Dolphin’s Dock

Tuesday nights generally go something like this. We get home from work, immediately fold up our jiu-jitsu gis (martial arts uniforms) and throw them in the bag, where our belts already are (belts do not get washed), and immediately head out for class. Last night was no different, however when we got to class and began dressing we noticed that the bag and the belts reeked of cat urine! Since our cats don’t have problems with going outside the litter box, that should have been a clue that there was a problem, but I think we were too annoyed with the fact that our belt stunk (and you can’t really wear a gi without a belt because it won’t stay on), to really consider it.

It’s been awhile since I’ve done a Feline Friday, but without further ado:

In the absence of a fireplace, a space heater does alright too.

=^..^=

(12/18/2008) Update:Within 24 hours of starting the cranberry and apple cider vinegar regimen, Sigyn was able to release an increased volume, if not yet normal, of urine. 3 days later, she’s going normally, behaving normally, and as far as I can tell is completely cured. She’ll stay on that diet for the rest of the week to be safe, but I highly recommend anyone with a cat with a UTI (caught early enough), to try ACV and Cranberry extract before rushing to the vet’s for antibiotics.

If you’re particularly squeamish, you may want to skip this post.

Friday evening, I noticed that Sigyn was almost ALWAYS in the litter box whenever I looked the room. Saturday morning, I noticed that she was in there (every 2-5 minutes), and squatting, but not more than a drop was coming out, and she occasionally was trying to use the bathtub on occasional as well without any better results). I’m no vet, but I know enough about cat health to know that those symptoms mean only one thing, she’s got a UTI (urinary tract infection). Christmas has put a strain on the bank account however so we’re hoping to avoid a vet visit if at all possible (and of course no vets were open til today anyhow and taking her to the animal hospital was out of the question unless it was clearly an emergency). Still a UTI isn’t something you ignore in cats because if you let it go too long and the bacteria get up into the kidneys, it can turn fatal in a hurry.

This is a cute idea, but I’m not so sure whether each “vote” is really a vote for, or against.

TheBoyfriend™ and I took a friend and her friend out to see our property yesterday. At one point I mentioned that there was a fairly large feral cat population out there and that was where Hobbes had come from. Asked by the friend of our friend what was a “feral cat,” I defined it as a “wild cat,” at which point he seemed to get very nervous. Imagine his relief when I pointed out one of the feral cats and he realized he was not endanger of getting eaten by a cougar.

How a cat chases a mouse in the 21st century. Actually Hobbes isn’t much of a chaser, more of a watcher.

Video quality is poor because I shot it on my cell phone, oh well.

Paper or Plastic?

Paper please.

Hobbes has been sneezing off and on lately, so he’s been getting a Reiki treatment every night.

Little Miss Sigyn isn’t so little any more. She’s finally gotten as long as Gryphon (so she’s most likely full grown), yet she keeps getting wider. Turns out she was finishing her food then waiting for Gryphon (who gets excited about treats but not really about food) to lose interest and wonder off leaving half his food in the bowl (where he would typically come back for it later), and then gobble up his meal as well. Feeding them separate is an option, but we’re hoping to leave it as the last resort so we’ve come up with something else.

I like to think that my cats (well two of the three anyways) hang out by the door before I leave for work nearly every morning so that the don’t miss out on getting to say goodbye.