Bubble Wrap?? General Chat

Yesterday, Looney1 wanted to go out front so I attached his tether and let him go while I sat on the porch. Looney2 started pawing at the door saying he wanted to go outside too. I reminded him that he doesn't like it but he said he did. So I just opened the door for him figuring he'd step out and run back in. Instead, he checked out everything on the porch within 1-1/2 feet of the door and jumped up on the little wall to look out at the front garden. He spent a good five minutes out there.

Then Punx came to the front door thinking she wanted to go outside. I explained to her that phantom cats do not go outside and if she wants to go out she has to let me hold her whenever I want and not avoid me. She's been glaring at me ever since but still won't even let me pet her. Little brat. But she has stopped hiding as soon as I walk into her sight.

Last night Aunt C and I took the dogs for a walk in a local naturalized park. Cat-dog did really great. She enjoyed the walk - a bit nervous but not shaking in fear. At the end of the walk, we saw a few dogs coming into the park and she didn't freak. She's been on the 40mg of prosac for almost 2 weeks and it should take 4-6 weeks to start working, but I think it's already helping. She was definitely calmer than she has been in the past.

Tornado-dog saw squirrels and peacocks and magpies and there were so many smells. He was worn out when we got home. During the night, I heard him dreaming under the bed. He enjoyed it very much.

Today was Looney1's vet appointment. It appears when they made the appointments they switched the vet names. We saw the longtime vet this time.

I really liked her. She didn't push anything or come across as I was a less than perfect pet parent. She gave Looney1 a lot of compliments and fell for his "aren't I cute" ploy. He really is a ham. He's doing great. He does have a heart murmur still but his numbers last year were normal so we skipped the blood test this year while we spend the money to get Looney2 his echo done.

One thing both vets were impressed with is that my appointments were exactly one year to the day from last year. I told this vet "when people complain that they can't get an appointment or a med refill, I tell them 'you know when the meds will run out and you know the vet has to see the animal once a year in order to refill, so make a reminder and call for an appointment two months before everything is due. It's really easy." She mentioned that customers call at the last moment and get snotty about I need the meds right now and said "OK, but you don't have to be rude about it". Life is so much easier when you plan and people like you more...

On an unrelated topic, I paid for Disney+ to watch this season's Doctor Who. Second season and I'm still extremely disappointed. Here are my thoughts:

1. I watch for the Doctor. I want to see the Doctor save the day. I do not want to watch a companion without the Doctor - do a spin off for that like Torchwood or Sarah Jane. But a Doctor Who episode without the Doctor in it is NOT a Doctor Who episode. If you make the stories without the Doctor then why have a Doctor Who show? If he's not an integral part of the story, then it's not worth watching. They did this last season too and it fell flat for me.

2. Last season, everything was some sort of movie trope montage. The ET hiding in the stuffed animals, the Bette Midler witch, and so on. It got old very very quickly.

3. None of the episodes have that Doctor comes to the rescue climatic ending. Everything ends without him doing anything. Again, he's not needed for the storyline and that defeats the whole thing. It's like watching a James Bond movie without James Bond - it's not a James Bond movie.

4. Because the Doctor doesn't actively do anything, it's hard to connect with him. I read a lot of complaints about the weak stories with Jodie Whittaker's Doctor, but I sat in rapt attention to the entire episodes not wanting to miss that moment when she did her Doctor thing. Ncuti Gatwa never gets to do his Doctor thing so I'm not seeing him as the Doctor. I get that they wanted to make him more emotional, but they can do that without taking away that inherent Doctor playful arrogance and savior attitude.

5. The inclusiveness is great, but it seems to have become the focus of the show. The Doctor has always (well at least since Tom Baker) stressed getting along and not being prejudiced, etc. But it seems like every episode in the past two seasons has been a massive public service announcement. It seems to me that simply showing inclusitivity is more effective than shoving it down people's throats. And it's not even done consistently. There is that big moment of "we don't look like them, we have to be careful" and then they rush in and nothing untoward happens. If they want to make a big statement then make a full episode of the Doctor and companion trying to save the world while being attacked by humans because they aren't white. Don't talk about it and then not have anything happen. Like the letdown endings, it's an empty gesture.

6. The bad guys are just stupid. Not one bad guy has made me say "oh no". It's like watching Cujo and thinking this is stupid, a St Bernard is not scary. The musical episodes are horrid - The Buffy musical episode was genius, it enlightened us to the emotional dramas going on inside the characters and brought things to a head that had to be resolved in future episodes. The Doctor Who music episodes do none of that. They are flat and one dimensional. Their is no enlightenment, there is no evolution. It's just a big bunch of nothing. The last episode with the cartoon bad guy was worthless.

I'll finish watching this season since I've paid for it. But this may be the last season I watch. I have watched faithfully every episode since the Tom Baker era. I have loved some Doctors (Peter Davison, Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant), but I have enjoyed all of them. They all made me feel like I was watching the evolving of one character. They all had me on the edge of my seat wondering how the Doctor would save us this time. But now, I don't get that. It feels like they've given up on the Doctor and are slowly draining him of life. I don't know if this is Russell T Davies' idea or Disney, but it's losing this viewer's attention. Especially in the depressing world we're in right now, I need a Doctor who will take charge and save the day. I don't need an emotional sack of potatoes who can't even be the highlight of his own show.

Can't comment. I don't recall ever watching an episode of Dr. Who, but remember my daughter hiding behind the sofa to watch it. I suppose I was making a meal in that time slot.
glad that Looney1's murmur is no worse and that he had a happy experience at the vet's.

That first episode with the daleks had a lot of kids doing that. Over the years, it went from a straight children's program to a family program.

I was writing another long diatribe and had a revelation as to why I don't like the last two seasons. So I'll skip the diatribe and say this:

The problem with the last two seasons is that the Doctor has been written as a Baby Boomer's version of a Millennial - weak, overly sensitive and clueless. Millennials are much more than that. They CAN do things. They ARE capable. And they don't overfocus on gender identity, race, etc - they just don't see gender identity, race, etc, as a factor of a person's worth.

This Doctor should be portrayed as how Millennials see themselves not how Baby Boomers see them.

Looney1 always has a good time at the vet's. He snoops all over the exam room, watches everything going on, and even helps the tech and vet (because everybody needs a cat's help). He eats up the attention.

I'm going to do Looney2's follow up with the longterm vet. I felt more of a connection with her and I think she listens to me as a customer better.

Not sure with Panther yet. I'm inclined to try her with the third vet. I think she has a softer personality and that may be better for Panther.

Punx will get the longterm vet - she needs someone who's been around the block and won't fall for Punx's "I'm a sweet gentle shy cat" routine. She is an opinionated brat who refuses to play by the rules.

I got an email from chewy. Today is apparently International German Shepherd Day.

Cat-dog thanks everyone (very politely) for their accolades. Tornado-dog asks why there isn't an International Giant Jack Russell Terrier Day - I explained to him that EVERYDAY is his day whether we want it to be or not.

There is an International Beagle Day, April 23rd! It was created in 2018 when we took the Guiness World Record for the most dogs of a single breed walked together. The rules were quite strict and we had a few disallowed for missing the Start beam, (it was set low), having too long a lead, handler under permitted age, and failing to hand in their tag at the end! Nevertheless, we were granted the World Record for 1034 beagles! A fantastic memory for all that attended.
Of course two of them were mine! Over £10k was raised for Beagle Welfare and Unite to Care which is an anti-vivisection charity.

Details, photos and the official video can be found on page 2 of our Beagle forum. Thread posted as Beaglandia BWR2.

After several years of fussing with the gate to the backyard, we FINALLY got a new one installed.

The old one was chain link and there was a stationary panel next to my back steps and the gate opened inward and outward and latched to the stationary panel. Unfortunately, the people who installed it didn't actually attach the support post or poles to the concrete ground. So as things got blown into the space between the stationary panel and the steps, the post and pole got pushed out and the gate couldn't latch. And there was no way I was sticking my hand in that crevice to remove the debris (black widows are everywhere here). The gate opening also got in the way of the travel trailer (caravan) making it a pain.

So, I decided I wanted a sliding gate that could open up all the way from the garage to the house. That way I could easily sweep out debris, more easily bring in appliances, and not have to wrangle around the gate and trailer. To do this, we had to move the gate out about 10 inches so it would slide past the RV hookup. That left a huge gap that the dogs could go through, so we used a 2*10 to block it.

The result is a perfect viewing post for Tornado-dog. He can now see everything going on in the front of the driveway and road.


It's the perfect height so he can stand on the steps and see into the house AND the driveway without moving.

Aha I see his little nose!

Poor Tornado-dog. Looney1 wanted to go out, so I took him and Tornado-dog out front (Cat-dog doesn't like being out front where dogs can find her).

Tornado-dog was sniffing everything he could find. Then suddenly he started sneezing and rubbing on his nose. Yep, I could see a few tails of a stray foxtail sticking out. I brought him inside and found the needle nose pliers but he wouldn't let me near his nose. So I got a q-tip. By this time, my living room was practically soaking wet from his sneezes. When I got him to sit again, I didn't see any foxtail. I went ahead and gave a quick swipe with the q-tip and let him go. He gave one have-hearted sneeze and is now fine. I'll watch for any irritation over the next couple days, but I think he sneezed the whole thing out. Whew!!

I haven't had a lodged foxtail in years. IIRC, Moose-dog had one caught in his eye when he was young (over 15 years ago) - the vet was able to get hold and pull it out without any difficulty. But I remember the days of abcesses, etc.

Which has me thinking that I haven't had any abcesses in over 20 years. I remember them being a common event, especially with the cats. Another benefit to indoor only cats.

This morning I caught Punx unawares. I got up and into the hall before she realized and went into hiding. She had been sleeping on my winter quilt that I need to clean and store. I was able to give her a quick neck rub and walk away before she took off. I was really tempted to pick her up - but that's why she hides from me so I had to fight the urge. She has turned into an extremely pretty cat. Still small, but she's got a solid figure under her fluffy coat.

Hope Tornado dog has no problems from his foxtail. There is enough dust and pollen in the air this time of year without great hunks of grass. I have never had that happen but Tally and I both sneeze despite taking antihistamines.
I have never had abcesses in my cats - but I have not had many cats! When I worked with animals, it was the entire males that were the ones with infected wounds from fighting.

He's had a couple episodes of sneezing - when he gets excited. I'm hoping it's just due to a bit of irritation in the nostril. He hasn't rubbed at it with his paw at all so I think he did get it out.

None of the critters seem bothered by the pollen. I take zyrtec year round so I usually aren't too bothered come spring. This year I had to take musilex at night and a decongestant during the day for most of April and May. I wasn't sneezing but I was producing so much mucus that I was coughing constantly and practically choking when I went to bed. It's better now - I just get a little build up. I will add that I have acid reflux and asthma and they and the allergies all aggravate each other. So it's a balancing act. If the allergies or asthma get me coughing bad, then I get the reflux. Or the reflux will trigger the asthma. And so on.

We saw the bite abcesses in both altered and intact cats. I suspect it was mostly stray intact males that were doing the biting and our neutered males were the victims. But we also saw the abcesses from foxtails and broken teeth, etc. For me, it's like fleas - I just don't see it that often anymore so when I do see it, I'm brought back to those days when you never weren't dealling with it. The last time I saw a flea was when I brought home the kittens - and the fleas were all dead within a couple hours. But I remember constantly trying to control fleas - powders, collars, dips, brewer's yeast, etc. Advantage came along and suddenly there was life without fleas.

As I was pulling photos for the dog app thread, I ran across the kitten photos. It still amazes me how well Punx has turned out.

She was so little when I got her:


And then stunted in growth with her eating disorder:


And then she turned into such a pretty young lady:


She is still a bossy demanding girl. And she has completely thrown the rules out and comes out of hiding only when it suits her - most often it is to inform me that her water bowl is empty. What a punk!

And her sister is the perfect little cat. Panther adores her big brothers (Punx still prefers to hit them). She is most always available for scratches at meal times. And her fearfulness is pretty much gone in regards to our home. When she is heading up or downstairs, she stops at the landing so I can tell her how perfect she is. Then she continues on her way. She is a wonderful big sister to the brat. And she is truly a beautiful cat.

When she first arrived - very scared and shy:


I didn't remember taking this, but it was when Panther decided she lived here with Looney2:

And a very very beautiful young lady who never has a harsh word for anyone and loves to watch the birds:

I really didn't think Punx would make it!
Special care puppies usually develop a close and clingy temperament, I wonder why Punx is so distant? I would suspect a feral parent if Panther wasn't so different. Of course, it is possible that they could have different fathers.

As her Doctor said, Punx was just too tough to die. She held her own with 10 other kittens all bigger than her and she has never shied away from making her point clear.

I don't think there were any feral parents in the mix, but the people who had them favored the cats with siamese markings. Panther was "just a black cat" so got ignored. I doubt they ever held her at all. She is very affectionate on her terms. She doesn't want to be held, but will approach to get scratches. She likes her ruff and the base of her tail scratched. If I do hold her, she shrinks in on herself a bit and will leave as soon as I let go. But she suffers through it quietly.

With Punx, I think they just didn't notice her at all. She was very small even as a 4 week old kitten and I'm pretty sure only the woman ever knew she existed. Unlike her sister, who is very sweet, Punx was very vocal whenever I held her from the very beginning. With her eating disorder, I had to hold her to get her to eat anything, and at one point I had to give her subq fluids. She really did not like that. She growls and cries and struggles to get away. But, when she does allow me to touch her, she likes her ruff scratched. The funny thing is when we go to the vet, she is very happy to be held in my arms - I take advantage of it fully.

And they both do respond to me when I talk to them. Panther expects to be talked to and will look to me in anticipation. She waits to hear what I have to say. She seems to like being told she is beautiful and sweet and perfect. Punx looks at me as if to say "as opposed to what" when I tell her she's pretty. She does not lack self confidence. She just wants to do her own thing and have her servant cater to her silently and efficiently.

They definitely had different mothers as they were about 2-4 weeks apart in age. Odds are fathers were different too.

At some point I'll spend the money and get their dna tested. I did the boys and it was interesting to see how they differed.

Oh. I was thinking that they were litter sisters!

That's my fault. I always mentioned that the 11 kittens varied in age from 4 weeks to 4 months, but called them all siblings. For all intents and purposes, they grew up pretty much as littermates. I wouldn't have been surprised if some of them nursed from other mother cats.

And Punx and Panther are very much sisters in heart. They are very close. Punx will call from upstairs and Panther will (usually) go up to check on her. Sometimes, I call up and tell Punx to come down here to get her sister. She will come down stairs, walk across the tv stand and go into the day room. And then she'll come walking back across to go upstairs with Panther in tow. Panther is a really good girl. Sometimes, Looney2 will be right in line too. Looney1 very occasionally joins in.

I feel really lucky that they all are so fond of each other. Looney1 has been caught playing tag with the girls. Both boys will usually give Panther head kisses at mealtimes (she isn't happy until they do - she'll keep butting her head against them until they kiss her).

And Punx doesn't hit the boys nearly as often as she used to. And when she does, it's more of a half-hearted "well I'll go ahead and hit you because it's expected of me, but I don't really want to hit you" slap.

Today is the two year anniversary for Punx and Panther. Panther has been doing more exploring in the living room than before. The other day, she even attacked and beat up one of Tornado-dog's glow in the dark balls while he was out back. She's a mighty huntress!

Early this morning, Punx was at the base of the stairway waiting. So we started to head upstairs to bed. Tornado-dog ran up first, but somehow got above Punx. She wasn't going up with him there. I did manage to get him around her and downstairs and told her to go to her room. Then Tornado-dog ran back up, followed by Looney1. Cat-dog, Looney2 and I followed, closing the stair door behind us.

Except that Punx and Panther weren't in their room. Apparently, the breeze (or playing cats) pushed the door to their room almost closed so they couldn't get in. Panther, being her clever self, slinked to the bottom of the stairs out of Tornado-dog's sight until I opened their door. Punx hid out in the bathroom and Tornado-dog was watching her from the door.

So, I opened the door to the cat's room, put the dog's in our room, and went into the bathroom closing that door. Punx was behind the toilet. I managed to get a hold of her. She was pretty well scared. So I held her and talked to her. She made a couple cries. Then after a couple minutes, she growled at me and demanded to be let down. I let her down in her room.

The world is right again. Punx hates me holding her and isn't hiding in fear.

And I got to hold and give her kisses on her anniversary date. That won't happen again until her annual vet exam in December...

Makes you wonder just what is going on in their heads. Holding on to the illusion of being wild and free while relying on us to supply everything that they need.