While I was waiting for the coffee to finish brewing this morning, I bent down to pet Miracle. She was on the other side of the kitchen, so I lightly snapped my fingers so she’d hear it and come over. She stayed put and gave me a defiant pout. Instead, Tulip came running from the hallway and spun around to get a pet. This from the cat that used to not like being petted. My how things change.
Moo wants her blankie
July 23, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Ever since we came back from vacation, Moo has been kind of distant. She just hangs out on the rug in the living room, and doesn’t really want anything to do with us. At first we thought she liked staying with Eve’s parents better than being at our house. Then we thought maybe she was just upset about all the traveling and changes she’s been through lately. Then we though, maybe she’s just hot. Nooooo, Moo wants her blankie!
A few days ago I put on the air conditioner because our house was steaming. Once it cooled down a bit, I plopped on the couch and put Moo’s favorite blanket over my legs. As soon as I did, there was Moo kneading in the blanket. She curled up and went to sleep in my lap. The Moomoo is back.
Ever since, I’ve been running the darn air conditioner at night so Moo can sleep on the bed with her blanket. She’s happy as can be. She walks around with her pouty Moo face. She’s more talkative. She seems content again. Talk about a punk! Moo better be paying the electric bill this month. ☺
Moo still passed out in her blankie this morning after everyone else got up:
Punkin’ Pie
July 22, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Over the last couple of days, Tulip has been constipated. She kept climbing into the litterbox, sitting there for a long time with a look of concentration on her face, then coming back out disappointed. I’m not sure if it was the heat or what, but this is very unusual for her. Her appetite, thirst, behavior, and attitude have all been normal.
Before calling the vet, I wanted to have a look online to see what others had to say about this kind of problem. I found what I thought was a pretty interesting recommendation: canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling, just plain old canned pumpkin with no additives). It’s very moist, has a lot of fiber, and apparently cats usually enjoy the taste. It seemed harmless enough, so we decided to give it a try.
Both Miracle and Tulip got a heaping tablespoon full. They loved it. “We has a punkin’ pie, Mama!” It was like the biggest treat we could have given them. A short while later, Tulip was off to the litterbox and succeeded in taking a huge poop. Whew! So far, so good.
Now I hope it goes without saying that if your cat can’t poop, you should consult the vet. It’s not completely unusual for Tulip to skip a day pooping, but this had been maybe 3 or 4 days. The right thing to do would have been to call the vet a lot sooner. For whatever reason, we were finally ready to call today. In the mean time we figured that either way, the pumpkin couldn’t hurt. It just happened that it worked almost immediately. Her poop wasn’t particularly unusual, maybe just a bit dry. We’ll keep an eye on her and see how she does.
The article I read about the canned pumpkin had what I thought was a cool suggestion. It said to take the leftover pumpkin and divide it up into an ice cube tray. Once the cubes are frozen, you can pop them in a bag and just take one out when you need it. The article recommended once a week. In my opinion, that seems like a lot, but what do I know? In any case, I’m glad Tulip is back in the groove, and amused to know that cats like “punkin’ pie”.
Kitty Vacation 2 – Electric Boogaloo
July 10, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Once again the kitties were on vacation as Eve and I traveled to the east coast to visit my family. Thus the lack of recent posts. However, the delay comes with some cuteness.
Miracle went to stay with Eve’s parents for 9 days. Eve’s mom is very fond of Moo-head and we thought this would work out well. I predicted that by the end of the trip Moo would be sleeping on the bed with them.
On the first night they gated off the stairs so that Moo would stay on the first floor. As soon as she got there, she took a complete tour of the downstairs of the house. Mom hung out with her, talking to and playing with her. At bedtime Mom and Dad went upstairs, leaving Moo on the first floor. They no sooner got upstairs when Moo started a mooing. “Grandma! I’m lonely down here!” Eve’s mom ended up going back downstairs and sleeping on the couch with Moo. Twice. On the third night Moo made it up to the bedroom to sleep on the rug nearby. By night four she was on the end of the bed. Winner, winner, chicken dinner!
Tulip is quite a bit more challenging personality wise, so we were reluctant to send her along with Moo. Fortunately Janet and Jeff were willing to take her again.
As soon as Eve loaded up Tulip in her carrier to take her to Janet’s house, she pooped. I was still driving home from work and received a frantic call on my cell phone. “Where are you! Tu pooped in her carrier!” When I got home I had to rescue Tu from the poop carrier, give her some tigey hugs because she was upset, clean up the poop, and load her back into the carrier. Good times.
Tu being Tu, she spent a fair amount of time hiding out and skulking around at Janet’s house. At least she was on good behavior according to Janet and Jeff.
As we were on our way to pick Tulip up after our trip, Jeff said he found Tu upstairs with all the rest of the cats gathered around. Unfortunately, by the time he got the camera all the other cats were gone. He did capture some adorable pictures of her though. This one was my favorite of the bunch. Tulip’s famous Goose Step:
When we got Tulip home, I put her carrier down in the living room and opened the top. Moo immediately stuck her head in to see what was going on. Tulip popped out and took a quick tour of the living room with Moo on her heels the whole way. She stopped and turned around to greet Moo. They sniffed each other and touched noses for a bit, then went about their business. Every once in a while Moo would come back to check up on Tu. Cute!
Tu has been exceptionally sweet since we brought her home. We’ve been working on keeping the house calm and quiet, with lots of pets and play for both kitties. They seem to be liking that very much. They’re even more relaxed with each other. I’m so glad to be home with them again.