Cant Keep Quiet!

Cats (well one cat and a dog)

Stormi (my gray cat) and Artie (my dog) are driving me nuts.

Stormi is being much more needy than usual. It’s not much of a problem except when I’m trying to sleep. Or when her neediness causes Artie’s jealousy to come forward.

Today the two of them have a serious case of sibling rivalry going on. I’ve threatened to shut them both up in the small bathroom and let them work things out. Stormi may be a lot smaller than Artie but she can certainly hold her own against the mutt.

Critter be gone

Critter Control managed to catch a rat and two squirrels. According to the guy from Critter Control, one of the squirrels was probably pregnant.

Thank goodness that squirrel was caught before it had its babies in between the roof and the ceiling of the house.

Hopefully all critters are out of the roof and the holes have been covered with mesh to keep any new critters from crawling into the space dug out by the last critter.

What to name a car

I have never named a car before. I’m not even sure if I could now, but I’m open for suggestions.

My mom says that my new car reminds her of the futuristic cars shown in movies. The ones that glide on air and make no noise. I guess that means that the car should have some sort of futuristic name.

I was thinking maybe Elroy but the car really seems more suited for a female name than a male name. I’m open to suggestions.

Someone was also wondering how I managed to put over 50 miles on the car in one day. It’s about a 22 mile round trip to work each day. When you add another 25+ round trip to a different school for a meeting during the day, it’s easy to see how the miles can rack up pretty quickly.

Laundering Money

I seem to have taken up laundering money. At least, that’s what I found when I took my laundry out of the washing machine tonight. There they were. Three freshly laundered bills.

They are now sitting on top of the dryer. I’m hoping the heat from the dryer will dry them out by the time the laundry is done.

Belly Rub

Stormi is nothing if not insistent.

This evening I was laying across my bed watching something on tv while it rained outside. Stormi jumped up on the bed and demanded that I pet and cuddle with her without stopping.

I’ll admit, I got a bit tired of it so I decided to try to lay my head down for a bit. As soon as I did Stormi plopped herself down right next to the pillow, less than an inch from my head. She settled herself in such a way that it was far too easy to rub her belly while I continued to lay there and watch the television.

Yes, yes, that cat does have me wrapped around her paw.

Yearly Kos

Early Friday morning I will be heading to Chicago to go to the Yearly Kos convention. You know, the one that Bill O’Givemeabreak of Fox Noise seems to think is chock full of hateful extremely far left liberals out to destroy the country. I can’t wait.

I’m hoping that it revitalizes me somewhat. This past school year was beyond brutal and I’ve spent most of the summer just sort of floating along as far as politics and blogging in concerned. I didn’t realize just how much the principal from the 8th level of hell had taken it out of me until I was at my new school earlier this week and found out just how much I still liked being around other educators.

So anyway, you may and may not hear from me until Monday. I’m not sure if I’ll have internet access at all while I’m gone.

I took all three of my cats to the vet for their yearly checkup and shots. That is not something that I will do ever again.

Take all three at one time, that is.

The vet visit itself was a piece of cake. It was getting there that nearly killed me.

Grace wanted nothing to do with getting in the carrier and fought like a mad thing. She scratched up my right arm and bit my left thumb right where it joins with my hand. I finally got her in only to have her claw her way out again when I put Will in the carrier.

My mom easily got Grace in one spot (dumb cat) and I was finally able to get her in the carrier with her brother. I had to keep hitting the door of the carrier and toss a towel in to get Will to back up, though.

Neither Will nor Stormi but up too much fuss about going in their carriers. No, I didn’t make all three go into one carrier. Stormi went in one and the twins went in the other. The carriers are pretty big so there was plenty of room for both of them in one.

Considering all the fuss Grace put up, you wouldn’t know that yesterday she was trying to throw up a fur ball and wasn’t feeling well. Hell, she still had a fever today and wasn’t able to get her shots. Now I have to give her an antibiotic twice a day (liquid) and take her back next week for her shots.

I can’t wait to have to put her in a crate again.

By the way, I know just how easy it is to get an infection from a cat bite/scratch.  Especially when they draw blood.  I’ve had just such an infection twice so far in my life.  I’ve got the bite and scratches covered with an antibiotic ointment and bandages.   

Stormi is my oldest cat at the ripe old age of 3. She has a real rough life.

Stormi would have you believe that we feed her once a week or two. We also never provide her with fresh water. She’s so adamant about that issue that she insists we turn on the faucet even though the pet “fountain” is only a few feet away.

Stormi wants you to believe that her life is so hard that she never finds the time to just sit and relax and enjoy the sun.

I have to disagree with this cat, though. I also have the evidence to prove that she often lays around doing nothing.

That white knot in the bottom right is one of the dog’s multitude of bones. But that’s a whole other post.

From the New York Times

A second industrial chemical that regulators have found in contaminated pet food in the United States may have also been intentionally added to animal feed by producers seeking larger profits, according to interviews with chemical industry officials here.

Three Chinese chemical makers said that producers of animal feed often purchase or seek to purchase a chemical called cyanuric acid from their factories to blend into animal feed.

Chemical producers said that it was common knowledge that for years cyanuric acid was used in animal and fish feed in China. In the United States, cyanuric acid is often used as a disinfectant in swimming pools.

Two of the chemical makers said feed producers here used it because it was high in nitrogen, enabling feed producers to artificially increase the protein reading of the feed.

I’m beginning to think we will never determine with any certainty just what caused the contamination to pet food that led to the deaths of possibly thousands of cats and dogs all over the world.

In case you haven’t heard, Menu Foods has expanded their recall list.