tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69988471484079527062024-03-13T05:10:49.813-07:00The Lazy Kitty(s)Brooke Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14858034767146333805noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998847148407952706.post-19029049580902261362012-10-22T20:20:00.002-07:002012-10-22T20:20:38.862-07:00Bits & PiecesNothing major has been going on at our dysfunctional cat household over the past week, so here are some highlights of smaller adventures...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bear & Zayn Bird Watching</td></tr>
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I couldn't find Bear or Zayn last week and discovered that they were inside of the box spring in our bed. Augh. Bear had already clawed a hole in the guest bed and we ended up taking it off the frame so it sits flat against the floor now. Since I am not doing that with our bed, the kitties are now on bedroom probation until further notice:)<br />
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Zayn decided it would be a good idea to climb up the living room curtains. Um, no.<br />
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Zayn has become quite the cuddler lately and loves to snuggle on our chests. Yay! Bear still isn't the cuddly type, but still loves to be pet.<br />
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All the cats got to meet my sister for the first time this past weekend. They loved their Auntie!<br />
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And our really big news.... Tasha was the Catster Cat of the Day on Monday!!! Yeah!!! As a result, I think she now has more friends on Catster than I have on Facebook:) If you're not familiar with Catster (and yes, there is a Dogster for dog lovers), it's basically Facebook for cats and hard core cat lovers. Believe it or not, I'm not anywhere near the level of cat lady crazy as some of the people on there! Scary, I know:)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the Catster members made this for Tasha!</td></tr>
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Brooke Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14858034767146333805noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998847148407952706.post-13079333527643698342012-10-11T20:18:00.003-07:002012-10-11T20:18:12.686-07:00CAT FIGHT!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Will they EVER get along?!</td></tr>
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The first real meeting between Tasha, Bear & Zayn was pretty much an epic FAIL. Bear & Zayn are healthy kitties again after battling twin URIs and Zayn having an eye infection that lasted a week. So, Mike and decided to actually open up the bedroom door all the way when they were eating dinner last night because Tasha had been so good the last few days. She hadn't hissed or freaked out when Zayn came right up to her between the door crack and they even touched noses without Tasha batting an eye.<br />
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So half-way through their dinner last night I opened up the door all the way and Miss Tasha (aka "Big Momma") strolled on in. Zayn (the smart one) was already a safe distance away from her up on the dresser. But, Bear (the brawler), had to be a little tough guy and stand his ground. Tasha got him backed into a corner and the stand off began. They stared at each other for what felt like 5 hours, but was really probably more like a minute, and then it happened. I don't know who struck who first, but all 5 pounds of Bear was going up against 12+ pounds of Tasha and it wasn't pretty. It was an all out FIGHT and Tasha was screaming her head off as she tried to claw the shit out of Bear.<br />
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Bear got a couple of swipes in before dashing underneath the dresser and that's where his little size worked to his advantage because Tasha couldn't fit under there. Instead, she just kept swiping her paws under the dresser, hoping to strike fur. Mike , who HATES these kind of situations, looked at me and said, "I don't know what to do," so I grabbed a blanket, wrapped up my screaming, hissing cat, and flung her ass out of the room and shut the door. <br />
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Then Mike and I looked at each other as the realization set in that we now have a crazed cat on the other side of the door and we're basically trapped like rats. We sat in the room with the kitties until Bear would come out from under the dresser. I think he was a little ticked that Zayn had not helped him, but, like I said, Zayn is the smart one and probably thought, "Hell no! That bitch is CRAZY! I'm sitting my ass up on the dresser until she's gone." Which is exactly what he did.<br />
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Mike braved going out the door first, but Tasha had already gone downstairs at that point and was back to her normal self. I continued to play with the kitties until Bear showed no more signs of PTTS (Post Traumatic Tasha Syndrome). So now we are back to square one. Sigh, can't we all just get along?!<br />
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Brooke Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14858034767146333805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998847148407952706.post-68451125799497968742012-10-03T12:35:00.000-07:002012-10-03T12:35:01.560-07:00Two Sick KittiesI have good news and I have bad news. The good news is, Bear is sneezing less and even though when he does sneeze he sprays a disgusting amount of snot everywhere, the vet seems to think he's on the road to recovery. She said the fact that he is sneezing less is a good sign and he may just have a lot of congestion that is working it's way out. Yuck.<br />
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The bad news is that Zayn now has an eye infection in addition to his Upper Respiratory Infection. Seriously, how does a cat that is already on antibiotics get a freaking eye infection?! So now poor Zayn has to have eye ointment put in his infected eye twice a day IN ADDITION to the medication he's already getting squirted down his throat twice a day for his URI. Jesus Christ, I feel like Florance Freaking Nightingale! Anyone have any sick cats you'd like to bring over so I can give them their meds? I'm an expert at it now!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In The Waiting Room...</td></tr>
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I'm already having Viet Nam-esque flashbacks from the time we had to give Tasha eye drops twice a day last winter. Mike and I STILL have claw mark scars on us. At least Zayn is smaller and less bitchy than Tasha so it should go somewhat smoothly. I'm too scared to tell the vet that Zayn's poops are a bit loose for fear I would have to anally inject medication up his bung hole, too. It's like, how many ways can I scar this cat for life by forcing meds into every orifice of his body? If Zayn still snuggles with me after all this, it will be a freaking miracle.<br />
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So now, we're delaying Tasha full-on meeting them until they are all better (which the vet said could take up to a month) because I cannot afford a third sick cat. BUT, for the past few nights, we've fed them with the door cracked and Tasha hasn't blinked an eye. Thank goodness for small favors! I am anxious to get the kitties well so that we can FINALLY integrate our little cat family.Brooke Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14858034767146333805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998847148407952706.post-48701408697086774532012-09-29T15:24:00.000-07:002012-09-29T15:24:00.279-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm happy to report that we have cracked the bedroom door twice now when all the kitties are eating and Tasha did not freak out!!! She just seems really curious about them, like she wants to play. I think we are well on our way to having one big happy cat family:)<br />
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In other news, Bear and Zayn had to make a trip back to the vet on Monday because both had been sneezing profusely over the weekend, especially Bear. So now they are both on a twice daily dose of Clavomox (?), which has to be given with food. Its kind of a pain because we have to give them their wet food, wait for them to eat, then each kitty gets a different dose (based on their weight) of the medicine which we have to squirt in a syringe down their throats. Fun! This will continue for 14 days. At least its not as bad as the time we had to give Tasha eye drops in both eyes twice a day, but it still sucks. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcJnXmjnSR0kBGgve4eEyV5mw56mNJiRpjPRykC98JKGL6LdLPdd_K5SrtwMFWjydxXuGppGSCZ4cb7aptrqbN5HPJ7mh9odij1R8BNqXq9vfFlwLoY08g8tnMeDu7Gi_111WcVvh5lDU/s1600/Zayn+on+floor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcJnXmjnSR0kBGgve4eEyV5mw56mNJiRpjPRykC98JKGL6LdLPdd_K5SrtwMFWjydxXuGppGSCZ4cb7aptrqbN5HPJ7mh9odij1R8BNqXq9vfFlwLoY08g8tnMeDu7Gi_111WcVvh5lDU/s320/Zayn+on+floor.jpg" width="320" /></a>Zayn stopped sneezing immediately upon getting the medicine, but poor Bear is still sneezing away. I've now started to give him L-lysine, too, hoping that it will boost his little immune system:( I'm also thinking he may have allergies and not a URI after all. He has to go back to the vet anyway in a couple of weeks for his last round of booster shots, so if he's not better by then, I'll have her check him out.<br />
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And speaking of Mr. Bear, he had a bit of an adventure today. I went into their room to let them out to play and couldn't find Bear. He wasn't under the dresser or the bed and I began to panic. All of the sudden, Mike and I hear a sneeze coming from the bed. Mike got down to investigate and we discovered that Bear was IN THE BED. He had chewed and clawed a hole in the box springs and couldn't get out. So, we cut him out, then took the bed off of the frame and it's now sitting flat against the floor. Never a dull moment when you're living with three cats!!!Brooke Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14858034767146333805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998847148407952706.post-41996337163100666912012-09-25T20:06:00.000-07:002012-09-29T15:25:28.106-07:00Big Mamma's House<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well, we did it. Mike and I went crazy and adopted two sweet little guys last week to complete our kitty family. Bear & Zayn were adopted from our local Humane Society on September 19th and even though they were not litter mates (and had actually never been around each other before) they get along wonderfully. They sleep in the same bed, groom each other, and even eat off the same plate. I've never had kittens before (Tasha was almost a year old when we got her) so I had no idea how much ENERGY they have. WOW! They love chasing each other around and wrestling. We let them out of the guest room several times a day so they can work off all their kitty energy while Tasha is kept in the lower level of the house. They have yet to come face to face with their older sister but soon enough they will learn they are living in Big Mama's House.<br />
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Not only is Tasha literally double their weight (she's now a hefty 12 lbs), but she has ATTITUDE to match. Now, don't get me wrong. I LOVE my sweet Tasha Butt and she loves all <em>people,</em> but... I'm kind of scared she's going to beat up the kittens.<br />
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The first day we brought them home she hissed & bitched & yowled at the guest bedroom door where we have base camp set up for them. So, I promptly went to Petco and bought Feliway Spray and Calming Cat Treats and basically drugged her up. It worked! She stopped hissing at the door after that and just remained curious about what was inside the room. Oh, she also threw up for two days after that, but now she seems somewhat calm and there hasn't been anymore kitty puke, so I think we are over a major hurdle.<br />
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I'm following my cat guru, Jackson Galaxy's advice on how to introduce a new cat into the home and we are taking it SLOW. I've done smell swapping & site swapping, but my stomach hurts when I think about cracking the bedroom door to let Tasha see Bear & Zayn. I know she's going to freak out, but I also can't keep them separated forever. We're going to have to do it soon because I don't like living in a segregated household. I just hope the boys are ready for Big Tasha.Brooke Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14858034767146333805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998847148407952706.post-52463163379787249652012-09-13T20:15:00.000-07:002012-09-13T20:15:50.244-07:00Is Tasha Ready For A New Brother Or Sister?!I think Tasha would be perfectly content to live out her kitty years as the alpha cat of our little household. She's already proven to us that she absolutely, without a doubt, hates any stray cats that are brave enough to wander onto our property. The only one she tolerates is a black cat named Shadow, but I really think that's only because Shadow sticks to the yard and does not come up on the porch. <br />
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I came THIS close to bringing home another kitty this week. Mike and I went to The Humane Society (just to look, I said) and we fell in love with a little black kitten named Willow and a spotted black and white guy named Domino (yep, I would change that name immediately). We spent over an hour playing with the cats, but I decided that two more cats would be way to much for us and I made us leave. Of course, I immediantly regretted not getting them, but I keep telling myself if they are still there next week when I have my next day off, then its meant to be. <br />
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Today, we went to another animal rescue that is in the country right outside town, which shall remain nameless because I am about to trash them pretty hard. First off, the girl at the front desk had the personality on par with a piece of cat shit. Then, when Mike and I started to look around the front room ( they had some cats AND birds in cages), I noticed that the big bird cages in the back had MOUNDS of dried poop on them. Like, hardened to a crisp. I have two birds and know how quickly bird poop can build up, but this was ridiculous. Red flag number one.<br />
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We were then told there were more kitties around the back in a barn. As we're walking to the barn, we see all of Cujo's extended family barking fiercely at us and looking mangy as hell. Once again, not a good sign. Upstairs in the barn all the cats were separated into several little rooms. The rooms were gross and so were most of the cats. Some were super friendly, but so dirty I didn't want to pet them for fear of contracting scabies or parasites or some equally awful disease. One was so matted I could feel the mats as I was petting her. Poor Mike had some kind of cat bodily fluid leaked onto his shirt. We couldn't tell if it was shit, or eye goop, but either way...vomit.<br />
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I really wanted this sweet guy named Sylvester who let me hold him like a baby, but even he didn't look very healthy. Poor Sylvester. By the time we got out of there, I felt like I needed a Silkwood shower and a rabies shot. We will NOT being going back there ever again. So, no new kitties and Tasha gets to remane top cat...for now:)Brooke Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14858034767146333805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998847148407952706.post-87137372149512612762012-04-20T18:50:00.001-07:002012-04-20T18:50:58.487-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhavffaWJ32kxAgywlzelk1A7d8TVsOuKKPLlY6LTCZnlgnsiJDyvTs7ObpG1LRRmLzC0UQanY_rUApvHU0_8B2ukBLVUCIcpAtvRseWK32FcfV6wU8SeFgiW2I1_fsYJM7_tZNt69SSrc/s1600/Tasha+and+the+birdies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhavffaWJ32kxAgywlzelk1A7d8TVsOuKKPLlY6LTCZnlgnsiJDyvTs7ObpG1LRRmLzC0UQanY_rUApvHU0_8B2ukBLVUCIcpAtvRseWK32FcfV6wU8SeFgiW2I1_fsYJM7_tZNt69SSrc/s320/Tasha+and+the+birdies.jpg" width="192" /></a></div>Brooke Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14858034767146333805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998847148407952706.post-63421046717727790652012-03-04T17:37:00.012-08:002012-03-04T18:45:54.004-08:00Meet Tasha, The Former Barn Kitty<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXVQli-lu6t9_pxEW4c_UL-d3EsmOHH6vREPMSbWpySJ-zVSBzM7JQnOYLe9d4XcJYBvj2uJj38ddgil-2c013izlrVUzh5eOWGEhtqM2-W2wMJmvV19dBATz7IYb6NGaN69AlgxD39Ss/s1600/Tasha+On+My+Lap.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 192px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXVQli-lu6t9_pxEW4c_UL-d3EsmOHH6vREPMSbWpySJ-zVSBzM7JQnOYLe9d4XcJYBvj2uJj38ddgil-2c013izlrVUzh5eOWGEhtqM2-W2wMJmvV19dBATz7IYb6NGaN69AlgxD39Ss/s320/Tasha+On+My+Lap.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5716228672077318338" /></a><br />I think anyone who's ever taken in a stray cat wonders how it was that they came to be a stray in the first place. And I am no exception. I have been wondering ever since we got Miss Tasha what her back story would be like. I theorized that some heartless individual dumped her in the middle of the country and she found her way onto Mike's parents property. I worried that her former owners mistreated her, but mostly I just hoped that she had come from a good home.<br /><br />Mike's mom, Karen, texted Mike today to say that they found out that Tasha was a former barn kitty, along with her brothers, of one of their neighbors. Tasha (formerly Annabelle...don't even get me started on that name) ran away, found her way to Mike's parents house across the road and the rest is history. Apparently, her former owners are happy she found a loving home. <br /><br />I have a very hard time picturing my little princess running around a dirty barn, but she is quite the chaser of ponytail holders, so I can see where her hunting instincts came from. I think Tasha very much prefers being a spoiled indoor cat who now eats Fancy Feast instead of mice. I also like the fact that this is her first real home and we are the first real parents (owners) she's had:) <br /><br />And another interesting fact we learned about Miss Tasha from our new (and much better) vet...she's actually closer to being a year and a half to two years old, not under a year like our previous (sucky) vet thought. Oh how my little girl is growing up so fast!!<br /><br />UPDATE: Tasha's former owner confirmed that she was 9 months old when she ran away, making her around 13 months old now:)Brooke Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14858034767146333805noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998847148407952706.post-74609659702953340562012-01-21T18:00:00.000-08:002012-01-22T17:29:27.373-08:00The Great Kitty Litter Debate<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirNxDSKRlqrEMKneS_Zw6XxS0HHHvhV9_85VXj7yEPfp-vKsJtywIO6nhYpCSin0XMZw85NvS6hzz2yBAbk7g_jqLG8cDDbj1pTKXMb-DnJeKoQNAhrniuucWPaO2_FLsRVpKf0sr0ln4/s1600/Litter+Box.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirNxDSKRlqrEMKneS_Zw6XxS0HHHvhV9_85VXj7yEPfp-vKsJtywIO6nhYpCSin0XMZw85NvS6hzz2yBAbk7g_jqLG8cDDbj1pTKXMb-DnJeKoQNAhrniuucWPaO2_FLsRVpKf0sr0ln4/s400/Litter+Box.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700278814046569922" /></a><br /><br /> <strong>Meditation Room Litter Box VS. Pimped Out Litter Box</strong><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxvC9DnucOanNQxJrANiDAvhzbWVkRXIUe1-E0Mx4eE4TO-imxvb4juH8Py0aBh7pJMlyOxaellwE1ZOUXk_4_D-ii9vmnsgmb9EJEzmRynWJl4j5Zk6k7v3HgD4SANrJnVaBYHouowoI/s1600/Pimped+Out+litter+Box.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxvC9DnucOanNQxJrANiDAvhzbWVkRXIUe1-E0Mx4eE4TO-imxvb4juH8Py0aBh7pJMlyOxaellwE1ZOUXk_4_D-ii9vmnsgmb9EJEzmRynWJl4j5Zk6k7v3HgD4SANrJnVaBYHouowoI/s400/Pimped+Out+litter+Box.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700278727474897058" /></a> <br /> Old pic before the pellets were in there!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I decided to conduct my own kitty litter experiment. When Tasha first came to live with us, she used a large, hooded litter box. Then, I got a wild hair up my ass and decided to pimp out a Rubbermaid container so that she would have a super-ginormous litter box to poop in till her hearts content. She took to it right away and all was right in the world.<br /><br />Both of the litter boxes had clumping, non-scented clay litter in them. When I thought Tasha was going to get spayed (not knowing she was already spayed), I switched her to using Yesterday's News pelleted litter because it isn't dusty like clay litter and it's supposed to be better post surgery (there's no dust to get in the stitches and infect them...yuck). Miss Tasha transitioned to using the new litter effortlessly and all was good.<br /><br />THEN, I got ANOTHER wild hair up my ass, and the day before the faux-spaying, I got her old litter box out of the garage, took the hood off it, and put it upstairs (we live in a split-level house and spend equal amounts of time on both levels). My thought process was that I didn't want my sweet baby to have to strain herself post-surgery by having to go downstairs... yep, I know, Tasha leads a VERY rough life. <br /><br />Fast forward to Tasha NOT having to be spayed because she already had been. At that point, I should have just taken down the litter box upstairs and left the huge, pimped out one, but NOOO. I wanted to see which litter (and which box) Tasha preferred more. So I left the pellets in the pimp box downstairs and put her old clumpable clay in the smaller box upstairs. And you know what? She likes the smaller box upstairs! Litter Miss Thang likes her clumpable litter. It's going on four days since she's even used the pellets. Well, she's peed in them, but she hasn't pooped in them. Okay, I'm not even 100% sure she peed in them cause it's really hard to tell with pellets, but it <em>looks</em> like she's been in there.<br /><br />Now, there are some factors that may be swaying the favor of the upstairs box besides that fact that it has the clay litter. For starters, it's colder than a witch's titty downstairs right now, so we've been spending more time upstairs. Maybe she just doesn't want to poop too far away from all the action. She also may prefer the fact that the upstairs box does not have a lid on it. If I REALLY wanted to conduct a fair experiment, I would completely switch the boxes and bring the pimp box upstairs to see if she'd use it. But I'm not going to:)<br /><br />So now I have myself in quite the quandary...the box upstairs is in my "meditation room" (which I haven't used to meditate in in about two months), but the fact remains that now when I do go to use it, I'm going to be inhaling whiffs of kitty ass! I guess overcoming the smell of cat shit will be my true test of enlightenment.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsp_KKfxUX5jJH40OSsrMNCde6kRZskbbSeHu4voZAefwanzmMg-e-WE2Oss7gMCufNYZWmc6PsFBjkkK-1D0thtwNJdtstP6yyBLZJ05UiYEHttAW2kRpvQQZ0efT1iHdKP5l0yi-51U/s1600/Tasha+on+my+lap+black.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsp_KKfxUX5jJH40OSsrMNCde6kRZskbbSeHu4voZAefwanzmMg-e-WE2Oss7gMCufNYZWmc6PsFBjkkK-1D0thtwNJdtstP6yyBLZJ05UiYEHttAW2kRpvQQZ0efT1iHdKP5l0yi-51U/s400/Tasha+on+my+lap+black.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700279732379721298" /></a>Brooke Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14858034767146333805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998847148407952706.post-75114527171400768232012-01-19T11:57:00.000-08:002012-01-20T07:15:48.066-08:00Pet Food SafetyAs horrible as it is to think about, the pet food that you trust to make your pets healthy can have a recall at any given time. The recalls don't necessarily affect ALL the pet food that a brand makes; it may just affect one type of food or even just one batch. Just to be on the safe side, it's always a good idea to save the UPC scan code and the batch code for the food you are using just in case your pet starts to experience any health related problems that can be attributed to that particular food.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDsqS1GncZGpnDYptiQKw-pMwuWze4oAgH4MkRorw-_utxxHgt_zs_YrY_UmYhRIlNhAHSbstPt3EdR0SIHnc2h2bHPXUDIU_TSrZF3RJYQdqxtEwkcGYnsAETq4ADJPlm7S4HyeHgmUc/s1600/Food+Label.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 192px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDsqS1GncZGpnDYptiQKw-pMwuWze4oAgH4MkRorw-_utxxHgt_zs_YrY_UmYhRIlNhAHSbstPt3EdR0SIHnc2h2bHPXUDIU_TSrZF3RJYQdqxtEwkcGYnsAETq4ADJPlm7S4HyeHgmUc/s320/Food+Label.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699732538122164546" /></a><br /><br /><br />That way, you can immediately contact the company, either through their website, email, or 1-800 number and you can provide them with the exact batch code they need. Since I put Tasha's food in a plastic container, I've started to cut out the UPC code and batch code and tape it directly to the container. ALWAYS check the expiration date of the food as well, BEFORE you purchase it to make sure it's still good. If you are buying very large quantities of food and transferring them to a separate container, it would also be a good idea to write down the expiration date on the plastic container just in case. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/newpetfoodrecalls/">The U.S Food & Drug Administration </a>updates their website on a regular basis on all cat and dog food recalls in the U.S. There are a TON of brands listed on it, so it would probably be a great thing to double check it on a regular basis to make sure your pets food is not on the list.Brooke Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14858034767146333805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998847148407952706.post-62354902996647324062012-01-18T14:44:00.000-08:002012-01-26T19:04:05.183-08:00Pet Insurance<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2XeURxj8gfXkikorb0XvQ1Rj75F_SFceSBxC6IHgJm6uO88bVpRER01ozpBJgImV9Qwrn_Q8oZK7RkAr4_rCS3Vn6NjvonE_e_oxCKmXLkbvg0IRwxRApRHts7Kpn7-SxAASRvU39orI/s1600/VPI+logo.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 177px; height: 294px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2XeURxj8gfXkikorb0XvQ1Rj75F_SFceSBxC6IHgJm6uO88bVpRER01ozpBJgImV9Qwrn_Q8oZK7RkAr4_rCS3Vn6NjvonE_e_oxCKmXLkbvg0IRwxRApRHts7Kpn7-SxAASRvU39orI/s400/VPI+logo.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699112623100368322" /></a><br />I signed Tasha up for insurance a couple of weeks after we brought her home. Yes, I have pet insurance for my kitty. And while I think I could actually hear Mike's eyes rolling when I told him I had done it, I successfully argued a great point. As one vet stated on his website, if you found out tomorrow that your pet needed to have a $2,000 surgery and you can easily afford it, then you don't need insurance. However, how many of us have a few extra grand to throw around?<br /><br />I got pet insurance in case (God forbid) Tasha would have a major medical problem to deal with. I can afford the little office visits, but it's the unexpected things that I don't want to catch me off guard. Nor do I want to have to make the gut-wrenching decision to either treat Tasha or have her put down, simply because I don't have the money to pay for the expenses. Now, if it's a quality of life issue and she would truly be better off being humanly euthanized, then I am not going to keep her alive just so I can selfishly have her around.<br /><br />But in many cases, there are medical procedures that would extend or enhance the quality of life of a pet, but sadly, their owners can't afford it and didn't have insurance to help cover the expenses. And since Tasha's breed is prone to hip dysplasia, I knew I needed to have a great plan in case we should have to do any treatments for that.<br /><br />I would suggest shopping around online. I received quotes from three different companies and chose the one I felt was most affordable and covered what I needed. I went with <a href="http://www.petinsurance.com">VPI</a> who also happen to be the oldest pet insurance company in the United States. They promptly sent me a packet for Tasha, I can manage her account online, and I can use any vet I want. Awesome! Plus, she gets her own little health insurance card which is just too freaking adorable:)Brooke Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14858034767146333805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998847148407952706.post-44804829217306798272012-01-18T13:24:00.000-08:002012-01-18T14:36:48.526-08:00Time To Change Vets?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpunwihXGONX53EanefEbim98hJ8vbgxPLvXbhrIidYqHBkHf7ofFFfPN4fzRowFmXkzT3vxaY6zYm0PhLNftZz_D4YCP9AfN2aCncns0eG2Ktq7MfEjKL2heW65bQJQAko0MOwCadTYc/s1600/Cat+Bed+In+Window.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpunwihXGONX53EanefEbim98hJ8vbgxPLvXbhrIidYqHBkHf7ofFFfPN4fzRowFmXkzT3vxaY6zYm0PhLNftZz_D4YCP9AfN2aCncns0eG2Ktq7MfEjKL2heW65bQJQAko0MOwCadTYc/s400/Cat+Bed+In+Window.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699101292065086418" /></a><br />The vet that I'm using is a little, um, "old school." The first time we took Tasha to the clinic, it looked like it hadn't been remodeled since 1983 and Mr. Vet either had really bad hair or wears a really bad toupee. I still haven't figured that one out yet. That being said, I don't care what the hell my vet or my vet's office looks like as long as I feel like he's competent and caring.<br /><br /><strong>Mr. Vet's Pros:</strong> Has been in business a LONG time in this area and all the reviews I've read of him online have been very good. Mike actually used this vet back a few years ago when he used to have cats and always felt like he did a good job.<br /><br />Mr. Vet is EXTREMELY affordable. I'm almost shocked at how much lower his prices are compared to other vets around town. That does make me wonder, though, what he's cutting out to make his clinic so inexpensive. <br /><br />Mr. Vet's office is 5 minutes from our house. Oh, the convenience! <br /><br />Mr. Vet has the same breed of cat as us and he was pretty good with Tasha.<br /><br /><strong>Okay, now on to Mr. Vet's Cons</strong>: He doesn't have the greatest bedside manner. For instance, when I went to pick Tasha up on Monday after her faux spay appointment (she still got microchipped, therefore was put under anesthesia), he walked up to me and said, "Are you the one with the cat?" Um, yes, I am. And my "cat" has been to see you three times in a month, so LEARN HER FUCKING NAME!!! But the real kicker for me was when he said he's <strong><em>assuming </em></strong>the scar Tasha has on her belly is from a past spay and not a C-section. "Guess we'll find out this Spring if she goes into heat." WHAT??!!! I'm not putting Tasha through this again, Motherfucker, so you better know for sure that she's been spayed! Aughhh!!!!<br /><br />Secondly, I feel like I'm not getting told what the hell is going on/he doesn't really ask us any questions about her. I had no clue what vaccines he was giving her the first time we took her in. I had no clue how often I was supposed to bring her back in. Does she get a check up every six months? Once a year? TELL ME WHAT I'M SUPPOSED TO BE DOING HERE, DOC! <br /><br />Third, when I woke up on Tuesday, Tasha had an eye infection. Which means one of two things, it may have been bacterial, in which case that makes me nervous that the vet's clinic was not clean or, more likely, the infection is viral. Okay, going to go off on a total sidenote here... This is now the second eye infection Tasha's had in a month, but in the opposite eye. Through doing my own research, I discovered all cats have the herpes virus in them (just like humans), but it may lay dormant in some cats, while other get flare-ups (hence, reoccuring eye infections.) It's just like how some humans never get a cold sore, but others get them all the time. <br /><br />Once the virus flares up, they will always be more susceptible getting eye infections. And stressful situations can bring on the eye infections. Tasha had also been sneezing a lot the past few days, so she probably had a slight Upper Respiratory Infection (URI), then the stress of going to the vet brought out the virus, resulting in an eye infection. And, since we got her as a stray, we don't know her past medical history or how long she'd been living outside, which probably compromised her immune system even more. Living on the streets is hard, yo! <br /><br />I discovered MANY, MANY cat owners deal with this problem on a regular basis and give their kitties Lysine supplements (the same ones that humans take and are found in the vitamin aisle at Walgreens). So I drug my happy ass to Walgreens, got her the Lysine, a pill crusher and a weekly pill box, crushed that bitch up and fed it to her with her Fancy Feast. And guess what? Her eye is all cleared up. Boo-Ya!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP4BuneqYiNAKwBx2bC6otu-7EaWeRTEOJtWNcM60by2tpqajadEYQioVoFSzyW5ostDE_woZYszKKgpniO3Ob52qtT6bm3KRe6bRZSweoWgcft8kJIKZ05lndUYTuHaBYk3FeoccCXr4/s1600/Lysine.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP4BuneqYiNAKwBx2bC6otu-7EaWeRTEOJtWNcM60by2tpqajadEYQioVoFSzyW5ostDE_woZYszKKgpniO3Ob52qtT6bm3KRe6bRZSweoWgcft8kJIKZ05lndUYTuHaBYk3FeoccCXr4/s400/Lysine.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699101754589091762" /></a> Tasha's Meds...Looks like an 80 yr old lives here:)<br /><br />Okay, back to the vet. I'm pissed because even though Mr. Vet knew that Tasha was a stray, he mentioned NOTHING about her possibly having a compromised immune system or that we should be giving her Lysine supplements for her eye the first time we took her in to be treated for this. I read article after article online written by vets recommending this treatment, but maybe this is a little too "new school of thought" for Mr. Vet Toupee. <br /><br />Oh, and apparently computers are too "new school" as well because his office does not have them. At all. None. They make their appointments using a ledger book thing and their files are actual files. In a cabinet. <br /><br />So, Miss Tasha will be switching to a vet who can actually remember her name, ask questions about how I'm caring for her and educate me if I am not doing something properly. Thank goodness I discovered <a href="http://www.catster.com">Catster</a> as it has been a TREMENDOUSLY reputable source of information, far more than my vet has been.Brooke Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14858034767146333805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998847148407952706.post-76058667790735697182012-01-16T08:43:00.000-08:002012-01-16T09:13:24.788-08:00It's Spay Day!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbijs1Fh8eQ_qhBUHzXCCzSLN6BF3-cRvJfUpCu58Wc9ZmMAzIu1RBR2Np0m8cBmqrfr7SOoojZnxVITwY-Sj-xKXItNg4fTNLVhpIMErA_MwbxiGukk_iKrP4M6Z3k_Oejux-7QBrErs/s1600/Pregnant+Cat.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 310px; height: 337px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbijs1Fh8eQ_qhBUHzXCCzSLN6BF3-cRvJfUpCu58Wc9ZmMAzIu1RBR2Np0m8cBmqrfr7SOoojZnxVITwY-Sj-xKXItNg4fTNLVhpIMErA_MwbxiGukk_iKrP4M6Z3k_Oejux-7QBrErs/s400/Pregnant+Cat.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5698275932454167922" /></a><br />Okay, so technically, it is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, but since Miss Tasha is getting her girlie parts cut out today, it will forever be known to me as Spay Day. And I'll be honest, I was a freaking wreck this morning. Probably didn't help my anxiety levels that I googled "spaying cats" last night and read about each and every little thing that can go wrong during and after surgery. <br /><br />For instance, did you know that your cat can't eat at least 12 hrs before the surgery or she may aspirate on her own vomit while knocked out on anesthetic? Or that some anaesthesia can cause renal kidney failure after surgery and your cat will be dead in a couple of days? The good news is that these things are extremely rare, and Tasha is at very good animal hospital and our vet is uber-experienced.<br /><br />I also didn't realize that my vet keeps the animals overnight, so I dropped my little baby off at 7:30a.m. and won't be able to pick her up tomorrow after 8a.m. Again, I know that she's in good hands and it's probably better for her that she's observed at the hospital to make sure she's okay, but I'm REALLY, REALLY, REALLY not crazy about her spending the night there. I know she'll be scared and lonely and I don't want her to think I've abandoned her. <br /><br />I started bawling as soon as I walked out the vet's office and continued to cry for about an hour straight before I pulled myself together. Tasha was more of a trooper than I was. She got right in her carrier without any fuss and didn't cry or whine on the way to the vets. In fact, she was distracted by another cat she saw in the office so she barely said good-bye to me. Maybe this will be like a little adventure for her! The office will call me around 2:00p.m. today to let me know how everything went and I will be on pins and needles till then. Maybe I should have had the vet slip me some tranquilizers for my nerves while I was there:)<br /><br />UPDATE: Just as I was finishing up this post and getting ready to publish it, the vet called. It seems little Miss Tasha was already spayed!!! When they shaved her belly they could see the previous surgical scar. They went ahead and microchiped her while she was under, but I can pick her up in a couple of hours. Yay!!!!Brooke Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14858034767146333805noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998847148407952706.post-66486291955081269382012-01-14T21:35:00.000-08:002012-01-15T10:08:01.012-08:00The Streak<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJTQcwzoomy3hl95yyRjvYfF8oIOAWmcYyGhoui5L8J-mZ4aeVG5ne51z_qKrEM4M_2BaNlNLgYCmgT60kyxS99r9nA96JhXW-Bikwa7_jIwVrS0u-suSrNnufYiHXZbYYPyP5gyuGqkE/s1600/Shit+pic.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 274px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJTQcwzoomy3hl95yyRjvYfF8oIOAWmcYyGhoui5L8J-mZ4aeVG5ne51z_qKrEM4M_2BaNlNLgYCmgT60kyxS99r9nA96JhXW-Bikwa7_jIwVrS0u-suSrNnufYiHXZbYYPyP5gyuGqkE/s400/Shit+pic.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5697922076710423602" /></a><br />"Oh no, Tasha has an itchy butt." Those were the infamous words spoken by Mike a couple of days ago. Although I didn't know what he meant by that, I would soon find out. Miss Tasha took her morning poo a bit later than usual that day (usually she dumps around 9a.m, but on this particular morning it was closer to 11a.m. Yes, I'm aware it's freaky that I know what time my cat takes her shit).<br /><br />All of a sudden, Tasha came scooting in on her ass from the other room and proceeded to drag her poopy ass ALL OVER the white carpet. Can we say train tracks? Oy vey. She finally backed herself into a corner underneath a table while I screamed at Mike to get some towels to lay down. I could clearly see shit by her anus, but couldn't tell if it was stuck in her booty or if it was just in her fur. <br /><br />Tasha was frantically licking herself and right when I got close enough to access the poop situation, she darted off upstairs. Oh hell, I thought, our bedroom door is open, as well as the guest bedroom.... which has a satin creamed-colored comforter on it. NOOOO!!!!!!<br /><br />As this point, Mike is frantically throwing towels down at the carpet and has missed that fact that Tasha had ran upstairs. I went sprinting after her and discovered that she was, in fact, in the guest room, but she was on the floor (thank God) still trying to clean herself. <br /><br />I knew what I had to do. I moistened some paper towels and had Mike hold her down so I could take a look at the troubled area. To my extreme relief, the poo was not stuck IN her but ON her. She's mattered the poo into her fur so badly, I couldn't get it out. So, I had no choice but to grab some scissors and cut the shitty piece out. Tasha was NOT loving this process, but was semi-okay about the whole thing. <br /><br />Once the poo was out, Mike went to town on the carpet using the Bissel steamer, while I scrubbed the crap (ha!) off of the tile in the next room. Tasha was embarrassed and wouldn't look at us for a couple of hours, but all was good once we played catch with her beloved pony tail holders. Geesh, what a mother won't do for her child:)Brooke Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14858034767146333805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998847148407952706.post-60262670142603832482012-01-10T18:38:00.000-08:002012-01-10T18:55:41.928-08:00Yesterday's News<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiishtc7VpFCOSJgTcBoOGr1CxBZGGLduuUQl06vT-cYH2raVwT4bIpsW6ugDz_mgRzW7AWTUV3y23wf2Z_tcQj5Fr11v4O0PEyXyb_CPR_8gGwMijmEUMBu9blb-Cn80iitCyRmCw0fr8/s1600/yesterdayOriginalAngledLrgPic.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 187px; height: 232px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiishtc7VpFCOSJgTcBoOGr1CxBZGGLduuUQl06vT-cYH2raVwT4bIpsW6ugDz_mgRzW7AWTUV3y23wf2Z_tcQj5Fr11v4O0PEyXyb_CPR_8gGwMijmEUMBu9blb-Cn80iitCyRmCw0fr8/s400/yesterdayOriginalAngledLrgPic.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696198461346252066" /></a><br /><br />Miss Tasha is getting spayed on Monday, January 16th. I'm terrified she's going to die. I know this is probably a bit irrational as this is a very common procedure and it's being done by our vet, but I'm morbidly convinced she's not going to wake up. Anyway, Mr. Vet gave us no guidelines to go on other than Tasha can't eat after midnight the night before the operation. So, I went to my favorite cat forum site, <a href="http://www.catster.com">Catster</a>, and was reading up about the recovery period. <br /><br />Little did I know, she can't use her usual clumpable clay litter because it can cause infections where the stitches are placed. Instead, most cat owners recommended using a Purina litter called <a href="http://www.yesterdaysnews.com">Yesterday's News</a>. It's pellets made from recycled newspapers and it has no odor or dust. I'm all about the no dust thing, as the litter I'm using now looks like a Kansas dust storm while I'm scooping up her poops and pee. I even have to stop mid-way through cause it's too hard to breath it all in. Now, imagine what all those chemicals are probably doing to mine AND Tasha's lungs!<br /><br />In order to transition her to the new litter by her surgery date, I started adding the new litter to her box tonight. It's now about half-clay and half-pellets. I'm VERY curious as to how she's going to react because, frankly, the pellets look like All-Bran cereal:) Hopefully, she won't mind them and fully convert so we can get away from the dust-bowel and give our lungs a break.Brooke Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14858034767146333805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998847148407952706.post-75469696619109706242012-01-10T17:02:00.000-08:002012-01-10T17:42:51.249-08:00Tasha The TerribleTasha had quite a day today! We are having an usually warm winter in Central IL and it's been in the 50's all week. I turned off the heat and opened the windows in the house to get some fresh air. I also slid open the sliding glass door that leads out to our deck, but the screen door was still closed. Within ten minutes of doing this, Tasha was looking out the bay window, basking in the sunlight. Suddenly, she turned her head and looked back to the deck. I turned to see what she was looking at, and lo and behold, there is a cute white and gray cat standing there looking through the screen at us.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNLfQ_QBttfZpd4BRlvv8-Qp2jZUV0wLrDL-ytgsO1EhxdIjiyIAf1P9saAdEH9B6Gdkabu6ltt76lJJt6D9KYvSLnQcmLoGiGhaQNg8KPwtW9gr88vpjCT7kpj_8SDEYP3g6Ms_w_nLQ/s1600/Stray+Kitty.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNLfQ_QBttfZpd4BRlvv8-Qp2jZUV0wLrDL-ytgsO1EhxdIjiyIAf1P9saAdEH9B6Gdkabu6ltt76lJJt6D9KYvSLnQcmLoGiGhaQNg8KPwtW9gr88vpjCT7kpj_8SDEYP3g6Ms_w_nLQ/s400/Stray+Kitty.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696181352811935362" /></a><br />Pic taken through the window screen. Oh, that darn Stray Kitty!!!<br /><br />Being the novice cat owner that I am, I was TOTALLY unprepared for the response that Tasha would have to this cat. While I started to walk over to ooh and aww at the kitty, Tasha leaps down, runs to the screen and proceeds to let out the most God awful, gutteral sound I've ever heard. She had ears back, full-out hissing and screamming and I didn't know what the hell to do. I was just about to call for Mike when he came sprinting up the stairs. He had heard Tasha's moans and thought she was hurt.<br /><br />All we could do was close the door and the blinds, which did nothing because Tasha kept poking her head throught the blinds, and shoo Stray Kitty away. Tasha calmed down, but then ran over to the bay window and started hissing because Stray Kitty was now in our front yard and rolling around on our doorstep. <br /><br />I closed the windows, but Tasha kept freaking out. We filled a spray bottle with water and sprayed stray kitty through the screen door hoping this would chase him away. Well, it didn't. He made himself nice and comfy under the bushes, and unfortunatley, Tasha could see him in the downstairs windows. Again, Tasha went apeshit and was actually jumping and lunging at the windows. <br /><br />Mike got a couple of pots & pans, went outside, and banged them together. This finally did the trick. Stray Kitty got the hint that we didn't want him hanging around and he fled. Tasha calmed down, but I'm anticipating a return visit. <br /><br />We also discovered that Stray Kitty (or some other animal) had freshly massacred one of the many bunnies that hop around our backyard. I mean, this thing was destroyed. I couldn't even tell at first what it was, I could only see it's ribs and blood. It looked like the bunny had been cut in half longways. YUCK. Bunny's head was laying about two feet away and there was fur everywhere. <br /><br />Guess this kind of answers my question as to whether we should get another cat:) Although, I do think Tasha would be fine with a spayed female and a SLOW introduction. All I know is, Tasha is all about protecting her turf, so strays better beware of Tasha The Terrible!!!Brooke Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14858034767146333805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998847148407952706.post-75528491381752396862012-01-05T17:52:00.000-08:002012-01-05T19:39:13.131-08:00But, I want to PLAAAAYYY!!!So little Miss Tasha is around 9 months old now according to our vet's estimate, which still makes her (kind of) a kitten. And like all good kittens, girlfriend likes to play. And play. And play. ALL THE TIME. Oh, excuse me, she does sleep half the day, so when she's not napping, she wants to play.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNFkowy9zetsQDjs-FC6uT8bkGoYMB4Tx-m2UEjWJeSNDmYYGyrRYgcVWkBcCwTrQmIszdTCpOxiqbP5xJdoBGjCkQBdAkl84SfUxWi1oKE4gtVzIiyNdXd475YYKP_GD2rZiUugduuO8/s1600/Tasha%2527s+Area.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNFkowy9zetsQDjs-FC6uT8bkGoYMB4Tx-m2UEjWJeSNDmYYGyrRYgcVWkBcCwTrQmIszdTCpOxiqbP5xJdoBGjCkQBdAkl84SfUxWi1oKE4gtVzIiyNdXd475YYKP_GD2rZiUugduuO8/s400/Tasha%2527s+Area.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5694357957800209234" /></a><br />We weren't really using this room for anything anyway:)<br /><br /><br />I was able to turn half of our downstairs into Tasha's "cat area". Mind you, Mike is embarrassed that I actually dedicated an entire area of the house to our cat, but I told him it's perfectly normal because I saw other cat owners online who had done the same thing. And if somethings online, then it's TOTALLY legit, right?<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7nKG-Thc2ycPBAEalD_RbwanAwMB2rv-FmNfn5xrnoJqfEcqv44wkjwyRJwPcqsX0e-ikTSc-RcshTDJYQ0Cnox-S4I_3qxr0Pi_yuxIHsCwRgH7RDuGjFhdWhRSrNVwu2sHYq3EVXNU/s1600/Toy+Holders.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 192px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7nKG-Thc2ycPBAEalD_RbwanAwMB2rv-FmNfn5xrnoJqfEcqv44wkjwyRJwPcqsX0e-ikTSc-RcshTDJYQ0Cnox-S4I_3qxr0Pi_yuxIHsCwRgH7RDuGjFhdWhRSrNVwu2sHYq3EVXNU/s320/Toy+Holders.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5694356508358779122" /></a>These used to be Halloween decorations. Now they hold Tasha's toys and treats.<br /><br /><br />So here's the problem...even though Mike and I collectively spend about 1-2 hrs playing with her (and we're talking solid, awesome, running around and wearing Tasha out kind of play), she still pounces on me at 3 a.m. wanting to play. Notice I said she pounces on ME. Only when she started doing it to Mike did he get annoyed and thought we actually needed to do something about it:)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFFS7x8mgZ5jtm4hKFmUmZqKiAri77iGlPb71rAQp6TQWOw5_Lo1mI8a1OOCr1eqf7l76YwA4Hpobx4gFaeOxWg_VRXV2LO2O4NfysflLlabQc2ZZZJcNhsmU2XtG-V4CwrZIneuhzQTc/s1600/Tile+Floor.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 192px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFFS7x8mgZ5jtm4hKFmUmZqKiAri77iGlPb71rAQp6TQWOw5_Lo1mI8a1OOCr1eqf7l76YwA4Hpobx4gFaeOxWg_VRXV2LO2O4NfysflLlabQc2ZZZJcNhsmU2XtG-V4CwrZIneuhzQTc/s320/Tile+Floor.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5694356391341960994" /></a> Tasha loves to chase my pony tail holders and slide across the floor to pounce on them!<br /><br /><br /><br />We feed her right before we go to bed AND we leave dry food out for her to nibble on, so I know she's not waking us up because she's hungry. I think she gets lonely during the night. So what should we do about this?! Last night we shut our bedroom door so she couldn't get in, but I felt bad about doing that. I mean, I don't want my little Tasha Belle scared and lonely at night:( Should we get another kitty to keep her company? Is this just a phase that she'll grow out of? I'm exhausted! HELP!Brooke Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14858034767146333805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998847148407952706.post-63468684349910073882012-01-04T14:06:00.001-08:002012-01-04T14:20:24.394-08:00Giving Back<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj57g_OHSirul9P3Be6jt2zSeR4CnB16hdxe1CL4ebQ2Uo58HrvHFbU-y3XO8TC1OpZwpwtSN60Ct2kxX3kHijJcaT06knJ2oBN6IBUs8NBAGTay16GJ_xbvCRxV418TEFdI6qjoVDO6b0/s1600/Humane+Society.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 60px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj57g_OHSirul9P3Be6jt2zSeR4CnB16hdxe1CL4ebQ2Uo58HrvHFbU-y3XO8TC1OpZwpwtSN60Ct2kxX3kHijJcaT06knJ2oBN6IBUs8NBAGTay16GJ_xbvCRxV418TEFdI6qjoVDO6b0/s400/Humane+Society.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693905004361379730" /></a><br /><br />One of the many great things about having Tasha in my life is it's really made me aware of the plight of other stray/neglected/abused animals. I know we've all seen the cringe-inducing ASPCA commercials with the miserable looking dogs and cats looking incredibly sad while Sarah What's-Her-Name's song plays in the background. I find it hard to watch those ads, but their message is valid. <br /><br />Most shelters are not-for-profit and rely solely on donations and volunteers. While I can't afford to constantly donate money, I can donate my time. I decided to sign up to be a volunteer at my local humane society. My orientation class is on January 23rd and I'm super excited! Mike is convinced I'm going to want to adopt every cat there (and he's probably right). Can't wait to play with all those new kitties!Brooke Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14858034767146333805noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998847148407952706.post-44580506784383520942012-01-04T10:34:00.000-08:002012-01-04T14:05:12.015-08:00The Best Things In Life Are (Almost) Free<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCbwqaCMrDbVjuagpVUSNFpWrE7ZQQe2ATFLBXgtvEnFUBJQWhRXmaBeCwLK4K51XyrFspnmmVUPEbrWXmQ2tL2G1kR0rjfthi7PryBdnS10gCC7SqLNMKQLQwRBfEbkR7tnwlpJiOtUA/s1600/Tasha+With+Feather+Toy.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 192px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCbwqaCMrDbVjuagpVUSNFpWrE7ZQQe2ATFLBXgtvEnFUBJQWhRXmaBeCwLK4K51XyrFspnmmVUPEbrWXmQ2tL2G1kR0rjfthi7PryBdnS10gCC7SqLNMKQLQwRBfEbkR7tnwlpJiOtUA/s320/Tasha+With+Feather+Toy.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693848613558208370" /></a><br />I've bought Miss Tasha a crap-ton of toys, thanks in part to my coworkers giving me a $40 Petco giftcard for Christmas. Tasha loves anything with feathers, but what she REALLY loves are my pony tail holders. Plain, boring, and very cheap. We fling them across the linolam floor downstairs and she pounces on them. It's pretty amusing to see her slide across the floor at top speed.<br /><br />She also loves those feather cat chaser toys and we hadn't seen her really leap and jump until we bought one. For being a large, clunky Maine Coon, Tasha can sure get some air! I'm still trying to get a picture of her mid-leap.<br /><br />She also loves her cat tunnel. At first she was deathly afraid of it and gave us a look like, "What the hell am I supposed to do with this thing?!", but know it's one of her favorite hiding places.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6RfLvosyjFls6o53uR27QXBJFgKaDA9lzwI6rfLV9H7zMcSPcccCwvZta0FCWsmMgQDKG8gyF0LDFqsTnc1Q-v3OpKGC8V4oL-piU9eaalY0Yvhn6xMzA0gAy_qh_qOTSVIWJSSMG1Bw/s1600/Tasha+In+Tunnel+1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 191px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6RfLvosyjFls6o53uR27QXBJFgKaDA9lzwI6rfLV9H7zMcSPcccCwvZta0FCWsmMgQDKG8gyF0LDFqsTnc1Q-v3OpKGC8V4oL-piU9eaalY0Yvhn6xMzA0gAy_qh_qOTSVIWJSSMG1Bw/s320/Tasha+In+Tunnel+1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693849029594051666" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfJ34IBhWCCZZEmGqmcb7i-OuHabVuCNDSsck9bbHwKz8insZAL8I8nF5vDDE17nhGRAOsYob6JE5z-nqn4tEQZPws2UQkw0j7oYiV6gzeiuA2cg-3bHNggp_6q1WffDlMS8uUy_64nNg/s1600/Tasah+In+Tunnel+2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 191px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfJ34IBhWCCZZEmGqmcb7i-OuHabVuCNDSsck9bbHwKz8insZAL8I8nF5vDDE17nhGRAOsYob6JE5z-nqn4tEQZPws2UQkw0j7oYiV6gzeiuA2cg-3bHNggp_6q1WffDlMS8uUy_64nNg/s320/Tasah+In+Tunnel+2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693849500918504290" /></a>Brooke Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14858034767146333805noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998847148407952706.post-62468337985761816012012-01-04T09:42:00.000-08:002012-01-04T10:05:18.300-08:00Pimp My Litter BoxWhile I would like to think that Tasha is the perfect kitty, I sadly have to face the fact that she does have some flaws. Shocking, I know. Tasha has had no problems using her litter box from the first day we brought her home. But... last week I came home from work and she'd left a Hershey's kiss on the carpet. Okay, I thought, that was just a freak accident. Then, the next day, I saw what I thought was a raisin on one of our armchairs. Oh, wait, we don't have any raisins in the house. Oh, shit.<br /><br />So, I freaked out and started googling litter box issues. Did you know the clinical term is "improper elimination?" Neither did I. Problem number one is that I'd only been cleaning it once a day. I thought that was the appropriate amount of cleaning, but most vets recommend two-three times per day. Then, I read that I should have at least 3 inches of litter in her box and I only had about an inch. Finally, though I thought her box was large enough for her, since we believe she is a Maine Coon (and those cats get freaking HUGE), I decided she needed a bigger box.<br /><br />So, basically, I was the worst cat owner ever who didn't know crap about cat's crap. I researched and found out that many cat owners, especially those with large breeds take matters into their own hands and customize large storage containers to use as their litter box. I got right on it, bought a 30 gallon Rubbermaid container, used cheetah print duct tape to pimp it out and the final result was this:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnYcoYsZB-P-qIku4Vfue-jIU3ixgfdCAb-dS-uhSISsUpB_wa9R7M3oXl1ra5v0t1KRsjDXDEzLo8vNdMp7RF5X1-1jyiKY0tQ3ZKnNDFFbXWeL9uZm-LxpJPEYqaydYbdQnIyaVvXWM/s1600/Pimped+Out+litter+Box.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnYcoYsZB-P-qIku4Vfue-jIU3ixgfdCAb-dS-uhSISsUpB_wa9R7M3oXl1ra5v0t1KRsjDXDEzLo8vNdMp7RF5X1-1jyiKY0tQ3ZKnNDFFbXWeL9uZm-LxpJPEYqaydYbdQnIyaVvXWM/s400/Pimped+Out+litter+Box.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693836665540586562" /></a><br /><br />I'm not the world's craftiest person, so the fact that I was even able to accomplish this is impressive to me. You can see my beloved Litter Locker next to it:) Drawback to a box this big is that it takes a shit-ton of litter... 30 lbs to be exact. I used enough to achieve a 3-inch depth and yes, my OCD self did stick a ruler in there to measure it:)<br /><br />Tasha loves her new litter box. In fact, when I first put it up and filled it, it was a little too clean because she climbed in and just sat in it like it was a cat cave:) Cleaning it hasn't been too hard, either. I keep the sides wiped down with Clorox Green Works wipes (inside and out) and there is no litter odor. A win for Tasha and a win for me!Brooke Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14858034767146333805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998847148407952706.post-33714671005898255962012-01-04T09:25:00.000-08:002012-01-04T09:40:53.516-08:00The Litter LockerI was wandering through Petco last week (my new favorite hang out) when I rounded the corner and saw this amazing contraption sitting on the shelf:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRZiHllSwaPIVU9JAOQ6vsFLux8IvchBVdRz1J_ivq7atlcN9UdMTavOR0yS9lvi-0GB2zylUvNq_PYpx8t9V5my8Suu_XuA64UwwWtrJlHtQ-HoaA2w3MxfZyzzg0Y5SUMsw4cq9XSwc/s1600/Litter+Locker.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 192px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRZiHllSwaPIVU9JAOQ6vsFLux8IvchBVdRz1J_ivq7atlcN9UdMTavOR0yS9lvi-0GB2zylUvNq_PYpx8t9V5my8Suu_XuA64UwwWtrJlHtQ-HoaA2w3MxfZyzzg0Y5SUMsw4cq9XSwc/s320/Litter+Locker.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693829982936606866" /></a><br /><br />Is this what I think it is? A diaper genie for cats?! Yes, it is!!! I couldn't buy it fast enough and the fact that it was on sale for $10.99 with my PALS card was the icing on the cake. I've been using it for over a week now and I LOVE it. No more saving grocery bags and having to take them out to the trash can every day. The Litter Locker comes with a cartridge that is the equivalent of 60 grocery bags! Refill cartridges are $9.99.<br /><br />Setting it up was a little tricky as the directions are only pictures, but once I figured it out, it was a snap. Basically, all you have to do is scoop your litter into the top of the locker, then pull the handle in the middle and it whisks it down to the bottom pan. It saves all the scoopings until the bottom part gets full. I just had to empty it last night and even that was easy. There's a built in cutter so you just cut have off the trash baggie, tie and and throw it away. There is NO ODOR at all and it's so much easier to empty it once a week, than multiple times a day.<br /><br />I know that I'll go through the cartridges quickly, as I scoop out Tasha's box two or three times per day, but it's so easy and hassle-free that I'll gladly shell out the $10 for refills. Whoever invented the litter locker is a freaking genius and they have my eternal gratitude.Brooke Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14858034767146333805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998847148407952706.post-77128472012462564162012-01-04T09:11:00.001-08:002012-01-04T09:15:40.447-08:00Let The Shredding Begin!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7PNgUusNOEzPkeV-fg5UVUUbk7VmsD2SA_4hfu2Mcf1mw0BfeYOwZ-fiHAIhXPjcBMm0wYTBh8XzS8aAzs1IdbMkSgD4lhWD253kwRHiGLY83_rvlCOUe8HSX338Qh-ABPZ0MZ83tkrw/s1600/Tasha+TP.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 192px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7PNgUusNOEzPkeV-fg5UVUUbk7VmsD2SA_4hfu2Mcf1mw0BfeYOwZ-fiHAIhXPjcBMm0wYTBh8XzS8aAzs1IdbMkSgD4lhWD253kwRHiGLY83_rvlCOUe8HSX338Qh-ABPZ0MZ83tkrw/s320/Tasha+TP.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693825819332965202" /></a><br /><br />When Tasha gets bored, no roll of toilet paper is safe. Tasha is not declawed and Mike and I learned very quickly that we need to hide the toilet paper or it's bound to get shredded up worse than a teenager in a Friday The 13th movie.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXvgJkGF2dLCxPTTrSfeiffzkL-r3s-4X-T5xt1L_xf2PRgVjW6xp2koaYSmQmKUV45Z1WFcXeqVRuR7Pysjfq1tUmNPifys-Dhl5xLmCBvsmgvlyzxOwfYuKNWZXXCmkPxIyBfGcOyxU/s1600/Toilet+Roll+1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 192px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXvgJkGF2dLCxPTTrSfeiffzkL-r3s-4X-T5xt1L_xf2PRgVjW6xp2koaYSmQmKUV45Z1WFcXeqVRuR7Pysjfq1tUmNPifys-Dhl5xLmCBvsmgvlyzxOwfYuKNWZXXCmkPxIyBfGcOyxU/s320/Toilet+Roll+1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693825685276054178" /></a>Brooke Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14858034767146333805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998847148407952706.post-69204653503148378332012-01-04T08:55:00.000-08:002012-01-04T09:08:28.471-08:00What's In A Name?Of course, one of the most important things a cat owner does is name their kitty. Since Tasha was coming into our lives during the Christmas season, I knew I wanted a name that reflected that time period, but didn't scream "CHRISTMAS KITTEN". So, I did what any new pet owner would do and I googled "Christmas cat names." <br /><br />The usual cutsie names like "Holly", "Snow", and "Winter" came up, but what really caught my eye was Tasha. Tasha (according to that site and I was too lazy to fact-check it) means Christmas in Russian. I choose Belle for her middle name (like Christmas bells...I know, kind of cutsie and obvious. Whatever.) The name fits her and I think she's slowly learning that when we say "Tasha", we're actually talking to her:)Brooke Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14858034767146333805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998847148407952706.post-72155519677595435292012-01-04T08:31:00.000-08:002012-01-04T08:55:17.828-08:00The Transformation Begins...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwPvCoDx_f0TolhCZnjfC45KGXWzdeVgrTGXPRK-QnBqGa-pPrbtequEDZElW3GtcKaSpx_c8rLQs67FzV2MiHffrE7aLW6_B6-iWKTIxXoX8LRo60HZw51Y-ZF4eWTJuGUZlZmfzTLmk/s1600/Tasha+With+Mike.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 192px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwPvCoDx_f0TolhCZnjfC45KGXWzdeVgrTGXPRK-QnBqGa-pPrbtequEDZElW3GtcKaSpx_c8rLQs67FzV2MiHffrE7aLW6_B6-iWKTIxXoX8LRo60HZw51Y-ZF4eWTJuGUZlZmfzTLmk/s320/Tasha+With+Mike.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693820652085088114" /></a><br />I'm 33 yrs old and up until a month ago I had never owned (or been owned by) a cat. My parents are not huge animal lovers and my mom always said she didn't want a cat "peeing all over her house."<br /><br />So I grew up thinking that cats piss anywhere and everywhere they please despite having a litter box available to them. Still, something about the little fur balls always intrigued me. Throughout my twenties, I lived in apartments that had a strict "no pets allowed" policy. So my dreams of owning a little kitty of my very own where squashed until early December of 2011.<br /><br />My boyfriend, Mike, and I had moved into a house together in May and had been discussing getting a pet. The great dog vs. cat debate loomed in our house, as Mike REALLY wanted (and still does want) a dog. But, fate would come into play right around Thanksgiving and bring my sweet Tasha into our lives.<br /><br />Mike's parents live in the country right outside DeKalb, IL and they noticed a cute little gray kitten had wondered onto their property a few days before Thanksgiving. Little Tasha was so hungry she was trying to get birdseed out of their feeder. They left some food out for her and within a couple of days, Tasha had the courage to come up to the house and come inside. <br /><br />Since Mike's parents already have two older male cats (who weren't too thrilled with sharing their home with the new kid on the block), they knew they couldn't keep her. Mike's mother put up Tasha's picture on Facebook asking if anyone would like to have her and I immediately knew that was my kitty.<br /><br />Within a couple of days, Mike and I made the hour and a half drive to his parents to meet Miss Tasha. It was love at first site! She was extremely social and let us hold her right away. On the car ride home, she just chilled and didn't make one peep.<br /><br />She acclimated to our house right away and we've been having so much fun with our new family member. I'm already thinking about adding to our brood in the Spring so Tasha can have a brother or sister to play with when we're at work. Yep, it's happened... my descent into crazy cat lady territory has begun.Brooke Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14858034767146333805noreply@blogger.com0