Stinky Belts and Sick Cats
April 1, 2009
Filed under Cat-Blogging
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.
But after class, we went home and tossed the belts in the wash, nervously, because you’re not supposed to wash your belts and while Sensei told us to go ahead and wash them in this case, he couldn’t promise the colors wouldn’t bleed badly, because he’d never washed a belt before. Anyways the belts were in the wash, and the gis were laying on the floor. Suddenly I noticed Hobbes squatting on my gi. It was too late to stop him so instead of risking picking him up and spraying it across the carpet, I let him finish. It took him a long time and when he was done, there was really not much urine on my gi. I know that that means, he’s got a UTI. Which also explains the going outside the litter box behavior.
We gave the house a good look over with a black light (yes cat urine glows in black light), but couldn’t find any other spots, so hopefully we’ve caught it very early. We’ve started him on the apple cider vinegar regimen that cured Sigyn awhile back, so now it’s just time to monitor him closely and see if he improves or if a vet visit will end up being necessary.
posted by dolphin at 12:08 pm | Comments Off
Feline Friday
January 9, 2009
Filed under Cat-Blogging
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.
=^..^=
posted by dolphin at 12:32 pm | 1 Comment
Poor Sigyn
December 15, 2008
Filed under Blog-related, Cat-Blogging, Family
(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.
We have temporarily switched her totally over to wet food to which we’re adding cranberry extract and diluted apple cider vinegar as well as giving her a couple of pellets of cantharis for pain. We started her on that regimen Saturday evening, with the understanding that if she showed no improvement, we’d make a vet appointment first thing today. I’m happy to report that as of yesterday evening, her trips to the litter box are leaving about a teaspoon of urine which, while not yet a normal amount, is a vast improvement from the drop she’d been leaving earlier. I think we caught it early (there was no blood in her urine at all because I’d have easily seen any when she left a drop or two in the white bath tub), and since she’s showing definitive signs of improvement, I think we’ll monitor her closely for a bit longer before calling the vet.
posted by dolphin at 11:32 am | Comments Off
Kitty Caucus
October 29, 2008
Filed under Cat-Blogging, Humor, Politics, Splashes
This is a cute idea, but I’m not so sure whether each “vote” is really a vote for, or against.
posted by dolphin at 8:27 pm | Comments Off
Wild Cats
September 22, 2008
Filed under Cat-Blogging, Humor, Splashes
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.
posted by dolphin at 11:16 am | Comments Off
Feline Friday
September 5, 2008
Filed under Cat-Blogging
How a cat chases a mouse in the 21st century. Actually Hobbes isn’t much of a chaser, more of a watcher.
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Video quality is poor because I shot it on my cell phone, oh well.
posted by dolphin at 9:00 am | 1 Comment
Feline Friday
August 8, 2008
Filed under Cat-Blogging
Paper or Plastic?
Paper please.
posted by dolphin at 1:47 pm | 5 Comments
Feline Friday
June 6, 2008
Filed under Cat-Blogging
Hobbes has been sneezing off and on lately, so he’s been getting a Reiki treatment every night.
posted by dolphin at 2:35 pm | 6 Comments
Feline Friday
May 9, 2008
Filed under Cat-Blogging
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.
Gryphon is the only one of the three who is able to get on top of the fridge (or at least he’s the only one who has realized that he can). So for now, that’s where his food bowl will reside. I think he’s a bit confused as to why all of a sudden he’s eating up so high and away from the other cats. We still have to pick him up and place him up there at meal time, but he’s knows his food is there and he does go back up on his own when he gets hungry to finish his leftovers. And most importantly, it’s out of Sigyn’s reach.
=^..^=
posted by dolphin at 4:48 pm | 3 Comments
Feline Friday
April 18, 2008
Filed under Cat-Blogging
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.

More likely though, they just want to know when I’m gone and the coast is clear to get up on the table and counter tops (which explains why Sigyn doesn’t wait, she doesn’t require a clear coast to get in trouble).
=^..^=
posted by dolphin at 11:43 am | 7 Comments
That is not space heater. It does not heat space, it heats cat. Therefor, it is CAT heater. I know. I have one of these too. Thank you for joining us for Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos.