Dougy wanted to take a walk outside, it was so sunny and nice! Of course, he isn’t allowed out for his safety, but a kitty boy can dream.
The yellow climbing rose bush is putting out more blossoms, and the thistle growing in the hole in the sidewalk is looking to take over the world.
It’s shedding season, as the carpet attests. Clumps of kitty fur are everywhere, and vacuuming only solves the problem for the moment. More will replace it…soon!
Tuesday, I thought the day before was Memorial Day and that I failed to place flowers on family graves, breaking a chain going back three generations and nearly a century. Oops! Then I saw something in print that referred to the coming holiday. Yes, next Monday is Memorial Day in America, and I bought some potted dahlias for the graves.
I swear that thistles have roots that go halfway down the earth. And the more you try to get of them, the bigger they get. 🙂
Exactly! Field bind weed is even worse. The weed control office published a photo of the root system for that plant, and it must have taken a large crew weeks to dig it out! (One site says it has roots down to thirty feet below the surface!)
Wow! I guess that’s one of the weeds you just keep topping off.
They are a challenge, for sure!
I could definitely knot some garments on all the hair from 9 cats! Wishing you and the boys a pleasant Sunday, Doug. 🙂
Whew! You surely swim in cat fur this time of year, Lavinia! And we are having a wonderful Sunday, thank you! Hope you are, too!
Vacuum the kitties! That’ll take care of the shedding but it’ll put their nose out of joint!
I don’t think the cord is long enough to chase then to vacuum them! LOL! dougy likes being brushed, so all of the shed hair (I think) is Andy’s. He is reluctant to be brushed.
ooooh that Andy!
I tried top brush him today to get that loose hair off him, but he ran when he saw the brush.
hold the bag of treats in the other hand first to intice & once captured,brush away!
LOL! Andy’s the intellectual kitty, the one that thinks things through. Though he love, love, loves kitty treats, I suspect he would see through that! (I’ll let you know if it works…!)
Now, its too friggin’ hot! Out weeding in the sun will give me scrambled brains. Shoko is sitting in the shade of the fence. Smart girl…there are no weeds over there….it’s a popular spot because of the shade. If, it isn’t cold enough to freeze a finger it’s hotter than stink.
The boys look cute and I can see your point at keeping them in. They are not used to leashes so I wouldn’t do it. These two are homebound. Kali goes on the deck or maybe out to the nip patch. Shoko usually hangs around or goes to the Lane and watches for mice under the retired mechanics score of vehicles. If, I ever had a kitten, it would be a different story.
Jean
I know the type weather you speak of, Jean! I used to do my gardening before the sun came up and shortly after because I had/have a tendency to become faint in heat and take dives to the ground! It’s fairly alarming when it happens because I am aware it is happening – I don’t pass out, just lose control of my muscles. I bought a push mower, in fact, so I could mow the lawn in the cool of the early morning instead of the heat of the late afternoon, when I had to do it when I was still working. It was pleasant walking behind the mower, barefeet cooled by the dew or early morning, and not having the racket of a power mower. I liked the way the hand mower snipped off the blades instead of beating the hell out of them till they fell off the plant, too!
Yeah, Shoko is a smart girl, and, as everyone knows, every garden needs a good cat to supervise the proceedings! Did you see yesterday’s Hands on Bowie blog of Mr. Bowie enjoying shade in the garden? When you mentioned where Shoko was, I immediately thought of that lovely photo:
https://hopedog.wordpress.com/2017/05/27/33/
Yeah, that’s exactly how I was when I got Andy and Dougy as kittens. Their predecessor was an indoor/outdoor cat, wise to the ways of the outside (and a terrible bully when it came to other cats, unfortunately, since he was almost 24 pounds/ 10.9kgs and used to holding his own). The reason he was available for adoption was he was captured by the animal control officer in a good neighborhood, clearly living the good life, free and wild! He was neutered, so someone one time had him, but no one ever claimed him. He was such a good kitty that I always feared someone would show up, but it never happened. He wasn’t microchipped. That was something I did with the kitty boys when I took them in to be neutered.
I must have your opinion of micro chipping compared to tattooing. The girls have tattoos and Shoko has a name tag with our phone number and address. Many cats I see wandering around don’t even have a collar. They are owned too. I don’t see the logic in this but it is not my business unless they ask….which of course they never do. My logic with the address/phone # on the collar is if Shoko wanders off and some one finds her they could phone me. Micro chipping alone only can be understood by a vet.
There is no assurance Andy or Dougy will never get out, but they are inside cats and have always been since I live close to a highway and a major city road: I’ve seen too many dead animals on both! Sizing collars to long-haired cats is a trick I haven’t mastered – I’ve had this debate about collars and microchips with myself.
My cat before the kitty boys, Louie the ginger cat, was short-haired. Though I never had him microchipped because I thought someone would step up and claim such a fantastic kitty. (He wasn’t microchipped by the same owner who was concerned enough to have him neutered…! That’s one reason I thought an owner might show up.) I did make him wear a collar, though, because the reason I was able to adopt him from the local shelter was he was trapped without identification of any sort and presumed to be a stray. I wanted it known he was someone’s – my – cat! He had the usual tags including one with his name and address on it, just in case.
One day, he came home without his collar! Poor kitty! I wouldn’t let him out without it.
One of my neighbors came over the same day Louie lost his collar. He’d lost it on her deck, and she read the name tag, so I got his collar back.
There you go. Ideally, a pet that is allowed out should have both forms of identification. In Andy and Dougy’s case, they are well-known minor international kitty celebrities (as are Shoko and Kali!), and I have many photos of both. Were either to go missing, I’d make sure a good photo of the missing kitty was posted in the neighborhood, at the local veterinarian clinics, and with the animal control officer. I’d expand the search as necessary, noting the missing cat has a microchip. Better yet, I’d make sure the kitty boys never have a chance to get out. Black cats are prey to superstitious idiots and cruel people who aim for them with their cars. Seriously. That happened to a cat in my old neighborhood. Even though it happened on the street just feet away from where a veterinarian lives, he wasn’t able to help the cat the bastard in the pickup aimed for and ran over (as witnessed by another neighbor…).
Thanks for bringing up good points about the various ways of assuring pets are safe and returned should they go missing, Jean. I think I have a solution for my kitty boys, but I recognize it requires them never to escape outside. On the other hand, collars come off, and are designed to break away for the cat’s safety should it get caught on something. In Louie’s case, he slipped out of it somehow though I thought it was tight enough.
Anyone else who has thought s on this feel free to add them here!
You have a good point with a long haired cat. I had never thought that a long aired cat would be difficult to get a collar around…it would be very hot too. These two are short furred and Shoko actually stands and waits for her collar by the door. Kali, is a different kettle of fish. She would rather be nekked and usually is cause she remains in the yard. Her arthritis makes her limp so she doesn’t get far very quickly. She is more of a peep cat and loves company. Shoko loves her one on one time with me as we investigate the back lane or she smacks my head in bed to wake me and get a love. Shoko has lost a number of collars over the years and they are usually in the backyard so I have many collars here for her. She seems to get a collar every Christmas so we have more to go.
I guess a lot of it comes down to a cat’s personality, though this has been an interesting discussion of the pros and cons of making sure one’s kitties are safely identified in case they wander off. In the short 22 months I had Louie before he died, I think he had four different collars, mostly because I wore out the clasps taking it off when he came in and putting it on when I let him out. Ideally, they’d wear a collar all the time, in or out. Dougy walks on me and kneads me after he swishes his tail on my face in a little walk around my head…! Andy sometimes hops up on my bed and makes a sad little
hungry kitten “meow” to try to get me up to “feed the kitties”, but Dougy clearly gets more results. Andy usually just watches from the floor while Dougy does the dirty deed!
Dougy is still cute as always.
He can’t help it!
Ha ha!
wow you can knit a sweater with your fur, to wear your own fur over your fur is much better than any sweater from a store. the thistle really looks that way… it’s great to share your impressions, you are totally right :O)
I know of people making warm garments from their kitty’s and dog’s combed out fur, and I bet you could survive Antarctica in them!
Amen. God bless you and yours my friend. 🇺🇸
Each day is a blessing when you have a chronic serious illness, and I say that without self-pity. It’s a simple fact!
Agreed my friend. I’ve heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Have a nice holiday with the kitty boys!👍🏻
We will! (Sorry you have some big ones….)