Tag Archives: furbabies

Elvis Is Dead

Posted on by
4

32116596_1898434410216738_2141072537432358912_n

Ok, so… I don’t have a pet mouse named Elvis but a mouse died yesterday, and not in a trap, unless you count Jack’s tummy. I found mouse remains on the laundry room floor. I don’t think he tasted good because Jack threw it up and wasn’t feeling well afterward. I was worried for a few hours because he just wasn’t himself. Later in the day, he perked up and went mouse hunting again.

1_AtlxNnKlsuJztnAqHQeqrg

Yes, we have mice. We also have craneflies, roly-polies, centipedes, millipedes, termites, beetles, wasps, spiders, and so much more. That’s really fun in the warmer months. You should see BobCat chasing a beetle! Anyway, since we live out in the middle of nowhere we have to deal with the annoyance of all kinds of things. One year we had a family of skunks living under the house. Something spooked them, and my house smelled like skunk for weeks afterward!

download

Jack felt well enough to continue with his mouse shenanigans and caught another… It was just a baby! Then Alice caught one. She ate the head off and left the rest. Thanks Alice. I think there must’ve been a new nest of meeces (intentional, an attempt of humor) living somewhere in a mouse-sized crawlspace. Things have calmed down now so I think my furbabies have killed them all.

Rest in Pieces, Little Meeces.

When BobCat Went Missing

Posted on by
10

I’m sitting here this morning wondering if I will be writing The Misadventures of BobCat on a weekly, perhaps daily basis. Good grief. Yesterday was hopefully the last misadventure BobCat will have!

I woke up yesterday morning, feeling the warmth of the day, and knowing it was going to be a nice one. BobCat wanted outside, so I opened the door and let him out. I’ve been letting him out when he wants out during the day, but keeping him in after dark. (That way he can get some exercise without Jack beating him up all the time.) I told him, “Be good and don’t run off.” Little did I know, I should have told him to not be a nosy little shit, too. The last I saw BobCat was when Dad and I were collecting the trash to take up to the dumpster, a couple of hours later. Oh, the joys or rural life. We don’t even have road-side trash pick up. Ugh. Anyway, the day went on and the high was 70 degrees. The wind was blowing like mad but died down in the afternoon.

3:00pm rolled around and that’s about the time I feed my furbabies. I called for BobCat, but he didn’t come. I fed the others and set BobCat’s food to the side. I went to the door and called for BobCat again. No sign of him. I went to the back of the house, stepped onto the catio and called again. No sign. I didn’t think too much about it at that point. It was a nice day and figured he was doing cat things like cats do. Maybe he was curled up in the dirt taking a cat nap. Hell, I don’t know what things he might be up to.

A couple of hours later, I called for BobCat again. Nothing. I was worried that he got into trouble. Maybe a dog chased him up a tree or maybe he got his collar hung up on something. I didn’t want to think about other possibilities. I hoped he hadn’t gone back to the home from whence he came, before he was mine. If they saw him, they might say, “Hey, there’s my cat!” and maybe, “What’s he doing with a collar on?” I was worried. It wasn’t like BobCat to miss meal time.

After some time went by, I called for BobCat again, from the front door and from the catio. I heard a faint cry or I thought I did. I think Jack heard it, too. Dad said it was probably just Jack. I told him it wasn’t because I can tell the difference and I was looking at Jack. He wasn’t mewing. I went outside and called for BobCat. I used all the names BobCat answers to: Bob, Bob-a-Duke, Bobbert, Rabbert, and Bobarino. I yelled. I whistled. Nothing. Not a sound.

I called for BobCat every hour after that and by 10:00pm, still no BobCat. It was snack time and all of my furbabies knew what time it was. I knew BobCat did, too. But where was he? I was so damn worried. I was out on the catio with Jack, calling for BobCat. I heard the mewing again! It sounded more frantic than earlier. I told Dad I heard the mewing again and I headed out the door with a flashlight. Dad followed. We walked around the side of the house, calling for BobCat. I could hear him! Dad said, “That’s Jack!” I said, “No, it isn’t.” When Jack mewed, I said, “THAT was Jack.” When the other sounded, I said, “That wasn’t Jack.” Dad said he couldn’t hear anything except for Jack. We were hobbling around in the dark; me with my crutches on lumpy and soft ground, trying not to fall on my ass, and Dad, unsteady on his feet, too. I hoped niether of us would fall but I was persistent. I knew I was hearing BobCat and I had to find him!

The mewing was louder on the side of the house where Dad’s old room is. (The room had been abandoned months ago due to a mold problem and was closed off from the rest of the house. Dad moved into the spare room.) I could hear BobCat and it sounded like he was in the old bedroom. Dad still insisted it was Jack I was hearing. I said, “NO. It ISN’T! It’s BobCat and he’s in your room!” Dad peeked into the windows with the flashlight and didn’t see a cat in the room. I said, “Then he’s stuck in the wall or between the roof and the ceiling because I hear him.”

I headed back to the house, determined that BobCat was in there, stuck in the wall or something. I had to help him! Masks donned, because of the mold, we entered the old bedroom. I shined the flashlight around and lo and behold, there was BobCat, pushing his way out of the closet! He must have seen the light and was frantically fighting his way towards us! Dad pulled the closet door open a bit (it’s kind of stuck) and Bobcat flew out of there like his pants were on fire (that is, if he had been wearing pants).

Poor BobCat. He was so happy to see us! I was happy to see him, too! At that point, I realized that maybe Jack was worried about BobCat, too. Maybe Jack was mewing to help us find BobCat. Just a thought, anyway. Who knows what goes on in a cat’s little brain. Jack even let him eat his dry kibble. Jack was being nice! Haha! Was Jack actually happy to see BobCat?!

I didn’t sleep well last night until after 4:00am because BobCat was having nightmares, I think. He was sleeping on me and every 40 minutes or so, he would jump up and look around, as if to see where the hell he was. Poor thing. He finally settled and we both got some sleep.

img_20230301_004052229_hdr3547858566362286173

So, that was Bob-a-Duke’s misadventure. It’s another nice day and he wanted outside again. I hope he stays out of trouble. I’ll keep closer tabs on him and bring him inside in a bit. These cats will be the death of me yet.

The Saga of Jack and BobCat

Posted on by
4

These little shits are driving me insane.

In October, we took BobCat (above, right) to the vet and had him neutered, vaccinated, dewormed, and had his ears treated for earmites. We just wanted to give BobCat a better life than being outside and exposed to the weather, the road, and wild animals. When we brought BobCat into the house, to my surprise, Jack (above, left) and BobCat didn’t fight as I expected. But, that only lasted about a week. Then, all hell broke loose. Every chance he got, Jack would attack BobCat. It was so stressful. We had to be on the lookout all the time. Jack finally settled a bit, but we still had to watch. At night, we locked BobCat up in the small bedroom we refer to as the cat room. All was peaceful at night with the exception of BobCat playing with his toys or kicking cat litter all over the place. But that changed…

Fast forward about a week ago, BobCat started going berserk at night in the cat room. I mean, literally tearing the room up! It sounded like he was climbing the walls and throwing himself against the door! He made so much racket, I couldn’t sleep. (I sleep in my power chair which is right next to the cat room!) I didn’t sleep for 2 nights because of this so the 3rd night, I threw BobCat outside. It was finally quiet. But that didn’t last either.

After a few hours BobCat was throwing himself against the front door wanting in. I tried to ignore the noise. When he didn’t get any response, he went around to the window, then the next window, and so on. Then he was back at the front door. Holy crap.

The next night, I just let BobCat run loose in the house. I told him, “If Jack kicks your ass, it’s your own damn fault.” Things were peaceful with a few exceptions. As long as BobCat stayed in my chair (on me) or in Dad’s chair, then Jack ignored him. But as soon as BobCat decided to get up and play, eat, or use the litter box, Jack decided to give him a hard time. So, I’m losing sleep every night.

Oh my gosh, I am so exhausted! I can’t function without sleep. Having chronic pain and mobility issues is bad enough! I just can’t take much more. I’m at the point where I’m ready to find BobCat a new home and that makes me sad.

Last night, I guess I was so exhausted I fell asleep fast and slept hard. I didn’t wake up until almost 9am this morning. I feel so much better! With body and mind rested, I can function somewhat…and that’s still not much considering my pain and mobility issues never go away.

I don’t know how many times Jack (above, left) kicked BobCat’s (above, right) ass last night, if at all, but they are both still alive and well. I would ask them, but I’m sure they won’t answer.

What’s Eating Aunt Debbie?

Posted on by
5

Good morning!

There’s been a lot on my mind, but damned if my brain will let me remember everything I wanted to say! 

Dad’s blood pressure has been relatively good; some days a little higher but with a medication dosage change, it’s under control. Dad had an appointment scheduled to see a cardiologist regarding his A-fib but unfortunately the appointment had to be rescheduled due to snow. 

We didn’t get much snow really but it sure made the roads dangerous. There were many accidents on the roads we would have been on for that appointment. People just can’t stay home because they have to go to work. I remember those days when I worked at the local nursing home. I hated winter weather because if it snowed after I got to work, then I was stuck there! I had to spend the night in that place too many times! Anyway, Dad’s appointment has been rescheduled for March 10. Shouldn’t be any snow then! 

I don’t know what I did, but I have injured my arm/shoulder. I think it’s a rotator cuff injury – perhaps a tear – and so on top of all of the pain and mobility issues I deal with, now I have to deal with this. As if life wasn’t hard enough. Ugh. I can’t not use my left arm because I need to use both of my arms to get up and down, not to mention to walk with my forearm crutches. I have yet to go to the doctor. I’m a bit ‘gun shy’ after years of not getting help for other issues. If the injury is serious enough they will suggest surgery BUT I can’t have surgery now! Who’s going to look after Dad? I can’t leave him alone. I won’t. If it’s not serious enough for surgery, there’s nothing to be done besides exercises. My insurance won’t cover physical therapy so I’d have to do it on my own. I’m already doing that, but having to use both of my arms means the injury won’t heal or could even get worse. Good grief. 

The silver lining this month is that my daughter gave birth to her 4th child, and her #2 girl earlier this month! Her name is Kaliya Rain and she looks like her older sister, Angelina Rose. 10 days later, though, my daughter ended up in the hospital because she woke up bleeding profusely. All is well now, thank goodness. It was scary and here I am in another state, unable to help her. This is my 6th grandbaby! I just wish I saw them more than I do.

I wish to hell politicians would produce some decent candidates for the 2024 election. I am sick to death of the literal shit that flows out of just about every mouth these days. MTG spews lies and hatered and couldn’t look any less like a turd than she already does. DeSantis spews lies and everybody swallows it up. DJT is still at it. Good grief. I could be here all day… If Joe Biden isn’t going to run again then the Dems better get off their asses and produce a better choice, quickly! I never used to worry about our government. I never worried that our democracy would suffer. I never worried about ‘bad eggs’ infiltrating the country and the government, ready to bring it all down. I didn’t worry because they all seemed to want our country to progress, not go backwards in time! Ugh!

Those who have followed my blog might recall that I have brought a stray cat into our fur-family. I knew we would have problems but I just couldn’t stand for the poor thing to be out in another cold winter! So, in October, BobCat was neutered, vaccinated, treated for fleas, ticks and earmites, and brought inside. He has been more calm than I expected. I think he’s grateful to be inside, getting lovins, and having other cat friends – BUT Jack is not a happy camper! He is one jealous and spiteful little shit. He still has to wear the vest when he misbehaves. Poor BobCat keeps getting beat up! Alice doesn’t care about BobCat being inside. In fact, Alice has warmed to him a little and has been seen giving him a bath! Honey Bear keeps her distance because Jack picks on her occasionally, too. Anyway, Jack is so spiteful that he has made sure to ‘steal’ my chair before BobCat gets to it. That’s the only place BobCat feels safe, other than in the cat room with the door shut! If BobCat has any dried kibble left in his bowl then Jack will eat it all and then puke it up right next to the bowl! Unbelievable! Jack still gets what he always got, before BobCat came along. They all do. BobCat isn’t showing any aggression and he’s not being territorial at all. They have to be watched all the time and it’s a lot of work for this ol’ woman! Ugh!

Well, that’s about all I have on my mind this morning. I’m sure I’m forgetting something. I always do!

What’s on your mind these days?