Eclipse and cat update
May. 20th, 2012 02:39 pmSamhain decided she waswilling to eat organic chicken and salmon wet food, so Iam no longer quite so panicky.
Lots of it, in fact. So I think the meds were justbothering her tum.
I have ventured out and taken up position on the cliffs above the ocean. Tested old backpacker telescope (works), old camera (doesn't work) with solar filter mylar. Now i and a small army of pigeons have settled down to wait for subset, I'm 3 hours early, but I wanted to make sure I got a spot. Some peope have gathered, but it's not too busy yet. I got here at 2.
Am I crazy? I guess crazy would've been driving to utah for the full annular eclipse, but I couldn't do that without leaving the cat overnight.
Lots of it, in fact. So I think the meds were justbothering her tum.
I have ventured out and taken up position on the cliffs above the ocean. Tested old backpacker telescope (works), old camera (doesn't work) with solar filter mylar. Now i and a small army of pigeons have settled down to wait for subset, I'm 3 hours early, but I wanted to make sure I got a spot. Some peope have gathered, but it's not too busy yet. I got here at 2.
Am I crazy? I guess crazy would've been driving to utah for the full annular eclipse, but I couldn't do that without leaving the cat overnight.
Gigi is magic!
Feb. 8th, 2012 10:25 amAkycha sent an adorable little Gigi-charm (black cat from Kiki) as a bow on a solstice package, and I wound up hanging him from the sunshade in my car, which gets used more often than a broom in this establishment.
While out driving Monday, I noticed he'd fallen off the keychain. I'd even noticed something falling down when I got out of the car the day before, hitting my foot in the wheel well, but at the time I hadn't been able to tell what it was. The keychain-- the kind with the linked metal balls -- was still dangling, but no kitty. I assumed the ring at the top of his head had broken. So when I stopped, I searched the wheel well carefully, and also the floor of my garage. No luck. There's some mess I need to tidy up in the passenger side, and I hoped that's where he'd wound up.
I searched a bit next time I was in the car, too. No luck. "I really gotta clean up paper and books and do a thorough search," I told myself.
Until he reappeared hanging from the keychain.
Beige car ceiling and visor. Black cat figure. I first missed it while driving outside, in the sunshine, so it wasn't like the black cat had just vanished in the shadows.
Well, he did take a detour during the movie.
While out driving Monday, I noticed he'd fallen off the keychain. I'd even noticed something falling down when I got out of the car the day before, hitting my foot in the wheel well, but at the time I hadn't been able to tell what it was. The keychain-- the kind with the linked metal balls -- was still dangling, but no kitty. I assumed the ring at the top of his head had broken. So when I stopped, I searched the wheel well carefully, and also the floor of my garage. No luck. There's some mess I need to tidy up in the passenger side, and I hoped that's where he'd wound up.
I searched a bit next time I was in the car, too. No luck. "I really gotta clean up paper and books and do a thorough search," I told myself.
Until he reappeared hanging from the keychain.
Beige car ceiling and visor. Black cat figure. I first missed it while driving outside, in the sunshine, so it wasn't like the black cat had just vanished in the shadows.
Well, he did take a detour during the movie.
from ![[personal profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
heavenscalyx :
A friend of mine needs to place her cat in a good home quickly. She's heartbroken, but he has become very aggressive with their baby, and over time, instead of adapting, he's gotten worse.
In her words:
Does anyone within reasonable driving distance [Ed: she said this was, to her, within about 12 hours' drive] of Southern California want Itai? I am serious. I will drive him to you. I will pay for a year's worth of food. You need to not have kids or other cats or small dogs. He is a huge cat: 20 lbs is a guess but he will not get on a scale. He hates the vet and will not go (draws blood from the vet, not worth it), but luckily he is very healthy. He has his claws. He loves to snuggle in bed. He loves to be on your lap most of the time. He is very active and loves to play. He hides from guests. He is very soft. He needs to be brushed frequently. He loves to eat. He is very funny. He lets you pick him up and carry him like a baby when he's in a good mood, and you can use him for a pillow. When he plays, he gets so worked up that he leaps into the air and grabs the door frame with all four legs. He is very vain and clean and loves to have his picture taken. And I know he doesn't have fleas or worms because we just rid him of both.
He is such a great cat and I love him so much and I know that one of you would love him too.
I have seen photos of him -- he's a beautiful cat, and he is hilariously photogenic.
REPLY/ CONTACT INFO HERE
heavenscalyx : A friend of mine needs to place her cat in a good home quickly. She's heartbroken, but he has become very aggressive with their baby, and over time, instead of adapting, he's gotten worse.
In her words:
Does anyone within reasonable driving distance [Ed: she said this was, to her, within about 12 hours' drive] of Southern California want Itai? I am serious. I will drive him to you. I will pay for a year's worth of food. You need to not have kids or other cats or small dogs. He is a huge cat: 20 lbs is a guess but he will not get on a scale. He hates the vet and will not go (draws blood from the vet, not worth it), but luckily he is very healthy. He has his claws. He loves to snuggle in bed. He loves to be on your lap most of the time. He is very active and loves to play. He hides from guests. He is very soft. He needs to be brushed frequently. He loves to eat. He is very funny. He lets you pick him up and carry him like a baby when he's in a good mood, and you can use him for a pillow. When he plays, he gets so worked up that he leaps into the air and grabs the door frame with all four legs. He is very vain and clean and loves to have his picture taken. And I know he doesn't have fleas or worms because we just rid him of both.
He is such a great cat and I love him so much and I know that one of you would love him too.
I have seen photos of him -- he's a beautiful cat, and he is hilariously photogenic.
REPLY/ CONTACT INFO HERE
Galena Cat: Spring 1987-May 2010
May. 28th, 2010 01:43 am
Goodbye, old girl.
I'll miss her. She was my cat once, on my bed every night in high school and summers in college. But she was so old: 23. Her quality of life was pretty low even this last Christmas when I visited, and she's gotten worse since. I haven't wanted to tell my Mom this, but I really felt that it was getting to the point where Galena was in too much pain and too miserable. She could barely get around from arthritis, she couldn't smell or hear anymore, and she couldn't groom herself. She was always a very proud cat. It's been years since she could hunt, and she was such a hunter (to our chagrin) when she was younger.
It was time.
And now I know why I've felt so horribly awful for the last 24 hours. Mom called me at dinner tonight.
And yes, for those who have not heard the story, we named Galena for a quartz-and-silver-ore composite rock that's very dense and heavy.
"Day Without Cats" Protest
Sep. 9th, 2009 04:21 pmThanks to ![[livejournal.com profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
owlmoose, I have learned that a prominent net-trend-tracking website [***] has declared 9/9/09 a "Day Without Cats on the Internet" day, in which no cat videos, photos, or lolcats are uploaded to the net.
Naturally, a counter-protest is circulating. Here is our contribution.
[***]: Oh, the irony! I just realized the website organizing the internet-wide ban on cat videos and photos is part of AOL, the company that mailed us several landfills' worth of "Free Trial!" plastic CDs over the last 15 years.
I'm glad to see they have their priorities about what constitutes "spam."
owlmoose, I have learned that a prominent net-trend-tracking website [***] has declared 9/9/09 a "Day Without Cats on the Internet" day, in which no cat videos, photos, or lolcats are uploaded to the net.Naturally, a counter-protest is circulating. Here is our contribution.
[***]: Oh, the irony! I just realized the website organizing the internet-wide ban on cat videos and photos is part of AOL, the company that mailed us several landfills' worth of "Free Trial!" plastic CDs over the last 15 years.
I'm glad to see they have their priorities about what constitutes "spam."
Concrete Dance, Updated...
May. 2nd, 2009 05:09 pm...never got a good video of the original Concrete Dance, but here's happy Samhain in the back yard. One of the top priorities on my house hunting list was an enclosed, partly-paved area for her to play in!
So, in celebration of moving in about a year ago...
Music is some random song I've never heard of, "Bang a Drum" by Selena Gomez, because I was trying to get a piece of music in the Audioswap section of YouTube (i.e. made available by the artist).
And yes, my eye is healing. SLOWLY. Still can't see much out of it, but the main thing is the infection is gone, so now it's just a matter of healing the damage.
So, in celebration of moving in about a year ago...
Music is some random song I've never heard of, "Bang a Drum" by Selena Gomez, because I was trying to get a piece of music in the Audioswap section of YouTube (i.e. made available by the artist).
And yes, my eye is healing. SLOWLY. Still can't see much out of it, but the main thing is the infection is gone, so now it's just a matter of healing the damage.
No Longer a Terror to Mice or to Voles
Dec. 26th, 2008 11:24 pmThis is my old cat, the one that slept on my bed when I was in high school. Dad has been saying she's 20, but I recently found a sketch I did of Galena in '87 when she was full grown.
She's so old. She nearly died last year after her marrow stopped making red blood cells, but managed to hang on with a blood transfusion and expensive shots every few days now that supply an enzyme her kidneys don't make anymore that is needed to trigger RBC production. She's got a few small bumps of skin cancer on her ears, her kidneys don't work so well, she's got nasty arthritis, and she limps from an old injury suffered while fighting off a coyote. She apparently had a stroke a few years back and suddenly went deaf. She can't groom herself very well, so Mom has to brush her.
Yet she still purrs and shows a lively interest in the world for the few hours she's awake. Despite the stiffness and the yowls of pain sometimes when she sits down, she's got a good appetite and she seems content. I've been sitting with her all evening with her paws on me. She remembers me.
I don't think I'll see her again after this winter. But I'm so glad to have a little more time with the old girl. She's had a long, rich life for a cat, fought with Samhain in years past, kept a squirrel tail trophy rack back in Pennsylvania, where she was a champion hunter. She's been around for more than half my life.
And who knows. A year ago, I steeled myself to the fact that I probably wouldn't see her again.
But now it's time to go to bed and give Samhain some human-all-to-myself time. She's been sulking in the dining room all evening.
She's so old. She nearly died last year after her marrow stopped making red blood cells, but managed to hang on with a blood transfusion and expensive shots every few days now that supply an enzyme her kidneys don't make anymore that is needed to trigger RBC production. She's got a few small bumps of skin cancer on her ears, her kidneys don't work so well, she's got nasty arthritis, and she limps from an old injury suffered while fighting off a coyote. She apparently had a stroke a few years back and suddenly went deaf. She can't groom herself very well, so Mom has to brush her.
Yet she still purrs and shows a lively interest in the world for the few hours she's awake. Despite the stiffness and the yowls of pain sometimes when she sits down, she's got a good appetite and she seems content. I've been sitting with her all evening with her paws on me. She remembers me.
I don't think I'll see her again after this winter. But I'm so glad to have a little more time with the old girl. She's had a long, rich life for a cat, fought with Samhain in years past, kept a squirrel tail trophy rack back in Pennsylvania, where she was a champion hunter. She's been around for more than half my life.
And who knows. A year ago, I steeled myself to the fact that I probably wouldn't see her again.
But now it's time to go to bed and give Samhain some human-all-to-myself time. She's been sulking in the dining room all evening.
'Twas the Night Before Christmas...
Dec. 24th, 2008 11:21 pm... and to follow up last year's photo, Samhain* agreed to pose again.
( Sort of... )
( Sort of... )
*Yes, the cat is named Samhain, and I'm taking a Christmas Eve photo. Half my family's Christmas traditions come from the Jewish side of the family.
It...works for us.
It's a good thing we love them.
Aug. 10th, 2008 10:29 pmI have gotten to know my neighborhood better than ever in the hours since about 5PM, searching for cat wedged in a small space under an easy chair who (uncharacteristically) did not come when called, when catnip was rustled, and was apparently Not In the House the three or four times I did a complete wall-crawling under-bed in-every-closet sweep.
My legs are SO DEAD.
The patio door was open. I thought somehow the Furry Football had suddenly decided she wanted to climb the five foot high wall. There's one place where she could get up to the top by climbing the cape honeysuckle.
But no. A friend finally came over, and when I ran to the front door to let her in (after having stopped my perambulations briefly to have a drink of water and design a "lost kitty" sign), the easy chair suddenly emitted a rotund cat who went scooting for a better hiding place.
Gah.
Cat.
I love her, and now I'm going to turn her into a muff, to quoteakycha.
My legs are SO DEAD.
The patio door was open. I thought somehow the Furry Football had suddenly decided she wanted to climb the five foot high wall. There's one place where she could get up to the top by climbing the cape honeysuckle.
But no. A friend finally came over, and when I ran to the front door to let her in (after having stopped my perambulations briefly to have a drink of water and design a "lost kitty" sign), the easy chair suddenly emitted a rotund cat who went scooting for a better hiding place.
Gah.
Cat.
I love her, and now I'm going to turn her into a muff, to quote
akycha.Cat Security Test
Aug. 6th, 2008 02:02 pmOh good. And bad, but good.
I stepped outside to check on status of garden (latest acquisition: miniature rose, Kithyra-style, which I haven't tried growing again since my first days in Boston) before running errands, and apparently Samhain slipped past me, even though she'd been asleep on the bed upstairs 30 seconds earlier.
I came home an hour and a half later, stepped out onto the porch, and she got up and told me off at length. But she hadn't strayed. Malcolm would've been in Riverside by that time.
I am now trying to motivate myself to get busy, when I want to sit here listening to the birds, wind in the trees, and especially the wind-chimes which is making dreamy goofy tinkly noises. It is nearly 90, dry, sunny, with a bright, clean blue-sky breeze blowing in all the windows which just SCREAMS "lazy summer afternoon." I no longer have to go to the Inn of the Seventh Ray to get my New Age vibes. (Well, okay, they have a few other things I lack, like excellent cooking.)
And -- ROSES!
Wish me luck. It is a sign of completeness that I am trying to have my own rosebush again. I gave up years ago because losing them made me sad, but it's an odd little quirk of self-identity, having a miniature rosebush with tiny red blooms.
I'm also trying my upside-down hanging pot for growing cherry tomatoes, since I've grown impatient trying to sprout them from seeds.
Speaking of roses, Other Rose, have you seen pictures of genetically-engineered blue roses? Unsurprisingly, Japanese researchers were involved. Hopefully no funding from Ohtori Academy.
I stepped outside to check on status of garden (latest acquisition: miniature rose, Kithyra-style, which I haven't tried growing again since my first days in Boston) before running errands, and apparently Samhain slipped past me, even though she'd been asleep on the bed upstairs 30 seconds earlier.
I came home an hour and a half later, stepped out onto the porch, and she got up and told me off at length. But she hadn't strayed. Malcolm would've been in Riverside by that time.
I am now trying to motivate myself to get busy, when I want to sit here listening to the birds, wind in the trees, and especially the wind-chimes which is making dreamy goofy tinkly noises. It is nearly 90, dry, sunny, with a bright, clean blue-sky breeze blowing in all the windows which just SCREAMS "lazy summer afternoon." I no longer have to go to the Inn of the Seventh Ray to get my New Age vibes. (Well, okay, they have a few other things I lack, like excellent cooking.)
And -- ROSES!
Wish me luck. It is a sign of completeness that I am trying to have my own rosebush again. I gave up years ago because losing them made me sad, but it's an odd little quirk of self-identity, having a miniature rosebush with tiny red blooms.
I'm also trying my upside-down hanging pot for growing cherry tomatoes, since I've grown impatient trying to sprout them from seeds.
Speaking of roses, Other Rose, have you seen pictures of genetically-engineered blue roses? Unsurprisingly, Japanese researchers were involved. Hopefully no funding from Ohtori Academy.
Flyby Update
Feb. 22nd, 2008 07:14 pmHousing negotiations proceed apace; I have Yojimbo as my realtor.
I have been doing a ton of webpage design as an anti-stress mechanism.
Also... her majesty is posing for a contest.
I have been doing a ton of webpage design as an anti-stress mechanism.
Also... her majesty is posing for a contest.
Cats: Telepathy, Or Do They Know English?
Dec. 7th, 2007 12:00 pmI called Pacifica to deal with some bureaucracy. Then I made online reservations for my holidays. Then I called Delta to confirm/reserve space on my flights for a pet, since I take Samhain with me when I'm gone for two weeks. Samhain was in the "oh noes, she's taking me to the vet!" crouch on the living room floor when I got off the phone, and as I type she is slinking furtively behind me to go hide under the bed. I'd go comfort her, but there's a chance she might think I was trying to extract her, and then she'd pee. So I'm leaving her alone.
How did she KNOW? Normally she talks up a storm when I'm on the phone, even when making reservations.
Example 2) Once I was leaving on a shorter trip, and my flight was scheduled first thing in the morning, so the day before I was going to take her to the vet to be boarded. Around 1PM I was reading a Latin book on the sofa, glanced up, saw her snoozing on the window ledge, and thought, "Hm, now might be a good time to take her to the vet." As I looked over, she woke up, gave me a bugeyed stare, vaulted off the perch and bolted for the bedroom.
Example 3) I've had some dumb cats in my day, but Galena's another mind-reader. The most conspicuous of many incidents is that one time she'd hopped up on the hood of the antique car my parents' realtor drove (nice guy, helped them sell their house) and Mom said, "Galena, Frank's got a nice car. Why don't you get off of his car and go sit on mine?" The cat looked at her, pondered, hopped down and hopped up on her car, then went back to sleep.
O.o
In other news, the little black ants have been beaten back. That rain last week caused the colonies to explode. They're not native -- they're an invasive species that's pushed out almost all the native species and is actually causing a decline in spiders, lizards, and other insect-eaters in the area, so I feel NO twinge of Buddhist remorse. On Monday they went after my fresh-baked Challah, and I declared war.
FWIW, to avoid spraying poison in the house, I get those enclosed pet-resistant ant-bait traps which entice ants to carry poison-laced food back to the hive. I placed the traps at intervals in the area where the ant superhighways were running across my kitchen counter, then laid down thin lines of dish soap between each trap to make them seem like the best route. (Ants don't cross dish soap. Apparently it obliterates their scent trail.) The result looked like Roman fortification walls with little round towers.
Within 24 hours, the invaders were reduced to a few lonely ants, and now there are none. Although one did crawl on my hand while I was SLEEPING last night (ugh) so I have now stuffed a few traps in the bedframe.
How did she KNOW? Normally she talks up a storm when I'm on the phone, even when making reservations.
Example 2) Once I was leaving on a shorter trip, and my flight was scheduled first thing in the morning, so the day before I was going to take her to the vet to be boarded. Around 1PM I was reading a Latin book on the sofa, glanced up, saw her snoozing on the window ledge, and thought, "Hm, now might be a good time to take her to the vet." As I looked over, she woke up, gave me a bugeyed stare, vaulted off the perch and bolted for the bedroom.
Example 3) I've had some dumb cats in my day, but Galena's another mind-reader. The most conspicuous of many incidents is that one time she'd hopped up on the hood of the antique car my parents' realtor drove (nice guy, helped them sell their house) and Mom said, "Galena, Frank's got a nice car. Why don't you get off of his car and go sit on mine?" The cat looked at her, pondered, hopped down and hopped up on her car, then went back to sleep.
O.o
In other news, the little black ants have been beaten back. That rain last week caused the colonies to explode. They're not native -- they're an invasive species that's pushed out almost all the native species and is actually causing a decline in spiders, lizards, and other insect-eaters in the area, so I feel NO twinge of Buddhist remorse. On Monday they went after my fresh-baked Challah, and I declared war.
FWIW, to avoid spraying poison in the house, I get those enclosed pet-resistant ant-bait traps which entice ants to carry poison-laced food back to the hive. I placed the traps at intervals in the area where the ant superhighways were running across my kitchen counter, then laid down thin lines of dish soap between each trap to make them seem like the best route. (Ants don't cross dish soap. Apparently it obliterates their scent trail.) The result looked like Roman fortification walls with little round towers.
Within 24 hours, the invaders were reduced to a few lonely ants, and now there are none. Although one did crawl on my hand while I was SLEEPING last night (ugh) so I have now stuffed a few traps in the bedframe.