to see if the app offers any advantages. Our cable TV provider offers it, and it's actually the channel most regularly watched in our home. It's weird now having a three-way split for television resources, but she so obviously enjoys it that we're happy to share.

She also enjoys "Dogs with Jobs" which we can stream (I believe via Netflix, but we've got too darn many boxes and apps these days to be sure). You can tell by how excited she gets at the theme music, but the dog TV channel definitely is her fave.

It's interesting to see that I can't entirely accurately predict what she will like, which helps explain her preference of the channel vs. stuff I put together on youtube for her. The fish and water videos bore her, monkeys are sometimes interesting, the videos of dogs are solid wins, clips of dogs playing catch or cavorting dogs excite her - so far so good, I can predict that. But then animations of balls bore me to tears, but she seems to like them alright, and a lot of bizarre animation or green screen dog silhouette sequences I don't like actually appeal to her greatly.

It shows where the research has paid off. Dogs and humans don't see or hear the same way, and even if we can judge content properly, the presentation apparently makes a difference to the viewing dog. And she likes a lot of the goPro angle shots. But I have noticed that while she likes watching her TV "shows" and requests it regularly, she's not an addict, which is a relief. (They talk about deliberately avoiding that in their advertising material, and it somehow works, or maybe dogs aren't as susceptible as humans to that kind of thing.) At some point, she'll have enough and want to play or sleep instead.

And now I should probably say she also plays with buddies outside regularly, it's just that I'm not the one who gets to see that, so that's not what I write about.

[Sandman87]

Bastet, glad to hear that cat poop is making you happy. :) Reminds me of the time that a strange starving cat showed up on our doorstep and demanded to become Mom's cat. And when I say "starving" I mean it in the literal sense. The first donation she made to the cat box a couple of days later had a smell that was positively biblical in scope and intensity. To this day her nickname is Stinky.

[TattleTeeny]

My babies -- three-year-old brothers (and, for you MST3K fans--yes, that is indeed a "Rowsdower" magnet; there's also one that says "This is where the fish lives"(.

Edited July 7, 2016 by TattleTeeny

[stillshimpy]

They're both gorgeous, TattleTeeny. Glad to see they are patrolling the Fridge with the help of multiple superheroes :-) 

[TattleTeeny]

Thanks--sometimes I actually can't believe how cute they are! The superheroes (and Jimi) are some of their "dad's" additions to the refrigerator-magnet fest (which the BF just recently carefully rearranged to his liking--the Joe Kenda sayings and Joey Ramone are mine, all mine!). Sitting up there is a relatively new thing for the cats, mostly on the part of my gray-and-white guy; while my black-and-white likes to sit on a high-up, narrow half-wall overlooking our living room, he is a total "nervous Nellie" about getting onto the fridge, but he can get down OK.

Edited July 7, 2016 by TattleTeeny

[Maharincess]

Aw @TattleTeeny, they're beautiful. My old orange cat Punkin loved sleeping on top of the refrigerator. 

My daughter found Pepper's family. When they called my daughter told them that she needed to see proof that she was really their dog.  It had been 8 days since my daughter found her, she had no collar or tags or anything so she needed proof. They brought pictures and her immunization records.  My grandkids are heartbroken but they understand that they couldn't keep somebody else's dog. 

I'm happy she found her family.  The only reason I was thinking of keeping her was so she could stay in the kids lives because they fell in love with her.  Like I said, I'm looking for an older dog who had a rough start in life and just wants to hang out and be loved on. I don't have it in me to have another puppy.  I did the puppy thing once and loved it, I had him for 13 years but from now on it will be strictly older rescues. 

Edited July 7, 2016 by Maharincess
Because in and on are not the same.

[ABay]

Speaking of cat poop…During the last 2-3 months, one of the cats has left little packets of joy on the floor outside the litter box room, once on my bedroom rug and this morning there were two bits I had to clean up as well as one just outside the box. I’m not sure which of them is doing it and I don’t know what to think. 

Maybe a month, the girl cat had a brief spell of diarrhea. She probably ate one of the boy cat’s hairball treats. This was not diarrhea (thank you, Jesus). She seems a little off this morning but it could be my imagination.

Unlike all of you competent pet savers, I have never been able to overcome the boy cat’s issues so I can’t check under his tail. He (I’m pretty sure it’s him) has overshot the edge of the box a few times but that was urine. After the 2nd time, I bought huge trays to put under the boxes and leave a little litter around the boxes to soak up accidents. Assuming they are accidents.

I mean, this is just one of the many joys one expects when one lives with cats but it used to be a rare event (unlike hairballs. The boy is a hairball factory). Nothing has changed that I can think of. They’re getting the same food, it’s the same litter, there’s nothing new in the house. I ‘ve had  to have the appallingly loud window a/c unit on the last few days but I can’t remember if the other incidents coincided with hot, humid, a/c days.

We have an appointment with a new vet in about a month and I’ll tell them all of this. I just needed to tell someone else this morning.

[Bastet]

Oh good, we get to talk about cat poop.  Are these presents being left for you hard?  Because if he's a little dehydrated, his poop will be hard - and harder to get out.  That's one reason they go outside the box (or get them stuck in their tail feathers, and they then drop off outside the box).  Also, do you have his anal glands checked when he goes in for check-ups?  It is nowhere near as common a problem in cats as it is in dogs, but some cats' glands don't clear properly and need to be expressed from time to time.  When the glands are full, they're uncomfortable, and pooping is uncomfortable -- another cause of outside-the-box pooping.

Maharincess, I'm glad your daughter was able to find Pepper's owners, and before you guys left for your gymnastics weekend.  Did the owners say what took them so long?

TattleTeeny, your boys are adorable!

Today marks two weeks since I adopted Riley.  Yesterday she explored the final room of the house, and then I opened everything up so she could see how everything connects.  She's still tentative in her explorations at first, and still mostly sticks to the office and bedroom, but she's not overwhelmed by open doors anymore.  I sure hope one of these days she just roams comfortably about the house.  She still generally takes her (very long) daytime nap under a bed, but she comes out for cuddles and one day she did sleep on top of the office couch/bed all day instead.  We have a food routine that finally involves cat food; for breakfast, she eats about 1/4 can (so long as I've mixed in a little chicken liver) and eats the same thing again at dinner.  (Of course, the one she's decided she'll eat is $2.05/can.)  Lunch snack is some poached chicken breast and pre-bed snack is baby food with psyllium (fiber) mixed in.  So she's still only getting a little more than half the calories a typical cat would eat in a day, but it's working for her and hopefully we can work up to a little more in time.

[Bastet]

Y'all are going to be so sorry I figured out how to resize my photos in order to post them here.  This is Riley on the bed.  We normally just sleep there, but she hung out there one day last week, and talked me into lying down with her to watch a DVD at lunch (I work from home most of the time).  So this is her with the remotes (and the tail of her toy), looking at me as I prepare to head down the hall to my office like, "How can you leave such cuteness to go back to work?"  (It was hard!)

Edited July 10, 2016 by Bastet

[ABay]

Awww, who's a cutie pie? Riley is!

Thanks for the info, @Bastet. I'll ask the vet to check the boy's anal glands. 

It's still overcast and comparatively cool today but a lot muggier...I hate having to turn on the a/c because it is so LOUD and if it bothers my human ears, it must be even worse for cat ears. Also, with the windows closed and a/c on, they can't hear the bird calls or enjoy all the interesting smells from outside. 

[FlyingEgret]

Adorable! @Bastet

[Bastet]

I'm knocking on everything wood within reach, but Riley had made some real progress with food this week.  Dry food is the only thing she'll seek out on her own and eat off a plate/bowl on the ground like, you know, a cat, but she's so much more enthusiastic about the canned or pre-made raw food I bring to her on the desk, in bed, etc. than she was initially.  She used to literally run away when I'd bring food, and after being coaxed into eating out of my hand, she'd look a bit miserable afterward.  Now, after a little sniffing, she will eat off the plate, and looks normal afterward.

I don't normally do this, but I'm allowing her to eat dry food one meal a day for now.  At least it's one of the few dry foods made with good ingredients (just cooked to death) and not deriving a ton of its calories from carbohydrates.  So 1/4 cup a day of it isn't bad, even though it's not ideal.  And it helps get a more typical number of calories into her per day.  Plus, it's something she'll eat when home alone.

So, she still needs to eat a little more - and, good gravy, she needs to eat on her own rather than only eating when she's been served - but she's gone from refusing all but one or two kinds of cat food (and those only if doctored up with raw chicken liver, homemade chicken stock, etc.) to liking a few kinds of canned food and several kinds of pre-made raw. 

I still have to shut her in the study when my mom comes over to force her to get used to Grandma; if she has the ability to run to the bedroom or office and hide under the bed, she will, which is what kept happening, so I took the option away from her.  The first time she shook and hid behind me for a good 20 minutes.  Today (the second time), for maybe a minute.  And she let my mom pet her several times; one time, she even rubbed my mom's hand on her own (undoubtedly because she was sitting under a table at the time and thus felt extra secure being "hidden").  So we're going to continue this at least once a week for a while.  I don't care if she never becomes the kind of cat who greets most people when they come over, but she has to at minimum get comfortable with my mom - or I'll never be able to go on vacation again!

Baxter used to rearrange the pillows on the office couch/bed to his liking, and now Riley does the same -- which generally means she knocks them down flat to use as little thrones:

[Maharincess]

What a beautiful girl.  She looks so content and comfortable.  It's funny because I was just coming here specifically to ask how she's doing.  I'm happy to hear that her eating has improved.    My Trixie is the same way when I have company.  Depending on who it is she'll either hide in her spot under the stairs where she can watch everybody and we can see her,  but nobody can get to her.  When my grandson comes over,  she hides in her "nobody will ever find me ever" hiding place.  She doesn't like anybody but me but she REALLY doesn't like my grandson.  He's never been able to get within ten feet of him. My granddaughter is much more calm and quiet so she tolerates her.  

[Sandman87]

How to hide; the Mom's Cat way:

1. Find a piece of furniture with at least 5" of clearance.
2. Crouch down and scoot forward so that your head is completely under the furniture.
3. Flop over on your side and purr loudly.

Congratulations! You are now completely hidden. No one can see you, because you can't see them. The invisible purring will drive them crazy.

After the picture was taken she spent all night outside. That's the first time she's gone out for more than a few minutes since my Big Guy got killed. Guess the trauma is wearing off a little. Good!

[Bastet]

Oh, and remember how I faux grumbled that the one canned food Riley likes is $2.05/can?  The others she likes now -- $2.65 and $2.85.  Then there's the frozen raw, at anywhere from about $10-15/pound, depending on the protein.

She likes chicken, but she loves duck, rabbit, and venison.  She's got pretty champagne tastes for a clearance kitty.  (Of course, with how little she eats, for now she's not that expensive to feed.)

She, like my parents' cat Chester, most loves duck (the frozen raw).  But Nature's Variety recently quit making it in a feline formula.  So my parents and I both have to buy the canine formula and add taurine.  Which is not a big deal, and the dog formulas come in larger bags, which breaks down to a lower per-pound cost.  But still.

So at some point I'll have to decide which will win out - my laziness (and lack of freezer space), which will make the convenience of pre-made worth the cost, or my thriftiness (and fondness for having control of the quality of my protein - and the way the animal who died to provide it was treated), which will force me to make my own cat food.

I think I see a meat grinder in my future.  At least once I remodel the kitchen and replace the fridge with one with more freezer space.  And lots of research on the proper ratio of muscle to organ meat and meat to bone (or substitute), necessary supplements and their amounts, etc.  I have a trusted recipe for cooked food, but would be starting almost from scratch on raw.  There's a lot of info out there, it's just a matter of wading through and evaluating.

Edited July 16, 2016 by Bastet

[harrie]

One of our past dogs cost $5 to bail from the pound. In short order she needed treatment for an icky, scabby skin condition. Soon after that, she needed something done to her toe. As she went through life, she went through obedience school three times (she was brilliant but incredibly stubborn, dominant, and pretty aggressive); got pancreatitis, requiring a week-long stay in the hospital; had a bad reaction to a reputable brand of expensive food, requiring another stay in the hospital; needed a malignant growth removed; and the list goes on but the idea is clear.  Whenever a big expense came up, her name went out the window and she became "Our $5 Dog."  

She was still freakin' awesome, though. 

[Bastet]

My family has a knack for taking in cats who wind up needing expensive care throughout their life.  Baxter ... oh my soul, The Bax.  He apparently got a hold of some book on rare feline ailments and injuries and worked his way through them.  It wasn't just that things kept happening, it was that vets kept shaking their heads saying, "This virtually never happens in cats."  Well, that's what the specialists he often wound up with would say.  Our primary care vet became used to it, and would just say, "How very Baxter."  I'd just give him a kiss and pay another bill. 

Given his history, I feared I'd lose him early (and I did, at 13 to cardiac arrest), but I hoped he'd actually live a crazy long time so he could make his way through that whole book.

I forgot to include one important development in my Riley update: I can pick her up and carry her now.  Only for a short distance, and only tucked into my chest, not put over my shoulder, but this was completely verboten the first two weeks. 

[Maharincess]

@Bastet,  you are such a great mama.  I've been lucky, I've always had tough, healthy cats who will eat anything put in front of them. 

I just bought this cat box, it's so cute.  It came today and I guess Trixie likes it because she hopped in and used it as soon as I put the litter in.   The litter box is tucked away upstairs so people don't really see it but with the upstairs being one big loft, I had to look at it every time I was in my bedroom.  I have a corner of the loft as my pet space. I took an old computer desk and put all of the supplies on it and I use the keyboard tray to hold all of the brushes, combs and scissors.  This looks cute in the corner next to the Litter Genie.  You can't tell it's a cat box at all.  

This is from the Amazon, that's not my cat. My bratty baby is gray and white. 

 

Edited July 17, 2016 by Maharincess
Picture posted twice.

[Maharincess]

@stewedsquash, I got it on Amazon. Just search litter boxes. 

[Maharincess]

Spoiler

 

I have no clue why the spoiler box is there.  This is my Trixie girl in one of her Amazon boxes, she loves the boxes so much that I hate putting them in the recycling bin. I probably have five of them on my storage room floor and she uses every one.  I've been trying and trying to post a picture of her and finally got one that fit. I have tried to post my favorite picture of her but no matter what I do it says the picture is too big. 

This is really getting frustrating. All of my current pictures are taken by the same device, my phone so I don't understand why one picture will post just fine but the next one is too big!  I have a picture of Trixie looking out my window at a lizard on the other side of the screen and I really want to post it but no matter how much I crop and edit, it won't work. 

Edited July 17, 2016 by Maharincess