a case of the Crafties » cats

Midna the Stray

CaLynn — Wed, 11 May 2011 17:02:44 +0000

Our precious stray kitty, Midna, went to the vet yesterday. It didn’t sound good. Her belly is bloated and her intestines are ropey. She has broken hair and alopecia over her back end and a few other spots, leading the doctor to believe she has flea dermatitis, but there are no fleas to be found. Her coat is very rough also. And she has poor muscle mass over her hind legs. Otherwise her teeth, ears, eyes, etc are all ok.
I gave them a stool sample (she choose to poop in random places in the garage) and ordered a slew of tests to make sure she is fit before we give her to someone. The bloodwork was ready before I left and the doctor was very concerned that her white cells were super high. He didn’t have a reason for it, so he suggested testing her for the deadly and contagious FIP (feline infectious peritonitis), considering her low muscle mass and bloated belly.
So a few hundred dollars later (which was our intention on vaccines and spay, neither of which she was healthy enough to undergo yet), and worrying that we may have given our kitties some untreatable disease even though we washed our hands and such (which if that turned out to be true, I would destroy Mother Nature), the vet called today to tell me this news:

Midna’s stool showed no signs of worms (but they did suggest I get a general de-wormer just to be sure).

Midna’s FIP test was negative. Big, huge, massive relief. She’s going to make it and my kitties wont be sick! :D

And how thrilled was I when I found poop in her litter box?? Yay Midna!! :D

So currently I am giving her anti-biotics twice a day and will take her back in 10 days to get a new blood test and hopefully her counts are closer to normal. And then hopefully she will be healthy enough also for the vacs and spay because we will be leaving for NYC and I would really like to place her by then. Wish us luck!

And today, I went out to sit with her in this hot hot heat and we found a garter snake! Once she noticed it, it slithered its way into our garage which is not okay with me. I found myself too daunted to capture it so I called Boy who came home from work but by then I had lost track of it. We searched the garage to no avail. But Lady Luck smiled on me once Boy left (she frowned at him I guess) so I was able to pin it down (with a squeal or three) until he turned around and came back. Once he caught it I was able to regain my composure and play with it but something about having to catch it myself freaked me out. In the excitement I forgot to take another picture but this was the before scene when we first found it. Boy carried it to the back woods to live happily ever after.

birthday cat

CaLynn — Sat, 07 May 2011 19:50:17 +0000

On Boy’s birthday last night, the cutest little kitten strayed onto his brother’s patio and mewed her way into our hearts. She was starved and skinny, as well as a bit grungy looking, but we gave her some hotdog bits and some fresh water which really warmed her up to us. She was freezing and exhausted, and lost her voice by the end of the night. They let us keep her in their garage over night and this morning we picked her up to take her to the vet. Unfortunately she did not have a microchip and so we are using other means to try to locate her family. She’s just too sweet and lovable to be a feral cat. Now she is living in our garage but she really tries to get in the house (although my girls have made it completely clear that they are not interested in sharing).

We do not want a third cat and I am so worried about her getting hit by a car or attacked by a local dog or the crazy raccoons that I don’t feel comfortable with her being our outdoor cat. Boy won’t listen to me and keep her as his office cat. So….who knows what we will do with her, but I did find an no-kill shelter that seems to be a good fit if I can’t find anyone.

For now I am calling her Midna, which is a character from one of the Legend of Zelda games, and we found her roughly at midnight. She stands on her very tippy toes when you pet her, meows with her tongue out, and craves attention as much as Sasha, yet she is as docile as Maya. She lets me look at her teeth, ears, and eyes, and I could clip her nails too if I cared to (I assume since she is outside I should leave them sharp). She doesn’t shed but she’s young yet (I am guessing under one year).

Hopefully she isn’t already pregnant…

monkey tail and short tail

CaLynn — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 19:40:12 +0000

Otherwise known as:

Sasha and Maya

Twirpy and Noodles

Bad girl! and Good girl:)

a week in photos

CaLynn — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 16:06:21 +0000

This post isnt that crafty but my week has had some highlights so I thought I would share.

We’ve been pounded with severe thunderstorms for what seems like weeks now. Living in a swamp means the mosquitos are out of control. Eugh. Instead of picking up sticks, ive dragged tree branches larger than me to the burn pile. And all while this is happening, my girls are obliviously laying in awkward positions.

On one of the nicer days, Boy took Sasha out in the mosquito infested backyard for a morning stroll. She still drags her leash throughout the house like any well-trained dog would to let you know it is time for a walk (she can be pretty gosh darn demanding about it too!).

I finally beat Super Mario Bros. Wii, with all five sparkly stars and 99 lives, which means Mario plays without a hat!

Deer have been out and about like crazy during the day (as well as those dang mosquitos!). Weve got a new raccoon in the yard – we had a big ole fat one for a while but “Mikey” got hit by a car:( Most people hate raccoons, I know, but they are super cute and really, what trouble are they? Besides eating Rupert’s cat food, that is (“Rupert” is a stray black cat who likes to wander around the house). Our trash cans are animal proof so I dunno why all the hate:P We also have a squirrel with a bald tail. He likes to greet me in the driveway every day when i leave for work. But the creatures that are also saying hello to me that look like this are not my friend:

It snuck in with me last night when i was bringing in the groceries. I just knew it was following me, so that it could end up in my bed like the last one. (I did not get a photo of yet another spider in my bed, but it had a huge abdomen and reared up to fight when Boy tried to move it, and it was pretty big – about a quarter or so without the legs). Im pretty sure this is a wolf spider, based on its size and the stripe on its back, but Im not positive. Sasha discovered it when I was trying to take a better photo and it attacked her so she flung it and then it scurried away and made tinking sounds on my tile with its legs. *Disgusting*. Boy rescued us by killing it, poor thing. I would have liked to have studied it more but I guess i was being quite a girl about it…

Oh and i was going to work the other day and this car was stopped in the road. I honked a bit but she didnt move. She was waving to her friend at the old people home. Then she thought it would be a good idea to put her car in reverse. Seriously, who does that in the middle of a road?! Well i laid on my horn but she was quite deaf. I threw my car into neutral just in time for her to hit me. IDIOT. Then she drove away (to park at the old people home). It was right at work so i didnt follow her, assuming there was no damage (i got her make/model and license plate if it was more severe). I checked when I parked and there was about a 5 inch scratch on my bumper but my car has seen a lot and i know the woman didnt mean to be such an idiot, so i let it go. But she could have at least apologized.

of cats and computers

CaLynn — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 16:35:57 +0000

My cats are Javanese (Ill make a shout out to the Loblolly Cattery where I got them from:). That is to say they are a blend of Siamese and Balinese, so they look like Siamese but have different colorings, and long fur on their tails. And like their counterparts, Javanese can develop gingivitis. Maya is ok pretty much, but poor poor Sasha has been getting redder and redder gums. The dentist suggest I brush their teeth and so i bought the stuff and quickly found that was not an option. Like a bad cat-mom i let it go.

But at their last visit, we talked more about it and he told me that really if i could just get the toothpaste shoved up in there between the gums and cheek, that would be ok. So my plan of attack was much the same as when they need their nails clipped: My girls are completely different beings when you get them while they are napping. Usually I do this before getting out of bed in the morning so I dont disturb them to the point of really waking them up. While they are comfy and warm and drowsy from sleeping, i can get every single nail clipped without a hitch. So let me tell you, using this technique and a q-tip to shove this stuff all around their gums was way more easier than i had thought.

My girls even like the stuff and will lick it straight out of the bottle! I was amazed at the difference since the last time i tried actually brushing their teeth.

But seriously the results are amazing. Just within a few days I can already see a difference. In fact her gingivitis in the back of her mouth is almost completely treated, and now I am focusing on the harder to get spots just above her canines and in the front of her mouth. If your pet is a gingivitis sufferer, i highly recommend this product!!

Ok so, computers. I recently got the new MacBook Pro 15″ and heart it wholely. Its so much better than my old 13″ macbook. And cats are not allowed on it as before (not that they were every truly “allowed” on it but now it is no longer considered cute when i come in the room and find them using it like a lawn chair).

That doesnt really have anything to do with what i did want to share with you though (i am merely super happy i finally have the new machine! oh and aperture 3 is cool too!). I wanted to share that I had to finally get a new cellphone, as mine apparently was from the dark ages. Did you know that new phones charge with USB cables? And that its a two-button-press to start messaging instead of 8 buttons through countless menus? Did you know you can have your text history displayed in conversation style so when you get a delayed text you dont have to go through your entire sent box to figure out what the heck their reply is referring to? Did you know it new phones can hold more than 50 messages? With all that said and more, Ive been thrilled to be the new owner of a LG EnV 3 VX 9200 in a pretty blue color.

It wasnt all amazing though, as I couldnt get my own ringtones on it. My older phone (the original EnV which was a hand-me-down from Boy when i needed to finally trade up my orginal Kyocera Slyder which i miss til this day) didnt have ringtones but I never looked at it like it was my permanent phone (although i have used it for years now…). It was meant to be the inbetween until i found my new phone (which i did try at one time and hated the new phone so much that i returned it and went back to the crappy EnV). But this is my third phone and I wanted it to be *cool*.

So i googled and came up with BitPim and Im very impressed. Its not the prettiest of software but its open-source and that would make boy happy. It was super duper easy to use and now when you call me, it plays my theme song (Super Mario!). Texting gives me coins, and voicemails give me 1-ups. Just like my old Kyocera use to – maybe i wont miss it anymore!

WIPs

CaLynn — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 18:42:31 +0000

Here are some sneak peeks of current projects. All of these will be bags and the fabric was (mostly) chosen by the future bag owners. The patterns are cut out, but I need to start sewing the pieces together. I had a bit of a crafting lull for a while when the last bag i made just didnt turn out right. But the good news is that (i think) I know what i did wrong so hopefully it wont happen again.

I also have made more book covers and am working on the March toy for my neice (yep, im running late). I havent taken photos of those because a) the lighting is really horrendous but the weather seems to be finally breaking so maybe that will no longer be an issue and b) i was waiting for my new craft table, which i finally got put together last night! I got it from Macys for half off, but they are already discontinuing it so good luck trying to find one.

It is awesome because its very deep, but not long enough to be too large for the room, and my favorite part – it is counter height! I could have been crafting all morning with it, but since the weather is actually nice i was cleaning out the garage and i took the girls for a stroll while i dreamed all the changes i wanted to make on the outside of the house. I might not start crafting yet still, because now the whole set up of my craft room has been upset and it needs to be reorganized. Good times!

photo dump

CaLynn — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 07:33:02 +0000

I got my new memory card reader, yay! So as promised, here you go:

I took Sasha out in the snow. The coldness didnt bother her, but the depth of the snow did, so she stayed near the house.

Maya checked out Tofers new bookcases.

The evil damage caused by an even more evil pothole…

Experimentation with different styles and fabrics for bookcovers. I finally got the pattern and specifics worked out. I am out of practice mode, and they look really great (much better than these below). Check back soon for a tutorial!

Some birthday cards I made, using my Cricut and the Wild Card cartridge.

This weekend, ill post more on the other crafts I made.

mouse catchers

CaLynn — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 22:23:53 +0000

I was working on a crafty project (pictures in future, i swear! so much to catch up on!) and heard some clash-clang-rattle-rattle coming from the kitchen. Never a good thing – this typically means the kitties are on the counters, where they are not allowed to be. As i was walking towards the kitchen, i was met in the hallway by two running cats, and it looked like Sasha was bringing me a toy. Only, i realized it was Maya instead, and that is not her style, so upon closer inspection, i realized it was a mouse.

I thought it dead, and told her good job, and watched as Sasha stole it and ran out of the room. I went back to crafting.

Longer story short, it actually wasnt dead and once i realized that and saw it hopping around like the cute little field mouse that it was, I didnt have the heart to allow my well-fed girlies to kill it in sport. I managed to rescue it, it checked out ok from what i could tell, and i let it outside where it merrily bounded off.

Those two girls…

Sasha the adventurer

CaLynn — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:20:45 +0000

So Saturday, we took the girls to our neighbors house (aka the in-laws) since they have a fenced in yard. Maya and Sasha have never been outside, so we wanted to see what they did. I had bought them little harness/leashes for taking them out on my condo balcony – just in case they had it in mind to run away chasing the squirrels they spy on daily, they would have to deal with the leash.

Neither of them seemedto like it (they slunked around a little and looked at us and meowed), but Sasha did start roaming around the yard a little. After about 20 minutes or so, we brought them back in.

Little did we know, we created a monster. Sasha now stands up at the door pawing at the doorknob, meowing with all her might. At the condo, she sometimes brought her leash to us, but it was more of a game (like a shoelace). Now she brings it because she wants to go outside.

I took her back out on Sunday and I think she would risk frostbite to be out there (the temperature was about 20 degrees cooler than Saturday and i was freezing!).

Today i woke up tangled in a leash. Sigh.

its about time

CaLynn — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:50:49 +0000

Now that I have finally been able to catch up on emails, I hope to start sorting through our France photos. I have been quite the busy bee at my new house also – the craft room is almost complete. I need one more organization unit and then everything will have a place! The living room is cleared out to begin painting. The bedroom is cleaned up waiting for the inspiration needed to commit to colors. The dining room will be sorted out more once the living room is done. The kitchen…well all three of us are still avoiding that mess. Until I can get the dining room more cleared to bring my hutch in from the garage, there is just too much crap in there.

In other kitty news, get this. While we were in France, our girls caught their first mouse. Chris let us know that they left it by their food dish. The day we arrived home, boy and I found a chipmunk in the living room, so i properly gave it a resting place outside. I had thought we were in the clear from nasty bloody messes but apparently not. This last weekend, we came home to find a fresh trophy on their food plate (thank goodness it wasnt on my bed or anything that might be stained!). It was just a mouse head, with the blood and brains still oozing out. Immediately we began the search for the rest of it, but to no avail. Then later, boy tells me “hey, i found the mouse!”. It had happened to be inside Sashas tummy, as she puked it up in the hallway – bones, fur, feet, tail, and all. Gross! Incidentally, we have searched out some holes and filled them up so hopefully no more bloody surprises await us.

I will leave you with a contemplative photo from France. Oh how i wish i could be on that bench dreaming away the day again!