Fur People Update, Life Intrudes...

I've had a really hard time lately, in the financial arena. I put out a call to friends for referrals for work, and was able to make a little money.

One friend stepped up to provide cat litter. Another friend stepped up for cat food.

Meanwhile, I've cut the wet food to one can a day for the 3 who eat wet food, instead of 2 cans. That's 3.5 oz of wet per day. When you force a cat to eat dry food or go hungry, they will eat the dry food. However, that dry food must be of high quality, or the exercise is futile. The food I had in the house was for urinary tract health, which is an excellent start. Low magnesium is a good place to be.

However, my main issue with these 5 long haired cats, is hair balls, so, I've picked up some foods directed toward that malady. I have IAMS, CORE, Wellness and some Purina in the house right now. I've mixed them up for a nice variety, and I'm feeding all at once.

Mr Beasley is not very happy about it, but he's eating the dry food. He's my biggest complainer, and my baby, as you know. I accept full responsibility for making him that way...

Tale of Two Tails...

During morning feeding, I noticed these two tails....
Fluffy is on the left, Beasley on the right. Her tail is curled up, and his is straight out away from his body.

I thought it was so cute, I had to take a photo!

Yes, they both have mats - please overlook that. We had a flea infestation, and their biting the fleas caused them. I'm slowly removing them - as the cats allow.

Comments...

I've been doing this (cat whispering) for about 5 years, now. I love each contact I have with my clients, and I love each and every cat. I started because I wanted to keep cats in their homes.

The 6 reasons I see for cats losing their homes most often are...

• Missing the Litter Box
• Not Getting Along
• Aggression
• Foreclosure (the only thing I can't help with)
• Inappropriate Meowing
• Allergies

For foreclosure, please try to contact a rescue organization before you resort to the local animal shelter, to give your cat the best chance of finding a new home. Please don't just abandon your cat. For all the other reasons, I'm available for counseling. Even allergies can be helped!

I just want you all to know that I love and appreciate your support over these 5 years. Let's go forward into year 6 with arms linked....

~ Morgen

Morning Wake-Up Service

Mr Beasley, my erstwhile favorite, wakes me every morning around 6-7AM. I'm tired. I don't sleep particularly well, and then he wakes me up.

Now, granted that I got up at that time for 2 years, without fail, every morning, and gave him breakfast.

I have a magnet I found someplace (no, I don't have one to sell you, although I sure wish I did!) that says "There is no snooze button on a cat who wants breakfast" and that is truly what happened this morning. Both of the crunchy bowls were empty.

So, yes, I got up and fed them. Reinforcing the behavior, of course...

Boy! Cats sure know how to train people! :-P

Poor Bugs!

My little Bugsy has been getting the short end for a while now. She's usually the instigator, so I allow the others to pick back at her. Lately, however, they've just been picking on her out of spite. So, I've been protecting her a little bit. She's been coming to cuddle, sit in my lap, at the top of my chair, and so on. That may be the cause of the latest round of bullying, but I'm not really sure.

If anyone would like to adopt Bugs, just let me know. She needs a home of her own, anyway. She's very sociable, and loves all the visitors who come around. She's the first kitty to come say "Hi" and to snuggle.

Cats Care!

I was very sick and in bed for about 5 days. My cats somehow got fed twice a day, and the litter box got changed in the middle (don't ask me how!).

They were on the bed with me most of the time - except when I was in my most restless periods.

I had a version of a cold, but it started in my lungs, like pneumonia. I still have a lot of congestion. I took Tylenol 8-hour (no compensation for this mention!) for the fever, and that really helped. When I remembered to take my temp, it was 100.9F, so it was pretty high for someone my age and general health. That was after taking the Tylenol, too. Goodness knows how high it was without treatment...

So, the cats really care! I had one on each side of me, most of the time. They laid right next to me, pinning me under the covers. When I turned over, they all jumped down, only to get back on the bed a few minutes later.

Beasley and Fluffy were close most of the time. Bugs would curl up in my elbow when they took a break, Princess would come check on me at least twice a day, and Queenie took a little time off from being the top-cat to check on me when Princess wasn't. In fact, Queenie and Princess are vying for top-cat position again. When they weren't really close, they were on the foot of the bed, or at the base of my dresser, which is basically in the same place but with a walkway between the bed and the dresser.

I don't know how I managed it, but I was able to keep them fed and the litter box clean. I was delirious, so I'm not really sure how that happened. Maybe my neighbor helped. She got some cough syrup for me when I ran out.

Working on Newsletter - Preplanning

I've been working on the newsletter today. I've put together the basics through February 2011. It saves me a lot of time and guarantees that the newsletter goes out, if I do it this way.

The drawback of course, is that I use articles published by other folks, so they may not be as well written as if I'd written them. I try to add something relevant to each issue, but that isn't always possible.

However, I can plan the issues better this way, too. I can revolve around a certain set of issues, plan the deals with the merchants, and otherwise help my readers to focus on related areas of cats' lives.

If there are any areas my readers would like to see featured, I'd love the feedback!

Cost of Cat Foods!!

I just went to the pet store for more cat food. The dry, cheap stuff... NOT!

It wasn't cheap, that is...

If I get the stuff with no corn or wheat fillers, it runs about $10 for a 3.5 pound bag. Expensive!

Bugsy is allergic to both wheat and corn. It gives her diarrhea and bloating, and she never seems to get filled/sated. She's always looking for food.

This is a common problem with cats and these grains. Cats should not be fed grains. Not all cats want wet foods - as is the case with Bugs. She doesn't care for the wet food at all. She wants her crunchies.

I bucked up and paid the premium, but how many of us can do that these days? I'm not rich, either. We're all in the same boat these days.

Adjustments to Pages

I made some adjustments to some of the pages on the site. There is no new content, but I had to make a few changes by adding some keywords and advertising blocks. This doesn't mean anything to most of you. Don't worry about it. The feed reflects the pages that were changed. I hope the ads are not distracting.

New Testimonial - Petsitting

I did a cat-sitting job for a friend, and she has always been a little skeptical of "Cat Whispering" for her cat. Her cat is very needy, vocal, and part Siamese. Of course, she's also an only-cat!

So, I guess she didn't have anyone else to call, so she called me. I agreed to do the job for half my normal fee, because I know of her skepticism.

I set an appointment, went to meet the kitty, find out where things were and how the place should look (basic furniture placement, and so on) so that I would know what to look for. My service includes a sense of security because of this extra bit...

So, she goes off on her trip, and I start coming daily to care for Mica. Normally, I come twice a day, stay about 45 minutes and then leave. For Mica, I stayed 2-3 hours and only visited once a day. I brought 4 toys and some catnip on my second day, when I saw her boredom with her existing toys.

About day 5, she started meeting me at the door with meows and crying. Very excited! I would pick her up to greet her, and she would walk on my shoulders and I'd put her onto a counter (she'd walk there) and then jump down. She would entwine herself under my feet. She was so excited, she wouldn't eat!!!

Well, I would sit down, play with her, or just watch TV. Mica would calm down, and eventually come to sit with me or on me - snuggling.

Eventually, it would be time for me to leave. She would accept it - watch me leave and not complain. She grew accustomed to my visits. I always left her with a little catnip on a washcloth.

The last day, I went to check on her and the key was gone. I figured mom came home, so I called. Sure enough, mom was home and was very pleased! Dishes done, trash out, Mica happy and sassy.

So, I've posted her comments on the contact page. I hope you find comfort in them. I sure did! I don't think my friend will be so reluctant to call me next time. And I'll be happy to take care of Mica again...

Sometimes, you have to release your skepticism to find the jewel inside the claim...