Dragons

Hey, I'm trying out a silly little online game ... we'll see if I can keep dragons as pets, shall we?

Trying to keep my new dragons alive ...

rrrrgggghhh

After dismantling and re-mantling one-and-a-half* computer desks, I've decided that CamBolt (sp?) furniture should instead be called "Ouchdammit" furniture.

Who's with me?



*I dismantled one desk and set it aside for donation/trash, then dismantled the second, schlepped it up the basement stairs, and re-mantled it in the office.

While the humans are away (in dreamland)

... the cats knock over their toy box and drag every single one of their portable toys to right in front of the bedroom door. And knocked over the rocking chair.

Translation: See What You Made Us Do? We Were SOOO Bored, We Had To Fend For Ourselves*!

Poor kitty.


*The headline style of cat-talking is a reference to some delightful books by Doreen Tovey.

There goes the water bill

Merlin has successfully flushed the toilet on his own. He was thrilled. I am worried.

Scavenging for Kitties

Backstory: Last week I made a lemon cake with coconut frosting for the DH. I had it sealed in an inverted bowl (cake on the lid, the bowl covering the actual cake) on top of the fridge.

Yesterday morning while I was on my way out the door, I noticed the cats sitting in various places around the living room, just Looking At Me. Since they're usually running and jumping and pouncing things, I knew this was some kind of Urgent Moment. I checked the food dish, and -- sure enough -- they were Out Of Food. It's a gravity-type feeder*, so I jiggled the top to send about a quarter-cup of food down into the bowl. Then I got out of there quickly, promising to feed them as soon as I got home. (In my defense, my shift that morning was starting at 4am, which means I have to open the store for everybody, and they just might notice if I was late.)

At around 3 pm I got home and made immediately for the cat food to Make Things Right. Then I saw that I didn't need to: Merlin (Gravity's Little Helper) had gotten up on top of the fridge and knocked the cake down. How the stoneware plate survived the fall and the plastic bowl cracked to smithereens is anyone's guess, but the lid popped off and a good half of the last piece was now in feline tummies.

Merlin ran right up to the mess, sat down and Looked at me. Well, You Weren't Going To Feed Us, So I Had To Do Something, he huffed.



*Which we got Free! With Purchase of some kind of cat food back in the '80s (I'm not kidding) for Scratchy. I think we even washed it once ... but it's the only piece of cat paraphernalia that no cat has been able to destroy, which makes it in my opinion the Most Miraculous and Best Cat Thing Ever.

Poop Off

After hearing all sorts of potty-training tales from friends (seriously, there was Jordana, Liz, some other friends of ours and a coworker who were all potty-training toddlers at the same time! I was averaging one poop story per day, minimum. It was awesome. No complaints, really -- you'll find out why), I think this confession is long overdue.

Merlin likes to poop in the bathtub. Dunno why. Couple theories:
1) I don't clean the litter boxes enough for his liking (most likely, kinda)
a) He doesn't like to use certain boxes for certain, shall we say, duties?
b) and the one he does like for that task is also popular with his sisters
2) He objects to the type of litter used.
3) He knows that humans use the toilet, but since he can't get at the toilet properly (we keep the lid down, lest he try to go swimming again) he uses the bathtub as the Next Best Thing.
4) He's Merlin. He is strange.

I'm attempting to clean the litter boxes more frequently/regularly to eliminate Option 1, and we're now trying to isolate Opion 2. Thus, the Poop Off.

I've got three litter boxes (we should have a fourth, according to the books, but we're out of space). In Box One is our regular brand, Tidy Cat Multiple Cat Formula (With Antimicrobial Something-or-Other!). In Box Two is Arm & Hammer's new Natural Formula (made with corn cobs). In Box Three is a Silica formula, which the books say is supposed to be good.

So far the silica is winning out with Novelty Points. Once Molly figured out that the litter wasn't Good To Eat (eugh), they have all taken turns hopping in the box and walking around, with the other two close by, watching avidly. I haven't checked to see if it's actually been used, but it's certainly been occupied.

The Arm & Hammer is a bust. I've used a similar formula before (World's Best Cat Litter, Extra Strength or something), but this one ... waaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyy too much perfume. Merlin took a sniff and actually hopped backward away from the litter. I'm going to make use of their Customer Satisfaction hotline tomorrow. Rule Number One: Cats Do Not Like Strong Smells. Except In Garbage.

The Control Box has hardly been touched (see above re: Novelty).

And Merlin's pooped in the tub again.

I'll report next week with more litters!

The Madness Begins

This weekend, I had a customer ask for Ocean Salt. "Well, we have sea salt, " I began, trying to ease the correction in there gently. I practically heard the Whoosh of it going over her head.
"No, I need Ocean Salt," she insisted. "It's a coarse grind."

I felt like asking if she had any particular ocean in mind, but even I thought that might be taking sarcasm to an unhealthy level.