Sunday, January 01, 2012

Holidays are Over!

Thank goodness the holidays are over! Still a little lingering stuff to handle, like putting the Christmas decorations away, and taking down the Christmas cards from my display. But for the most part, stuff is all done. No leftovers in the fridge, no food to tempt me.

The cats are also on a diet. I realized I was feeding them 1/2 can a day plus dry food. I had to cut them back to 1/4 can a day, and sometimes, that means 1/8 of a can in the morning, and the rest at night.

The bad part about this is that Princess doesn't need to be on a diet. I wish I could get her to eat better. She continues to lose weight, and her bones are sticking out. There is nothing to be done, but make her comfortable. She sometimes has a little pain, a creaking in her joints, and she gets irritable with the other cats. Any of the other cats. She just wants what she wants when she wants it, too. She cuddles a bit, on my lap. She can be really insistent about that...

Beasley is the greatest complainer, of course. He wants all the food in the house in his bowl. He will eat his and everyone elses' food, if I let him. At least he's stopped vomiting up his food as soon as he's eaten. He is keeping it down.

I wormed them a few weeks ago, then added some edible diatomaceous earth to their food for a week after that. Any little worms left in their guts were shredded and no longer exist.

The fleas are also much better - more due to the cold weather than any action on my part. I still comb regularly and administer the flea drops. I haven't had to spray, but come spring, if the carpet isn't all out of here, there will be another infestation.

Otherwise, Queenie is a little distant, but she checks in with me at least once a day - right in my face, getting snuggles. Bugs is cuddly and filling out her personality a little more. She was so two-dimensional for so long, it's nice to see her realize that she's more than enough cat for anyone. And Fluffy, who never liked to see a brush or comb, is now coming to me and asking for them! She loves to sit on my lap as long as she can, and get mommy-time.

Beasley has been relegated to the top of the chair, and pouts a lot. But he knows he's my boy. At bedtime, he has dibs on the "next to the pillow" spot and gets to even put his nose on the pillow if he wants to.

The birds are coming by regularly, and I changed the seed mix so we get some really nice little songbirds, now. I have to put up another suet cake today. The cats need a few perches in front of the window. There just doesn't seem to be enough seating for them all.

Well, Happy New Year, friends. I hope your holidays were good, and your cats were healthy through it all. I miss tinsel. I never liked angel hair, so I went to tinsel. But it isn't safe for them. Ah, well... One day, maybe. If I ever get down to only one cat and can keep track of him or her enough to keep it out of the tree.

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