she's just saying...

Stinkin' cute!

Taming the wild kitten

Poor shot, but they were hiding under the toilet.

One of the insane interesting things I've done in the past few years is to foster kittens for the Humane Society of Central Oregon.

These are kittens who are too young to be adopted and need ongoing care. Sometimes they come with their mom, sometimes not. Depending, they may need to be bottle-fed, weaned or just socialized.

I'm known as the go-to gal for socializing the feral kittens. They come to me all hissy and terrified and they leave happy, cuddly, well-adjusted kittens ready to find their "forever family" (as we say in the adoption biz). Or at least they're supposed to. Every so often there is a kitten who prefers to stay wild, thank you very much. Those cats get sent to "the barn," a supposedly-real place where they can catch mice and play with cows all day.

So I now have four little hissies that I'm working on. It's best to separate them so they have to rely on you for companionship, but it's a painful process. Hearing pitiful kitten cries from four different spots in your house is a little nerve-wracking. And then you have to go around to each one and cuddle/feed/play with it. Good thing I'm unemployed!

My household and the whole neighborhood gets involved so the kitties can get used to dogs, cats and kids. It's fun, really. You get the cutest part of them and then when they turn into destructive maniacs you trade them in for fresh ones.

That reminds me of a story about Henry, my (adopted) son.  I was explaining a few years back that it was time to take the kittens back to the shelter to be adopted by their new families. He was silent for a moment, then asked in a worried tone: "Am I going to have to get a new family too?"  AWwwww.

Too much time on my hands . . .

You can teach an old dog new tricks, as long as you have liver snaps.

Day 13

I just realized that in the many years I've lived in Bend, I've never left for longer than a week. I've traveled: East Coast, California, Texas, Hawaii, Costa Rica, Spain - but each jaunt has been for 8 days or less.

I remember when I got my first real corporate-type job in NYC after grad school, when it sunk in that I'd only get one week off for the first several years. I was stunned: one week?! Cram the entire year's vacation into one week? This was after a life of summer vacations and under-employment. I felt like I'd been given a jail sentence.

Since then, I've learned to fit the vacation experience into one-week trips, extended weekend getaways, work trips that included relaxation time (Costa Rica beach, anyone?), and of course the random layoffs that occur with ad agencies. (Hard to relax when you're looking for work and close to broke,though.)

So the point of this ramble? I've never been away from my pets for this long. I really miss them.

war wound (dog bites dog)

Flash showing off the bandages.

My poor old dog was bitten pretty viciously last night. A large yellow dog clamped her jaws on his neck in a total death grip. Two men weren't able to pull her off. Finally my friend pounded on her muzzle (so hard he actually bruised his hand) and she eventually opened up, trotted off and sat there wagging her tail.

Flash was howling oww oww oww!in a panic, and I distinguished myself by standing there screaming the whole time. We were all hopped up on adrenaline at the moment, but by the time we got home, Flash  crashed into doggy shock. I started searching for all the puncture wounds, shaving his ruff and cleaning him up, and he just lay there in a trance. That was more freaky than anything, really.

He was a very sad puppy this morning. Took him to the vet and got him all bandaged and medicated. After the pain pill kicked in, he was trying to get people to throw the frisbee and generally acting pretty silly. Of course, tonight not so much.

(One funny note: when the vet gave us the pain meds, he said: "This is very safe stuff. No potential for abuse." What, are there junkie dogs out there scoring pills by the fire hydrant? Glad to know Flash isn't headed down that slippery slope - a strung-out dog pawning his squeaky toys for drug money.)

I thought my dog was grumpy with other dogs, but this dog was completely psychotic.  Her owner said, "she's passive-aggressive." I think she's a true danger to the neighborhood. (And yes, they're picking up the vet bill.)

I'm very grateful to Spence, who immediately took charge: beating apart the locked jaws, talking to the neighbors, finding a vet, driving us there. He's my hero, and Flash's alpha dog.

loose ends

Time to tie up a few:

1.Yes, Henry does not like the retainers. He says he'd rather have the braces again, and even offered to pay for them himself. We're trying them (actually, he's trying them) a few hours at a time. And they have been lost twice in the two days we've had them. Unfortunately, they're clear and small and easily overlooked.

2. I think I've solved the catnip situation. If you can't cage the cats, cage the catnip.  They hang around it alot but haven't tried to break in yet. I think the smell alone drives them crazy - they don't have to ingest it. Does anybody know?

The owner of Chow (the out-of-coffee cafe, in case you didn't guess) sent me a lovely email apologizing for our experience. He said they weren't out of coffee - it was a server misunderstanding. That's good to know - I'm definitely trying it again.

3. Our knitting group may have found a home - Makahna's Cafe on Galveston. Great spot! Meets all our criteria (natural light, not too noisy, comfortable space, parking, beer and wine). The owner, Steve, kept it open just for us, which was wonderful. He's working on staying open evenings more. Check it out!

4. I did buy an electric mower and love it.

5. The laser treatments I had to control my glaucoma were very successful. My interocular (great word) pressures are way down, and should stay that way for a few years, hopefully.

Cat lovers (not CAT lovers, but cat LOVERS)

Muffin and Bob show their true feelings when they're alone. Otherwise, they ignore each other or fight.

green (crack) house

How does anyone grow catnip? I can't find a place to hide one poor little plant from my feline junkies. Bob figured out how to crawl under the greenhouse to get at the pot (so to speak). Are catnip fields full of stoned kitties?

Wacky day

all over the place. Work, friends, money, jobs, dogs all a little off kilter today. Not in a bad way, just different. Which I enjoy, change-junkie that I am.

A friend is here for the weekend with her new adorable sweet black lab puppy, who Flash immediately bit, getting in that pre-emptive strike.

Work is kind of unraveling - people are leaving either short term or for good, everyone's working with different and new folks from Big Globe (there are a million of them!), the payout is happening, and we were notified that we'd be notified about our jobs next week. Plus ca change... (that's french without the accents, fyi).

Here's a cool photo of a few of the entrelac bags in progress:

Mine is the one in the upper right. PJ (who just learned to knit) has pulled well into the lead, so we get to learn from her trials. MUST FINISH before heading back east for two weeks in late June. Shouldn't be a problem, though I tend to slow down near the finish line with these things.

Knit your chicken a sweater

From the BBC, in honor of Amber and her chickens.

In from the cold: chilly chickens given a winter warmer

" How would you feel? One minute you're in a warm battery shed [laying shed]squashed up alongside someone who's pecking out your feathers - the next you're out in an open field with nothing to protect you from the elements. Thank the Lord for chicken jumpers...

Queenie and her three friends are feeling the cold a little more than most this winter.

Recovered from a battery farm in November last year, they were largely without feathers and - away from the artificial heat of the chicken sheds - have been feeling the winter weather.

Click here for video:	Chickens with jumpers

But owner Brigitte Hawley from Benenden has come up with a clever way of allowing her hens to enjoy the outside world, while being as snug as their more feathered friends.

A knitted chicken jumper - or 'Chux Tux' as Brigitte calls it - is the latest must-have item for feather-challenged chickens exploring the brave new world outside of the battery.

Poultry pullies

The 'Tux' can come in different designs depending on which parts of the bird are in need of insulation. Brigitte can also create poultry pullies in a variety of colours.

These hens have all been re-housed by the Battery Hen Welfare Trust, a charity that works with farmers to give a new lease of life to 'spent' battery hens when their egg productivity starts to take a slide.

The good news is that once out in the open - and with the help of a Chux Tux - the hens soon start to re-grow their feathers. Great news for Queenie and for the next reformed battery hen to inherit her winter coat."

Flash

I realized I've only posted about my cats, and the dog is getting jealous. So here's a little about him.

His name is Flash and he's a border collie/heeler mix. He's turning 11 this month and is as energetic as ever, just not quite as often. He's got all the border collie traits: obsessed about frisbees, a bit too smart, loyal, bossy, and OCD. He has no use for other dogs as they get in the way of his "work," which is bugging humans to play fetch ALL THE TIME. He's kind of barky and a little more protective than necessary.

He's known throughout the neighborhood for his endearing habit of barking furiously while spinning in a tight circle when people walk by. I can identify my address by saying I'm on the corner with the spinning dog, and everyone knows it immediately.

He's getting older and it's starting to show: he's crazy all day but at night he has that little old man stiffness and a limpy shoulder. He's been part of my life for almost all my years in Bend and I can't imagine living without him. 

Labels: Bend, dog, pets

Cats rule, but cats . . .

drool.

But only when he's happy.

Labels: cats

Muffin and Bob

I love the crossed paws.

Labels: cats