Lucius Eat Pecans

Lucius likes biting hard things. I've been noticing this. We are removing metal from his reach as I don't want to harm his teeth. He has a long life ahead of him. I think I found something to help him though. When I eat pecans, he wants to eat pecans too.

I can't say he eats 100%. Parts fall out. He takes immeasurable pleasure biting pecans with me. I was sort of surprised. I told him,

"Lucius, I didn't know you like pecans?"

He answers by biting one off from between my fingers.

There are many foods my cats won't eat unless I feed them. You could put it down and they won't touch it. Even meats. Yet, if I am eating it, they are interested in trying it.

So, I work snacks into sharing opportunities. I find eating pecans addictive. Stopping to feed the cats reminds me it is not all about me. After we share, I put them away in the fridge. There are some very good oils in pecans. Good for cats too.


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CatMom Game - Catch Me if You Can

I play this game with the cats on our stairs. My 2 young cats understand I am not as fast as they are. They have that concept down pat. When I do catch them, it is either because they have tired or want me to catch them. I don't always play by the rules. If I am tired of chasing them, I will shut a key door. Usually though, I do play by our established rules.

So, I stand two-thirds up our stairs. I call them. I ask them to run up the stairs. With just one this works, or with two. I interact more with one cat when it is just one. It is really fun. I call. I tell them, "Mom is going to catch you. Run by and see if I can catch you."

They always run. They race by me. They may push it a little bit up to either two stairs below or above me and then they turn on after burners. They take off. I try to catch them. I have caught them, but infrequently. I have to focus. They always look back at me with pride. "Huh, you could not catch me!"

This started when Martius was a kitten. He was stuck with three older cats. I really wanted to bring home 2 matching kittens that day. His brother or sister had been taken. So, he was alone. Especially when he was alone, he tore up and down the halls and up and down the stairs.

Seeing the value of stairs to cats, I decided then that as long as I have cats in my home, I need some carpeted areas for them. It is so much more expansive than just a cat tree. Carpet gives them traction to launch into high speed, like a rocket launcher. That is, if the cats have claws.

CatMom gets limited exercise this way. She always gets some. She loves her cats, so she gets some walking and just going to pick them up. The outdoor cat supervision is much more intense.

Afternote: Have you ever picked up your cat and had them velcroed to the carpet? Then, you use your nail effectively unhooking each little claw till they are all loose and you can then give them a hug. It has happened here.

This game is also why I can run Lucius up and down the hill by our house. It is the same game with the rules expanded greatly. We have a huge area in comparison. He runs 60 feet in a go. He understands all the commands. It just sort of makes sense.

When he has done this 20-30 times, he has really gotten exercise. When he gets in, Lightning Paws Lucius can be seen not streaking across the 3D space we call home. You can see him. He would not be a blur in a photo.

Lucius the Halloween Hit

Lucius is really excited tonight because it is Halloween. Every couple minutes children ring the bell to collect candy in all sorts of cute outfits. Every span of time in between he races from one end of the house to the other and back--full of the energy from seeing faces at the door and children ringing the bell.

When young people arrive, he comes to the door. Inevitably, they make a chorus, "Ah, what a cute kitty. I would like a kitty like that."

The next boy says, "I want a kitty like that!"

His girl companion says, "Aren't you allergic to cats?"

Then, they go away, murmuring about our little Halloween Hit. It is not like he does not turn on the charm. On cue, when they mention him (he must know the word kitty) he acts cute. Halloween is always a fun time. Seeing children in all manner of outfits is a pick-me-up for anyone.

It snowed. Something about Calgary as long as I have known it, it snows for Halloween. Today, a bit of it melted, but I think we are just lucky this year. As a child, I walked through miserable cold and snow drifts to collect candy.

Today, since it snowed, we let Lucius go out into the snow on the deck. He loved it. He went for 3-5 minutes at a time with indoor warm up breaks where we held his ears and paws to get them room temperature. He loves snow. I do wish I had little cat parkas so Lucius and Martius could go on the deck a bit more in this cold weather. Neither has thick fur. However, Lucius has just started having adult fur on the center line of his back.

Today has been an exciting day: snow and Halloween for Lightning Paws Lucius.

The Snake Game - A White Nylon Cord

Lucius has a 5 foot white nylon cord with a knot on each end. It is soft, and I don't remember its origin. It has been a cat toy about our house for years. It is out, put away, found, reemployed, forgotten, found again, and so on. Lucius found it when we were in the process of organizing our house.

The day he found it, he carried it about the house as his prize. It made tracks about the lower floor. He would run around with one end of the cord in his mouth. He threw it up in the air. He would go up and down the stairs with it. If we caught an end, we would pull it. He would chase the end.

Now, in our home, I have a make-up chair. It has a white easy clean seat. We bought it from Home Outfitters. It was a not so cheap appliance add, which I share. These days, the chair sits on a carpet in the bathroom just in front of a warm vent. Lucius, all on his own, invented a game.

At night, while we are sleeping, and other times, if you hear unusual scraping (our tile will never mark), Lucius has begun his play. He pulls the cord around and through the risers of the chair till it looks like that cord art. He has pulled it through the chair multiple times. The situation is then, he pulls one end of the cord with his mouth, and the other end of the cord is somewhere in the middle or on the edge of the chair cord weave. As he pulls, the other cord end moves and he attacks it much like he would attack another cat's tail. He pulls and paws, sometimes gently and other times forcefully to kill the serpent.

On occasion, Lucius needs an intervention. You can tell when he pulls and the whole chair pulls across the tile. This is because Lucius made a knot with his weaving about in there. One of us pet parents needs to undo his knot so he can continue his play. Then, he launches back into the game. He entertains himself for hours a day.

This morning, Lucius pulled his string to a new chair to try it out. The rules are: the chair needs 4 legs and risers to weave through. This other chair is a bit more heavy, and in my opinion does not suit the game quite so much. Ideally, his reach should cover the breadth of the space below the chair seat. This way, he has the most fun.

I am happy he has found ways to entertain himself which are, for the most part, close to us and easy to monitor. His creativity astounds me. Yes, he entertains me.

African Cats DVD Great Feline Entertainment

We bought African Cats DVD set to watch as a family. Lucius has figured out movie time. In fact, he asks for it. Sometimes he and CatDad go up there a little earlier, and he looks at CatDad, then the TV, then at CatDad, and back to the TV. He is saying, "Well, CatDad, are you going to start a movie?" There's been a time or two he has taken an interest in animals on screen. We picked up the African Cats for a movie time with the cats.

The movie did not go exactly as planned. We watched the movie in our room. I was getting the bed set up to hold multiple cats, but only one stayed. Lulu decided to stay for the movie. This used to be Martius' favorite thing. I decided to remove any blockages to Lulu's line of vision to the TV. I took off 1 layer of blanket from the bed. We were just starting the documentary about a lion family and a cheetah.

Lucius was initially interested in watching the Lion King cartoon starter. Then, I was fluffing pillows. I removed the blanket. What was under there? His mouse. I had no idea he had started taking his mouse toy under the blanket. It must be his new favorite thing to do. Lucius spends a lot of time self-entertaining, making up games, and so on. So, as we started the movie, Lucius played like crazy on the bed flinging his mouse about. One time it hit me in the chest. I just stopped him from launching into me to get it. I threw it back into play.

Now, Martius came by, and then Lucius went for a tumble with him. He was absent for a bit. He came back 10-15 minutes later and laid down in the centre. It was now and then for moments after he became very interested in the screen. In the show, there is a scene where the mother cheetah interacts with her babies. Lucius liked this. Then, the cheetah kittens play. Lucius decided he wanted to join them in play. He jumped across the furniture to the TV and tried to enter the TV screen. He seemed very disappointed. He really liked those kittens and that cheetah catmom.

I was happy he could not cross the screen. Just as he was interested in this, three cheetah males came along and harassed the mother cheetah. She had to protect her babies. Now, we brought Lucius back to his viewing spot. Lucius knows I cheer one or the other on in their cat sparring. Lucius was watching me cheer the mother cat on in the fight. He watched, looking at her, then me, and thinking, "Mom cares what is happening in this fight."

The Cheetah mom was successful in saving her kittens. Lucius, very interested, moved to the front of the bed where he has the best viewing and stretched out to watch the film. Right as it was time to go to bed, Lucius was really into the movie watching. There's lots left to watch on the DVD, so we have another evening to go.

In the documentary, near the beginning, just after introducing a lionness Layla and her girl child Mara, as the pride were hunting, Layla was kicked by the hind feet of a wildebeast. She was severely hurt. She was extremely slow getting home.

If I was the photographer in the movie, I would not have been able to help myself to not try and treat Layla. I would have had to set her paw. She was left behind with a broken paw. She had just barely caught up for the sake of her daughter Mara, and she had to defend her mate Fang and the rest from two invading lions who tried to effect a coup d'état on Fang. At least on this round, she was able to send them packing. Acquiring a second injury, she then could no longer withstand the complications.

I was extremely sad when she left the pride to let her spirit go. She was a hero in the movie so far.

I loved how affectionate these cats were. They are not unlike my own. Three of my cats give me kisses on my forehead, with and without encouragement. If I need love or lifting up, I can ask, "Give Mom a kiss." My three without hesitation will kiss me lovingly and with tenderness.

My goal next time is to get Martius to stay for the movie. I am going to bring up his movie chair. He always used to watch movies in his special chair. We'll see.

Home Remedy for Pocket Gophers and Other Small Mammals

Mothballs will deter pocket gophers, skunks, and racoons from hanging around the garden and even yards. Just spread them about. Their smell will even deter cats. I met a lovely lady today at Cartright Lighting who shared this solution with me. She knows these things. She grew up on a farm. She said for every thing we go to the store to by a remedy for, there was a different solution before. She said this remedy works for all these other animals too. Her family never had a problems with animal invasions of flower or vegetable based gardens.

I am rather relieved. My good friends were over a few nights ago. They shared with us their decision to trap their gopher. I cannot counter anyone who needs to manage their problem. If given a chance, I might make a suggestion, but in the end each person is responsible for making the best choice they can for a given moment. She trapped her gopher. He was a stout little guy they said that looked much like a beaver.

I do not want my pocket gopher to go away. I am happy with him staying. Somehow, he does not destroy grassy areas. He only goes for open dirt. Something else I learned today is that there are plants that give off scents (the opposite of my cat mint) which deter cats from coming to your yard. I shall always want the cats, but this is a solution for those who don't want cats digging in their gardens or coming to their yard. I would prefer this to someone using a pellet gun or cruel procedure to be rid of any outdoor critter.

Lulu Leaps on Back for Rides Outside

Yes, Lulu has figured out if he jumps on our backs, he will get a ride outside and be able to run around the back yard while we weed. We started out our morning with him on the deck. Then, CatDad went to weed. Lulu watched from the deck and thought it was pretty horrid he could not be down there with CatDad. Dad's next trip in he let the cat in from the deck. Next time at the front door, he had a cat on his back. We discussed this. He really wanted to go. I found the harness and leash and a dog cable and set CatDad up with the supplies.

CatDad pounded in the stake. Lulu began running around. CatDad left just enough cable for Lulu to get to the Cat Mint. Lulu went down there alright, but he did not stay there. He jumped. Yes, he jumped.

CatDad came to check on Lulu, just as he was making himself as thin as possible and slipping out of the harness. He had been hanging there and we don't know how long. Thankfully, he slipped out. Then, he was brought inside for our next analysis. He had had 20 minutes of fresh air by then.

I decided to go leashless and just accompany Lulu as his guard. Lulu did not know I had decided to take him out. He jumped on my back when I put my shoes on. I decided not to take him off my back. He surely expected me too. I opened the door partly bent over, down the stairs, with the cat adjusting here and there on my back (T-shirt only), and I told him, "Hang on!" Lulu began to get the hang of riding CatMom down the hill, and we just got near CatDad and the garden. Just six feet from the garden, Lulu jumped down. This was not exactly Avatar style, but we had fun. Lulu could hang on pretty good with his sharp claws. I did not really notice any scratches afterward.

I went out and we were out there for 2 hours. I ran Lulu up and down the hill 25-30 times. I put in a 1/4 to 1/2 kilometre following Lulu around. I used my voice plenty to voice command the little guy. He has "Stop" down pat. I can be halfway around the house, call stop and he stops. We covered the distance of three yards.

Word has it that CatDad coming for you is way scarier than CatMom. Lulu, as before, jumped the wall down to the swail, this time safely with no harness. He began to high-tail it down the swail, with CatMom following. High-tail here means that Lulu joyfully knew he could outdistance CatMom. His tail was in the air in happy cat question mark style. I told him to come back or CatDad was coming. He kept going. CatDad came and began down the swail. He called to Lulu and told him he was coming. CatDad walked about thirty feet. Well beyond CatDad 3 full yards, Lulu stopped, turned, and ran full speed back, past CatDad, and he jumped 7 feet from the wall. He flew through the air and landed on the top of the wall. He did not want to be retrieved by CatDad. Afterall, Thomas even listens to him. He's the most experienced boy cat around.

Once Lulu came back, we stopped chasing him so much and turned our attention to weeding. He had played himself out from all the running. So, thereafter, we weeded and looked up occasionally to find and call him. Mostly, I kept listening for cat paws rustling the ground. That next hour was pretty good. We made great gains in restoring the yard. Lulu jumped on my back one time I called him. He was ready for another CatMom ride. I was still weeding and he shocked me. No problem though. That lasted a minute or two and he was on the go again. When he came in, there was no struggling. He slipped into the Kurgo and fell into deep slumber where he continued chasing butterflies in his dreams.

Afternote: If I give my cat rides as a habit, I will have to try wearing a wetsuit. It would give him a nice and sticky surface to hang on to.

The Mischievious Cat

The cat I had was full of mischief
She ate the next door neighbour's chicken
Then, she dragged in a kitten for her child
Then wouldn't you know
She had a batch of eight of her own
She kept us noticing her still
She chewed my brother's mittens
She pulled the hair out of mother's wig
She got into the fish left on the counter
She ate it all up--every lick
Finally, we got her to behave.
1976

I Taught Lucius How to Open Doors

Not miracles of course. I set up our door opener experience. Martius was on 1 side with me. I shut the door almost. Lucius wanted in to be with us. He pushed and fit his little head sideways, but this looked like a lot of work and potential damage to his little frame.

I went outside, left Martius in, and shut the door again. This time, I let Lucius try. He began the same technique. I stopped him. I showed him to push just on the door, not to push through the door. He watched with intensity.

I figured he needs to know. This could be a useful skill if he needed to get a door open. We are doing another practice session soon. A young girl I met thought this would be good for if there was a fire. I agree.'

Update: Lucius is opening doors very efficiently these days. He has it all figured out. He goes into meerkat position. Then, he pushes with 2 paws. He make his CatMom proud. He has full control. He even opened the door to the deck. The latch was not fully shut today. He exhibits both technique and power. It is not a light door.

Martius Had No Fur

It is possible I have blogged about this before. When I brought my 600 g Martius home, I examined him on my kitchen table in full sunlight, after the 3-4 days we spent acclimatizing him to our house. I discovered my little one had felt which has aspects of baby down, but no fur. I remember almost crying. I did not know if this was maybe nutritional, or if it was his age or what. What I do recall was an overwhelming feeling of a sense of responsibility to make sure this little kitten grew fur. So, I did research on the best ways to grow hair. I called the vet for advice.

We put Martius on the top cat food. I remember buying CatMilk. Then, when I got it home and read the fine print, there were warnings about no human drinking it, or there were potential problems. The standards were not the same. Of course, I could not feed it to my kitten then. The CatMilk sat around. I should have returned it. If it cannot be consumed by me, it cannot be consumed by my cat. I did try Martius on cow's milk. He discovered for himself that he was lactose intolerant. He drank it for awhile, and then he stopped. He had had enough. I also fed him essential fatty acids off the tip of my finger.

This is how it evolved that I had bought a dog sweater for my cat. He wanted to go on the deck, but his fur was far too thin. He needed non-stop infra-red heat from us to keep him warm enough. For months, I babied him. I kept checking him for growth of his adult fur or rather just fur. I recall the first time he shed, I hurrayed. I know all kinds of people who complain about their cat shedding. I was just plain joyous he could shed.

Today, Martius has fine fur with dark markings. His coloring has darkened a bit as he has grown. His eyes have changed color a bit too. He still does not have the thickest fur, but it does the job for inside. It does the job outside on warm days. I have not tried anymore clothes on him. We passed that phase.

What do you do when your cat swallows a pin?

This issue has come up twice for me. My mom is a seamstress. She always had groups of cats. One of her cats was called Honey. He was a long living cat who had diabetes the last 8 years of his life. He is one of the reasons I was able to identify diabetes in my own cat Margaret. Honey was a huge ball of white and full of sweetness. His capacity to pour out love was immense. He was the alpha cat like Thomas in our home. He would stand up and protect the pride. He was gentle when he played, but willing to be playful. He would accept all newcomers and integrate them slowly. He had a couple girlfriends. The girl cats would typically compete for his attention. Whoever got to sit closest to him was prime for the day. More or less I am establishing here he was a dear and well loved cat.

Now, a seamstress is bound to have pins around on the table while they are pinning and sewing. My mom likely sewed like I have myself with a cat for a companion on the table while working. In 1993-1994 season, when I pulled the cats in from outside in Caroline, Alberta, my mom was sewing when Honey swallowed a pin. She panicked. It went down all the way into his stomach. Mom prayed, because she did not know what else to do. She asked God for help. The cat, just then, threw up and the pin was once again deposited onto the table. She thanked God. Then, she phoned me to tell me what happened.

It is a habit of mine to pray whenever anything has truly gone out of my realm of control. I saw my mom do this. If anything stresses you beyond your capacity, you may do the same. God, who hears our voice, answers.

Now, I did once know a young girl who would shoe horses. She held hoofing nails in her mouth while she hammered the horseshoes in. She exerted herself and accidentally swallowed a nail. I was aghast. These nails are really long and fairly sharp. She sought the advice of a doctor. Her treatment was to eat gobs of potatoes for a while. The potatoes would engulf the nail and take it through the intestinal tract.

Thankfully there was an answer for this girl. I have no idea if prayer was involved. It was just interesting as a parallel to Honey's story. Her situation happened at about the same time.

Animals like cats are very involved with their owners' activities. They love small shiny things or reflections on or from objects. Predict their attractions and give them a similar style toy to distract them. For example, a cat might be distracted by a tin foil ball. For it to be attractive to a cat, a cat owner needs to pay attention to the cat toy too. When sewing, put all the pins away from the cat's access. I recall times when cats have picked up pins from the pin ball with their front teeth. Then, I had to take the pins away.

The Year the Rabbits Ate the Crabapple Trees

Each year, during the winter, and especially during times of inordinant snowfall, the rabbits become desperate for food. If times are desperate, I will buy a bale of something and put it out. We had a group of 8 rabbits, and I would not want them to diminish.

We went through one of these tough seasons, before I had learned to put out a bale of alfalfa. We had these prized crabapple seedlings we were fond of seeing making progress. The rabbits were very hungry and they ate our trees' bark. This kills the trees. All of them were affected. We ended up in the spring cutting all the trees down.

My husband kept saying, "Those D#$%^& rabbits." We considered pulling out the roots, but that seemed like a lot of work. We began to plan the garden around them. I concluded that the rabbits had to be really hungry to have to decide to eat our tree bark. I was not upset. I felt bad, but I also felt bad for the rabbits.

A wonderful thing happened. Two of three trees grew back. The birds planted a seed from one of the first two and gave us a third. I have all my trees back. The trees grew back way more beautiful than the first trees I had planted. They were exceptionally more healthy. Both of these trees are about 20 feet tall. I think this is bigger than the average crabapple tree for the time they have been there. My trees turned into crabapple bushes coming back from the root. When we first bought them from the garden centre, someone had pruned them into a tree. A tree with only 1 trunk is very susceptible to damage, whereas a bush is not. The crabapples are a huge joy in the yard attracting large groups of birds to pop by daily. My husband revised his saying about the rabbits to be, "Thank God for those rabbits."

Green Drop

Herbicide handbook of the Weed Science Society of America
Weed Management Handbook I love my animal life out of doors. When we first moved into our home, I weeded by hand all the weeds on our lot and the neighbour's lot, to have them regrow and I did it again. At that time, I did not trust any spray at that time to not harm my outdoor jack rabbits. I did not spray, but hand picked weeds for seven years. I think it is possible I became addicted to removing dandelions, as I could not walk a straight line to the car to get anywhere, as I always had to pick three or four dandelions on the way there. It had become engrained. I would still do all day weeding sessions, but these were not enough to keep up.

I phoned Green Drop at one point in this 7 year period. They said their process was safe for animals, but I did not trust it. I persisted. Then, one year, I decided to give them a try. My neighbours used them, and the rabbits still went on their yard successfully. It did not seem to harm our local rabbits. After I hired Green Drop for our weed care, I would never go back. Just like the City's recycling program made a huge positive difference on the interior of our house, the Green Drop treatment made a huge decrease in work for our exterior home maintenance. I am no longer drawn to spend my afternoons picking weeds. I love you Green Drop. They also sprayed my tree for sawfly recently. In one treatment, they sprayed all my bushes and trees.

While the Green Drop application is on the lawn, the grass tastes bitter, so the rabbits won't eat it. They go elsewhere temporarily for a few days. They mostly eat the dandelions and clover. They would spread their seed too. I do think that dandelion seeds are very high in oil and very healthy for rabbits. Weighing all things in the balance, with all the dandelions next door for my rabbits to feast on, we continue the treatments. I do think the rabbits appreciate nicely groomed spaces. They have a tendency to go to yards which are the neatest kept.

Jewel Spiders in September

I had these water two water barrels. I had decided to give one of my water barrels to my neighbour. I invited him over to see the barrel which I fully intended to give him. Then, I saw our blond Jewel, then a mid to large size spider. I stepped myself backward through the offer, concerned at this time of year if I pulled a spider from her web, she might not have the resources to rebuild. The larger the back on the spider, the harder it is to keep herself fed. I don't know if I seemed rude to my poor neighbour. I still intended to give him the water barrel, but I thought I better wait till the spider was done using it.

Then, my husband was out doing yard maintenance. He too moved the barrel. He had not seen the spider when he moved it and found her afterwards. He brought her on the end of a stick to show me her immense size. My cousin was with me at that moment. He pushed me into the spider. I was pretty mad, since it could be a 2 week recovery process if I were bit. I did not take his joke very well. Then, I gave away our water barrel.

Back to the spider: We decided to move her to our rose. We set her there, and she chose to set up shop further down by the down spout. She has a massive web with 1 metre stringers. It was also attached to the faucet. My husband had to use the faucet to water the yard. He turned it on. Her web silk is extremely rubbery. The spider silk turned like a thread on a bobbin when the tap was turned on and undid when the tap was turned off. The web did not fall loose; it stretched. It never disconnected and it never broke a string.

This spider was able to rebuild her web. Sometimes, in the fall, if there are not the burst of aphids or the web is placed wrong, the spider can starve. Now that she is placed, I would not move her again. She is getting two close to the toonie size when she has to begin building her egg sack.

The aphids have had their typical mid-August, mid-September burst. We have taken damage, like we do yearly on our roses and our trees. If we had the garden in production, this often kills swiss chard, lettuce, and spinach. There also has been an abundance of sawfly which we sprayed for. (As an aside, an unhindered sawfly larva can eat a full grown blue spruce in 2 years.) The spider are more abundant this year than previous years. However, they've all chosen mostly good places to set up, so we have not minded them. The more of them, the fewer other insects we have to deal with on our plants. I don't know what the sawfly looks like, but I hope the spider gets a few.

When it drops to freezing soon, in the first few October days, the spiders will drop significantly in their activity. It is like they begin hybernating while they finish off their egg sack. Then, I would note them at that time, say my good-byes to them knowing it is soon, and then just a couple days later, the webs are all empty. Mostly, they go to the soffits of the house.

One time, a spider laid her egg sack at my front door on a plant pot. I had not formulated my spider plans at that time, and disposed of it. I felt really bad afterward, having wanted to be a mother myself, and afterall this was what she had been working for all year. I decided after that mistake to move egg sacks if required, and to not interfere with the new spider production. I also did research which proved to me that by having egg sacks on my home, this would not increase the number of spiders persay around my home. Most of the spider babies fly away on spider silk for kilometres.

Were one hoping to assist a spider get their prey in the fall, all that is required is to turn on a light or create a light source near them. They are naturally attracted to light sources, as this increases their chance of getting prey. If you have spiders attracted to your door, consider the light sources around it. How you use your light and how much light you let escape from windows direct spiders where to set up homes outside your house.

Cat of Strong Tail

Lucius, like dinosaur beasts, has great strength and mobility in his tail. He thuds it against you. Have you ever seen dogs that have strong tails that thud against a door jam and seem to have the strength of a machine? Well, I had not seen it before in a cat. This cat has an exceptionally strong tail beat and I've decided that it is probably a sign of a healthy animal. I don't mind the thuds of his tail on me. I am careful to not undermine his balance by diverting it in any way; it seems to have a role in managing the rest of his body plan.

The tail on a cat, most often when they are happy, forms a question mark and is carried high in the air like a Canadian flag. Our cats play a game. The boy cats run just a metre in front of CatMom most of the time with the question mark tale. Being sought after is part of the daily routine and they can measure just how much to walk/prance/trot/or run to keep just ahead of Mom's hand. They show signs of being happy from the attention.

Even mentioning a cat's name or a sweet nothing you regularly make up and repeat sends them into a happy state. I sometimes wish people had purr buttons which a person could read to know if you are effectively making them happy.

The cat of strong tail persists in our domain. He uses it to defy gravity and balance on the edge of boxes. He uses it in rolls and leaps. It is a metronome of action on an ongoing basis.

Henrietta the Jewel Spider

As an animal and nature lover, I see the extent of my yard boundary to be that where I create a positive environment for that which I care for. Not every spider is invited, unlike with cats. I recall the first time I found a Jewel Spider on the property. I was frightened. It had a cat face on its back. I looked online till I found and identified it as a Jewel Spider.

Then, I asked my neighbours if they had them too. They did. One of my neighbours was bit by one. The swelling of the bite settled down after two weeks. We had quite a few. I decided I would support about 5 adult female Jewel Spiders a year on my home. If the population exceeded that, then we would transport them to the watertower.

When spiders live on your property, the owner needs to direct them to good locations to make a living and to be set up in a secure place where the web anchors will not get disturbed by accident ie. running through it with a lawn mower. A nicely grown spider can eat 80-120 aphids off a web in a day. An excellent place to get them to set up shop is around your rose bushes. I love looking at the web, even with aphids as I know the next morning, the web will be all clean.

There was the year I met Henrietta. Henrietta set up on my front porch. I walked out the door and by accident the two of us met. She did a Miss Muffet on me. I panicked and threw her a few meters ahead. She landed on the sidewalk. Well, I felt really bad. I checked her and I had hurt one of her legs. I called my husband and had him transport her over on the deck just beside and sort of above my roses. I told her I would share my home with her. She could have my deck and roses area. I felt horribly sorry I had caused her infirmity.

Each day, Henrietta grew. Henrietta was a light brown color spider with darker brown markings for her legs and cat face on her back. She maintained a very large and impressive web over my roses. When we would sit on the deck, we would check on her. I, without meaning to, talked to her every day asking her how she was. Either she was out on the web or in her La-Z-Boy chair she constructed herself just under my deck rail. I had to be careful to not accidentally put my hand there. It took a few weeks, but I trained myself to be careful.

While I was on the deck in the evenings, Henrietta would not leave. She just hung out in her La-Z-Boy chair. If it was nearing evening, I could watch her repair and adjust her web. That year, I did not know what a benefit it was to have a spider on my rose till I observed night after night the fine work she made of catching all the aphids. Her web had an 18 inch spread across the rose.

I became rather fond of coming to the web and talking to her. Whether she was listening or not, I can't be sure. I think she was. This is why: when you encounter a spider and they feel threatened, they bulk up to look purposely larger than normal. Henrietta did not. She seemed perfectly relaxed. She would sit there listening to me or continue on with her work while I talked. Because of the spider friendship we had, I decided to encourage future spiders to stay with me in locations I would pre-select. I even saw Spider reinforcement sets at Lee Valley.

That fall, there was a burst of aphids in mid-September. It is perfectly timed to be the last feast for spiders just before they lay their eggs. I know that in that last growth burst, that Henrietta was storing up and preparing to lay her eggs and depart this earth. As I saw her body become large and heavy, (she was the size of a toonie) I told her I had enjoyed her friendship, and that I wanted to bid her farewell. Some three days later, I did not see her anymore.

I could not help but be sad. However, I looked forward to the next year I would get a few more Jewels. I love my roses, my adopted spider, and the deck. Somehow, one piece of that was missing, but could be cultivated yearly for its natural resonance.

Jewels come in all appearances. The next year I had Blanche welcomed and she moved into the same location. She was a blonde Jewel with very light markings.

Mrs. Melanie Tweed Lost Her Ducks in the Reeds

In Point Roberts out at Boundary Bay, in the community of Tsawassen, there is a public park and beach where the locals walk. It is well taken care of. It has an ice cream stand and great walking paths. It has many birds. The birds would come here for several reasons. They were close to the ocean where they can find food. They were close to ponds and streams. In these aquatic places, there were great resources to offer young families of ducks. Not to mention of course, many other types of birds like to live there as well. This past year, Mrs. Melanie Tweed came to Point Roberts.

Mrs. Melanie Tweed was a shapely duck, very stout and bright, when she and Mr. Henry Tweed were putting together their duck nest in the grasses. Melanie had chosen the ideal location for her home. Can you believe by some mere happening, she selected a marsh and pond which was in a bird conservatory? She could have chosen no better. She selected as her duckling raising grounds a place called Point Roberts in a public space right near the beach.

The lucky thing was that with the ocean nearby most passerbys are drawn to the view of the ocean a few hundreds of feet away. This meant that her family could live with relative peace in their pond. Yes, it was true, this marsh attracted attention. Yet, that attention seemed to draw audiences of photographers and nature lovers.

The people who bought in the neighbourhood nearby were mostly nature lovers. They were attracted to the sea, to the walking paths, to the birds, and to the natural life that could be seen in the wildlife park. This place was safe. Being near the water, there were no coyotes or foxes. It is true, there was an odd dog. Right nearby, there was a sign with "Onleash only" and none of the dogs right there ran free.

Book Description: Mrs. Melanie Tweed chooses the Boundary Bay pond in Tsawassen, B.C. as her place for building nests and raising her young. She has her ducklings there. The inevitable happens. Her ducklings go missing! Read this story to hear how Mrs. Melanie Tweed sorts her problems out.

Audience Request for Feedback: In my rating of this book, I assessed its level to be Grade 4. What do you think? Do you agree? Then, could you respond on this address:

https://www.createspace.com/Preview/1094675

Thankyou: I would like to thank my blog audience for participating in my survey. It has helped me assess where I can place this book for its reading level. Thanks so much for your participation!

Visit Donna's Amazon Author Page for this title released to Amazon Kindle on 2011/11/21 and to Createspace on 2012/01/20.

To see our book release, click here: Mrs. Melanie Tweed Lost Her Ducks in the Reeds

Calgary Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Society

Do you know an animal hero? I do. The nurse who babysits my cats works for Wildlife Rescue Rehabilitation Society. She is a writer too. She writes the stories of their latest animal acquisitions and sends their stories out in their newsletter. I've read them. They are great. They give each of the animals a name. Her stories tell how they were injured and the story of each recovery. My cat babysitter goes there and donates her time regularly to rehabilitate predatory birds. Her articles would be great children's stories.

Anytime I encounter an animal emergency, I call my friend for advice. Last year, where I was living I encountered a bird emergency. I called my friend. It was a long weekend. The vets locally were closed. The nearest vet was 280 kilometres away and three hours away. I had just returned from a very long trip a bit late in the evening looking forward to a long rest. I encountered rain storms on the last part of my trip. As I arrived home, I saw a beautiful beautiful gull on my lawn. We looked his species up. He was a Bonaparte's gull. You can see his likeness at: http://www.spwickstrom.com/gulls

Being a CatMom I had lots of cat carriers on site. I cleared out our cat carriers of cat belongings. I put in new paper towels. I went outside to get the gull. The gull was unsure of me. He ran three yards over and around a house to avoid me. He tired. I picked him up and gently put him into the cat carrier. I brought him in the house.

The cats who usually yack yack yack at birds through the window knew this was a singular and unique occurence. They all wanted to see the bird. They were very curious. I put him alone in our basement, but based on advice from my phone call to my friend, I brought him back up to my bathroom to keep him warmer. I placed a towel over the door to give him privacy.

We assessed him. He had a broken wing. He had bled. There was light pink fluid on my paper towel bedding. It was hard to tell how serious the injury to his wing was, and I hoped beyond hope he could be rehabilitated. Yes, he was a very beautiful gull. His markings were clearly attractive. He'd had an accident in the rainstorm being pushed into something and his last landing ended up on my front yard. He was a sitting duck or rather a sitting gull. He knew he was badly injured and it was a matter of time.

We had to make a decision. I wanted to save the bird. We drove to the nearest vet. We made it to the vet by 1 a.m. in the morning and back home by 5 a.m. The local chapter of animal wildlife rescue was going to pick him up from the vet if he was able to be rehabilitated. What I found out was that the bird took great comfort being in the cat carrier. I was told to not feed him for the moment. I bundled him up in more paper towels. We got on the road.

I put on soft classical music because I know it calms my cats. The bird did not make any loud noises, except for a few squawks. Mostly, he seemed comfortable, but I can't imagine what it was like being on a ride with a broken wing. I had tried to fold it in for him seeing that I did not do anything that would increase his discomfort.

I called back to the vet a few days later. The vet was not going to update me on the status of my bird rescue. I told the vet I gave up my weekend and stayed up a night to give the bird I brought in a chance. I told them I thought I deserved a status update. The lady told me she would check into things and get back to me. She called me back. After they examined the bird, they almost immediately put him down. They determined the wing breaks were not going to heal properly. A team of young people had looked him over. As you can imagine, I was sad and still tired. I had to give this gull his one last chance.

Should you ever encounter an animal in emergency, call the Wildlife Rescue Line. Their phone is:(403) 239-2488 in Calgary Or click here for a list of vet clinics accepting wildlife on behalf of the CWRS.

Cat Tea - Sleepy Time Tea for Four

Some time ago the cats witnessed us making Sleepy Time Tea. When we made our tea, the cats were showing unusual interest in it. We grabbed the box and checked the ingredients. A few mints were in there including chamomile and cat mint. The cats were almost putting their faces into our teacups. They were pulling at the cup to bring it to their face.

The next time we made our tea, we had bought cat nip. The sound of the kettle became the cue to call everyone to the kitchen. This was all fine.

We began to notice Thomas was picking up on verbal cues of mentioning tea. He would run to the cupboard and look at us. So, we would say, "Thomas, do you want some tea?" If he expressed interest, then we would open the door and give him his cat nip.

The trends overall are to do things at the same time. If we have tea, they have cat nip. We noticed the males like the cat nip more than the females. This trend toward doing things together comes from watching the other. We drink, so they get thirsty. We eat, so they want to eat. The fact Thomas picked up that tea time was time for cat nip was his doing not ours. It is one of our cute family customs resulting from hanging together.

What Would God Think About a PPP?

In this post, I would like to examine a theological perspective of what it means to be a PPP. Stop just a moment, and let's revisit the term Pretentious Pet Parent. He might not like the first word. However, my intention for the word is "assuming". I intend it to mean a placing around my pets a rail of protection and their life fits in that ring of acceptance.

I rather think that God would like a PPP. Where I see that in scripture is that God really liked David. He was a man after his own heart. How did David do that? He was a good shepherd. I don't get the feeling that the way David appealed to God was that he did an excellent job of being a shepherd. It was rather his heart intent in how he did his work. He sacrificed to go find the lost lamb. He developed skills to protect his flock. He managed his flock with the tenderness of God. He was affectively oriented and responded intuitively from his heart. Everyone around David could have thought him a sop. God sees the heart of intention and sometimes he gifts those who live from a deep perspective.

If I had to find a babysitter for my pet, it would be great to find a David who would love intuitively and do the best for my cats.

I tend to see that someone who will do something good for the least of these that they can be entrusted with more. How about a kingship? How will one act when noone is watching? How will someone act when they can guarantee no accountability or witnesses? Are their actions threaded with spontaneity and goodwill? If David can be trusted with God's sheepherd, then he can be trusted in leadership to act out of basic desires to do good.

I tend to like a critter who is identified with their coat. I like the fact that a lion is a lion is a lion. You know what to expect. What was special with David as a caregiver was his shepherd coat matched his identity. There was no falseness in him meeting his life objectives.

Continuous Clean Cat Box

Our all time favorite is the Continuous Clean Cat Box. We used Dr. Elsey cat litter in it. If you are in any way allergic to litter dust or don't have a proper duct system in the home, this is a very good litter box. As it is slow moving, it raises no content into the air. It rotates once per half hour. It is safe for kittens. Still watch them. It keeps what looks like a maintained litter box all the time without huge effort from an owner. Who does not like that?

We were very happy with it. It worked for two years straight and then finally a litter clump blocked it and it died. We think it is recoverable though. It is still placed by a conventional litter box. The cats use it by choice. It does not dehydrate the waste, but it too is always clean. We are investigating its repair, because it is the Cats' choice.

This litter box is an excellent choice for in a rental. In rental units, you want the litter box to be as subdued as possible. Yeah though, we still had two. We are into providing them choice.

MIT Scoopfree Cat Box

We have a cat box designed by MIT. If you are a person who has worked in the field of technology, I hope you would be a tool buff like me. This was an experiment that worked. We used the MIT box alongside the conventional litter box. What was interesting was that because it self-cleans, it means that the cat who gets antsy about slightly dirty litter will use it and prefer it. We used and have used this cat box for some time. What is a pain is ensuring that you get the crystal cartridges. When they come into the pet store, customers come in and buy the whole lot in a go. If you want to have enough on hand, you need to buy six or so.

I have also know you can use the litter trays refills as currency. If another family member has a machine, you can barter based on having some in the house. The idea is brilliant. I never have got around to buying and having the litter tray delivered to my door. Maybe that is the way around solving access to getting the litter insert.

We consider this litter experiment a partial success. It was almost used exclusively used by our picky cat. Some gravitated toward it and then left back to the conventional box. I do think this would be a good box for a condominium. It is large and that is important for a litter box. It is really amazing how much the waste reduces because of the contact with the crystals. It is surprising how much waste gets collected in the holder. I do not know how the box would have performed if we had removed the other ones from their access.

Cat Genie

In working with solutions for having a cat with diabetes, I bought a Cat Genie. It looked so great and idyllic. We set it up in a washroom. I tried to entice my cats to it. They each used it a couple times, but they were more used to conventional cat litter and they remained with that.

Then, we got a kitten. Just like with children and technology, the kitten got the idea right away. We used the cat genie for maybe four weeks with him. What we did not expect was that the other three cats would take the little guy and teach him where and how to use the other litter. We noticed there was less use in the cat toilet and eventually he stopped altogether.

That meant I was disappointed and my Cat Genie concept never did end up as a full solution for us. We left its plumbing in place and the machine dripped fluid onto our floor. I was not happy with that so we removed it. It is now "stuff" sitting in the basement. Now that we have a new cat, I would be interested in trying it again. However, the bigs cats have already got to him and have been converting him from his kitty box to the cat box. On one hand this is good because we don't have to maintain the various boxes. We keep the baby trainer up close to our room.

Lucius loves to watch CatDad clean the box. He attacks the scoop. He catches and leaps on the scoop wherever it moves in the dirt. He pulls the poop back into the box. Really, he exclaims, "I put all that work into burying it. Why on earth do you dig it out?" He follows Dad around till he exits the bag outside. The routines are settling in. Lucius does make cleaning the litter fun. He reminds me of a two year old potty training.

Martius Has a Unique Feature

Each cat I get has a unique feature. Just like people, you get a surprise package with cats. Martius surprised us when he got home. The first and every subsequent time he gets either scared or nervous, he gets a bottle brush tale. This does not happen to his back or anything. The degree of unsettling equals the degree of his tale fluff. I've never had a cat that had an instant brush on his tale like that.

It is really quite attractive. He looks like a wildcat. When I was shopping for catfood at the time, there was a food with a lynx on it with ear tips coming to a point and a fluffy tale. That is exactly what he looks like. One ought to be worried when your cat's tale fluffs for this reason, but he is so cute I sort of like it when he gets scared.

We have learned to use his tale as a means of knowing how he is feeling. If I want to calm him down, I run my hand along he tale and unfluff it and reassure him. He responds to speech pretty well. Often though, Cat Dad picks him up to inspect whatever it is that made him upset. As soon has he sees the practical reason for what just happened, he settles down.

He is almost a guard dog. If he hears a sound, his tale fluffs. It is helpful to have his tale to tell us to look around. More or less, he is comfortable in our home, so I don't have to take this trait too seriously. It is just immensely cute and one I would not trade in for anything.

Tabby Cats Are the Oldest Living Feline Genestock

We watched a documentary on television. This was prior to me getting my next two cats. On that documentary, they said the oldest living breedstock traceable was in Egypt and that is was the MAU cats. The cats look like the common tabby cat. The cats I saw were black and white, grey, not ginger, and were street cats.

Some may know the cat video Mean Kitty on YouTube. I've only watched it forty times or so. I have added to the statistics on its showings. Well, my next cat has some similarity to that cat. I sort of picked my next cat from the influences: 1. the Mean Kitty and 2. the documentary.

If I find the reference to the show, I will include it later. It is really very interesting for a cat owner.

Where PPPs Pick up Their Tendencies

I don't really know, but I would like to suggest a few options of what I think leads a person to be a PPP. The real question I am trying to answer is: Does being a pretentious pet parent get developed socially or genetically? I think both contribute to making good pet parents and people interested in being an advocate for animals. Examining myself, short of doing a survey, I am going to assess the evidence.

The social factors I shall explore first. In my nuclear family, the PPP tendencies were displayed. My parents chose to have pets. I grew up with them around me. Home does not quite feel like home without a pet. Family stories have also built this tendency. On the maternal side of my family, my grandfather owned a pig farm.

Early on, as a farmer he became close to his stock. He sort of loved them. I don't know how else to say it. He considered pigs very intelligent animals. Early on in raising pigs, he was rough with them for example trying to herd them onto scales to be weighed at sale. Later on, he discovered they learned his speech. He only needed to talk to his pig and they did what he wanted. He treated them gently almost as if they were his pets. Then, when he was herding them in to get weighed, he would ask each pig to come to be weighed. The people around him were confounded by this farmer who talked to his pigs.

My maternal grandfather also had a dog. On visits to the farm, we saw his interactions with the dog and how the dog participated in farm life. He was close to his dog who accompanied him doing his farm tasks.

On the paternal side of the family, my grandfather was a farm boy. He was particularly affected by cats and chinchillas. He had a home office for accounting. He shared his space and let these animals run about his basement while he worked. They were his breathing mascots. Anytime we visited, we were delighted to go down into Grandpa's special work space to play with his cat and chinchillas. With the cat, we would get a crunched paper ball and throw it in the air. With the chinchilla, we would watch them run around in the corners of the office and pet them. They would play hide and seek with the cat.

On my maternal side again, my mother had an uncle. This uncle was a pigeon owner. He always had an admirable pigeon roost. He loved each of his pigeons like it was a racehorse. He had tracked their times and their distances on charts. He had entered them in flight competitions. The love and care he had for each pigeon was easily traceable in his voice as he presented each one to me. For a time, he lived in Calgary and then, he lived in British Columbia. Both places, he maintained his bird collection.

My paternal grandfather had an affection for the Masters which takes place in Spruce Meadows. He loved horses himself. Both him and his brother rode them around their property as boys. My grandfather knew all the winners, key players, and great shows out at Spruce Meadows. I took him once. We had a good time. Later, he said he preferred to watch it on television.

All these social factors have led me to pick up similar affections for animals.

Next, I shall explore the genetic factors and the possibility of similar personality leading to being a pretentious pet parent. I sort of see personalities, dreams, and dispositions being repeated through the family lines. Unuttered hopes get displayed through their actions as if programmed. A love of music seems imbred. Crazy sorts of whims seem imbred including preferences for color. Desires to achieve flight or to work with flight seem imbred. This is why I expect, even if I don't know them and just meet a relative now, to have a lot in common with them.

I do not know what causative factors bring out certain personalities. I think there is a personality sublist in the genes with additional factors which turn them on or off. I think that all the possible personalilty profiles for a family are there and that only a few of them get expressed. This would explain why in a family there are such varied expressions of what seems to be a common database of personality factors.

Well, as both are possibilities in my mind, I hope that reading this blog assists in turning on the PPP gene tendencies in your mind. I realize I can only influence that which is already there in your base programming, and I certainly want to socially influence you. Who would have thought you could teach your pig herd to understand speech? My family believes that animals are intelligent. They are worth relating to. If you have not ever tried talking to your animal, start.

Last night, my Cat Dad whispered a little tip to Lucius that he would really be much more satisfied with his kitten food than our people food. Lucius must assess each new food in the kitchen to determine if he likes it. He is disappointed with some and feels excluded when we eat if we don't offer him any. The kitten was basically unsettled we were eating something different than him. Right then, after the suggestion, the kitten did exactly what Cat Dad suggested and went and ate two plates of his kitten food. Cat Dad's eyes lit up. Do you think he really understood?

Why Pretentious Pet Parent?

I am using the acronym PPP. The first P could be the word patient, proud, or preening? I used the word pretentious because it has positive meanings or associations to the title which are more interesting than the others. All the others make fine sub-topics. I chose pretentious because:

1. I make a general assumption that any guest invited to my home treats my pets well.

2. I am life involved in my cats which is generally misunderstood by those who have kids and can be interested in them.

3. I hope to share the value for my pets and other animals with those who hang out with me - sharing the love for all animals.

4. I represent a small group of professionals who have pets, but no family.

5. I would spend on my pets as if they were my kids.

Thankfully, I have found others who have the same life circumstance and who are multi-cat homes. Interesting, they are writers. I figured there might be others out there.

A PPP could easily have a family and be a PPP. I just am not one. If I had a family, I would share the values with everyone in it. I would still be writing this blog. So, that is why the first P in PPP is pretentious. Welcome and I hope you come back to read again.

Deck Time with the Cats

The reason we have a deck, besides having access to a near source of our barbecue, was to create a space where we could easily let our cats outside where they would not come into contact with other pet smells and biological essences. We do keep plant matter there, as our pets are constantly curious and need some sort of outdoor pleasrure.

They hang out on our furniture almost as much as us. We had brought out a butler cart which turned into a cat condo. It is cedar and now it needs its oils reapplied. Out on the deck today, we heard crows. They flew over us a few times. We will not leave our kitten outside alone as he would be easy pickings for a crow or two. We have a few predatory animals which scan the skies. I have no problem with predatory birds being near. I just could not bear an accident by leaving my cats unattended.

Deck time is good. If forces us to take a break. It is easy entertainment. Just being able to sit in fresh air is pleasant. Watching the interactions is fun too. Today, our cats chased dandelion fluff around on the deck. They caught it with their paws against the glass.

We share our deck with my neighbours the pigeons. The pigeons have been here six or more years. There is a family. The juvenile pigeons are the most interested in me being on the deck. They are like kittens with their curiosity. They will come sit on the deck rail and watch me eat breakfast. So, on the deck, especially considering them invited, we usually have to sweep up a bit after them.

I talk to the pigeons. They coo back as if they understand. Sometimes, I just coo. I like their sounds. I hear them around my home on a regular basis.

How does deck time and pigeons work together? Well, during our deck time, the pigeons fly about us. They are like a flight show for the cats. The pigeons know how glass and doors work. They are not in the least intimidated when everyone is inside and they will visit longer and put on a show. Outdoors they don't land we when we are out, but they still sit on a nearby rooftop to see what is up. Would I trust a pigeon around my cats? Probably. I don't suspect they would come down and land around them anyway.

In my past, I had a crow swoop and try to pick up one of my cats. Hence, my worry. I sort of feel a connection with the pigeons. They are highly docile and patient. Who I would also be concerned about are the blackbirds. They seem really upset about the cats, but they pick on the smallest one the most. This is probably because they are guarding a nest. This means they can squawk all they want through the window, but I would never leave Lucius alone without supervision anyways.

From the deck today, we also got to see a Baby Rabbit newly born much the size of Lucius, his Mom, and the Sparrow who visits my garden these days. Usually, we have many robins. Today, I did not notice any. They are regulars in the yard.

Decks are a fabulous way to hang out outside and provide to my underlings some catutainment. I have fun too.

Lucius Part Turkish Van?

The 14 week old kitten must be part Turkish Van? I am shocked at how much he loves water. When we brought him home, his legs were wobbly and he did not have much strength. Just 2 weeks later, he is jumping with complete control and excellent strenght. He is eating very well too -- five times a day.

He loves water. He could care less about getting wet. We let him on our deck and he ran out yesterday in the rain. Just like a kid who loves to get in a mud puddle, he seems attracted to wherever he can muck about the most. We brought him in, kissed his head, and wiped off his little paws and sopping body.

Well, additional muscle strength means he can jump onto a counter to get in the sink. He sticks his paws down any sink drain to check out what is below and brings the guck all up to prance about and make kitten paw tracks across the counter. You know he's done it from the inductive nature of observing kitten tracks all over.

He loves to play with water rather than drink it. He puts his paw in and pulls it up to lick it. He puts it pack three or four more times shaking it each time and then just pulls the 12 oz glass over to prance about in the water. Water spills are his version of running through the sprinkler. Water covers half the table, drips through to the floor, and Pet Mom and Pet Dad lift him out of his mess to dry off everything to start over. For his few weeks of being with us, he's pulled glasses over about five times. He does not really seem to tire of his game.

He needs to be up around the sink if you plan to run the tap. He is amazed by the cool stream of water. "How do taps do that?" he inquires looking at the tap and then back at Pet Parent. "Yes, Sweetie, that is new technology! It is amazing, isn't it? Mom likes running water too. It makes washing my hair really easy. I really need it because I can't self-groom."

Sometimes, Lucius likes to drink water. By observing the behaviours of other cats a.k.a. Martius, he has learned the best water is that last poured. Even better, Pet Dad's water because that has had a seal of approval from the Pet Dad lips. It must be okay. Each of the cats have their own way of asking for water. Lucius still does the strong kitten "M-E-E-E-O-W". It's intended for Cat-Mom. I now know it has been adapted for me. Beginning preparations finding a new glass and starting the tap is enough to simply instill patience as I do the job. "It's coming, Lucius."

As a small cat, we have a small bowl for him. He plays in the big cat's water. He drinks better from his baby cat water. He eats from a small bowl too so that his posture is the most practical for eating.

We've never had a cat so in love with water. I wonder if he is part Turkish Van.

The New Wave of Cat Upbringing

15 years ago it was OK to declaw your cats.  We declawed three, keeping one with a set of backs to give her an advantage in fighting. We declawed to prevent damage to our home. At the time we thought we were doing the right thing. Not thinking about the consequences, the declawing had some negative impacts on our cats. For one, clawing allows a cat to engage their whole abdominal muscles as they work at sharpening and clawing. The exercises are naturally built in. Two of our cats lost their muscle tone through the stomach, fore paws, and back paws. It is like the cat does yoga with extremely good grip and balance on their mat. As I saw the losses in their fitness, I wondered.

Then, over time, the cats became very dependent on us for grooming. Not that I don't build that habit, I do. I like grooming my cats. What I mean here is that for our long hair cat, she really needs her claws to pull out and groom her neck. Snarls build up and she could not deal with it. So, I became more aware of these issues and did the grooming she would do herself for her. We keep her neck finely groomed. Then, I thought, if she can't groom her neck, what else can she not do? She can't scratch an itch. The small cat with the claws used her back set to resolve itches. The other cats needed us. I am starting to not think the declawing was such a great idea.

With the acquisition of our kitten 2.5 years ago, we were informed there is a new way. They now recommend cats keep their claws. I had built my home cat friendly. I decided to give it a go. The cat came home with severely clipped claws for his acclimitization period. This was good. The situation worked out. For one, my floors wear down my cats claws. Good. Second, he was amalgamated into a great cat culture of not using claws. Martius learned that it was not socially acceptable to use his claws in fighting and in interactions, including play because not any of the others used their claws on him.

As a kitten, I did not expect him to have complete control over his claws. I expected him to make mistakes. So, I adapted. I put covers and furs over things which needed temporary protection. As he grew, I noticed he could control his claws more and not mark things. At that point, the protection aids intended to solely prevent harm were removed. Those I grew used to as comforts stayed. For a fully clawed cat, he does not use them excessively in a harmful way.

Having claws has allowed Martius to interact with his environment in different ways than the other cats. For example, Thomas has tried to claw the scratching post like Martius, but it does not work the same way for him. He will still paw it and scent it. However, I can see he does not get the same cat satisfaction from the deed. As well, Martius can use his claws to interact with his Dad. He reaches up and claws or attaches his claws to say Hi. As a kitten, he would just climb up his leg and into his arms. As he grew, he would just come up occasionally to say Hi and pull his claws out after or he would pull a little harder to signal he planned a climb. As a bigger cat, he attaches and then hangs waiting for his Dad to pick him up. Once up, Cat Dad and Martius would do a tour of the house. Cat Dad would teach Martius about all the upper level belongings in the home.

We noticed Martius has some unique digital movement with his clawed paws. He can pick up a piece of spaghetti off the floor. I can't. I sweep it up. I think it is because he has a bit more "hand" by having the extra paw tip knuckle.

Martius has remained a very fit  cat. He is strong and lean. I can't help wondering if keeping claws and the opportunity for exercise which results is the reason. We would not have evolved into different behavioural activities with this cat if we had not been open to trying out keeping a cat with claws. It may be we found a cat who was very kind and patient. It has been cute to see how he uses his claws for unique purposes. I support the anti-declaw movement at least from the perspective of seeing this cat's story.

Cat-fu

We have a ginger alpha cat Thomas. He is the biggest strongest toughest cat on site. He looks like Simba of the Disney movie. He is 18 pounds and looks all lion. He is such a beautiful cat. He is the Grand Master of cat-fu. He is a very loving calm and accepting cat most of the time. As he has grown older, he has a few aches and pains, so if you touch him in a sensitive spot he will for sure catch you with a bite warning to say, “Hey, that hurt!”

On the other hand, he is also a great father friend cat. A few years ago, we acquired a kitten. All the cats in the family were 12+ in age and the little guy needed a play partner. Thomas welcomed the new Martius to the family with abundant play. What was odd was it was like Thomas taught him to fight and Martius taught Thomas to be a kitten again. Suddenly, Thomas was doing things quite unexpected for his age. He began running around playing with imaginary things, skittering around like a kitten, and having lively perky eyes. Thomas began to want to play more and looked for opportunities to wrestle. All in all, the match for play was excellent.

With time, the Master taught the young cat his cat-fu strategies. He taught him the straight paw. That is because Thomas was significantly bigger and by just putting out his paw, the little guy could not get a swing in to him. (Not long after, Martius used the technique to block his Pet Mom from kissing him. He placed the paw right center in my neck. He adapted the strategy.) The Master taught him to sit tall in the beginning of a combative encounter. Martius also taught Thomas a new strategy. He rolled in from underneath into an attack position. This was novel and admirable for a small kitten working with a partner who was 12 pounds more than him. Martius, considering his size, jumped on the forefront of Thomas’s body as he was too small to engage his whole body. The two became fast friends. If something was good enough or safe enough for Thomas to do, Martius would do it.

Cat-fu Straight Paw

After about two years and some upheaval in life conditions, it became difficult to play. The two had lost their habit of play. Then, the day came when a second cat in the household took over the major play or rather fight role with the kitten. We never knew how much he loved her and depended on her till we lost her. We lost one of our cats to kidney disease. The house was starkly quiet, sad, empty, and drained of life. There was no play or interactions.

I felt for my young cat. I went and bought him a play partner. Now, Martius is doing the Cat-fu training role with the new addition to our family Lucius. Poor Lucius, brother of Martius in Shakespeare’s Titus and Adronicus could not know the sissy sweet nothings his Pet Mom fawned over him as Lulu Luscious.

Lucius somehow intuitively knew the under-roll technique. His all of 4 pounds is mass launched through the air and he pounces on to Martius. Lucius has something unique in his movement though. He jumps like a wolf spider. It’s rather amazing. Another thing is he vocalizes in his attack. Right at launch time, he jumps and meows in a strange variety of battle calls which leave Pet Mom wondering if he is being killed, but he is in the midst of the glory of the fight. It is his version of kiya. Martius is a competitive partner for Lucius, but compassionate and aware of his kittenhood. In the midst of fighting, he cleans the little tike. He makes a great cat dad.

I have always thought Martius was the best cat I had ever met. I can’t believe I found his equal and that they would be so well matched. I hope for the sake of all of us they live till I am a ripe old 85 and that I have to find a senior’s home who will take both me and my cats! Oh, and long live cat-fu!

Being a PPP - Pretentious Pet Parent!

Have you heard of being a DINK as a couple with a double income and no kids? Well, being a PPP is being a pretentious pet parent. That is an owner or owners who are hopelessly and practically in love with their pets. Having great hopes for the lives our of pets means we want them to live as our companions for a long long time. At a recent vet visit, we heard that the record life of a dog is 39 years. The record life of a cat is 38 years. One of family members had their cat for 33 years. A PPP who is best friends with their pets want their lives to be as fulfilled as they can be under their roof.

This leads one to question what is a fulfilled life for one's pet? Well, as for people, it falls into the categories of having a positive social life, a healthy lifestyle, getting regular doctor visits, and having work life balance. This PPP has 4 cats and that is because she likes to have a social life in the house. The 4 cats provide each of them with their feline society of friends. There's two senior cats and two junior cats. Our situation is new. I have mother-like love flutterings for my youngest. This is not unlike those of new romance. So for each little mess-up we fall into from the smallest exploring his surroundings, I fix it up and fawn on him adoringly. It's wonderful to see life through the new experience of a baby family member.

Did you know that normal cat food is too high carb? If a cat goes on eating the same diet for a long time, it is exceedingly sure they will get diabetes. We have one with diabetes. She is a trooper. She comes fore her shots, climbs in the chair, and waits. She gets her shot. Then, she gets a massage. This works the insulin in. Finally, she gets off to have her morning treat of wet cat food. Everyone participates. Everyone benefits. Working the shot into the morning routine of what is normal to get the day started makes it a positive routine. As cats age, they tend to have special diets to conform to their changing bodies. They become special needs cats. However, that extra special care leads to deeper bonding with the owners. It is a two way reward.

Cats need regular visits to their doctors. In a multi-cat household, this is where with the business of life, there can be issues. Particularly for older cats, the vet visit is a method of catching early any signs of onset of disease or sickness. It is catching ailments early that permits them longer quality filled lives.

For each cat, they need about 15 minutes of attention a day. We probably give our cats more. We hang out as a pride. We migrate as a group. Where we go the cats go and where the cats go we go. Where we have to monitor ourselves is that work-life balance key to happiness. We have to stop work to play. Hopefully, we fit the profile of a PPP in playing with our cats. The cats can play by theirselves. That is a sign they are well adjusted and happy. However, the play with the cats maintains the cat-owner bond. Lunch hour is play time here. We use the halls to send the cats running after balls, or set them up with cardboard boxes in which to play hide and seek.

In the end, the activities are destressors for both the cats and the owners. There are positive health effects and more positive outlooks from these healthy relationships. Here's to PPPs playing with their pets!

Fine Art America - a 21st Century Renaissance

I am a recent adherent of Fine Art America. Here, I have met other artists and viewed other's contributions and techniques. In some cases, it is possible to tell the differences between digital and tactile art. I don't have a term for art that has been created by hand materials, so "tactile art" here means that the medium, the art supplies, the brushes, and the touches and touchups were all done by touch. Digital art has been done with digital pens or a mouse in their creation.

I have noticed how artists are inspired by each other. Either by joining groups or by watching others, you can see small differences between your best contributed work and theirs. It is more than just opportunity. Sometimes, an artist can take something fairly plain and step it up into someone's next art acquisition.

I am a photographer and digital artist. I had a history of drawing as a past-time. I am slowly progressing forward to where I want to be. The art which is most popular are photos and art which are composed images. I believe that comes once someone has a bank of their own photography to work with. Then, you begin composing the perfect sky with the perfect foreground and object of attention. This can be done with both photos and art. I am making steps forward to this type of art or created photos.

In my portfolio, you will see one of these. The shot was what pulled me into photography. At night, I would watch the sunset. I also watch planes land. There would be a perfect time when the sky would look just right, the moon would have aligned, and the planes would fly right through the centre of the moon over and over again. I tried capturing the moon picture with my camera and I was unsatisfied with the result. I have thought of video taping these scenes. I am still working on these skills. Then, I could pull one image out of it.

Anyway, I've made a composed image as one of my pictures which required a very nice clear picture of a plane, a good picture of the sky and clouds, and a good picture of the moon. I combined all three, and presto I have an approximation of my vision.

I do think that being on Fine Art America has made a positive difference in growing my skills. By making friends and viewing their portfolios, I have made refinements to my processes. I see that the sharing of ideas and even reinterpretations of mediums and methods of the true Renaissance artists converted into modern art stands as a proof that Fine Art America is beginning a reawakening of sharing, exchange of information, and the meeting of minds, and a progression in techniques through their use of their Internet portal.

To visit our collection, click http://donna-munro.artistwebsites.com/.