Mouse and Molly
Originally uploaded by blondelibrarian
I have SAT progress to show, but can’t be bothered to upload the pictures right now. Look for that post tomorrow.
Instead, today enjoy what looks like a scene of innocent tranquility, but in reality is a fragile peace accord that could snap at any moment!
P.S. Please ignore my ugly chair… it is thrift shop chic! 
It’s been a while since we had a gratuitous kitten picture… 
I am not exactly sure when Molly and Dolly’s birthday is (they are littermates), but since I suspect Dolly was about 8 weeks old when I adopted her in mid-July last year that would make their birthday sometime in mid-May. So I guess they aren’t really kittens anymore… 
When I adopted Dolly and Molly last summer in addition to regularly trimming their nails, I immediately started training them to use a scratching post instead of my furniture when they felt the need to sharpen their toenails.
My method for doing this was pretty simple. When they attempted to sharpen their toenails on my furniture I would firmly tell them “no” and physically move them to the scratching post. When we were at the scratching post I would then place their front paws on post and rub their feet on the post so they got the idea they were allowed to scratch it.
It actually didn’t take too long for them to realize that the scratching post was the preferred place to scratch because whenever I observed them scratching the post instead of my furniture I would make a fool of myself and lavish praise upon them. As a result, they began scratching the furniture less and less and the scratching post more and more.
However, even though they weren’t tearing up my furniture with their toenails I still had a slight problem: They were tearing me up when they would play and the scratching post wasn’t doing much good when they would chase each other around the house and use those nails to dig in when they launched themselves off the bed.
Therefore I started considering my options. The first option was to do nothing and live with the scratches and scars I was receiving from those regularly trimmed toenails. The second option was to have them declawed. While I am not really opposed to declawing (as a matter of fact my other two cats are declawed… but that is another post for another time) I feel that declawing them for my own personal vanity is rather selfish.
Since neither of the first two options was particularly appealing, the last option was to consider Soft Claws. Soft Claws are plastic “nail caps” that you attach to a cat’s claws that allow them all the benefits of retaining their claws but save the owner (and her furniture or appendages) the damage of sharp little toenails. After months of debating, a particularly nasty scratch that I received from Dolly a couple of weeks ago made up my mind: I ordered a batch of Soft Claws and they arrived in the mail a couple of days ago.
Soft Claws come in either a boring transparent variety or a selection of colors and being the crazy cat lady style-conscious individual that I am, I chose Soft Claws for Molly and Dolly in “Jungle Red.” I rather like them but since they have to be replaced as the cats shed their claws (on average every 6-8 weeks) I think next time we might go for “Purple Passion” instead.
Just another gratuitous kitten picture…
As you can see, Dolly really loves Dawn’s Christmas Tree!
Yes, my alter ego The Crazy Cat Lady has resurfaced just in time for the holidays!
Early tomorrow morning I will be packing up my little car and driving an estimated 14 hours to see my best friend in the Ozark Mountains. And, as you have probably figured out by the title of this post, The Cats of Doom will be going with me!
They don’t necessarily have to go: Last weekend one of my friends told me that he is staying home over the holidays and that if I wanted to go anywhere, he would be happy to feed them while I was gone. I considered his generous offer, but in the end I had to reject it because of Mouse.
For those Holidailies readers who don’t know, in addition to her tiny attitude problem, Mouse has feline hyperthyroidism and is on medication for it. She gets a pill every morning and evening and though I don’t have any problems giving it to her, I would never ask a friend to put himself in mortal danger by asking him to do so.
As a result, I realized that if I was going to be away over the holidays I had the following options:
One, I could take my friend up on his offer and just have him feed the cats while I am gone. Last year I wasn’t too worried about leaving Mouse without her medicine for a few days, but her dosage is higher now so I am a little more troubled by it. And because I don’t think my friend could give Mouse her pill even if he wanted to, I abandoned the idea.
Two, I could board Mouse with the vet so she would be sure to get her pill while I am gone and have my friend feed the other three. I briefly considered this option, but in the end rejected it because honestly, I am too cheap to pay to have her boarded.
Three, I could take Mouse to Arkansas with me and leave the other three at home and have my friend feed them. This seemed like a workable option, but I thought if I was going to go to all the trouble to pack up one cat and take her with me, why not take all four?
Sure my car will be full of kitty carriers and I will have the “joy” of listening to Scooter talk to me during the entire trip, but the fact of the matter is that taking four of them really isn’t any more of a hassle than just one.
Besides, I will have a more enjoyable holiday if my family (feline as it may be) is with me anyway.
Filed under: cat blogging, travel | Tags: crazy cat lady, feline hyperthyroidism, holidailies, mouse |
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