from dp.com… and Versace!

tagged: holiday christmas cat versace kitten siamese 2008

daniel · mid-morning · 2 comments · ping it

And so there we were, in the middle of our “training” session. You see, I had been reading this book that I picked up… “Cat Training in 10 Minutes”. We have had limited success, but enough that I had a bit of hope. I want a well trained cat. One that you just trust. Right? But tonight training was not going well. In fact she was a total rebel in all regards. Richard had told me that she gets like this, but I have never seen it. Little Versace is my baby! She can do no wrong!

But tonight she was terrible. Awful. I was losing my patience! I was… Well *she* was on my last gay nerve and I was gonna explode! She was even unresponsive to her “training”, where usually it goes pretty smooth. She is very smart after all. Anyhoo, so there we were, a soggy chip on the floor and a very naughty kitten. I cleaned up. I scooped up Versace and we went to another room where I could shut the door and eliminate distractions. She still wouldn’t behave. I decided to try a trick Richard taught me. I picked her up and flipped her on her back. I tried to calm her. She fought. I held her in place as best I could and continued. I told her she doesn’t always get her way. did she understand me? No, of course, but in my body language I think yes. After the clawing and fighting she settled at last. I eventually put her down. After a few minutes of pouting (she always pouts!) we had the best training ever and are again BFF’s.

*phew*

In non-cat news I also purposefully pissed off a grocery store clerk today. I know, I am awful. Going straight to hell. Sure. I get it. But the woman was retarded! Look. I was next. All that there was in front of me were these two dudes with like 3 things. Golden. So I waited. Dude #1’s card was declined. He then slowly counted out all the cash in his pockets. Not enough. So then his buddy emptied *his* pockets. After counting, and the recounting (BTW this was the “Express Lane") they were still 84 cents short. So dude #2 says he’ll go to the car and get the rest. WTF? So Dude one tells the clerk to go ahead and “void” the transaction and let us pay. “Oh no”, she says. “Then I’ll have to get a manager to do the void, and just to re-ring you when you get back. No way. Y’all go ahead.”

Again. WTF? Is this woman for real? So she holds up the (only) express line so dumb and dumber can go dig in their car for nickels. So I say something rude as she “apologizes” even tho we all know she has instigated the whole thing to avoid doing a *void*. “This is why I never shop at Von’s” I say. An honest remark. We have complained all the way to regional level with no results. The SoCal Safeway Co. clearly is way different than NoCal. Anyhoo. She snaps back at me. Rudely, of course, but I was not nice and expected a challenge. I was pissed. “But y’all keep on coming back!” She then told me to gather up my things and wait on check-stand #1 because she had called for back-up. I didn’t move, which was good because as expected no one came up. Even after she herself screeched into the overhead. After like an eternity dumb and dumber had found enough pennies in the car to pay and I was finally rung up. Miss Thing at the register and I bickered some more. Dude. I hate that store. It’s always the same. I am a manager in a customer service field and I cannot, will not tolerate stupidity, poor training, AND rudeness all in one transaction! But I feel bad for being so awful. But she was clearly an idiot! But I have guilt.

Gah! 

tagged: work cat service wtf bad versace kitten siamese von's

daniel · early evening · 2 comments · ping it

Damn. It’s only Wednesday. I am so eager to put Black Friday behind me this year. It feels like some huge speed-bump or hurdle that I need to cross this year! And I have been so exhausted the past few days from all the stress and labor of preparing for it at work. I have either gone to bed early or fell asleep on the couch while watching TV all week! Last night I fell asleep while playing Flamingo with my cat (it’s a game we play every night in an effort to tire her out so she’ll actually sleep). I woke up in the middle of the night and my light was still on, Flamingo was still in my hand, and my cat was sleeping!

Anyhoo, I gots to go get pretty for work. Just wanted to check in, since I feel totally productive this morning. 

tagged: work tired cat sleep holidays black friday

daniel · lunch time · say it · ping it

I should already be in the shower. But as you can see, I am not. Heh. I have to relax a bit this morning. This weekend has been brutal. So I am going to just sit and enjoy one more cup of coffee. *sips* Mmm, perfect.

So I have to admit. I am becoming Crazy Cat Guy. It’s been a sudden transition. I am so consumed by my new little baby! She sleeps in bed with me, she has a super clean box at all times, and I am always talking about her. There are now pictures every day! It makes me laugh, and worry at the same time. No one likes Crazy Cat Guy, do they? But to be fair, this is my first pet that has been *mine*. Sure we had the “family dog”. Richard and I even had a hamster for a bit. Of course there have always been Coco and Chanel, Richard’s cats with us. Not the same. This is *my* baby. I picked her, well I think she picked me, but either way I think you get the idea. She’s my special girl!

Oy. See what I mean? Crazy Cat Guy.

tagged: cat pets versace kitten siamese crazy cat guy

daniel · late morning · 4 comments · ping it

It was very early Monday morning. One or so when Richard woke me up. I had gone to bed as I had an early start at work… He was sobbing, and told me he was going to take Chanel to the vet. He said he had to take him, even though he thought it was too late, or something like that. He was difficult to understand as he rushed out of the room. I called work and left a voicemail that I’d probably be late or missing that day and tried to go back to sleep. I woke again at 6:30 and found Richard sleeping on the couch. He was a mess and clearly hadn’t slept at all. I tried to call work again to confirm that I would not be in. There was no answer. Oh well. I had already left a message. I got Richard to come up to bed and stayed there with him as he sobbed for a while. I had no idea at this point whether the cat had made it or not. After a while Richard slept a bit. But not for long. He was up again at 8. He was checking on Chanel, who was very sick but more stable. There were expensive tests to be done to figure out what was wrong. Each one was a major decision. He cried. A lot.

I finally got a hold of a real person at 8:15 to be sure work was not expecting me. I stayed with Richard all day. Sometimes holding him. Sometimes just sitting there with him as he stared at the wall. Chanel has been with Richard longer than me! The little cat was 13 years old and has been through a lot. He has always had health issues but we managed them. He was leading a pretty normal life, and was in great shape before this latest illness set in. In fact he behaved like a big kitten the last few years, since he could run and jump and play when for many years he couldn’t.

Anyway, he was to have an ultrasound in the afternoon. After that we were told we could visit, which we did. The doctor spoke to us first to discuss more tests beyond the ultrasound to find out what was going on. The ultrasound had been pretty inconclusive. After more tears (from both of us now) Richard agreed. After a bit we were able to see him. He was very sleepy from the sedatives but definitely feeling and looking more like himself. He had been severely dehydrated and after some time on the IV he appeared more normal. He recognized us and purred and head-butted Richard as best he could. He even wanted to jump off the table! We were hopeful as we left the hospital.

At about 11 last night Richard’s phone rang. My heart sunk. I heard only half of the conversation, but knew it was time to go. I gathered my wallet and keys. Richard was already waiting at the car. Saying goodbye was the hardest thing. First, I was surprised at how emotional I was. Then to see the man I love in so much pain… He hugged his cat and sobbed as they helped him along. His body was shutting down, and it was best that he be allowed to ‘go to sleep’. Richard’s cries tore my heart out.

When it was done they gave us a few minutes with him. I could plainly see that Chanel was gone. As I held onto my crushed man I reached over and covered Chanel with the blanket they had brought in. Richard cried out louder.

After a bit Richard was ready to go. I had to get him home. I went out to see what if anything they needed from us. They said we were clear to leave. As we passed through the waiting room there was an older couple. I will never forget the sympathetic pained look on the old woman as she watched Richard and clutched her husband. It was like she felt his pain.

Once at home we both cried on and off until we were able to sleep. 

tagged: sick cat pets death chanel loved companion

daniel · late morning · 8 comments · ping it

It started just over a week ago. He was throwing up. Not entirely unusual, as he has had a lot of problems over the years. We don’t get too alarmed at a little cat barf. It’s par for the course. We assumed he had overeaten or something. But it kept going. He wasn’t keeping down any food at all. He stopped asking for food. So, Richard decided it was time for a trip to the doctor. We couldn’t just have a barfing cat the entire time my folks were here… Tests were done, hydration injections were administered. The bill added up. We were sent home. Diagnosis so far: Feline Pancreatitis. We were to not feed him for a few days, just give him medications. We tried. Most of the time he couldn’t keep those down. We just started giving him the tiniest amount of food. Tuna actually, since it is “easy to digest”. He had trouble with that. Sadly anything that finally stays down causes problems on the other end. Severe diarrhea. Ew, right?

The poor guy has no energy. No motivation. He’s losing weight. He doesn’t even *want* food! Worse, I have only seen him drink water twice in the last 4 days. It’s scary and sad.

Mostly sad. 

tagged: richard sick cat home chanel

daniel · mid-afternoon · 6 comments · ping it

UPDATE: Ninja Cat The Remix!! Awesomeness!

tagged: funny you tube cat ninja

daniel · early morning · 2 comments · ping it

So if you have ever been to our house you have heard stories of Bad Neighbor Kitty. We aren’t quite sure where he lives. He torments our cats by hanging out outside the windows. He torments us by peeing in our yard and knocking stuff over. He torments the neighborhood by sitting in the road and yowling for no reason. It’s a hoot. In that really annoying way. Anyhoo, the other day he caught a bird. One of the birds that lived in our backyard all spring. He saw me pull up and darted into the bushes. The bird just seemed to have bent feathers. I figured he’d be okay, not realizing that it couldn’t fly well, since it managed to fly into our backyard. Well apparently he has been grounded since. Because Richard was out with our cat Coco, who found the bird in the bushes and tried to bring it in the house. Yes, I said he tried to bring it into the house. Ew. So it turns out that Bad Neighbor Kitty has been toying with the mangled bird for the last 2 days because I have heard him yowling in the backyard in the night, and the little bird was clearly much worse off and bleeding.

What do we do? Clearly it’s nature (kinda) taking course. The little bird is at this point in the neighbor’s yard (Richard tried to move him and he managed to fly that far). I don’t think he’s long for this world, and I can hear Bad Neighbor Kitty close by… Yowling. 

tagged: richard neighbors cats cat night house coco birds backyard bad neighbor kitty

daniel · early evening · say it · ping it

Rrrrrrrr (via). 

tagged: links cat cute purr

daniel · late morning · 1 comment · ping it

I recorded a podcast tonight. I don’t think I am gonna post it. I am in a bad mood. I feel like hell. I work AGAIN tomorrow. I always work. It’s making me crazy. Oh my gawd. I am literally going crazy. I don’t even want to go anymore. December totally sucks. Anyhoo. So should it just be the lost episode? That podcast? Or should I still make my next one 49 (which is where we are at now) like this one never happened? A lost episode could be fun. But it needs to stay lost. All I do is bitch. I bitch about the cats, cat pee, work, and Richard. It’s a non-stop bitch session. Which, let’s face it, is more than usual.

You tell me…

tagged: work richard podcast cats cat bitch december mood

daniel · late at night · 4 comments · ping it