Cat Stuff
The dog's have their area after all.
Thursday, September 02, 2010
Vincent is gone
Today we euthanized Vincent “van Goatee”, our “Frenchman”. We got Vincent while living in France over 18 years ago. Over the past couple of years his health had been failing. He became unsociable, forgot all good bathroom habits, stopped caring for himself, lost weight and hollered all the time. We nursed him along for a long while. We did blood tests (lots of white cells, probably an infection, tried treating it, maybe cancer….) He ended up living the last year in a large dog crate where we could contain him and care for him.
He was a cute kitten. Passionate. I remember saying that he “ate passionately, played passionately, pooped passionately and slept passionately”—what a life!
Now, he is gone. Tough decision, but I think his quality of life sucked and he was likely in constant pain. The few minutes after receiving a heavy sedative were the most “at peace” I’ve seen him.
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Sunday, September 06, 2009
The Dogs Remember
It is very clear that the animals remember the cabin. They immediately fall into old habits and behaviors. They remember the daily “routine”. (Except their internal clocks are still on Eastern time, so they wake us up at 4:00 a.m.) They remember where we set their food bowls. They remember that we take a long walk each morning after breakfast and a shorter walk in the evening before dinner—and they remind us if we forget. They remember the trails in the woods and all the places we normally stop to gather everyone together and give them a treat. (A way of keeping them close on walks that we train into them from pups.)
What about Bella? Well, she “owns” this place—at least in her mind. She shows no fear. She leads us down every trail. Today, she went swimming in the pond. She is really good at following the game trails—which we also use for our walks. She runs and jumps and swims—not having any problem with the adjustment. See Lynne’s blog for photos.
The cats have settled into their routine also and seem very much at home.
So, the animals are all well and happy. As are we!
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Wednesday, August 26, 2009
One Week and Counting
One week from today we leave on our 3-week vacation to our remote cabin in Colorado. There is so much to be done!
We will leave NJ on Wednesday morning, as early as possible and drive with 3 dogs and 2 cats as far as the Mississippi. That is our strategy—MIssissippi, Missouri, then Cabin! Our goal each day is to make a major river—with the last one being Bart’s Creek on our land. The cabin is about 20-odd miles directly south of Laramie, Wyoming, but in Colorado. No electricity, no post-office, no phone service, just a log cabin in the woods, 3 dogs and 2 cats—assuming we all make it across the two major rivers.
We’ve been working on “security” given some surprising discoveries about how our house and property is used in our absence. So, the web cams are running, the alarm system is tested. House sitters are lined up, the pool guy will be here every day to add toxic chemicals to the water, and the police will be doing a “house check”, assuming we get the forms back to them soon. Should keep all but the most tenacious or most stupid away from the house.
But, there is so much more to do! We need to work on our first week’s meal plan because as we drive through Laramie on our way to the cabin (the 3rd day on the road), we’ll stop in Safeway and stock up on food (and wine) for a week. So, we are negotiating meal plans, picking recipes and creating detailed shopping lists. You do not want to end up at the cabin and not have a key ingredient because it is a minimum 40 minute drive to the first 7-11.
The dogs are getting groomed so they don’t smell too bad in the truck on the way there. And, to minimize the dog hair. We just know that Bella will come into season on the day we leave and be in season the entire trip. Oh well, we’ve done it before, we can do it again.
I need to wash the truck. I like to start the trip with a clean truck. We’ll do an oil change in Laramie. It is about 1700 miles and very uncomplicated. Just drive about 10 mile south to I80, then about 1670 miles West to Laramie, then 20 miles South to “home”.
We have our favorite motels along the way—the ones that will take a dog. LIttle do they know that we don’t really walk our dog 3 times each evening and that each walk is a different dog! The cats like to sit in the window and watch the other people walk their dogs too.
I hope to post each day along the way and maybe even while we are there. Yes, we are “off the grid’ but thanks to solar panels, inverters, satellite dishes, and laptop computers, we’ll try to stay in touch.
After all, we need to check out the web cams often and watch the time-lapse movies of the pool activity, and ...
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Sunday, December 18, 2005
Sam is Answering the Phone
If you call us and the phone is busy for a long time, Sam—our Maine Coon Cat—may be on the phone. If you call and whoever answers just makes squeeking noises and pushes the buttons on the phone making an impromptu song from the touch tones, Sam answered.
Yes, Sam has learned to answer the phone. Or, sometimes he just knocks it off on the floor and then lays next to it. We don’t know why he has started doing this, but is is the newest of his long string of funny habits. I think he just likes to lay there and listen to the operator saying (over and again), “If you wish to make a call please hang up and try again.”
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Thursday, October 21, 2004
Sam I Am is a Premier (Champion) Show Cat
Last weekend, Sam travelled with his breeders to Hastings, Nebraska for a cat show. He won his Premier title there. As I understand it, a Premiere title is the same as a Championship title, except for neutered cats. And, he will now go on to compete for a Grand Premier. (If I’ve got these cat titles confused, please post a clarifying comment. We are still learning the cat show vocabulary!)
Anyway, here is a photo:
For another photo, click More…
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