Wait… you look perfect the way you are.
Photo Friday: Beauty Advice From Chris
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…and the Bad Shall Lead
This post was from two and a half years ago and Puck still can’t ride my shoulders like Chris can.
When I met Rose, we both had an eight year old son living with us. My son, Chris, was somewhat easy-going and spent too much time indoors playing video games. (Just a side note: Bad Cat Chris was not named after my son. That is the name he had when we got him. See “What’s in a Name“) Rose’s son, Nick, was hyper-active and it was difficult to keep him in the house. When we all moved in together, we thought Nick would motivate Chris to go outside, but instead, Chris got Nick interested in video games. I don’t know if undesirable behavior is more influential or not, but in our household, that seems to be the case.
Take Puck for example. He came to us as a kitten and had surprisingly good behavior, but lately he seems to be picking up some of Chris’s habits. Recently he…
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National Black Cat Day
Yesterday, October 27, was National Black Cat Day. I am a day late because I am smart enough to put it on my calendar but not smart enough to look at my calendar.
Black cats need a day at this time of year to bring awareness to people that they are not bad luck and they have nothing to do with witches, curses, Halloween or anything like that. In fact, they make great pets and anyone would be lucky to have one cross their path.
Here is our cat Puck on what has become his new favorite perch. At least it is when I walk by. I think it is the perfect height for him to receive a few pets and to jump up on my shoulders.
Chris the Traitor
This is my first post using my phone so I hope it works. We are away for the weekend and our cat sitter sent a picture of Chris enjoying her company like we don’t even exist.
Can Earthing Benefit Your Pets?
I believe the concept of Earthing was introduced in a book called Earthing: The Most Important Health Discovery Ever! I have not yet read the book but I read several articles about the subject and watched a documentary called Grounded. As best as I understand it, when we are disconnected from the Earth, like we are in our homes or while wearing most shoes, we build up free radicals in our bodies that cause inflammation. That leads to a long list of other health problems. By taking our shoes off and touching the Earth for 30 to 60 minutes a day, we allow a free exchange of electrons that can neutralize these free radicals and restore health. Even just standing on unpainted concrete, like a driveway or sidewalk, will allow an exchange of electrons.
I had been wearing minimalist shoes for over a year but decided I needed to get as close to barefoot as possible. The best option I could find was a pair of traditional moccasins that only had a single layer of leather for the sole. The leather, once worn in, conducts electricity and is the perfect compromise between shoes and barefoot walking. Plus, they are very light and allow my feet to move freely in them. The only problem was that I had to learn to walk like humans are supposed to, by landing each step less on the heel and more toward the balls of my feet. Striking the heel on a hard surface like I was used to with sneakers, or even the minimalist shoes, was somewhat painful.
Since moving a few months ago I have not been walking on the Earth much and lately I have been thinking about ways that I could get out more. Suddenly I realised that our cats get outside to touch the Earth even less than I do. I have always felt it was good for pets to get outside where they could run around and breathe fresh air and now I have another reason to get them out. I am sure that if connecting to the Earth can help people it could help pets too, perhaps even more so for inside only cats that never have contact with the ground.
Unfortunately, getting my cats outside has always been difficult. Busy traffic near our last home and rules against outside cats where I live now keep our pets inside. It also doesn’t help that Frankie is a runner and I fear he will go to far and get lost if let out without his harness, but finding time to “walk” all of our cats is difficult.
Going forward I will try let Frankie and Puck outside more often for walks on the harness. That will help me get out more too. Hopefully Puck can get over his nervousness because I want him to get outside as well. Chris doesn’t need a harness but I plan to spend more time letting him eat grass before making him go inside. In addition, I may pick up an earthing mat to use in the home. It is a mat that connects to the grounding plug in your home or to a wire that leads outside into the ground. It might be helpful when I sit at the computer with all the EMF radiation around me, then the cats could lay on it when I am not using it. I read that pets are naturally attracted to it.
What do you think? Does anyone have any experience with Earthing?
Photo Friday: Bad Cat Holly
We visited Rose’s sister, Felice, last Saturday and I wanted to share this very cute picture of one of her cats, Holly, lying on the table where everyone was sitting. Holly is the female version of Chris. She is head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to getting into trouble. We’ve always wanted to take Holly home with us but Felice won’t give her up. I can’t blame her but I bet her and Chris would get along splendidly.
On another note, I have now posted something every day for nine consecutive days. I don’t know what the previous record is but if it was four I would be surprised. I don’t know if tomorrow you will see number ten. Perhaps it is time for a break.
The Wrath of Tigger
I didn’t know this at the time I wrote this post but Tigger was nearing the end of his life and was probably in pain which caused his aggressive behavior.
Lately, every once in a while, I will hear the sound of a cat in distress. The first time I heard it I thought one of our cats was hurt or stuck somewhere. When I looked for the source, I found Tigger locked in a stare-down with Chris. He had Chris cornered on the top landing of the staircase and surprisingly, was the aggressor in this confrontation.
When I showed up, the distraction gave Chris an exit opportunity and he took it. He bounded down the stairs with Tigger hot on his tail (literally). When they reached the living room, Tigger jumped on Chris and attacked him. I tried to separate them but it was only temporary. Tigger chased him down and attacked him again. Usually once a cat retreats the fight is over but not this time.
It was shocking because Tigger has always been such a nice cat. I know the old…
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Even on Vacation I Find Strays to Feed
When we went on our cruise at the end of last month we decided to go to Ft. Lauderdale a day early to reduce the chance that car trouble would cause us to miss the ship. We stayed at a hotel called Hyatt Place which was close to the cruise terminal.
About an hour before we planned to go out to eat, I walked down to get something out of the car. On the way I crossed paths with a little gold cat. He was very friendly and freely let me pet him but he seemed to be on a mission. He was looking through the bushes and picking things up to see if they were edible. I felt bad and was sure he was starving but I had nothing to give him. I went into the hotel but the only thing they had at that time was pastries.
While at dinner, I ordered the steak. I thought that was the best thing on the menu for bringing back leftovers. I ate about half of it and cut the other half into small chunks and brought it back with us.
When we arrived back at the hotel we found the gold cat, along with a tabby cat, in the bushes across from the front door of the hotel. They were eating dry cat food from a bowl that someone had tucked away in the bushes. That made me feel better but I still thought they would enjoy the steak better than the dry food so I gave a piece to each of the cats. The gold cat ate his right away but the tabby was timid and delayed long enough for the gold cat to take both pieces. The tabby had backed off so I threw a piece to her and I set the container down on the ground. The gold cat would grab a piece of meat, retreat to the bushes and eat it, then come back for another piece.
Note: Because there is a song playing in the background of the video, YouTube may restrict views in Germany.
The next morning, after breakfast, we went outside to wait for the shuttle to the terminal and the gold cat was out there. The cat just seemed to want attention at that point. We also learned from one of the drivers that the cat is a female named Puma. That surprised me a little because most gold cats are male but obviously not always. It also is another plus for people who believe gold cats are friendlier. I may have to rethink my position on that.
Kudo’s to the Hyatt employees who decided to not turn a blind eye and are taking care of these kitties.
Update 10/26/2017: After rewatching the video, I believe the employees might be wrong about the gold cat being female. Do you agree?
Puck’s Bald Spot Returns
Two months ago I brought puck to the vet because he had over-groomed himself to the point of having a bald spot on his back and the inside of his legs. She suggested he was allergic to fleas, even though she could find none on him. She gave him an antibiotic and a steroid which I was hesitant about accepting but I saw little options while I was in the vet’s office. I thought I would allow it one time but I would not have it be a regular form of treatment like it was for Tigger, who had recurrent mouth infections, until he died at the age of eight.
The problem got a little better and his fur grew back somewhat but he was still over-grooming and the bald spot never fully went away. Recently it has gotten worse again and I don’t want to subject Puck to another traumatic vet visit just to have him put on drugs that may or may not help in the short-term but will almost definitely harm him in the long-term.
My other options are to leave it alone, try to find a solution myself, or find a holistic vet which is rare near me. I could only find one holistic vet near me but she has no office and only makes house calls which may be over my budget at this time.
Update: I forgot to include a link to the original story, Puck’s Vet Adventure.
Escape Artist Bad Cat Chris’s Most Daring Escape Yet
These last few days have been cool and we have been leaving the window open on the door near the bathroom while Rose gets ready for work. We put a stool or chairs there so the cats can look outside and they love it.
After the cats got bored with the window Saturday morning, Rose moved the stool away. I was in the other room so I didn’t see what happened next but I heard Rose scream, “Come quick! Chris jumped through the window!” When I came, I saw the window open with no screen in it. Rose told me he jumped from the ground and through the window. He popped the screen out like it wasn’t even there (thanks to the weight he has put on lately) and landed, seemingly uninjured, on the stairs below.
I wish I was videoing him when that happened but I missed it. I also didn’t have my camera with me when I came running but this is where the screen landed.
Now we are going to have to keep the windows closed, or open only slightly, because of one bad apple, or in this case, one bad cat.
After thinking about it, this may not be his most daring escape but I don’t feel like changing the title. I think that happened while he was still young. You can read that story here.
