The little furry buggers are just deep, deep wells you throw all your emotions into--Bruce Schimmel

Spice......AKA Dot to us

The lady, Cynthia, who we met at the vet’s office last Wednesday, called us on Thursday and wanted to come over to meet the white kittens, Dot and Dash.

She came, she saw, and she took Dot home with her.  It was heartbreaking to see Dot go, but from the beginning I knew that that was the plan one day....find homes for Kiki and her kittens.  I'm a terrible foster mom.  They should all belong to me!

I thought about Dot during the night and wondered how she was doing in her new surroundings, without her sisters and us.  She’s been with us since the first part of October, so we are really the only home she’s had.

Cynthia called us yesterday morning to report on her new kitten.  “Dot” is now “Spice”, to go along with Cynthia’s other cat, “Cynnamon”.

“Spice” made it through the night with no dramatic events.  Cynthia said she felt good about having “Spice” added to her family.  We told her to be sure and let us know from time to time, how Spice was doing. 

I plan on calling Cynthia next week to follow up and I hope it works out.  Spice has to go back to the vet next week to have her sutures out.  Cynthia said she would make sure it was done.

Maybe we should change Dash’s name to “Sugar” so she will be one of the Spice girls.

In another week or so, we will be hearing from Sarah, the lady who wants to adopt Cody.  That is one that will be hard to let go of.  Charlie and I both became attached to Kiki and all of her kittens, but Cody especially pulls at our heart strings and we’ll miss her.  I think Sarah will keep the name Cody for her.

We took Sheila for a walk yesterday.  I haven’t been taking her out much by myself because of my muscle injury.  When Charlie put the harness on Sheila, he said it was getting tight around her.  She’s probably putting on weight, like the rest of us.  We’ll all have to start getting out and walking more next year.

More later................

I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.

The Christmas tree is still standing!  The novelty of playing in and around the tree has finally worn off.  The cats are ignoring it.

Dot, Dash and Cody

We still have our three little foster kittens.  They are now out and about the house all day long.  They are getting used to sharing the house with people, cats and a big dog.

We put the kittens in “their room” to sleep at night.  It’s more for us than for them.  We’re sure we wouldn’t get much sleep since they like our bedroom now.  In the mornings when we open the door to go in and feed them, they pile out of the room.  Because they are hungry though, it isn’t hard to get them back in the room to eat.  When they are finished, I open the door and down the stairs they run to start a new day.

It’s really been fun having these kittens in our house.  We’ve watched them grow and learn not to be so afraid of everything.  They still have that “flight first” reflex, but we can see that they are starting to re-evaluate the situation before running to hide in the “woodpile”. 

We’re still advertising and looking for homes for the kittens though.  As much as we love them, we know they would be better in a home where they would get more attention.  The person who wanted Cody, the tabby, just had knee surgery and needs a couple of weeks more before she can take her.     

We noticed that Mr. Creme seemed to be losing weight, not much, but enough that we could see.  He’s never been overweight, but he has weighed up to 15 pounds.  He had his last senior blood panel last January.  Since that was almost a year ago and we had some concerns, we took him in on Tuesday for his blood work.

Mr. Creme outside the patio door--Jonesie and Rhody inside

Mr. Creme is 11 years old and will be 12 in March.  He and Lexi are siblings.  Of course, a few weeks ago Lexi was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and started her daily medication.  It is easy to give twice a day by rubbing a pre-measured amount of Tapazole gel in her ear.  Back in 2000 or so, when Calvin was being treated for this thyroid condition, he was on Tapazole pills and the dosage was hard to regulate.  But, Lexi is doing fine right now.  We would not be surprised if Mr. Creme had the same condition since another sibling, Pinto, also was diagnosed with it not long ago.

Lexi, trying to relax

The vet called yesterday with the blood results.  The good news was, Mr. Creme did not have a thyroid problem.  But, he does have diabetes.  That was not what we wanted to hear at all.  We also had a cat, Rowdy, who had diabetes diagnosed in the late ‘90's.  Feline diabetes was pretty new to vets then and treatment was not the best.  Some vets were not really much up on what to do.  I don’t think we ever got Rowdy on the right track.

But, things have changed, thank goodness.  Vets now see hyperthyroid and diabetes in cats and dogs more and more, and medicine has come a long way.  They know more about how to do the testing which will make it possible to regulate dosages of insulin.

Charlie and I made an appointment to see our vet and we took Mr. Creme with us so we could get him started on insulin.  The vet came in and showed us the ProZinc Insulin Kit which contained a bottle of insulin and 100 syringes.  When the syringe is used, you put it in the little tray and turn the knob, it drops into an enclosed reservoir.  When it’s full, we take the empty syringes to Walgreens or any drugstore for disposal.

Back in the day, with Rowdy, his vet gave me a prescription for insulin and I had to go to Walgreens and buy the box of syringes and the bottle of insulin.  Then we started him at a certain dosage and took him back for testing.  It was very erratic and not fun to watch the roller coaster of Rowdy not eating or throwing up everything he ate.  I worried constantly if we were giving him the right amount of insulin.  We tried special diets, but he hated everything.  It was not a good life for him or us and we said we’d never put another cat through that.  That’s easy enough to say, so soon after going through it.

But, with Mr. Creme, we have confidence that we can provide him with a good quality of life and he should be able to keep his normal day to day activities.  He’ll go back in three weeks for a fructosamone test which will give us his blood sugar reading and how the insulin is working.  We will keep him on his current diet for now, but may have to change to a prescription diet.  That will be hard because Mr. Creme is one of those cats who will simply stop eating if he doesn’t get what he wants.

I will join a feline diabetes support group online and try to get on top of what we can expect with Mr. Creme from now on.  If I had it to do over, I would have joined the feline lymphoma support group when Taz was first diagnosed with lymphoma last year.  All of the supporters had or were going through it with their cat and they were so helpful.  I didn’t join until Taz was well into his chemo treatments.  I have learned a lot after he died too. 

While we were waiting for the vet yesterday, a lady came in with her cat, “Cynnamon”.  She had adopted her from the animal shelter three weeks ago.  We were talking to her and she showed interest in getting another cat to keep Cynnamon company.  Of course, the girl at the front counter was also giving her theory that it was better to have two cats, so they could play together.

 

                   Dash                                                          Dot

Anyway, we “mentioned” that we had two little white kittens at home and if she was interested in another kitten, to please call us.  We gave her our number and she said she’d follow up on it.  Apparently she had to check with her daughter because she wasn’t sure that she would go for two cats.  We may not hear from her, but we are certainly trying to get the word out about the kittens.

Also there was a young, college-age girl with her black cat in the waiting room.  She said the cat didn’t have a name yet and she was a stray.  The day before, she had brought the cat in for examination and to set up a date to spay her.  The cat had worms and it was discovered that she was also pregnant.  Surprise....not!  So the girl went ahead and scheduled a spaying.  When she took the cat home and told her mom about the pregnancy, her mom said no, they would not spay.  They would let her have her kittens and find a home for them. 

We were happy to hear that.  She was there to get a worm treatment shot for the cat and she wanted to make sure that the shot would be okay for a pregnant cat.  When the technician came to get the cat to take her back for the shot, the girl said “It’s just for a shot, right?”  She was being pretty protective of that little cat. 

The girl is already in contact with some of the local animal rescue services, so I think she will do what’s best for the kittens. 

Sheila went to the groomer today and just got back.  She smells very nice.  I think they put an extra shot of perfume on her this time.  We’ll let her wear her pretty Christmas bandana through the rest of the holidays.  It’s nice to have a clean dog in the house.

More later............  

  

I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph--Shirley Temple

Last Saturday we went to the Christmas tree farm and bought our 6' Douglas Fir tree.  We usually put our artificial tree up, but this year we decided to have a real one.

It’s a pretty tree.  From almost all angles, it looks straight.  The stand we used didn’t have a large capacity for water and we were a little concerned about that, but we would just check it morning and night and add water.

We didn’t know how Rhody would behave around the tree since this is his very first Christmas. Jonesie was new last Christmas and we had no problem with him.  Rhody is very different than Jonesie though.

The first morning we found the bottom strand of lights hanging on the floor and two or three ornaments lying around.  Most had been pulled off without their stems, so instead of trying to find the hooks and stems on the thick tree, I just put the ornaments on a shelf.

We found virtually the same thing the next day and the next, but figured that pretty soon the novelty would wear off or all the ornaments would be off the tree, and they’d leave the tree alone.

I was sitting at the dining room table one afternoon, addressing Christmas cards.  Jonesie and Rhody were running through the house like they do.  I was aware of it, but really wasn’t paying attention to them.

Suddenly I heard a crash and then sounds like breakage, coming from the family room.  I went to see what the noise was.  Our Christmas tree had fallen over, or should I say, had been pulled over by someone.  It was shock to see.  We have never had that happen before.

Charlie got it back up and we assessed the damage.  Yes, some of the one-of-a-kind, special ornaments were broken, three to be exact, and others had fallen, but were not broken.  Charlie said he would go to the store and get a BIGGER stand, one that the cats couldn’t turn over.

When he came back, he had the stand that the salesman at Home Depot had told him, “They will not knock this one over!”  It also has a reservoir which holds lots of water and is easier to fill.

So far, the tree is still standing.  Of course we have another week before Christmas, so I’ve still got my fingers crossed.

Cat proof.....not!

I admire people who decorate their home at Christmas and other holidays.  It does change the atmosphere and makes you feel happy.  Charlie’s mom in Virginia, Doreen, always has such a festive house at Christmas.  I don’t know how she does it, but we’re always glad that she does.  We’ve visited there at Christmas and there’s no feeling like driving up to the house and seeing all of the lights on and Santas and snowmen in the yard.  I just love it.  She sent pictures of this year:

Her front yard

It looks so pretty

There's Rudolph!

We lived in Virginia through two Christmases.  I think we decorated more there than we do here. We put lights up outside and decorations in the house.  It was a two story Williamsburg style house and in the winter, it just looked like it should be dressed up for the holidays. 

Our house this year, the pretty blue lights are solar powered, wrapped around a small tree in front, Charlie's idea.  He gets his creativity honestly......from his mom!

There is a “Christmas Circle” here in town, not far from our house.  Most of the people on both sides of the street go all out with the holiday spirit.  Charlie and I walked over there one night a couple of years ago to see the lights and decorations.  Some are very elaborate. It’s really quite a treat to see it.  We could have driven over and through the street, but hundreds of other people from all around have the same idea.  While you’re walking on the sidewalks, cars are slowly driving by, as if they are driving through an animal park. The cars were bumper to bumper.  It was nicer to walk through.  I'm glad we don't live on that street though.  It would be too much pressure to decorate every year.  We noticed that only a couple of houses did not decorate.

I’m at the end (I hope) of a week long cold.  It’s the sneezy, “can’t blow my nose enough” stage right now.  I hope it’s better tomorrow.  Our weather has been cold and rainy too, so it feels appropriate to feel this way.

More later...........

You can keep a dog; but it is the cat who keeps people, because cats find humans useful domestic animals. ~George Mikes

Dot, Dash (white ones), and Cody

We received the report on Lexi’s blood test for her thyroid.  She is on the right dosage.  When we first took her to the vet about six weeks ago, her numbers were 8+.  With the medication she’s been on, she’s now 2+.  The numbers they are looking for are below 3.  So, if she doesn’t seem to gain or start losing weight, we will not have to have her tested again for a year.  She weighed 11 pounds now, so she’s gained a little.  It’s a good weight for her.  I just hope it stays this simple.  We’ve never had a cat on medication that didn’t have to be continuously tested.

I talked to Karen Wednesday.  She and Greg have been staying in constant contact with us since we brought Kiki and her kittens home from their wood pile in October.

Karen told me that Greg’s brother would like to take Kiki.  He already has a three month old kitten, Chino.  Kiki’s kittens are about three months as well.  We’re hoping she will accept him and he will accept her.  We were happy to hear that Kiki would have a home, but of course, it’s always bittersweet when we have to see them go.  I’m not a good foster mom.  I don’t like letting them go.  I know that anyone who knows me would never know that about me.....right?

Karen and Greg came by yesterday morning and picked Kiki up to go to her new home in Rancho Cucumongo, about two hours away from here.  I received a text from Karen that Kiki made it to her new home.  She and Greg were staying overnight and coming home this afternoon.  I’m sure I’ll get a report tomorrow on how Kiki did last night and today.  She also texted me a picture of Chino.  He’s a very cute little guy.

Cody, Dot and Dash had their first night without their mother (if you don’t count the one night that they stayed alone in the wood pile after we trapped Kiki).  They were starving this morning and cleaned their little plates.  I left the door to their room open and they wandered up and down the hallway.  One of the white ones ventured downstairs and out to the cat patio.  I imagined that she was looking for her mom, but I’m sure she just went to a familiar area.  But, she did jump up on the cat tree where Kiki usually slept.  I’m just saying....

The kittens stayed under Charlie’s desk all day long.  I checked on them during the day and they were curled up asleep together.  Charlie said it was because his room is the warmest room in the house.  His computers are on most of the time and it does get warm and cozy in there.  But, I think it’s because he has mind control on every girl cat in our house.  They all just migrate to him.  I used to think that the little boy cats were more attracted to me, but they like Charlie too.  That would be fine, but the girls don’t spend much time with me, unless it’s time to eat.

Charlie said that earlier the kittens were at the top of the stairs, which is where Sheila likes to lay.  They were running all around her and didn’t seem to mind her at all.  She’s kind of gotten over the excitement over them that she had at first.  Now she just lies there and watches them run around.

We went out to the Pinery Christmas Tree Farm yesterday and bought a tree.  It’s a pretty 6' Douglas Fir.  We have an artificial tree, but we decided we wanted a fresh one this year.  We also decided to put it in our family room for the first time.  We (mostly Charlie) decorated it last night and really didn’t know how many decorations would still be on the tree this morning.  This is Rhody’s first Christmas and at seven months old, he’s in to everything.  He’s big and clumsy too. 
Sure enough, this morning part of the light strand was hanging on the floor and two or three ornaments were on the floor.  Nothing broken though.  I think the novelty has worn off now (hopefully) and they will not pull anything else off the tree.

One reason I didn’t help too much with the tree decorations is that I’m still having quite a bit of pain in my left back hip area.  The 8 weeks or so that I went to physical therapy did not seem to help.  I’ve started seeing my chiropractor again.  He has pinpointed my problem to a pulled ligament in my gluteus maximus area.  I need to write some of the names down when I see him again. 

When I left him last week, I felt really good.  I went through the afternoon without pain and it’s been so long since I didn’t have pain every day, I have forgotten how it is not to think about it.  I’m considering asking my doctor for an MRI, but in the meantime, I do feel like my chiropractor is helping me.  I will see him next week.

More later.........

“Confront a child, a puppy, and a kitten with a sudden danger; the child will turn instinctively for assistance, the puppy will grovel in abject submission, the kitten will brace its tiny body for a frantic resistance” --H. H. Munro

We just returned from spending a week in Las Vegas.  That is a long time to be there, especially if you are not a gambler.

We enjoyed the week, although we couldn’t help but wonder how our cats were doing at home.  They were well taken care of and I’m sure we missed them more than they missed us.

My sister, Jennifer, and her husband, Greg, came from South Carolina to Vegas for the weekend.  Friday, the 2nd, was my niece, Jasmin’s, 25th birthday.  The trip was a birthday present.  Her boyfriend, Adam, and Greg’s mom, Joan, came from North Dakota.   

We enjoyed a nice dinner Friday night and then went to see the ventriloquist, Jeff Dunham.  It was a lot of fun. 

We don’t go to Las Vegas much.  The last time we went was about five years ago.  But, it would have been hard not to meet my family when they were so close, only a five hour drive away.

I played some slot machine Blackjack and did okay.  Joan found a slot machine which was really paying off and we all took turns playing it.  I won about $60 after playing only $10.  Charlie, who never gambles, couldn’t resist putting some money in.  It paid out for all of us.  Of course, eventually the money went back into another machine.

We took Kiki in to have her sutures removed just before Thanksgiving.  She is such a nice cat.  She lets Charlie pick her up and put her in the kennel to go to the vet.  She doesn’t struggle or try to get away from him.

The kittens have been staying on the cat patio during the day and they are doing a little exploring.  Sometimes we move Kiki to one of the 4x4x6' kennels on the patio.  We have to keep her confined though, because she does not like our cats.  I thought it was because of the kittens, but even when they are not with her, she threatens any cat who comes near the kennel. 

Yesterday Charlie took Lexi back to the vet to get some blood work done.  We need to check to see if the medication she is taking for her hyperthyroidism is regulated.  She weighs 10.8 pounds, which means she has gained a little.

He also took the three foster kittens, Cody, Dot and Dash, to the vet for their first shots.  They weighed about four pounds each.

This morning they didn’t eat their breakfast and felt kind of feverish.  I’ll keep an eye on them.  I’m sure it’s due to the shots they had.

Sheila was boarded at Mr. Jensen’s kennels for the week we were in Vegas.  We picked her up Monday morning and I don’t think she could believe that she’d ever see us again.  She was so happy to be home.  She “spoke” to all of the cats, who were less than pleased to see her, and then she bounded up the stairs and back down.  We let her run around because we didn’t want to dampen her spirits.  But, soon, we had to tell her to cool her jets a little.

It’s been cold here, in the 30's at night.  Our house is about 63 degrees when we get up in the morning.  That’s fine for sleeping, but a little too cold to be up and around.

Today we are going up to Temecula to meet Patti and Bob for lunch.  We try to do that every so many months.  Temecula is about half way for both of us to meet.  We each drive about an hour;  them from Palm Springs, us from San Diego. 

We meet in Old Town Temecula, walk around the shops for awhile and then have lunch.

More later...........

Kittens are born with their eyes shut. They open them in about six days, take a look around, then close them again for the better part of their lives. ~Stephen Baker

Cody, Dash and Dot

Today we decided to move the kittens to the cat patio and see how they do.  They spent the afternoon in the top of the cat tree asleep.  I checked on them often and they really didn’t move from the cat tree.  I also checked on Kiki.  She did not seem anxious because her kittens were gone.

It started raining this evening.  The kittens didn’t seem to mind the sound of the rain on the aluminum roof, and they started exploring the patio.  Rhody was out there.  He sat and watched.  The kittens hissed and even growled, but it had no affect on Rhody.

We’re hoping that by exposing the kittens to our everyday life, they will get used to the sounds of the other cats and the dog. 

When we got Jonesie, he seemed to be startled by the sound of the TV and the radio.  I don’t know where he was kept when he was fostered, but apparently it was pretty quiet.  I would like for these kittens to not be afraid of everyday noise.

Dot’s little “dot” has disappeared.  She is now a solid white cat.  Dash still has her “dot” over her eye and her little “dash” on top of her head.  Cody is the smallest of the three.  She has an orange color to her face and paws, like her mother.  She’s going to be long and slender like Kiki, too. 

Cody is the most outgoing of the kittens.  Dot is friendly too, and Dash is very cautious.  I do think that all three kittens will make good pets though.  They all have their endearing qualities.

We were worried that Kiki would be distraught when we separated her from the kittens.  I checked on her several times tonight and we even thought that maybe we should bring the kittens back to the room to be with their mother for the night.

But, I checked on Kiki just a little while ago, before turning her light off.  She was so relaxed and happy.  I think she is enjoying her night without her kittens.  Charlie said that she probably called the kittens’ dad, Studdly, and asked him to come over.   I think she probably had to leave a message though.  He’s out on the town somewhere. 

More later............

ho·dad (hö'dád) A person who does not surf, but who spends time at surfing beaches pretending to be a surfer.

 Last week I stopped by a friend’s house for just a few minutes.  She was in the hospital for the night and I went in to feed her cats. 

I had pulled up in the driveway, which was a slight incline.  I put my car in ‘Park’ and set the parking brake.  When I got back in my car, I pulled the shift from ‘Park’, but it felt weird, kind of loose, but then I realized that the shifter seemed to be stuck in ‘P’.  I took my foot off the brake and managed to coast back down the driveway, so it couldn’t have been in ‘Park’. 

The street slightly goes downhill so I was able to park at the curb in front of the house.  It was dark.  I got my flashlight to see what gear I was in.  It pointed at Neutral.  But, the shifter was pushed up like in Park.

I called Charlie to come and get me.  He tried to get the shifter out of Park, but couldn’t and didn’t want to pull too hard.  We left the car there for the night. 

I called my mechanic and he said if it was my transmission, he would refer me to a good transmission guy.  I could have the car towed there.  I later talked to him and he said he could look at it in the afternoon.

Since I had some errands to run in the morning, I waited to call the auto club to order a tow truck to meet me at my car.  I gave them the address on “Yosemite Avenue”.  I was questioned if it was avenue, street or way.  I said I thought it was avenue.  The dispatcher said she had it and would send a tow truck.

I drove on over to the address to wait.  While I was in front of my friend’s house, I thought I’d give her a call at the hospital to see if she knew whether she would be discharged that afternoon.  We talked for just a minute and I asked her, “Is your street Yosemite Street or Avenue?”  She said, “It’s not Yosemite, it’s Yellowstone.” 

Then it hit me, I gave the auto club the wrong address!  I quickly said goodbye and called the dispatcher back.  She said she’d change it and let the tow truck guy know.  This was going to take a little longer now.  He had already gone to Yosemite, but there was no such house number there.

I waited awhile longer and finally saw the tow truck coming down the street.  The driver was very nice and I think the wrong address is given more times than not.  He took it in stride.

Then when he looked at my problem, he discovered that the cable on the gear shift was broken.  It was not a transmission problem after all and he said he could tow it to my mechanic.  My auto club membership only pays 7 miles for towing and my mechanic was 12 miles away. 

I called my mechanic and he said I didn’t have to come with the tow truck.  They would take care of the tow charge and add it to my bill.  That loosened me up to go and take care of other things I needed to do.

So, it wound up costing only about $240 including the tow charge.  I picked up my car the next afternoon.

Then, on Saturday morning, Charlie got ready to go and get a haircut.  He came back in and said, “My car won’t start.”  All I could think of was, at least the cars take turns breaking down.  I guess if both were at the mechanic’s, we could drive the RV around........

So, since we really didn’t need both cars, we waited until Monday to work on getting the car running.  We suspected the battery so Charlie checked the battery and it was an AC/Delco.  We knew it was the original one which came with the car.  The car is a 2004, so the battery was about 7 years old.  But, we had no indication that the battery was dying.  The car was starting just fine before.

Our neighbor, Mr. Pat, knows all about cars.  Since the battery was not easily accessible and Charlie is not the mechanic type, he asked Mr. Pat to take a look. 

Two events were taking place that night: Monday Night Football, which Mr. Pat NEVER misses and a raid in the computer game, World of Warcraft, which Charlie’s character, “Wild”, hardly ever misses.  Changing this battery should have been a piece of cake, but ..........

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Charlie, explaining to one of his Warcraft friends (printed with his permission of course):
“Wild almost missed the raid on Monday night.  My car battery died on me.  Fortunately, it happened in my driveway, so the only place I was stuck was at home.  I am the world’s worst mechanic.  I have absolutely no skills in that department, but my neighbor across the street used to build his own race cars and he loves it when I come over and ask him to teach me something.  It was late in the afternoon and I wanted to get it fixed before my neighbor settled in for Monday Night Football.

I can and have changed out our RV engine battery before, but in my car the battery is buried under the fuse box and the chassis frame.  That was more taking apart of stuff than I was comfortable taking on by myself.  Plus, my neighbor has a garage full of cool tools we can use.  I borrowed the Mrs’ car and went off to buy a new battery while my neighbor gathered up his toys.  The job shouldn’t have taken very long, but then sometimes the simplest things can get complicated.

We had a hard time getting the fuse box out of the way so that we could unbolt a section of the frame to get at the battery.  Once we had that taken apart, and removed the piece of frame in the way, we were able to pull the old battery out.  The trouble started after we dropped the new battery in and started screwing in the bolt that holds the battery to the frame.  The under bolt, which is held in place by a heavy plastic pad, failed when the bolt was tightened down.  We then had to remove the plastic pad to get at the under bolt.  The plastic around the bolt had broken and we could not anchor down the battery. 

My neighbor doesn’t let such things bother him.  Me, I would have called Pep Boys or someone and tried to buy a new pad for the battery.  Instead, my neighbor carted the bolts and pad back to his garage.  First we retooled both the under bolt and the top bolt because the parts had been stripped (“we” because I was standing next to him while he did it).  He had tools to clean and regroove the bolts.  That took some time, and all the while my neighbor was explaining what each tool was called and how it was used.  It was all very fascinating, but I knew I wouldn’t remember any of it.

After retooling the bolts, we tackled the thick plastic pad.  My neighbor found some pieces of plastic, charged up his torch, and with my help (holding the plastic pieces with a pair of pliers) we melted that plastic around the broken areas so that the under bolt wouldn’t turn when we tightened it down.  That took awhile, too, when you consider I managed to break the half repaired pad before it had cooled enough to harden.  So we had to do it twice.

By the time we were ready to go back to the car it was starting to get dark - and it was pretty cold, too.  I was still in shorts and sandals.  We worked by flashlight and the time was getting close to the raid invite of 6pm.  We got the pad back into place, dropped the new battery back in again, and after some twisting and turning we got the battery anchored to the frame.  The melted plastic “fix” worked just fine.  It was even harder to get the fuse box back where it belonged than it had been to take it off, and we almost forgot to ratchet down the piece of frame we’d had to remove.  That would have been a real bummer as we’d have had to take everything apart again.  We caught ourselves in time, though.  With everything back in place, I started the car and everything was fine.

I helped pack up the tools and walked back to the garage with my neighbor.  I owe him a big favor.  I got to my computer five minutes before the raid was scheduled to start.

Invites didn’t go out until about 6:15pm for the raid, and Wild was in game by that time.  The Mrs had a hot bowl of soup ready for me and that hit the spot all the way down to my frozen toes (ok, so 50 degrees isn’t “frozen” but hey it’s California!).
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No, I really don’t mind being referred to as “The Mrs”, because to the people who Charlie plays with, I’m faceless and I’m sure they have a picture in their minds of this short, plump little rosy-faced “Mrs” who makes hot bowls of soup for her “Mr” who has been out putting a new battery in his car.

I didn't go out to see how the mechanics were doing.  I didn't hear any loud cussing, so I figured they were okay.  I'm glad I made some soup though.


We deal with our cars our own way.  I just call the tow truck...to the wrong address.
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Inside Hodads

Yesterday, Charlie and I went with our friends, Karen and Greg, to “Hodad’s, a burger joint in Ocean Beach.  They had been there before, but we hadn’t.  We will definitely be going back.  It was great.
Hodads opened in 1969.  It’s about a block or so from the beach.  Its walls are lined with vanity license plates from around the nation; surfboards are strung above the dining room. Seating includes hard wood booths and a counter along the wall with stools. Each booth is outfitted with a cardboard container that once held a six-pack of beer bottles. The half-dozen compartments are now used to store sugar and sweeteners for coffee.  Hodad’s motto, on a sign above the cash register: “No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problem!”

One of the booths where you can sit to eat is the front part of a Volkswagen bus, which seats two.  Karen and Greg said that they sat there and ate one time.  I looked over at the couple who were sitting there eating.  I don’t think I would want to sit in the bus.  It just got too much attention.    
The burgers are amazing.  They are available in three sizes (mini, single, and double), as cheeseburgers or bacon cheeseburgers, solo or as part of a basket with a pile of French fries or Frings (onion rings and french fries). 

This is double

Charlie and I ordered the single bacon cheeseburger, which we split.  We were warned that they were huge and we’re glad we listened.  Neither one of us would have been able to eat a whole one.  The menu warns that all burgers come with all condiments (lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, mayo, mustard, and ketchup) “unless you say otherwise”.  We said “no ketchup”.

I made the mistake of taking the paper from my burger.  It’s there to keep the burger together and mine disintegrated.  But, I managed to eat it anyway, although it was messy and I went through 6 or 7 napkins. 

Could you drink one of these?

Charlie and Greg each had a chocolate malt.  I’ve never seen anything like it, but they both finished them, along with the burgers and fries.  We can’t wait for someone to visit us from out of town so we can take them to Hodads.


(I didn't take these pictures.  They are from the website)
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Today we took our little rescued mama cat, Kiki, to the vet to be spayed.  She did fine.  We picked her up this afternoon.  The vet said that Kiki was in heat.  Thank goodness we brought her and the kittens home.  Her kittens are barely 6 weeks old and if she had stayed outside, she would be getting ready to have another litter. 

We do have someone interested in Cody (Woody), the tabby kitten.  The two white ones, Dot and Dash, along with Kiki, will be sponsored by the same animal rescue service that we adopted Jonesie from last December.  Kiki has to go back to the vet in a couple of weeks to have her sutures removed.  The kittens are scheduled to be spayed on December 16.  Then Cody will be able to go to her new home. 

We’ve really enjoyed having kittens in the house.  Finding a new home  for them is bitter-sweet though.  But, when we brought them home with us, we knew we couldn’t keep them.  That’s not why we rescued them.  Now they and their mom have a chance to go to a home where they will be loved and cared for.

More later...........   

Purranoia.....the fear that your cat is up to something. - Unknown

Last week we noticed some bumps and sores on Kaci’s chin.  Charlie had told me that he noticed something on her chin earlier, but he thought it was dried food or something.  He said when he scratched it, she seemed to like it.  I couldn’t imagine how she got food on her chin because she’s always been such a fastidious groomer.

Several years ago Toby’s chin looked dirty and when I felt it, it was bumpy.  We took him to the vet and discovered he had “cat acne”.  It was caused from using plastic food bowls.  Something in the material irritated the chin when it rubbed on the side of the bowl.  We got a cream to rub on the chin and it went away.  We also started using only glass food dishes.

Kaci only eats from glass dishes, so we were a little concerned about the bumpy chin.  The sores also looked open.  I could also feel a large bump.  With what we went through already with Taz and his cancer last year, we don’t take anything for granted.
 
Charlie took Kaci to the vet.  Sure enough, it was diagnosed as “acne”.  Charlie texted me and said “Kaci has zits”.  The doctor “popped” the big one.  I asked how and Charlie said, “Between her fingers”.   Just like we would take care of a zit on our face.

We were given a cream to apply twice a day to Kaci’s acne.  At first she protested, but then she decided it felt pretty good to have her chin rubbed, any way she could get it.

Kaci

This morning I was petting Kaci and rubbed her chin to check the acne.  I was surprised to feel a HUGE bump further up under her chin.  Upon checking it, it looked like it was full of fluid.  Still paranoid about bumps, we made an appointment to take her back to the vet.

Charlie texted me, “Kaci has a BIGGER zit.  She’s got antibiotics to take”.

When he got home, he said the vet had popped it.  Again I said, “How?”  He put his two index fingers together and demonstrated.  I said, “That must have hurt!”  He said, “Kaci actually seemed to not notice”.  I thought that by the size of that thing, they would have to lance it or something.  The vet said that it actually had a little head on it so it was ready to blow (my words, not the vet’s).

So, we have two weeks of Clavamox pills to give to Kaci, twice a day.  The doctor said that they don’t know why cats get this chin acne.  Like people, cats can have skin problems too.  I’m just glad it’s not anything more serious than acne.

Our seven month old kitten, Rhody, is as big as an adult cat now.  He’s over 10 pounds and still growing.  We don’t know what we have here.

Rhody

When we went over to get him from my friend, Sandi, she told us that they had lost Rhody in the house one time and her husband started calling him “Chewbacca”, the Wookiee from Star Wars, just to have a name to call him. Of course, we thought that was cute, but there was no way we were going to name our new kitten “Chewbacca” or “Chewie”.  He became Rhody.

As Rhody grows, he is starting to look more and more like a Wookiee, so that was not such a far-out name for him.  When I pick him up I call him my little Wookiee.  He’s not a long haired cat, but he has a lot of fur and a really fluffy tail.

I’ve seen pictures of cats like him at the shelters and they describe them as Russian Blues.  I looked up the Russian Blue breed to see if that is really what Rhody is.  Of course, I wasn’t thinking a pure bred, but maybe he was of that breed.  I found that:

The Russian Blue cat breed originated in the Russian port of Archangel. As a result it is also known as an Archangel cat, along with Foreign Blue, Spanish Blue, Russian Shorthair and Maltese cat breed.  Rhody is not really a shorthair.

What Is Special About Russian Blue Cats?

The most special trademark of these breed of cats is emerald green eyes. Rhody’s eyes are not emerald green.  They are kind of yellowish green.  This is a fairly new color for Russian Blue cat eyes, which are usually yellow. These cats have very dense fur coats that are very soft and double layered. He does have this coat.  The undercoat is extremely thick and comes in solid colors of black, white and blue.

A Russian Blue (love those green eyes)

Physical Attributes Of The Russian Blue Cat

Although these breed of cats have a muscular body, they are not heavy. That rules Rhody out. Russian blue cats have almond-shaped eyes that are widely spaced, and their ears are pointed.  His eyes aren’t almond, but they are widely spaced and his ears are pointed.  Their silhouette is slender and graceful. No, not Rhody.  They tend to weigh anywhere between seven and twelve pounds, (he weighs almost 11 pounds already) and have a lifespan of around thirteen to fifteen years (let’s hope this is true with Rhody).

Russian Blue Cats As Pets

Russian Blue cats make great indoor pets because they are the least destructive of all cats. Again, this is not Rhody.  This cat is the most destructive kitten we’ve seen and very clumsy.  They tend to be very cautious when it comes to new things, so be wary of changing its environment and introducing it to strangers. He does run and hide when people come to the house, but so do all of our other cats.  Regular brushing of their coats is needed for them to remain lustrous and healthy. Apart from that, they are easy to care for.  Rhody has a beautiful coat, but that fluffy tail does get him into trouble in the litterbox.  We have had to trim it so it will be easier for him to maneuver his potty routine.

From the picture, Rhody is not a Russian Blue.  But, he is a big, beautiful blue kitten and we don’t need papers on any of our cats to know they’re special to us.

Aren't they cute?

Who's entertaining who?  Rhody is in the pen too.

Me with Dot and Dash

The kittens are getting bigger every day.  The mother, Kiki, is going to be spayed this week.  We set up a play pen in the family room for the kittens.  By putting them in the pen, they are exposed to TV noise and some of the other cats in the house.  They do not like Sheila though.  Fear of dogs is something that they will have to overcome and maybe never will.
 
More later.........

It is in the nature of cats to do a certain amount of unescorted roaming-- Adlai Stevenson

Lexi with the long hair

Lexi seems to be doing okay on her thyroid meds.  She gets the gel in her ear twice a day.  I think it has helped her appetite.  She’s always ready for breakfast and dinner, but she doesn’t seem to be starving.  Of course she has access to dry food all day.  We want to get her regulated so she can maintain a good weight.  She will go back for a blood test after December 4.  Hopefully the meds are working and we can get the right dosage.

Rhody (left) and Jonesie

The Twins, Kaci (left) and Jason

We started allowing our younger cats, Jonesie, Rhody, Jason and Kaci outside this past summer.  It was a new world for them and they really enjoyed it.  But, just as we thought, they would soon start wondering what is beyond the six foot high fence.

Jonesie was the first to find himself in our neighbor’s yard behind us.  I was checking to see where everyone was, which I do about every 10 to 15 minutes.  I found everyone but Jonesie.  I called and called him.  Finally, I heard a frantic meow coming from somewhere.  Charlie looked over the fence and there was Jonesie, a very scared little cat, looking up at him.  He obviously couldn’t jump back up that high.

I walked around to the neighbor’s house and they let me in their backyard.  When Jonesie saw me, he came running down the hillside to me.  I brought a blanket to wrap him in and carried him home.  I was hoping that he wouldn’t do that again, because he had been so scared.

But, no, a few days later I was looking for him and he had gotten down into that yard again.  As Charlie leaned over the fence, this time, Jonesie was looking for a way to come back over.  I went back around and into the yard.  This time, Jonesie wasn’t as scared, so I had to coax him to me.  I carried him home and put him inside, his time in the yard was over for the day.

The next time he went over the fence, it was into the yard of our neighbor next door.  He couldn’t get back and I went next door to get him.  This time I could just hand him up to Charlie.

A week or so later, he was in the yard of the neighbor on the other side.  I heard him meowing like he was afraid.  As I stood on a chair to look over the fence to see him, he jumped to the top of the fence and we met face to face.  I think my neighbor had come out into her yard when she heard him meowing.  That’s what scared him and gave him the adrenaline to jump up on the fence.  Now he knows he can do it.

So, I kept him in for a few days, hoping that he would realize that he shouldn’t be leaving the yard.  But, then we had such a nice warm day, I decided I would sit outside and read for awhile.  Of course, the cats wanted out too.  I thought it would be okay since I was outside too.

I kept a close eye on them and everything was fine.  I went inside for a few minutes and came back to do a head count.  I couldn’t find Jonesie.  Charlie heard me calling him so he came out.  That’s when we saw Jonesie walking on top of the fence.  We got him down and brought him inside.

Jason was also discovering the front yard about this time.  I was in the bedroom, which looks out into the front yard.  I saw Jason walking by.  I went outside and finally caught him.  He didn’t get a second chance.  It was house arrest for him.  He must have seen Mr. Creme jump the fence and go into the front yard.

Mr. Creme (left) and Toby

Mr. Creme is the only one that we allow outside every day.  He usually goes out first thing every morning.  He likes to snoop around the backyard a little, spray a few bushes and then he jumps the fence to see what’s going on in the front yard.  Since Mr. Creme stays in our garage and is not allowed in the house (he can’t help but spray), we feel like he needs to have his time outside.

A couple of weeks ago I noticed that Mr. Creme was limping.  I think he must have landed wrong when he jumped down from the fence.  I started opening the gate for him so he could go out into the front without having to jump so high.  He’ll he 12 years old in March.

His limp cleared up, but now when I let him outside into the backyard from the garage, he walks over to the gate and looks back at me like “Haven’t you forgotten something?”  So, of course, I open the gate.  It’s an entitlement now.

After a couple of hours outside, Mr. Creme comes to the front door when he’s ready to come back inside.  He walks in and then straight into the garage, gets a bite to eat and then up to the top of the dryer for nap.  He has his routine and we all know it.


Mr. Creme really missed his brother, Toby, when Toby passed away this past June.  They were raised together and were always together. They both stayed in the garage.  We miss Toby too, Mr. Creme. 

If both of us leave the house before Mr. Creme is back, we call him and put him inside.  I don’t really want him outside if we’re not home.  I worry something will happen to him.

We may decide to just keep the young cats inside now.  We’ve gone through this with all of our cats.  We like for them to be able to be outside with us, especially when the weather is so nice.  It’s just that we don’t want them to leave the yard.  So much can happen to them, even though we are home to watch them:

Our little outdoors girl, Lexi

Like the time Lexi got stung by a bee when she was a “teenager”.  It was so pitiful.  She ran into the house and I knew something was wrong.  We found her under the bed.  We got her out and she was making such a pitiful sound.  The stinger was still in her paw, but we removed it and put a cool washcloth on it.  She was fine.

Another time, Grady dislocated his hip somehow.  We had brought all of the cats inside to feed dinner.  Grady was missing, but I knew he was inside somewhere. We found him in a closet, obviously in pain.

Naturally it was the Monday of a Memorial Day weekend.  But, we took him to emergency for care.  They got his hip back into joint, but in a few days, it was out again.  They suggested a routine surgery to make the socket capable of holding the joint in place.

While performing the surgery, Grady’s leg broke, just at the curve of the back leg.  It had to be set and pinned and he had to wear a taped up brace for about six or eight weeks.  Then when the break healed, they had to take out the pin.  It was a long process, but we couldn’t have had a better little patient than Grady.

Grady with his "potted plant", a pot of grass for him since he couldn't be in the yard

When we went outside to sit on the patio, we let the cats out.  Grady wanted to come out too, so we made a little fenced in area, put a rug down, made him a bed and he stayed in that.  He never tried to get out of it.  He was happy to be outside with us.  We miss Grady.

Jezibel likes to drink water from the faucet

And then there was the time when Jezibel was in our front yard and she got chased and attacked by two dogs who had gotten loose from their yard up the street.  That was another emergency visit.  We were so lucky that no bones were broken and no muscle tissue was damaged.  She had a severe bite which caused her lots of pain, but after a night in the hospital and some special care at home, she recuperated.  Of course, she milked it for all it was worth.  But, even as stubborn as she can be, she was a good patient too.

I think I just talked myself into keeping the cats inside forever now.....sorry, Jonesie and Jason!

More later..........

Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. - Robert A. Heinlein

Mama "Kiki"

"Cody", "Dot" and "Dash"

The “Mom and Kittens of the Wood” are doing fine. It wasn’t intentional to name the white kittens “Dot” and “Dash”, like Morse Code, but we’ve decided to have a little fun with it. The kitten we called “Woody” is now “Cody” and the mom we called “Princess” is now “Kiki”. Of course, when they are all adopted, their names may change again and that’s fine.

That’s what we did. “Jonesie” used to be “Brody”.

Jonesie (Rhody is on the floor in background)

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I took Sheila for a walk the other day. Because she gets scared sometimes and starts pulling, I stopped walking her for awhile when my back was healing. Now I only take her every other day or so unless Charlie can come along too. That morning he had a dental appointment.

There were not many people at the park when we arrived, so I thought Sheila would be okay and it would be a nice enjoyable walk.

Everything was going fine. We were walking along, me listening to my itunes on my ipod, Sheila on alert as always. She usually turns to check behind us several times. No one can sneak up on her.

Suddenly Sheila turned to look behind her. I saw a startled look on her face and she jumped. I turned to look back and there was a man on a bicycle about ten feet behind us. By the time I turned back to check Sheila, she had already started running away. The leash would extend to 16' and she was at the end of it already. I was caught off guard so the handle of the leash was jerked out of my hand. Sheila was running down the road. I called her and my voice fell on deaf ears. She didn’t stop and wasn’t about to. She never even looked back at me. Then she turned and ran into the thick brush.

The man on the bike apologized, but I explained that Sheila was afraid of people and it wasn’t his fault. He offered to stay and help me, but I told him that it would make her worse. She’d never come if a stranger was there. He went on his way. I had seen him many times on this road before and I’m sure he thought we knew he was behind us.

I went to the place where Sheila ran into the brush. I called and called. I could hear her in the brush when she first went in, but couldn’t see her. Then I didn’t hear her anymore, although I was calling for her.

I walked up and down the road, calling “Sheila! Come!” It didn’t do any good. She was not coming.

Then I looked back up the road and there were three guys on bikes. I’d also seen them on the road before. They were stopped and it looked like they were contemplating a steep hill to climb with their bikes.

I sometimes don’t have my cell phone with me, but this time I did. I called Charlie. He was on his way home from the dentist. I told him what happened and I knew Sheila would come to him if he called her. He started over to the park. It took a few minutes for him to get there, but we stayed on our phones. While I waited, I walked back and forth calling Sheila.

I asked the bikers if they’d seen a dog when they were coming down the road and they said no. They wanted to help find her, but I knew that as long as Sheila knew they were there, she definitely wouldn’t come.

Charlie was in the parking lot now and had started walking down the road to meet me. Sheila and I had walked about 15 minutes when she got away, so Charlie had a few minutes to get there. I started walking back to meet him. We were talking on the phone and both of us were calling Sheila’s name.

Suddenly I heard Sheila barking. It was a very frantic, desperate bark and some whines. I knew I must be walking away from her wherever she was and she heard both of us calling her. She was trying to let us know where she was.

I still didn’t see Charlie yet and I could tell he was running now. He had also heard her barking through my phone.

One of the bikers was still on the road. The other two were watching from the top of the hill. They thought they had seen her on the other side of the canyon. But, the barking seemed to have come from the place that Sheila had originally gone into the brush.

Then the barking stopped. I asked the biker to go on up the hill because Sheila would not come out if he was there. She wasn’t even barking now. He went up to join his friends.

Charlie went down into a clearing to see if he could see Sheila in the bushes. When I called her, I could hear her moving in the brush, but she didn’t appear.

Charlie is in there, but you can't see him

This is very thick underbrush

Charlie went into the brush in the area I had heard Sheila rustling earlier to see if he could find her. It took a few minutes. He completely disappeared from my sight, that’s how thick that brush is down there. Then I heard him yell that he saw her. It was hard to get to her. She was totally tangled up. Her halter was caught and she was unable to get out of it. Then, because she had that long leash on, it was also wrapped around and around the limbs and branches. She really hadn’t gotten far from where she had left the road and disappeared in the bushes.


Charlie finally got Sheila loose and brought her out. He had left the leash and then went back to get it untangled. I think the thought occurred to him to just leave it in the brush, but that thought quickly vanished when I asked, “Are you going to go back and get the leash?”

That took a few minutes and Sheila and I waited on the road. The guys on the bikes were watching everything from the top of the hill. I heard them laughing and saying, “I think she’s lost her husband in there now.” But, he finally came out with the leash.

Sigh!

Sheila (and Charlie) were no worse for the wear. I don’t think Sheila learned anything from this entanglement. If she gets scared again and gets away, she will run right into that thick underbrush again. Charlie said it was a miracle she didn’t get into the patch of cactus there.

As for Charlie, he had so many stickers and thorns in his shoelaces, he has decided to throw the shoes away and get a new pair. (He needed to replace the shoes anyway, this will make sure he does).

I felt better when we learned that Sheila was not coming back to me because she literally could not. I had decided that I couldn’t take her out there anymore if she wouldn’t even come back to me when I called her. But, when she knew I was walking away from her, she barked to let us know where she was. She didn’t want us to leave her there. Of course, we weren’t about to stop looking for her.

It’s been awhile now, but there have been a couple of times when there was no one on the road anywhere. I felt enough confidence in her to let her off the leash, especially if we weren’t far from the parking lot. But, both those times, something or someone spooked her. She ran into the bushes. But, when I called her, she always came back onto the road. Her harness was kind of twisted and I knew the underbrush must be thick to do that. I then decided that I couldn’t let her off the leash anymore.

Last May when we were at my brother’s house in South Carolina, we let Sheila out of the RV. We thought she’d stay with us since we were parked in my brother’s driveway. No. She saw my brother and headed for the woods. Charlie managed to get her back without having to go too far in.

I don’t know if we’ll ever get that fearfulness out of her. Probably not. We don’t know why she’s like that. When she’s in the house with us, she is the most loving, playful dog. She loves the cats and they (most of them) love her too. It’s amazing to watch her play with them, wash their faces and ears. Our youngest, Rhody, is almost seven months old. He walks over to Sheila, falls down and grabs her tail and plays with it like it’s a toy. Sheila not only allows it, she encourages Rhody to play some more. I was watching them tonight. Rhody was asleep on the floor, where he likes to sleep most of the time. Sheila went over to him and started licking his face. Rhody didn’t even wake up.

"Rhody", our seven month old "kitten"
He's about 10-1/2 lbs. now

Sheila isn’t the perfect dog, but I don’t know many people who have a perfect one. We were just happy that she got along so well with the cats when we got her from the shelter. It would have been very hard to return her if the cats had said “She’s got to go!” Around here, the cats rule.

More later...........

"A meow massages the heart.” -Stuart McMillan

I came across an article on the way catnip affects different cats when I was doing some research on Lexi’s hyperthyroidism medication. Most of our cats really like catnip. We usually have a couple of plants growing in the yard for them and I also buy it dried.

I have taken pinches of dried catnip and put it on the floor for each cat. They all react different. Some eat it, some roll in it, and others act like I just put something nasty in front of them.

As far as the catnip that grows in the yard, the cats usually like to lay in it and they eat the leaves. Right now, we don’t have many plants. It will come back in the Spring. In the meantime, I plan on buying a couple of fresh pots and getting them started.

Here is the article:

Catnip, the Mysterious Herb
by Arnold Plotnick MS, DVM, ACVIM, ABVP

Gigi loved it, but her brother Brandy was indifferent. Crispy loves it, but Ethel was unmoved by it. There you have it: a quick inventory of my past and present cats’ reaction to the plant from which this magazine derives its name.

Fourteen chemicals of diverse biologic origin, including certain plants, are known to affect the behavior of the cat when their fragrances are inhaled. The most famous of these, of course, is catnip. For centuries, ailurophiles (cat lovers) have marveled at the delight cats seem to get from smelling, nibbling on, and rolling in the stuff.

With the possible exception of man (i.e. eccentrics who claim to get a “buzz” when they smoke the stuff), a behavioral response to catnip is found only in members of the feline family. Lions in particular demonstrate a rather spectacular response, and hunters have used catnip to lure bobcat and lynx. Leopards, jaguars, pumas, ocelots, and sever other so-called lesser cats also respond to catnip.

The typical catnip scenario for the domestic cat initially involves the offering of some catnip leaves, either fresh or dried. Cats will first smell, and then lick or chew the stuff for a few minutes. Cat owners then stand back and watch the fun begin.

Some cats show a “like, wow, man” response and just gaze off into space, that being the extent of their reaction. Most “responders” progress to rubbing their cheeks and chin in the catnip source and act a little dizzy.

The intense responders will rub their bodies on the ground while rolling from side to side, purring, growling, and perhaps leaping into the air. Some cats get a little frisky and will smack a fellow housemate kitty on the head.

Reactions vary, although most cats experience both a relaxing and a stimulating effect. The complete response lasts for five to fifteen minutes, with a type of satiation developing so that a response cannot be evoked again for at least an hour or two.

Approximately 30% of adult cats show zero or minimal response to the plant, and nearly all kittens under 2 months of age show no reaction to catnip and often actively avoid it.

Animals that are fearful or under stress will have a decreased reaction to catnip. Males and females respond equally, although there’s some evidence that among susceptible cats, males respond a bit more strongly than females.

Whether a cat is a responder or not is based on heredity; a recessive gene is involved, so that two cats from the same litter may have different responses to the plant, like my Brandy (bored) and Gigi (thrilled).

It’s probably not a good idea to give it to a cat that goes outdoors, since the cat might not be able to care for itself while under its influence.

So what exactly is in this stuff? Catnip (Nepeta cataria) is a member of the mint family. In fact, it has also been referred to as “catmint”. It is related to common kitchen herbs like thyme and sage, and can be easily cultivated as a houseplant.

Years ago, in England, dried catnip leaves put in boiling water was a popular tea for humans – it was said to have a calming effect. When the plant is crushed and the oils are distilled, catnip extract is obtained. Studies have shown the active ingredient in the oil is nepetalactone. This chemical repels certain leaf-eating insects, providing protection for the plant. It is the smell of this oil that triggers the response in cats. Anesthetizing the nasal passages and obliterating the sense of smell in a cat will abolish the catnip reaction.

Interestingly, the plants that belong to the catnip family are indigenous only to the Old World, and yet, members of the feline family that respond to catnip are found in both the Old World and the New World.

So, if you think about the catnip response from an evolutionary standpoint, it seems clear that some species of cats have acquired the ability to display the catnip response even though the natural source of nepetalactone was not present to influence the evolution of this behavioral response. (Yet another fun fact that adds to the overall mystique of the feline).

Why catnip produces the response that it does is not fully understood, but there are several possible explanations. There is an unmistakable similarity between the catnip response and the rolling and squirming of female cats during courtship and just after copulation, leading some investigators to conclude that catnip may be acting like a hormone, activates a neural system in the brain related to female sexual behavior.

Another school of thought is that catnip produces a form of pleasurable behavior unrelated to sexuality, and that the rolling and rubbing is simply a manifestation of a pleasure response.

In 1972, Canadian researcher R.C. Hatch reported in the American Journal of Veterinary Research that the chemical structure of the active ingredient in catnip is very similar to that of LSD, leading to speculation that the bliss that cats seem to experience is similar to the reaction humans experience to these drugs.

In other words, if you’ll pardon my French, the cat is simply stoned out of its mind.

Cat owners are undoubtedly familiar with the myriad of catnip toys, sprays, and related paraphernalia available in pet shops and online, as these products are consistently popular with the cat loving public. Perhaps the most notable of the catnip items is Cosmic Catnip.

Good stuff, dude!

Approximately 25 years ago, Leon Seidman, a graduate student, went searching for the ultimate catnip for W.B., his cat. Avoiding the commercial products, Seidman went to drugstores where catnip was sometimes kept in jars and sold along with other pharmaceutical herbs. W.B. gave it a try. His response, (if cats could speak, mind you) was “whoa dude, this is killer weed”.

That summer, Seidman visited a friend in Virginia and found catnip growing wild on his friend’s farm. He grabbed a bunch of it and zoomed back home to Maryland where he began a small business selling what he called Cosmic Catnip, an especially potent variety.

Today, Seidman and his wife Pamela are president and vice president of Cosmic Pet Products, Inc. which packages and sells around 140,000 pounds of catnip a year in the United States, Canada, and Europe.

According to the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, a Washington-based trade group, no other company produces more of the stuff than Seidman. When the scent of my cats’ catnip toys begins to fade, rubbing a fresh batch over the surface of the toy freshens it up, and the fun begins anew.

Cat owners who worry about whether they may be indulging their cat too frequently should be told that, like anything special, it should be offered for a little while, then put away for a few days, so that it remains a special treat.

Catnip is safe and not addictive, however, because of the altered mental state that it induces in most cats, cat owners should be warned that they should avoid letting their cat drive the car or operate heavy machinery while under the influence.

Does that include computers?

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Two things......I didn’t know that cat lovers were called “ailurophiles” and I can vouch for the Cosmic Catnip. I had never heard the background on it though. This is the brand that I usually buy ....in the large container. It does seem to be the strongest smelling and it gets the attention of all of our cats, even the ones who are not crazy about catnip.

I still remember a time when all of the cats were in the yard. I got the catnip out and gave each one a little pile to roll in or eat, etc. Ellie just couldn’t get enough it seemed. Finally, she was stretched out on the walkway. Her eyes are big anyway, but they were solid green with just a slit of pupil. She looked like a gecko. I think she was as high as a kite that afternoon. I like it when our cats are happy.

More later.........