European Followers and Ohio Kittens

This is sort of a mish mash as are most of my posts. On the REAL Animals That Give Pause I have a post about kittens in Ohio that need homes, and a lady who rescues them and has feral cats neutered and spayed. Jan let me repost it from Animal Talk.

I am also pleased and honored to have so many new followers from Europe. I'm only second generation American so I have recent ties to Germany and France. OK, not so much France but my great x 6 grandmother's name was Marie Jareau or Jereau. There's a story about a castle and a rabbi, brothers and a wild boar I will tell you some time that is pretty interesting. Has something to do with my German ancestors.

Also I have a new post about child proof caps on Tresa's Blog and if the chicken frying goes well this afternoon ( I cook for some of my husbands friends most evenings, I like to cook for lots of people and they contribute) I will have a new one on Tresa's Blog about my Stepford Wife Neighbors.

One of the bulldog puppies from yesterday didn't make it through the night, a white female, her lungs didn't seem to be right so it was for the best.

I warned you it was a mish mash and ya didn't believe me now huh huh, ya didn't believe me now, huh huh. Wasn't there a song like that from 72? The part about ya didn't believe me now huh huh, think deep guttural voice. It's in the back of my mind......

A Kitten, A Bichon Frise, And a Ships Captain, Plus Another Dog Blog

I've got a couple pictures of Dispatch my bichon, with his words of wisdom of course down @ the bottom where we talk about dogs. I have semi sad news to report about my "new" kitten. The cat whom I presumed was the kittens mother now hates the kitten and beats up on it @ every opportunity which means the kitten doesn't get down out of tree or off roof much, it will get down if I call it but then the presumed mama cat beats up on it before it can eat (mama cats name is meany and she is living up to it). I've been putting canned cat food in the tree so the other cats can't get it (or they won't because who wants to climb a tree for food when it's so much closer on the cat shelf) I spilled it on myself last night which was cute, have you ever tried to get canned cat food to stick to the top of branches, while on the top of an eight foot step ladder with a fork in the dusk, try it sometime for fun! Tonight I was outside talking on the phone and the kitten followed me around the house on the roof meowing it's pitiful meow so I fed it and gave it some water up there. Hopefully I can catch said kitten tomorrow. Don't know what good that will do but I can probably put it inside to feed it instead of on the roof which looks pretty strange. Said kitten appeared on the day my other dog was put to sleep if you are new here, so I feel kitten MUST stay alive and happy.

Now onto other things I discovered while I was surfing this morning.

This is a really cool link with a story about the ship captain that was held by pirates. LINK NOT what you expect, it's about garbage, neat blog altogether too. The story is about garbage, not the blog, it's a dog blog.

This is a cautionary tale about kids and dogs, well actually about newborns and dogs that are not far from being wolves. LINK

And this is an animal blog that doesn't have many followers that deserves many more and is a wealth of information, it's funny @ times too. LINK

I've been trying to get Dispatch the bichon frise to be shall we say more civilized, before we get a new puppy, IF we get a puppy. So we've started on the crate training again, if nothing else so he can ride in the car in it and all will be fine and we will ride into the sunset (can we say the human is delusional?) He doesn't bother me crawling all over the place (OK I do have buttons for snow or sport mode on the console and he's always pushing them (if he is up front trying to touch MOMMY) but it makes life interesting if the car suddenly lurches, it doesn't really but it does drive differently?) (Oh and he rolls down the windows if I forget to lock them, I swear he knows what he's doing with that one), but I'm thinking if I teach him to stay in the crate and be quiet he will do it in the car too? This is what Dispatch thinks a crate is good for. And yes he is staring out the window, waiting still. BTW the end tables and coffee tables and desks are also good places for a dog to sit or lay or use as a ladder.


















This is the dog saying OK where is the treat now, I'm in the stupid thing, I do get a treat now or I'll quit getting in here.















This is him saying OK I'm in here what more do you want? Is he looking happy? Actually he is much better now. I know the crate is too big but his crate is almost too small, this is Mugseys old crate, he was a tad too big for it. But you can teach an old dog new tricks (I think? unless he's just toying with my emotions which is entirely possible). Have you ever heard the bichon breed is one of the most stubborn? I like to call it determined. Maybe obsessive? I did brush him after these pictures I promise.

Life Goes On

Picture is when Mugsey was like 4 months old. If you are just reading this post you have to read the two previous to understand why I'm blogging about him, he passed away yesterday.

Ok, Dispatch is being so nice to me because he thinks I am sad he actually stood on his back legs and let me pick burrs off of his chest. This is not remarkable because he stood up so long he can probably walk 20 feet on his back legs, it's he LET me pick burrs. I am much better today. The waterworks have only caught me good twice and Dispatch cuddled with me the second time. He's not a face licker but if he was he would have licked my face.

I pulled weeds in the flower bed after I watered thoroughly and it was cool, you guessed it I found something that reminded me of Mugsey. (Besides the lighting and irrigation he ate of course) I had a few pieces of black plastic fencing that I put on the front flowerbed by the sidewalk. I know you are saying ewwwww, but it was really OK when covered with plants. Mugsey didn't like it there. I have LOTS of white plastic fence in the backyard which isn't a backyard and he never bothered it. Like 8 times as much as the few measly pieces in front of the house. Anyway I found the black plastic fencing, I'd forgotten I had it as I had laid it down behind the plants to hide it from him, I kept putting it back in flowerbed as fencing, I scolded him, told him no but there was something about it he couldn't resist so I finally gave up after two years. I would say we will have a puppy soon but I would feel so disloyal. It took 4 years for my husband to replace his last dog Bandit the Australian Shepherd who tried to make a bomb by the back door (he ate an oil container and part of a fertilizer sack, voila explosives) and ate the batteries out of solar lights. Unless you count Dispatch of course. We talked about puppies and dogs and breeds of dogs, we did know a Labrador Retriever who was mean and bit children, she was also left alone quite a bit, Mugsey would maybe injure a child by knocking them down and then licking them but NEVER biting them, he loved kids. Don't know if it's the raising that does it or the particular dog or a combination, sort of the nature vs. nurture debate all over again.

We've given up saying Mugsey was just a dog, after all we are getting his ashes to scatter over the farm. Waterworks on, Dispatch wants on my lap. Mugsey was a wimp who hid behind Dispatch most of the time but once he woofed @ a strange man in the middle of the night. After that I had no doubt he would @ least act like he was protecting me. That was just the end of May when he did that. As my husband keeps saying, he was just getting to be the dog we wanted and not a puppy. He amazed people by responding to finger snaps and hand signals, I don't consciously train them like this and it's not for big things but just if they need to pay attention to me or do something. People commented how well they behaved on leashes down in Louisiana, I was VERY proud of them then as they had just been on leashes a few times in the last two years. I could even walk without them getting tangled up most of the time.

The schnauzer from across the road came over tonight, she hasn't been over for months and months, I wonder if she is looking for Mugsey? They didn't play anymore but would each sit on their side of the road. I called the neighbor who owns the schnauzer to see if they knew anything or had seen anything when Mugsey got hit but they didn't.

Someone else is looking for Mugsey too.

And looking....

They had a system set up, Mugsey would come look in the window and Dispatch would whine till I let him in. I didn't think Dispatch was missing him till I noticed he was @ the window unless he was by me. I didn't get a picture of it but Fema my cousins dog who almost lives here was looking in the window or the glass door when I had the other one open. She's waiting too.


But life goes on. Stupid dog. Can you understand why I say stupid dog. I wasn't going to get attached, I HAD my dog. I'm really glad I walked Mugsey around the RV park so much in Louisiana though, I keep thinking about the time he headed for the woods when I had him off the leash in LA just like he was @ home and had heard something calling for him or maybe home was just past that fence and tree? It was weird. He came back but he never left me like that, he was always trailing or looking and making sure where I was. I know it's not true but it's almost like he heard the rainbow bridge calling him?

Back to earth and practical matters. A grey streak came from the glass table outside this morning. It was on the roof last night and I tried to get him down but he hissed @ me, there is a tree branch that he got ON the roof with and I said if he got on he can get off or he will get hungry and come to me, my husband told me to be careful getting on the ladder but I informed him I'd already cleaned the gutters, it was sweet of him though. I think the cat is meanies kitten but I have no idea where she's been keeping him. Evidently she's been feeding him well, he's fat with thick thick fur. He is also the spitting image of my cousins cat Nathan, hmmmmmmmm. He's back in the tree tonight, won't come down but he knows where the cat food is and I will tame him more tomorrow with some canned food. He's not yellow or a dog but it's funny how he just appeared yesterday after I got home. And Life Goes On.

Two Kittens Who Went On a Ride

I got home from work the other day, my daughter and granddaughter were @ my house because I'm watching Opal the English Bulldog for her while they are on a trip. We were sitting there talking in the family room and I park my car on what used to be the driveway for the garage which is now a family room. All of a sudden we hear a bunch of mewing and then the kdddrrrrmm of the mama cat calling kittens. Mama cat was on my tire on my car looking around. I had had a cat go through the engine last summer and thought OH NO!! My daughter volunteered to go look, I'm not squeamish but she was here and she did volunteer. So she did, I stayed inside and she opened the hood as I watched through the window. She's a nurse she can take it, she looked around and there were two kittens @ the top of the fender sort of wedged in behind a support or dividing wall. I went out and it probably took 5 minutes of pushing and pulling gently of course, there was some sort of hot plastic tank close by, my daughter said don't pull the hose off it will scald them, I'm like what about ME, I'm here too and about as stuck. The gray one had it's head stuck and we finally got it out then the reddish one came out easily.

I'd seen the dogs looking under the car when I left for work but thought it was a wild animal like a mouse as the cats avoid the car like the plague when it's running and it had been idling a bit. I never thought about kittens, in fact I didn't know I had kittens, I knew Meanie had a kitten as in one kitten in the log cabin but I'd never seen it except once from about 100 ft and it was on the second story. This is a picture of the mama and the red one after the incident, the gray one was hiding under the red one.

The kittens were not to impressed with humans after that. Evidently they had stayed under the hood all day, I park close to a fairly busy road and the noise kept them under the hood or they were stuck all day. They are now living in the hedges by the cat shelf, sort of under the bar b que grill. They are still not impressed with humans. I can't say as I blame them. I have no idea if there were more than two, I told everyone where I work that if there were kittens in the parking lot they were mine but old enough to go live somewhere else. Not being cold or callus but we have 6 cats and two kittens now. These new kittens have no names other than grey survivor and red survivor. Mama looks like she couldn't kill a mouse but I've seen her take mice to them, she also told Opal the bulldog which end was up when she went toward the kittens hiding place. Opal had never been around cats before so now she's dealing with mean hissing attacking cats and a bichon that really doesn't want to share his mommy. Plus other dogs who really aren't into sharing but Opal is a sweetie. This is a picture of the bichon, bulldog, schnauzer, lab, and the terrier under the chair.

So that is the tale of the kittens ride.

My first set of 3 adopted kittens this year

As I write this Crusoe is perched on my shoulder, he is one of the 3^rd set of 3 kittens I have adopted this year. From no cats to going through 9 kittens, we have 6 left. 3 outside cats and 3 inside. This is the story of the first 3.

We have outside dogs, Mugsey who was from a yard in Biloxi MS after Katrina, well way after Katrina, he was rescued but I’m sure someone else would have taken him, he’s a yellow lab from a golden retriever and a big black lab. Our dog Skeeter (terrier, griffin?) was my dads dog, my daughter got her for him when she left home in 99 and Skeeter was old then, she was a rescue from the shelter. The people who had her before gave her up because she bit small children, just nipped them. She gave that up after Jacob was crawling around growling @ her, he was imitating her and they would fight over being closer to grandpa, she was finally intimidated and quit considering biting anybody human. Skeeter has to be @ least 15 now.

One night in May of this year the dogs were raising a terrible ruckus over by an old old log cabin across the driveway, I went over there and there’s a mean little kitten, little is the operative word here, hissing and spitting and growling @ the dogs, holding them @ bay quite well. I took it to the house, came to my senses and took it back to the log cabin, I put it up on straw where it would be warm on the second story thinking mama cat would find it. We have no cats, I think this was a neighbors cat or a wild cat. Next morning I go up to check on the kitten. It’s belly is not so full, it’s colder and no mama, hasn’t seen mama all night, I can tell. So I take it in the house, I think I used cows milk and an eye dropper @ first. Next night the same thing happens, this kitten is a duplicate but with an EMPTY belly. I finally invested in kitten bottles and formula. The next day was Saturday, I said I’m going to get the ladder and see where these kittens came from and see if perhaps there’s more or the mama. There was one more, he wasn’t in such good shape but after 24 hr of formula and a warm place to sleep he perked right up. They were eating every 2 hours @ first and then 4 hours and then they let me sleep 8 hr after a week or so. They slept by the bed in a laundry basket till they kept waking up all the time to be fed. I wasn’t working @ the time obviously. I did go to work when they were about 4-5 weeks old, I fed kittens before I went to work and immediately after I got home for awhile.

My bichon in the house HATES cats so I watched him, the video of them playing is on my video’s on the first page of blog, he became fairly friendly, he only chases the kittens from littler # 2 when we get to that story you might see why. The kittens learned to poop when I washed them with a washrag or a paper towel outside, for a couple weeks that was the first thing I did every morning and then made kitten formula. I was SO glad when they started eating cat food. They did learn to use the litter box quickly but we couldn’t nap on the couch in the family room anymore because we were just a large play toy in the middle of the night, noses and ears were really good things to bat @.

We named them Meany, he’s the one we have that survived and was the first kitten that put up such a fight the dogs were afraid of him, There was the name of the second kitten because he looked just like Meany and he was just there, Sluggo was the 3^rd one, big wide black stripes on a grey cat and so very friendly, he ate the most and slept the most. One day there was only one kitten outside after we put them out @ 8 weeks or so, my husband mentioned it to his mom and dad and they wanted to know if the other kittens were grey, seems that Sluggo had ridden on the pickup motor over to his mom and dads house one day. I went to get him and he was the best passenger I’d ever had, was SO very happy to see me. We don’t know what happened to There, I presume he was maybe on the pickup motor and jumped down along the way. Sluggo disappeared when the kids were fishing @ the pond on Labor Day, don’t know if he saw the bright lights of the little town ½ mile away or a coyote got him but I haven’t seen him since. So we just have Meany left of those kittens and he is anything but mean. He looks about 7/8 grown but is only 8 or 9 months old.

And thus started our ever increasing cat population. We haven't had cats for years since the late 90s but we are quickly becoming a cat oriented household, I pound on hoods or feed cats before I start vehicles and buy more cat food I think than I do dog food. We've graduated to 9 lives for the bigger cats, I couldn't get any special kitty last time, they eat off of a shelf outside so the dogs don't help themselves so all kittens have to be able to jump on the shelf. These inside are ready to go out but I just can't bring myself to do it yet. Feeding the cats on a shelf outside has improved the dogs health drastically. Our old dog Skeeter? She can climb up there if I give the cats turkey or ham broth, it's a miracle!

To Die Alone

I couldn't find this quote from my one page web search. Well the quote that comes from the end of the story that makes up this post. I was going to write a big long post about my kittens and the 3 sets of orphans I have raised this summer/fall/winter but that will have to wait. I spent a good deal of the day on the phone talking to my husband who is waiting to get unloaded in OK city, he's driving his truck, he's not personally being unloaded. Even if you are just from MO you really don't appreciate Oklahoma aesthetics OK?
Anyway I wake up during the night, on a rare night I sleep through 8 hours, blessed, most nights I wake up @ least once, sometimes up to 4 times, I get up go to the bathroom and perhaps see what the weather is doing, sometimes I get on the computer for 10 minutes, you get the picture.
Well I've had to shut the door from the garage turned family room to the rest of the house because the kittens have discovered where I sleep clear @ the other end of the house. Their catbox is in the family room and also they disturb the dog which disturbs me and they take little side trips to the dining room and I'm finding bits of potpourri strewn about the house and the lace doilies and tablecloths are getting a pulled and rumpled look? So I shut the door @ night and part of the day. I'm in the family room when not asleep or cooking or cleaning anyway.
So I get up last night for like the 2nd time and start to go back to bed, I saw that the kittens food bowl was almost empty and thought everyone says I spoil them horribly because they are never without food and get either milk or canned food once a day. My daughter who is studying to be a vet assistant has even suggested my big cats are overweight?
So I start to go back to bed and even though the heat is on but turned down in the family room (we are talking animals with fur on them remember) and they have a comforter to snuzzle into on the couch and the plant light is on by the plants (also known as cat box #2 and #3 to them) they look @ me as I'm going to shut the door and it hits me they are thinking:
She has left us here in the cold and dark to die.......................alone.
So I give them the last 1/3 of a can of cat food and filled up the dried cat bowl and go back to bed. Dunno if it was the Stephen King short story collection or actual cat telepathy but the thought stuck with me. To die in the dark and cold, alone.
Of course it's possible they are just drama queens too?

Moads4u Christmas puppies and kittens!!!

Here are two of our ads from the webiste, if you are in the Missouri area and want to make your little one's heart sing @ Christmas what better way than a puppy or kitten?

The puppies are in Salisbury MO.
Australian Shepard/Border Collie/Queensland Heeler mix Puppies Will be ready for good homes just in time for CHRISTMAS! The mother is a Australian Shepard/Border collie and the sneaky father is a Queensland Heeler. These puppies are 3 weeks old now and will be 8 weeks old just in time for Christmas gifts! Salisbury, Missouri, go to moads4u.com to see them.

We don't have a picture of the kittens but I know the lady who has these. You can be sure they would make excellent pets!! Versailles MO area Christmas gifts or just in time for the holidays. With all the talk of going green etc. kittens are much more eco friendly for mouse and pest control than anything else. Plus they are warm and fuzzy and purr!!
FREE KITTENS!
7 kittens - Black, tabby, brindle, males & females. Very tame and playful, need a good home!
Go to moads4u.com to see the complete listing!!!