Elizabeth, once the most fastidious of cats, has areas she can no longer groom because of her arthritis. I can groom most of her (she positively adores having her back combed) but she doesn't co-operate in having her tummy groomed. She's getting matted tufts of fur there. I had the vet look at it when she had her last Solensia injection. The vet says the matting is still minor, but has offered to shave a section next month.
Does anyone have any suggestions? I think the vet's plan would be to shave a different small bit each time she has an injection, and thus prevent any bit becoming seriously matted. As it stands, this would be preventative rather than necessary at this stage.
There are but depends in the cat. My dear departed Albert would go nuts at the vet unless I was holding him & even then he would not be particularly cooperative. His successors Stan & Lil are fine; both have had limited shaves for blood collection and in Stan’s case for cleaning fight-related wounds.
Sounds as though a shave would help because mats are unpleasant and it would give her a grace period while the fur grows back.
It is 4 PM, Molly has her second walk at 4. PM, it also happens to be 97F outside. No way are we walking. Molly does not understand she keeps barking and going to the door. Poor Molly thinks her owner is just being mean to her for no reason.
I am walking Molly dog down the street in our mobile home park and a rather beat-up truck with a sort of shady-looking young man that I know does not live here pulls up next to me and leans out the window and says excuse me. I think maybe he is a handy-man looking for an address but I am a bit suspicious I say yes and he leans out the window and offers me a large box of doggie poop bags and said, someone gave me a case of these and I have more than enough to share. LOL. Molly is now set for several months. Sometimes good people drive old trucks, look shady, and give away poop bags. I think there is a sermon in there somewhere.
I am walking Molly dog down the street in our mobile home park and a rather beat-up truck with a sort of shady-looking young man that I know does not live here pulls up next to me and leans out the window and says excuse me. I think maybe he is a handy-man looking for an address but I am a bit suspicious I say yes and he leans out the window and offers me a large box of doggie poop bags and said, someone gave me a case of these and I have more than enough to share. LOL. Molly is now set for several months. Sometimes good people drive old trucks, look shady, and give away poop bags. I think there is a sermon in there somewhere.
Indeed. There's my next homily ... the shady and disreputable Jesus handing us poop bags so we can put all our sins in .....
Elizabeth came up to me for a cuddle, put her paw into an open pot of hand cream, realised before I could grab her that her front right paw was slippery, and panicked. She ran over a table, leaving smears of hand-cream paw prints behind and then jumped down into the carpet, where, no doubt, the rest of the hand cream was rubbed off.
Your cats are doing better than my children. I haven't got their Advent calendars yet and as one lot involves posting I need to be on the case on Monday.
Reverend Richard Coles tells the story of one Christmas Eve when he started to fill the stockings for the dogs and got told off by his husband David (RIP) because the dogs hadn't yet gone to bed and could see what he was doing!
I have had Molly for 10 years, she has never had a dog bed as she is free to sleep on the sofa or any chair she wishes. She sleeps with me at night. On a whim, I bought her a dog bed and today when I put it down for her she immediately went and climbed in it and went to sleep. My heart is full.
Your cats are doing better than my children. I haven't got their Advent calendars yet and as one lot involves posting I need to be on the case on Monday.
Reverend Richard Coles tells the story of one Christmas Eve when he started to fill the stockings for the dogs and got told off by his husband David (RIP) because the dogs hadn't yet gone to bed and could see what he was doing!
Cute!
My dogs both like to carry soft toys around so I get them a new one each Christmas from charity shops - and throw the oldest, tattiest away.
I bought Ted’s yesterday and the woman serving me said ‘is it for a dog’? They get a lot like me, buying for pets. The toys need to have fabric eyes and noses - no plastic bits which could be chewed and swallowed - but lots of baby soft toys are suitable. 🐾 😊
I must celebrate today in case it doesn’t happen again!
Today we had a bark-free walk.
A million thanks to Stephie (our behaviourist - The Shouty Barky Dog Lady) and all her help. I never thought it would happen!
Ted, eighteen month old Cavapoo, was quiet all the way in the car. Then a sensible sniff and look around before jumping out of the car. Then walking past two dogs quietly while on lead. Long off lead walk with lots of happy encounters, coming away willingly from those on lead.
At the end of the walk I put him back on the lead. This is the bit I dread, so I practiced my breathing (also taught by Stephie).
We met FOUR dogs on lead. Two he greeted and one he just walked past. One was barking and lunging like he has been doing until now. He just looked at me as if to say ‘I’d never do such a thing Mum!’ 😊 🐾
I think Ted came my way to be MY therapy dog through all the upheaval this year, he’s such a loving cuddle-bum. I also think he came to teach me some humility. All the Guide Dog puppy training made me think it was easy (haha) - turns out I had easy dogs, especially bred for calmness, steadiness and teachability (who knew? Lol). Ted has the spaniel energy and the poodle intelligence - what a mix! I clearly didn’t research the breed very well.
I have wanted a cat for a while, especially since my children went to uni and I was by myself all day at home, but we were put off by the fact that all 3 external doors were made of glass so fitting a cat flap would be a pain.
5 weeks ago today, I told Mr Heavenly that I have found a local glazier who would fit a cat flap. Mr Heavenly, an engineer who does not get tradesmen in if he can do the job himself, immediately ordered a replacement uPVC board for a glass panel and a microchip enabled cat flap. I started browsing the local rescue centres for a suitable adult cat.
Nothing really struck me at our local centre so I looked at the Blue Cross centre in a nearby county and immediately noticed a tortoiseshell cat. I read her profile and knew she was mine https://www.bluecross.org.uk/pet/marmie-2138156
I applied for her the next day, had 2 phone interviews that week and we picked her up a week later. At the centre she hissed at us.
Her name is now Mochi. She settled in straight away and is very affectionate and loves playing, though she is shy with strangers and scared of any noise. She is very well behaved and clearly well trained. Her stressful previous experiences, followed by the isolation of a room at a shelter for 3 months, have left her afraid to go outside so we are gradually introducing her to the outside world (I drink my morning coffee on the patio each morning and she sometimes joins me). After 5 weeks she is very much part of the family and she sits beside me in my home office as I work.
We welcomed two tiny terrors in the shape of 2 14 week old kittens, just over two weeks ago.
It's fair to say that the two feline residents of the household were bemused (in Jai's case) and horrified (in Suki's case).
It is nice to have the energy of the very young in the house again - I had forgotten just how bouncy two kittens can be, it being 16 ½ years since we had kittens.
It's great to have four cats again, and I'm not fretting that one of the seniors will be lonely when the other departs.
Both of my small dogs went into sudden kidney failure and had to be put down by the vet. They had been with us for 16 years so I am still in shock. Devastated.
In lighter news Tabby Tiger Max, who hated catteries and never ate much when left at one (a sure sign of discombobulation in an animal with a generally robust appetite) is giving some minor concern. Fortunately we have a neighbour who doesn't go away much and loves looking after him, but this year apparently he just hid away and hardly ate even with him (the neighbour) looking after him.
We're hoping it actually means he has a Third Home somewhere.
Thanks so much, people. I didn't see this coming, they were elderly dogs but in good health: it was a sudden infection and both of them seemed to rally and then got worse within hours. When the vet said, "There is something drastically wrong here," I knew what was going to happen next. He was very gentle and quick, they didn't suffer at all.
We have been looking for cats for the last few months and finally brought two home with us yesterday. Two siblings, a male grey-and-white and his calico sister. They were a little shy at the adoption centre though their foster caregiver said they were becoming quite social when she had them over Christmas. Now they have disappeared into some unknown hiding place in our house… sounds like they worked up the courage to explore beyond their safe room and then their courage failed them. Fingers crossed they start to get used to their new home soon…
Thanks Piglet. They continue to be making themselves scarce and there’s a part of me that thinks they’re going to spend the rest of their lives hiding in our basement. But the fosters told us they would take some time so we are just sitting here waiting and crossing our fingers. Sigh. At least the calico isn’t trying to squeeze her whole body into a shoe storage cubbyhole (head first!) which is what she was trying to do on Saturday.
Comments
Would you believe I get up at 6 am, even in the depths of winter? (of course I go back to a warm bed afterwards)
Does anyone have any suggestions? I think the vet's plan would be to shave a different small bit each time she has an injection, and thus prevent any bit becoming seriously matted. As it stands, this would be preventative rather than necessary at this stage.
Sounds as though a shave would help because mats are unpleasant and it would give her a grace period while the fur grows back.
’A comfort and distraction in this troubled world’
I definitely echo this 🐾💕
Indeed. There's my next homily ... the shady and disreputable Jesus handing us poop bags so we can put all our sins in .....
Blessings
Yup. That'll preach!
Sigh.
Reverend Richard Coles tells the story of one Christmas Eve when he started to fill the stockings for the dogs and got told off by his husband David (RIP) because the dogs hadn't yet gone to bed and could see what he was doing!
Cute!
My dogs both like to carry soft toys around so I get them a new one each Christmas from charity shops - and throw the oldest, tattiest away.
I bought Ted’s yesterday and the woman serving me said ‘is it for a dog’? They get a lot like me, buying for pets. The toys need to have fabric eyes and noses - no plastic bits which could be chewed and swallowed - but lots of baby soft toys are suitable. 🐾 😊
Today we had a bark-free walk.
A million thanks to Stephie (our behaviourist - The Shouty Barky Dog Lady) and all her help. I never thought it would happen!
Ted, eighteen month old Cavapoo, was quiet all the way in the car. Then a sensible sniff and look around before jumping out of the car. Then walking past two dogs quietly while on lead. Long off lead walk with lots of happy encounters, coming away willingly from those on lead.
At the end of the walk I put him back on the lead. This is the bit I dread, so I practiced my breathing (also taught by Stephie).
We met FOUR dogs on lead. Two he greeted and one he just walked past. One was barking and lunging like he has been doing until now. He just looked at me as if to say ‘I’d never do such a thing Mum!’ 😊 🐾
I think Ted came my way to be MY therapy dog through all the upheaval this year, he’s such a loving cuddle-bum. I also think he came to teach me some humility. All the Guide Dog puppy training made me think it was easy (haha) - turns out I had easy dogs, especially bred for calmness, steadiness and teachability (who knew? Lol). Ted has the spaniel energy and the poodle intelligence - what a mix! I clearly didn’t research the breed very well.
But all is well now - touch a lot of wood!
5 weeks ago today, I told Mr Heavenly that I have found a local glazier who would fit a cat flap. Mr Heavenly, an engineer who does not get tradesmen in if he can do the job himself, immediately ordered a replacement uPVC board for a glass panel and a microchip enabled cat flap. I started browsing the local rescue centres for a suitable adult cat.
Nothing really struck me at our local centre so I looked at the Blue Cross centre in a nearby county and immediately noticed a tortoiseshell cat. I read her profile and knew she was mine https://www.bluecross.org.uk/pet/marmie-2138156
I applied for her the next day, had 2 phone interviews that week and we picked her up a week later. At the centre she hissed at us.
Her name is now Mochi. She settled in straight away and is very affectionate and loves playing, though she is shy with strangers and scared of any noise. She is very well behaved and clearly well trained. Her stressful previous experiences, followed by the isolation of a room at a shelter for 3 months, have left her afraid to go outside so we are gradually introducing her to the outside world (I drink my morning coffee on the patio each morning and she sometimes joins me). After 5 weeks she is very much part of the family and she sits beside me in my home office as I work.
It's fair to say that the two feline residents of the household were bemused (in Jai's case) and horrified (in Suki's case).
It is nice to have the energy of the very young in the house again - I had forgotten just how bouncy two kittens can be, it being 16 ½ years since we had kittens.
It's great to have four cats again, and I'm not fretting that one of the seniors will be lonely when the other departs.
In lighter news Tabby Tiger Max, who hated catteries and never ate much when left at one (a sure sign of discombobulation in an animal with a generally robust appetite) is giving some minor concern. Fortunately we have a neighbour who doesn't go away much and loves looking after him, but this year apparently he just hid away and hardly ate even with him (the neighbour) looking after him.
We're hoping it actually means he has a Third Home somewhere.
@KarlLB I hope Tabby Tiger Max (great name) is OK.
We have been looking for cats for the last few months and finally brought two home with us yesterday. Two siblings, a male grey-and-white and his calico sister. They were a little shy at the adoption centre though their foster caregiver said they were becoming quite social when she had them over Christmas. Now they have disappeared into some unknown hiding place in our house… sounds like they worked up the courage to explore beyond their safe room and then their courage failed them. Fingers crossed they start to get used to their new home soon…