Table Talk House and Garden
In praise of cats and other furry fiends
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Eleanor Arroway - 01:02 pm PDT - Sep 18, 1999
WWMLKD?
I have two cats, both shelter finds. Sometimes I
wonder how something I paid so little for brings so much into life. :)
Anybody else got an unhealthy attachment to their
pets?
Shaheen - 10:07 am PDT - Jun 21, 2001 - #5607 of 7994
A circumstance beyond our control/The phone, the TV and the news of
the world/Got in the house like a pigeon from hell/Threw sand in our eyes
and
descended like flies/Put us back on the train/Back on the chain gang...
In the winter, I keep a bowl of water on the floor heat register in the living room, to keep my furniture and myself from drying out.
This is the cat's preferred water bowl, and they (now just he) are quite
indignant when spring comes and they have to walk all the way
into the kitchen to the water dish.
Indoor fountains play havoc with me, also. Especially at night. I'd never get a straight 8 with one around.
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BeVERly - 10:11 am PDT - Jun 21, 2001 - #5608 of 7994
his deck includes the fourteen of fruitloops--ray menendez on the pussycat
ace--RIP
You unplug it or turn it off at night. That's how the cat knows it's time to go to bed!
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Shaheen - 10:13 am PDT - Jun 21, 2001 - #5609 of 7994
A circumstance beyond our control/The phone, the TV and the news of
the world/Got in the house like a pigeon from hell/Threw sand in our eyes
and
descended like flies/Put us back on the train/Back on the chain gang...
LOL. My cat thinks day is night, time for sleeping, and that nighttime is for being outside, or waking me up to fulfill his food needs.
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ray menendez - 10:20 am PDT - Jun 21, 2001 - #5610 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
waking me up to fulfill his food needs.
I have a pussycat ace who is adept at placing a single claw in either
my kidney or my neck when this is high on his agenda. Since I wake
in agitation, it is always a marvel to me that even though I know and
identify the source and seek to batter him to death with the first
object to hand, typically a pillow, I marvel every time the episode
is over to see him sitting on the bed, front paws together and forelegs
straight, waiting for that to be over so he can get some food. He likes
about 4:20 most of the time.
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Mary Tyler Moron - 03:10 pm PDT - Jun 21, 2001 - #5618 of 7994
Facts all come with points of view. Facts don't do what I want them
to.
My Kiwi gets me up around 4, too! One of her preferred methods is to
knock my alarm clock off my night table completely. Always
works!
Another things she's done, honest to God, is prance around on the phone/answering
machine repeatedly, hitting buttons that beep. She
has hit Memo, which records ambient room noise, then OGM (outgoing
message) twice. My outgoing message is then me yelling "Get
the &%*$ down!" over and over again. I never find out about this
till friends call and leave me a message that says "You have a really
weird message right now..."
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ray menendez - 03:17 pm PDT - Jun 21, 2001 - #5619 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
I posted this on the other cat thread, too:
Cats is nearly as dumb as people. I was in executive session in the
porcelain room when I heard a hell of a clatter in the living room. It
sounded like a collision between two Renaults, and unfortunately it
was a minute or two until I could attend to it.
There are two windows in the living room which face east, and in front
of them is a low bench-like furniture essentially dedicated to the
use of the pussycat ace. On it is his day basket where he will curl
up and watch the birds. Also on it now are a tv and a stereo, lying
there against Saturday’s yard sale. The window by his basket had mini-blinds
that are always up but the other blinds are generally down
to the top of the AC so he seldom shows any interest in it.
However, today with the tv and stereo and speakers upon which to climb,
his attention was attracted by that window instead of the one
adjacent. So he had inserted his body among the slats on the miniblind.
But the way they were angled, he was in a monkey puzzle, since
he could not go back, and a bind because there was not footroom for
a hind foot.
I guess he jumped for the floor, because I heard a yowl moments before
the Renaults came together. When I got to the living room,
there sat the cat, looking at me with the expression a Baptist in a
brewery would show a photographer, draped in a ceremonial buff
miniblind. When I approached, he sought to avoid me, but was so tangled
in the blind that he really couldn’t move about. His restraint
had lasted perhaps a minute, and his delight was severely restricted.
He would have clawed me into cole slaw but for the fact that his
right leg was wrapped about with a loop or two of blind cord. He wanted
out now-now-now!
Got him untangled after I got him settled down, and you try that with
a cat interwoven with a miniblind. He is now wrapped in his own
tail, curled up in his window basket, eyes squinched shut and telling
himself "It never happened." Anybody wanna buy a cat? Cheap; I’ll
throw the blind in free.
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Michele Herman - 03:24 pm PDT - Jun 21, 2001 - #5620 of 7994
"sometimes one has to get in touch with one's thug side" -- tjcj
I am DYING here...that is hysterical, ray!
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ray menendez - 03:26 pm PDT - Jun 21, 2001 - #5621 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Thought so myself, but the pussycat ace was not at all amused.
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Michele Herman - 03:34 pm PDT - Jun 21, 2001 - #5622 of 7994
"sometimes one has to get in touch with one's thug side" -- tjcj
I never had one decimate a miniblind before, but my female cat dedided
to intestigate a shopping bag with a couple of those string
handles once and got her the handle around her neck. I heard this wailing
and the sound of Things Falling On The Floor. Rushed into the
room to see her tearing about, trying to get the Evil Fluttery Bag
Thing off of her. Thought I was going to pee my pants laughing after I
caught her and set her free.
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ray menendez - 03:38 pm PDT - Jun 21, 2001 - #5623 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Well, yes. The ace once got into a grocery sack and tried to tunnel
out the side, and the whole issue wound up with him looking like a
drunk trying to gnaw his way out of an overcoat. Right now he is demonstrating
his animus against autos by shredding the new car
section of the paper. It's a buff miniblind he would come with, would
not clash with anything.
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Diva - 03:48 pm PDT - Jun 21, 2001 - #5624 of 7994
Too funny. Miss Critterfish sometimes gets herself stuck inside things,
but she rarely panics. Once, she knocked over a photo that was
matted, but not framed, then she turned up in the kitchen wearing a
square of cardboard around her middle like a tutu. She was terribly
offended at the way we fell down laughing at the absolutely disgusted
look on her face. I think what really got to her was that she knew
she needed our help to get free, and she was mortified that one of
the other cats would see her first.
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Anne Threston - 03:51 pm PDT - Jun 21, 2001 - #5625 of 7994
Inmate of Casa de los Tres Gatos Locos
Ray, thank you so much. That was easily one of the funniest things I've read here in a while.
Himself, when we were up in Maine, was basking on the floor, with one
eye out the sliding glass doors, watching for activity out on the
water. Suddenly the seagull that my parents feed, showed up for her
thrice-daily handout, and lands on the porch rail. Victor, seizing the
moment, charges the gull but is stopped by the glass door.
<clunk
Dazed Siamese. Annoyed seagull. A real Stupid Pet Trick sort of moment.
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Michele Herman - 03:52 pm PDT - Jun 21, 2001 - #5626 of 7994
"sometimes one has to get in touch with one's thug side" -- tjcj
You folks are killing me today...."...then she turned up in the kitchen
wearing a square of cardboard around her middle like a tutu..."
Oh my lord yes!
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Kristinff - 03:58 pm PDT - Jun 21, 2001 - #5627 of 7994
my cats are much happier than my house is clean!
Oh, The Mitten used to Love mini-blinds. She would always sit in the
windowsill of our old apartment and survey the neighborhood
from her vantage point three floors up. Great view of all the daily
activities. During the summer however, we would close the blinds
during the day, to keep out the evil heat (this was in Sacramento).
Mitten, not being the smartest kitty ever, would want to sit in the evil
sun regardless of the blinds blocking the way. She would wiggle her
skinnny little self through the blinds in order to subject herself to the
heat. She did get stuck on occasion and would need rescue. She never
made the noise of Renaults crashing though, she would just stop
her wiggling and sit forlornly until we noticed. I always wondered
what she did when we weren't home.I would arrive to see the bottom
slats all twisty and mangled, but no kitty in sight!
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ray menendez - 04:00 pm PDT - Jun 21, 2001 - #5628 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Shall we all now gang up on Ms. Herman with cat stories to see if we
can make happen something that hasn't happened to her since
Kidneygarden?
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Phyl Good - 04:05 pm PDT - Jun 21, 2001 - #5629 of 7994
Ray Menendez, Rest in Peace - all the TT Pussycats and their parents
miss you already; please take care of our little ones who went on ahead
of you
He is now wrapped in his own tail, curled up in his
window basket, eyes squinched
shut and telling himself "It never happened."
And it didn't. You know that.
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Michele Herman - 04:07 pm PDT - Jun 21, 2001 - #5630 of 7994
"sometimes one has to get in touch with one's thug side" -- tjcj
Oh now Ray, that's not nice...especially after I've been pounding water like a sponge.
::racing for the john::
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Jeanne H. - 06:47 pm PDT - Jun 21, 2001 - #5631 of 7994
dona nobis pacem
Borneo once went through a miniblind so he could sit in an open window,
even though there was ample clearance at the bottom to
accommodate him. He busted up half a dozen slats. It was in a rental
unit, so I just waited until Penney's had another sale on vinyl
miniblinds, ordered a replacement, and swapped old for new. It was
a standard size so I didn't even have to replace the hardware.
Otherwise, I'm sure I'd have lost half my damage deposit on a $35 miniblind.
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ray menendez - 06:54 pm PDT - Jun 21, 2001 - #5632 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Well, the pussycat ace has just this moment come down from the window
in the bathroom over the tub, which also has a miniblind and
which he can ascend to but he usually shoves his head under it and
then hops up, or like today it is up and the window open. But then he
will fish in the blind cord and fiddle with it, and any day I expect
to hear the blind drop to the end of its tether, and then the renewed
sound of Renaults mating, and the wail of the cat, blindsided again.
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GingerCat - 06:55 pm PDT - Jun 21, 2001 - #5633 of 7994
goo bye
Simon just paws and bats at the blinds annoyingly until I lift them for him.
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Lucy Cat - 07:34 pm PDT - Jun 21, 2001 - #5637 of 7994
"He thinks gold is like water, put it on at the top and it will seep
on down and water all below. Gold, or money, don't work that way...Put
it at the top
and it stays there." Will Rogers, c. 1931
When Harvey catches mice in the middle of the night, he honors us by
bringing them into the bedroom, and then eating them. I have no
doubt he means well, but it wakes me up. At first when I hear the slurping
sounds I'm not quite sure what I'm hearing, but when I hear
the crunch of tiny bones I know! Then there is this dilemma: do I rouse
myself and remove the mouse (a particularly odious task when
half-awake), or do I lie there and listen (there is no way I can avoid
hearing)...
Harvey's a good mouser, yes he is! Any mouse that is foolish enough
to come into our house is not long for this world. I am so grateful,
I tell myself (and wonder, why couldn't he do this during the day?)
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ray menendez - 07:46 pm PDT - Jun 21, 2001 - #5638 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
When we lived at The House That Broke the ace would go outside and catch
mice in the root areas of the lilac line. Now in the little grey
house he isn't allowed outside, but if a mouse came in here he would
know what to do, boy. He'd register it to vote and have house
leader elections, sure as shooting.
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Jeanne H. - 07:48 pm PDT - Jun 21, 2001 - #5639 of 7994
dona nobis pacem
I'm currently working a temporary job at a pest control company. You
wouldn't believe how many people call in because they have A
Mouse. I'm more than halfway tempted to offer Sarah's services, for
a fee. If there is a mouse in the house, she will find it and kill it.
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Lucy Cat - 08:21 pm PDT - Jun 21, 2001 - #5643 of 7994
"He thinks gold is like water, put it on at the top and it will seep
on down and water all below. Gold, or money, don't work that way...Put
it at the top
and it stays there." Will Rogers, c. 1931
Ah, thank you okie amazon! Those truly were the dark ages!
It is clear that cats should be revered.
.........................
ray menendez - 08:32 pm PDT - Jun 21, 2001 - #5650 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
'Course, some of us might have a wee bit of trouble revering something that would rather drink out of the toilet.
Besides, I think you will find that the plague rats, the big Brown Norways,
are a bit more than most pussycats can handle. That was the
time of the rise of the smaller terriers, cairn, Yorkies, other animals
a bit sturdier than the house cat. An occasional rat, maybe, but a
steady stream of rat battles is gonna be detrimental to a pussycat.
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Lucy Cat - 09:14 pm PDT - Jun 21, 2001 - #5653 of 7994
"He thinks gold is like water, put it on at the top and it will seep
on down and water all below. Gold, or money, don't work that way...Put
it at the top
and it stays there." Will Rogers, c. 1931
I think they may have discovered more cat cemeteries since then, okie.
I seem to have some recollection of hearing about some more
recent discoveries suggesting that the practice of cat mummification
(and sacrifice!) was quite prevalent in ancient Egypt. And that
(horrors) they may even have bred cats for the express purpose of ritual
sacrifice! Arghhhhhhhhh!
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Karl Northman - 09:25 pm PDT - Jun 21, 2001 - #5654 of 7994
The supreme court says money is speech: So I've put up my money, and
I'm going to speak.
But what happens if there is a plague of mice in heaven? Obviously,
the balance must be kept. The Pharaoh should not be hungry in the
afterlife simply because there are too many afterlife rats.
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Karl Northman - 09:32 pm PDT - Jun 21, 2001 - #5655 of 7994
The supreme court says money is speech: So I've put up my money, and
I'm going to speak.
ray m.
I agree that that seems to be where or when the terriers came from,
and certainly they are efficient ratters, but I suspect that there's a
little more to it.
For one thing, I've never seen a stealth terrier. And in the "ratting"
contests, the issue was which dog could kill the most rats in a period
of time.
What I suspect is that cats and terriers cover two different sides of
rat control - cats are effective at keeping populations down. (And if
you don't have enough cats, the population explodes). And terriers
are sort of the nuclear weapon - if you had one granary and one cat,
you can have no rats. One granary, no cats, 200 rats. But 1 cat will
never get rid of 200 rats, but one terrier could, because with 200
they're running all over the place.
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ray menendez - 09:45 pm PDT - Jun 21, 2001 - #5656 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Karl, didn't mean to imply that it wa all terriers, and indeed cats
are deterrents to rats 'cause any infestation of rats is one momma and
her progeny, and a pussycat can find and deal with the progeny like
cops on stickybuns. But it wasn't pussycats alone, either, for the
reasons you stated. The Norways are pretty quick to multiply, and I
would suspect that three or five rats would overwhelm a cat with
progeny. The breeding rate of rats makes rabbits look like Republicans.
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Shaheen - 09:54 pm PDT - Jun 21, 2001 - #5657 of 7994
A circumstance beyond our control/The phone, the TV and the news of
the world/Got in the house like a pigeon from hell/Threw sand in our eyes
and
descended like flies/Put us back on the train/Back on the chain gang...
It's actually the fleas on the rats that cause the plague. I don't know why a flea-bitten cat wouldn't be a carrier, but they seem not to.
After the last breakout of plague in India, carloads of cats were shipped
into the affected villages. In addition to everyone burning every
last thing they owned that fleas could dwell on - bedding, clothing,
etc.
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Lucy Cat - 10:02 pm PDT - Jun 21, 2001 - #5658 of 7994
"He thinks gold is like water, put it on at the top and it will seep
on down and water all below. Gold, or money, don't work that way...Put
it at the top
and it stays there." Will Rogers, c. 1931
But what happens if there is a plague of mice in
heaven? Obviously, the balance
must be kept. The Pharaoh should not be hungry in
the afterlife simply because
there are too many afterlife rats.
Are you just trying to confuse me? Well take this!
<http://www.graphicszone.net/monty_python/monty/python/series1/confuse.htm
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Anne Threston - 07:10 am PDT - Jun 22, 2001 - #5659 of 7994
Inmate of Casa de los Tres Gatos Locos
I'm more than halfway tempted to offer Sarah's services, for a fee.
Sid did a subcontract job for one of my neighbors with a mouse problem.
This was after he had single-handedly decimated the rodent
population in my own house, and was at loose ends. I'd walk him down
in the morning, drop him off, and he'd spend the day hanging
out in my neighbor's kitchen and basement, slaying rodents. Got him
out of the house during the day for a week or two, and judging by
the odd array of mousie bits, he did a good job.
okie amazon - 06:36 pm PDT - Jun 25, 2001 - #5710 of 7994
Farewell TT!
MTM, my old Persian, Chelsea was like that. Any fish whatsoever, canned
or dry, and she would blow big time. NOT funny with her
big fluffy tail! In fact, that was how I ended up with her. She was
brought in by this jerk for severe diarrhea. When she got better, we
called the guy to come get her. He snarled "Well, you can just keep
her, she'd had diarrhea twice this year already and cost me money.
Besides that, she lays on my papers while I'm trying to work!" Well,
DUH! She IS a cat!
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ray menendez - 06:54 pm PDT - Jun 25, 2001 - #5711 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Besides that, she lays on my papers while I'm trying to work!"
Gotta be what brings the &@*#! cat to the top of the monitor; there's
no paper there but he is lying on top of where I am trying to work.
Cats is not as cleber as us human-type folks. They don't have jobs
or bills or even a tax person. Cats so dumb they jus lay round the
house and don't do nothin and get fed and petted. Boy, dumb!
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Anna Trueblood - 06:57 pm PDT - Jun 25, 2001 - #5712 of 7994
There is no TRY, only DO.
If you are really, really good in this life, you get to come back as
a housecat. In a house with big windowsills and a nice garden.
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Zuzu Petals - 07:41 pm PDT - Jun 25, 2001 - #5713 of 7994
Not staying. (zuzumo@earthlink.net)
No fish. I think they need some fiber. So I mixed in a little fiber
cereal I had lying around, and they ate it. We'll see what develops.
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Karl Northman - 07:43 pm PDT - Jun 25, 2001 - #5714 of 7994
The supreme court says money is speech: So I've put up my money, and
I'm going to speak.
We'll see what develops
be careful what you wish for.
In a house with big windowsills and a nice garden.
And bird feeders.
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Diva - 07:50 pm PDT - Jun 25, 2001 - #5715 of 7994
If you are really, really good in this life, you
get to come back as a housecat.
In a house with big windowsills and a nice garden.
All of my cats were exemplary humans in their former lives, then. I aspire to such bliss in the afterlife.
I would also add, the house is inhabited by humans who are prepared
to pay exorbitant vet bills for your well-being.
----------------------
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Karl Northman - 09:07 pm PDT - Jun 26, 2001 - #5727 of 7994
The supreme court says money is speech: So I've put up my money, and
I'm going to speak.
Welcome Clara, pull up a cat hair covered chair and make yourself at home!
Or, more our case, "just sort of push Moonlight out of that chair, 90%
of the hair is still attached to the cat and will go with her, and "we
must be firm, Clara"."
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Kristinff - 09:09 pm PDT - Jun 26, 2001 - #5728 of 7994
my cats are much happier than my house is clean!
Congratulations Clara! And good for you for getting an adult rather
than a baby. Yeah, how can a six year old cat 'take too much time'?
My cats require less of my time as each year goes by!
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ray menendez - 09:13 pm PDT - Jun 26, 2001 - #5729 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
pull up a cat hair covered chair and make yourself at home!
Don't worry about the cat hair, merely state what color your clothing
might be and somebody will have a cat to match.
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okie amazon - 09:26 pm PDT - Jun 26, 2001 - #5730 of 7994
Farewell TT!
Ray, you know a cat wouldn't be caught dead leaving co-ordinating hair
behind! You know, white shirt - black cat magnet - black shirt -
white cats' domain. Contrasting hair only - that's the rule.
ray menendez - 09:32 pm PDT - Jun 26, 2001 - #5731 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Okie, first it is not wise to talk about cats being caught dead; the
pussycat ace is out on the doorstep yowling his death song because I
will not let him bring his new ladyfriend and her furball kittens into
the house. And it is vital to recall that the pussycat ace has been
surgically insulated from paternity.
And cats do not coordinate, tis true, but folks do and cats are stuck
with whatever hair they leave. So if I have a black suit on I can go to
a house with a black cat and foil his iniquitous plan. Gotta show them
who is boss. <sure we are.
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Clara Bera - 09:33 pm PDT - Jun 26, 2001 - #5732 of 7994
Apparently, there IS crying in baseball.
Welcome Clara, pull up a cat hair covered chair and make yourself at home!
Thanks! Yep, everything in my house is now covered in cathair. Orange,
black and white, so nothing matches. Actually, she was
shedding a lot from the stress of being in a shelter, and it's pretty
much settled down now. (I hope!)
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okie amazon - 10:39 pm PDT - Jun 26, 2001 - #5733 of 7994
Farewell TT!
That's why Calicos are so smug! They've got all the bases covered@!
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Jim Paul - 02:19 pm PDT - Jun 27, 2001 - #5756 of 7994
A Glass Will Only Hold So Much Beer. I'm keeping my glasses.
Yeah, he's never been to a pound, but he wouldn't know about any cat
who would end up being his buddy. Taking him to the shelter
would just be taking him to a place with many cats and the place doesn't
smell like HIS place. Okay, bad idea. ;)
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Jim Paul - 02:21 pm PDT - Jun 27, 2001 - #5757 of 7994
A Glass Will Only Hold So Much Beer. I'm keeping my glasses.
But I DO like the idea of volunteering, just to pet cats. It's surprising
that they DO need to be petted. There were a couple cats there
who when I approached were going to LEAVE (I backed off). If they get
properly socialized, they would be much happier.
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GingerCat - 02:24 pm PDT - Jun 27, 2001 - #5758 of 7994
goo bye
I used to volunteer at the Humane Society. It was awesome, and I have
been wanting to do it again, but it's way out of the way and I
have no car. :(
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ray menendez - 02:33 pm PDT - Jun 27, 2001 - #5759 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Those of you who volunteered at animal shelters, did any of them NOT
have the rule that all adoptees were to be spayed or neutered?
Working on a novel about a shelter, and this is a crucial point; I
understand all of them, for all practical purposes, have such a rule. But
I
don't have a broad geographical verification on that.
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Jim Paul - 02:37 pm PDT - Jun 27, 2001 - #5760 of 7994
A Glass Will Only Hold So Much Beer. I'm keeping my glasses.
Oo! I'm CURIOUS about the shelter novel!
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ray menendez - 02:48 pm PDT - Jun 27, 2001 - #5761 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
You asked for it. I have, even as we speak, about sixty cars heading
north at reasonable speed, following one with 300 pounds of
unstable Czech explosive although not doing so deliberately. They are
on lawn, separated from pavement from the strip of pavement
ripped up by the bulldozer that I said somewhere was on the wrong street.
I have a further threescore cars heading south, away from the
animal center, each with an illicit dog in it. I have a cat of two
dozen pounds keeping a few alsatians at bay. I have a veterinarian
neutering mice, who is sleeping with the daughter of the principal
narrator, five fat ladies trying to hide from an airborne sheriff, and
an
animal shelter director upstairs bonking a large anumal gynecologixt.
Everybody is doing what they should, except I didn't know till Ch 4
that the mouse-neuterer's girlfriend was daughter to my 'voice.'
Now, here's my problem - Where can I park the truck with the elephant till Ch. 21; we're in 16 now.
I posted this in "Writing - ain't misbehaving, #17" You're welcome to
wander over there and see where we get the twelve days of
christmas into it.
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Phyl Good - 03:25 pm PDT - Jun 27, 2001 - #5762 of 7994
Ray Menendez, Rest in Peace - all the TT Pussycats and their parents
miss you already; please take care of our little ones who went on ahead
of you
Good lord! Sounds like at least a miniseries!
Clara, I'm so excited about your kitty! And she's so very pretty!
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ray menendez - 04:57 am PDT - Jun 28, 2001 - #5771 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Thanks, guys. It is reassuring to know that I have not put 70,000 words
into this gray box on the basis of a flawed premise. Watch for
the book; I'll post here if it finds a publisher and once it gets a
real title. The working title is 'Mousies' but it prolly won't see the
light of
day that way.
Meanwhile, my pussycat ace is above the whole thing. He just lies about,
in carefully selected places, vigorously ignoring everything
around him and trying to figure out how to get down off the roof; he
can get out a bedroom window on the second floor but has not yet
learned that what is visible from there is accessible from the downstairs
catpass window.
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Shaheen - 05:36 am PDT - Jun 28, 2001 - #5772 of 7994
A circumstance beyond our control/The phone, the TV and the news of
the world/Got in the house like a pigeon from hell/Threw sand in our eyes
and
descended like flies/Put us back on the train/Back on the chain gang...
Janis, the kitty houseguest, left yesterday evening. After she'd been
gone a few hours, Kolo came in, let me lift him onto my lap and love
on him for several minutes "good kitty, he's a good boy", lots of chin
and ear scratching. (A rare occurence, he's not touchy-feely.)
He was into it, and when he finally hopped down, I figured he was satisfied.
Imagine my surprise when he darted up and bit me on the
ankle! I guess that was my punishment for bringing in the interloper.
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Sasha Miller - 06:52 am PDT - Jun 28, 2001 - #5773 of 7994
She Who Must Be Obeyed--My president is Martin Sheen.
Clara, I have to admit it--Callie is as lovely as Pandora is, and, trust
me, that's quite a concession from this dizzily doting cat-mommy.
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ray menendez - 06:56 am PDT - Jun 28, 2001 - #5774 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Shaheen - the pussycat ace will do that from time to time. It seems
to be an expression of profound affection, cuz he only does it after a
great scratch on a full belly.
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Shaheen - 07:00 am PDT - Jun 28, 2001 - #5775 of 7994
A circumstance beyond our control/The phone, the TV and the news of
the world/Got in the house like a pigeon from hell/Threw sand in our eyes
and
descended like flies/Put us back on the train/Back on the chain gang...
I got a more "ok, now let me back out into the beautiful black night, to bask under my bush" vibe off it, actually.
Though it may be his weird way of telling me he loves me. Maybe I'll
bite DH's ankle tonight and see what transpires.
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Sasha Miller - 07:42 am PDT - Jun 28, 2001 - #5776 of 7994
She Who Must Be Obeyed--My president is Martin Sheen.
Once, to cure the late Jenny from biting, I bit her on the ear.
Kitty-ears are leathery.
I didn't bite her hard--just enough so she could feel it. Since then,
from time to time, I have given Pandora an affectionate ear-nibble.
She seems nonplussed by it.
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Jim Paul - 08:09 am PDT - Jun 28, 2001 - #5777 of 7994
A Glass Will Only Hold So Much Beer. I'm keeping my glasses.
When I first got her, Lavinia would bite me on the lip. Was very irritating!
I bit her back and she never bit me again! She was SO
shocked!
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Shaheen - 08:23 am PDT - Jun 28, 2001 - #5778 of 7994
A circumstance beyond our control/The phone, the TV and the news of
the world/Got in the house like a pigeon from hell/Threw sand in our eyes
and
descended like flies/Put us back on the train/Back on the chain gang...
I just can't imagine biting my cat. I'll kiss him, any day of the week,
but biting entails fur entering my mouth, and that just bothers me. I
figure I inhale enough of the stuff, as it is.
He's also elderly, so not teaching the old dog new tricks probably applies,
as well.
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Kristinff - 09:43 am PDT - Jun 28, 2001 - #5779 of 7994
my cats are much happier than my house is clean!
Hubby will often grab the scruff of Bella's neck with his teeth when
she gets snappy. She's always confused by this and when she gets
away she looks back at him as if he were a lunatic!
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Clara Bera - 10:03 am PDT - Jun 28, 2001 - #5780 of 7994
Apparently, there IS crying in baseball.
I remeber reading somewhere that biting while being petted is a reflex;
something to do with preventing cats from getting too relaxed and
letting their guards down. Sort of a vestigal wild cat thing.
Kristinff - 10:15 am PDT - Jun 28, 2001 - #5781 of 7994
my cats are much happier than my house is clean!
Yeah, Bella does it to let you know that she's Had Enough. If you are
observant, you can stop before she gets to the snappy stage. The
tip of her tail will start to twitch. If you stop the petting then,
you can escape injury.
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ray menendez - 10:16 am PDT - Jun 28, 2001 - #5782 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Shaheen - the main reason you can't teach an old dog new tricks is that there are no new tricks.
Clara - biting is such a significant part of the mating process among
cats that I just cannot imagine it not being involved in affection in
some ways as well. And although I can't recall where, I had this belief
confirmed by at least one cat book author.
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Kathy Astrom - 10:24 am PDT - Jun 28, 2001 - #5783 of 7994
Yes, the danger must be growing / 'Cause the rowers keep on rowing
/ And they're certainly not showing / Any signs that they are slowing!
I went to the nearby shelter for my kitty-petting fix (fixes will have
to do until I get a new apartment) along with a co-worker, who fell
for a big 18-pounder. This guy was solid with just a bit of a gut,
but Harold couldn't bring him home--the wife's already not to thrilled
with the two they currently have.
Well, he was scratching the big bruiser on his back and found "the spot".
If this cat was a dog, that hind leg would have been moving at
100 kps (kicks per second). As it was, the cat started alternately
nibbling and licking Harold's other arm (just above the cat's head) in
pure bliss. So, I'd have to agree with the theory that a lot of kitty
biting has to do with pleasure!
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Peggy C - 10:45 am PDT - Jun 28, 2001 - #5784 of 7994
(Also posted to Kit Kat Chat)
Does anyone have any advice for how to get a kitten out of a tree?
I work at a professional/trade association for people in the tree-care
industry, and a woman from California called, desperately looking
for the names of some arborists who would be willing to climb a tree
(a white pine) to retrieve her kitten, who's been up there for 9 days.
The kitten is approx. 25-30 feet up and is hiding in an abandonded
bird or squirrel nest.
I was able to give her the names of some companies in her area, but I'm not entirely confident she will find anyone willing to help her.
I also told her to call her local TV station and get them out to do a story. That might stir up some sympathy -- and help.
So far, the fire department, police, and animal control all have refused
to help.
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ray menendez - 11:09 am PDT - Jun 28, 2001 - #5785 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Pegy - There is also a cat thread in Imagination.
BTW, which folder is the Kit Kat Chat in?
Sorry I wasn't any help, but did you suggest to your lady that she call
a Boy Scout Troop? And if she knows or has a friend who knows
a pole lineman, he might have his spikes and belt and be able to slide
on up that trunk.
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Clara Bera - 11:16 am PDT - Jun 28, 2001 - #5786 of 7994
Apparently, there IS crying in baseball.
Peggy - call a tree trimming company! They've got the ladders to do
it. They'll charge, but it's a small price to pay.
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Diva - 02:26 pm PDT - Jul 7, 2001 - #5963 of 7994
Uh oh, I'm in trouble. Sitting on the patio this afternoon, we heard
a plaintive mew coming from the yard next door. That neighbor keeps
old cars and motorcycles for "pets", we knew he didn't have and would
never get a cat. But what should come bounding towards me
when I went to investigate but a ~12 week-old grey shorthair tuxedo
girl kitten. She looks like a little grey mouse with spats and gloves,
and her tail is a mile long.
She's been hanging out in the yard and checking out the house (and yes,
she found the food, what could I do?) and the other cats don't
seem too awfully upset, but I just know she belongs to someone. However,
no one is going up and down the block calling, which is what
usually happens when some cat on this block discovers our yard and
realizes it's cat heaven.
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Sorcha Mise - 02:30 pm PDT - Jul 7, 2001 - #5964 of 7994
Going to worldcrossing.com! See ya there! sorcha_mise@yahoo.com
Oh, Diva! Guess you'll have to keep feeding her till either her people
find her or you become her people. She sounds adorable.
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Diva - 02:48 pm PDT - Jul 7, 2001 - #5965 of 7994
<sigh I guess. I can't shoo her out of the yard, she'd just get into the street or get attacked by dogs.
She is really really cute (but what kitten isn't?) but we have four.
We don't need another (want is an entirely separate thing; we want as
many cats as we can get).
She's friendly but skittish; she'll let you pick her up and then purrrrrs
like mad, but obviously would really rather be on her own feet. She
will stand there and MEOW at you and she answers back when you call.
I wonder if she's being treated right. Oh, it's awful being 95%
sure whoever "owns" her isn't very experienced with raising kittens.
But we can't rescue every kitten in the world (can we?)
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Jim Paul - 04:37 pm PDT - Jul 7, 2001 - #5966 of 7994
A Glass Will Only Hold So Much Beer. I'm keeping my glasses.
Diva - Sounds to me like you have another cat!
Anna? What's the story with Swivelbutt?
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Diva - 06:26 pm PDT - Jul 7, 2001 - #5967 of 7994
STOP THAT!
I do not have another cat, this is someone's beloved and sorely missed
little darling. Miss Mouse (Oh yes, we've already named her)
must belong to someone. We are only keeping her safe until this person
can be found.
It's promising that I found a "lost grey cat" poster and the postee
is coming by in a few to check. My hope is that whether it's the same
cat or not, she'll be as infatuated as we are and decide to take her.
Anybody who posts "missing cat" posters four blocks away sounds
like a good owner to me.
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ray menendez - 06:31 pm PDT - Jul 7, 2001 - #5968 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Diva's got a new caaaat. Diva's got a new caaat. Neener neener neener,
Diva's got a new caaaaaat.
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Diva - 06:50 pm PDT - Jul 7, 2001 - #5969 of 7994
Arghhhh, and she'll only purr for me. And it's only my lap or shoulder
she'll sit on. And she'll only come when I call. SU can try all of
these things, and she is oblivious. And the postee said the markings
were exact, but the age and sex are wrong.
<sigh Maybe I do have a new cat, but I cannot afford to get too attached until we've tried harder to find the owner.
I tell you what, she is one fierce little thing. Miss Critter decided
she wanted a closer sniff and Miss Mouse just about tore her head off -
or maybe it just sounded like it. She sounds like a 50 pound cat when
she's scared.
(BOOKMARK) Diva - 09:22 am PDT - Jul 8, 2001 - #5975 of 7994
Morning report on Miss Mouse:
She spent the night in my office with the door closed; it's a French
door so the other cats could see her and smell her but not get near
her. She didn't make a peep. When I came in this morning, she told
me All About Her Night in a Loud Voice. (sounded as if she might
have had some very interesting dreams, or else she was bitching me
out for disappearing for eight hours.) At any rate, she's not one of
those kittens that keep you awake all night, like Henry was.
Then she ate a little, drank a little, and I thought she'd follow me
outside, but no. She likes my office. She is a very tidy mouse, and she
used her litter box (an aluminum roasting pan) very nicely. Good kitty.
Next, she decided that the old pair of gardening sneakers on the floor
beside my desk were her Mortal Enemies, had offended her
unendurably, and she gave each of them a thorough thrashing just to
let them know who's boss. Then ate a litte. Then jumped onto lap
for scritches, then curled up for a nap under the window, beside my
VAIO notebook. They are the same color, if I wanted to be real
geeky I could name her VAIO instead of Miss Mouse.
Tomorrow we put ad in the paper. Am really trying not to get attached.
(yeah sure)
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ray menendez - 09:28 am PDT - Jul 8, 2001 - #5976 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
That was the Morning Report; the pussycat ace delivers one most days.
One night when he had been too deep into the Armagnac he
confessed to me that frequently it is merely a recital of what he saw
or smelled that I didn't, because he's trying to teach me how to use
my nose. So I mixed his next Armagnac with lemon-flavored water and
he went to sleep. His major talent, sleep.
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Phyl Good - 04:38 pm PDT - Jul 8, 2001 - #5977 of 7994
Ray Menendez, Rest in Peace - all the TT Pussycats and their parents
miss you already; please take care of our little ones who went on ahead
of you
Tomorrow we put ad in the paper. Am really trying not to get attached. (yeah sure)
Um....I hope you don't mind that I'm kind of hoping nobody answers. Since Miss Mouse seems so very content and all.
How did the other cats react to seeing and smelling her there? Are they
behaving like they're going to attack the moment she might
surface without a window between, or do they seem "ho hum" about the
presence of this other cat around the place?
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LaDeeVah - 06:57 pm PDT - Jul 11, 2001 - #6049 of 7994
In Memoriam: Ray Menendez, 1940-2001
Big Gray Al is home, and the fur is not exactly flying -- but the growling
and hissing have commenced. At the moment, Mel's in the living
room by the front door, Al is at the top of the stairs leading to the
2nd floor, and Peaches is holed up in my extra bedroom. Mel is
keeping a watchful eye on things at the top of the stairs. He looks
like I took him to a taxidermist -- he's so still!
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Sorcha Mise - 06:59 pm PDT - Jul 11, 2001 - #6050 of 7994
Going to worldcrossing.com! See ya there! sorcha_mise@yahoo.com
Hooray for Big Gray Al!
I think the fact that teeth aren't being applied to each other's throat
is just ssssuper.
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Phyl Good - 07:09 pm PDT - Jul 11, 2001 - #6051 of 7994
Ray Menendez, Rest in Peace - all the TT Pussycats and their parents
miss you already; please take care of our little ones who went on ahead
of you
So Peaches is the one hiding. Anybody place bets earlier today?
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ray menendez - 07:12 pm PDT - Jul 11, 2001 - #6052 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Ah, and since it is only growling and hissing, and none of the three
is singing "The Death Song of J Alfred Pussycat" things may become
less hostile as time goes on. It is when the pussycat ace makes a big
tail and gets into that low and deep crooning that I know The Great
Black Cat is being invoked by both participants. One time at the old
house the pussycat ace got out and the porch cat came by, and when
they got into it I got the idea that they ought be separated as being
easier than burying the survivors. WRONG. Cats in heated discussion
will hook onto anything, gnaw at whatever comes to mouth, and if they
can get their hind claws into the conversation they can occasion
stitches, eleven in my case, six in the left arm and not quite half
a dozen in the right. Thank God the car window was open, dropped ace
therein and chucked the porch cat halfway to breakfast, then shoved
ace back in, mounted and closed the window, and drove him to the
emergency room so I could get the bleeding stopped. MY bleeding; he
seemed merely ruffled. You're sure nobody needs a ginger cat?
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Kathy J - 07:18 pm PDT - Jul 11, 2001 - #6053 of 7994
A friend of mine describes this as "bowling for kittens."(smile) She
says that is what happens to every single new kitten she has ever
brought into the house....the older cats use the kitten as a bowling
ball.
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Karl Northman - 07:21 pm PDT - Jul 11, 2001 - #6054 of 7994
The supreme court says money is speech: So I've put up my money, and
I'm going to speak.
ray:
Back at the communal house just known as "Louis Road" years ago, we
had, at one point, four whole male cats living together. The way
it was achieved was this: luckily, there was a big double laundry tub
on the back porch (this being California). Both sides of the tub were
always full. Whoever happened to be around at caught any of the guys
getting evil at it, but not yet fighting, would grab each by the
neck, hold at arms length, take to the back porch, and dunk severely.
Then one was thrown off the back, and, just like breaking up a bar
fight, the other was carried back and thrown out the front.
Luckily, there was almost always someone around, since sometimes when there was a new cat we pretty much needed a 20/7 bouncer.
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LaDeeVah - 07:26 pm PDT - Jul 11, 2001 - #6055 of 7994
In Memoriam: Ray Menendez, 1940-2001
Cats in heated discussion will hook onto anything,
gnaw at whatever comes to
mouth, and if they can get their hind claws into
the conversation they can
occasion stitches, eleven in my case, six in the
left arm and not quite half a
dozen in the right.
OW.
All three kitties are upstairs, now; I can't hear a thing. I don't know if that's good or bad!
When Al got here, he was released from his carrier and immediately high-tailed
it to the bathroom, where he hid under the sink. He then
moved to the extra bedroom and hid under the bed. At the time, I had
no idea where Peaches was. After his foster parents left, I found
Al under the bed, but still didn't know where Peaches was. I took food
and water upstairs to Al, along with the toys his foster parents
brought for him. Now, I'll just wait out the contest.
In another story:
Al's foster mother is the leader of the pet welfare organization we're
hoping to get off the ground, here in Philly. One of the first things
we have to do is come up with a fitting name. I want to get your opinions,
so here are the suggestions thus far (bearing in mind we want
to convey the notion of pets welfare within the city of Philadelphia:
Philly4Paws
Furadelphia
PetsRUs
Petropolis
Petropolis Philadelphia
PetLOVE (This is one is a little arcane: we have a sculpture in downtown
Philadelphia of the word LOVE which we'd incorporate into
the logo, if this were the winning name)
Philadelphia Animal Welfare (P.A.W.)
Friends of Philly’s Paws
PhillyPhur
PhilaPets
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okie amazon - 07:28 pm PDT - Jul 11, 2001 - #6056 of 7994
Farewell TT!
I vote for P.A.W.
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crabgrass baby - 07:52 pm PDT - Jul 11, 2001 - #6057 of 7994
(optional)
This is one is a little arcane: we have a sculpture
in downtown Philadelphia of
the word LOVE which we'd incorporate into the logo,
if this were the winning name
is that the Robert Indiana "LOVE" sculpture?
you may have to pay to get to use that.
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ray menendez - 07:57 pm PDT - Jul 11, 2001 - #6058 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
The Indiana sculpture is the LOVE with the tippy O. I don't think you
can use the sculpture without some permission, prolly paid for,
but with the renewed interest in City Hall, why not use the outline
of the building and call it Kitty Hall?
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LaDeeVah - 08:00 pm PDT - Jul 11, 2001 - #6059 of 7994
In Memoriam: Ray Menendez, 1940-2001
Yes, the Indiana sculpture. Of course, we would seek permission to use
it (and have an attorney on board prepared to deal with such
matters).
Kitty Hall is great, except the organization would be dedicated to both
cats and dogs.
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annef - 08:04 pm PDT - Jul 11, 2001 - #6060 of 7994
now what?
Oh, that's too bad (I mean, it's not too bad for the dogs) because Kitty Hall would've been a great name.
I tend to think PAWS is overused although certainly it's overused for
a reason...it's a good name. (Just please don't use the hackneyed
phrase "NEW LEASH ON LIFE!" in your literature!)
I like Furadelphia and PhilaPets.
Or...City of Cuddly Love?
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ray menendez - 08:11 pm PDT - Jul 11, 2001 - #6061 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
How about a slogan, "Help them avoid Camden"?
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LaDeeVah - 08:18 pm PDT - Jul 11, 2001 - #6062 of 7994
In Memoriam: Ray Menendez, 1940-2001
ray, you're bad. <g
"City of Cuddly Love" -- cute!
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crabgrass baby - 08:52 pm PDT - Jul 11, 2001 - #6063 of 7994
(optional)
Yes, the Indiana sculpture. Of course, we would seek
permission to use it (and
have an attorney on board prepared to deal with
such matters)
my dad knows him and did a piece called "Homage to Bobby" with the 2-D
red/blue/green "Love" with one of those kids bicycle license
plates under it. It was a Indiana plate with the name Robert on it.
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Clara Bera - 09:54 pm PDT - Jul 11, 2001 - #6064 of 7994
Apparently, there IS crying in baseball.
LDV, here in Seattle we have a "PAWS" - Progressive Animal Welfare Society.
I like Furadelpia, City of Cuddly Love.
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Keith Edward Handly - 12:39 am PDT - Jul 12, 2001 - #6065 of 7994
Full-sun vampire
PAWS is Pets Are Wonderful Support here in Los Angeles, that helps people
adversely affected by illness or disability to afford to keep
their pets . I like Furadelphia (Phuradelphia?)
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ray menendez - 12:43 am PDT - Jul 12, 2001 - #6066 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
If you get things rolling, keep an eye out for animals appropriate for
nursing homes. Critters do more good than half the visitors in those
places. Animal need to be of a size appropriate to the situation, placid
disposition, and interested in people, but when you find such an
one a call to the social worker at the nearest nursing home will let
you know where they need one.
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Mary Tyler Moron - 05:28 pm PDT - Jul 13, 2001 - #6130 of 7994
Facts all come with points of view. Facts don't do what I want them
to.
Anyone know anything about chasing off mockingbirds without automatic
weaponry? There's one that shrieks at/divebombs one of my
sister's cats RELENTLESSLY. He'll be nowhere near the nest and this
Hitchcockian nightmare follows him and torments him.
He pays no attention, but it's freaking my sister and her kids out.
crabgrass baby - 05:34 pm PDT - Jul 13, 2001 - #6131 of 7994
(optional)
it may solve itself if the cat ever gets ahold of the bird
the cat may just be lulling the bird into a false sense of security
before it makes it's move
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ray menendez - 05:41 pm PDT - Jul 13, 2001 - #6132 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
At the house that broke there was a blue jay who was particularly unimpressed
by the inherent dignity of pussycats so he would fly at
and about their heads and tailtips, singing raucus songs in Jaybird
Polish and offering to land on their delicate portions and use golf shoes
when he did. The pussycat ace, ginger on a green field and thus pretty
evident, was a favorite of his. One saturday when I thought both
of us would enjoy the event, I brought out the ace and the hose, cranked
up all the way and with the squirty-gun on-off nozzle at hand.
Then I put a chair by the porch rail and bode my time. Bird flew into
the attack, the anti-air hose gottim first shot. He was dismayed but
soon returned. Blue jays have some persistence, but within two hours
he was done, or there were about forty-one blue jays which
required one lesson each. This also had the effect of limiting the
acely excursions to the extreme range of the hose, because as soon as he
was out of effective range the jaybirds would hound and harass him
back to his home turf. Jaybirds apparently unhurt, cat a bit sprinkled
now and again but cat only dislikes water, not injured by it although
he does not believe it. Grass was green in patchy spots longer than
much of the block, too. Positive results in several directions. Don't
know about mockingbirds, thought, cause the front lawn was on the
north side of the house.
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okie amazon - 05:47 pm PDT - Jul 13, 2001 - #6133 of 7994
Farewell TT!
I love that gait cats get into when attacked by birds. The "I'm-not-gonna-let-this-bird-make-me-run-but-I'm-moving-as-fast-as-I-can"
lope. A pair of Mockingbirds caught my old Sid kitty once and actually
plucked hair out of his head.
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Phyl Good - 05:49 pm PDT - Jul 13, 2001 - #6134 of 7994
Ray Menendez, Rest in Peace - all the TT Pussycats and their parents
miss you already; please take care of our little ones who went on ahead
of you
cat only dislikes water, not injured by it although he does not believe it
I know some cats who would take deep umbrage at this heinous lie. Mwaahaha!
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ray menendez - 05:59 pm PDT - Jul 13, 2001 - #6135 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Come now. 'Deep umbrage' is the default setting for most grown cats.
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Phyl Good - 06:16 pm PDT - Jul 13, 2001 - #6136 of 7994
Ray Menendez, Rest in Peace - all the TT Pussycats and their parents
miss you already; please take care of our little ones who went on ahead
of you
<slaps self on forehead
But of course. Silly me. :-)
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ray menendez - 01:38 pm PDT - Jul 14, 2001 - #6146 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
The pussycat ace has revealed another element of his hitherto-secret
makeup - He is probably Jewish although he might be Italian. I base
this on his demand for garlic, just discovered. And the way of it was
in this wise -
The ace, in solemn conclave assembled, was on a solo patrol of the yard,
and in the course of it the big green sleepy that lives under the
ellum tree leaped up and wrestled him to the ground, so he dutifully
slept. I, for my part, made me a salami sandwich, peeling the rind
from the slices and stacking the rejecta along the edge of the sink
while I carried out the o'erflowing trash, brought my sandwich and
coffee in here, and set the plate on my computer desk [What's on your
Computer Desk thread, please copy.] In the fullness of time, the
ace mounted a bit of the porch furniture, placed randomly chosed claws
among the screen on the window, and began to harp on his
desire to be indoors. So I fulfilled his wish, ignored his clamorous
demands for supplemental sustanence, and came back to this here
engine. The ace stalked off to the kitchen, and when I needed coffee
I realized I had not put a trash bag in the trash can, nor discarded
the salami rinds, although they were gone. The ace was not in evidence.
Soon I heard him in disputateous discourse, and I went and fetched him
from off the top of the fridge, got a scissor, and cut the loop of
salami rind that had hung itself under his lower jaw while he swallered
the remainder. Freed, the rind gradually slipped away down the
pink throat and into the depths of the pussycat. So, with a bow to
the inevitable, I chopped up a slice of lunchmeat (Pressed Luncheon
Loaf, for those of you following along on the official inventory) and
put it on his plate. He sniffed and said bad things to me. I read the
label and realized it was salami he wanted and luncheon loaf he had
gotten. So being a forceful human being and at all times in firm
control of all things around me, I chopped him a slice of salami and
he ate it all to the little green ivy leaves on his plate.
I left the kitchen, but returned at the sound of something hitting the
floor. The ace had found the garlic powder, knocked it to the floor,
and was busy lapping up the spillage. Now the salami he ate was "Kosher-style"
but the rind was from "Cotto" soft Italian salami. I
suspect he's prolly a Hebrew pusscat, although maybe Italian and just
ate what he could get. The mice will probably not scruple at the
luncheon loaf, and the ace will surely not bother them, he's too well
fed for that.
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lynne p. - 01:47 pm PDT - Jul 14, 2001 - #6147 of 7994
I could pin the tail on a thousand donkeys and never win a prize like
this.
Zoot's a mortadella fan. Nothing sets her swooning like a torn-off bit
of San Daniele (regular, of course, not "lean"). She's also a big fan
of garlic, olives, bread, and tomatoes. There's no question that at
heart she's una gatta Italiana.
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Phyl Good - 04:49 pm PDT - Jul 14, 2001 - #6148 of 7994
Ray Menendez, Rest in Peace - all the TT Pussycats and their parents
miss you already; please take care of our little ones who went on ahead
of you
Podge, one of my hosts' cats, got a tummy full of goodies last night.
She had plenty of raw chicken pieces before the chicken got grilled
for supper, and then for dessert, she had many pieces of cantalope,
her favorite.
I guess it was a bit too much, since I hear she had diarrhea in the night, which my host had to clean up. Poor babe.
I'm sure she herself would say it was worth it though. But Brian and
I were laughing that she's certainly a cleaned-out cat this week --
first with the worm medicine early in the week, and now this. Heh.
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annef - 05:14 pm PDT - Jul 14, 2001 - #6149 of 7994
now what?
Crabgrass, did you adopt kitties from that site you linked to a couple
of days ago (or was that yesterday? The days they melt
together...)? Which guys did you get?
Congratulations on the adoption!
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Phyl Good - 05:39 pm PDT - Jul 14, 2001 - #6150 of 7994
Ray Menendez, Rest in Peace - all the TT Pussycats and their parents
miss you already; please take care of our little ones who went on ahead
of you
Vills, here's some sites where you can send an email to an animal psychologist and ask for info:
Dear Pet Counselor
Dr. Dog's Den
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Diva - 06:01 pm PDT - Jul 14, 2001 - #6151 of 7994
I have been finding a pile of cat poop in the backyard grass just about
every other day. I can't imagine why - it's so un-catlike for them to
leave feces out in the open; I've always understood that they cover
their poop as a defense behavior. I know it's not dog doo, since only
a cat could get over the fence. I don't think it's one of mine - they
have litter boxes and my flowerbeds to poop in, after all. Anybody
know why a cat would do this?
In other news, Miss Mouse was apparently operating under false pretenses
- I went out of town for two days and she disappeared. We
have concluded that she is a bit of a tramp, a kitty who has owners
but who likes to roam, be fed, and get attention from others. Not that
there's anything wrong with that (that's how we got Taz after all),
but I was kind of getting used to feeling safe from Evil Sneakers.
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ray menendez - 06:11 pm PDT - Jul 14, 2001 - #6152 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Those Miss Mouse types are all like that, and be on the lookout; it
is not unprecedented for a Miss Mouse to line up a good comfy flop
and then turn your pussycat haven into the Lap Lion Lying-In Hospital
and Pussypup Abandonment Center. Went thru that with one of
them during the final days of first marriage; Mother-to-be moved into
the vacancy left by our hip-displaced basset, snurgled her way
indoors, then slung her litter and was off and away. Chester was an
ordinary shorthair with Siamese markings and a limp, Nelson was
utterly black with but one eye. The other two went to a pair of owls
one morning when Herself was sitting on the back patio watching
them scramble; suddenly bim< and bam< and two kittens were on
their Final Flight. Herself, in the throes of contemplating
termination of marriage, decided she could not seek to be dependent
on me and said not word one for months; she told the kids,
ultimately, and they told me.
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Lily Delafield - 06:31 pm PDT - Jul 14, 2001 - #6153 of 7994
So it goes.
Our Miss Mouse turned out to be Mr. Mouse. We are unofficial foster
parents for the neighbor's outdoor cat, so there's always a dish of
food outside, which attracts wanderers. A lovely fluffy solid white
cat showed up in our driveway last year and took up residence under
the extra car that rarely goes anywhere. Very shy, but yodeled at us
from under the car whenever we came outside.
Very tall slim cat, around 9 pounds, we assumed it was an adult female and named her Miss Mouse, due to her very timid nature.
Many conversations and dishes of food later, the cat came out from under
the car and greedily accepted petting. We took "her" to the vet
for shots and spaying, only to find that she was an immature he.
Mouse is now 18 lbs. of burning kitty love, still shy and meek but an
absolute delight. And he likes living inside way better than camping
in the driveway!
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Phyl Good - 06:34 pm PDT - Jul 14, 2001 - #6154 of 7994
Ray Menendez, Rest in Peace - all the TT Pussycats and their parents
miss you already; please take care of our little ones who went on ahead
of you
I found a site that has all sorts of delightful stuff about/for cats. I'm having loads of fun going through it:
Cats in the House!
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ray menendez - 06:36 pm PDT - Jul 14, 2001 - #6155 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Ahem, Kittyfolk, can use an off-topic hand. Have a daughter en route
to Macon, Ga for a week of training in Fed'l Criminal Defense
stuff. Anybody here know Macon? Gracias.
Now back to your regular discourse.
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Karl Northman - 07:04 pm PDT - Jul 14, 2001 - #6156 of 7994
The supreme court says money is speech: So I've put up my money, and
I'm going to speak.
ray:
Sorry. I know criminal defense guys (unfortunately in MN), and I have
friends who know Atlanta, but they tend to think that Macon is
some sort of redneck heaven (for Georgia, at least), and wouldn't be
much help.
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ray menendez - 07:08 am PDT - Jul 15, 2001 - #6170 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Good morning, felineous folks. I had a break-in last night. The pussycat
ace was latched out and I slept in the bed upstairs, with a cover.
He bent a screen and wandered up into the bed, but when I came down
all I saw was the bent screen and although I could find nothing
missing I was on the verge of dialing the police when I realized (A)
the route in was all but undisturbed; (B) I had looked outdoors for the
cat before I latched up; (C) the cat was at my feet yelling for food;
and (D) nothing of value was even disturbed. Realized the burglar
sought breakfast and was yet disappointed, so fed him and will soon
straighten the screen and put it back in place.
You sure nobody wants a cat?
On another note, I believe about two weeks ago I posted about the ace's
new friend and her kittens that came to visit. Yesterday the
animal control officer was in the alley when I pulled in to go to my
house, but she was coming out of the house where the momcat and
her kittens 'live.' AC officer, woman named Frieda, waved at me and
drove off. I, of course, slid directly home, went inside, counted
cats, came up with one, which was the expected answer, and felt relieved.
This morning saw animal control truck at less favored donut
shop, so I changed my plan cause they have stuff I can eat anyway.
Frieda, over a donut, reported momcat and kittens all dreadfully weak
when she picked them up; animal shelter vet diagnosed
hyperwormy, a myriad of other diseases, decreed immediate euthenasia.
Frieda said she was there and questioned the decision but only
to make sure he was sure. Frieda also reported that the folks who 'owned'
the cat were neither stupid nor wicked, just old and forgetful
and wrapped up in the afflictions of each other and themselves. Frieda
said she will talk to daughter, whom she knows, and discourage a
replacement cat. I suggested daughter get two, alternate them a week
or so at a time, cause animal is a good thing for older person and a
cat can survive a week of damn near anything. Maybe it goes that way.
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LaDeeVah - 12:19 pm PDT - Jul 16, 2001 - #6201 of 7994
In Memoriam: Ray Menendez, 1940-2001
I was reading on the couch, years ago, stretched
on my side, head propped on my
left hand, book on the couch. Buttercup wandered
in and thought I looked cozy,
hopped up and curled behind my knees and started
to nap, purring. Jenny discovered
us, and chose the curve of my stomach and legs,
what would have been my lap had I
been sitting, and settled in, purring. Little Cricket
swarmed up the back of the
couch, walked the ridge for a while, noting the
best places had been taken, then
stepped down on top of me and curled herself into
the space between my hip and
ribs. Purring. I'm feeling rather pleased with life,
and hoping I have neither a
cramp nor an urge to pee, when Thomas saunters in,
takes in the situation at a
glance, and hops up and curls his 18 lbs into the
curve of my shins and insteps.
Purring.
At this point, so was I, purring. I still purr when I think of it. Catpile!
I luuuurrrrve this!
"Dogs have owners. Cats have staff."
This, too. Bwa!
It's been five days since Big Gray Al has joined the fold. He's eating,
pooping, allows me to pet and brush him. (He even allows me to
brush him while he eats.) He is a sweet, docile little cat.
Maybe I'm expecting too much too soon -- but so far, Mel & Peaches seem to hate him.
He (Al) hasn't been on the first floor of the house, to my knowledge,
since the day after he arrived. He appeared in the kitchen at
dinnertime, slightly behind the other two; Peaches hissed and Mel chased
him back upstairs. He's been taking his meals alone (except for
me brushing him) ever since. Mel usually shows up while Al is eating
and hoooowwwwls at him until Al allows him to eat some of his
food. (Al groooooowwwls back, and I don't think they've had a physical
encounter yet, but still.)
Peaches, meanwhile, avoids him like the plague and hisses his brains out if he should happen to see him.
Mel was so accepting of Peaches -- we had detente in under a week --
and I'm just not used to seeing this go on for too long. So, my
question is, how long do I wait before I deem it a failure and (reluctantly!)
give Al back to his foster mom (who has five cats herself,
none of whom exactly love and adore Al)? I can handle the additional
stress, but I don't want any of the kitties to have to deal with it.
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Kristinff - 12:40 pm PDT - Jul 16, 2001 - #6202 of 7994
my cats are much happier than my house is clean!
Well, LDV, this probably won't help much, but we've had Molly for about
eight years now, and Bella (who's 12) still hates her. She
tolerates her presence but they are definitly not pals. Every once
in a while we will find them sleeping on the bed just barely touching,
but that's the extent of it. Molly learned pretty quickly that Bella
was the Alpha cat and usually takes her place in the pecking order.
Sometimes she will try to eat dinner first and will get a swat to remind
her of her place. And if Molly has a good pool o' sunshine, Bella
will boot her out. No out and out fighting, but certainly no lovey
doveyness either.
It did take a while for the hissing on sight to stop, I can't remember
how long, but it did stop!
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Asia - 12:41 pm PDT - Jul 16, 2001 - #6203 of 7994
Oh, please, God, don't let me be talking out my ass *again*
It took at least a month for Roshi and Scoop to reach detante, and even
then I was pretty sure we'd have to find a new home for the
Tortie Wretch because Roshi's entire personality had changed from fluffy
love moose to cranky old lady. It improved slowly, but steadily
enough to convince me that Scoop could stay, and after a total of about
three months they were buddies. Now they're inseperable. Give
it time.
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ray menendez - 12:51 pm PDT - Jul 16, 2001 - #6204 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
And maybe expect at least one physical confrontation. Cats are NOT domestic
animals, they are and always have been untamed critters
that live in houses. (Reminds me of my second wife.) There is a serious
struggle going on for Alpha status, and it sounds like Al may be
leading because the current dominator has not pushed it to a brawl
yet. And do NOT think for one minute that your wishes are part of
the picture. They won't fight till they're ready and when they're ready
you will not even be noticed. You might have gloves handy and
think about keeping the tub full, cause if they get truly engaged that's
gonna be the only way you will preserve anything breakable within
long pistol shot. But cheer up, it will all be fun. Mine was a dispute
between the pussycat ace, who was the house cat, and grey Florence,
the porch cat, and it only cost me eleven stitches and a fair shirt,
bloodstained from both elbows on down.
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lynne p. - 12:56 pm PDT - Jul 16, 2001 - #6205 of 7994
I could pin the tail on a thousand donkeys and never win a prize like
this.
As I've mentioned upthread, Puff now tolerates KT's presence (as long
as she doesn't get closer than a couple of feet to him), and Zoot
won't be on the same floor with her.
I don't know that there's ever going to be any great friendship between
her and the other 2, but we've (us humans, I mean) grown so
attached to the little football after these few months that we wouldn't
consider shipping her back to the vet. She's funny and spunky and,
now that her tail has fallen off, actually seems less jittery than
she had been up until last week. I suspect she was in a bit of chronic
pain
from it.
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Ruth F - 01:09 pm PDT - Jul 16, 2001 - #6206 of 7994
late night cat horking
I recently tossed e.b. from the bed at 3am mid-hork. Felt terrible , but since she's moved off the bed before horking.
As far as introducing new family members, e.b. still hisses at Annie
14 years later. OTOH, until e.b. recently became to arthritic and
crotchety to play, they'd chase each other around (e.b. likes to get
chased but does NOT like to get caught) and they sometimes snuggle
on the bed together. Annie loved e.b. from day one -- took one look
at her and thought "MOM". All to say, LDV, I wouldn't worry
much. My experience is it takes about a month for adult cats to adjust
to a new family member. The hissing might never stop completely
but at least they reach a tolerable level of detente.
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LaDeeVah - 01:11 pm PDT - Jul 16, 2001 - #6207 of 7994
In Memoriam: Ray Menendez, 1940-2001
I don't necessarily want them to be best friends; hell, as ray points
out, I get no vote on that, anyway. I just want them to at least let poor
Al out of the bedroom. (The sooner the better; it needs vaccuuming.)
When Garp was alive, she never actually grew to love Mel (though he
adored her), but she did tolerate him. I'm pretty used to feline
tolerance, and I never demand feline love. I just want them to peaceably
co-exist.
it sounds like Al may be leading because the current
dominator has not pushed it
to a brawl yet.
That would be wild. He's around a year younger than Mel, not to mention
close to ten pounds lighter.
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Rachel S. - 01:13 pm PDT - Jul 16, 2001 - #6208 of 7994
...
In this same vein of cat aggression: Do you think a new kitten would/could
be mauled by my lovey & squishy but also tempermental 6 yr
old male? I want to get another now that I have space but I'm terrified
I'll come home one day to find kitten bits strewn about the house
& Rugger strutting proudly around the house, purring away.
I once boarded him with friends & their 2 cats for a day while I
was moving. My friend assured me that their was no way Rugger could
get the best of her big ol' Maine Coon, Verdi. Well, apparently Rugger
strode in, took stock of the situation and began to whap the other
2 in the head whenever they came close to him. He didn't hiss, didn't
yowl or growl, he just stood there and "whap!" "whap!" got 'em
whenever they came near.
My friend made me take him back after only 8 hours. (I secretly think
she was jealous of Rugger's catly powers). In any case, he has a
history of aggression towards other kitties. So can I trust him with
a baby?
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ray menendez - 01:26 pm PDT - Jul 16, 2001 - #6209 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
LaDeeVah - VACUUM! The fierce and loud machine might so terrify all
three that they will team up in mutual defense. Were it me I
would start with the location of the Nr 1 cat, then Nr 2, then Nr 3,
and close off the doors to prevent return. This way all 3 cats are in
'neutral territory' and when the doors are reopened they may well have
arrived at the detente you seek.
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LaDeeVah - 01:32 pm PDT - Jul 16, 2001 - #6210 of 7994
In Memoriam: Ray Menendez, 1940-2001
Well, the locations of cats #1 & 2 are Wherever They Want to Be.
But the thought of scaring Al out of his room w/the vaccuum makes
me feel like a criminal!
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Jim Paul - 01:33 pm PDT - Jul 16, 2001 - #6211 of 7994
A Glass Will Only Hold So Much Beer. I'm keeping my glasses.
Huh...That could work. Give them a common enemy - "the enemy of my enemy
is my friend."
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Phyl Good - 01:54 pm PDT - Jul 16, 2001 - #6213 of 7994
Ray Menendez, Rest in Peace - all the TT Pussycats and their parents
miss you already; please take care of our little ones who went on ahead
of you
When Kashi and I lived with Nancy and Bailey for 4 years (Bailey was
the cat), Bailey wanted to be friends, but Kashi never would.
And last year living with Hodge and Podge for a year, Hodge wanted
to be friends, and Kashi never would. Some cats just don't take to
other cats, and it won't change, alas.
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ray menendez - 02:04 pm PDT - Jul 16, 2001 - #6214 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Pussycats is of the genus felis; the other line of cats, pardis is the
ones with round irises and that roar but don't purr. There is a behavior
in that genus that when a new alpha male takes over a lion pride or
a tiger clan, all the offspring of the prior father are killed. I suspect
the pussycat line has had such behavior bred out of it by the plenty
afforded by living behind people's houses, but I'm not sure that the
behavior is very far from the surface. Hard to encompass, cause there
is not much lionlike about sleeping under the sofa and occasionally
delivering white-fanged death to one's own tailtip.
(BOOKMARK)
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Anne Threston - 02:09 pm PDT - Jul 16, 2001 - #6215 of 7994
Inmate of Casa de los Tres Gatos Locos
Do you think a new kitten would/could be mauled by
my lovey & squishy but also
tempermental 6 yr old male?
Miss Lucy's first cat pal was a huge curmudgeonly male named Luke, who
had already gotten a rep around the 'hood for whuppin' the
snot outta the big puffy nextdoor neighbor cat. So, when I got Lucy,
who weighed in at about a pound-and-a-half, I introduced her to
Luke, who was about 20 pounds heavier at the time.
Lucy was a seriously iracible kitten, and Luke was a seriously grumpy
cat. After a few head-bops administered to the naughty kitten,
they got along famously. Luke taught her all sorts of games, kept her
out of places she shouldn't have been, groomed her, and became
her Big Buddy, which he remained until he died several years later.
I was convinced that he'd eat her alive, but after a little discipline,
found her to be a highly amusing interactive cat toy.
So, like Diva said, you never know.
And LDV? Give it time. Lucy holds a grudge like no other cat, and having
started out her life with me as an Only Cat, wasn't too thrilled
by any of the other feline additions to the household. She had Tabitha
cornered in the fireplace, and while Sid moving in pissed her off,
he just smacked her around a bit. She can still get pretty hissy with
Himself, but admittedly he can be a tremendous pain in the ass when
he puts his mind to it. Every time, it took her close to a month to
get settled in, and trust me, it was never a pleasant month.
Methinks you're right on schedule.
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Diva - 02:09 pm PDT - Jul 16, 2001 - #6216 of 7994
One would think, in a neutered male, that the instinct to kill kits
would be as foreign as the instinct to, well, you know. When Critter first
went into heat, Henry had no idea what she wanted of him. He obviously
thought she was acting very strange.
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ray menendez - 02:13 pm PDT - Jul 16, 2001 - #6217 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Diva - So much around here today reminds me of my second wife!
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Anne Threston - 03:02 pm PDT - Jul 16, 2001 - #6225 of 7994
Inmate of Casa de los Tres Gatos Locos
My mother doesn't have a name that lends itself to the Naming of Cats. Not that she's a bad person, but it's just not a cat name, IMO.
My brother and his wife named one of their cats after my SIL's great
aunt. And Victor has the same name as a particularly rowdy
co-worker of mine. While Himself came with the name, the human Victor
thinks it's wonderful that there's an obnoxious cat with the
same name.
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Jim Paul - 03:05 pm PDT - Jul 16, 2001 - #6226 of 7994
A Glass Will Only Hold So Much Beer. I'm keeping my glasses.
Lavinia was named after the wife of Tom Thumb. She (the cat) was found
at a Tom Thumb grocery store, and there was the name.
SunTzu, poor guy, he's a siamese, I couldn't think of anything else.
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Jim Paul - 03:06 pm PDT - Jul 16, 2001 - #6227 of 7994
A Glass Will Only Hold So Much Beer. I'm keeping my glasses.
Did have a cat growing up named Ipso Facto.
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artemis13 - 03:08 pm PDT - Jul 16, 2001 - #6228 of 7994
It's a very full and rich/Imaginary life -Willis Alan Ramsey
2. The Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds"
contains the line "the girl
with kaliedoscope eyes"
Actually, I read somewhere that the line is "the girl with colitis goes
by". I've never heard it quite the same since...
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Lucy Cat - 03:19 pm PDT - Jul 16, 2001 - #6229 of 7994
"He thinks gold is like water, put it on at the top and it will seep
on down and water all below. Gold, or money, don't work that way...Put
it at the top
and it stays there." Will Rogers, c. 1931
artemis13, I will try very hard to forget you said that!
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ray menendez - 03:25 pm PDT - Jul 16, 2001 - #6230 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
The pussycat ace prolly has a name but he won't tell me and it is useless
anyway because he would not come when called. Right now,
even as my flying fingers fling letters round inside this engine, he
is in the ceiling!
House has a hung ceiling in the LR and he is up above it. Gets there
thru the coat closet, which some dumb human left open, and some
time or other he is gonna come thru a panel. I think a few rounds of
small arms fire might discourage this behavior, but it will also
discourage the continuity of the upstairs carpet.
Anybody wanna buy a cat. Oh CRAP!! He came thru!
artemis13 - 03:29 pm PDT - Jul 16, 2001 - #6231 of 7994
It's a very full and rich/Imaginary life -Willis Alan Ramsey
Sorry, Lucy Cat. There are some things one just HAS to share. Like when
you get the Gilligan's Island song stuck in your head...See,
now go tell one of your co-workers/housemates about it. They'll thank
you, really. :)
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Lucy Cat - 03:34 pm PDT - Jul 16, 2001 - #6232 of 7994
"He thinks gold is like water, put it on at the top and it will seep
on down and water all below. Gold, or money, don't work that way...Put
it at the top
and it stays there." Will Rogers, c. 1931
Oh boy, ray, that reminds me of an occurrence here some years ago before
we had installed the beautiful wooden ceiling that now graces
the great room. Our little departed orange kitty (whose name I am blocking
at the moment) would sometimes climb up behind the
insulation, and then of course, there being no ceiling, eventually
she would fall through, leaving the sheet of insulation hanging. One day
she made it all the way to the peak, 16 feet up on this 12/12 pitch
ceiling, before she broke through, hitting the ceiling fan on the way
down and taking a fan blade with her. I'm not sure, but I think she
gave up on that particular adventure after that.
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Lucy Cat - 03:35 pm PDT - Jul 16, 2001 - #6233 of 7994
"He thinks gold is like water, put it on at the top and it will seep
on down and water all below. Gold, or money, don't work that way...Put
it at the top
and it stays there." Will Rogers, c. 1931
You're a real nice guy, aren't you, artemis!
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ray menendez - 03:47 pm PDT - Jul 16, 2001 - #6234 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
REPORT FROM THE LIVING ROOM FLOOR - (This mike on?) Alright, folks from
coast to coast, the late word. The panel has
returned to its place, only a bit the worse for wear, and the pussycat
ace is totally undisturbed by the whole business, since when he fell
he merely squunched down when the panel smote the floor, and then stood
up straight and walked away when the fall had surely
stopped. He is now strong in wrath because I closed the closet door.
(We off the air?) Good. Damn cat!
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Lucy Cat - 03:55 pm PDT - Jul 16, 2001 - #6235 of 7994
"He thinks gold is like water, put it on at the top and it will seep
on down and water all below. Gold, or money, don't work that way...Put
it at the top
and it stays there." Will Rogers, c. 1931
Did Ace have that "nothing happened", "you didn't see anything" look
as he walked away?
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Mary Tyler Moron - 04:02 pm PDT - Jul 16, 2001 - #6236 of 7994
Facts all come with points of view. Facts don't do what I want them
to.
I went to a veterinary conference today as part of my job and came home
with many free samples of cat health food. Yay! Though my
Kiwi is telling me she won't eat any of it, it's Whiska's Methadone
Pouches or nothing.
"Eddie" from Frasier was there, posing for pics with people. Might I
suggest that no one give that dog automatic weaponry? He looked
about ready to spray the crowd and then turn it on himself.
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Lily Delafield - 04:05 pm PDT - Jul 16, 2001 - #6237 of 7994
So it goes.
"nothing happened", "you didn't see anything"
We call that the "I meant to do that" look.
On the subject of neutered male cats exhibiting, um, unseemly behavior:
Last winter, Pipsqueak, who was neutered years ago at 7
months, conducted an Unwholesome Relationship with a fleece throw we
kept on the couch. When I put away the throw in Spring, he
transferred his affections to Mouse, who is (a) male (b) several inches
taller and (c) 8 pounds heavier.
Fortunately for Pipsqueak, Mouse has a very easygoing nature--if Pipsqueak
tried that on Magic, he would have been knocked into next
week.
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ray menendez - 04:09 pm PDT - Jul 16, 2001 - #6238 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
If the pussycat ace had spoken he would have said "Those joists look
sound."
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Cynthia Barnes - 08:19 pm PDT - Jul 17, 2001 - #6258 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
Please help. I have been feeding two feral cats for the past three months
or so. They are still very wary, but I have finally gotten them so
they will come on the porch and eat near me. They are in love; I've
never seen two cats act this way toward one another. My eventual
plan was to tame them enough to take them in for shots and medical
care. Last week, the male started sneezing and coughing fiercely. I
was afraid he would die. Rented a live trap and today I caught him.
His girlfriend was with him and took off in a flash. The vet said his
infection is nothing life-threatening, I have to bring him back in
for vaccinations, an FLV test and checkup. He's ensconced in an empty
bathroom now, miserable and hating me for betraying his trust. His
girlfriend is nowhere to be found.
Did I do the right thing? Should I just let him loose to his fate? If
I could catch girlfriend and put them together, I'd feel so much better.
DH said, "There's a difference to them between being happy and being
healthy. You've chosen health for them."
Should I make that choice? I've never dealt with feral animals before,
but I love these two even though they don't love me. Any
suggestions?
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LaDeeVah - 08:26 pm PDT - Jul 17, 2001 - #6259 of 7994
In Memoriam: Ray Menendez, 1940-2001
Alley Cat Allies: The National Feral Cat Resource
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Karl Northman - 08:33 pm PDT - Jul 17, 2001 - #6260 of 7994
The supreme court says money is speech: So I've put up my money, and
I'm going to speak.
Cynthia:
I think it was a reasonable guess. But get him neutered while you're at it.
I don't have a lot of experience with feral cats - I did have a friend
who lived out near the Stanford Barn years ago, and he used to feed
several of them, two of whom eventually became sort-of house cats.
But I don't see how you get the distinction between health and happiness.
You can always get him vaccinated, healthy, and let him go do
whatever he wants. Then, for the price of a bit of time, he's free
again, and healthy to boot.
The way I think about it is that it's sort of like street alcoholics,
esp. here in MN - they aren't going to have a long life. The way I figure
it, it IS morally justified to pick them up if they're passed out outside
at 12 below and stick them in detox for a couple days. Now we
know that isn't going to make them quit drinking. But I would have
a big problem with arbitrarily sending them off for two months of
treatment to cure them, or make them happier. Offer it to them, sure.
If they take you up only because hell, it's two months of 3 squares
and warmth in the dead of winter, well, that's fine.
But I wouldn't feel dejected or abused if after those two months they
went right back to being semi-feral people. And maybe some day it
will work - there are certainly cases of it.
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ray menendez - 08:46 pm PDT - Jul 17, 2001 - #6261 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
One other thought is based on the idea that you will keep the male in
the house for a bit. Find a platform to feed him on; a sturdy
cardboard box will do. Then when you release him put the platform on
the porch with food on it. Chances are pretty good he will return
to the platform cause it is a source of a decent meal, and bring his
friend with him unless she found another tom to breed with. And if
she has and reattaches to yours, you're gonna be a grandma.
BTW Karl, this ain't the place. LOL.
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LaDeeVah - 08:48 pm PDT - Jul 17, 2001 - #6262 of 7994
In Memoriam: Ray Menendez, 1940-2001
Argh. Just ran upstairs to break up a big ol' catfight.
Yowling, hissing, bodies thumping against the floor -- and when I got
there, they separated and there sat AL, with absolute clumps of
MELMO'S hair in his mouth.
I never would have guessed that. Mel's so much bigger than Al. Meanwhile,
I can't distract Mel enough to see if fur is all he's lost -- he's
still up there, yowling away at Al.
<fretting
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ray menendez - 08:52 pm PDT - Jul 17, 2001 - #6263 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
LDV - fill the tub with cool water. Better to have it available and
not need it than the reverse. They gonna work out a modus vivendi if it
kills some of 'em. Which it will not. If Al was winnin they were fighting
on and for his turf, right. Prolly in that bedroom he has claimed
for himself. When the fight moves downstairs you will learn which cat
has exclusive control of what, and they gonna work it out without
reference to you. After all, what do you count compared to CATS?
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LaDeeVah - 08:58 pm PDT - Jul 17, 2001 - #6264 of 7994
In Memoriam: Ray Menendez, 1940-2001
Yep -- they were fighting on what Al would meow was his turf.
Now, what do I do with the bathtub of water? I sure as hell don't think
it's a good idea for me to get my hands in the middle of a
catfight. Everyone has teeth, and a combined total of six sets of claws.
(Peaches also has two sets of claws, but he'd rather hide than
fight.)
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Karl Northman - 08:59 pm PDT - Jul 17, 2001 - #6265 of 7994
The supreme court says money is speech: So I've put up my money, and
I'm going to speak.
Never can tell about cats based on size.
At Louis Road once, where there were the four whole toms, Pete Gibson
came home to lunch once and found three of them (all 10 lb
plus cats) cornered in an alcove of the kitchen, cowering as they were
held at bay by one 6 lb female Siamese from two doors away. She
had kittens at that point, and apparently one of the guys had done
something that set her off, and she had chased him into the house, and
managed to get two of his buddies too.
Pete looked at the situation, considered trying to pick her up, reconsidered,
then went and got a big bucket of water and threw it on the
whole lot of them (completely flooding the kitchen floor, but causing
her to retreat and the guys to scatter and pretend it never
happened).
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Karl Northman - 09:02 pm PDT - Jul 17, 2001 - #6266 of 7994
The supreme court says money is speech: So I've put up my money, and
I'm going to speak.
I sure as hell don't think it's a good idea for me
to get my hands in the middle
of a catfight.
No, you just need some heavy jacket (leather, denim) that you don't
much care about (check goodwill), and a pair of welding gloves.
The leather is really thick, and they have long enough gauntlets to
protect your wrists and lower forearms.
When I had to put John into a cat carrier I always wore a pair of goggles,
too. (The industrial safety-glasses type). Full face, or full
face-shield motorcycle helmets are good, too.
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Karl Northman - 09:05 pm PDT - Jul 17, 2001 - #6267 of 7994
The supreme court says money is speech: So I've put up my money, and
I'm going to speak.
what to do with the bathtub.
Well, at Louis, to get everyone settled down, we just used the laundry
tub. Pick up both combatants, dunk each good, then throw one
out the front door and one out the back, just like some biker bar,
which is more or less what you've got for the time being.
(Or separate rooms will work, also).
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ray menendez - 09:11 pm PDT - Jul 17, 2001 - #6268 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Wet cats is pacified cats, most every time.
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LaDeeVah - 09:12 pm PDT - Jul 17, 2001 - #6269 of 7994
In Memoriam: Ray Menendez, 1940-2001
Well, all is quiet, for the moment. But I was awakened by a loud argument
last night; no reason to think tonight will be any different!
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ray menendez - 09:15 pm PDT - Jul 17, 2001 - #6270 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
La Di Va - Karl sings the song of the true catman, which is don't let
them intimidate you. You either gonna be top cat or not even an
afterthought. The pussycat ace, a sturdy critter if ever any one was,
knows I'm the top cat cause I have the water pistol and that damn
hose on the sink which will just adjourn any mischief he is into. Do
not drop both cats into the water together, but in sequence will do.
Cat fights ought be tolerated briefly so they can know which one is
winning, but like bar fights they can't be allowed to go too far, not for
the cats but for the furniture. And lift up the winning cat first,
cause he knows he's winning and the other knows he's losing. But they
both gotta get wet or else the loser will think he won and you're back
to square one.
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Karl Northman - 09:16 pm PDT - Jul 17, 2001 - #6271 of 7994
The supreme court says money is speech: So I've put up my money, and
I'm going to speak.
ray:
Wet cats is pacified cats, most every time.
It isn't really that they're pacific, it's mainly that they are so involved
in trying to recreate their dignity, their appearance, their ferocious
and/or elegant (as opposed to drowned-rat) bearing that they simply
have to attend to more important issues (i.e., self-repair and
self-esteem-reconstruction) before they can get back to harassing each
other.
Remember, cats are quite full of themselves, and also vain, though they will never admit either.
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ray menendez - 09:19 pm PDT - Jul 17, 2001 - #6272 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Right you are, but the important thing is that there is an armistice/truce
while fur gets licked dry and that is what it is all about at the
moment. And I don't ever know what cats are really thinking, but I
do know they are. And there is solid truth in your 'biker bar' analogy,
cause cats have the same outlook as bikers, and are just as likely
to astonish the crap out of some offender eight times their size.
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LaDeeVah - 09:19 pm PDT - Jul 17, 2001 - #6273 of 7994
In Memoriam: Ray Menendez, 1940-2001
<sigh Naturally, I have neither a water pistol nor a shower hose. I don't even have a decent spray bottle.
Off to survey the damage...
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Karl Northman - 09:20 pm PDT - Jul 17, 2001 - #6274 of 7994
The supreme court says money is speech: So I've put up my money, and
I'm going to speak.
ray:
And lift up the winning cat first, cause he knows
he's winning and the other knows
he's losing. But they both gotta get wet or else
the loser will think he won and
you're back to square one.
Interesting point. That makes perfect sense.
However, it isn't always easy to figure out who the winner is. For instance,
near as I can tell, unlike dogs or people, with cats when they
get serious it's the cat underneath who has the advantage.
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ray menendez - 09:25 pm PDT - Jul 17, 2001 - #6275 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
That's because the real killers are the disembowling hind legs with
stout and sharp claws. The pussycat ace has dissented to the extent of
four stitches on his own and eleven during the debate with the porch
cat, combined eleven, six for porch cat, five for ace, and all always
hind leg scratches. Front claws make scratches, hind claws make cuts.
26 years ago, when Kate was 3, we were occupied by a male
entire named Powell, and he was eagerly sought two blocks over for
destroying a Peke or Pomeranian or some other yike; the lady was
especially offended that Powell had eaten a portion of a hindquarter,
which was, I am sure, a dominance thing. Cats are NOT domestic
animals, they are not even housebreakable. They use the box on their
own motion or not at all. They are fierce and savage wild critters
that like living on carpet is all.
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Karl Northman - 09:27 pm PDT - Jul 17, 2001 - #6276 of 7994
The supreme court says money is speech: So I've put up my money, and
I'm going to speak.
LaDeeVah
Naturally, I have neither a water pistol nor a shower
hose. I don't even have a
decent spray bottle.
But this puts you ahead. You know have an absolutely good excuse, given
to you by genuine adults like me and (ray, where are you?) to
go to your local Target or Walmart or whatever, and because it's summer,
somewhere in kids toys you have the opportunity to buy a
genuine Super Soaker.
After you have terrorized all miscreant cats, you can move on to neighborhood
children, who, if you have weather like we're having, will
be all too willing to engage in SS fights.
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Ruth F - 09:29 pm PDT - Jul 17, 2001 - #6277 of 7994
LDV, the big bully Rick used to come over regularly to beat the crap
out of my boys, so I'd keep a quart sized yogurt container full of
water on hand to break up the fights. Many a time I nailed him full
on. Didn't stop him from returning for more but it did break up the
fight tout de suite.
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Karl Northman - 09:31 pm PDT - Jul 17, 2001 - #6278 of 7994
The supreme court says money is speech: So I've put up my money, and
I'm going to speak.
ray;
because the real killers are the disembowling hind legs with stout and sharp claws
That's what I've always noticed - however, attitude and effectiveness are not always related.
(I.e, it might be that the cat on top gets dominance points until it is disemboweled).
From my experience, I actually think this may be true - that in "play",
cats try to get on top, because that's how they hunt. But if it gets
serious, they try to get underneath, because that's the winning position
for self-defense (and not just against cats).
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Karl Northman - 09:32 pm PDT - Jul 17, 2001 - #6279 of 7994
The supreme court says money is speech: So I've put up my money, and
I'm going to speak.
I've never heard of anyone using water balloons, but outdoors they could be quite effective.
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ray menendez - 09:34 pm PDT - Jul 17, 2001 - #6280 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
See, an unsolicited endorsement from a disinterested person. Karl is
right, when was the last time you bought a BIG water pistol, filled it,
said God Bless This Wetness, and baptised those near and dear.
PS - the thoughtful spouse does not purchase only one, but wraps the
one for DH extra firmly and once he has the package pronounces
him fair game.
When Life Is Purely Duty, Death is a Relief. Enjoy. Buy several, and
arm the kids. and Boy, when you nail a cat on the table, or
clawing at a sofa, he KNOWS what the yelling is about.
ray menendez - 09:37 pm PDT - Jul 17, 2001 - #6281 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
The math is simple. A wet cat is a quiet cat, and anything can be used.
Detergent bottles, milk bottles with a small hole bored in the lid,
cups, buckets, your local fire department's pumper. Be creative, be
innovative, be sure that the fighting will come to an end. Enlist SO in
the fight, and assign him a door out which to pitch a cat. All will
settle down quicker than thought.
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Karl Northman - 09:40 pm PDT - Jul 17, 2001 - #6282 of 7994
The supreme court says money is speech: So I've put up my money, and
I'm going to speak.
ray:
PS - the thoughtful spouse does not purchase only
one, but wraps the one for DH
extra firmly and once he has the package pronounces
him fair game.
Good point. However, when we did that some years ago, (started, BTW,
by my son, then 12 getting one of the early ones), we rapidly
degenerated into a tri-lateral arms race. But on a Tuesday evening
when it's still 88 out after dinner, there's something nice about ambush
and chase and wet shirts.
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ray menendez - 09:43 pm PDT - Jul 17, 2001 - #6283 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
See! Domestic felicity inspired by pussycats. Who would dare suggest
they are not useful. And at nigh unto midnite, with tykes all
a=tucked, wet shirts may lead to dalliance, who knows.
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Karl Northman - 09:44 pm PDT - Jul 17, 2001 - #6284 of 7994
The supreme court says money is speech: So I've put up my money, and
I'm going to speak.
I don't think this would work well for fights, but for other things
where cat aversion-therapy is desired, I've discovered that at close range
your handy can of "Air" (as in, for cleaning the keyboard at which
you are staring), is really good. With the little tube on it, it's good
for
maybe 18 inches to a cat's face, and can be used on your desk, over
fancy woodwork, all the places you might have used water but
couldn't. And at close-enough range, at least for Fargo, it's WAY more
aversive than water, which if it just a spray, he thinks "What's
that? Where'd that come from? Is this a bath? What's going on here?"
But the air can definitely gets his attention.
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ray menendez - 09:50 pm PDT - Jul 17, 2001 - #6285 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Found one of those canned foghorns once when the resident cat was a
Burmese named Tinkerbell, relict of Ex Nr 2. Tinkerbell was
thick haired and required a substantial blast of water to notice; she
also believed she was a plate or something cause she was always onna
table. Once when she hopped up I put can in face and said "Mmwwwooooongk!"
She flipped over getting off table and was not seen
there again. You could see the air stream stir her fur, and she did
not like either the air or the noise.
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Karl Northman - 09:53 pm PDT - Jul 17, 2001 - #6286 of 7994
The supreme court says money is speech: So I've put up my money, and
I'm going to speak.
ray:
one of those canned foghorns once ..
I don't know, I'd be worried about a cat's hearing with one of those
close up. Aversion is fine, but we do want to stop short of damage.
And how in the hell do you get a cat out of the way in the dead of
night without kicking it if it can't hear you yell at it?
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ray menendez - 09:55 pm PDT - Jul 17, 2001 - #6287 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
And how in the hell do you get a cat out of the way
in the dead of night without
kicking it if it can't hear you yell at it?
You mean your cat does things merely cause you yell at it?
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Karl Northman - 09:57 pm PDT - Jul 17, 2001 - #6288 of 7994
The supreme court says money is speech: So I've put up my money, and
I'm going to speak.
Must be my cats are good tempered sweet things that only rip flesh once
to make their quarterly quota. Probably because we treat them
right. Follow them around, ask them what they want next, that sort
of thing.
Having well-behaved cats is sort of like having well-behaved republicans - they're fine when you are perceived as a likely-groveler.
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Gypsy Laughing Otter - 10:01 pm PDT - Jul 17, 2001 - #6289 of
7994
Love, light and laughter to those who remain...I've moved on.
The cats I've had have a relationship that rather resembles, say, England
and France. At various times they've been allies and enemies.
I've seen a sweet scene of ear-washing turn into a battle, and a battle
turn into a bath that turned into a pile of sleeping cat.
The current two seem to prefer goosing each other and making the other
jump, rather than full-out hold the other down and pull out fur
while yowling like a demon combat.
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ray menendez - 10:02 pm PDT - Jul 17, 2001 - #6290 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
GLO - How the hell did you manage to watch BOTH my marriages?
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Gypsy Laughing Otter - 10:05 pm PDT - Jul 17, 2001 - #6291 of
7994
Love, light and laughter to those who remain...I've moved on.
Ray, didn't you know I'm a witch? grin
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Karl Northman - 10:08 pm PDT - Jul 17, 2001 - #6292 of 7994
The supreme court says money is speech: So I've put up my money, and
I'm going to speak.
Good point - he probably didn't. Those of us who've been around longer of course do, so we are more circumspect.
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Gypsy Laughing Otter - 10:13 pm PDT - Jul 17, 2001 - #6293 of
7994
Love, light and laughter to those who remain...I've moved on.
-laughing-
Of course, my effectiveness is down now that I no longer have a black
cat.
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Karl Northman - 10:21 pm PDT - Jul 17, 2001 - #6294 of 7994
The supreme court says money is speech: So I've put up my money, and
I'm going to speak.
Well, we have one, the "Ordinary Cat" (or at least this is how she pretends)
Moonlight. But my neighborhood is full of them. Other day I
went for a walk, and I think I saw a black cat outside on 3 of five
blocks. (and no, they weren't the same one - different sizes and
shapes).
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Gypsy Laughing Otter - 10:26 pm PDT - Jul 17, 2001 - #6295 of
7994
Love, light and laughter to those who remain...I've moved on.
No cat is an ordinary cat.
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Karl Northman - 10:55 pm PDT - Jul 17, 2001 - #6296 of 7994
The supreme court says money is speech: So I've put up my money, and
I'm going to speak.
Well, I didn't mean ordinary in the sense of "indistinguishable", rather
in the sense that she is sort of the cat equivalent of the (now
vanished, of course) father who works and mother at home and their
2.2 children.
Moonlight's oddity, and lord knows where it came from, is that she just
loves little kids. She likes grown women okay, and is always
suspicious about strange adult men, but she just loves little kids.
We live in the middle of a block that has a community Co-op daycare
place at one end. Because of the hill, the sidewalk from there to
the park goes by our house, with three steps right next to the sidewalk
where our yard goes down to the walk. Any half-warm day,
Moonlight when she was younger, would whine to go outside at 1 in the
afternoon, because thats when the day-care kids went for a
walk, and then they'd come back, and she'd just lie their on the step
going "I'm a black cat, I love you, pet me, pet me", and the teachers
there learned that that was okay, little kids could grab big tufts
of skin or fur and she wouldn't even complain. So basically, she
developed her own collection of adorers, much better than anything
she had indoors, though of course, the 4 year olds didn't feed her
anything.
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LaDeeVah - 03:54 am PDT - Jul 18, 2001 - #6297 of 7994
In Memoriam: Ray Menendez, 1940-2001
A quiet night around these parts. A close-up inspection of the Melminator
revealed no damage beyond a minor fur shortage (as if there
could really be such a thing as a fur shortage, in my house. "Fur"
is a verb here, as in "did you fur all over the sofa?")
I do believe I'll invest in some form of water weaponry, though.
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ray menendez - 04:33 am PDT - Jul 18, 2001 - #6298 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
A wise decision, Madam. I hope you derive great joy from telling some
superciliou salesperson that you want water pistols, a veritable
armory, for your cats. Enjoy, dear lady, it is not often we get such
opportunity. LOL.
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Phyl Good - 04:46 am PDT - Jul 18, 2001 - #6299 of 7994
Ray Menendez, Rest in Peace - all the TT Pussycats and their parents
miss you already; please take care of our little ones who went on ahead
of you
I'm so glad to hear Al is fighting back, LVD, and not just cowering any more. That's going to help a lot, I think.
I must say, reading ray and Karl strategizing has been like reading
about a colloquy between Sun Tzu and, I don't know, Alexander the
Great on war strategy. Highly entertaining.
Having well-behaved cats is sort of like having well-behaved
republicans - they're
fine when you are perceived as a likely-groveler.
This is hysterical. And if I weren't already stealing one of Ray's comments
for a new tagline, I'd be stealing Karl's.
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Anna Trueblood - 06:09 am PDT - Jul 18, 2001 - #6300 of 7994
There is no TRY, only DO.
Go to bed at a reasonable time and I miss all the fun!
Yesterday SO went to work in Wyoming for two weeks-- video engineer
for Frontier Days. Woo Hoo. Last night we had a tornado
warning here in Omaha and so I camped out in the basement for a bit.
Only Diablo came to the basement with me and later only Melee
slept on the bed. Very lonely with only one cat guarding me.
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Anne Threston - 07:18 am PDT - Jul 18, 2001 - #6301 of 7994
Inmate of Casa de los Tres Gatos Locos
I must say, reading ray and Karl strategizing has
been like reading about a
colloquy between Sun Tzu and, I don't know, Alexander
the Great on war strategy.
Highly entertaining.
What Phyl said. I've been giggling helplessly reading the two of them
expound on the Wetting of Cats and whatnot. Thank you both for
the entertainment.
Some years ago, I was living with a large gentleman Holstein named Luke,
who belonged to my roommate. Luke was a wonderful cat,
but highly territorial. The cat who lived next door, a large puffy
Maine Coon-type beast, had once lived in our house, and thought, on
occasion, that he still did.
This pleased Luke very little.
One night, I came home rather late from a party, and walked into the
living room, where it looked as if someone had blown up a cat.
Huge tufts of hair were everywhere, and there was a thick patch of
it on the carpet. Apparently, the neighbor cat had gotten into the
house and surprised Luke, who regarded it as his sworn duty to kick
the living shit out of the other cat before he ran him off the
premises.
Luke had lost some hair his own self; I remember a little triangular
tuft that was missing from the top of his head. Otherwise, both cats
were unhurt, though Luke sported a bit of a swagger for some days thereafter.
Of course, this is the same Luke that would allow tiny Tabitha to muscle
him away from the food bowl, but then she was an invited
guest and not an house-breaker. Luke has gone off to Cat Heaven, where
I'm sure he's still telling the story of how he kicked some
righteous cat booty. And his humans brag on him still.
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Diva - 07:37 am PDT - Jul 18, 2001 - #6302 of 7994
MIss Mouse is back. She's running around the periphery of the garden
in the back yard, pretending she's in the jungle. Little maniac.
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Ella Russell - 07:44 am PDT - Jul 18, 2001 - #6303 of 7994
Great is the truth, but still greater, from a practical point of view,
is silence about truth.
I have been laughing out loud at the cat sagas. One of our early cats
(we've been [owners]slaves for 38 years)owned an entire street. We
left a window in our dining room open for him. He invited the ladies,
and often their kittens to join him for meals, showing what a
gentleman he was. One day we came home to find the "blown up cat" as
decribed by Anne on our living room carpet. After that male
cats would cross the street, or slink through to the next street to
pass our place.
Unfortunately, when we moved to the deep country, he found it much too
quiet and left. He did visit and let us know of his presence by
his merououou, and by the way our fixed female acted. He was the last
unfixed animal we ever owned, but he left us amazing memories
of a swaggering Don Juan.
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Cynthia Barnes - 07:49 am PDT - Jul 18, 2001 - #6304 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
Thanks for the feral cat resources. The General (so dubbed because he
resembles Custer after Little Big Horn) passed the night quietly in
the downstairs bathroom. He grudgingly let me stroke his back this
morning, but was not happy about it.
Our vet school will do his shots and surgery on the same day, but not until NEXT Monday.
His girlfriend did come in the night to eat her food. I'm not feeding
her this morning, and will try tuna this evening and attempt to trap
her. I'm so afraid she will run off with another cat, and I will have
taken his libido and his ladylove, leaving him healthy but miserable.
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ray menendez - 07:52 am PDT - Jul 18, 2001 - #6305 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Or leaving him healthy and profoundly revieved, and grateful as hell.
Tomcats ain't big on commitment either. Where you think guys
learned it?
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Cynthia Barnes - 01:52 pm PDT - Jul 18, 2001 - #6315 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
Has anyone actually ever *tamed* a feral cat? As I am attempting to
type this, the going-on-18 Siamese ruler is walking on keyboard,
mewling.
"No. Do not ask about bringing unworthies into my domain. Think only of meeeeee."
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ray menendez - 04:33 pm PDT - Jul 18, 2001 - #6327 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Hello slaves to felis.
Have had all three kinds of 'feral' cats living at my house at one time
or another, to include the pussycat ace, now stretched out on the
chair singing feral songs. He has a bit of trouble with his hearing,
so he believes he is in the Feral Witness Protection Program. I won't
tell him different.
Feral kind one is the true 'wildcat;' lives far away from folks, like
in the country, eats field mice ("Bleech." ace.) and is not at all
socialized toward people even at a distance. In college a friend and
I found one with a major swollen leg out on a reservoir reservation,
took it to the vet, had the break set, a splint attached, hauled him
home (named Bush, by the way, for the Hornblower character w. 1
pegleg, not the present shrubbery.) and coddled him till the splint
came off. He was and remained an entire, stayed round the house till
spring, began to excurse more and more. We went home for summer, came
back, he was still in neighborhood and we could call him and
he'd come as long as we had some snack to feed him. He didn't care,
chewing gum, food scraps, yellow jujubes, yellow jelly beans, we
knew what he liked. He was more of a partner than a pet. He did not
rub, frequently sat at the table when homework or pinochle was at
hand, interested in pen or pencil and in cards. He ate well cause I
worked at the school cafeteria and scrounged leftovers. He was a cat
of substance and duration, and from time to time when we would go out
and get a steak we would bring the bone home and Bush would
walk round with the bone in his jaw like a pup doggie.
Type 2 feral is the classic alley cat. We always wound up with kittens
and a momcat in this category and they were little if any problem
other than health considerations. Where Bush cost in 1964 $95.00 for
leg setting, splinting, etc; in about '76 Bert and Ernie cost nigh
unto $175 in a losing battle to worms.
type 3 the patrol cat, the kind with regular ports of call. Powell was
such. He moved in, chased string and flopped all over the kids, was a
male entire and was used to indoors. He stayed with us till a friend
gave us B Mazing Grace, AKC female basset pup, whereupon Powell
in disgust wandered off. Which type feral governs how hard to 'train'
the cat finds the owner to be. ;-}
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Cynthia Barnes - 10:53 pm PDT - Jul 18, 2001 - #6339 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
I trapped the Girlfriend! The lovers are now *both* in my downstairs bathroom, hating me fiercely. </Snoopy Dance
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ray menendez - 05:21 am PDT - Jul 19, 2001 - #6345 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
LaDiVa - where is the combat report from the action front? Where is
the count of hair tufts? How did the community of pupsycattes
conduct last night's meeting? Tell all, we are, after all, still suffering
vicariously from Tuesday's hostilities.
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LaDeeVah - 06:41 am PDT - Jul 19, 2001 - #6346 of 7994
In Memoriam: Ray Menendez, 1940-2001
LaDiVa - where is the combat report from the action
front? Where is the count of
hair tufts? How did the community of pupsycattes
conduct last night's meeting?
Tell all, we are, after all, still suffering vicariously
from Tuesday's
hostilities.
ray, you're a panic.
It was a relatively quiet night, but not all issues have been settled
on the Second Floor Turf Front. There was a bit of yowling
negotiation, with no announced solution.
We continue to look forward to further resolution of other territorial
issues, including The Living Room, The Dining Room, and the
all-important Kitchen.
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ray menendez - 06:47 am PDT - Jul 19, 2001 - #6347 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
I believe you said that there are two catboxes in the basement, and
I may be telling you what you already know (I made a good living
doing that for some years) but you ought make sure that there are 'landmarks'
available between and on either side so that the cats can
stake out boundaries. If you have them, dead chairs or wounded tables
would be great since they permit the cats to achieve their desired
'upness.'
Also, were it me, my ally The Vacuum From Hell and I would discourage
any territoriality at all in the Kitchen. Assuming that is where
the gang is fed. Can't have one of them 'owning' all the food bowls.
I guess that now that Henry Kissinger has gotten the Olympics for Beijing,
he may be available. Might help, right? Good luck, kid, and
remember at any given time you are prolly smarter than any two of the
three cats. Just hope they don't all 3 team up on you. 8-))
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LaDeeVah - 07:04 am PDT - Jul 19, 2001 - #6348 of 7994
In Memoriam: Ray Menendez, 1940-2001
Can't have one of them 'owning' all the food bowls.
Melmo already feels he does. He eats from wherever he wants. Garp never
minded this; she would just switch places with him. Peaches
walks away and eats whatever is left (and given that, I fail to understand
why Peaches weighs nearly as much as Melmo).
I believe you said that there are two catboxes in the basement
Yessir.
and I may be telling you what you already know (I
made a good living doing that
for some years) but you ought make sure that there
are 'landmarks' available
between and on either side so that the cats can
stake out boundaries. If you have
them, dead chairs or wounded tables would be great
since they permit the cats to
achieve their desired 'upness.'
I'm not exactly sure what you mean, and I'm not sure I have the space
(though I do have the furniture) to do it, either. Further
explanation, please
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ray menendez - 07:20 am PDT - Jul 19, 2001 - #6349 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Cats lurk; that is one of their best things. So they want to lurk where
the 'prey' won't look for them, i.e. UP. With two cat boxes, and
three cats, they are gonna be interested in who is coming to 'their'
scratch spot. With three cats and three perches, things may well even
out. If there were only one spot where a cat could get above the sandboxes,
there might be an additional dispute.
This is why I urged the vacuum; with its use you can functionally designate
a 'safe spot' for each cat by NOT sweeping where s/he is
when in that spot, and sweeping (with attendant horrible and terrifying
noises) when the 'wrong' cat is in an otherwise empty safe spot.
Does any of this make a lick of sense? Prolly not, I good with words,
not much on sense.
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LaDeeVah - 07:23 am PDT - Jul 19, 2001 - #6350 of 7994
In Memoriam: Ray Menendez, 1940-2001
So, you're saying put one of my "disposable" articles of furniture near
the litterboxes, so cats can watch the comings & goings of other
cats using the boxes?
Space may be an issue.
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ray menendez - 07:30 am PDT - Jul 19, 2001 - #6351 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
One, no. None or three. And it is like gravy, nice to be able to have
it but not a necessity. The cats have apparently settled into armed
truce, so not much is as urgent this morning as it was Tuesday nite.
But do arm yourself with water projectors (a 409 sprayer works - on
'stream' for distance, of course) because the new cat does not know
the rules and the old cats are gonna act out to see what new they
can get away with. I don't know why we bother, they are as hard to
raise as the rugrats with only two legs. And the pussycat ace sheds
more than either of my kids ever did. Cynthia Barnes - 07:21 am PDT
- Jul 20, 2001 - #6358 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
The saga continues. The wild girlfriend spooked yesterday, and managed
to get up in the ceiling of the basement apartment where I was
storing them until their Monday doctor's appointments. Nothing, not
even tuna, will entice her down. I have her boyfriend ensconced in
the little bathroom, with one tile open there so she can jump down.
So far she seems to be thinking, "The hell with him, he got me into
this mess in the first place."
I am seriously desperate, and Patient Husband is fast running out of
patience. I was wishing aloud that I had a Cat Lady to call on for
advice, and he said, "You are the Cat Lady. You have been for some
time." I don't feel quite up to that right now.
Would putting the shop vac on reverse and blowing air around up there
encourage her to bolt back down into the bathroom, or just
entrench her?
Also, I do have lots of 'cute cat' stories, and as soon as I'm over this crisis I'll post something besides pleas for help.
HELP!
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Yuri Hospodar - 07:27 am PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6359 of 7994
The world's a mess; it's in my kiss
Would putting the shop vac on reverse and blowing air around up there
encourage her to bolt back down into the bathroom, or just
entrench her?
I'd guess it depends how much space there is up there for her - if there's
a further corner to retreat into, she might just go there and hide,
and all you'd see would be Big Cat Eyes In The Dark for a long time.
But if the space is small, it might be worth a try. At the very least,
it might be therapeutic for you ("take that, cat! Ha ha ha!!").
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lynne p. - 07:36 am PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6360 of 7994
I could pin the tail on a thousand donkeys and never win a prize like
this.
Cynthia, she might be fine if you just leave her in there for a while
longer, let her get herself sorted. If she's not doing any damage, and
if
her boyfriend's in there with her (albeit on the floor, while she's
in the ceiling), I'll bet she gradually calms down and starts to come
around a little. When we first brought KT home, she stayed in the basement
rafters for 3 days.
I'd worry a little about trying to force the issue with a noisy blowy
thing, although I can completely understand being anxious about her
and wanting her to join her BF.
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ray menendez - 07:39 am PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6361 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Easy now! All depends on a couple of things, like how pressed you are
for time, and all that. In what may seem like the dumb question
of the day, what is your hurry? You are NOT gonna get this animal's
trust back for some time, but unless there s a target time, what is
the matter with a cat in a ceiling? You have food and water displayed
where she can see it, right? You have a catbox where she can see
it, maybe a bed. Now leave her alone, unless there is an unbreakable
appointment for HER. No to the shop vac, no to spritzing with
water, NOTHING! Just sit round all weekend and should anyone ask, say
"Nothing much new. The cat in the ceiling is well, kids all
fine, DH a tad peckish. " Patient Husband does not give a damn that
there is a cat in the ceiling, he is reacting to you and you sound nigh
frantic. Just STOP! Do you think you are the first one with a cat in
the ceiling? Go to a ballgame, make a sampler listing the Louis of
France, distract yourself and leave the cats undisturbed for at least
all day. We gotta have more patience than the cat, and more food;
God knows we don't have much luck outsmarting them.
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sarameg - 07:43 am PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6362 of 7994
Recap: Songwe. Zambezi gorge shower. Vic Falls. Eclipse. Shadows. Driver.
Dhows (ows). Armed Convoys. Cook. Minefields. Indian Ocean.
Sunrise. Sand. Cold showers. Hyenas. Bats. Guano.
Worst that could happen is that she decides to come down when someone is on the pot.
Encourage the use of a different bathroom.
She will come down, most likely when you aren't looking. And she'll
start staying down for longer periods of time. My friend's cat, Max
(the holstein cat) did this. Except he was under the futon frame, not
in the ceiling.
All that was seen of him for the first 2 weeks she had him was his rump. He was a city feral rescue in Philly, so he was a toughy.
He now lolls about her apartment, showing off his belly and spreading
white & black fur everywhere possible.
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Anne Threston - 07:45 am PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6363 of 7994
Inmate of Casa de los Tres Gatos Locos
I think Ray just gave out the appropriate Cat Lady advice. She'll come
down when she's ready or hungry or thirsty. She's got an escape
route and a buddy, so I'd just leave things be, as Ray has wisely advised.
I fell asleep last night with a tiny white cat on my pillow, a large
Siamese under my hand, and a Fat Brown on the windowsill. I woke up
this morning, far earlier than I would have liked, to all three of
them bouncing off my bedroom furniture, the walls, and any other object
that they could thump against and make lots of noise. I think I liked
them all much more when they were quietly curled up on the bed.
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sarameg - 07:51 am PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6364 of 7994
Recap: Songwe. Zambezi gorge shower. Vic Falls. Eclipse. Shadows. Driver.
Dhows (ows). Armed Convoys. Cook. Minefields. Indian Ocean.
Sunrise. Sand. Cold showers. Hyenas. Bats. Guano.
Devi had a Morning today.
While I was in the shower, she rockets out of the litterbox. Turds fly
out. Oh joy, one of those mornings, I figure. She is sometimes too
exhuberent about leaving the litterbox early. (and it is covered!)
Anyhow, I get out of the shower, and see her in the dining room, acting frantic, as if something is chasing her. Uh oh.
Yep, it appears she found a rubber band some time ago (I really try
to keep those away from her) and ate it. She's got not a klingon,
more like a stringon. Sigh.
It was dealt with, with a minimum of fuss, and then I had to go deal
with the consequences of a rocket cat trailing turds behind her.
Yetch.
She was a little subdued, and rather attached to Butt-chasing-thing-conquerer the rest of the morning.
She's getting a bath tonight.
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ray menendez - 07:51 am PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6365 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Perhaps there is a market for stuffed cats. They are gentle, docile,
passive and always ready for tummy rubs. Their litter box seldom
needs changing and they eat stuffed cat food. Hurry out and buy one
at your nearest Stuffed Stuff store. Of course, when a stuffed cat
gets into the ceiling, NOTHING will bring them out.
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ray menendez - 07:51 am PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6365 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Perhaps there is a market for stuffed cats. They are gentle, docile,
passive and always ready for tummy rubs. Their litter box seldom
needs changing and they eat stuffed cat food. Hurry out and buy one
at your nearest Stuffed Stuff store. Of course, when a stuffed cat
gets into the ceiling, NOTHING will bring them out.
Sorry, catsport fans, flunked the physical for Cat Lady. Cynthia Barnes
- 07:59 am PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6369 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
Good advice, Ray, I'm sure. What happened this morning is that Expensive
Foundation Guy was supposed to show up and start
jackhammering in that basement apartment. I can only imagine that the
sound would freak them more than anything I could do to try to
coax her out.
Of course, he hasn't shown up, and just called to reschedule for Monday.
I am supposed to have them both at the vet med school
Monday morning at 9:00 a.m. If we don't make it, 'twill be another
week with wild cats in walls and ceilings, to get another appointment.
We *have* to get painting and new carpet installed in that apartment
next week, come hell, high water or wild things in the ceiling. (It has
to be rented by August 1.)
Therein lies most of my anxiety. I am also afraid that Boyfriend will join her in the ceiling, although so far he is thankfully disinclined.
Tuna, anyone?
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Cynthia Barnes - 08:03 am PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6370 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
I guess I should also mention that it has taken over a month to get
Expensive Foundation Guy to even schedule an appointment, and that
we are stuck with an unrentable apartment until he does his little
jackhammer thing. So, rescheduling EFG is not an option.
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lynne p. - 08:04 am PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6371 of 7994
I could pin the tail on a thousand donkeys and never win a prize like
this.
I love how Victor has become the Victor.
Cynthia, has Girlfriend been hollering, or mostly staying quiet?
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Cynthia Barnes - 08:07 am PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6372 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
She yelled a little yesterday and moved around, but today she is still
and silent. I have quelled hysteria at wondering if she is dead. It is
possible that she came down last night, and went back up there this
morning. However, I left Boyfriend roaming free in the apt. last
night, hiding in a roll of carpeting. I can't imagine that if she had
come down she wouldn't have joined him.
Vets recommended that I keep them in the live trap until I brought them
in for appointments, but there was no way I could see leaving
them caged for so long. Now I am regretting that, powerfully.
Oh, and Girlfriend is pregnant, I'm pretty sure. So now maybe I can have newborn kittens in the rafters, along with everything else.
<I'm sure I have some Valium here, somewhere....
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ray menendez - 08:09 am PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6373 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Ah. No wonder you're frantic. I can imagine some 'rude mechanical' saying
to you "Lady, we can't paint, you've got a cat in your
ceiling." "Drastic measures" he called. See, drastic measures ARE called
for. Does His Patience fish? Has he a big landing net? How
close to shrinking violet can you get? Within reach? You are near the
short end of your rope here, so whatever you do must work cause
you are not going to have many more chances.
Of course, you could treat it as just another renovation problem and
say to the artisans, "Oh, BTW, while you're at it, sand down that
rough spot over there, remove the cat from the ceiling, and be sure
to renew the seals round the storm windows" as if it were just
another everyday problem.
Or put a sign on the lawn and see can you sell by Monday. Then you suddenly
do not have a cat in YOUR ceiling, and you can dine out
hereafter on a story that begins "I had a cat in the ceiling once,
and had to sell the house to get rid of it."
ON EDIT - I bet you thought the thread title was a misspelling, right?
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Cynthia Barnes - 08:13 am PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6374 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
I can't even see her now. And while Patient Husband will remove all
of the acoustical tiles, there is a drywall trench area bisecting the
ceiling where I'm pretty sure she is staying. And, God, he is such
a good guy, and we have so much other hard work to do, it is just
beyond me to say, "Oh honey, and by the way, could you rip all that
drywall out and add another week to our project."
The only possible bright thing about this is that I'm a writer, and I've already started the story.
The cat had been in the ceiling for three days....
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ray menendez - 08:26 am PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6377 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Ah, I have just flashed on a vision. You bring BF to vet med school,
and when you come back the jackhammer is unusually quiet. You
go downstairs to check, and here is Expensive Foundation Guy, at seven
talents of silver per hour, scritching totally comfortable fugitive
cat who is snuggled in his arms. He says "I donno, she just hopped
out of the ceiling I guess." So you flee with her back to vetmed
school, and i na few weeks when you get EFG's bill you notice that
there is no adjustment for "commune - a - cat" time.
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annef - 08:35 am PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6378 of 7994
now what?
Any chance that's what Girlfriend is up to? Birthing some babies up
there in the ceiling?
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Cynthia Barnes - 08:56 am PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6379 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
Dear Goddess, I hope not. How long do cats gestate, anyway? I saw her, um, gettin jiggy wit it the first week of June.
Finally abandoned all hope of getting any of the work we needed done,
done today. Released Boyfriend from the bathroom, giving him
the run of the apartment. Maybe his manly charms will lure her down.
Gah.
On the plus side, Boyfriend let me pet him lightly for 1.2 seconds before offering to relieve me of a finger.
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annef - 12:04 pm PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6380 of 7994
now what?
Rupert needs your input. Here is the series of events from the last few days:
1) Tuesday night: Skunk smell in my apt. building corridor.
2) Wednesday night: Strong smell of some sort of potent cleanser in corridor.
3) Thursday night/Friday morning: Two enormous green machines in corridor,
doing something like circulating/spewing/sucking up air
(mostly making a lot of noise)
4) Friday morning: Rupert appears to have a swollen lower lip.
Should I worry? I'm going to be out of town for most of the next week
and I don't have a lot of time to take him to the vet, but of course
I could MAKE time...
annef - 12:05 pm PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6381 of 7994
now what?
Oh...and Cynthia, cat gestation is about 65 days.
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ray menendez - 12:11 pm PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6382 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
"Skunk smell" - are you where you might indeed have a stripedy visitor?
Maybe ol' Rupe tangled with big stinky; skunks are overgrown
weasels and the stink is first line of defense but not the only one.
They are good biters.
Otherwise, and unless the swelling has a focus, a 'head,' don't worry
about it. Cats are damn near as tough as babies. So the critical
factor is not the cat but you. If you're gonna gnaw at your knuckle
all the time, take him to the vet so you are easier in your mind. He is
uncomfortable, but you might be making yourself sick.
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annef - 12:49 pm PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6383 of 7994
now what?
There has been a skunk hanging around our complex, but Rupert stays
indoors so he wouldn't have had contact with him. No...there's
no head...so that's good. Thank you for the reassurance! (He doesn't
seem to be in any pain, he let me touch the swollen area.) Thanks
Ray!
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ray menendez - 12:53 pm PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6384 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
You are entirely welcome.
Hanging up cat lady costume.
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Cynthia Barnes - 01:58 pm PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6385 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
So, um, does anyone know if female cats continue having sex while they
are pregnant? Or can I count conception as the date I viewed
their Act of Love?
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Mary Tyler Moron - 03:59 pm PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6386 of 7994
Facts all come with points of view. Facts don't do what I want them
to.
(reaching for melon baller to scoop mental picture out of cerebellum) Hmm, Cynthia. I don't know.
But my parents got a feral feline when I was a kid, and she hid for
a long time (can't remember how long) but eventually emerged as one
of the best cats they've ever had. Keep the faith!
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Karl Northman - 04:04 pm PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6387 of 7994
The supreme court says money is speech: So I've put up my money, and
I'm going to speak.
IIRC, cats only have sex when they are in heat, like pretty much all
mammals except humans (and a few other primates, I think). So it
would be unlikely for a pregnant cat to have sex.
(Note - the above is about female cats - males will do it whenever,
but they learn that they get clawed if the female isn't in heat, which
they can tell a mile away (more or less literally, although exaggerated).
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Phyl Good - 04:32 pm PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6388 of 7994
Ray Menendez, Rest in Peace - all the TT Pussycats and their parents
miss you already; please take care of our little ones who went on ahead
of you
Oh Cynthia. I have no ideas at all about the poor darling in the ceiling, but I think you need some hugs yourself.
(((((Cynthia)))))
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ray menendez - 04:36 pm PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6389 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
female cats in heat mate repeatedly for a day or two and then lose interest.
Details in Notes from my marriage, part 2, due out sooner or
later. So your voyeurism dates the anticipated date of delivery within
a day or two. Stress can cause a cat to deliver a bit early, a few
days or so. Pray bring us up to date on events and situations.
ON EDIT, I see the eminent cat person, Dr Karl, also in attendance.
And after all, it is not an unprecedented situation with which you
deal. If the cat gets between the drywall and the foundation, surely
you have heard of caterwauling, haven't you. 8-}
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Karl Northman - 05:08 pm PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6390 of 7994
The supreme court says money is speech: So I've put up my money, and
I'm going to speak.
Dr. Karl weighs in:
female cats in heat mate repeatedly for a day or two and then lose interest.
Interestingly, and very unlike humans, one of the reasons that cats
can have multiple but very different kittens is that, in their period of
pure sluttishness, they not only have sex with anyone they see, but
can have multiple eggs fertilized by multiple fathers. So sometimes,
kittens of the same litter may be only half-siblings.
Note: "have sex with anyone they see" - "anyone" in this was advised:
if you have ever had a female cat in heat, you can be, (and I have
been) casually reading the paper and petting the cat and not looking,
when you suddenly realize that basically if any republicans ever
knew, you are going down the tubes for 3rd-degree beastiality, specifically,
inter-species masturbation.
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Phyl Good - 05:11 pm PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6391 of 7994
Ray Menendez, Rest in Peace - all the TT Pussycats and their parents
miss you already; please take care of our little ones who went on ahead
of you
<howling
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ray menendez - 05:14 pm PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6392 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
When the kids were able to run under tables, the folks on the next block
had a queen they wanted to breed and sell the kittens. They
kept her locked up but she would elude them and hotfoot to our back
yard, where Powell, the ginger tom, was generally in session. They
were prickish folk, believed in wrongness like kids should always be
clean and quiet, even in their own back yard. She came to the door
once to demand I keep my disreputable cat (her words) locked up until
her Diana was no longer 'receptive.' I told her Diana was no
better than she should be, and if her cat had any moral fibre she would
hold out for an Episcopalian suitor, and goodday. She told
everyone on the block, and for several days I would be on the porch
swing and some househusband I had never met would come over
with two cold beers. Twas fun.
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Cathy Georges - 05:26 pm PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6393 of 7994
O Frabjous Day! -- July 2, 2001
I, too, am in love with Ray.
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Mary Tyler Moron - 05:38 pm PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6394 of 7994
Facts all come with points of view. Facts don't do what I want them
to.
Ray, you slay me.
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Cynthia Barnes - 05:44 pm PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6395 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
Girlfriend is making no noise, moving not at all, and shows no evidence
of having come down for either food, water, or litter. Gah. At
least, she's probably not birthin' no babies.
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Phyl Good - 05:46 pm PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6396 of 7994
Ray Menendez, Rest in Peace - all the TT Pussycats and their parents
miss you already; please take care of our little ones who went on ahead
of you
It may seriously be time to call some Rescue people or the Humane Society,
Cynthia.
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Cynthia Barnes - 05:51 pm PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6397 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
I'm heading down there to see if I can tempt or terrorize her into showing
signs of life. Dammit. The moral of the story is: Never let a
feral cat into your ceiling.
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okie amazon - 05:53 pm PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6398 of 7994
Farewell TT!
Believe me, I know.
remembering tearing out wallboard under kitchen cabinet and beneath
bathroom sink to extract feral kitten
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Karl Northman - 05:54 pm PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6399 of 7994
The supreme court says money is speech: So I've put up my money, and
I'm going to speak.
Cynthia:
Fargo the "sweet, but.." discovered once that there was an access hole
to the plumbing for the bathtub in our bedroom closet. He also
discovered that he could go back there, all the way under one side
of the bathtub, so he was in the little cave under the sloping head-end
of the bathtub, and accessible from absolutely nowhere without taking
"rakes and shovels and implements of destruction" to the
bathroom wall from the other side.
And there he would sit, until he was damn good and ready.
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Ella Russell - 06:02 pm PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6400 of 7994
Great is the truth, but still greater, from a practical point of view,
is silence about truth.
Our first cat, totally black, ironically called Snowflake, was very
nervous of all men. The repairmen had opened up the bathtub
enclosure, then went out for lunch. Snowflake must have been looking
for somewhere to disappear. We returned from work after the
repairmen had left. No cat around. After about an hour, we started
hearing plaintive miaous. Eventually we figured out that she was
inside the enclosure, much mess later an indignant matron leapt out.
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Karl Northman - 06:05 pm PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6401 of 7994
The supreme court says money is speech: So I've put up my money, and
I'm going to speak.
Ella -
but why did a Cat want to find the Cask of Amontillado?
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Ella Russell - 06:10 pm PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6402 of 7994
Great is the truth, but still greater, from a practical point of view,
is silence about truth.
This was the same cat who, in our first apartment would get to the shelf
in the closet by climbing up my dresses. She would run there at
the first sound of my brother-in-law's size 14's on the first flight
of stairs. She had been a stray we rescued from a shelter, and gave
every indication of having been mistreated by a man. My husband and
a gay friend were the only two men who ever saw her.
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ray menendez - 06:14 pm PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6403 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Cynthia, leave that cat alone. Set a deadline after which she must come
out, and design yourself a fetch stick, but you cannot keep
popping up over the ceiling tiles to see what is happening.
FETCH STICK- a light stick with two screw eyes about a half-inch apart
ont he end. You tie a piece of heavy cord to one screw eye,
pass the standing end thru the other. Now you have a noose. Make the
noose big enuf to go over the cat at some significant portion like
the neck, and the stick long enuf to reach the cat. Then, on the day,
drop loop over head, body, whatever, and pull the cord. You now
have the cat. Pull tight enuf that you are afraid you are choking the
animal, cause you only have one shot with this. Pay attention to the
cord, and only a bit to the back of the stick, the stick is done now
and if there is someplace it will go while you pull the cord, great. The
cord holds the cat. Drop the cat into a fabric laundry bag or such,
and hey presto, you have your cat in a sack, all tidy.
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sarameg - 07:48 pm PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6404 of 7994
Recap: Songwe. Zambezi gorge shower. Vic Falls. Eclipse. Shadows. Driver.
Dhows (ows). Armed Convoys. Cook. Minefields. Indian Ocean.
Sunrise. Sand. Cold showers. Hyenas. Bats. Guano.
Best of luck, Cynthia. I do think leaving her be for a day will help,
if only because Girlfriend will relax her guard a bit, as ray noted. (and
ray, you wear a Cat Lady suit quite becomingly- how do you manage that
tail?)
Devi seems none the worse for wear from her bungybutt adventure. But
I did a thorough combing of the apartment for rubber bands,
edible strings and the sort. I really do not need to repeat that experience,
nor does she.... (and this is the second cat in my life to which
this has happened-ack! bad cat mommy)
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Phyl Good - 08:27 pm PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6405 of 7994
Ray Menendez, Rest in Peace - all the TT Pussycats and their parents
miss you already; please take care of our little ones who went on ahead
of you
<flashing back to having to pull Xmas icicles out of Kashi's butt...
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Karl Northman - 08:31 pm PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6406 of 7994
The supreme court says money is speech: So I've put up my money, and
I'm going to speak.
Phyl Good:
<trying to decide if the above image is more disgusting if the icicles are glittery, or if they're not.
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ray menendez - 08:46 pm PDT - Jul 20, 2001 - #6407 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Of course, Grace, the toy basset, (a mere 50-60 lbs, compared to Calvin,
her hundred pound predecessor, once schplooped into the vet
as if she were on a leash, with four feet of a six foot electric extension
leading to daddy's hand and the other end disappearing into her
receiving section. The vet, a man of skill, diplomacy and patience,
had me hold her and simply withdrew the damn thing, but I had been
sore tempted to plug it in and see could she hang on the Christmas
tree.
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Ruth F - 08:34 am PDT - Jul 21, 2001 - #6408 of 7994
Cynthia, I've been too busy to post this last week but have followed
your story with great trepidation. I hope to hear good news soon
about the girlfriend!
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Phyl Good - 09:21 am PDT - Jul 21, 2001 - #6409 of 7994
Ray Menendez, Rest in Peace - all the TT Pussycats and their parents
miss you already; please take care of our little ones who went on ahead
of you
LOL, Karl!
[And they were glittery =D ]
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Cynthia Barnes - 10:31 am PDT - Jul 21, 2001 - #6410 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
Girlfriend Update: I slipped down last night and spied her scritching
back up one of the studs, into the ceiling. So, she is alive, and seems
to be using the litter box and eating.
The problem is she is getting behind the floor joists, where I can't
get to her in any way whatsoever. If absolutely necessary, I could
delay her vet appt. and fool with her for another week. But I cannot
help but think that Expensive Foundation Guy's jackhammer on
Monday morning can not be good for her health or her nerves. Also,
we need to drywall her escape route next week, or be out a few
more month's rent. Little fiend.
Please join me in invocations that she will allow herself to be caught
before Monday morning.
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ray menendez - 10:38 am PDT - Jul 21, 2001 - #6411 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Wottinhell are you worrying about HER nerves. Look to your own. If you
can see her, you can catch her. She may not enjoy it, and you
may wring your hands sure she is being strangled or drawn and quartered,
but if you can reach her with a stick she is inevitably yours.
Relax, it is but Saturday. If you still have the trap, reset it in
the food area and feed boyfriend elsewhere. And rejoice in the fact that
the
cat has not tangled up in screwheads or whatever.
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Cynthia Barnes - 10:46 am PDT - Jul 21, 2001 - #6412 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
See, I can see her for a second, until she gets behind the massive floor
joists. (Our house is almost a hundred years old, we are not
talking flimsy accessible construction here.) I'm trying to find a
new trap today, that will work without me tugging the latch with a string
from a distance, which is what I had to do last time.
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Phyl Good - 04:33 pm PDT - Jul 21, 2001 - #6413 of 7994
Ray Menendez, Rest in Peace - all the TT Pussycats and their parents
miss you already; please take care of our little ones who went on ahead
of you
I wonder if you could move the food and litter box somewhat farther
away, so that she'd have to come just outside the bathroom door or
something. And then just sit there, absolutely unmoving, for as long
as it takes for her to come down and eat and do her other business.
Then shut the door quickly so at least she can't get back up into the
ceiling.
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Cynthia Barnes - 05:13 pm PDT - Jul 21, 2001 - #6414 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
I just bought a fancy new trap. I mean, why not? I've got money to burn, right? (NOT)
Have locked Boyfriend in the bathroom with his own food, water and litter.
Have left trap (not set) close to water and litter; took away
food. I'm going to starve her out until tomorrow night, and then put
a nice juicy bowl of tuna in the trap. It's small, and she is going to
freak *right* out having to stay in it overnight until I can get her
to the vet. But I can't see any way around it. Will keep you posted.
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Lucy Cat - 05:28 pm PDT - Jul 21, 2001 - #6415 of 7994
"He thinks gold is like water, put it on at the top and it will seep
on down and water all below. Gold, or money, don't work that way...Put
it at the top
and it stays there." Will Rogers, c. 1931
Little Miss Goose (Lucy, pure white and pudgy) likes her towel in the
new office with the grand view overlooking the forest...I am
thrilled.
We moved the computer in here last week and I was afraid I'd never get
her to come out and spend time with me. Previously the
computer was in the bedrooom, right next to the closet, where little
miss scaredy cat would hang out, inaccessible, on a high shelf, and
the unflappable Harvey would loll on the bed.
Harvey took possession of the second office chair as soon as we moved
the computer in here, but Lucy came in once, tip-toed around
like her feet were on fire and fled. Then she took to hiding under
the couch in the great room all day.
Afraid I would never see much of her again, several days ago I started
feeding her in the office (and keeping the bedroom door closed).
She likes food! Still, even today, I can't leave the room while she's
eating. I did that and she came running out crying, so I went and sat
with her.
But, this is the good part, yesterday I took a beach towel and folded
it up into a handsome, cat-sized square (it has panthers and giraffes
on it) and showed it to Lucy. I think she has now tentatively sniffed
every inch of this room, but TAA DAH!!! She is sitting on her
towel, has been sitting there for about half an hour. Looks right at
home (I think she's actually sleeping), and I am a happy cat person!
Patience *is* a virtue!
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Cynthia Barnes - 07:34 pm PDT - Jul 21, 2001 - #6416 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
Hooray for you and Lucy!
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LaDeeVah - 06:10 am PDT - Jul 22, 2001 - #6417 of 7994
In Memoriam: Ray Menendez, 1940-2001
I wonder if you could move the food and litter box
somewhat farther away, so that
she'd have to come just outside the bathroom door
or something.
A good idea. I might try this for Big Gray Al -- it's been 11 days,
and he still won't budge much past the extra bedroom. And Melmo
continues to make every effort to keep it that way.
I likely won't move the litter box (it's been in the same spot for years),
but Al's food is going to be moved, inch-by-inch, I think.
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Lucy Cat - 08:38 am PDT - Jul 23, 2001 - #6418 of 7994
"He thinks gold is like water, put it on at the top and it will seep
on down and water all below. Gold, or money, don't work that way...Put
it at the top
and it stays there." Will Rogers, c. 1931
Thank you, Cynthia, for your hooray for me and Lucy. Things are moving
along nicely, but slowly. I have brought her favorite toys out
into the office: a surprisingly durable fuzzy day-glo orange mouse
and a twelve-pack carton. She knows these things belong to her, along
with the beach-towel, and sometimes she comes in (or I carry her in)
and sits on the towel or does violence to the mouse...but right now
she's hiding under the couch in the great room. Short of a personality
transplant, I think this is about the best that can be expected.
But I'm worried about you, Cynthia, and the Girlfriend in the ceiling.
We've had no news. I am hoping your new trap worked and you
were able to get your wild kitties to the vet today. Anxiously awaiting
news.
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ray menendez - 03:43 pm PDT - Jul 23, 2001 - #6444 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
B BUT WHAT ABOUT THE CAT INNA DAMN CEILING???
Thank you. We return you now to your regular conversations.
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Kristinff - 03:47 pm PDT - Jul 23, 2001 - #6445 of 7994
my cats are much happier than my house is clean!
Thanks Ray! That's what I wanted to ask..
Those are some gorgeous felines you have there Lily!
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Phyl Good - 03:47 pm PDT - Jul 23, 2001 - #6446 of 7994
Ray Menendez, Rest in Peace - all the TT Pussycats and their parents
miss you already; please take care of our little ones who went on ahead
of you
I've been biting my fingernails about that all day too, Ray.
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Mary Tyler Moron - 03:55 pm PDT - Jul 23, 2001 - #6447 of 7994
Facts all come with points of view. Facts don't do what I want them
to.
Lily...they are gorgeous! I liked Mouse, too. What a star.
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Mary Tyler Moron - 03:57 pm PDT - Jul 23, 2001 - #6448 of 7994
Facts all come with points of view. Facts don't do what I want them
to.
Is anyone here worried about heartworms? We had a Lunch n' Learn with
a vet today who had me petrified about those big ugly things.
She said mosquitoes carry that...so even my indoor babes could have
it. Help!
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Lily Delafield - 04:02 pm PDT - Jul 23, 2001 - #6449 of 7994
So it goes.
MTM, we're using Revolution, which I think covers heartworm along with
all sorts of other parasites. We're in Florida, so flea protection
is a year-round proposition (even though the cats don't go outside,
the fleas can get in through the screens).
I just went to look at the Revolution package to double-check about
heartworm, and discovered that we're all out! Eek.
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Ruth F - 04:03 pm PDT - Jul 23, 2001 - #6450 of 7994
MTM, I've never been warning about heartworms in cats, no. Jez, something else to worry about.
Lily, re white cats -- I know for sure e.b. will be with me in spirit
and cat fur long after she goes to kitty heaven. Her is what I think
Mouse's is probably like -- fine and dense. It doesn't come out in
clumps but leaves a fine sprinkling everywhere. I'd get another white
cat in a minute though -- she's the smartest cat I've ever met.
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Lily Delafield - 04:08 pm PDT - Jul 23, 2001 - #6451 of 7994
So it goes.
e.b. will be with me in spirit and cat fur long after she goes to kitty heaven
Ruth, LOL! We have had the experience of sitting in a restaurant somewhere,
miles from home, and seeing a bit of white fluff go floating
by. DH says our white cats will be with us always.
Mouse's fur is just as you describe--but he's a bit of a dim bulb. Sweet
and adorable, but a giant doofus.
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Ruth F - 04:19 pm PDT - Jul 23, 2001 - #6452 of 7994
Lily, ha! I have that experience constantly, seeing white cat fur float by at the oddest times.
but a giant doofus
hmmm, maybe it's only white female cats that have the smart gene.
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Michele Herman - 04:21 pm PDT - Jul 23, 2001 - #6453 of 7994
"sometimes one has to get in touch with one's thug side" -- tjcj
I've been following along with the Ceiling Cat saga all week (they've
had me working like a dog around here...) and I'm dying to know
what happened. I'm hoping that no news is good news...I hope...I hope...
Blues wound up developing a lump between his shoulder blades after getting
a shot of prednizone for his asthma once which had some
suspicious cells in it. Suspicious enough to warrant a trip under the
knife (two months before our wedding and needless to say I was a
MASS of nerves). Turned out benign, but there IS a form of cancer that
can rise out of injection site lumps. Has made me nervous about
having either of the cats immunized for anything ever since.
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ray menendez - 04:23 pm PDT - Jul 23, 2001 - #6454 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
White male cats plenty smart; he perhaps feels unchallenged. Do you
put a Proust book where he can look at it? English or French? Try
leaving the Discovery channel on when you are out, or the local university
teaching channel. Your cat is perhaps not dumb, simply
bored. I gave this advice to friends once, and today their cat is the
Deputy Chancellor at Kansas State University.
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Karl Northman - 04:25 pm PDT - Jul 23, 2001 - #6455 of 7994
The supreme court says money is speech: So I've put up my money, and
I'm going to speak.
This would explain the Bush cat that was exiled to LA - That Man in the White House was afraid that he would be upstaged by his tutor.
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Michele Herman - 04:26 pm PDT - Jul 23, 2001 - #6456 of 7994
"sometimes one has to get in touch with one's thug side" -- tjcj
Ray, our female cat, Jazz, is an Animal Planet junkie. Specifically
Breed All About It, no less. She has gotten so transfixed watching the
show she's taken a nosedive off the bed because she's creeped up to
the edge of the thing to get a closer peek. She's trying to figure out
how to get on top of the set to watch it upside down these days, I
am convinced.
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Anne Threston - 04:31 pm PDT - Jul 23, 2001 - #6457 of 7994
Inmate of Casa de los Tres Gatos Locos
Wow. All Victor will watch is ice hockey, and he's been a bit berift
now that the season is over. I guess I'll just have to go out and buy
the Avs Championship season tape and teach him how to use the VCR.
I think a bored unchallenged Siamese could be lots of trouble.
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ray menendez - 04:39 pm PDT - Jul 23, 2001 - #6458 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Jazz may be simply horny, felis sluttae and requires the hormonal stimulation
of a show which she believes is all about breeding, a word
different in her vocabulary than yours.
Anne, is it hot where you are? Perhaps the cat is attracted to the ice.
Try soccer on the spanish language channel; the motion might be an
adequate substitute. I had the screen saver on windows that featured
bugs crawling over leaves and the pussycat ace was enraptured. So
I changed to fish, and he ignores it now. I prefer him not to stand
on the keyboard; he bought a Buick from eBay that way, so the bugs
are permanently banished.
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Cynthia Barnes - 04:39 pm PDT - Jul 23, 2001 - #6459 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
Hi Guys. Sorry to keep everyone in suspense. Good news, bad news and
worse news. Caught Girlfriend in the new trap early this
morning. So far, so good.
Husband goes to put Boyfriend (who has been pretty docile so far) into
cat carrier, at which point Boyfriend freaks out and BITES
THROUGH HUSBAND'S NAIL. Animal Control is called, comes with implements
of destruction, wrestles Boyfriend into carrier. I
leave both of them at the vet, then come back and take Husband to Urgent
Care ... after we wait another hour for Expensive Foundation
Guy, who is late.
Two hundred dollars and four hours later, Husband and I leave Urgent
Care. (Oh, and did I mention the very important meeting with an
editor I had to cancel?)
To Be Continued.
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Lily Delafield - 04:41 pm PDT - Jul 23, 2001 - #6460 of 7994
So it goes.
<laughing Ray, I'm afraid Mouse is on a different career path than your friends' cat.
Edit: Horribly-timed X-post, sorry! I await further news of Ceiling-Dwelling
Destructo Kitties with bated fingers.
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Anne Threston - 04:44 pm PDT - Jul 23, 2001 - #6461 of 7994
Inmate of Casa de los Tres Gatos Locos
It is hot here, Ray, but I bought an AC unit, so the felines would not
become overheated. I'll try soccer - while he's not interested in the
telenovelas, it may be content instead of language difficulties.
Cynthia, Lucy bit through my finger, nail and all. Only cost me a tetanus
shot, since she was up to date on her vaccinations. It hurt like
hell for a few days, but healed nicely. Granted, she was ill, and I
was trying to medicate her, but We Were Not Pleased.
Boy howdy, did that bleed. What a mess.
I'm glad the Girlfriend was captured. Your kindness to the furry beasts
is to be admired, even though it's becoming a rather expensive
hobby ;)
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Cynthia Barnes - 04:45 pm PDT - Jul 23, 2001 - #6462 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
Return to find phone call from vet. Boyfriend has tested positive for
FIV. For which there is no vaccine, no treatment, no way of
preventing him from infecting other cats. Girlfriend, at this point
in time, is negative.
I rush my cats (including 17.5 year old) in for test, they are blessedly
negative. Unless I can find an indoor home for both of them (in a
home presently w/o other cats to infect), Boyfriend will have to be
put down.
Even the staff at the hospital has noticed how loving they are with each other. I feel I have to keep them together.
And, in case this is not bad enough, my best friend has HIV. So the
thought of killing this cat, to keep him from infecting other cats, has
just put me right over the edge.
Sorry to be a huge downer. I am heartbroken. I am also desperate. If you know of any sanctuary for these cats, my TT addy is good.
I'm going to fix a drink now, and continue bawling.
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ray menendez - 04:46 pm PDT - Jul 23, 2001 - #6463 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Sympathies, about the cat and the friend. Some days comedy turns to
tragedy with one line. Sympathies to husband with the holed
thumb, as well. FIV not transmittable to human-type persons, I believe.
Remain as calm as 15 or 20 drinks will permit.
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Jim Paul - 04:51 pm PDT - Jul 23, 2001 - #6464 of 7994
A Glass Will Only Hold So Much Beer. I'm keeping my glasses.
Is it possible Boyfriend could be a carrier without getting sick himself?
That is such terribly sad news. There should be FIV sanctuaries
advertised on the I-net. I don't know what they would be called. By
the time I submit this, there will be an answer from somebody more
informed.
Prayers to you, the cats and your friend.
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ray menendez - 05:14 pm PDT - Jul 23, 2001 - #6473 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
The loss of a new pet is in some regards like the loss of a child, a
combination of lost potential in the life cut short, and lost potential
in
the relationship severed. The loss is less because the contact was
brief, and greater because there never was time for the bad parts to
show.
I won't mention the expense, the disruption, the juggling of the past few days.
There is one bright spot, however; you cancelled a meeting with an editor!
I wager that person was not able to imagine any one having
business more important than him/her. Heeee.
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LaDeeVah - 09:36 am PDT - Jul 24, 2001 - #6492 of 7994
In Memoriam: Ray Menendez, 1940-2001
That's a thought, Lily. Now, how to distract the Melminator while I
indulge Al? (Melmo tends to follow me upstairs -- something he's
done before and since Al joined the menagerie.)
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Lily Delafield - 09:45 am PDT - Jul 24, 2001 - #6493 of 7994
So it goes.
If you have the room to do it, you might briefly close up Mel and Peaches
in an agreeable space (I know Peaches isn't a problem WRT
Al; he's just there as company for Melmo) while Al gets his petting/exploration
time. I did this with our guys when they hit this phase of
integrating a new cat into the household, and it seemed to help the
new cat gain confidence.
I also let the established cats smell my hands after I had petted the
new cat--Magic would hiss at my hands and stomp off, but the others
were just interested and perhaps it made the new cat smell less threatening,
since they associated it with me to some extent.
Just tossing out random thoughts here, as I really don't think Al's
situation requires heavy intervention. Mostly, I don't want you feeling
powerless and guilty!
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ray menendez - 09:48 am PDT - Jul 24, 2001 - #6494 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Also consider confining Peaches and Al, thereby establishing a pussycat
intermediary to let Melmo understand new catscent gonna be
around. But I really think it's gonna be pretty quick till you see
the two big guys at least more comfortable; I predict that by Friday you
will have no notable distance left among all 3.
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LaDeeVah - 10:49 am PDT - Jul 24, 2001 - #6495 of 7994
In Memoriam: Ray Menendez, 1940-2001
Mostly, I don't want you feeling powerless and guilty!
But I have cats. It's my *job* to not only feel, but accept that I *am*, powerless and guilty! :-P
I really don't think Al's situation requires heavy intervention.
I think I needed to hear (okay, read) this. Thanks.
I also let the established cats smell my hands after I had petted the new cat
You know, I've been doing this all along! No one has hissed and stomped
off. Reactions have actually ranged from interest -- "what's
this?" -- to acute boredom and "oh, pet me, already."
Also consider confining Peaches and Al, thereby establishing
a pussycat
intermediary to let Melmo understand new catscent
gonna be around.
Oh, ray, I couldn't do that to Peaches! He's so skittish. He avoids
any contact with Al, whatsoever. But he is otherwise fine -- still trailing
around after me, demanding pets and scritches, and yapping when he
doesn't get 'em. I take that to mean that as long as he's not forced
to deal with Al (or is simply allowed to deal with him on his own terms,
in his own good time), he's happy.
But I really think it's gonna be pretty quick till
you see the two big guys at
least more comfortable; I predict that by Friday
you will have no notable distance
left among all 3.
Now, if I hold you to that.... :-) Seriously, I think Peaches will be
the slowest to come on board. But bottom line, I guess what I need to
do is not force the issue, on any of the kitties.
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Lily Delafield - 11:05 am PDT - Jul 24, 2001 - #6496 of 7994
So it goes.
It's my *job* to not only feel, but accept that I *am*, powerless and guilty!
Heh. You have a point. No one can power-play and guilt-trip like a cat can!
But I'm sure they'll work this out and that Al will be none the worse
for his (undoubtedly temporary) residence in the bedroom.
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Michele Herman - 11:27 am PDT - Jul 24, 2001 - #6497 of 7994
"sometimes one has to get in touch with one's thug side" -- tjcj
Cynthia, I am so very sorry to hear about the BF and your friend. I'll
keep all of you in my thoughts. Does your vet have any
suggestions for places the loving couple can go?
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Phyl Good - 01:19 pm PDT - Jul 24, 2001 - #6498 of 7994
Ray Menendez, Rest in Peace - all the TT Pussycats and their parents
miss you already; please take care of our little ones who went on ahead
of you
[I'm using you as my tagline, Lily. I thought "tagline!" even before
LaVeeDah commented on it. :-) ]
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lynne p. - 02:54 pm PDT - Jul 24, 2001 - #6499 of 7994
I could pin the tail on a thousand donkeys and never win a prize like
this.
LDV, excellent cats all. So handsome!
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Catling - 03:07 pm PDT - Jul 24, 2001 - #6500 of 7994
I wanna drive the zamboni
Wow. All Victor will watch is ice hockey, and he's
been a bit berift now that the
season is over.
Do you get ESPN Classic Sports? They seem to be showing a decent amount
of hockey these days. I caught a bit of a 1982 Isles/Hawks
game before heading into work today. And sometimes they show the really
old stuff in black and white. (Cats seem to see B&W tv
better than the color shows in my experience)
Five likes auto racing. Both the movement of the cars on the screen, and the hum of the engines.
(and sending good thoughts for Boyfriend)
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Gypsy Laughing Otter - 03:12 pm PDT - Jul 24, 2001 - #6501 of
7994
Love, light and laughter to those who remain...I've moved on.
For those of you who want to do so, there's a cat thread at Worldcrossing,
created and populated by TTers. 'Cause I have to leave when
TT starts charging too, and I'll miss you guys.
http://www.worldcrossing.com/WebX?14@@.eeba819
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Anne Threston - 03:14 pm PDT - Jul 24, 2001 - #6502 of 7994
Inmate of Casa de los Tres Gatos Locos
I don't have cable, but I'll have to dig out the tape of the Flyers-Bruins
Cup game for him to watch one of these days. The bad haircuts
and lack of helmets and teeth might throw him, but it's hockey, and
good hockey at that.
Seriously, he'd drape his paws over the end of my bed and lay there
and watch the Avs games. Basketball? Nope. Baseball? Nope.
Haven't tried football, obviously, but all during the hockey playoffs,
Victor watched the games with me.
What can I say? He's a weird cat.
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Cynthia Barnes - 03:34 pm PDT - Jul 24, 2001 - #6503 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
Thanks for all the good thoughts. DH's hand hurts a little less today.
He was also good about my hysterical caterwauling last night; I won
the Man Lottery with this one, for sure.
No luck on homes for the lovebirds. I know that I am tying this up with
my friend's HIV status, but I just cannot put this (otherwise
healthy) cat to sleep. I'm willing to relocate them anywhere.
My thought is that someone who has recently lost a pet and is reluctant
to commit emotionally to another right now--these are the perfect
cats. They are interested in each other, and it may well be a year
before they need more from a human than a roof and food.
Again, if you know of any takers....
You guys are the best. Thanks again.
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Kristinff - 03:48 pm PDT - Jul 24, 2001 - #6504 of 7994
my cats are much happier than my house is clean!
Where are you Cynthia? Maybe someone knows someone in the area...
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Cynthia Barnes - 04:01 pm PDT - Jul 24, 2001 - #6505 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
I'm in mid-Missouri.
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Kristinff - 04:06 pm PDT - Jul 24, 2001 - #6506 of 7994
my cats are much happier than my house is clean!
Ok, who knows the cat people in Missouri?
Sorry I only know CA, CT and NY cat people. Oh and Puerto Rico...
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ray menendez - 04:23 pm PDT - Jul 24, 2001 - #6507 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Cynthia - There ought be shelters in KCMo and in StLou that can deal
with this problem, and I bet there are folks you know making the
trip regularly that you can dragoon into dropping the two off, either
way. If my guess is right, you're a bit off I-70, like a mile or so,
right? Good luck.
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Anne Threston - 04:28 pm PDT - Jul 24, 2001 - #6508 of 7994
Inmate of Casa de los Tres Gatos Locos
Or sympathetic veternarians who might be able to point you in the right
direction. Or as Ray suggested, check out the no-kill shelters.
When I first found out that Sid was FeLV positive, I made some calls
to the local no-kill shelters, and one of them did have an area for
sick cats. Of course, it was full at the time, and I was too attached
to him to give him up, but perhaps they're worth a call.
If I didn't already have cats, I'd probably consider it.
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Gypsy Laughing Otter - 09:01 pm PDT - Jul 24, 2001 - #6516 of
7994
Love, light and laughter to those who remain...I've moved on.
There's a cat thread here, if you want to go to it.
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ray menendez - 10:35 pm PDT - Jul 24, 2001 - #6517 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Counted nine tt refugees there; it's gonna look a bit new but it feels
about the same. I wonder why they have my middle initial, I seldom
use it. Meanwhile, I am going to remain here at least for the first
month; I don't expect Salon to endure, much less prevail, but I'm gonna
stick it out and see.
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Karl Northman - 10:38 pm PDT - Jul 24, 2001 - #6518 of 7994
The supreme court says money is speech: So I've put up my money, and
I'm going to speak.
Y'all - stick it out, please.
It isn't that I mind moving somewhere else - the problem is that I'm
on weird threads from cats to strange foods to NRA to White House
(the notorious take-no-prisoners threads). And I don't want to have
to go to online-journal for one, and CNN for another, and at
online-journal there won't be the (occasional) sensible moderate righty,
or even the occasional coherent far-righty.
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Gypsy Laughing Otter - 10:40 pm PDT - Jul 24, 2001 - #6519 of
7994
Love, light and laughter to those who remain...I've moved on.
Karl, I am supporting a family of four and two cats on two hundred fifty
dollars a week. I can't afford to pay for TT. Hell, I can't afford
to pay for my own damn medications, and still pay the phone bill. Nothing
like creative financing. (sigh)
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LaDeeVah - 03:59 am PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6522 of 7994
In Memoriam: Ray Menendez, 1940-2001
BIG GRAY AL IS DOWNSTAIRS!!!
I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it with my own eyes. I was just
sitting here, drinking my morning coffee and getting my A.M. TT fix. I
saw movement out of the corner of my eye -- not unusual in a houseful
of cats -- and when I looked over, expecting to see Melmo, AL
winds through the living and dining rooms (sprinting neatly past Peaches)
and into the kitchen!
I didn't follow him -- no need to stalk him. Right now, he's either in the kitchen or the basement.
WooHoo!
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Lily Delafield - 04:20 am PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6523 of 7994
So it goes.
LDV, that's GREAT! Toldja. :-D </smug
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Phyl Good - 04:33 am PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6524 of 7994
Ray Menendez, Rest in Peace - all the TT Pussycats and their parents
miss you already; please take care of our little ones who went on ahead
of you
HOORAY FOR BIG GRAY AL!!!!
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Phyl Good - 04:36 am PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6525 of 7994
Ray Menendez, Rest in Peace - all the TT Pussycats and their parents
miss you already; please take care of our little ones who went on ahead
of you
I do hope you will all come over to World Crossing. The "Animal Friends"
forum is one that I started, and it includes (so far) a thread on
cats, one on dogs, one on horses, one on ferrets, and an annoying spam
thread with one post that I'll delete as soon as I can figure out
how. :-)
Those of you who don't just want animal threads, but want the variety
you're getting at TT, go to Table Talk Refugee Central, where
the header has links to all the alternate TT forums that have been
set up so far, plus links to other forums where TT people have
gathered.
Karl, I was thinking just this morning that we should have something
like a News and Views forum at World Crossing, to satisfy people's
needs for that side of things as well. But go over and peruse what
already exists and think about what might need to be added.
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Lily Delafield - 04:51 am PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6526 of 7994
So it goes.
Phyl, where's your Animal Friends forum? I don't believe I've seen that, just the Chat About Cats thread.
I'm on the fence WRT subscribing to TT. It's little enough expense for
me, especially considering how much time I spend here. I read
for two years before I ever posted, so I know the place and people
(and their cats) quite well and would miss it and them tremendously. I
fear, though, that I'd end up missing many people anyway, since not
all can or want to pay to play. I may do the trial offer and see how
it goes; or I may just stick with WC and get a lot more done IRL.
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lynne p. - 05:05 am PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6527 of 7994
I could pin the tail on a thousand donkeys and never win a prize like
this.
Yay Big Gray Al!
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ray menendez - 05:31 am PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6528 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Big Grey Al is downstairs! Let the festivities begin! Spread the buffet over here and the wine fountain in that corner.
Lily, I have the feeling that this is like the mention of the word 'divorce'
in a marriage; nothing will ever be the same again. I am at this
point planning to try the trial period, but I don't think the rest
of salon will last too long. I believe management has overlooked the TT
posters, and now that we are asked to pay they will continue to behave
as if we are product and not customer. Plus, nothing I have seen
gives me confidence in their ability to plan for a three month period;
I wonder if they have thought as far as lunch.
However I have already joined a cat thread, I'm not sure right now just
which one. It's free. And has pictures. So I'll be both places. I
saw you there, I believe, GLO. ;-)
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Lily Delafield - 05:52 am PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6529 of 7994
So it goes.
this is like the mention of the word 'divorce' in a marriage; nothing will ever be the same again
Well said, ray. That's just my feeling about the situation--there's no going back now. It's a shame, but so it goes.
Phyl, I found the Animal Friends threads at WC (too late to edit my earlier query). - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Cynthia Barnes - 08:47 am PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6540 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
My friend (my friend with HIV) is taking the cats! I don't know if I inadvertently guilted him into it, and I don't care! He's a saint!
Long live True Kitty Love!
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julief - 08:53 am PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6541 of 7994
speechless
Cynthia, that's excellent! I've been hoping you could give them to someone
you know, so you could visit them and get regular lovebird
updates.
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annef - 08:53 am PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6542 of 7994
now what?
Hi Julie!
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julief - 08:55 am PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6543 of 7994
speechless
Hi Anne, are you at home or at work?
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annef - 08:58 am PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6544 of 7994
now what?
Work, but leaving now. En route to Jersey shore. I'll call you later!
Sorry Cat People, for this little aside...
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Phyl Good - 09:14 am PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6545 of 7994
Ray Menendez, Rest in Peace - all the TT Pussycats and their parents
miss you already; please take care of our little ones who went on ahead
of you
Cynthia! I'm so happy! I'm going to cry!!
And this will give your friend something very important to live for and tend to -- apart from his own life. :-)
A match made in heaven, I would suspect! I'm so relieved.
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LaDeeVah - 09:20 am PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6546 of 7994
In Memoriam: Ray Menendez, 1940-2001
Cynthia, that is wonderful, glorious news.
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Cynthia Barnes - 09:22 am PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6547 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
Phyl, I cried, too. But it is a much happier crying than I what I have
been doing for the past 2 days. Now I am just praying that they will
socialize and work out for him, and not shred his beautiful antiques.
I'm going this afternoon to take them over to his place, and set up
everything. Then we will all go to dinner and leave them there alone
to explore and settle down for a few hours.
I know that we can't save *all* the cats in the world ... but we can
save a few!
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Lily Delafield - 09:27 am PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6548 of 7994
So it goes.
Oh, Cynthia, wonderful news! I am so happy and relieved (and sure I
can't imagine the weight that has been lifted from you)!
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Kristinff - 09:39 am PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6549 of 7994
my cats are much happier than my house is clean!
That's great news Cynthia. And good for you for taking such good care
of those two. Keep us posted on how they're doing in their new
home.
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Anna Trueblood - 09:51 am PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6550 of 7994
There is no TRY, only DO.
Well, Cynthia that is great news! If BF and GF do start shredding, maybe
your friend can have someone put softpaws on the booboo
kitties. We're thinking of going that route when our baby comes and
is old enough to ruin the cats' lives.
LaDeeVah, I don't live alone and Jason (dh) and I kept wildly different
schedules at the time, so that simplified matters for us. I gotta
say, Martha and Melee will never be best friends. They are too much
in rivalry for Jason and Diablo. But when the boys aren't around,
they've been known to nap together. Once again, sisterhood falls by
the wayside in the face of sexual competition. Maybe I should start
reading them "Sisterhood is Powerful" and raise their kitty consciousness.
For Al and Melmo, you could try "Iron John" or something. . .
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lynne p. - 10:22 am PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6551 of 7994
I could pin the tail on a thousand donkeys and never win a prize like
this.
Cynthia, how wonderful. You and your DH and friend are all exceptional
people!
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Anne Threston - 10:37 am PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6552 of 7994
Inmate of Casa de los Tres Gatos Locos
Cynthia, your news made me cry, but in a very good way. I'm so happy
that your friend can take the cats, and I hope they provide him
with great joy and happiness.
Plenty of good scratching posts will, IME, keep the beasties from sharpening
their claws on the Chippendales. My little monsters have
never laid their pointy bits on the furniture, since it's a lot more
fun to argue over who gets to use which scratching post.
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Cynthia Barnes - 10:41 am PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6553 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
Cat Update: I called the vet school to schedule their pickup. Vet says,
"By the way, did anyone call you yesterday to let you know that
Girlfriend is a male?"
Well, I saw them ... um ... okay. <giggle
Three cheers for Gay Kitty Love!
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lynne p. - 10:43 am PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6554 of 7994
I could pin the tail on a thousand donkeys and never win a prize like
this.
Bwaaahahahhaaaaa!!!
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Anne Threston - 10:44 am PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6555 of 7994
Inmate of Casa de los Tres Gatos Locos
<snerk
Well, true love is true love.
Are they both fixed, now? And vaccinated and all that good stuff?
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lynne p. - 10:47 am PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6557 of 7994
I could pin the tail on a thousand donkeys and never win a prize like
this.
As an added bonus, I guess Girlfriend's not pregnant.
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Asia - 10:49 am PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6558 of 7994
Oh, please, God, don't let me be talking out my ass *again*
No more worries about kittens in the rafters...
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LaDeeVah - 10:53 am PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6559 of 7994
In Memoriam: Ray Menendez, 1940-2001
For Al and Melmo, you could try "Iron John" or something. . .
"By the way, did anyone call you yesterday to let
you know that Girlfriend is a
male?"
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!
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Anna Trueblood - 10:57 am PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6560 of 7994
There is no TRY, only DO.
Well, I guess now they're BF and BF. Let's hear it for gay kitty love,
the love that dares not meow its name.
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ray menendez - 11:00 am PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6561 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
The worldfamous pussycat ace, a legend in his own mind, has a scratching
post nearly as ugly as his personality. When first I moved in
here, the water heater developed a hole, and required replacement,
and in the process I dragged in a yard-long hunk of 2x4, severely
impaired by wind and weather, to slide on or lever or something. It
was leaned against the kitchen counter next the bathroom door while
we concluded wrestling the deceased appliance out the door. The catbox
is in the bathroom (makes sense) and each time the ace visited
his facilities he would sharpen his claws thereon. A few days after
the hauling and shoving, I noticed the old skanky hunk of wood and
hauled it out to throw away. The ace followed and scratched on it,
and then when we returned inside proceeded to scratch at everything,
decidedly duece-like behavior. So on a hunch I restored his rat post,
and he hasn't scratched anything else in the house. Yet.
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LaDeeVah - 11:04 am PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6562 of 7994
In Memoriam: Ray Menendez, 1940-2001
ray, have you ever shared a picture of the pussycat ace?
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Phyl Good - 11:05 am PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6563 of 7994
Ray Menendez, Rest in Peace - all the TT Pussycats and their parents
miss you already; please take care of our little ones who went on ahead
of you
GF is a boy!!! Oh, that is too, too funny!!
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Phyl Good - 11:06 am PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6564 of 7994
Ray Menendez, Rest in Peace - all the TT Pussycats and their parents
miss you already; please take care of our little ones who went on ahead
of you
Kashi was so butch and adventurous, maybe I should have read to her
out of Martha Stewart's magazine, to soften her up a bit. Hee
hee!
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Cynthia Barnes - 11:06 am PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6565 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
Miss Tasha, All-Powerful-Siamese-Queen-of-the-Universe, disdains all
scratching posts, except for Oriental (well, she is Siamese) rugs
and LOG, a three-foot-tall tree limb propped in the corner of our bedroom.
When all of the bark is removed from LOG, we replace.
When my mother came to visit and put paper under LOG, Miss Tasha expressed
her displeasure urinally throughout the house.
It's LOG, it's LOG, oh what a wonderful toy! </Ren and Stimpy
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ray menendez - 11:14 am PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6566 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Picture of ace? No, I always buy the supersize prints and they won't
fit in the disc drive. No, have some but haven't gotten them into
electroform yet. Saving pfennigs toward digicam but 41 pfennigs, nine
pence and a drachma isn't close yet. However, expect any day to
see him appearing in the back part of a post office near you.
In appearance, he is indistinguishable from any ginger pussycat with
white only on lower jaw and bosom, of standard arrogance and
distain.
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LaDeeVah - 11:19 am PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6567 of 7994
In Memoriam: Ray Menendez, 1940-2001
In appearance, he is indistinguishable from any ginger
pussycat with white only on
lower jaw and bosom, of standard arrogance and distain.
He must look like Peaches, then!
Cynthia -- your tagline is an absolute howl, in light of recent developments...I
am just delighted that your heart is so much lighter.
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Ella Russell - 11:30 am PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6568 of 7994
Great is the truth, but still greater, from a practical point of view,
is silence about truth.
Cynthia, delighted to hear your gay pair have a home. Our two adorable
grey tabbies, who arrived down our long country road one -40
New Year's Eve, are obviously brothers, but have the appearance and
behaviour of a couple. Tyche is slim and cute while Nemesis is
the stereotypical male. Their relationship is definitely not brotherly.
Glad to hear there are other gay cats; I thought they were unique.
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Lily Delafield - 11:40 am PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6569 of 7994
So it goes.
Girlfriend is a male
ROFL! What a great ending to the saga.
Mouse is straight, and apparently Pipsqueak isn't, because Pipsqueak
attempts to have his way with Mouse on a daily basis. Mouse is
also twice Pipsqueak's size, which makes the interaction even more
amusing.
Never mind that they were each neutered before they ever got to um,
you know.
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Patricia O'Donnell - 11:44 am PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6570 of 7994
Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by
stupidity.
Yay for Cynthia, Yay for her friend with the antiques and the big heart!
(The Little says hello from her perch on my computer desk,
white paw hanging over the keyboard.)
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BeVERly - 12:02 pm PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6571 of 7994
his deck includes the fourteen of fruitloops--ray menendez on the pussycat
ace--RIP
Cynthia, what terrific and wonderful news about the cat couple's new
home. And what a comic relief ending to your days of worry. I'm
so happy for the kitties, and for you.
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Cynthia Barnes - 12:11 pm PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6572 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
Thanks, everyone. I'm positively giddy. And yay for my darling husband,
with the hole in his finger and in our (joint) checkbook!
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lynne p. - 12:22 pm PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6573 of 7994
I could pin the tail on a thousand donkeys and never win a prize like
this.
Ask Me About My Gay Cats!
Best. Tagline. Ever.
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LaDeeVah - 12:22 pm PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6574 of 7994
In Memoriam: Ray Menendez, 1940-2001
Yay for Cynthia's DH!!!
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Anne Threston - 12:25 pm PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6575 of 7994
Inmate of Casa de los Tres Gatos Locos
Cynthia, I don't know if your friend is a Cat Person, or if this is
a new venture for him, but The New Natural Cat has some very good
information about diet and supplements that can help feline immune
systems. I used a lot of the vitamin suggestions in there with Sid,
and while I can't say for sure that they worked, he lived for 5 1/2
years past his original diagnosis, which seems to indicate that perhaps
they did.
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Anna Trueblood - 12:29 pm PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6576 of 7994
There is no TRY, only DO.
Amen on the New Natural Cat. We use it for all sorts of cat conundrums.
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Phyl Good - 12:48 pm PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6577 of 7994
Ray Menendez, Rest in Peace - all the TT Pussycats and their parents
miss you already; please take care of our little ones who went on ahead
of you
I've got an early edition of that book and I love it, even though Kashi
didn't follow the diet. :-)
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Sorcha Mise - 01:25 pm PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6578 of 7994
Going to worldcrossing.com! See ya there! sorcha_mise@yahoo.com
the love that dares not meow its name.
Snerk!
Great news about them, and also Big Gray Al!
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LaDeeVah - 01:26 pm PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6579 of 7994
In Memoriam: Ray Menendez, 1940-2001
It's been quite the eventful day for kitties, hasn't it?
Phyl...OT...I had lunch w/our friend Fraro today!
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Phyl Good - 01:52 pm PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6580 of 7994
Ray Menendez, Rest in Peace - all the TT Pussycats and their parents
miss you already; please take care of our little ones who went on ahead
of you
LVD, I heard about that just a while ago. I envy you both! :-)
Jim Paul - 02:29 pm PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6581 of 7994
A Glass Will Only Hold So Much Beer. I'm keeping my glasses.
I'm so glad the cats have a home (BF & GF) and DH's a hero (Can't
imagine the pain of a hole pierced in the nail), and friend with
antiques has cats! I'd try putting scratching posts in front of the
furniture with places to scratch.
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Mary Tyler Moron - 05:00 pm PDT - Jul 25, 2001 - #6582 of 7994
Facts all come with points of view. Facts don't do what I want them
to.
Cynthia...I'm late into this. Yay for the gay cats, their new home, and your fabulous tagline!
I will have to tell the Feline staff at my company about this. I wonder
if they've heard of gay cats.
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BREAK FOR STORY
Ruth F - 07:49 pm PDT - Jul 26, 2001 - #6600 of 7994
wow, great news about the boys Cynthia. I kept thinking they sound as
close as my Frank & Dean. Im almost certain theyre brothers
(they showed up labor day 1997 in my yard, just two neutered males
looking for a sucker).
Sad news for me is my little e.b. white went to kitty heaven on Tuesday
night. She is almost certainly a space alien, born in 1984 and
died in 2001. My dear sweet vet came over to send her off peacefully.
e.b. white, r.i.p.
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LaDeeVah - 08:00 pm PDT - Jul 26, 2001 - #6601 of 7994
In Memoriam: Ray Menendez, 1940-2001
Oh, Ruth -- I'm so sorry for e.b. She really fought the good fight.
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Phyl Good - 08:03 pm PDT - Jul 26, 2001 - #6602 of 7994
Ray Menendez, Rest in Peace - all the TT Pussycats and their parents
miss you already; please take care of our little ones who went on ahead
of you
Oh Ruth -- I was hoping she was just having some off days!
I'm so very, very sorry. She was a sweet, brave, strong little darling. And she had a sweet, brave, strong mom too.
(((Ruth)))
(((e.b. white)))
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LaDeeVah - 08:06 pm PDT - Jul 26, 2001 - #6603 of 7994
In Memoriam: Ray Menendez, 1940-2001
Ruth, given the situation here at TT, it may not be here long -- but
the "When A Pet Dies" thread is a wonderful place. Of course, I can't
for the life of me remember what folder it's in...Phyl?
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Ruth F - 08:13 pm PDT - Jul 26, 2001 - #6604 of 7994
Thanks Phyl and LDV -- great to get sympathy here. I checked out the
"when pets die" thread over the weekend but just wasn't ready to
join in. I think it's in House & Garden?
e.b. was definitely ready to go. I pretty much knew on Sunday but held
out, hoping she wouldn't suffer too much, until my vet came
back in town on Tuesday. Was hard b/c my ex/very good friend who used
to live w/ e.b. was out of town. So I was able to talk about it
with my vet M. on Tuesday. We took a look at her insides on M's new
ultrasound machine and it didn't look good. She was collecting
fluid in her abdomen and it was getting very uncomfortable and hard
for her to breathe. M autopsied her and confirmed lots of bad stuff
going on, including a mass in her liver. Thankfully, it was only 2
weeks of a quick decline and there's no doubt she was ready to go. She
spent her last hours (and in fact last couple of weeks mostly) in my
new $2,000 recliner, as it should be.
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Cynthia Barnes - 08:21 pm PDT - Jul 26, 2001 - #6605 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
Ruth, I am so sorry. I'm glad that she went peacefully.
You all will think this saga never ends, and I hope that it hasn't ended
tonight. Best Friend who took Boyfriend and Boyfriend called in a
panic when he got home from work. Shitty Landlord had come over to
replace stove (it's only been broken for 3 months). He left the
doors open. The Boys are gone. We have left food for them on Friend's
porch and on my porch. His house is about a mile from ours,
with only one street to cross that gets much traffic.
At this point, I'm too stunned to even bawl. We'll start asking the cat people in his neighborhood to keep their eyes open.
Patient Husband hated Shitty Landlord already, and now he is pissed.
Please keep them in your thoughts.
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LaDeeVah - 08:31 pm PDT - Jul 26, 2001 - #6606 of 7994
In Memoriam: Ray Menendez, 1940-2001
All the kitties here are concentrating really hard, sending "go home"
vibes to B&B. (Me, too.)
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Ruth F - 08:48 pm PDT - Jul 26, 2001 - #6607 of 7994
Aye, Cynthia, how terrible! There is a special place in hell for Landlords
who show up unannounced and let pets out. Inexcusable!
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Anna Trueblood - 09:03 pm PDT - Jul 26, 2001 - #6608 of 7994
There is no TRY, only DO.
Ruth, I am so sorry about e.b.
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Phyl Good - 09:13 pm PDT - Jul 26, 2001 - #6609 of 7994
Ray Menendez, Rest in Peace - all the TT Pussycats and their parents
miss you already; please take care of our little ones who went on ahead
of you
Ruth, yes, that other thread is in this folder.
Cynthia, I'm sending huge vibes to the darling kitties.
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Karl Northman - 09:43 pm PDT - Jul 26, 2001 - #6610 of 7994
The supreme court says money is speech: So I've put up my money, and
I'm going to speak.
Dagnab it, I'm feeling so bad about the fact that lots of people are going to vanish from TT, and then we have a cat go.
I feel so fucking bad, Ruth. I swear, sometimes cats are worse than
people to have die. I realize this is not theologically appropriate, but
it seems to me that it gets hard because we can know people by what
they say, and what they have said. When it comes to the end, even
if there is no who there, we have the history of a speaking human's
whole life to have an idea as to what they would want us to do, or
how they would want us to feel.
But with cats, it's hard to say. They can't speak, they can only give
us indications, which we have to interpret ourselves, as to how they
tolerate pain, or how they tolerate incapacity. Are they happy being
unable to jump into the favorite chair? Is it okay, will it still count,
if
they have to jump in three stages from the things we stuck like stairs
in front of the favorite chair? Or will they feel bad thinking about
how they used to leap all the way to the shelf two feet above the chair,
and then jump down?
Anyone who's ever watched cats knows that they have pride. I have no
idea if they are "self-conscious" in the AI notion, but there is
something like it in every cat I've ever been around. It's the sense
that they have that they have (small type - really embarassed
themselves by falling of of something that even a dog could have stood
on) and so on.
I am sure that there are some cats that would tolerate being hauled
around by "staff" and just sleeping, and thus living an extra year, but
I'm also sure there are cats that when they realize they can't even
jump a foot, want to go into terminal depression because it's so tied up
in their self-image that they can get to anywhere.
Dang. Don't know if this is of any help. But it's meant well.
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Ruth F - 10:18 pm PDT - Jul 26, 2001 - #6611 of 7994
Anna, thanks much. Karl,I know exactly what you mean. my cat annie can
be the biggest klutz on earth, fall off a chair and not give a
hoot. But when e.b. missed a jump, she was mortified. It was only the
last six months or so that her hips were giving her problems and I
know she hated the slowing down. Then last few days she was obviously
distressed, finding it hard to get a breath, but could still jump
up on the recliner and was still asking for fancy feast every hour
on the hour. But I could see in it in her eyes over the weekend -- she
was asking for help. And my vet, who knew her well, said her eyes looked
different, a far off look. I was thankful then that she didn't
have months or a year of infirmity, because that would have been unbearable
for her but impossible for me to pull her plug.
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BeVERly - 10:19 pm PDT - Jul 26, 2001 - #6612 of 7994
his deck includes the fourteen of fruitloops--ray menendez on the pussycat
ace--RIP
I think you're right, Karl, that it's really up to the cat to let us
know what they want. They don't have much trouble throughout their lives
making their wishes known, and if we pay attention and get past What
We Want, they'll tell us what they want.
Ruth, my condolences on e.b.. It was the right time, and she let you
know. But I know it still hurts, and you have my deepest
sympathies.
Cynthia, damn. Oh just fuckety dammit to hell. TC and the Ds and I send
all our "get home safe" vibes to the BFs. And all our rotinhell
vibes to the clueless landlord.
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lynne p. - 04:31 am PDT - Jul 27, 2001 - #6613 of 7994
I could pin the tail on a thousand donkeys and never win a prize like
this.
Ruth, I'm sorry about e.b. white, but you obviously were a wonderful
friend to her and did all the right things. Maybe she's having a
conversation with James Thurber right about now.
What a great picture of Frank and Dean! Is that a usual pose for them?
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lynne p. - 04:31 am PDT - Jul 27, 2001 - #6614 of 7994
I could pin the tail on a thousand donkeys and never win a prize like
this.
And Cynthia, I'm sending "come-back" vibes out to the Boyfriends, too.
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Phyl Good - 04:47 am PDT - Jul 27, 2001 - #6615 of 7994
Ray Menendez, Rest in Peace - all the TT Pussycats and their parents
miss you already; please take care of our little ones who went on ahead
of you
Gee, Karl, I'm trying to clean up all my TT bookmarks, and then you make me bookmark another one. :-)
That disconnected look in their eyes. Oh yes, I remember it well. Poor kitties. "I just want this to be OVER."
((((Ruth))))
((((e.b. white))))
((((Cynthia))))
((((BF & BF))))
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Lily Delafield - 05:10 am PDT - Jul 27, 2001 - #6616 of 7994
So it goes.
Ruth, I am so very very sorry to hear the news about e.b. white, but glad for her to have had such a caring person.
What a charming pose Frank and Dean struck! They must be very close.
Cynthia, damn! A pox upon evil landlords. Perhaps the Cat Planet can
beam a "go home safely" message to the boys.
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Sasha Miller - 06:37 am PDT - Jul 27, 2001 - #6617 of 7994
She Who Must Be Obeyed--My president is Martin Sheen.
Ruth, I want to add my sympathies and condolences.
I'm sure e.b. had the best kitty-life that a cat could possibly enjoy.
And I hope, when the memories aren't so sharp, that you find another
cat (or another cat finds you) so you can continue making cat-lives
wonderful.
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ray menendez - 07:52 am PDT - Jul 27, 2001 - #6618 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Ruth - I suspect you have gotten beyond Wht I Want and into the comfortable
land of What EB Wanted; if not, go there because the
willfulness of cats is what makes them pussycats and not pupdoggies.
e.b.'s 'faraway look' was noted by your vet; must have been pretty
strong.Her situation is now improved, remember that along with the
good things.
Karl speaks with truth and grace of the feeling of we who remain.
Cynthia, for a day or two Da Boyz will prolly merely hide, but the idea
of regular meals will bring them back somewhere, and I suspect it
will be your house where the food was regular even with the traps.
When they show up have some strong patience; get them eating for at
least several days before you seek to gather them up again. Cats are
not very bright but they are excellent on the self-preservation scale.
But they are gonna wind up where they had the best deal and the warmest
welcome.
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Ruth F - 07:57 am PDT - Jul 27, 2001 - #6619 of 7994
Thanks again everyone for your kind thoughts. Yes, little e.b. was well loved, but ready to leave this life.
Yes, Frank & Dean love each other. They cuddle up on the adirondack
chair on foggy mornings and I often find them together on the
front porch when I come home. I also have my 14 year old Annie, who
is a bit depressed right -- she hasn't quite taken to the #1 position
yet, but she's doing ok. She loves the boys too, except when they take
over her spot on the bed. I'm planning to stick with the 3 kitties
for now, even though an odd number just isn't quite right. I am thinking
about getting a a small dog, maybe a pug. I've been thinking about it ever
since buying this house 5 years ago, but I just couldn't do it to e.b.
Won't do anything for awhile.
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Anna Trueblood - 08:38 am PDT - Jul 27, 2001 - #6620 of 7994
There is no TRY, only DO.
Frank and Dean look like Swivelbutt and her littermate, only with tails.
And Swiv has some black spots as well. Swiv is currently not
letting me pet her, let alone grab her for a flea collar committment
ceremony and vet trip.
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michelec - 01:08 pm PDT - Jul 27, 2001 - #6621 of 7994
I'm not staying here and paying-per-post because frankly, I could be
out drinking with that money. - Tasha G.
Ruth, I'm sorry about EB, but glad she had a long, happy life.
Cynthia, so sorry to hear about the boyfriends. Also sending those go
home vibes their way.
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Ruth F - 01:25 pm PDT - Jul 27, 2001 - #6622 of 7994
Thanks much michelec.
Anna, you're sure swiv is female? I hear there's a lot of mistaken identity
going around. Can't remember if she's been with you to the vet
yet already. I thought fer sure Frank was a girl until my vet cleared
up the confusion.
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Cynthia Barnes - 01:26 pm PDT - Jul 27, 2001 - #6623 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
Cat update: The saga continues. Friend called from home at lunch. Something
ate the wet food he had left in the kitchen. Although we
tore his house apart yesterday, (and it is a small house), it may be
possible that one or both of them are holed up somewhere we can't
see them. I am hoping both of them, because I can't see one leaving
without the other....
It is taking all my willpower not to just camp at his house until I
know. Fortunately, I'm on deadline for a couple of stories, none of
which involve invisible gay ceiling kitties.
I'll keep you posted....
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ray menendez - 09:07 pm PDT - Jul 28, 2001 - #6642 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Naps - the pussycat ace thinks a good length for a nap is March.
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Cynthia Barnes - 09:09 pm PDT - Jul 28, 2001 - #6643 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
Happy News! Indeed, the Invisible Gay Ceiling Kitties are still safe
inside friend's house. They were spotted today, cuddling inside his
sofa. Glared at us both as if we were Hitler. We also discovered, sadly,
that when Evil People are around, they'll just poop under the
couch, rather than come out into the open to go to the litter box.
Mmmm.
Thanks for all your good wishes, and for staying with me through this
roller coaster. I have come to the realization that, sooner or later,
they may escape. My friend just doesn't keep that airtight a house.
But, now they are vaccinated, neutered and recovered from their
surgeries. Hopefully, they'll hang around long enough to make friends.
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ray menendez - 09:24 pm PDT - Jul 28, 2001 - #6644 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Why in hell would anybody want a cat or two?
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Ruth F - 09:26 pm PDT - Jul 28, 2001 - #6645 of 7994
Hooray for Cynthia and gay ceiling kitties!
The receptionist at my vet's office told me she's trapped 15 feral cats
near her house for spaying and neutering (turns out Alameda Co.
pays for it and they have the vets snip off a corner of the cats' ears
to indicated they've been fixed). Anyway, her trick for leading the
little buggers into the trap is a trail of cat nip. They just follow
the the green grassy road. She said by the time they're near the trap,
they're loopy, rolling around and drooling.
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ray menendez - 09:33 pm PDT - Jul 28, 2001 - #6646 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
I think I went to a wedding that way once; IIRC, it was mine.
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Barbara Boucher - 09:43 pm PDT - Jul 28, 2001 - #6647 of 7994
"It's impossible to suck a Cadillac up your nose. It's just impossible!!"
Steve Martin
Yay! Cynthia, what fantastic news. I had that experience once with the
great Princess of Princess'es Princess. The former spousal unit
and I had purchased a house but were unable to take occupancy for approx.
6 days. The local HoJo's would accept our Gold Amex even
though there was a Princess involved. Said Princess disappeared on
the second day. A frenzied spousal unit went yelling out side whilst I
accosted every housekeeper with my high school Spanish asking if them
if they had seen this Gato. The hysteria grew to a point where
the hotel management actually had their day and evening supervisors
outside looking for the cat. Signs were placed everywhere in the
hotel regarding this lost Gato.
The next evening, as I was fishing out a pair of shoes from under the
bed, noted there was a hole in the boxspring mattress. We flung the
covers off, flipped the box spring upright and started shaking it.
Out come a horrid Siamese
meaowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww and then a little 7 pound seal point
- the Princess herself, flopped unceremoniously on
the floor.
Say ray, I think I attended that wedding!
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ray menendez - 09:52 pm PDT - Jul 28, 2001 - #6648 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
Say ray, I think I attended that wedding
Good to know. Did I enjoy it?
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Ella Russell - 06:54 pm PDT - Jul 29, 2001 - #6661 of 7994
Great is the truth, but still greater, from a practical point of view,
is silence about truth.
I failed to mention that said group of cats and dogs always met us at the door, expecting love, walks and food.
Maybe the aliens put them to sleep?
Since everything is now five feet up, you know who won the war.
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Karl Northman - 07:10 pm PDT - Jul 29, 2001 - #6662 of 7994
The supreme court says money is speech: So I've put up my money, and
I'm going to speak.
you know who won the war.
But the little turkeys stiffed me on their fees.
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Ella Russell - 07:19 pm PDT - Jul 29, 2001 - #6663 of 7994
Great is the truth, but still greater, from a practical point of view,
is silence about truth.
Well, you know when you accept cats as clients, you can't expect anything
else. They used you got their way with you, and are now
ignoring you. (The dog is wise enough to accept their counsel.)
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Karl Northman - 07:23 pm PDT - Jul 29, 2001 - #6664 of 7994
The supreme court says money is speech: So I've put up my money, and
I'm going to speak.
Well, you know when you accept cats as clients, you can't expect anything else.
(sigh) Yes, I keep hoping. I keep thinking that there is some honest
cat out there who is in trouble, and who WONT say whatever it
takes to get away, and who WONT lie to his lawyer, and who WONT lie
to the police, and his wife, and his children, and his pathetic
grandmother with the oxygen bottle, and who WONT lie to Fr. Felix the
Good, the only cat ever to pass muster in heaven....
But we are supposed to always hope, however often those hopes are cast down...
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Phyl Good - 07:29 pm PDT - Jul 29, 2001 - #6665 of 7994
Ray Menendez, Rest in Peace - all the TT Pussycats and their parents
miss you already; please take care of our little ones who went on ahead
of you
Gee whillickers, have you guys ever got your world view backwards! </cat
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Karl Northman - 07:59 pm PDT - Jul 29, 2001 - #6666 of 7994
The supreme court says money is speech: So I've put up my money, and
I'm going to speak.
Oh, I was just cleaning out my email, and found this from my son back in April.
The Rules (cats version)
BATHROOMS - Always accompany guests to the bathroom.
It is not necessary to do
anything. Just sit and stare.
DOORS - Do not allow any closed doors in any room.
To get the door open, stand on
hind legs and hammer with forepaws. Once door is
opened, it is not necessary to
use it. After you have ordered an "outside" door
opened, stand halfway in and out
and think about several things. This is particularly
important during very cold
weather, rain, snow, or mosquito season.
CHAIRS AND RUGS - If you have to throw up, get to
a chair quickly. If you cannot
manage in time, get to an Oriental rug. If there
is no Oriental rug, shag is good.
When throwing up on the carpet, make sure you back
up so it is as long as a
human's bare foot.
HAMPERING - If one of your humans is engaged in some
activity, and the other is
idle, stay with the busy one. This is called "helping,"
otherwise known as
"hampering." Following are the rules for hampering:
a. When supervising cooking, sit just behind the
left heel of the cook. You cannot
be seen and thereby stand a better chance of being
stepped on and then picked up
and comforted.
b. For book readers, get in close under the chin,
between eyes and book-- unless
you can lie across the book itself.
c. When human is working at computer, jump up on
desk, walk across keyboard, bat
at mouse pointer on screen, and then lay in human's
lap across arms, hampering
typing in progress.
WALKING - As often as possible, dart quickly and
as close as possible in front of
the human, especially: on stairs, when they have
something in their arms, in the
dark, and when they first get up in the morning.
This will help their coordination
skills.
BEDTIME - Always sleep on the human at night so he/she cannot move around.
LITTER BOX - When using the litter box, be sure to
kick as much litter out of the
box as possible. Humans love the feel of kitty litter
between their toes.
HIDING - Every now and then, hide in a place where
the humans cannot find you. Do
not come out for three to four hours under any circumstances.
This will cause the
humans to panic (which they love) thinking that
you have run away or are lost.
Once you do come out, the humans will cover you
with love and kisses, and you
probably will get a treat.
ONE LAST THOUGHT - Whenever possible, get close to
a human, especially their face,
turn around, and present your butt to them. Humans
love this, so do it often. And
don't forget the guests.
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Anna Trueblood - 09:39 pm PDT - Jul 29, 2001 - #6667 of 7994
There is no TRY, only DO.
Karl, the number of that post is proof that Cats are the Work of the
Devil, and now that you have exposed them, you're probably
doomed.
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LaDeeVah - 04:07 am PDT - Jul 30, 2001 - #6668 of 7994
In Memoriam: Ray Menendez, 1940-2001
Cynthia, wonderful news! I think the entire saga would make a wonderful article for a cat-enthusiast publication.
August 1 marks three weeks since Al moved in; since his momentous appearance
downstairs last week, he has remained upstairs under
the vigilant guardianship/threat of Melmo, and I've had to return to
bringing food to him. It seems he will not test Mel's resolve.
I'm beginning to feel very nervous about this. How long do y'all think
I should let this continue before declaring Al an Unhappy Cat, and
returning him to foster care?
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Ella Russell - 05:36 am PDT - Jul 30, 2001 - #6669 of 7994
Great is the truth, but still greater, from a practical point of view,
is silence about truth.
Karl, then maybe you will learn to choose your clients more carefully!
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Ella Russell - 05:38 am PDT - Jul 30, 2001 - #6670 of 7994
Great is the truth, but still greater, from a practical point of view,
is silence about truth.
LDV, I wouldn't give up. Al probably has you just where he wants you.
He is not crazy about sharing and as long as you come upstairs
to feed and pat him, he has you all to himself. When you go downstairs,
he gets to be alone, which he probably wants anyway.
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Susan Tanner - 05:43 am PDT - Jul 30, 2001 - #6671 of 7994
Drink up people! (clap-clap-clap!) You don't have to go home, but you
can't stay here!
The arrival of the little kitten raised the chaos level enough that
the Silver Queen has started letting me touch her while she eats. What
the hell when the little one is pouncing on her tail and the other
two are jostling her from side to side… The tiny kitty has seduced both
Sigmund and Anna and they have a 3-way game of chase/ambush going.
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LaDeeVah - 07:30 am PDT - Jul 30, 2001 - #6672 of 7994
In Memoriam: Ray Menendez, 1940-2001
Susan, I have to say that I absolutely envy you. Sigmund, Anna, the
Silver Queen and "The Kitty" (is there a name I've missed?) sound
like an enormous amount of fun! And kudos for the new progress with
the Silver Queen.
Ella, perhaps you're right. I certainly don't want to give up on Big
Gray Al. I wants me three happy kitties! So...do you think I should
risk moving the food? (I did that last week, then spent the night worrying
he'd starve.)
It's weird, because I've never had too much in the way of cat introduction
problems. Milkshake accepted that Garp was boss. Melmo
accepted that Garp was boss. Peaches accepted that Melmo is boss. Al
ain't acceptin' nuthin'.
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ray menendez - 08:18 am PDT - Jul 30, 2001 - #6673 of 7994
Turns out he was an impostor all along.
LaDeeVah - Al ain't accepting nothing cause the issue is not yet resolved.
Al and Melmo have a matter unresolved between them, and till
it is there is gonna be more electricity in your house than comes in
thru the outlets. IIRC, all the players are neutered, so things go more
slowly than IRpussycatL, but things still require a resolution. Make
sure no doors are closed between the cats when you leave each time,
and one time you will return to find Al in his appropriate place, either
subordinate to Melmo or lording over him. Right now, Al seems to
think he has a shot, and if Mel is being aggressively dominant he thinks
so too. You may find cat hair and some scratches, but there will
not be real damage to either animal; if dominance fights were damaging
there would shortly be few pussycats cause the winner AND the
loser would be out of the gene pool. Jes relax, things will come to
a head soon and then you will have three happy cats and one adapting
to the situation and headed for happy.
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Anne Threston - 11:34 am PDT - Aug 3, 2001 - #6934 of 7994
Inmate of Casa de los Tres Gatos Locos
My vet doesn't charge extra for Saturday office visits, though they're
only open until 1PM. Which reminds me, I need to stop by and get
another sack of KD, since the Mad Drooler got the last of it this morning.
And even if God isn't a stray, I think you're still in, Cynthia. How
are the gay celiing kitties doing in their new home?
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Asia - 11:36 am PDT - Aug 3, 2001 - #6935 of 7994
Oh, please, God, don't let me be talking out my ass *again*
Michele, does she like catnip? I haven't tried it yet, but my plan for
the next time I have to Box a Cat is to place a heap of catnip at the
back of the carrier and let the little monsters box themselves.
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Cynthia Barnes - 11:41 am PDT - Aug 3, 2001 - #6936 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
Food is eaten and Poop is made. Other than that, they are invisible.
When they finally make an appearance, I'll let you know. LaDeeVah - 01:35
pm PDT - Aug 6, 2001 - #7018 of 7994
In Memoriam: Ray Menendez, 1940-2001
I've also heard a suggestion of stuffing a towel
in after the cat, to create an
obstacle to immediate escape, but haven't tried
that myself.
I've done this when wrestling Melmo into the carrier. It worked for me.
Oh boy, Cynthia -- good luck!
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ACynthia Barnes - 01:08 pm PDT - Aug 6, 2001 - #7017 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
Heh. My friend has decided that he has had enough of Shitty Landlord,
and is looking for alternate digs. Which means we get to trap the
Psycho Kitties again. Patient Husband still has a nice hole in his
finger, so I think we'll leave him out of it. But friend is also thinking
of
moving into our basement apartment. Which is where the Ceiling Kitties
were, remember. Which is too small for two cats, really.
Sigh.
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nne Threston - 01:37 pm PDT - Aug 6, 2001 - #7019 of 7994
Inmate of Casa de los Tres Gatos Locos
Well, if they just stay in hiding all day long, then the basement is
probably just big enough. Seriously, if there's lots of cat-spaces and
room for litter box(es), then they'll probably be fine.
Of course, I have athree bedroom apartment, and mine want to occupy
the same space. Could be the bed, could be the sofa, could be
the basthroom, but if one's there, the other two gotta be there, too.
Came quite close to getting Himself a kitten this weekend. Only thing
that stopped me is that I think I'd rather get a boy-kitty, and the
kitten in question was female. However, she was hugely cute and personable,
and I'd be surprised if she didn't already have a new home.
I seem to remember saying that I didn't want to get a kitten, right
in this very forum. I'm sure all of you are too polite to remind me of
that slip of judgement, right?
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Susan Tanner - 01:40 pm PDT - Aug 6, 2001 - #7020 of 7994
Drink up people! (clap-clap-clap!) You don't have to go home, but you
can't stay here!
What does wanting have to do with anything?
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LaDeeVah - 01:41 pm PDT - Aug 6, 2001 - #7021 of 7994
In Memoriam: Ray Menendez, 1940-2001
Excellent point, Susan.
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Cynthia Barnes - 06:40 pm PDT - Aug 7, 2001 - #7090 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
Ray, you simply MUST post. I don't think we can get on without you.
MTM, best wishes to you and your furry one. Think positively.
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Jim Paul - 06:45 pm PDT - Aug 7, 2001 - #7091 of 7994
A Glass Will Only Hold So Much Beer. I'm keeping my glasses.
Ray is frequently read at the World Crossing. It's nice over there,
but the walls need paint and the floor still has bits of carpenter dust.
(In
other words, it could use a bit of work and cleaning up to be as nice
as this place.)
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Cynthia Barnes - 11:56 am PDT - Aug 21, 2001 - #7311 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
Good kittie vibes to our sick felines from my two and the Invisible
Gay Ceiling Kitties. (Who will be trapped next week, oh joy, to
relocate them BACK to my basement apartment, where my best friend has
decided to live.)
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Michele Herman - 12:34 pm PDT - Aug 21, 2001 - #7312 of 7994
"sometimes one has to get in touch with one's thug side" -- tjcj
Oh Cynthia, this just keeps getting better and better! At least you'll
be able to visit the beasties whenever you want to!
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lynne p. - 12:35 pm PDT - Aug 21, 2001 - #7313 of 7994
I could pin the tail on a thousand donkeys and never win a prize like
this.
Oh yay yay yay! The Gay Ceiling Kitties, back where it all began!
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lynne p. - 12:35 pm PDT - Aug 21, 2001 - #7314 of 7994
I could pin the tail on a thousand donkeys and never win a prize like
this.
Did they ever get names, by the way?
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Cynthia Barnes - 02:00 pm PDT - Aug 21, 2001 - #7315 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
Yes. We had tentatively nicknamed the male "The General," because he
reminded me of Gen. Custer after Little Big Horn. My friend
has named the other male "The Missus." So it's "The General and the
Missus."
It's a very weird life I'm leading here, folks. <grin
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Anne Threston - 02:29 pm PDT - Aug 21, 2001 - #7316 of 7994
Inmate of Casa de los Tres Gatos Locos
It's a very weird life I'm leading here, folks.
I think it would be illegal in some of the more conservative southern states.
On a somewhat more cheerful note than my previous posts, I was hanging
over the end of my bed, watching a ballet sequence from an
opera the other night. Victor popped up on the bed, hung over the end,
and watched the dancing with me. When I changed the channel
to The Practice, he got fidgity. When I switched it back to the ballet,
he was immediately interested.
Dancing and hockey, he likes. Adult drama, OTOH, does not hold his interest.
We'll have to see if he finds Monday Night Football to his
liking.
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Michele Herman - 01:17 pm PDT - Aug 23, 2001 - #7365 of 7994
"sometimes one has to get in touch with one's thug side" -- tjcj
And I miss the tales of the pussycat ace...::sob:: Has anyone seen Ray?
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annef - 01:20 pm PDT - Aug 23, 2001 - #7366 of 7994
now what?
I think he's at WorldCrossing.
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Michele Herman - 01:26 pm PDT - Aug 23, 2001 - #7367 of 7994
"sometimes one has to get in touch with one's thug side" -- tjcj
I haven't seen him around WC at all -- the threads I've been haunting
are in the Animal Friends and in MWT...
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Ruth F - 01:30 pm PDT - Aug 23, 2001 - #7368 of 7994
Thanks re e.b.! Makes me want a kitten again, oy. Must resist, must
resist (still have 3 other cats who would NOT be happy, nope, not
at all).
Haven't seen ray over at WC either, hmmm.
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lynne p. - 01:32 pm PDT - Aug 23, 2001 - #7369 of 7994
I could pin the tail on a thousand donkeys and never win a prize like
this.
I think he's at the Rant more than WC. He's definitely around.
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Cynthia Barnes - 06:31 am PDT - Aug 24, 2001 - #7389 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
Operation Relocate Invisible Gay Ceiling Kitties begins this evening at 2200.
We know that you will keep the brave soldiers who risk this dangerous mission in your prayers.
Out.
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lynne p. - 06:43 am PDT - Aug 24, 2001 - #7390 of 7994
I could pin the tail on a thousand donkeys and never win a prize like
this.
Cynthia, we expect regular dispatches from the front.
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BeVERly - 07:59 am PDT - Aug 24, 2001 - #7391 of 7994
his deck includes the fourteen of fruitloops--ray menendez on the pussycat
ace--RIP
Best of luck, Cynthia. We'll be thinking of you.
Elizabeth, I'm glad you're getting lots of cuddles. I'm sure the cats appreciate it too.
Ruth, I loved e.b.'s kitten picture. What a sweet face! I hope Annie comes to enjoy her #1 spot.
Phyl, I think you'd make a wonderful shelter volunteer. And there would
be many grateful kitties!
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Phyl Good - 08:05 am PDT - Aug 24, 2001 - #7392 of 7994
Ray Menendez, Rest in Peace - all the TT Pussycats and their parents
miss you already; please take care of our little ones who went on ahead
of you
They wouldn't be the only grateful ones, I'll tell ya. :-)
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Kristinff - 09:28 am PDT - Aug 24, 2001 - #7393 of 7994
my cats are much happier than my house is clean!
Elizabeth, your descriptions of your shelter visits are lovely! Thanks
you for sharing. Is that the shelter across from Kiehl's? I've been
sorely tempted by that place, but I know I'd become attached, so I
don't go in. The Girls would most emphatically not appreciate a
stranger in their midst.
Cynthia, good luck on the mission. We all hope for success!
Phyl, go for it!
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Cynthia Barnes - 08:56 am PDT - Aug 27, 2001 - #7415 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
Asia, can you have the vets show you how to administer fluids at home? It is not difficult.
Invisible Gay Ceiling Kitties Update: They have relocated (through a
closet) under the bathtub of the house my friend is moving out of.
And for the past 2 days, they've refused to enter the trap for food,
so that we can relocate them. A few hours ago I set a great bowl of
juicy tuna in there, will check it this afternoon. Friend has to give
Shitty Landlord the keys in a few days.
Here we go again....
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Phyl Good - 06:14 pm PDT - Aug 27, 2001 - #7433 of 7994
Ray Menendez, Rest in Peace - all the TT Pussycats and their parents
miss you already; please take care of our little ones who went on ahead
of you
I'm not supposed to be online at all from work, so when I put my head
on the desk and started choking, I finally had to make it sound,
to my co-workers, like someone had just emailed me with the toilet
paper story. As I was beginning to relate the tale, someone said, "Oh,
is this the cat that murders tomatoes?" and I said, "No, this one is
toilet paper."
Isn't it funny how famous all the kitties around here are?
The story of the toilet paper reminds me of Finarr, a friend's cat,
who finally got to be a hunter by attacking the roast chicken sitting on
the counter, and dragging it behind a chair to gnaw at it like a lion
who had just brought down a wildebeest.
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Phyl Good - 06:15 pm PDT - Aug 27, 2001 - #7434 of 7994
Ray Menendez, Rest in Peace - all the TT Pussycats and their parents
miss you already; please take care of our little ones who went on ahead
of you
And I'm still gonna think of them as the Gay Ceiling Kitties. They're
just broadening their horizons. Or deepening them, or whatever.
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Cynthia Barnes - 06:23 pm PDT - Aug 27, 2001 - #7435 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
Still not a nibble on the tuna. I draped the cage with a sheet, so that
only the opening is showing. Friend is going over tonight around
eleven to check trap. If tuna doesn't work, tomorrow morning I'm trying
with sardines. Dammit, he absolutely HAS to give the keys
back on the afternoon of the 31st. And I have to have BOTH of them
trapped by then, separately. And I am never, as long as I live,
getting involved with strays more than to the extent of writing a check
to the Humane Society. I. Mean. It.
Also, Friend confesses that the first time he set the trap he did it
stupid, and it went off halfway and scared them to bits, no doubt. How
many days will they starve themselves and where's Ray Menendez when
we need him?
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Karl Northman - 06:23 pm PDT - Aug 27, 2001 - #7436 of 7994
The supreme court says money is speech: So I've put up my money, and
I'm going to speak.
There were three kittens of the cat I had in California years ago (ca
1969). "Greypaws", a female gray tabby with gray paws that I kept,
"Mouser" (for the "Gray Mouser", for you sci-fi people), who looked
just like graypaws except he had white paws, and "Snake", who
was also male and all black. Snake had a different name when he was
little - but then he got big, and one night over at the house where
both Mouser and Snake lived, (with different "owners"), Ken Conklin,
snake's staff, one night, made himself a nice little half-pound
steak all fried up. Put it on a plate in the dining room, went back
to the kitchen for his beer, and came back to see Snake jumping down
from the table with steak in his teeth. Snake went through the window
and the front porch without missing a step, and disappeared into
the night. He didn't come back for 3 days, which is probably when he
was done with the carcass.
"Snake", btw, got the name from his "owners" referents - it was, IIRC,
the Marine Corp term in Vietnam for air-to-ground rockets, and
Ken was only at this time 6 months back from Viet Nam.
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Karl Northman - 06:26 pm PDT - Aug 27, 2001 - #7437 of 7994
The supreme court says money is speech: So I've put up my money, and
I'm going to speak.
cynthia:
Where are they getting water from? You could cut that off, also, and replace it with some water enhanced with a little bit of tuna water.
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Cynthia Barnes - 06:27 pm PDT - Aug 27, 2001 - #7438 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
Oh, put water in the trap? I didn't think of that. It's outside the
trap, because I wanted them to have access to fresh water. I'll have Best
Friend take it up tonight, and put it in the trap with the tuna.
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Phyl Good - 06:51 pm PDT - Aug 27, 2001 - #7439 of 7994
Ray Menendez, Rest in Peace - all the TT Pussycats and their parents
miss you already; please take care of our little ones who went on ahead
of you
Those poor kitties.
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Cynthia Barnes - 09:34 am PDT - Aug 28, 2001 - #7447 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
Weary soldiers are happy to report that, in a pre-dawn raid, the General was captured and relocated deep inside enemy territory.
We expect that the remaining fugitive will surrender shortly.
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Clara Bera - 09:37 am PDT - Aug 28, 2001 - #7448 of 7994
Apparently, there IS crying in baseball.
Hurray!
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Cynthia Barnes - 08:54 pm PDT - Aug 29, 2001 - #7458 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
I know we've lost some messages, but ... cue the Peaches & Herb!
"Reunited, and it feels so good..."
Thank you for all the prayers and invocations to all deities, and for
the tips. I am happy to report that at 10:52 Central Standard Time,
the Missus was reunited with the General. Catnip, sardines, and two
days of starvation did the trick.
The thing was, when they first showed up, I felt like my cat Bumper
(we lost him last year, at 16) had sent them for me to look out for.
I first saw the General around his grave, starved and beat up looking.
And I thought, "Bumper would have sent him, he would have told
him that I'd feed him and take care of him." Tonight when we came in
with her I took the remaining sardines out to his grave, and put
them in a little bowl. This is really dorky but I am crying now so
I will go to bed. Thanks, everyone. I am so happy and relieved.
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Shaheen - 08:57 pm PDT - Aug 29, 2001 - #7459 of 7994
A circumstance beyond our control/The phone, the TV and the news of
the world/Got in the house like a pigeon from hell/Threw sand in our eyes
and
descended like flies/Put us back on the train/Back on the chain gang...
Cynthia, now I'm really teary. How wonderful! And absolutely right on
deadline. Gay ceiling kitties understand deadlines, of course. She
knew her "staff" had to make some changes, so she accomodated.
The gesture to Bumper was beautiful.
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Elizabeth Nolan - 09:13 pm PDT - Aug 29, 2001 - #7460 of 7994
former Table Talk Database Manager
Awww, Cynthia. That's wonderful.
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BeVERly - 09:23 pm PDT - Aug 29, 2001 - #7461 of 7994
his deck includes the fourteen of fruitloops--ray menendez on the pussycat
ace--RIP
Oh, Cynthia, thanks for letting us know! I'm sure Bumper had a paw in
it somewhere. You done good.
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Ruth F - 10:05 pm PDT - Aug 29, 2001 - #7462 of 7994
Yay Cythnia! I'll sleep better knowing the gay ceiling kitties are reunited.
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Lily Delafield - 05:16 am PDT - Aug 30, 2001 - #7463 of 7994
So it goes.
"Bumper would have sent him, he would have told him that I'd feed him and take care of him."
Awwwwww. <snif
Cynthia, I am so happy and relieved to hear the news!
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Phyl Good - 05:24 am PDT - Aug 30, 2001 - #7464 of 7994
Ray Menendez, Rest in Peace - all the TT Pussycats and their parents
miss you already; please take care of our little ones who went on ahead
of you
What a relief! And what a wonderful thing for Bumper to do. :-) And he was right to send them to you, wasn't he?
Yay for Cynthia! Yay for the Invisible Gay Ceiling Kitties!
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lynne p. - 07:33 am PDT - Aug 30, 2001 - #7465 of 7994
I could pin the tail on a thousand donkeys and never win a prize like
this.
Gay Ceiling/Underneath-things Kitties are back where they belong! Yay!
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Anne Threston - 08:16 am PDT - Aug 30, 2001 - #7466 of 7994
Inmate of Casa de los Tres Gatos Locos
Cynthia, that made me a little weepy, too, but in a good way. I'm so
glad the IGCK are reunited safely.
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Kristinff - 10:21 am PDT - Aug 30, 2001 - #7467 of 7994
my cats are much happier than my house is clean!
The whole Invisible Gay Ceiling Kitties is just about the best cat story
ever! You should compile it all and submit it to Cat Fancy of
something...
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Cynthia Barnes - 12:15 pm PDT - Aug 30, 2001 - #7468 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
Puh. I can't get Cat Fancy to answer the queries I already have out
to them. However, if they ever do deign to give me an assignment, I
will pitch it to them. I'm actually working on it for another venue
right now, and when that is published I'll let you all know first!
Now that they are truly and properly captured, they are acting much
like they did when I was feeding them on my porch. I went down a
little while ago to give them treats. The General meowed at me and
they both came within several feet. Apparently they have decided
that if they can't make me crazy by hiding in ceilings and under bathtubs,
they might as well be sociable.
Cats.
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annef - 12:17 pm PDT - Aug 30, 2001 - #7469 of 7994
now what?
Cats.
Indeed.
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Cynthia Barnes - 01:10 pm PDT - Sep 18, 2001 - #7769 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
I saw both IGCK this Sunday, brunching downstairs with my friend. The
General actually came into the middle of the room and
meowed at me. The Missus stayed under the sofa.
They'll come around one of these years.
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julief - 01:15 pm PDT - Sep 18, 2001 - #7770 of 7994
speechless
Yay Pipsqueak! My mom's cat, Fellini, loves to talk to all deliverymen
or repairmen, especially the burly ones. Mom reports looking out
as three burly deck repair guys were in a semi-circle, with Fellini
in the middle, and all parties talking away.
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Lily Delafield - 01:30 pm PDT - Sep 18, 2001 - #7771 of 7994
So it goes.
three burly deck repair guys were in a semi-circle, with Fellini in the middle, and all parties talking away.
How cute!
Cynthia, that's so good to hear that The General came out to say hello!
I'm so glad they're doing well in their new non-ceiling,
non-crawlspace home.
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LaDeeVah - 01:36 pm PDT - Sep 18, 2001 - #7772 of 7994
In Memoriam: Ray Menendez, 1940-2001
The General actually came into the middle of the
room and meowed at me. The Missus
stayed under the sofa.
Are these their names? I love it! Glad to hear IGCK are well.
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Cynthia Barnes - 02:26 pm PDT - Sep 18, 2001 - #7773 of 7994
Falwell blames "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians"
for WTC attack.
Lily, I'm not sure "hello" was what he was meowing at me.
"You bitch! You insufferable busybody! You ruined my life! Get out of
here! But before you go, what happened to my SEX
DRIVE????"
Or something like that. :-)