Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Dr. Quinn, Scaredy Cat

Since I've been home more often, I am here to snuggle the cats and see their behavior more. My husband often accuses me of not giving the cats enough attention due to my work schedule, and since I'm here more often I am trying to fix that.

My mother has been coming over about once a week to make sure I am alright and to attempt to put me into labor. (It's not working.) Bella and Obi Wan are fine with this. They may hide for a little while, but then they come out and ignore her. Quinn is not dealing with our visitor as well.

When my mother reaches the top step, Quinn bolts for the bathroom and hides behind the toilet. He will not come out until she leaves or until he is physically dragged out from behind the toilet. Mom has never done anything to Quinn to make him act that way, but I suspect it just may be that she is a stranger. Quinn apparently knows about stranger dangers.


I'm not sure why he has become so skittish. When my friend Bob and I found him living on the streets he was not afraid of anyone. He'd walk up to us without an issue. He'd drop to the ground and play with any passing dog. He was a very social cat. It just may be that we simply do not have very many visitors at all. My husband's friends and family are mostly from up North and I'm anti-social so I don't ever invite anyone here. Have I made my poor Quinn suffer from Social Anxiety?!

If you have any tips or advice about how to get him to feel more relaxed when guests arrive, I'd love to hear it.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

This is my fort!

This is my fort!

No. You can't come in.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Problems are afoot with Quinn.

Quinn managed to crack his toenail. In addition to that, which was probably miserable in and of itself, the toe got completely infected. I considered taking him to the vet, but decided to try the peroxide and Neosporin route first.

Insanely enough, we had no peroxide or Neosporin. When I went to the store to buy it, I decided to see if there was anything a little more specialized for cats in the pet department. I saw a small spray bottle that seemed to be for our exact problem. It was eight dollars, so I decided to see what made it twice the price of what I was planning to buy. When I looked at the ingredients it listed peroxide, water, and aloe. I was not impressed. I went back to my original plan and picked up some cat treats too.

If you ever have a cat that you have to deal with medically, I hope for your sake they behave like Quinn. I am constantly telling people what a good boy he is, but I can't really explain the full scope of it properly. When you give Quinn medicine and it's liquid he'll drink it down without complaint and look to you for seconds. He never bites, except for love bites. He never scratches you. He does struggle a little, but I'm dumping peroxide on his foot, it's to be expected. (Try getting a 4 year old to sit still when you apply peroxide. Same deal.)

Courtney's tips for dealing with cat claws
  • Swaddle the cat in a thick towel, so that you are only dealing with one paw at a time.
  • Work with a partner if you can.
  • Work quickly, but keep calm.
  • Speak softly and soothingly to the cat.
  • Identify the quick PRIOR to trimming anything!
  • After you are done, give the cat a treat and spent time petting him so that the cat understands that you aren't angry.
(The peroxide and Neosporin helped almost immediately. The swelling has gone down considerably. Quinn seems much happier which makes me feel better.)

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Just another Caturday at the Library

Bella the Librarian. That's her "BE QUIET!" face.

Obi  and Quinn among the books.

I'm totally studying. It's called Osmosis.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Weekend Update

My cats are weird. I suppose that not really a surprise, but last night I couldn't sleep. I was surrounded by cats ans we watched TV together.

They liked the Cosby show, VH1 Soul, Pure Country, and even Big Joe's Polka show, but drew the line when it came to the P.Diddy hour on one of the many MTVs. I should have, but I was intrigued. They yawned and then stomped off in protest.

I wanted to get a picture of Obi Wan, but she's black and it was pitch dark. Not ideal phone camera picture conditions. She was on her side with all four of her paws in the air. She sat like that for over an hour. How weird is that?

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Update: Yeah, it's been a while.

The cats are doing well and I have photographic evidence. They are not entirely sure what to do about my ever expanding tummy. Obi Wan sits on my legs and look at me. It's as if she's saying "Where's my lap?"

Quinn has always been more of a next to me cat than an on top of me cat, and so he's not really paying much attention.

Bella has decided that the best attention option is to climb on top of my belly with her legs in my lap and her front paws near or on my chest. This is optimal for petting and getting they eye crud off. She likes it when I scratch her nose the best.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Quirky Quinn

Dr. Quinn has adjusted to the new house incredibly well. He's comfortable no matter where he is, so I never worry about him. He does have a weird quirk though. I suppose he has a few.

  • At night, he sleeps on a futon in the living room, by himself.
  • When he wants me to get up in the morning he head butts my bedroom door.
  • If I still don't get up, he runs at the door full force and body slams himself into it.
  • When we are in our bedroom Quinn lays across the bottom of the door frame. When you open the door he refuses to move and stretches out across the whole space in front of the door.
  • Quinn's daytime sleeping area is in the hallway by the kitchen that leads to the kid's room. I suspect this is because he wants to go in the kid's room as it is the coolest room in the house with the most windows.
  • Quinn will snuggle anything. (As seen below.)

Thursday, June 3, 2010

What my Memorial Day looked like.

There was a lot of cat snuggling, TV watching, and unbelievably there was a nap. It was quite nice. Bella was in my business, as you can see, all day.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Cat weekend

This weekend was spent with my cats all over me. I think they sense that I felt sad and they were very snuggly about it. Obi wan photographs poorly because of her beautiful dark hair, but I did get some good shots of my other sleepy heads.


Bella is so cute when she is mad. She also looks really tiny. She is a runt, she's just fluffy enough to hide it most of the time.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Bobblehead





I love this picture, but please don't try this at home. If you stop short you may get your face ripped off. I'm not going to lie though. When I have to take Obi Wan in the car, she likes to sit in my lap.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

We've moved!

The cats and I are in our new house with my husband. The cats are adjusting, but are quite pouty about not being able to sleep with me. I try to snuggle them as often as possible, though my husband claims Dr. Quinn is being neglected. I think that Dr. Quinn is significantly more self sufficient than the others since he was a street cat at one time. He knows that I love him, keep him fed, and pet him as often as I am home. That's enough for him.



Bella has been mine since she was 6 weeks old and Obi was only 2 weeks when I got her. I'm pretty sure Obi thinks I'm her mother. The girls need more attention because they are simply used to it. Frankly, I'm pretty sure my husband is snuggling them when I'm not home, so I'm not terribly worried.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

WHOA

funny pictures of cats with captions
see more Lolcats and funny pictures

This one cracked me up.

This morning was not a laughing matter however. I turned on my hot shower and suddenly a god awful stench full the bathroom. I looked in the tub to find that one of my cats had relieved itself in my tub. I turned off the water but it was too late. The heated water spread the stench and my body began to wretch. I ran to another room in front of a fan and desperately attempted to calm myself. This has been happening lately. Hairballs or cat fluids nearly bring me to my knees.

I handled the crap and changed all the cat boxes and did everything I could think of to prevent this from happening again. The cats seemed sorry too. I'm just hoping my body starts working right soon.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Quinn

Quinn is our resident lady's man. He's the only male cat in my house, for one. For two, my brother really isn't interested in dating, so the title defaults to Quinn.

Quinn thinks that Obi Wan is too young for him and treats her like a sister. They groom each other and snuggle, but he never attempts to engage her "romantically." Bella, on the other hand, seems to be just the right age for him. He's constantly stalking her and trying to get her attention. Bella could not be less interested. She was happy when it was just her and Obi Wan. She thinks that Quinn should let himself out once and for all.


Quinn and Bella engage in epic battles. If I am home, I generally attempt to separate them or talk them out of fighting. This morning, Quinn would not be deterred. Bella warned him and he kept coming.


Bella hid under our futon in the living room and Quinn snuck up on her. This was a mistake. Bella had taken all she planned to take for the day. She reached out and slapped him. She even used her claws and scratched his nose.


Quinn tore out of there and came to me crying. "LOOK WHAT SHE DID TO ME!" he seemed to be saying. I rubbed his back and head and then I disinfected his nose. He looked up at me in horror. I held him and snuggled him more until it didn't hurt anymore and then he fell asleep snuggled in between my pillows.


 

This Quinn in the aftermath of his naughtiness. You can barely see the scratch from the photo, but this is definitely his sad face. 

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Caturday - Doing it right.


 Bella



Dr. Quinn, Medicine Man.



Obi Wan.

The kids are playing with the Wii now. Max got upset after I beat him at Mario Kart about 20 times. The cats are scattered around the house and relaxing.

The kids and I have to do some grocery shopping, but after that we're going to the Gasparilla Kids Parade. Check out my Facebook for photos later!

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Somedays, it's just not worth getting out of bed.

This video cracked me up. I need to train my cats to sleep in beds.