Scratchings-and-Sniffings

The Grumpy Old Lady - Knows How to Get Her Way

Next to forgetting to make the bed, which they know I dislike intensely...Mom and Tom sometimes hog the bed when it's really my turn to have the pillows.

This weekend, I had to climb up on the bed (using the nice steps they made me - yes, I have them trained well), and then I had to SIT in front of Mom...for so long, I thought I was going to fall over!

SHE thought I'd go away. She mumbled something of the sort from under the covers. But, I stayed my course, just sitting, silently, and staring. Have you ever noticed how people hate being stared at?

Ha! After a few minutes, her head poked out, she gave me that long sigh, and got up. Voila! I retrieved MY place on the bed, against her warm pillow, and settled in for my morning nap.

It's all in the intensity of the stare.

Why Does My Dog Roll in that Smelly, Stinky Whatever?

Miles and Riley were up on Boston Hill yesterday with their respective human companions; Cheryl and Chris. Riley got in a little trouble.

Seems he found a ripe skunk carcass to roll in. Nice. Not only did he get the tantalizing odor of rotting flesh on his coat, he got the bonus eau de skunk as a complement. Really nice.

Miles refrained from the rolling action but, according to Chris, he was quite envious of Riley's find and new scent.

What's up with that? Seems like dog's are always finding and frolicking in some of the most objectionable stuff imaginable. At least to us. To them it's an entirely different experience.

Heroes: Purina®: ONE® is on the search

Purina® ONE® is Looking for Heroes in the Lives of Pets. The press release offers a number of ways to be a hero in the life ofa pet.

Here's how they get our attention on the opening of the press release: "Imagine waking up every morning wondering if you'll someday be able to find a home to call your own or how you'll find your next meal." We all know there are abandoned and neglected pets who do that, every day. It hurts to even think about it, doesn't it?

Well, Purina ONE has teamed up with Martha Stewart to "support pets in need." Martha, of course, is a big pet supporter - and shows it on her blog and even on her show, time and time again.

Miles is Mellowing

We've had Miles under our roof for about a month now. When he first arrived he was skittish in general and fearful of strangers, especially strange men. I wrote about this and laid out a plan to address his socialization needs. I'm happy to report that over the last few weeks he's shown marked improvement on both fronts.

I had a chance to talk with noted behavior expert and friend Dr Debbie Horwitz while attending the North American Veterinary Conference in Orlando last week. We discussed Miles and she gave me some interesting advice.

 

In a previous post on the subject I mentioned how Miles reacted poorly to a visit by my buddy Phil. We were at a loss on how to react to Mile's behavior when Phil came in the door.

The Grumpy Old Lady Looks Around

When you're a cat, you don't always get the best view of things. I like looking around at the things Mom keeps hidden way up high. Seriously, they should all be ground level so I can climb on them, sniff at them, and rub them. Gotta get my scent on everything, ya know!

I finally figured out what to do. I just sit by Mom and meow. If I'm patient, and if I meow softly, she'll pick me up and whisper in my ear and take me all around the house. Sometime I give a little purr - just to make her happy.

In this picture I'm pretending to try and get down, but I don't really want to. I like it when Mom carries me all around the new house. She's soft and she lets me cuddle up to her and I get free rides to my food bowl, my bed (which she still thinks is HER bed! oh really?), and to the front window where I can make sure no one is lurking outside.

Ok...sometimes I have to wail really loud...to get her attention. But, once she comes to see what's wrong, I give that pitiful little meow and...scoop...I'm up in her arms in the wave of a whisker.

I know how to get what I want.

Twiggy and the Q

Can't resist writing about Twiggy, the 'other' granddaughter (beautiful Greyhound), and her new friend, Q, the ... shall we say, enthusiatically loud?, Chihuahua that has come to stay for awhile.

As regular readers will know, the Twiggy is a sweetheart. She has her little problems (copraphagia is one...but we think she's over that), and separation anxiety is another, but for the most part, Twiggy is soft, delightful, friendly, and melts your heart with those big brown eyes.

Grumpy Old Lady: Wabby Speaks Out on Sleeping Conditions

Wabby here - sharing a bit of news on sleeping conditions in the new place. Seriously, there's a huge bed upstairs and I claimed it the day we moved in. So, why do Mom and Tom think they can just hop in there and take up all the room?

I guess they can't help it. They can't curl up in a ball like I do. And, I've taken care of everything - I situate myself right at the bottom of their feet. A hint of a foot coming my way gets the proper scowl and they are smart to remove it! Instead, they rightly contort themselves into strange positions to avoid disturbing me, and then they whine in the morning when their back or neck hurts.

Oh well! Just so they remember who's in charge here!

Attending the Vet Conference in Florida

Dr. Larry wrote a post this morning about our attending the North American Veterinary Conference in Orlando, this weekend and into next week. Our focus is Feline Health - sort of a Myth of Nine Lives. I've written before about the lack of attention we give our cats. It's not that we don't love our cats - gosh, we love'em to pieces!

But, cat's are stoic. Cats are independent. Cats can be sick and just go off and lie around and we think it's normal. So, it seems that we tend to take our cats for granted. We think they're okay cause they act as if they are. Even when they vomit, we chalk it up to hairballs and clean up after them. Many of us forget to be on the alert for reasons other than hairballs, for upset cat tummies. The folks over at the CATalyst Council talk about that a bit now and then.

A Flurry of Feline Fun From Florida

Next week is cat week here on the blog. Yvonne and I will be at the annual North American Veterinary Conference in sunny Orlando and we are planning to spend three whole days immersed in cat health. Of course we'll be sharing that information with you almost as it happens. I'll let Yvonne tell you what she plans to do but for me I'm focused on posting about some of the most common health issues affecting our feline companions.

On Monday morning, Purina is hosting a series of talks and I plan to report on Feline Inflammatory Bowel Disease and some new thinking on Feline Weight Loss. On Tuesday, Idexx, a company involved in diagnostic tests and laboratory analysis is hosting another all morning session on cat health. They have a particularly interesting line up of talks starting with Feline Hyperthyroidism and moving on to Renal Failure and Diabetes. We've talked about all those issues on the blog before and it will be interesting to hear the latest on these common health threats.

Purr-Purr Little Kitty: Why do you purr?

Wabby has become a purring machine! She loves to have me pick her up and carry her around, which I think I've already told you, but she is also high on the purr scale lately.

I've always associated her purring with pleasure. She likes being held and cuddled, and when we do that, she purrs. When she's on our bed resting and we pet her, she purrs. It all makes sense.

But, reality shows that sometimes cats purr out of stress. Who knew? I discovered that cats don't always purr out of pleasure over at Ask.com, and then decided to find out more information.