My Cat From Hell - General Discussion

[ratgirlagogo]

 

I can't believe a vet would be too scared to get a cat out of a carrier.

I can, unfortunately. And that means you need to immediately find a more competent vet.

 

This whole episode felt a little off to me.  That Jackson didn't himself push for Sebastian's folks to find a vet that wasn't afraid of cats was probably the biggest thing, especially since he seemed so wedded to the idea that Sebastian was clinically depressed.  Why?  Jackson's not a vet or a medical doctor, and while Sebastian's fear aggression seemed pretty bad to me and something that needed to be remedied - we never were really SHOWN any evidence for Jackson's diagnosis.  

 

The Zeus story I liked better.  Although he kind of buried it in the episode, Jackson did explicitly say that he's not a fan of these domestic/wildcat breedings.  I also felt that the problem was more clearly resolved than in Sebastian's case.

[OtterMommy]

The Zeus story I liked better.  Although he kind of buried it in the episode, Jackson did explicitly say that he's not a fan of these domestic/wildcat breedings.  I also felt that the problem was more clearly resolved than in Sebastian's case.

 

Yeah, I wish he had been more explicit about that as well.  However, it may have been an editing decision--he/they didn't want it to come across that they were blaming Zeus's owner (who clearly didn't quite know what he had gotten himself into with Zeus), but instead wanted to place blame firmly on domestic/wildcat breedings.  

[LittleIggy]

Yeah, I wish he had been more explicit about that as well. However, it may have been an editing decision--he/they didn't want it to come across that they were blaming Zeus's owner (who clearly didn't quite know what he had gotten himself into with Zeus), but instead wanted to place blame firmly on domestic/wildcat breedings.

I have an almost 13 year old Bengal (have had her since kittenhood), and the only "wild" things about Sashi are her exotic beauty and odd vocalizations.

As for tonight's Gus/Katrina episode, the older son of Katrina's family had the flattest affect. I wonder if he is on the autism spectrum. The dad was the only one in the family showing poor Katrina any affection.

Edited April 10, 2016 by LittleIggy

[sofaslug]

.

As for tonight's Gus/Katrina episode, the older son of Katrina's family had the flattest affect. I wonder if he is on the autism spectrum. The dad was the only one in the family showing poor Katrina any affection.

I wondered the same thing about him. His finally writing in Katrina's voice was pretty powerful. It'd be interesting to see the whole piece that he wrote.

[DeLurker]

The Zeus story I liked better.  Although he kind of buried it in the episode, Jackson did explicitly say that he's not a fan of these domestic/wildcat breedings.  I also felt that the problem was more clearly resolved than in Sebastian's case.

He also said in an episode with a munchkin cat (who constantly licked the owner) that he wasn't too keen on pure breed cats (or words to that effect) since there were so many great cats that were in shelters and euthanized.

 

As for tonight's Gus/Katrina episode, the older son of Katrina's family had the flattest affect. I wonder if he is on the autism spectrum. The dad was the only one in the family showing poor Katrina any affection.

I took it as him just being at that awkward age where you are getting too old to be on one of these shows without massive harassment by your peers.  Also, it seemed like the Mom and younger brother would have been just fine if Katrina had gotten eaten by the local coyotes.  I did not see a change in expression on their faces when the cat was doing better.

[CoyoteBlue]

He also said in an episode with a munchkin cat (who constantly licked the owner) that he wasn't too keen on pure breed cats (or words to that effect) since there were so many great cats that were in shelters and euthanized.

Well, some of the problem he had with the munchkin cat is that humans bred a cat that can't jump and run and play, because it has stubs instead of limbs. Buying these purebreds just encourages the breeders.

[LittleIggy]

He also said in an episode with a munchkin cat (who constantly licked the owner) that he wasn't too keen on pure breed cats (or words to that effect) since there were so many great cats that were in shelters and euthanized.

 

I took it as him just being at that awkward age where you are getting too old to be on one of these shows without massive harassment by your peers. 

IMO, it was more that just that. His affect wasn't sullen or peeved. It was flat, emotionless. BTW, he probably had already got massive harassment from his peers over his first name!

[OtterMommy]

As for tonight's Gus/Katrina episode, the older son of Katrina's family had the flattest affect. I wonder if he is on the autism spectrum. The dad was the only one in the family showing poor Katrina any affection.

 

I wondered the same thing about him. His finally writing in Katrina's voice was pretty powerful. It'd be interesting to see the whole piece that he wrote.

 

 

I wondered as well, although I recognize that I don't really know that much about the autism spectrum so I shouldn't jump to any conclusions.  My next thought is that he was a kid at that difficult age who was just uncomfortable in front of a camera.

 

Katrina was a beautiful cat, though.

[izabella]

I'm afraid that Sebastian's problems will need to be monitored, and these fools have proven far to expert at hiding their heads in the sand. I think it entirely too likely that they will blissfully ignore future problems if and when the medication needs to be adjusted. Hell, I'm not sure they can be trusted to refill the prescription and give Sebastian the meds.

 

I wish he had taken the opportunity to tape a segment about how to give a cat medication.  It's not so easy, depending on whether it is liquid or pill, what the cat will tolerate, and tips and tricks. 

[SRTouch]

I wish he had taken the opportunity to tape a segment about how to give a cat medication.  It's not so easy, depending on whether it is liquid or pill, what the cat will tolerate, and tips and tricks.

How true. I used to have a sweetheart of a cat that I needed to give pills to. I thought I was doing pretty good, until I found the corner where she was spitting them.

[OtterMommy]

I wish he had taken the opportunity to tape a segment about how to give a cat medication.  It's not so easy, depending on whether it is liquid or pill, what the cat will tolerate, and tips and tricks. 

 

True!

 

We have to give our cat medication before taking her into the vet (because she's "high maintenance") and it is incredibly difficult.  A little tutorial on that would help a multitude of viewers.

[movingtargetgal]

After many struggles, I thought I had nailed the task of "pilling" my cat.  However, one day I moved a big heavy living room chair to vacuum and I found at least 30 of her coughed up pills.  

[CoderLady]

If you can hold onto the little beastie after popping the pill in, trickle a few drops of water into the corner of her mouth. Those soft plastic droppers made for dosing babies are perfect for this. The pill will either dissolve on her tongue or get swallowed with the water. Just use as little water as possible. Dry swallowing meds is hard, be you human or small fluffy critter.

I'd still like a good detailed demo of how to deal with a super squirmy cat without backup. Sometimes you just don't have two spare people to hold the little crybaby while you tuck that pill in.

[b2H]

Even better - though it costs a little more to do it, more and more vets are compounding medications. 

What is compounding?  It is liquifying or suspending in a liquid delivery the medication that the cat needs.  We had a disasterously ill cat (watch your lunch, but she had a blue mold infection inside her skull that was beginning to seep through the fissures and was slowly killing her).  Pumpkin needed a medication that was just too hard for her to swallow.  The vet sent the pills out to a compounding lab who crushed the medication and liquified it.  Though it was still a struggle, we were able to get a lot more of the medication into her, using a dropper.  That was more than three years ago and that cranky Calico is still with us.

 

Compounding.  Definitely talk to your vet about it when pills are a necessity for your cat.

[Bastet]

Yeah, not all pharmacies do it, so depending on your location tracking down one who'll compound may be tricky, but it's a good option for cats who'll take liquid much easier than pills. 

 

I haven't been watching this season, and I didn't watch much of the last one, either -- the show got so formulaic and rather hokey.  But reading through this thread made me kind of miss it, so I think the next time I'm home when it's on I'll have to try it again.

[b2H]

Yeah, not all pharmacies do it, so depending on your location tracking down one who'll compound may be tricky, but it's a good option for cats who'll take liquid much easier than pills. 

 

I haven't been watching this season, and I didn't watch much of the last one, either -- the show got so formulaic and rather hokey.  But reading through this thread made me kind of miss it, so I think the next time I'm home when it's on I'll have to try it again.

 

The vet we used didn't have a compounder locally - they sent it off somewhere.  What I've noticed of late is that far more are doing it now than were doing it three years ago.  The vet will often take on that responsibility for you, as a service, especially if they are also dispensing the medication.  That ensures the compounding is done properly.

[TattleTeeny]

I have an almost 13 year old Bengal (have had her since kittenhood), and the only "wild" things about Sashi are her exotic beauty and odd vocalizations.

As for tonight's Gus/Katrina episode, the older son of Katrina's family had the flattest affect. I wonder if he is on the autism spectrum. The dad was the only one in the family showing poor Katrina any affection.

Back in the days of TV Without Pity, I hated when everyone would armchair-diagnose people on TV--real, fictional, whatever. It was like, all at once, all the know-it-alls in the world had discovered a new term and hoped to be the first to pedantically show off their astute observations in a TV forum. That said, that kid in this episode did made me think it too. While I hated that "leave the door open" crack he made, I wondered if, in his mind, it was clearly a joke but his flat affect couldn't pull off.

 

Yeah, not all pharmacies do it, so depending on your location tracking down one who'll compound may be tricky, but it's a good option for cats who'll take liquid much easier than pills.

 

Off topic a bit, but one time, I had to pick up a Valium prescription for my cat. I left her in the car with my BF and went into the pharmacy, and the pharmacist asked for her birthdate, which was weird enough. I told him I didn't know; I adopted her from a hoarding situation. Well, he would not fill the thing! Finally, I got pissed off and said, "Do you want to go to the car and ask her?" Another pharmacist filled it for me.

Edited April 14, 2016 by TattleTeeny

[Bastet]

He knew it was a cat and was still taking that attitude with you?  I had to fill out "patient information" cards for my cats at the Costco pharmacy, but I just put a guess of a month and a year for the birth date (complete with either a question mark or "approximately") and it was no issue.

[LittleIggy]

Compounding is great. I've had to give one of mine medicine for conjunctivitis, and the vet sends the prescription to a pharmacy that compounds it into a fishy flavored liquid. I get the stinkiest canned tuna I can find and squirt the med on it. Baelish gobbles it up.

[TattleTeeny]

Yeah! At first, I thought he was joking too, with a dry sense of humor (which I can get behind--my BF and I even laughed at the bottle that said "Peaches [Last Name]--Valium"). Either he thought I was trying to get my hands on drugs for me, or was just very serious about being thorough with the prescription info.

[LittleIggy]

The aluminum turkey pan as a litter box cracked me up, but Chris was a great guy. He really loved his kitty.

[izabella]

So many pretty black and white cats on this episode!  I'm partial to the tuxedo kitties, so loved this episode. 

 

And how great are those people taking care of the blind cats!  Very sweet.

[OtterMommy]

The owner's relationship with Meki really creeped me out.  I mean, when Meki started to climb up her shirt...just...weird.  Were the other two cats (and why did we only see one of them) her cats as well or her parents' cats?  I will also say that Meki's case is one where I call foul--I think the issues were far too serious to be "solved" by what we saw on screen.

 

Elsa and her owner totally cracked me up.  I mean, just from the promo I knew that the owner was clueless, but he definitely went for it when it came to fixing the issues!  And I get where the name "Elsa" came from--her crossed eye really did look Disney princess-ish!

[izabella]

The other cats in the Meki household seemed to be her cats, too.  She said a friend of hers had a cat with a litter and she thought the kittens were so cute she took a couple.  So I can believe that Meki, who had been her kitten since being a tiny baby, would have some issues when two new cats are introduced at once, and they didn't necessarily do it right.  I guess with Meki not having any other cats around her whole life, she wouldn't know how to deal with two new ones moving in.

 

I've never had a newborn, teeny-tiny kitten that needed to be bottle-fed.  Has anyone done that?  Does it usually lead to a clingy cat?  Or was that the owner imprinting clinginess onto the cat?

Edited April 18, 2016 by izabella

[SRTouch]

The other cats in the Meki household seemed to be her cats, too.  She said a friend of hers had a cat with a litter and she thought the kittens were so cute she took a couple.  So I can believe that Meki, who had been her kitten since being a tiny baby, would have some issues when two new cats are introduced at once, and they didn't necessarily do it right.  I guess with Meki not having any other cats around her whole life, she wouldn't know how to deal with two new ones moving in.

 

I've never had a newborn, teeny-tiny kitten that needed to be bottle-fed.  Has anyone done that?  Does it usually lead to a clingy cat?  Or was that the owner imprinting clinginess onto the cat?

As a kid, back in the dark ages of the '60s, we raised a kitten which hadn't opened his eyes when we found him. Mom initially fed him with a medicine dropper. He was one confused kitty, since there were no other cats around. When he got old enough he would sleep in the dog house with our dashchund. I think he thought he was a dog until he realized he could climb the fence. Definitely not clingy, but then he was pretty much raised by the doxy, except for feeding. Like I said, this was in the 60's, and we didn't think about spay/neutering back then. He was the first tuxedo polydactyl (6 toed front feet) in the neighborhood, but by the time he passed seems like most of the neighborhood cats were 6 toed tuxedo kitties.

[Jaded]

Like I said, this was in the 60's, and we didn't think about spay/neutering back then. He was the first tuxedo polydactyl (6 toed front feet) in the neighborhood, but by the time he passed seems like most of the neighborhood cats were 6 toed tuxedo kitties.

A man about the neighborhood it sounds like.

[LittleIggy]

I recommend "Homer's Odyssey." It is a fabulous book.

[Pfj99]

I second the recommendation of "Homer's Odyssey" by Gwen Cooper. Gwen's cat's name was Homer, not Odyssey (unlike what the blind cat foster mom said twice).

[TattleTeeny]

I really liked seeing Jackson in a whole different kind of scenario in last night's episode--outdoors, not the usual formula, interacting with more people than usual, and more natural off-the-cuff conversations. It was really interesting. 

As for the other story, I can totally identify with the house full of folky art and tchotchkes, right down to the Day of the Dead pieces (plus a generous helping of Star Wars memorabilia). We fortunately don't have too many problems with our two three-year-old brothers messing up stuff, but we also overload those dudes with toys (also lots of Star Wars--thanks, Petco!). But, haha--I actually thought that some of the lady's wall hangings may have been enhanced by a few scratches; added to the artifact style of her aesthetic!

[possibilities]

I had never heard of the non-sphinx hairless cats before, so the existence of donskoys was educational for me.

It seemed like they were just normal energetic cats, so no big surprises in the problem-solving of that one. If you've seen the show before, you would already know that's what was needed.

With the feral colony, the main thing I wondered was why they only brought 7 traps if they knew there were 30 or so cats. Did they just not have more traps than that? Why did they need so many people to do the trapping? It looked like they had more humans than traps! Questions....

[Jaded]

I missed last night's episode and forgot to set the DVR. They don't seem to rerun this show much anymore like they do other shows that aren't as animal related.

Edited May 1, 2016 by Jaded

[Rlb8031]

I wondered why they never did the reveal on the dude who was springing the traps? Was I the only one who thought it might have been the same guy that ended up adopting Blondie? (Who by the way was adorable...) 

Speaking of which, Jackson needs to step his rescue game up. Take a page from Tia Torres. Always have carriers with you at a rescue because you never know when and animal is literally going to walk up to you like "Okay, can we go home now?" I get that he's used to being in shelters and dealing with captured ferals (and that generally ferals are not at all friendly), but c'mon...

Edited May 2, 2016 by Rlb8031

[LittleIggy]

I like the "My Cat from Heaven" segments. Loved the hero cat who alerted the mom to the baby in peril.

[ratgirlagogo]

On 5/1/2016 at 1:40 PM, possibilities said:

With the feral colony, the main thing I wondered was why they only brought 7 traps if they knew there were 30 or so cats. Did they just not have more traps than that? Why did they need so many people to do the trapping? It looked like they had more humans than traps! Questions....

I was wondering the same thing.  He mentioned the name of some company that had donated the traps, which just  made me wonder why the company didn't donate ENOUGH traps.  I'd assume the family and the neighbors will continue with the trapping and neutering until they've neutered them all, but it wasn't clear if that was actually going to happen.

[possibilities]

Jackson was really pissed off at Spike's person. I don't think I've ever seen him be so openly angry with the people involved in one of the cases. It seemed to me that they didn't know much about cats at all, and needed a grounds up education. Everything about the woman's body language telegraphed fear. I was surprised there was a happy ending that story. I thought for sure that they would tell Jackson they'd decided to get rid of Spike, and he'd be gone when Jackson arrived for the third visit. I was glad it didn't turn out that way. This seemed like a classic case of total misunderstanding between the humans and a pretty normal cat. in the videos for the second visit, you could see the family trying to pet him from above, even though Jackson had shown them that petting him from below was less threatening, and also asked them not to approach him for pets for a while. But it did seem that they were able to learn once things were very bluntly spelled out for them. It's sad that people in general don't get any education when adopting a cat, and that there aren't more programs offered to the general public, which can explain things like this. I know a LOT of people who have very little clue what to do or why, and if it was easy to get the info, or it was proactively offered in a way that people routinely were exposed to it, then many people and cats would benefit. Relying on folks to dig a lot before finding good resources, or figure stuff out on their own, has left us with a lot of very confused relationships.

With Cadbury and Paprika, I wondered if they might ever become actual friends or playmates. I hope someday we'll get a follow up, to see how far they eventually progress, and if they ever become truly bonded.

[LittleIggy]

Paprika was such a beautiful cat.

[SRTouch]

15 hours ago, possibilities said:

Jackson was really pissed off at Spike's person. I don't think I've ever seen him be so openly angry with the people involved in one of the cases. It seemed to me that they didn't know much about cats at all, and needed a grounds up education. Everything about the woman's body language telegraphed fear. I was surprised there was a happy ending that story. I thought for sure that they would tell Jackson they'd decided to get rid of Spike, and he'd be gone when Jackson arrived for the third visit. I was glad it didn't turn out that way. This seemed like a classic case of total misunderstanding between the humans and a pretty normal cat.

The segment left me with some questions. First off, had there ever been a cat in the family. I mean these people were clueless. Some cats are cuddlers, others not so much. I have 5 cats here, all with distinct likes and dislikes. A couple do NOT like to be picked up, and any petting is strictly on their terms. Both were strays at one time, one was on her way to growing up feral, probably 8-10 weeks old before being touched by a human. Guess I'm lucky in that they almost never lash out, they get up and move. The difference may be that I know when to let them get up and move rather than persisting in petting. The one and only time I was bitten was when I was putting Furby in a carrier for a vet check. I totally blame myself. Instead of scuffing her or covering her with a towel, I scooped her up and left myself wide open to her turning her and catching my hand. Nothing serious, 1 puncture, a reflex move on her part not a serious attempt to cause harm. 

And that brings me to my second question. Dimwitted owner said Spike had only been to the vet once, at six months. IIRC she adopted from a rescue group, so hopefully he was neutered and had his kitten shots before she came along. I was out of the room for awhile, so maybe Jackson asked and I missed it. An intact tom will calm down right away after neutering.

Overall, I thought Spike was a normal cat with owners who would have been better off with a stuffed cat they could cuddle and hug to their hearts' content. They thought it was cute when he rough housed and bit as a kitten, now, not so much. When he got to be about a year old and turned into a normal crazy cat teenager, the humans in his life thought he turned mean and started calling him Bastard Cat. Nope, not mean, just a normal hoolicat who wants to play, with a family who doesn't know how to teach him play appropriately. Jackson had to push Spike's boundaries hard, and ignore several warnings, before Spike really swatted him. I could be wrong, but Spike looked like he could turn into a real cuddle kitty with the right family.

[ratgirlagogo]

In general Season Eight has turned out to be the season of nice people who just don't know much about cats, or maybe about animals, and are causing their cat's aggressive/erratic behavior.  Not that all the segments are that, but that is the prevailing theme.  Just like season one was cats who shit and piss all over the house and season two was aggression.

Edited May 8, 2016 by ratgirlagogo

[BengalKitty]

According to Spike's voiceover intro, I thought it was said that she got Spike from an ad and he was 4 weeks.  Poor thing didn't get to learn social skills from Momma Kitty and siblings.

[SRTouch]

29 minutes ago, BengalKitty said:

According to Spike's voiceover intro, I thought it was said that she got Spike from an ad and he was 4 weeks.  Poor thing didn't get to learn social skills from Momma Kitty and siblings.

Oops I missed that. I thought she adopted from an ad like in pet finder. But - 4 weeks? You're right, too soon to leave momma, probably just learning to eat cat food. 

[TattleTeeny]

Ugh, I am sorry to be this way, but I wanted to slap that moronic smile off Spike's owner's stupid face. 

[izabella]

I felt terrible for poor Spike.  He was a handsome kitty, and seemed ultra calm and relaxed when Jackson came by.  He obviously loved that perch in the window!

Spike's owner and family clearly knew nothing about cats.  Honestly, they had no cat toys in the house, and what's more, didn't want to listen!  Spike was not a problem cat at all once they learned how to play with him and (hopefully) how not to pet him.  Stay away from the swishy tail, people!  How sad for him that he had been banished to the outdoors.  I hope they really meant it when they said he was 100% indoor and they only used the cat house for when he wanted to go hang outside.  I'm not sure I do believe it.

Cadbury and Parika owners were the exact opposite - they did so much to help those cats.  I'm sure it was a LOT of work to get them to eat near each other when visible through that door.

But, someone help me undrerstand what the point was of the elaborate barricades at the door.  I get it that Cadbury was good at opening the door, but wouldn't it have been much, much easier to just install a lock or even a chain lock higher up so the cats couldn't reach it?  After just a week of building those barricades every day, one of them should have just gone to the hardware store and bought a stupid lock.  Still, I liked them because they were not clueless and were willing to put in all the work to get those two cats to accept each other.

[Bastet]

I'm only five minutes into it, but as a huge proponent of TNR, I am loving this episode's outline of how to properly care for community cats.  These guys have their hearts in the right place, and they're apparently the only people in the neighborhood attempting to help these cats, but they - by their own admission - don't know what they're doing, so they're not helping anywhere near as much as they want to.  I'm going to set aside reaching out to a TV show rather than a local TNR organization and just rejoice in this being shown to a national audience.

[LittleIggy]

The father and son were such great people. Bless them. BTW, Puff Puff was quite the handsome guy. I'm also glad that Sweet-pea's humans are going to keep working with her. 

[Bastet]

Now that I'm done with the episode ...

Even more kudos to the father/son team caring for the community cats.  They will never again find one frozen to death. 

What must have happened to Sweet Pea in her previous life?  I've had an easier time taming a truly feral - never had a home, extremely limited exposure to humans - cat than they are with a cat who's had a home of some sort.  Good on them realizing they're her not only best but pretty much only shot, at least for now, and sticking with it.

[izabella]

I'm really enjoying this season!  I've noticed they've gotten rid of the so-called dramatic pauses and there is less "reality" and more real life stuff.  Jackson and the cat owners are having more natural conversations, and he's being informative.  I love that he's added little segments on special cats, like Buzz the Fuzz, the therapy cat on tonight's show.  I'm so happy there's less focus on reality drama!

The NY guys with the feral cats, and the foster family, now owners of Sweat Pea were both wonderful people.  I really like that Jackson showed how to make an insulated cat house out of a plastic storage box and some styrofoam.  Laughed at the end when I saw the little cat eyes glowing from of one of the donated cat houses. 

[DeLurker]

The people they are showing are better than prior seasons where they tended to get into issues more suited for couples counseling. 

[possibilities]

I think it's helpful to show some cases of people who just don't know about cats, instead of only cases of really extreme problems, because I think there are a lot of people in the world like that, who don't understand the basics, and that's why cats get a reputation for being mysterious and difficult. If you show only the truly extreme cases, it makes catdom look like an intimidating place only for heros, but if you also show some more basic stuff, some of the basic info gets communicated, also.

I think showing the "cats from heaven" stories also helps with this balancing agenda.

I also like how there's less repetition within the episodes (they're not showing the same footage over and over again after each break) and I think it's smart the way they are interspersing the two stories per episode, instead of airing them separately-- it makes it easier to take the really hard stuff and not turn off at half-time if the two main stories are shown for the full hour.

Sweetpea must have been tormented in her previous home. I can't imagine staying under the covers for months under any other circumstances. I also was surprised there was no place high up for her to go. It was either under the bed, under the covers, or in the open. I was very glad that the people were committed to her, though.

RE the feral colony, I thought it was great they were shown low cost ways to build shelter for the cold weather, though I was surprised the boxes suggested would be enough. It gets BITTERLY cold in upstate New York.

For a while, we had a neighbor who left his dog outside in the yard with no protection here in a New England winter, and one tip I learned is that if you put out very deep hardwood chips (like a foot deep or more), they will heat up even when it's below zero outside. We did this, and the dog used to lie on the chip pile when it was snowing-- the chips stayed warm. I am NOT suggesting it is OK to leave a dog out like that-- it was a shorthaired pointer which made it even worse-- but we couldn't get the owner to change nor the local dog officer to intervene, so this was something we were able to do that helped (we also used to go over and sit with the dog and give it affection). You should use hardwood, not pine, because the oils in softwoods are hazardous and irritating to the lungs, and are especially dangerous for cats. Also, make sure it doesn't heat up TOO much (you can do this by spreading the chips less deeply) so you don't cause skin/hair burning or actual ignition.

[ratgirlagogo]

2 hours ago, possibilities said:

RE the feral colony, I thought it was great they were shown low cost ways to build shelter for the cold weather, though I was surprised the boxes suggested would be enough. It gets BITTERLY cold in upstate New York.

Weren't they in Staten Island?  Not that it doesn't get cold here too, but it ain't Buffalo either.  I suppose they could put some kind of insulation inside the houses if need be?

So the other theme this season besides "nice but inexperienced cat owners" is ferals.  I'm very glad he's done successive shows on this.

Edited May 15, 2016 by ratgirlagogo

[Bastet]

There was insulation - both in the simple "turn a Rubbermaid storage bin into a home" versions and the cute little igloos donated at the end.

And, yes, Staten Island.