Author Archives: Charles Huss

Nature’s Miracle Cat Litter Review

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Years ago, to help stop Chris from pooping on the floor, I started using Dr. Elsey’s Precious Cat Unscented Clumping Cat Litter along with their Litter Attractant. This cut the pooping in half and moving all the litter boxes to the same room eliminated the problem. We continued using the litter and attractant for some time after that just to be sure. Eventually we stopped buying the attractant but continued to use Dr. Elsey’s litter because it was the least dusty litter that I have ever used. A few months ago, when Puck started pooping on the sofa (and we blamed Chris) we bought the cat attractant again.

Recently I needed to change the boxes and Rose was sick of paying a premium price for that litter and wanted me to buy something cheaper. I told her I would look and headed off to PetSmart. Once there I discovered that Dr. Elsey’s was cheaper per pound than most national brands and I always thought I was over paying. Nevertheless, they only had one bag of Dr. Elsey’s and I needed two. I decided to buy Nature’s Miracle Scent Free Cat Litter instead. It was $15 instead of $17 for the 40 pound bag of our normal litter. I also later discovered it has good Amazon reviews.

Nature's Miracle cat litterThe li

 
The new litter seems exactly the same as the old litter. It is relatively dust free, it clumps well, and all the cats seem to be fine with it.

I also like it because it comes in a box with a handle on both sides. The other litter came in a large bag with no handle.

I think I will continue to use this in the future although I believe one of those alternative litters made from wheat, corn, pine, etc. Is a healthier option. Unfortunately, our cats are too picky and I know from experience that I might be picking poop off the floor if I tried it.

What do you think?

Chia Cat Grass Planter Review

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For Christmas, the cats’ Aunt Felice got them a Chia Cat Grass Planter. A great present because they all like grass and Chris loves it. Whenever Chris gets outside, the first thing he does is eat some grass.

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It comes with everything you need: a bowl with a cat on it, potting soil, seeds and instructions.

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I followed the instructions and put most of the “growing mix” in the bowl, leaving two tablespoons out for later.

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I then added the grass seeds.

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Next I covered the seeds with the remaining dirt. By then I had the attention of all the cats.

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The instructions said to cover it loosely with plastic wrap so I did that and put it on the counter for a few days. I then put a little water in it and placed it outside where it could get some sun without someone eating it.
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I think I watered it once more while it was outside but I pretty much forgot about it until the other day when I brought it inside. I also discovered that I was wrong about someone not eating it. It looks like one of the many rabbits in our neighborhood had a taste.20160117_Cats_3551I barely had time to photograph it before Chris discovered it.

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That sparked Frankie’s interest and soon they were both munching on the grass. Puck, unfortunately, was napping somewhere and missed  everything.
20160117_Cats_355420160117_Cats_3556It wasn’t very long before they mowed the grass down and moved on. 
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The next day, I brought it back outside to let it grow again.

I started this post with the intention of reviewing this product but I think the cats did that for me. I will say that this is a little more expensive than the ones in the cheap plastic containers but I found it as low as $9.76 on Amazon. I like it because it is heavier and doesn’t move around too much when the cats try to eat the grass. I may decide to buy one or two more so I can rotate them in and out of the house.

What do you think? Are your cats grass eaters?

Who Needs Room?

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Chris has gained weight since this post but he still manages to squeeze into small spaces so he can get attention.

Charles Huss's avatarBad Cat Chris

Bad Cat Chris on bathroom counter.Not long after we adopted Puck I mentioned in a post that he had taken over Chris’s routine of hanging out with Rose in the bathroom while she got ready for work. In a recent post, I said that Chris regained that position after we moved into our new place.

Now, every morning, Chris is on the counter while Rose is putting he make-up on. Our last bathroom had plenty of counter space but this one does not, and Rose is constantly trying to get Chris to lie on the other side of the sink where there is more room. That, of course, is a fruitless effort so every morning I hear the call, “Chuck, come get your cat!”

I try, but there is no way I can reach him where he is so Rose pushes him down which only causes more disruption when he jumps back up and…

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The Horrible Result of Puck’s Self-Imposed Exile.

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Recently I wrote about Puck’s Self-Imposed Exile when my stepson came for a week at Christmas. He was so fearful that he stayed in our bedroom whenever Nick was in the house.

Puck had no problem coming out to visit Rose’s Dad and his wife when they came at Thanksgiving or my best Friend, Rick, when he came here on New Year’s Eve, but for some strange reason, he decided he was afraid of Rick when he came to visit on Friday. Rick spent the night on our sofa and Puck spent the night in our room, afraid to leave.

I woke up early Saturday morning while Rick was still sleeping. I worried that Puck needed to use the litter box by then so I carried him to the patio and put him in the box. I tried that when Nick was here and got scratched up from Puck trying to escape my grasp out of fear. This time I made it all the way to the box and Puck just seemed slightly nervous. He stayed in the box for a couple of seconds and then jumped out and ran back into the bedroom. I assumed he didn’t have to go so I didn’t worry about it after that.

A little while later Rose was awake and complained that Puck either farted or he pooped somewhere in the bedroom. Normally, Rose’s nose is about twenty times more sensitive than mine and I usually smell nothing while she is acting like the world is about to end, but this time I smelled it too.

I looked around the room and as I was doing that, Rose told me she didn’t want me to use the bed sheets again because they keep popping off. “Okay'” I said, concentrating more on finding where Puck might have pooped. I checked the entire floor, including all the nooks and crannies. “I don’t see anything,” I said.

“Oh my God! It’s on the bed!” Rose suddenly yelled.

I looked and there was a big pile of mashed up poop. “oh, yuck!” I said. “That is gross!”

“It’s on me!” Rose yelled. “I rolled on top of it. Get a wet towel, Quick!”

I hurried into the kitchen and pulled a few paper towels off the roll and wet them.

“Hurry up! What are you doing in there?”

“Here,” I said, handing her the towels.

“No, it’s on the back of my leg. You need to wipe it off!”

As I was wiping it off I had visions of thirty years in the future. “There, it’s off,” I said as I threw the paper towels into the trash bag I brought with me. That is when she noticed another big spot of poop on her leg and the process started again.

The next priority was to pick up the poop off the bed. I had brought a roll of paper towels into the bedroom along with a small bag for garbage but the task was just too gross. Luckily, I remembered Rose didn’t want to use those sheets anymore so I just rolled them up and stuffed them into a garbage bag and took them out to the garbage can.

Puck got over his fear of Rick shortly after that, thankfully, and we now have something to look back on and laugh at but Saturday morning there was no laughing going on in this house.

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After the commotion, I put a sheet on the bed to protect it while I washed the mattress cover. That is when Chris and Frankie came in to see what all the trouble was about.

Chris Recaptures Routine

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Chris still has that routine of bothering Rose while she gets ready but now he has a new routine.

Rose’s new job means that she gets a lot more emails and messages so every morning before she gets ready, she sits on the bed and goes through it all on her phone. She puts a pillow on her lap and Chris happily snuggles with her while she does that.

Charles Huss's avatarBad Cat Chris

A several months ago I wrote about Chris’s Stolen Routine. In that post I mentioned that Chris had a morning routine that involved hanging out with Rose and bothering her while she got herself ready for work. That routine was taken over by Puck and Chris just let it go until we moved into our current home. Now, Chris is back up on the counter every morning interfering with Rose’s routine.

Bad Cat Chris on bathroom counter. Chris taking up valuable counter space while Puck is back to jealous spectator.

This time around Puck is not able to intimidate Chris into giving up his spot. Unfortunately for Rose, the bathroom counter is much smaller that it was in our last home so it is even more difficult for her to get ready while Chris is playing with her make-up. He even knocked over a full cup of coffee a few days ago, soaking most of…

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Puck’s Self-Imposed Exile

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Puck has always been more timid than Chris or Frankie. Actually, every cat is more timid than Chris but what I am trying to say is that Puck can be a bit of a scardy-cat. He is not as timid as Flash, the brother of Tigger who passed a few months after we adopted Chris, but he does tend to run away from strangers while Chris, and sometimes Frankie, will go towards them.

My stepson, Nick, came to visit for a week over the Christmas holiday and Puck refused to come out of our bedroom while he was in the house. We had to put a litter box in our room along with food and water because we were worried he would not eat or drink or that he would do his business on our bedroom floor.

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Unfortunately, Rose has a nose like a bloodhound and refused to sleep with the litter box in our room so I had to keep moving it back and forth everyday.

I felt bad for Puck because his entire day was spent on our bed or under it. Sometimes Chris would come in to keep him company.

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After Nick left, it was such a relief to see Puck out and about and enjoying life again. The strange thing is, Rose’s dad and his wife came for a couple of days at Thanksgiving and Puck came out to visit with them. Also, my best friend, Rick, came here on New Year’s Eve and Puck not only came out while he was here, he actually got on Rick’s chair with him, and he has never seen Rick before.

Clearly, there was something about Nick that made Puck nervous. Perhaps Nick teased him last year when he was here. I don’t know. Does anyone else have a pet that is nervous around a particular person?