Musings on a Small Life

Yesterday was Derry's 11th birthday, which I completely forgot (!) until I read a blog post about someone's wedding anniversary (also yesterday). So thank you, Caren/Cody! He didn't get any presents (yet), but he did get lots of cuddles and smooches, and of course a tussle with Nicki too. What occasion would be complete without that?               All in all, he seemed to enjoy the day, and we had only short-lived light rain in the afternoon to interrupt his garden time. All that celebrating is exhausting, though, especially when you're middle-aged!  :-P The boys send purrs to all for the week ahead. Peace.

Thank you for all the suggestions re: Nicki. And thank you to the person who (somewhat inadvertently) alerted me to the fact that because of this Blogger issue, I actually have to go into Blogger and publish the comments manually, rather than be able to do it directly from email. Duh. There were a slew of comments about my trip and suggestions with regard to Nicki, so I truly do apologize for missing those, for not cluing in. I've had Nicki on the Zylkene, two capsules per day (mixed with food) since Tuesday's supper and the jury is out on whether it's helping him significantly. Nicki's pretty high strung anyway, but he does seem a bit less restless and agitated. This is only a short-term product, though, up to 1- 2 months, so I'll see if the PetCalm helps once it gets here and I start giving it to him. I'll be away for a couple of nights in July, so he and the pet sitter will just have to cope as best they can. (And yes, this peeing issue started whil...

[Note: No real update on the Bottomless Pit of Need, a.k.a. Nicki. He's using the box at the back of the basement with Cat Attract litter in it, as well as the other litter boxes. It remains to be seen if he'll still feel the need to use the empty Rubbermaid container. I'm picking up some Zylkene for him today, to try. I called our vet clinic yesterday and was pleasantly surprised to find that they still carry it. I'd used it several years ago for Derry, off and on, but will give it to Nicki consistently for the foreseeable future, if it works.] Anyway, on the first weekend back after my trip to Halifax, I went to a local quilt show I'd heard about by chance. I'm not a quilter, can't sew for beans and have no interest in it, but I do like to look at quilts--they're really artwork, IMO. So here are a number of quilts that caught my eye, either for subject matter, pattern, or colour--or some combination of all three. They truly are amazing! A...

Agghhh...He peed again (overnight) in the empty Rubbermaid container in the basement. His test results came back fine, no sediment or crystals in his urine, though there was protein (following up on that).  I keep the boxes super-clean, it's not a dirty box issue. I just don't know what to do. I've now ordered some PetCalm from PetAlive.com (needed to stock up on a couple of items anyway), and I've ordered a box of Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract litter to try. I intend to call our vet clinic on Monday, to ask if they have any anti-stress/anxiety products. I did pick up 2 bottles of Feliway for the diffusers I have; they've been plugged in since Tuesday. Apparently they haven't made any difference, at least not yet. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. I have my dad and his wife coming for several days at the end of the month, and I plan to visit friends for a couple of days early in July, and I really don't want Nicki continuing t...

My little baby bear currently is recovering at the v-e-t, having had his 3rd or 4th dental now. He lost 4 or 5 more teeth, bringing the total loss to 15 or 16. However, given that cats have 30 adult teeth, he still has 14 or 15 left--which means another dental at some point, if his health and kidneys hold up. Nicki goes to the v-e-t tomorrow afternoon, almost a month early this time, because he's now peed twice outside the litter boxes (once while I was away in Halifax, in an empty Rubbermaid container in the basement, and then again Sunday night/Monday AM in the empty laundry basket in the basement). My first thought: His kidney stones or a UTI. I'll find out. He was fine in early April (UA and blood work), but that doesn't mean there isn't a problem now. Cats don't pee in abnormal places for no reason, and to the best my knowledge, they certainly don't do so out of spite. If it's not a physical issue, I can only think it's stress-related. Wh...