Author Archives: Charles Huss

The Building Inspectors

Cats love new things. Bring something new in the house and every cat will come out to give it a thorough inspection. That is especially true when you have to put that new thing together, as I did last night with a new shelving unit. All three of our cats were busy investigating every nook and cranny.

After it was mostly put together, they each had to get on it to test for structural deficiencies. There was even a bit of a disagreement when two of the inspectors found that their work areas overlapped.

Photo Friday: Peace and War

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It is so nice to see Chris and Frankie getting along.

It rarely lasts long.

Inside Cat Wants Out

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I wrote this post three years ago but it still applies today, only now we have two cats who desperately try to get out every time someone opens a door.

Bad Cat Chris

Chris enjoyed a year of patio privileges while we were in Myrtle Beach but after moving back to Dunedin, that was no longer an option. Our condo did not have an enclosed patio so he was stuck inside.

Tigger and Abbey didn’t mind but Chris would often cry to be let out or he would try to race out the door when someone opened it. If he got out the front door (technically, the parking lot was the back of the building, but I consider the main door the front) he would just plop down to the ground and stretch. For Chris, it was not about exploring, it was more about celebrating the victory. Anyway, since we were on the second floor, there was not much for him to explore.

After awhile I started to let him out and I would stand there and watch him roll around. Sometimes he…

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New Cat Litter and the Return of an Old Problem

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Recently I heard about the possible health risks of clumping cat litter. After doing some research, I learned that the controversy started in 1995 after Marina Michaels wrote an article for Tiger Tribe Magazine titled Clumping Clay Kitty Litters: A Deadly Convenience? In it she described several litters of kittens dying of an unknown cause until she determined it was the clumping clay litter that was causing the problem.

Upon further research, I found that all other articles about the subject pointed back to Michael’s’ original article and it seems that no research has been done to prove, or disprove, her claim. It also seems that if there is a problem, kittens are affected considerably more than adult cats.

Proof or not, I thought it would not hurt to take away a potential danger and replace it with a healthier alternative. I also thought it would be lighter and better for the environment. My only concern was that Chris’s pooping problem might come back if I stopped doing what worked.

In case you haven’t read my older posts, we struggled with Chris pooping on the floor for over three years. Sometimes he would use the box and sometimes he wouldn’t. We reduced the problem when we started using Dr. Elsey’s Precious Cat Clumping Cat Litter along with Precious Cat Litter Attractant and the problem stopped two years ago when we moved to our last home and put the litter boxes in the same room. I think having a second box nearby if the first one wasn’t perfect was helpful. Once the problem got better, I stopped buying the Cat attract but continued to buy the Precious Cat litter.

I thought the proximity of the boxes was the most important factor and I was hoping Chris’s new habit of always pooping in the box might be permanent so, before me moved, I bought a litter called Tidy Cats Pure Nature. It is made from cedar, corn, and pine, natural, renewable resources, and it is much lighter than conventional litter and easy to transport.

On moving day I emptied and cleaned one of the boxes but left other box. When I moved the cats to the new house I brought the litter pan with the old litter and put it in the new house next to the box with the new litter.

I then monitored both for almost three weeks. The new litter was used only about ten times and every time, except once, it was for pee. That is about once every two days for three cats, not very good.

I know the test was a little unfair because they still had their old litter as an option but it was a good way to prove what they prefer, especially since their old litter was…, well… old. I wanted to get rid of the new litter after the first week but waited to see if they would get use to it and use it more. They didn’t, and I didn’t want to force a litter on them that might reignite Chris’s pooping problem.

By week three I started seeing an occasional, small piece of poop on the floor. I assumed someone was having a problem with poop sticking to their butt, since it was so small, but as a precaution I bought more of their old litter and changed both boxes two days ago.

This morning I rolled out on exercise mat because I wanted to start doing stretches to relieve the back pain that I have been feeling for the last week or two. Chris found the mat interesting and lied on it while I looked for a good video to follow on YouTube. When I found one, I heard Chris clawing at the mat and turned to see him trying to bury a big poop that he left there.

I waited too long and now I now I have to buy more Cat Attract and start over. As far as a healthy alternative to the clumping cat litter…? I don’t have a good option with Chris living here.

If anyone is interested, some say that a good, cheap and healthy alternative to the alternative cat litters is Chick Starter. It is food for young chicks and is said to be very similar to World’s Best Cat Litter at a fraction of the cost. Just make sure you get the non-medicated crumbles. I used an Amazon link so you could see what it is but you should look for it at a local feed store where you can get it much cheaper. I would love to save money and get a healthy cat litter but Chris won’t let me.

Do you use an alternative to standard litter? Please share your experience.

Photo Friday: Bunny TV

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Every cat should have this channel.

When Three Equals Two

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This story was from my “criminal” past.

Bad Cat Chris

As I mentioned earlier, we had to leave Princess and Alex with people we knew in Myrtle Beach because the condo we were moving into had a two pet limit. Normally, I don’t like to lie. I feel that honesty and good character are very important traits. That is why I felt guilty telling our landlord we had two cats instead of three.

When we owned a condo in the same development, I did not feel guilty having five cats. I guess it was because we knew the rule was really there to limit the number of dogs barking and pooping in the yard. We felt that the Condo Nazis had no business knowing what went on inside our condo.

Now that we were renting, it was not really our condo and the landlord did have the right to know. He was not a bad guy and if he knew…

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Catnip, I have You Now!

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I was making dinner Monday night and I opened a drawer to get something out. When I tried to close the drawer, Chris had both paws over it and I couldn’t push it shut. I could have pushed him off but I had to stir my food and I thought it wouldn’t hurt to let him look for a second. After all, it was just kitchen stuff. What could he possibly want?

I forgot about him for a minute and saw him inside the drawer when I turned around. I thought it was a cute picture so I grabbed my camera to get a picture of him before I got him out of there. I kept calling his name but he wouldn’t lift his head so I could get a good shot. It was then that I realised that he was ripping something apart. I quickly picked him up and saw a good portion of a bag of catnip spread all over the drawer. Now I know where we keep the catnip.

Bunnies, Bunnies Everywhere

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Our new neighborhood is loaded with bunny rabbits. They tend to stay hidden during the day and come out to eat later in the afternoon and evening. Since we have moved here, we have seen them every day not far from our driveway. For some reason, they never seemed to show up on the other side of the house where our enclosed Florida room is. That is the room where the cats love to hang out because it is all windows on three sides.

That changed the other day when a small, adolescent bunny showed up just under one of the windows on the patio. Puck was the first to notice and he went crazy.

That was three days ago and we haven’t seen them since on that side of the house. I hope in the future the cats will see these bunnies more often.

Photo Friday: While I Was Blogging…

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While I was blogging yesterday, this is what I had to work with.

Chris Proofing the New Home

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Before we moved into our new home, Rose told me I needed to do something about the hole under the bathroom sink. She was worried Chris would get under there (which he is good at) and manage to get inside the walls.

I assumed it was a hole like we had in our last home when we moved in. That one was under the kitchen sink. It was an opening that allowed the pipes to come through the wall but it was bigger than necessary. At that time she was worried about bugs getting in so I filled the opening with foam insulation.

Shortly after that I noticed there were pieces of foam scattered around under the sink and then saw a large hole was chewed through the foam. We had a rat! I don’t remember if I realized it at the time but it was sure clear a few days late when I opened the door to put trash in the small garbage can we kept under the sink and saw a large rat in the can. I quickly covered the can with a cutting board and then dumped the rat outside. I then nailed some wood over the hole.

But this hole was not like that one. This hole was almost big enough to shove a body into and definitely big enough for a cat, even a fat, bad cat. I discovered that when Chris opened the cabinet door and walked inside. It was then that I remembered what Rose warned me about and I quickly looked under the sink to see what she was talking about. When I saw the opening, I grabbed Chris and pulled him out of there. He was not happy about that and let me know.

Inside this large cavity there was an opening both to the left and right. I could even see daylight coming through the left opening.

I needed to keep Chris out of there until I could find a permanent solution. I started looking for something long enough to stick through the handles when Rose remembered we had leftover baseboard. It worked.

As soon as I was able, I bought child safety locks and put them on the doors.

This worked but I was concerned because Chris was adamant about getting through the security and I did not doubt his ability.

I decided to add a second level of security so I cut out some aluminum screening and stapled it over the opening.

Good thing I did because later that day Chris managed to break one of the child locks.

Of course, Chris is still getting into the other cabinets but I don’t worry so much about that.

I apologise for the quality of some of these pictures but they were taken with my phone in low light and I thought they would be somewhat useful to tell the story.