Nail Trimming Day

Ever tried to trim your cats nails? The fact that they need to be trimmed means there long & sharp, and ready to be used!!
When I only cat two or three cats, I used to trim their nails every month. After the addition of the fourth or fifth cat I changed it to as needed basis, which means once or twice a year.
I wait until I hear the cats claws catching the carpet, then wait until I can't stand it any longer, or worried they are going to get their nails caught on a scratching post when I'm not home, and the are dangling from the post until I come home several hours later. In reality I know this wont happen, their nails are too sharp and would cut the carpet and they would land safely to the ground, but I am a worrying Momma Catz.
So on the day I decide to cut their nails I get out the bag of treats, and shake it so cats all come running, or at least the ones I want to cut their nails, then I hand out a few treats getting them nice and happy!!
Next I grab and unsuspecting cat and trim those nails, and let me tell you these cats are not that smart at this point, because they all hang around watching the one cat get their nails cut, so when I am done with that one I can easily grab the next victim (lol).
After I have done trimming the nails bring out a bag of catnip and rub it into the scratching post so the can sharpen their now trimmed nails.
Since adding 6th to 9th cat, I have decided that if they don't catch on the carpet, then they don't need to be trimmed, so the newer additions don't need their nails trimmed much at all. I also have a great vet, that will trim their nails ,no charge, when I bring the cats in for their yearly shots. The cats act a whole lot more submissive at the vets than at home!!!

The soft gentle sound of a cats Purrr

The saying goes a bad day on the golf course still beats a good day at the office, well for me it's a bad day at home with the cats beats any day at work. Although my work is not very difficult, it can be very stressful. Depending on who I am working with or who walks through the door with a bad attitude, my day can be one idiot after another, not always, but some days.
When it is one of those days, I can't wait to come home to my cats!! Once I walk through the door, I am met with a number of my cats greeting me, happy that I am finally home. Sure they want to be fed, but once their bellies are full, they come to me for some love and attention. Sophie will jump on the desk while I am at the computer, and walk in front of the monitor until I reach over and pick her up for a cuddle and a purr. That purr makes the worst day bearable. There is nothing and I mean nothing that is more relaxing than the sound of a cat purring.
When I go to bed at night, at least one of my cats jumps up on the bed with me.
If it's Willow (I call her Willow my pillow) I rest my head beside her and drift off to sleep listening to her gentle loving purr.
I adopted Trixie, because of her purr. I remember going to the shelter, and the woman kept putting cats in my arms, they would jump out of my arms just as soon as she let go. Then I realized there was a cat in my arms and it was purring too!! Well that was it, that was the cat for me, I could stop looking.
She till does too, all I have to do is pet her or groom her and she starts to purr.
I tell you there is nothing in this world that sounds better, or is more relaxing than the sound of a cat purring.

Update Maggie

Well Maggie has had a few days to recover from her trip to the vet, and all seems well. By the next day Maggie's eye was looking better, and by the day after that she was back to bulling the other cats.
As Elton John once sang...." The Bitch is Back" !!!

Maggie's trip to the Vet

The other day I noticed Maggie's eye was swollen, this little girl has big eyes to begin with, so when one is swollen it looks really big. I checked her gums and they were beet red. Poor thing was suffering and it took until her eye complained before I knew there was a problem. :(

She had this problem last year, and the vet told me it was probably seasonal allergies, which is strange because she is an indoor only cat, but as the vet suggested, it's probably in the air.

So off to the Vet we go.....

Maggie is quite comfortable going into a cat carrier, she has done it since she was a kitten. It's so nice being able to put a cat into a carrier that is willing to get into one, no stress for the cat and no stress for me:)

In the Vets office(sorry on pictures in the office) the Vet agreed with me that it was the same problem as last year and, since the steroid shot work for her last year, that we should do the same again. Maggie was a very very good little girl while at the vets and took the shot in the but very well.......

but couldn't wait to get home!!!!

To torment the other cats in her tribe:)

This treatment should last about 3 to 4 weeks, and I will take her back for another treatment until about fall, when she seems to not be affected by the allergens

Bad things happen to purebreeds too!!

I have, until recently thought that purebred cats were not as susceptible to being abandoned as the average cat is. As a volunteer for the Vernon Animal Care Society, I take pictures of the cats and kittens that are entrusted to our care and post these pictures on our web site. Last week I went to Crescent Falls Vets, to take some pictures of the new arrivals. One torti, one Tabbie, and a calico, as well as one Himalayan, and one Persian. The Himalayan, a female, had been a stray as well as the Persian, a male. The Himalayan was in good health and spayed upon arrival, the Persian however was completely covered in mats, and burrs and had to be shaved, it was also so under weight and malnourished that it was believed he would not be able to handle the neutering.

The money people spend on these pure breeds mean as little to them as the animals themselves, that they can allow this to happen to what was once a family pet......

This cat, Gus, because he is a purebred,is one of the lucky ones, he will have a better chance of being adopted than most cats. Lets hope his next home is his forever home!!!

A warm welcom home

Every morning while I get ready for work, Sophie sits on top of one of the scratching boxes I have on the main floor. It is placed at the bottom of the stairs so that I can put things that I want to eventually take up stairs on top (of course the cats usually knocks them off!!) of it. It is also right across for the front door. She waits there while I run around getting ready, and even while I feed the cats, she just sits there. Down the hall, but still in view of the door, is Bijou sitting on top of the couch. Gus, Odette, and Maggie, just follow me around(Willow is still eating breakfast).This is the normal routine, and it seems like Sophie, Bijou and the other three are waiting to say "goodbye and have a nice day mom" as I leave for work.When I come home there is always a couple of little wet noses peeking through the crack of the door as I open the door, normally it's Gus, and Willow (waiting to be fed no doubt), and Trixie and a few others not far from the door are waiting too. But there on the same scratching box is Sophie, its almost like she had never moved. She is there waiting to welcome me home. I often hear people say they love the way their dog greets them at the door, with their tails wagging, when they come home from work. Well this is how I feel about my cats. I have never come home without one or two cats to greet me at the door. It makes for a warm welcome home, and I couldn't imagine coming home with out one of them waiting for me. It will be a said day indeed......I hope it never comes.

Personalities

As far as I'm concerned all cats have their own personalities, and in some cases their names reflect their personalities. Say Trixie for instance, her name rhymes with pixie, and in some ways she acts like a little pixie or impish. She is quiet, but yet still play full at the ripe old age of 4 years. Trixie will dart past me as I walk down the hall with her tail straight up in the air, happy as can be, and she will lie down next to me on the couch or in bed and purr that deep rich purr.

Sophie I call my sweet sophisticated Sophina! She can look quite dignified, in her cat pose with her tail purfectly placed over her front paws looking down on whatever is going on below her. Maggie, is raggady Maggady. When she was a kitten, nothing seem to bother her, and nothing got in her way. Maggie did, what Maggie wanted to do, despite what Sophie or I would have to say about it. Now however, Maggie is the Bitch. It's really not her fault. She has gotten grumpier with every new addition to the cat family, she seems to get overwhelmed when their is a lot around her, and she will strike out with a right paw, and a growl that send anyone in the vicinity running for cover. Sometimes all she has to do is growl and they get the idea. Maggie still has her playful side, just this morning she was playing on top of the perch behind my chair, she almost fell of a couple of times, so some times she still is raggady Maggady hehehe!!

Willow is a gentle, loving cat. I call "she who must be adored!!" Willow is always a happy cat, but has recently decided that there is getting to be a little to much competition for her in this house with 8 other cats to contend with. But as long as you give her some attention she is happy, if you groom her she is happier, but if you cuddle her and coo over her and groom her she is the most happiest cat ever!!!