We Heart Cats

i have a million pictures of my cats in my stuff.  this picture is of oreo… i had taken the little drawer out for a second and when i turned around, there he was.  i don’t know how he managed it, maybe levitation! 

i’ve found my kitties in my sink.  i’ve had them get in my purse and my totes.  i set an empty bag down, they’re in it.  an open drawer is simply an invitation to get in there and rummage around and see what’s up. 

one thing you really have to watch out for is a dryer.  i have pictures of a couple of my kitties in my DRYER.  you open the door for just a second, someone is gonna try to get in there and that will most assuredly kill them… so please be careful about the dryer.  washer too… but that’s not quite as bad…

i feed feral kitties up at my old office right up the road and one evening i got in the car to run up there and halfway there, i look in the rearview and there was my neighbor’s outside kitty - meercat!  i quick rolled the windows up and she took a little ride with me!  so cars are also something they like to get into… if you leave the windows down! 

refrigerators… i usually have a few with their noses right in there if i open the frig door.  and any room they can’t go into, when i try to get into that room, like my big walk in closet, i have a little herd just ready to try to zip in there and check it out. 

but… you just try to get one in a carrier when it’s time to go to the vet!  ha! 

here’s a previous post about colds and such that you might want to check out:  http://www.weheartcats.com/does-your-cat-have-upper-respiratory-problems/

here’s an interesting blog by a fellow blogger… we can’t let this slide and forget about it:  http://www.myfriendlypets.com/more-on-michael-vick-could-there-possibly-be-more/

 my apologies… fell a week ago and hurt my leg pretty good and it’s just being SOOOO snarky… and it decided to take a run for the worse yesterday… i’ll have to tell you about my fun E.R. visit yesterday evening… OMG what a chore… was only there SEVEN HOURS.  sheese. 

the pic is just one of a cute baby i was fostering… :-D 

i’ve tried to sit and write a good blog this morning but my brain won’t function cuz said leg is still screamin’ at me and i can’t sit for long at the computer cuz it screams even louder…

so i’ll be back hopefully tomorrow with a great blog and a new leg cuz i’m cuttin’ this one OFF.  grrrrrr

here’s a link to a previous post of mine that might interest/amuse you!:  http://www.weheartcats.com/mom-is-a-trampoline/

and here’s a good blog from a fellow blogger that you might find very useful!:  http://www.homezookeeper.com/petscell/

picture (click on it to make it a little bigger…)  is of my neighbor’s cat - mighty max.  mighty max is an outside kitty and he got ear mites last year - BAD.   my neighbor and her husband have a construction company and are extremely busy… so i offered to take the big boy to my most bodacious vet for treatment. 

mighty max has never ever EVER gotten on the roof.  EVER.  however, the morning i was to take him to the vet, i went outside to fetch him - he’s very easily fetched by the way - but he was nowhere to be found.  i looked everywhere.  i finally looked… UP.  he was looking at me from the roof with this glint in his eye … like - hahaha!  you foolish human you!  i could NOT believe it.  i had to call my neighbor out… she was simply amazed he was up there. 

so, the vet visit for that morning got cancelled!  i made it for the next day, fetched him up that evening at his dinner hour, and kept him in a carrier overnight.  he didn’t like it, i didn’t like it, but the little beastie got to the doc the next morning! 

once, i was looking for one of mine to take to the doc.  looked everywhere.  got serious about looking EVERYWHERE.  there was not one place in my house that was not looked in, under, or over.  or rummaged through!  i had to cancel the appointment. 

not five minutes later i walk through the living room and there he was.  sitting in the middle of the coffee table… i swear… laughing at me, ok?  laughing! 

if i have a syringe with medicine in it that has someone’s name on it, i’ll hide it in my pocket…  nonchalantly go through the house, talking to myself, looking around harmlessly, and the very cat i need to medicate takes one look at me and bolts!  everyone else is sitting around taking it all in, ignoring me, doing their kitty cat things, thinking their kitty cat thoughts..  but the very one i NEED just KNOWS!  how how how!?

i think they’re pyschic (psycho?!) … seriously. 

*here’s a link to a previous post that i thought was good that you might be interested in… they really like these! http://www.weheartcats.com/homemade-kitty-treats/

*and a fellow blogger’s very excellent post about off season nesting houses for birds!http://www.backyardbirdingblog.com/off-season-nesting-boxes/

there is quite a controversy among cat owners, vets, and animal rights groups regarding this issue.  i have never declawed any of my cats because the procedure was just too expensive.  and now, armed with all the facts, i wouldn’t do it anyway. 

my aunt had most all of her cats declawed back in the day when it wasn’t such an issue.  her cats never had any problems, side effects, or drama from the procedure. 

but, there are many cats who do have issues from the procedure.  please go here: 

http://www.21cats.org/health.html#d

and read their take on this.  this is great information on this topic and i think everyone should go into this thought process armed with the right information.

if you have really nice stuff and don’t want it dorked up and are really anal about your really nice stuff, then don’t get a cat.  sorry, but your pet is part of the family. 

if you’re willing to work with the cat to KEEP your stuff from getting dorked up, that’s fine.  but if your stuff is more important to you than the love and joy of a pet, then don’t get one. 

i don’t have really nice stuff because i foster and rescue cats.  they’re gonna dork up my stuff.  and that’s fine.  i can go down to the goodwill and buy another decent looking chair or whatever for 20 bucks and have no drama.  besides, they usually use ME for their scratching post so … no problem!  hahah!   the picture you see is sassy using my leg for his scratching post.  i wear sweats around the house… alot! 

if you simply have to have this procedure done…. then i advise you to find several vets and get referrals from them from their clients who’ve had this done.  if they won’t give you any referrals, or only have a few, then run, do not walk, to the next vet on your list.  they should be more than willing to do this for you. 

this is a link to a funny vid on how to make cat toys!  http://www.weheartcats.com/homemade-cat-toys/

this is a cool link about birds in your yard… i have feeders and she has several really good links to go visit:  http://www.backyardbirdingblog.com/figuring-out-what-birds-are-in-your-area/

first, a little lesson on cats, cords, and electricity.  i’ve heard they can “hear” the current in cords, hence why they like to chew on cords.  we have all of ours covered with this neat plastic sheath stuff.  so please make sure your cords are covered and secured so you don’t kill your cat and/or start a fire. 

also, the plugs in the walls… you know how kids like to stick metal objects in ‘em?  well, cats like to … ahem… PEE on them.  don’t ask me why… :-D   putting the child safety things on these plugs don’t work… (the pee will still get in and behind those) what i do is tape the everloving crud out of them with some good tape (even if i have something plugged in the thing) so if they DO pee on one, it does not get in there and start some drama.  now mind you i started doing this AFTER the incidents you’re gonna read about! 

last year, i was heading over to mom and dad’s… they live about 3 miles from me.  i saw a fire truck head that direction and as usual, i said a prayer for the firemen and the people they’re going to save…

i pull around the corner to mom and dad’s and there sat that fire truck - in front of their house!   what had happened was one of the cats had gotten BEHIND the tv and pee’d on the outlet!  ensuing smoke and flames commenced and the fire department was called in. 

now, i gotta tell you, those were some SWEET lookin’ firemen… wow! 

they got the little fire contained rather quickly without much damage done.  lesson learned.  right?  well…..

wasn’t two weeks later i’m lying in bed at about 2:00 in the morning… half awake… i hear this poppin’ noise.  then i smell this funny smell.  and some more poppin’… i get up and i see smoke coming out of an outlet (one that i missed in my covering the outlets spree) and ratfink standing there lookin’ like “what?  what did i do?  huh huh??”  (picture is of ratfink being cute and not starting any fires!)

so i get the fire extinguisher and nail the outlet with it.  but then i’m thinking, good grief… what if that doesn’t get it????  what if it’s gone up in the wall or something????

so i call the fire department.  and you ain’t gonna believe this, but it’s the SAME GUYS that had gone to my parent’s house 2 weeks prior!  hahahahah!  they were highly amused i have to say… and they were JUST as good lookin’ then as they had been before!  unfortunately, it WAS 2:00 in the morning and i looked like satan’s little helper. 

they made sure that there wasn’t any drama anywhere that i had missed and patted me on the head and told me to fix the plugs just a bit better.  and i could hear them chuckling all the way back to their truck. 

so far, no more drama… i hope i have everything secured… because as gorgeous as those boys were, i really don’t want ‘em coming back! 

i’m putting this link back because i think it’s important for the smokers out there to know about:  http://www.weheartcats.com/smoking-and-your-indoor-cats/

this link i found this morning and it sure sounds interesting… i don’t know all the details about the program yet, but i’m workin’ on it!  :-D   http://www.about-charlottenc.com/so-im-a-smorty-pants/

i was lying in bed thinking… hmmm… when one of my 15 pound ‘bowling balls’ jumps from the window sill onto my tummy and bounces off…he could break a rib.  he really could.  so i go to the emergency room.  and they go … huh…how’d you do THAT?  do i just look at them and plead the 5th?  do i act crazy and they forget they ever asked the question?  or do i tell them the truth… ?  :-D 

and when they listen to me breathe, and they always do that you know, they’ll then see the little wee scars i probably have on my back from elsa climbing me relentlessly during her ‘climbing’ phase… do i explain THAT?  or just roll my eyes back in my head and pretend to pass out?!   the picture by the way is of Elsa the body climber… she’s actually being relatively good in this picture (cuz she’s ASLEEP!)

now the infection in my elbow last year (which sent me to the e.r.) that has led to persistent bursitus  i can explain rationally ok?  really…. sigh… no… actually i had to go in there and tell them…. i got slashed cuz the kitty did not want to take his medicine.   i did not doctor the slash properly and now i am here in your fine facility making new friends. 

took mom to the e.r. cuz she fell down and cracked her head.  they go “ma’am how’d you fall?”  we just looked at each other… uh… she tripped over a cat…. we didn’t have to roll our eyes that time… the doctor did it for us. 

took mom to the e.r. once a couple years ago cuz she got a good little bite from a kitten while giving him some medicine (they don’t much like that pink stuff) and the place got infected (if you get a slashed or a bite, please put some bactine or something on it… really…and learn how to wrap a cat in a towel to give meds … best advice i ever got!).  the doctor is all “well we need to send a report to animal control” and blah blah blah.  he got an attitude.  i had to drag mom outta there cuz she had her hands around his neck telling him ain’t nobody calling animal control on a 7 week old kitten and if she by crickey gets rabies and dies then by God she gets rabies and dies!  and she’ll be glad for it!  i won’t go into any more details… suffice it to say it wasn’t pretty.  kinda fun though…. hahaha!

had to go once because my eye was messed up…. why?  cat fight on my head after i got in bed.  almost got hooked pretty good but it missed my actual EYEBALL by just a tad.  naw, i didn’t get any funny looks when i told ‘em about THAT. 

we’ll talk about the fire department in another post.  :-D 

and now for something amusing from a previous post:  http://www.weheartcats.com/just-a-few-minutes-of/

and now for something completely different:  (yum…johnny depp…)  http://www.johnnydeppwatch.com/friday-film-2/

since alot of times we don’t read the comments on certain topics, i felt a need to share the three i received for this topic!  they’re pretty good i have to admit!  :-D 

1. My kitten Chester is about 7 months old. Ever since we got him if he finds a nice treat around the kitchen he will grab it, run to the office and leave it under my desk. Every now and then he will come and eat a bit more. So far I have found sausages, potato scallops/hash browns, those blood packs that come with meat to soak up the blood (I snatched it off him before he ate any), biscuits and more. Perhaps I should remind the kids not to leave leftover food sitting on the bench? (he also steals it from the bin)
2. One of my cats yacked inside my husbands work shoe. Boy was he surprised!Which reminds me of another cat/shoe story, only this one’s cute! I’d adopted a young cat in the spring and discovered his favorite toy was those bouncy balls you get from gumball machines. He’d loose them pretty quickly so I kept buying more and more of them. Then autumn came along and I pulled my boots back out of the storage closet. The right boot when on just fine. The left boot was filled with about 50 of those little balls - he hadn’t lost a single one!
3. Ipo, our tiger stripe decided one late night that she couldn’t stand the fact that I was alseep and the DH was watching TV. So, she got up on the top of the kitchen cupboards where our wine rack resided… at the time.   She carefully selected a bottle of Merlot and pushed and pushed until it fell out of the rack and went crashing to the floor. For unknown reasons it did not break but it put a big gouge in our fairly new Marmoleum flooring. We were NOT amused! For some reason we kept her.

the picture is of mr blackjack…he enjoys licking my arm and yanking all the hairs out while he’s doing it.  special! 

here’s the link to the original post:  http://www.weheartcats.com/worst-thing-your-cats-have-done-to-your-stuff/

 and here’s a link to a great post about free coffee!  gotta luv that!  :-)  http://www.about-sanjoseca.com/free-coffee/

was over trolling around mylot a little bit and was in the cat section and i swear, i saw some of the stupidest posts in my life.  one was about giving a cat alcohol and how funny was that and is it ok?   i told him that if i ever caught anyone giving an animal alcohol i’d shoot him myself. 

the pic is skittles just SAYING NO TO DRUGS AND ALCOHOL. 

another one was talking about how her cat was eating her silk plants and throwing up and geee… what should she do?  i told her to get rid of the d**n plants! 

stuff like this just raises my hackles.  if you’re gonna have a pet, you need to think about that creature as a family member.  if you can’t do that, then leave off and don’t have one.  and before you GET one, get online and google it.   know about that animal before you get one. 

i wanted a betta fish.  before i even got one, i got online and read all i could about them so that i wouldn’t go in the petstore and have those dorks tell me … yeah, it’s ok to put a betta fish in a bowl.  no… you shouldn’t DO THAT. 

they love me when i go in there and they’re telling someone that crap.  i’ll drag the customer over and tell them how it SHOULD be done.  i can always see the clerk twitching out of the corner of my eye.  it’s such fun. 

and that’s a FISH.  if you need information on a FISH what MORE information will you need about a dog or a cat or a ferret or anything? 

ok.  rant over.  for now.  back to your regularly scheduled programming. 

tell me about it … if i get a good list i’ll post ‘em!  what’s the worst thing your cats have done to something in your house? 

here’s mine.  nikki likes to sit on top of my computer monitor.  well, i was across the room and before i could get over to him, he had yarked (puked) on top of the monitor!  i could hear the insides of the monitor snap crackle popping!  thankfully i had an extra monitor in the closet from an old computer of my son’s… so … could have been worse.  but that.. i think … takes THAT cake! 

leave a comment if you’d like about what YOUR precious furballs have done to YOU! 

oh, and that picture is one of mr sassy thang after i told him under no circumstances may he play with a container full of beads… ever ever again! 

I received a little herd of 11 kittens to foster from a rescuer friend about 2 months ago.  Said she had given them their shots. 

Well, over the past 3 days alone, I have lost 8 and the rest are going down fast.   The vet and I have worked tirelessly with these guys, God bless him, but it’s for nought.  At least it’s fast, very very fast.  One minute the baby is fine, the next he’s outta here. 

My heart hurts.  But I have to say, that while they were here, they had mondorific fun.  And I do mean gobs and loads of fun.  They never stopped playing.  That’s the thing keeping me afloat at the moment. 

So what’s the gist of this?  If you get a kitty from someone, go directly to the vet and have the baby checked out and get the shots.  Don’t trust anyone to say, yeah, they’re done, unless you get a copy of the summary from their vet. 

Then you can dispense with the heartache… because even though I only had them a couple of months, I was totally attached to them. 

silly cats.  hahah!

http://tinyurl.com/35np6w

Think you can’t take your kitty for a walk?  Well, maybe if he’s an older cat, you might have some trouble, but if you start young, it’s not so hard!  Even with an older cat, if you follow these guidelines, you might be able to get away with it.  Most of mine, you put something around their neck, they do flippies and have little nervous breakdowns cuz they’re not used to it.  But I have one … when he was a kitten, I put a harness on him and let him wear it around for about an hour.  I did this for several days and let him get used to it - while I was there to supervise. 

Then I put a leash on it.  Walked (drug!) him around for a little bit.  We did that for a few days, a little at a time.  And he got used to it. 

Finally, I took him outside for a little walk and then we drove to mom’s house and I let him walk around and explore.  Now he’s used to it and I can take him places. 

I haven’t taken him to petsmart yet, alot of dogs there and I’m not sure about his reaction… but I might try it sometime, but I’ll have a carrier on the ready for that first visit just in case we have any problems!   And he’s a bobtail so he’s totally cute… I want to show him off! 

Just make sure that if you go for a walk after you’ve conditioned him… if you feel uncomfortable about a situation, pick him up and carry him.  And make sure the harness is well fitting and he can’t back out of it. 

For more indepth information about this topic and a billion others, go to:  http://www.21cats.org/health.html

I don’t have plants namely because my furbrats just love to tear them up.  I knew there were a few plants that were bad for them, but wow, I wasn’t ready for THIS list:

http://www.cfainc.org/articles/plants.html

So i’ll let this wonderful site do the talking FOR me because this is really an extensive list! 

Now, this is food that you simply SHOULD NOT give your cat and I got this list off of http://www.vetinfo.com .. and he in turn had gotten it from the ASPCA … this list isn’t quite so big!   But I learned a few things myself! 

- Alcoholic beverages (yeah, I know, who of us hasn’t given our kids a little tasty taste….well, don’t do it anymore!)
- Avocado
- Chocolate (all forms)
- Coffee (all forms)
- Fatty foods
- Macadamia nuts
- Moldy or spoiled foods
- Onions, onion powder - all forms (this is didn’t know and the vet reiterated it for me when I needed to feed baby food meats to one of my kittens - he told me to MAKE SURE that the food I was using did NOT have onions in it - and some baby food meats do!)
- Raisins and grapes
- Salt (this I have to watch…I’m a salt freak and sometimes I let the bunch have what might be left on my plate…)
- Yeast dough
- Garlic - all forms (this is true too with the baby food meats!  I had no idea!)
- Products sweetened with xylitol - artificial sweetener

also, regular milk isn’t good for them …. if you must (and I must I’m afraid) give your cat milk, pick up some lactose intolerant milk at the store.  They love it and they tolerate it just fine. 

And of course, never ever give your pet any people medication unless you’ve checked it through your vet first! 

There was something else important that popped into my head but I can’t think of it right now… but if it comes back, I’ll edit this to reflect that! 

here’s some ideas!   this is a quicky today … lots of drama in the family arena and my brain has shut down on what to write about that’s worth a hoot!  i’ll be back… promise! 

http://tinyurl.com/32s2vs

and an envelope full of money wouldn’t hurt either.  :-D 

Is there a real threat for a pregnant woman living in the same house as a cat in contracting toxoplasmosis?

first, what exactly IS toxoplasmosis?  it is a parasite…go here for a very indepth review of this:   http://tinyurl.com/yoak

now… let’s talk about the risk to a pregnant gal.   The main precaution is for her to stay away from the litter box.  yes guys, you’ll have to do this for her!  :-D  gotta luv that.  but a pregnant woman can get toxo from uncooked meats, unpasteurized milk, etc.  so she must be vigilent about these things even more than staying away from a litter box! 

also, both a woman AND her cat or cats can be tested prior to or at the first notice of becoming pregnant.  once the cat or cats is tested and no sign of the parasite exists, just make sure you don’t bring a new cat into the home during this time unless it is tested first. 

so ladies, don’t let your pregnancy make you think you have to give up your feline friend!  absolutely not necessary.  and if you live alone and are going to be a single mom, simply get some good gloves … the disposable latex kind, and scoop away.  if you’ve had your cat tested and he does not have this parasite, you have nothing to worry about anyway. 

this is just a brief overview… there is more detailed info out there… one site that i just love for all things cat related is:

http://www.21cats.org