How to save a f*ck-ton on flea meds

My cats are indoor-outdoor, so flea meds are a must.  I always used Advantage, then a new vet switched me to Frontline which did not work for sh*t  (Newsflash:  Frontline has lost its effectiveness in most areas of the country), so then I went back to Advantage.

Which works great, but at ten bucks a dose, it gets expensive when you have three cats.  And Revolution, the flea med used by most rescues because it also treats ear mites and roundworms, is even more expensive.

Then I started volunteering for rescue groups, and discovered their fantastic secret:

Buy large dog doses and split them up.

Important caveat:  DO NOT do this with Frontline or K-9 Advantix.  ONLY do this with Advantage, Advantage II or Revolution.  DO NOT do this with kittens under eight weeks of age.

It's pretty simple - The larger the animal, the larger the dose.  If you can buy a larger dose and split it down, it becomes much cheaper per dose.  You will need oral medication syringes (the kind withOUT a needle; you can get them at pet stores or in the infant aisle of drugstores).

Example:  Advantage II, which was costing me ten bucks per .8 ml dose.  You can buy large dog doses, at 2.5 ml, and split them into thirds for $3.33 a dose.  (This is for cats over 9 lbs., btw.) Just open the capsule, squirt the dose into a little dish, and suck up three, .8 ml doses, one at a time, with the medication syringe.

See also:  Revolution.  I like Revolution because it also kills roundworms and ear mites.  Here in the U.S., it's only available at your vet.  But!  You can buy it at Joe's Pet Meds online without a prescription.  God bless Australia!  You can buy 1 ml large dog (20 - 40 lb.) doses and split them into thirds for three, .33 ml doses.  It's a little less than the recommended over-9-lb.-cat dose of .375 ml, but my cats are just barely over the 9-lb. mark, so I feel comfortable giving them a slightly lower dose.  Again, open the dose, squirt it into a dish, and suck up three, .33 ml doses.  (Advantage and Revolution have different dosages.)

Again:  Do this ONLY with Advantage or Revolution.  DO NOT do this with Frontline or Advantix.  DO NOT give any topical flea meds to kittens under eight weeks of age.

I have been doing this for many moons now with no complications. 

You're welcome!

Step into the sun, step into the light

Yesterday, I decided to take a respite from kitten-wrangling.  The discovery that one of the six (Sparky, I'm looking at YOU) had created a "personal bathroom" behind the bed in the foster room was all I needed to talk myself into a little break.   Time to go for a hike.







Sometimes you just need to get a little fresh air.



Smoky has something to say



Smoky sez:



T! G! I!  EFFFFFFFFF!

I'm with you, Smokes.  I'm with you.



Recently Read

As usual,  skip it if you wanna.

1.  The Girl She Used to Be by David Cristofano.  Okay, first off, I never would have picked this up if I had known it was a "romance".  Second of all, this book, about a woman in the witness protection program, had a preposterous plot, an obnoxious heroine, and was poorly written.  Third of all, according to the back cover of the paperback, The New York Times Book Review called it "Something Special".  The only way in HELL that happened is if the reviewer was the author's dad.  'Nuff  said.

2. The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love by Oscar Hijuelos.  Man, those Latin authors.  I get it that their characters are supposed to be larger than life!  and fascinating!  and exuberant! and they experience things more deeeeeeeply than non-Latinos!  All I can think when I'm reading is "These people are all batsh*t crazy."  Guess it's just me.

3.  Movie Review!  "Girl Model" is a documentary about a fashion model recruiter (a former model herself) who is recruiting young Russian girls to model in Japan.  Pretty damn depressing.

4.  Mermaids on the Moon by Elizabeth Stuckey French - I think I'm going to come up with some shorthand for badly-written books.  Instead of TL;DR (too long; didn't read), as in blog posts, I'm going to label them TS;DF, for "too stupid; didn't finish".  Mermaids on the Moon?  TS;DF.

5.  Movie Review!  "Les Miserables", the 1998 one with Liam Neeson, Uma Thurman, and Clare Danes, NOT  the one that came out last year, because Netflix has a twisted sense of humor.  Thanks, Netflix!  ANYway, THIS version of Les Mis is non-musical and pretty good.  I never thought much of Clare Danes, but I will say she had a couple of scenes where it was obvious that she's got some acting chops.  On the other hand, I found  Uma Thurman's death scene unintentionally pretty funny.  Sorry, Uma.  Liam was Liam, and the whole thing was pretty good.

6.  True Sisters by Sandra Dallas.  Novel about Mormons in the 1850s heading for Utah.  Spoiler alert:  The vast majority of characters either dies or loses important body parts.  Man, I usually like Sanda Dallas' novels, but this one was pretty grim.

7.  Carolina Moon by Nora Roberts - I had never read this author before, and now I know why.  A reviewer on Amazon said it best:

"Her books are all copies of each other, with different character names and settings. They all follow a predictable pattern: a hurt, emotionally abused heroine goes back to her hometown or some other place to solve a mystery or murder from her past. She meets a gorgeous, oh-so-wonderful man who falls in love with her within two days (even though she treats him terribly). She acts like she wants nothing to do with him until two pages before the book ends. She then declares she is madly in love with him and cannot survive without him *snort* and they live happily ever after. Oh yeah, while they're "falling in love" (and by the way, Robert's love scenes are terrible; I usually end up laughing at the absurdity of most of them), they come with inane clues and try to solve the mystery/murder but the suspect always end up being someone who makes no sense at all. "

Yep. 

8.  The Quilter's Homecoming by Jennifer Chiaverini - Novel about a woman and her husband who move to California in the 1920s - A light, quick read.  I'll probably read more of her stuff.

9.  Woodswoman by Anne LaBastille - Memoir of a woman who lived alone in the Adironacks.  Interesting, if a little preachy toward the end.


How about you?  Read (or watched) anything good lately?

According to the Rocky Code ...

Okay, first off, I mowed for the first time this season last night, which is kind of a yay!/dammit occasion.  Yay! because the mower actually started, and dammit because here we go with six months' worth of lawn mowing.

So!  I was watching My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding last night (don't JUDGE) (hell, I don't care, go ahead and judge), and the narrator was talking in hushed tones about the "Gypsy Code".  It involved some elaborate bullsh*t about challenging an insulter of your honor to a fistfight or some such similar ridiculousness, but it got me thinking.  What would be included in the "Rocky Code"?

Hmmm.


Do not be the first person on your block to mow in the spring.  Also do not be the last.

It's okay to be an assh*le to some people (if they've screwed you over first), as long as you're nice to most people.

If you are an employer, it's acceptable to blow off Administrative Professionals Day (which is TODAY, by the way) (*cough*), as long as you treat your administrative professionals fairly and pay them a decent wage. 

If you are an old person, you should only expect to get the respect you have earned.  No more, no less.

Rinse off the dirty dishes when you put them in the sink.  Christ.  Similarly, put down the toilet lid.  Do not drink milk out of the carton, unless you live alone.  Do not put a container back in the fridge with one spoonful of food left in it.  We're not savages, here.

It's cool to dress eclectically.  It's not cool to dress like a circus clown, unless you actually ARE a circus clown.


Okay, guys, I am working on extreme sleep deprivation here (see:  six kittens.  I happened to glance in the bathroom mirror last night, and I was, like, is that MASCARA smeared under my eyes?  No, no, it was dark no-sleep circles.  Kittens are so much fun, but SO exHAUSTing), so how about you?  Any additions to the Code?

Mr. DeMille, we're ready for our close-ups now ...

Meet Bianca:

Boots:

Smoky:

Sweetie:

Buster:

and Sparky!:

Yeah, it's a little busy around my place this week.

Sweetie was originally going to be called "Sugar", but the higher-ups said that sounded like a prostitute's name (!), so Sweetie it is.  And the litter's owners were calling Sparky "Star", but I thought that sounded like a "girl cat" name (think "Star Jones"), so I chose "Spot", but the powers-that-be said that sounded like a dog name, so I went with "Sparky".  See how complicated this whole naming-thing is?  I'm still saving your excellent suggestions (I've got 'em a spreadsheet) for future litters. 

Oh, and in case you're wondering, Miley and Shy (now back to her original name of Hannah - "Shy" got nixed by the higher-ups.  GEEZ.) are currently the stars of the show at the adoption center.  Once they get adopted, which will be SOON (knock on wood), the Spectacular Six will start taking their turns as adoption center stars.  Until then?  It's six-kitten circus in my spare room.  Rock on, leetle kittens!







Six?! SIX!?

Meet Buster, Bianca, Sparky, Boots, Sweetie and Smoky.

I don't know how I get into these things.

And!  On another weekend note, on my way to pick up the Spectacular Six, I stopped at an antiques store and picked up a gorgeous rose-patterned tiffany-reproduction table lamp for ... drum roll please ... twenty-seven dollars and fifty cents. 

I can't figure out what's the better deal - one lamp or six (foster) kittens.  Hmmm ...

The difference between Boston and West

Boston:  Explosions.  Three dead, dozens wounded.  Nation's reaction:  Grief, wailing, rending of clothing, a Presidential appearance at a memorial service, "Boston Strong", moving renditions of The Star Spangled Banner.  (Amazing Grace and Hallelujah are, I'm sure, soon to follow.)


West, Texas:  Explosion.  At least five dead, dozens wounded.  Nation's reaction:  "Gee, there's some lousy luck right there.  Meh."


Is it because one was caused by *gasp* terrorists, and the other was (evidently) caused by some plant operator falling asleep at the switch?  Do lives lost to terrorism somehow mean more than lives lost to a fertilizer explosion?  Do they?


Can someone explain this to me?  I'm having a hard time understanding.

Don't Pull a Joe

Okay, so, I've got this co-worker - let's call him "Joe".  And Joe is ... prone to panic.  If the slightest hint of a possible problem wafts down the pike, Joe goes into full-on freak-out.

It's gotten so I postpone telling him about things like schedule changes or policy updates or ... anything that could possibly be upsetting to his equilibrium, because what other people shrug off, Joe turns into Chernobyl in his mind.

Cut to the other morning, when I'm reconciling our company bank accounts.   As I'm running the numbers, I realize that one of the accounts appears to be about three hundred bucks short.

As my heart starts to beat a little faster, I tell myself, "Don't pull a Joe."

As I start thinking about how I'm gonna have to pull all of my spreadsheets together and email them to our bank contact and get with her to figure out where that money went and holy sh*t they charge a lot of money for that and the boss is gonna be PISSED, I think, "Don't go all Joe on me, here.  Calm down."

And as I start to double check the numbers, and think about how the next step will be to check the spreadsheet formulas, because everything balanced out JUST FINE last month, dammit, I'm thinking, "You know how you hate it when Joe does this.  It's just an error, that's all.  You're going to find it.  Don't be Joe."

And then, five minutes later, as I find the error and correct it and TA-DA everything is fine with the world, I'm all, like, "SEE? I TOLD you not to pull a Joe."

And as I was thinking about it, about how I almost panicked, I thought how strange it was that money is the only thing that can elicit that kind of response in me.  Whether it's mine or the company's, a money error is really the only thing that can push my freak-out button.  But then I realized that it's not true.  You know what else will do that to me?  A toothache.

Because of my ongoing jaw problems, I never know if a toothache is just a ... toothache, or the start of months of root-canals and consults and agonizing pain.  I mean, I could have an ELBOW or something that felt like it was about to fall off, and I'd just shrug, take a couple of aspirin, and wait it out.  But a toothache?

As soon as a tooth starts to twinge, the thinking goes, "Oh my GOD I am NOT having another root canal I will let them PULL the damn tooth first I cannot AFFORD any more dental work" ... oops, I guess that circles right back to money again, doesn't it?

But at least I have Joe to bring me back to earth.  Screw that "Keep Calm and Carry On" sh*t.  I'm gonna embroider "Don't Pull a Joe" on a pillow.

How about you?  Anything that pulls your panic chain?

Snaaaaaaaaaakes!

Warning:  Snake pic ahead.


I mean it!  There's a pic of a snake coming up!  You've been warned!









Every spring, this is what shows up in my garage:

A bunch of teeny,  tiny snakes.  These guys are only about five inches long, but I'll tell you what, if you put your hand down near them, they'll strike at ya.  With a bigger snake, it would be terrifying, but a teeny-tiny pencil-sized snake rearing up at you?  ADORABULS.

After a little research, I think they're milk snakes.  That's the only species native to this neck of the woods that looks like these guys.  I wonder where their momma is - the only ones I ever see are these leetle baby snakes.  Supposedly they hatch in August, so I'm guessing these are last year's crew. 

I always transport them out to the gardens when they show up.  I put a flower pot upside-down on top of 'em, slide a piece of cardboard under the pot, and off we go.  I hope they eat lots of slugs, because God knows there's plenty at my place.  Bon appetit, leetle snakes!

And the names are ...

... none of the ones you guys suggested.

*ducks*

Seriously, those are all GREAT names, and I plan on using them for future fosters (there are three more in the pipeline right now ... ), but I had an idea for these two.

I was doing to name them Miley and Hannah, for, well, Miley Cyrus and Hannah Montana, and TRUST ME, I can see your eye-rolls from HERE, but hear me out.  Kittens with names that appeal to the tween demographic actually tend to get adopted faster than cats with "regular" names.  And with Kitten Season nigh upon us (see the afore-mentioned cats in the pipeline), we need to move some cats, to put it bluntly.

So ANYway, I was thinking Miley and Hannah.  And the white-pawed cat is DEFINITELY a Miley, and by that, no, I do not mean that she is doing age-inappropriate things and sending the cell-phone pics to her friends, but just that she (the kitten) is outgoing and friendly.  But Kitten No. 2?  Miss gray paws?  Not a Hannah.  Not a performer.  Just shy, shy, shy.

So I'm going to call her Shy.  Miley and Shy.

*ducks*

And I would LOVE to tell you all the story of picking up Miley and Shy yesterday, and the ... house they were living in, but I cannot.  Let's just say that this family has a BUNCH of cats, and kittens, and dogs, and no plans to get anybody spayed or neutered, which, just .... GRRR.  And the environment was ... not ideal.  I mean, this morning, when I was finally able to pick up Shy and get a good look at her, I discovered that she has a solid mass of scabs on her throat - the area is not tender and seems to be healing well, but I was all, "What on earth happened to this CAT?", when I remembered the family laughing as they told me about how their DOGS liked to pick up the kittens in their MOUTHS and carry them around.  Hahahahahaha ... BAD IDEA.

So ... Miley and Shy.  Welcome, babies!

And oh! oh!  One more thing!  I'm sure they are missing their momma, and Miley mews and mews and MEWS, including when she EATS, which sounds like, "Meewmppppph mew mew mewmppppph" and the cute is TOO MUCH.

That is all.

Name! Those! Kittens!

I had to go pick up a couple of foster kittens today.  And they need names!

Kitten One is outgoing and friendly, with gorgeous markings and pretty white paws:

Kitten Two is shy, but is trying to be friendly:

They are both girls.  Because they are fresh off the boat, so to speak, I really don't have a handle on their personalities yet, but I really need to call them something besides "A" and "B".

Ladies and Gentlemen, name! those! kittens!



Desperate times and all that

A few weeks ago, I set up the deer netting in the gardens.  Last weekend, I monkeyed with elevating the netting, because the bastid deer had figured out that if they stepped on the netting, they could eat the plants through the netting.

Well, the deer were still managing to get to the plants.  So the other night I went to the dolla store and bought laundry baskets - the plastic kind with the holes in them.  I took them home, wrapped them in deer netting (to keep rabbits from squeezing through the holes, doncha know), and plopped them upside down over the plants. 

So far, so good.  My gardens look like the front yard of a trailer, but the plants are safe.  If the deer can figure this one out, I'm gonna cede the war.

Next battle?  The people who are letting their dogs run loose in the no-dogs-allowed park next door.   Dear a**holes:  I DO NOT APPRECIATE your dogs coming to "visit" my yard, leaving giant "presents".  I understand that your dog needs to run.  However, if you wanted a f*cking border collie, you shoulda fenced your yard.  Or, you know, BOUGHT A GOT-DAM LEASH.  Exercising with your pets is fun!  Try it some time!


Coming soon:   How to save a f*ck-ton on flea meds!

Survivor: Torture Porn

Okay, so, right now on Survivor, the immunity challenge involves self-imposed waterboarding.

Maybe it's just me, but I don't find this "entertaining" at all.

"We'll know the panic is coming when the legs start to move," Jeff is saying.

Oh, yuck.

Let's talk about the headlines. Now with updates!

Okay, first, Margaret Thatcher died.  And until now, I didn't know that she was a really polarizing presence in England - people either loved her or hated her.  I was still in high school when she first got became Prime Minister, so maybe that's why I was a little clueless on this one.  I can't keep up with everything, people.  (And yes, I'm aware that that's a p*ss-poor excuse.)

And how hilarious is that whole "Holy cow, Cher is dead?!" thing.  Oh man, I sure hope Cher's getting a good laugh out of it.

Next, and this is breaking right now, evidently some dude stabbed fourteen people on a college campus in Texas.  I'd like to think that if some maniac was coming after me with a knife, I'd run faster than Jesse freaking Owens, so I'm guessing that maybe he went into a sleep lab or something, or else there is something else at play here.

Finally, in the "The Emperor Has No Clothes" department, how hilarious/depressing is this whole Brad Paisley/LL Cool J "Accidental Racist" thing?  Did no one, NO ONE, out of all of these two's handlers, step forward to say, "This is a really sh*tty idea?"  Evidently not.

Update:  And now I see that a woman is suing Hooters because they cut her hours when she refused to wear a wig to cover her brain-surgeried bald and sutured head.  I realize that this is gonna be a touchy one, but for f*ck's sake, Hooters can refuse to hire you if you're fat.  They can refuse to hire you if you're flat-chested.  They can refuse to hire you if you're ugly.  But this woman thinks she can sue them for cutting her hours because she wouldn't wear a wig?  Isn't that kinda like suing Disneyworld because you were fired for refusing to wear the Mickey costume?  I'm ... missing something here.

You know it's spring when ...

... the cats come in with muddy paws. 

... the buds start swelling on the lilac bushes.

... there are spiders in the bathtub. *shudder*

... you start thinking about weekend road trips.

... it smells like mud outside.

... you put the snow shovels back in the shed.

... kids start playing in the park next door again. 

... it gets harder and harder to stay at the office on sunny afternoons.

... you wake up in the night to the sounds of rain and spring peepers.  Peeeeeeepers!

Stuff I did this weekend

Bought a brand-new pair of shoes!   Brand new!  Not from the thrift store!  (Disclaimer:  They were on final clearance and cost me all of four bucks.  But they're brand new!)

Spent a few hours at the adoption center, which included showing a cat to Ken and Barbie.  Seriously, this young couple came in who were impossibly good-looking.  I'm used to seeing pretty women, but this dude was model material.  Whoooo-eeeee.  And all I could think of was, "If I was dating someone that good-looking, I'd be constantly wondering if he was cheating on me."  But I guess when two members of a couple are equally stunning, it ... negates the beauty?  I don't know.

Went on a couple of long-ass walks, the second of which kicked my butt.  Which kind of confirms my theory that the only thing the Jillian workouts prepare you for are the Jillian workouts themselves.

Emptied the garage gas can into the car, then filled up the can with fresh gas for the season.  Lawn-mowing time is coming, folks.  *shudder*

Put my winter clothes up in the attic, which pretty much guarantees a snowstorm some time in the next few days.

Monkeyed with the deer netting. Those a**hole deer have figured out that if they step on the netting, they can eat the plants through the mesh.  Dear Deer:  I hate you.

Chatted on the phone with my brother. 

Put out the garden statuary, including the plastic deer and lamb planters, which go out by the mailbox.  I'm pretty sure my neighbors think I'm mentally disabled.

Ran around the back yard dragging willow branches for the cats to chase.  Yeah, mentally disabled it is.

Watched the cats wrassle.  It's all fun and games until somebody starts yowling.

Oh lord, I skipped "Sixty Minutes" in order to watch "Welcome to Myrtle Manor."  There is no redemption for that, I fear.



How about you guys?  Any big doings this past weekend?

Tinks, Destroyer of Worlds

Whether it's undergarments:

"What?  What'd I do?":

The newspaper:

"What?  What'd I do?":

Or anything he can get his teeth on, really, Tinks is glad to destroy your stuff.  And then flash you the ol' baby blues.

Works every time.





Best thing I've seen all day

Blake Shelton dressed in a chicken suit and cluck-singing that ridiculous Lumineers song (Hey Ho or whatever the hell it's called) while blushing furiously.

You won't see Toby Keith doing THAT sh*t.

Four

It was four years ago today that I quit smoking.  You can read about it here, and here, and here.

Number of cigarettes I would have smoked between April 3, 2009 and today, had I not stopped smoking on that date: 43,800.00. (!)

Amount of money saved:  $7,811.00. (Just to clarify: I smoked cheap cigs I bought on line. Had I been buying name-brand smokes at the 7-11, that number would have easily been double. And using today's cost-per-pack, you could almost triple that amount).  I used a figure of $3.56 a pack, since that's what my cigs cost at the time I quit.

Gosh, has it really been four years already?  My, time does fly.

Seriously, NRA? Seriously?

After the Newtown shootings, NRA head Wayne LaPierre's most publicized quote was probably, "The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun."

Hmmm ... that DA in Texas, Mike McLelland, you know the one?  The one who just got slaughtered in his own home, along with his wife?  HAD guns.  HAD guns in his home.  But evidently he was surprised by his assailants, and died trying to GET to his gun.

So.  Mr. LaPierre?  Is the only solution to "bad guys with guns" having everyone be armed, all the time?  Just in case, so to speak?  And if that knock on the door happens  to be a Girl Scout instead of a member  of the Aryan Nation, and you get startled and shoot anyway, well, hell, collateral damage happens, am  I right?

And oh freaking lord,  let's not forget about the the "School Security Plan" the NRA busted out with today.  Let's put MORE guns in the flipping schools!

I just  ... this level of insanity makes me tired.  What we need, what our children need, is LESS guns, not more.  It's simple flipping  math.  The less guns, the less deaths.

And let's not pretend that it's not about money.  The NRA is heavily, heavily subsidized by gun manufacturers.  And money talks.

Want to know the truth of a situation?  Follow the money.  And man oh man, I hope Wayne LaPierre goes hunting with Dick Cheney real soon, because ... well, just because.

What I wished I'd said

So, a woman came to the adoption center last weekend looking for advice.  She had fourteen cats (!), and her latest rescued cat was the problem.

This cat, a stray, had been hit by a car.  She fixed him up and got him vaccinated.  He had evidently belonged to someone at some point, because he had already been neutered.  He was friendly with her, but he haaaaaaaated her other cats.  She was keeping him in a spare bedroom, and every time she tried to introduce him to the rest of her crew, within a few minutes, the fur was flying. He was extremely aggressive toward her cats.  She was at the end of her rope - it had been seven months with no progress.  She didn't want to surrender him to a shelter because she was afraid that he'd be euthanized because of his behavioral ... erm ... issues.  Did I have any advice?

Well, first of all, I explained that our rescue does not euthanize except when medically necessary.  However, it takes much, MUCH longer to find homes for cats who cannot tolerate other pets, and we probably did not have the space to take in another long-term cat right at this time.  (Out of the six spaces at the adoption center, two are currently occupied by cats who cannot tolerate other cats, dogs, or, frankly, people.) I asked her if she would be willing to "foster" the cat while we tried to find it a home.  I asked her if she had spoken with her veterinarian about the problem, and she said yes, but the vet didn't have any answers.  (This is typical, and it really pisses me off.  A lot of vets just shrug off behavioral problems, when that is a big reason that cats end up in shelters.)  I suggested that she call her vet and ask about, well, drugs.  Something to ... smooth out the edges.  The stray had sustained a head injury when it was hit by the car, which may have scrambled his marbles, so to speak. 

Next I suggested Feliway.  I've never seen much of a difference with it, but a lot of people swear by it.  When she explained that the Feliway system was out of her budget, I pointed toward another, lower-cost pheromone spray. 

Out of suggestions, I wished her luck and sent her on her way.  But I've been thinking about it.  About how the cat is friendly with her, and will actually howl until she comes and spends time with him, but will not tolerate her other cats.  And I'm thinking a little behavior modification may be in order.

I wish I'd told her to take one of her other cats, preferably an old, mellow girl, crate her, cover the crate with a blanket, and take her into the stray's room.  Then put the crated cat off in a corner, and slather the stray with love and attention.  Start off with just a few minutes at first, until you could see how the stray was going to react.  If the stray headed for the crate and started acting aggressive, blow in his face or spray him with compressed air to get him to associate an unpleasant sensation with aggressive behavior.  Reward him with treats or petting when he is able to get close to the crated cat without going berserk.  The first day, only have the crated cat in the room for a few minutes.  Over a period of days, have the crated cat in the room for longer periods of time, and start to remove the blanket from the crate so that more of the crated cat is visible.  If at any time the stray totally loses his marbles, go right back to square one.  Once he gets used to having one cat in his room, install a screen door, so that he can see the other cats in the house, but cannot attack them.  Start feeding a few of the cats in the area of the door, so he gets used to having them near.  If he reacts okay to this, put most of the rest of the crew in another bedroom, then let him explore areas of the house where just a few cats are.  Take it slow ...

I feel like she was maybe just plopping the stray down in the middle of her herd (unless you live in a mansion and have a full-time cat-attention-payer on your staff, fourteen cats is probably too many, btw), and the stray was completely overwhelmed.   I wish I'd told her what I just told you guys, and I wish she'd tried it and let me know if it worked.  I wish I wish I wish ....

I dunno guys, whadda ya think?  Ever had any luck with this method?  I've seen it work on that cat whisperer TV show, but I'd be interested to see how it would pan out in real life.

New Kid On The Block

Meet Buddy.

Buddy is an adoption center cat.  He was found as a stray.  He was neutered on Thursday and then came to my place for a couple of days for a little R&R.  On Saturday, reluctantly, I took him back to the adoption center so he would find a new family.

He's a typical orange boy - laid-back and sweet.  I hope you enjoyed your visit, Budster.