A Small Visitor

Look who was enjoying my mulberry bush... Poor thing was soaked from the crazy rain we have been getting.


 

Puppy Dog tails....

I was suppose to get a dog from a friend of a friend...she was moving cross country and couldn't take her dog.  So I meet with her and the dog is super cool and everything.  I was taken back at the size of this canine.... he was quite big..... but hey no problem I was thinking when petting him.... good guard dog etc.... well I get my schedule for the last week of Jan and see 20 hours??? WTH? I'm not too sure about this....... I can and have lived on 30 dollars a week for food but not with a large dog.... I am kinda strange I don't like feeding the dogs something cheap for most of the time that it messes with them in some way.  Like upset stomachs, vomiting, more gas and more of dog poop in the back yard.. So yea I  worry about the money end.... I hesitated when she asked about the dog, about changing my mind.  I truthfully told I wasn't  a 100% sure........ so she did find another family that wanted him.  Good for the dog!  But I still felt bad for being wishy washy.  I kinda beat myself up for it...

SO when I awoke the other day and found a notice from Vitim Association saying there has been numbers of break in in the area, giving numbers for the police and them for help.... I thought this is the universes way of saying shame on you for going back on your word and now you see why you should have said yea I will take the dog...... Yea I have been around the 2 drama queens too long... but I have been missing them!! Guess it is the cabin fever to the max!

So I am talking to my dad about it.... he told well you were thinking about the dog, first..... And then tell me about his neighbor that has puppies.  I was like I don't have time for house breaking and chewing  up everything..... just toys.... Animal Rights laughs and says they are not puppies then are like what 8 months old... My dad said yea they are almost a year old... and housebroken.... They were puppies in the spring when I first told you about them.... ummmm ok... maybe I will get a smaller dog......... and protection for my house......

Well I have not been to meet the puppy yet.  I know my dad's neighbor... and she knows me.  But of course I pick a bad time -however it can be a good time later... She has just gotten surgery on her knee.  She might not want company too soon.  But a good timing see how we both work retail and to find a time we both are off  (plus she is a mom... whose kids have after school stuff and that type of thing, well you mom's know what I mean!!!)  


Most people believe that the barking dog scares away the would be robber.   The noise is more a deteriorate then the fear of being bit..However as one learned at a friends house sometimes you get both!!
 Yea kick in her door meet her 5 dogs...( She does foster homeless dogs)... . run back out the door.... well at least they closed the door behind them..... the last one didn't and her deaf dog took off after them... took her a couple days to find him!!
 

Now it is Fish!!

OMG now I see that fish in Arkansas is dying. After 5,000 blackbirds fell out of the sky we have 100,000 fish floating up to shore...... They don't think it is a poison because more than just one type of fish would have floated to shore...

Ah it's fall......

My crazy cat loves to be out in our Florida room.  In the summer many times we leave the back door open so the animals can go out to the Florida room.  Well Miss ambassador kitty loves that back room.... she will go out there sleep on the window sill.  I had a piece of wood across the  corner where she loves to sleep.  Well the sad part is that now when we let the dog out, she will run out there to jump up in the window. It's all good when it's nice outside but when it is chilly we close that back door, leaving Miss ambassador kitty out there.  She most times sleeps and it seems like at 3 AM in the morning when it is all cold she is heard meowing  her little heart out for someone to open the door.. Plus I am not in the I want kitty love at this time of night....  And she want to love me up for rescuing her from the cold back room.  Now we do look back there to make sure she isn't back there but the girl scoots back there when we open the door.  Some times she hides!! LOL We have to look under the wicker seats out there..... But sometimes she hides too well.....

My bedroom is right next to the Florida room... I hear her before anyone else.........

Oh well it is fall....... warm days and cool nights. My kitty meowing her head off at 3AM..............
And me trying to not get clawed up from 2 cats fighting over my attention after crawling back to bed......

I do read to much!!

My poor four legged companions are confused! Seeing how I read online that BPA plus 42 chemicals that were 5 times higher levels that are found in humans. This more likely to damage our pets like our babies or elderly. I was reading some info on Pets for the Environment and came across this info. I made me so crazy that I had to go out and get new food and water dishes for my animals. My four legged babies. I took away their plastic dishes the ones they considered their own! Well the dog was the most upset, he keep looking at his red bowl and then whining. Well we did tell him we had something for him and when he looked in the bag was not very happy there was NO TOY.

Bisphenol A or BPA is a additive that is added to plastic to keep it from shattering. It has been found to cause health problems from the plastic breaking down and BPA leeching into the food. It is a known endocrine disruptor; damaging the endocrine system which regulates metabolism, growth, development, puberty, tissue function and also helps with determining mood. That's one reason why I don't microwave foods in plastic and cool my foods before placing them in freezer containers to freeze. PLUS why you should keep old plastic containers for food. I use them to hold craft items or odds and ends. Plastics with the recycling arrow with the number 3 and 7 contain BPA. 1,2,4,5 and 6 do not.

Plastic dishes can get scratched and hind all kinds of nasty things in the little grooves. That the kitties can get a condition called kitty acne. Bumps around their face. Our cats have these bumps at the neck, we thought they where from the fleas, like bite that scabbed over. But as I watched Old Princess drink from the mudroom water-dish and noticed that those bumps are right where she leans on the water-dish to drink! I decided that I had to get new water dishes right then. Plus the dog has these bumps too. These scratches can hold bacteria, fungus and germs. Not good for anyone!

So it was late when I was reading this and said I have to get new dishes for my animals. I began to look on line for sales. I saw a add for melamine food dish. I thought to myself, melamine, melamine that sounds familiar. After googling melamine I found out it the stuff that is often combined with formaldehyde in floor tiles, kitchenware, fire retardant fabrics cleaning products, fertilizers and pesticides. That in 2008 killed 6 children and hospitalized 150,000 year after it was added to milk to increase its apparent protein content. Baby formula included. Some children may have life-long chronic kidney problems. I remember that and I also remember that before the baby formula that pets where dying from the same exposure! Yep the recall of pet foods, was due to melamine poisoning. Exposure to melamine in the right amounts (is any exposure acceptable?) can cause kidney failure and death. AND they still sell pet dishes made with this stuff and even tableware! They have found some tableware leach considerable amounts of melamine! And we place our food on it. Our four legged family member eat everyday from it.......

Our animals are showing the effects of this exposure. There has been a growing number of hyperthyroidism in cats
cancer in dogs. The top three are fire retardant chemicals, teflon non-stick coating and plastic exposure. I don't use teflon cookware any more after learning the teflon flakes off and we eat these flakes, poisoning our food. I have hard ionized cookware that cleans even better than telfon even burnt on foods, just soak for a while and wash!

So I had to go get some shinny new bowls for my pets. I found a ceramic cereal bowl that was a mis-matched bowl that didn't really fit with the other bowls and that is the cats food dish now. And a larger flat bowl for the mudroom water dish. the dog got a nice side shinny stainless steel bowl with paw prints on the side. Plus we got a big water dish that holds 3 quarts of water. Whew.......I feel better!

Every towel in the house and a bottle of Calamine Lotion

So my daughter decided today to give the poor kitties a bath. The fleas have bitten them up and they have so much flea dodo on them. We find so much of it on them when we comb them. She started to bathe them today. We put down a towel for something for the cats to hold on too. Feel safer.... We had a little water in the tub and soaped up a washcloth with oatmeal and aloe shampoo for animals. We placed the washcloth over them and rinsed first with the cloth on them the plan was to keep it on as to keep them clam but nope each and only one didn't wiggle until it came off.
First was little man, he was so good. He cried but just keep his head in my hand. When he was rapped in the towel he hid his little face under my arm as to hide..... awww too sweet. We took him to the couch for cuddle time both of us rubbing with a towel to dry him off. He was purring yea this is the life 2 women to rub you after a bath and comb you....
Next was the Princess, Dang old girl is very flexible! She got her back legs up to scratch both of us. Poor daughter got the worst. She was not a happy kitty because she of course spent all day on her hair to look that way. We combed her also; she loves to be combed. She is standing with her butt up in the air so high. Only if she could have done that in the bathtub. But she did purr for the combing
Next we went a took the little lovey in. Oh yea she is our ambassador kitty who is loving to everyone, welcomes you into the house. She went ballistic!! She tried to climb up the shower curtain, poke the toilet seat and was hanging there paws stuck on the seat and her legs sliding all over the place... When we took her out to the couch for cuddle time... she took off as to say sorry this is all I can take....She jumped on the end table and dumped the bottle of calamine lotion all over the place. I have it on my shoes, pants, carpet and the couch........ Oh great just found it all over the trash can.
We saved the best (sarcasm dipping from lips) I picked her up with the washcloth and she began to freak. Oh yea we nicknamed her psycho for a reason.... she hates people, noises and the dog. The dog decided to bite her butt at the time, so she freaked. We put into the tub on the towel. I didn't want to let go cause I might loose a arm. Some how maybe it was the wet floor maybe the fact I was watching her not to get sliced open like a Sicilian necktie and of course not to drop her, I went sliding across the floor ending up with my knee hitting the tub with a loud bang. It doesn't hurt (I might feel it tomorrow however) just keep rinsing her was my reply..... So she wasn't happy trying to get out so of course it wasn't going to be easy. she began to scream oooooooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuu. The water turned cold then my daughter turned up the hot a little then Yep the water was too warm, poor thing. But she began to yell very loudly to tell us that she was in not happy and that she wanted out. We went as quick as we could. Got another towel wrap her up and both of us rubbed her to dry her off, she began to purr. Oh little crazy one hated the bath but she liked the fact that we both was making sure she would get dried off..... Plus she had to feel better because the flea bit her up and she had flea bites all over her... She always gets Hot spots...

So the young cats are walking around shaking the water off their paws... which is very funny looking. Psycho is hiding behind the fan in the kitchen her favorite room other than my room. And Princess is still cleaning her fur......

So I have to wash every towel we have and my sandals now........

Adventures in flea control

First I found some info about Diatomaceous earth (DE)

Diatomaceous earth (DE) is the environmentally friendly way to get rid of fleas, ticks, termites and Japanese beetles, however sometimes will kill the helper bugs like bees in your garden as well. It consists of the broken up shells of diatoms, fossilized silica shell remains of unicellular or colonial algae. What DE does is that it eats through the coat of the fleas causing dehydration and eventually causes death of the fleas. Larvae and eggs are not affected however just as any other flea treatment you should reapply when needed.
Diatomaceous earth can be found local feed stores, some health food stores, garden and hardware stores. Diatomaceous earth is approved by the USDA as an animal feed additive and will work as a de-wormer. Be careful however the Diatomaceous Earth used in swimming pool filters has close to a 60% crystalline silica content and food grade (that is the type you want to get) is close to 1% or less. Use ONLY FOOD GRADE diatomaceous earth.


DE is a very powdery kind of dust, so you need to take steps to keep it out of your lungs and eyes. That's how it kills the fleas, it may not kill a human or pet but can cause pain and irritation. A paint or hardware store filter mask and a pair of goggles will help you keep it out of your eyes and lungs. When using D.E. on your pets, just avoid the face and eyes. One post on-line the woman used a old sock to help dust her felines. Any feline keeper will tell you that felines can be the worst to try use a combs on; let a lone a sprinkling of powder!!

For carpets sprinkle lightly. Make sure to get here your animals sleep or hang out the most. Leave in for 2-3+ days, make sure it get worked in when the fleas and bugs can hide. Then vacuum. *Do not use to much or you may have problems with your vacuum. * Many people used sprinkling can they made by punching holes in coffee cans or using a old spice jar. It is very fine so a little to much can cause a dust storm.



Daily recommended food grade diatomaceous earth feeding rates:
Kittens - 1/2 teaspoon
Cats - 1 teaspoon
Puppies - 1/2 to 1 tsp.
Dogs under 35 lbs. - 1 teaspoon
Dogs over 35 lbs. - 1 tablespoon


So my lazy behind didn't get to any garden stores so I went looking again on line for the answer to this problem. It's getting to the point the humans are getting bit. The flea shampoo my daughter got is running out and my sinus are going crazy from the smell of all this over the counter stuff.. My daughter and I fight about natural remedy's she doesn't like to have to keep applying them and rather get it over with using chemicals..

We are using garlic and brewer yeast on their food. They like to lick it off the food. Funny thing is they also like to lick the vitamin E oil I use on my hair and hands. I have let them lick some off their bowls, vitamin E is ok in small amounts for the animals...

I just ran across this recipe.

Oranges peels
and/or Grapefruit peels
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary OR 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 pint water


Put the peels in a large saucepan with about one quart of water and boil until the peels are soft. Let the peels cool in the water add rosemary, then blend the peels with some of the cooled water in the blender. Return the blended peels to the rest of the cooled water, then strain the mixture and funnel the strained liquid into a spray bottle. This mixture can also be sprayed on pets, furniture, bedding, carpets, etc. but unlike vinegar, this will kill actually kill the fleas as orange peels contain an ingredient that dissolves their exoskeletons.

But sadly this is not good for cats due to the citrus oils......

Natural Flea Treatment for Cats Recipe

3 teaspoons fresh rosemary OR 1 tablespoon dried rosemary
1 cup bottled or tap water

Note: You can often find fresh rosemary in the grocery store, even in the off season.

Add rosemary to one cup boiling water, cover and let stand 20 minutes to half hour. When cool, strain the rosemary from the water.

You can apply this with a cloth, but if your cat is not too squirmy, it works best when sprayed onto the cat from a squirt bottle. Can be refrigerated for a few days after making.

Hint: Rosemary also works for repelling mosquitoes!

But I have found that lemon was good for mange in cats and dogs. I had lemons and made a batch. They are dying but not soon enough... and the nice handled flea comb is MIA. So armed with a tiny flea comb and more than one cat than HATES to be combed we are combing them daily. Of course Whiskers our senior female loves to be combed. She is the beauty queen of the cats. She grooms herself so to have the softest fur. Don't take it personally she grooms herself after any human dares to pet her!! She doesn't mind the petting just that she has to make sure her hair is just perfect!! The little kitten freaks and runs like his tail is on fire when we start to comb, but lately well let us comb where the fleas are biting. We see him bite we get the comb and tell him this will make the inch feel better. So he is getting better. Angel just gives you a dirty look and leaves if you hesitate for a second. She has adventures of her own to go to. Mystical to fight with or tease.... The joys of felines.

Fleas are a pain.