Carpet-be-gone

I'm vacuuming this morning. We are down to two carpets in the house. One in the office and one in the spare bedroom. The rest of the house has wood floors and just small scatter rugs. The sooner I get rid of the two carpets upstairs, the better. Some people think that a room feels cold without a carpet but I just put on woolly socks and enjoy the wood floor. It is so much easier with animals and the cleanup is more thorough. Everyone knows that if a cat is about to present you with a hairball she looks for the softest, cleanest spot on the floor... the carpet. I don't like shampooing carpets.....who does?? I love the look of wood floors, too. It's all good!
We've been working in the dining-room

Many different types of wood in the furniture, window frames & floor boards.

This small dining area fills up with sun from these two large windows. 

That's why this happens a lot.

"Ed, get off the table"

Lots of family pictures

Here's my dining-room floor for now. 

It's a chocolate colour (yummy!)

I will add a small scatter carpet just under the table so the chairs won't scratch the floor. The room is only 12 x 12 so it is a little crowded but I think it feels homey. We all love to eat in here when the kids come home. 

Have a good weekend everyone and I will leave you with this.....

If you are feeling a little unattractive today try to remember that everything is relative.

Hugs, Deb (& Ed)

Sierra strikes a pose

It's a beautiful, sunny, cold day today. After running a few errands and picking up keys for the weekend, I came back home to empty the last of the boxes of dishes from the dining-room. I have decided to donate some of them to our local thrift shop so someone else can get some use out of them. I am getting very particular with what I like now (that's old age, folks) so I don't mind letting go of some of them.


Sierra found an odd spot today to sun herself. This is one of my dining-room windows and just because I put a different piece of furniture in front of this window, she had to make that her new resting place. She really was a poser today. She doesn't usually like having her picture taken but today it was all about that. She's so cute! Notice the little chip in her ear. When she was adopted they told us that she was found in a tree along the side of  a road and had been there for quite some time. That little piece of ear was already missing. She was about 4 months old when we found her and when she is out in the yard she loves to climb our apple tree. Monkey that she is. I always wondered where she came from and why she was found in that tree. The stories that some cats must have.


Speaking of 'chip', we are out to dinner tonight and then I have more keys to pick up. Although I'm trying to get weight off before Spring I still have to have my Fish & Chip night each week. We have the best Fish & Chip place around in Carleton Place called the St. James Gate. It is a little Irish pub and the food is great. It's just one of our 'date nights' that we never miss. Just means Kane gets an extra walk tomorrow.

                    


Did you know that February is the month to celebrate white cats?  It's because they are 'white as snow' and February is certainly our snowiest month. They are the kitty flavor of the month. I think my white cat could use some attention and maybe a makeover. 

I'll be featuring many white cats that need homes throughout February.  Stay tuned. 





Hugs, Deb 

Farewell to sweet Lucy

I'm crying as I type this. I received a sad but sweet email last night from the owners of Lucy, the little Siamese that was such a precious little cat who I had the opportunity to care for the last couple of years. She was 19 and passed away from kidney failure. I drove by her house just last Saturday and wondered how she was doing. I looked up to the 2nd floor sunroom where she would spend countless hours snoozing on her little bed. She was so much like our Ginny. Looked almost identical. She was a Seal-point Siamese and had stunningly beautiful eyes. I loved to photograph her because of her captivating beauty. Her owners mentioned in their email that Lucy never showed any aggression in her 19 years. When she would get frustrated she would grab on to her little blanket with her front feet and  kick the heck out of it with her back feet. I'm sure this will be one of the sweet memories of Lucy.

Her window sill was her place of comfort and sun-worshiping

Even if she looked grumpy at times she was sweet as sugar and loved having company

Baby blue eyes

This never gets easier for me to absorb when I hear of one of the cats passing away. There is a real feeling of loss. I wish I had been able to say good-bye but maybe that's why I drove by her home only days ago. So I would once again think of her and smile. She was just that adorable.
Rest in Peace, sweetie. I enjoyed every second that we had together getting to know each other and passing the time away. I'm glad you always enjoyed me reading and petting you while you stretched out beside me. I'll miss you.

Love, Deb

OK kitty....let's figure this out.

"Neither Rain, nor Sleet, nor Gloom of Night......."  So, it was just me and the postman out there today.

I travelled by foot to cat-sit because the roads were such a mess after the snow-storm. I think I scared the cat-nip out of them when I walked in with the hood on (fake fur, btw) but they soon knew it was me. Treats always fix any problem. So, I've had my exercise for the day and they are all comfy cats.
I apologize for the following post because it is so wordy but if you are having litter-box problems with your cat,  stay with me and read on.

Cat-tip-for-the-day - handling inappropriate behavior
When it comes to cats, elimination, scratching, jumping and aggression are normal behaviours. With that in mind, it is inappropriate to punish a cat for engaging in them. Punishing your cat may reinforce this unwanted behaviour because you are paying a lot of attention to the bad behaviour and your cat may think, "I want attention; if I eliminate over here, I'll get it." Also you can break the bond with a cat that you are screaming at all the time. I have found that the most often asked questions from my cat-sitting clients deals with inappropriate litter box behaviour. First and foremost, have your cat checked over by your veterinarion to see if it is a medical condition. It could be a bladder infection that is causing the cat to eliminate outside the box, for instance. After that, if your healthy cat continues to behave inappropriately, behaviour modification is to retrain the way your cat thinks. First, be sure that the litter box is clean.  Is the location right? It has to be in a place that is quiet, easy to get to and not next to something that can suddenly make a lot of noise, like a washing machine. It should not be wedged into a corner where it is hard for the cat to get into or if your cat is on the large size, do not use a covered box that the cat feels uncomfortable trying to get into and out of. Also, if you have multiple cats and there is one that is dominant, your shy one may not want to feel trapped in a covered litter box in case the dominant one becomes aggressive. If you have recently changed your litter to one that has a lot of chemicals in it to keep down the smell, some cats cannot stand the smell of it. I have to agree with them on this one. Even as an owner, I have found some litters to be very offensive with too much added chemicals and fragrances. I buy plain litter and add baking soda and it works great.

I can't stress enough how screaming and hitting a cat that pee's on the floor or the carpet will cause adverse results. Your cat will become afraid of you and very stressed around you and the problem will get worse. After cleaning the spots thoroughly where your cat inappropriately eliminated,  I suggest you try the following:

Limit the cat to one room (spare bedroom would work) that has it's food and water on one side, clean litter box on the other and lots of toys and blankets and window perches and so on to make the cat feel very comfy. Making the cat's world smaller will possibly take it's mind off the inappropriate behaviour and start fresh. You will have to put time aside to spend with the cat by adding a chair for reading  or TV to the room so the cat still has time with you but the cat is not to roam the house for 3 days. After 3 days of using its' litter box properly, let the cat roam the house while you are home but when you are away the cat returns to its room. If the cat eliminates inappropriately in the house after 3 days, start again. I have seen this work and I suggest trying it. It has saved many cats from being 'given up' to shelters. Your cat depends on you to help it through this confusing time in its' life.

The above are just some of the reasons cat's behave inappropriately. I hope these suggestions work for you if you are struggling with this problem. Remember, give the cat lots of love and attention while trying to figure out the answer.
Hugs, Deb

White-out on this White Wednesday

White is everywhere today. I love it but I am ready for Spring. We are buried under snow today and I am planning to walk to my cat-sitting clients rather than drive on these roads.

From our front door

Deck

 Luckily, they are all in our small town today. Back home, everyone sleeps after breakfast

 and all is well. Wish you could drop in for a coffee and a pumpkin muffin. I think that would be fun and the dog and cats are very bored with this weather and could use some excitement. They love visitors.

You could take a daisy home

Perhaps I'll find some cats in windows on my walk today (I know I won't find them outside....too much snow)

Hugs, Deb

Pumpkin Muffin Recipe & some fun

We have a big storm heading our way so tonight I went over to where I feed the feral cats and left twice as much food in hopes that they fill up and will stay in their shelters tomorrow. I don't know where they go to stay out of the cold and snow but they are still coming around so I know they are surviving. I saw tracks again last night and although I am worried about a coyote in the area, I still have to feed them. Everything is starving right now, including the coyotes so I will put more food down (including dog food) then all should be satisfied. It's not an easy life for any of the animals out there in the winter. Tough, all around. The rescues I spoke to suggested doing this. Also to start another feeding station away from where the cats are fed. Until the tracks are gone I'll do what is suggested. This happened last winter too and eventually the coyote moved on and the tracks were no more. That's what I hope for.

After baking the pumpkin muffins this morning I did some cat-sitting and then looked after Riley for 2 hours. That was lots of fun. She loved my scarf so we had a bit of a fashion show.

RILEY looked so pretty

Then Cooper had to model

While Ozzy looked for treats in my purse (and found some) Cat-sitters carry treats...what can I say.

Here is the recipe for the pumpkin muffins.

 This recipe was found on a blog last year but unfortunately I can't remember the name of the blog. It is a very tasty recipe.
1 cup butter
3 cups sugar
3 large eggs
Beat well together
In a separate bowl, combine
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon each of baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon & cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Add to butter/egg mixture, alternating with 2 cups pumpkin
Mix well after each addition
Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup raisins & 1 cup chopped pecans (optional)


Pour into 3 9x5x3 inch greased and floured baking pans
OR makes 20 muffins
Bake at 350 for 1 hour for loaf cakes or 25 min. for muffins


Hope you try them.
Hugs, Deb

"Lord...what is that noise?"

 My senior cats are going through some noticeable changes these days. They are not as flexible as they used to be and that is evident when they try to jump up onto things.They certainly sleep more and they even snore now. The one thing that I notice the most about them is that their voice has changed. Each one of them has a new sound to their meow. A new tone. Not a pleasant one, either. They can sound almost like a cat in heat when they start yelling about something. And they yell a lot.

Cali has the loudest and most ear-piercing screech now and I hear it mostly when she is looking for me. Ginny has always had a loud voice and often stands at the top of the stairs and just lets it wail. It sounds different these days, too. It's louder and screechier and makes the hair stand up on your neck. I swear she could have landed a part in the Exorcist. Lily always had a very petite, rather pathetic sounding meow and now it is louder and more pathetic. Mr. Ed doesn't meow. I think I heard him meow 2 or 3 times since he arrived here 2 years ago and I don't even remember why he meowed. He's just a very quiet, deaf, unobtrusive fella. Sierra's voice is the same but then she is the youngest here.  It does make sense that their voices would sound different as they age. The human voice changes in the senior years.
I had a cat named Charity many years back and she used to meow but only her mouth moved and no sound was heard.

Charity & I in Calgary, Alberta 1980

If you put your ear up to her you could hear a faint meow but standing in front of her there was no sound. She was my only cat for 14 of her 20 years and she was a wonderful companion. She lived with me in Ottawa, Toronto then 4 years in Calgary and then back to Ottawa. Over the years her little, teeny-weeny, mouse-like voice probably changed and I never knew it. Funny how they are all so different.  If you are familiar with Ginger Jasper fromhttp://pughysgingerfurball.blogspot.com/ you will notice how much Charity resembled GJ. Drop by and meet Ginger. That little face will lift your spirits any day.

It is cold and more snow is on its' way. Today I will be baking pumpkin muffins. Recipe tomorrow.

hugs, Deb