It’s almost time to round up Andy and Dougy to take them to the groomer for their bi-monthly grooming session.
I’ve taken the usual precautions: 1. I haven’t put on clothes they know I wear outside the house, 2. I’ve closed all the bedroom doors to prevent under-the-bed escapes, 3. I’ve tried to follow normal routines, like getting on the computer right off, to reduce the chances the boys will get suspicious.
Andy is suspicious anyway…!
Catching the first cat usually is simple. It’s that second capture that usually stresses out the cat and me: You don’t have to draw pretty picture for the second scat to figure out there’s a carrier trip — it doesn’t matter where — in his future, and he will take an even stealthier approach to capture.
Wish me luck!
FOLLOW UP
I easily captured Andy over by the cat fountain. Silly boy! He practically trapped himself in a corner.
Then I followed Dougy into the bathroom. “As long as I’m here,” I thought, “I may as well use the bathroom, too,” (I know! I know! Too much information!)
Seated on the throne, I noticed Dougy’d hidden under a chair next to the dryer. He was within arm’s reach of me, so I leaned over, grabbed him, then worked through the problem of pulling up my pants while holding a cat that didn’t want to be held…!
I somehow managed the task, put Dougy in the carrier with his brother, and we arrived at the groomer’s one minute before the appointment time of 7:30. I call that a successful start to the day.
I hope your next trip will be as easy a ’round-up’ Sir. Hehe!
Me, too! As it was, DOugy arrived there in a grumpy mood, and was grumpy the whole time he was there, especially when the groomer put him back in the carrier. Andy always is a little grumpy, so Athena (his groomer) didn’t notice anything different with him. Fortunately, grumpy or not, they apparently are cooperative because they always came back with good haircuts!
They permitted Athena cause it makes the look and feel good after treatment?
Any cat that’s not grumpy occasionally is a rarity I reckon.
Cheers Sir.
Andy is a home boy, and hates to go places. Dougy hates to travel in the carrier. He usually is OK once he’s out of the carrier, but yesterday, he was wound up and pissed, I guess!
My sister is in a similar position with her Kitty family. They are all old cats, Fooey is 19 years old in human years. Love going to see them. Andy and Dougy sound real characters. Cheers Sir.
That they are! I get a lot of pleasure out of having them around. I suspect I’d be on the computer all day, piddling around if I didn’t have them. (I still waste a lot of time on the computer…! LOL)
My problem too Sir, you’ve hit it on the nose!
The laptop takes up too much of my time nowadays. Cyril and Pippa always in me mind though, so much reminds me of them, and I miss them so much.
With so much sorting still to do, there re times I feel guilty about me never ending ‘laptopising’ Hehe!
But I do like it so, and think it has taken place of them sometimes.
I can hear them purring sometimes when I wake during night, and think I’m going bonkers.
Give your gems a cuddle for me please.
TTFN.
I made myself stay off the computer all day yesterday. It was a pleasant experience! Both Andy and Dougy seemed to enjoy the extra attention they got!
Well done indeed, I don’t think I could manage that Sir. Glad Andy and Dougie were pleased too!
Today with so much to do and wanting to get me paperwork sorted, I’m up early and doing me emails, WordPressing and Facebooking quick as I can, so I can gerron with me task fer the day. Crossed fingers. TTFN
It felt odd not turning the PC on, but I managed some how!
Betty man than I am… kept telling missen not to start it… but… failed. I am now going to turn it off… Sob! Hehe
You can di it! You can do it! (It doesn’t even hurt…much!)
Hahaha… I partly succeeded Sir. Not easy… Hehe!
It is too addictive, isn’t it? The bad part is you come back to page after page of e-mails and blogs you follow to catch up on. Any time “saved” is just redirected to a future marathon on the machine you tried to avoid. What irony!
Your dead right again Sir – I’ve just got the laptop on and boy is a marathon session needed! Tsk! Hehe.
I’m sitting here feeding my own addiction, “inchcock”! We are sick men!
We is I’m afraid! Hehe
Two hours later, I’m still plugging away at the keyboard….! Well, I did spend some time going through 1934-1937 issues of National Geographic magazine on DVD. That’s fun, especially for the car advertisements!
Odd that Sir, I watched a DVD last night too. This morning I had planned not to go on me laptop until after I’d done some sorting… failed again, I was up, WC’s, medications and on the laptop without thinking… Hehe. Take care.
I have some housekeeping (vacuuming, dusting, picking up) I should be doing instead of piddling on the PC, but…!
Understood Sir! Tsk, we are a pair.
A day later, not a single change in my behavior!
Hehe! Me too! Tsk!
Yet one more day, and, well, no change yet!
I’ve gone downhill with the wind and rain stopping me getting out I’m marathonalising on the laptop! Humph! Hehe.
I thought about doing something today….! Yeah, I thought about something. LOL!
That’s the spirit! Hehe!
I’m on a roll: Today looks as unproductive as the past several! I was going to shop for groceries this morning, then I decided I had enough things on hand to make a passable few meals. So much for that plan!
Understood! I’ve got tons of stuff in now and more ordered, then i go out and buy more? Tsk! TTFN
Nature abhors a vacuum….! LOL!
Trying to get the carrier ready for a vet visit: I start the night before. I take out the carrier from the closet when they’re not looking, or taking a quick nap. The next day, I have to time it just so, to grab whomever is unsuspecting about the visit. I also try to keep things and myself very casual and the same habits so as not to look guilty!!! Mine don’t go to the groomer, but the preparation is very much the same as yours! I swear, they can read our minds, and we have to try harder to be smarter. LOL.
Yes, very similar indeed! The main difference (since I live alone with two cats and don’t really care if things are a bit disordered….) is the carrier I use is always sitting on a settee where they can climb on lit, sleep on top of it or in it, and generally regard it as “normal”. I think part of Dougy’s issues with it is he has top go to the groomer or veterinarian with Andy in the same carrier. I may have to go back to using two carriers. Andy regards the blue carrier as his!
This really made me laugh, especially the mental image of holding Dougy in one hand and your trousers in the other …
It made me laugh, too, at the moment I realized I might have outwitted myself!
Reblogged this on MoéGrrL.
Happy to read that your day was successful. Have you seen the following video about cats? It is hilarious in my humble opinion.
Here is the link: http://twentytwowords.com/narration-of-what-goes-on-inside-a-cats-head-all-day/
LOL! That was really good, Anarette! Thanks for the link.
I have seen it a couple of times and I am still laughing when I see it.
Yeah, it is very true to life!
It pretty much captures the spirit of “cat”, that’s for sure! Still laughing!
Catching a cat is a sport but catching two cats is high level competition!!! 🙂
In friendship
Michel
You are for sure their, Michel! Woe be the people with more than two cats! I try to make appointments for bboth at the same time, but I have had to reschedule appointments when I couldn’t catch one of the cats in time. One time, Dougy managed to elude me long enough that I almost didn’t get him caught in time for his grooming appointment. That was one time it was nice Andy was already there, so they worked on him while I was at home trying to trap Dougy. That was the time that taught me to close bedroom doors when I got up on appointment days. I’d close the bathroom door, too, but one of the litter boxes is in there.
Giving Doug a standing ovation. Way to go and you out smarted those boys this time.
Andy made up for it later when it was time to give him his medicine. However, he forgets sometimes he’s a fugitive, exposes himself to easy capture, and that’s what happened twice yesterday, once when he trapped himself by the cat fountain, and the second lime when I found him perched on the cat tree just outside my bedroom.
Tim’s car giver or my son hold’s Ali for her medication which is only once a day now and we are weaning her down as far as we can on it, to try to stop the bladder infections.
Once a day is a lot if you have to medicate a cat, eh?! I hope and pray you are able to get poor Ali’s medical needs in control so the poor kitty can just enjoy being a cat again!
You and me both and she has been through enough
Amen to that!
Getting kitties into the carrier has always been a challenge. Shoko has a box she got from the SPCA when we brought her home for the first time. We need to get a bigger box but she doesn’t seem to mind this cardboard box much. Kali on the other hand has fought tooth and nail not to go into the carrier. Spreading her legs so her claws are stuck to the outside of the opening…you name it and she’s tried it. Until one day I figured this was too much for ME. I opened the carrier door and put a pillow under the opening and put Kali onto the pillow. She proceeded to walk into the carrier. I couldn’t believe my eyes! No fuss or trouble, no prying claws from the side of the opening. Granted I had a heck of a time getting her onto the table at the vets but that’s another story.
Jean
I can see this in my mind’s eye! LOL! I put a pillow inside the carrier so they could have something soft to recline on, that would acquire a little of their “stink” so it was home-like and comfortable, and, I hoped, inviting. It mostly works. Open the door, and the boys bolt out. Well, they bolt out at home. At the veterinarian, you have some resistance, and it isn’t impossible that you have to pull them out on the pillow….!
Getting them out at the vets is another story. The pillow I mean is placed underneath the door and the back of the carrier is not on the pillow…Kali just walks into the carrier. I don’t know how it works, it just works….there is no fuss, hollering by me or Kali and everyone’s heart rate remains even. If you are interested I will send a picture to your e-mail.
OK! It sounds interesting. IO can’t imagine why Kali would just walk in under those circumstances, but who questions success, eh?!
The only thing I can think of is the carrier is pointing downwards and this is easier on her. I use a pillow like a sleeping pillow so I guess my smell is on it. It is really amazing Doug. The first time I was all ready to wrestle her and must have been in attack mode…I didn’t know what to do when she walked inside.
They never cease to amaze, do they?
I wish someone would take me to the groomer
I look like leftovers from Halloween
As always Sheldon
I’m pretty fuzzy myself just now! I spent more time and effort keeping the boys groomed than I do with myself.
sending good luck and Ali is sending high fives to the boys and yelling, “Run!!”
I added a follow up that tells you how the captures went this morning. The short of it: I think it took mew five minutes total to capture them, and there wasn’t a great deal of fuss about it, though Dougy dug into the settee in resistance to being stuffed in the carrier….!
Have the same thing waiting for me – just that it means the VET for my two.
Lots of fun, isn’t it? One is easy enough, but getting two rounded up requires strategy.
And one of mine has a heart disease and is not a good boy about taking HIS medicine …
Andy doesn’t like taking his medicine for a heart murmur, but he’s a pretty good kitty about waiting patiently in my arms till I put the syringe full of medicine up to his mouth. I appreciate that! He tries to turn his head away from the medicine, but I always manage to get it in him anyway.
You are lucky, Andy is smaller than my FunTom (whose body alone is 60 cm long), and far more civil.
I’d guess Andy’s body is about 2/3rds that length, though I’ve never measured him or Dougy.I’d call them medium to smallish for tomcats. Their predecessor, Louie the ginger cat, was a solid meter long from whisker to end of tail when stretched out, and weighed 10,4k! He was a proper cat!
FunTom only weighs about 7ish kilos – and outstretched he would be a little longer, too – though not a meter! Vet says he may weigh about 6,5 – as he is a mix of a normal house-cat and a large breed.
Dougy is about 4,8 kilos, and Andy is a little bit smaller, perhaps 4,6 kilos or so.
I suspect my female to be rather Dougy’s weight than Andy’s. Ok for her (up to 5 kg).
Their mother and father were both smallish cats.
Most cat breeds are smaller than FunTom – but he must have some Norwegian Forest cat, some Maine Coon or some Ragdoll in him (no, not Ragdoll – he is rather grumpy at being picked up!)
I like a big cat….! Anyway, neither Andy nor Dougy tolerates being held very much, though Andy tolerates it more than Dougy. I attribute that to the fact I hold him more because I have to hold him to give him his medicine for the heart murmur. I always cradle and rock him to calm him down before and after medication since it seems silly to give a cat heart medicine, then upset him! LOL!
Same here, that is why I have given up on trying to get my tom to take his medicine.
Andy occasionally beats the system, and manages to avoid capture at day’s end, when I give him his medicine, but I try not to let it happen if at all possible.
Hah!! You can’t fool the boys!!
Ha! Ha! That’s what you and they think!