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Runnin' on Cat Pee

Runnin' on Cat Pee

Last Saturday UberGeek and I decided to go for a morning run in a nearby neighborhood.  We packed up the kiddos, loaded the Bob Ironman Duallie in the minivan and headed out. When we arrived and began to unpack we noticed the unmistakable odor of cat urine. UberGeek unloaded the stroller and I was devastated. That duallie is my pride and joy, not to mention I was banking on selling it for a decent amount when we were done with it. I sniffed it from bottom to top but couldn't find the source, yet the odor was definitely lingering. We decided not to waste any more time with the smell and set off on our run.

After a mile or so we turned off in another direction. Ubergeek, running along at a relaxed pace for him, turned toward me and said, "I think it's me." "What's you?" I replied. That's when he told me that he thought it was his running shirt that the smell of cat pee was coming from. I had to stop running immediately, "UH-AH!" I said, bent over at the waist laughing. Then I demanded to smell him, he was right, the shirt, which I had washed just a few days prior had the obvious smell of cat pee.

Apparently our rescue cat, Carpet, who we have not had fixed yet, has the hots for UberGeek and found his shirt in the clean laundry basket. That's what the vet explained, peeing on the clothing or items of someone close to the cat is a compliment of sorts. We've finally made the appointment to have her spayed, one urine soaked running shirt of love is enough.

Catnap

I was in the office doing some work when UberGeek popped his head in to tell me to come look at something, quick. This usually means someone (child or animal) is doing something really funny or cute. I followed him into the living room where I saw Carpet, our rescue kitten, on her back, stretched out with her front paws over her head. Laid out, maxin and relaxin. It's good to be a cat. She heard us approach and changed position but this is still pretty freakin' sweet. I want to be a cat sometimes.

Ducks at the Doorstep

Each day I have the intention of getting to work early, I think, "I will be ready by 6:45, out the door and at my desk by 7, leave work at 4." I set the alarm early, get all ready and then something happens inevitably to slow my progression. This morning was similar, I wasn't on track for 7, but maybe 7:30, then we were invaded. UberGeek looked out the front door to find two visitors, with feathers.

 

We raced to tell the kiddos that there was real, bona fide wild life in the driveway and to grab some stale hot dog buns. I got a bowl full of water, which I knew from growing up around ducks all my life, they would need as well. The kiddos crept out of the house quietly with warnings from us to use inside voices and stay far from the ducks.

 

Ubergeek and his friends, Lily the labrador and the two cats watched the action from inside. In fact, the cats seemed most interested in the ducks. Their faces pressed up close, occasionally plaintively smearing a paw against the glass. No dice, no duck meat and no feathers for them today. 

We must have spent a good 15 minutes or so feeding the ducks and watching them eat and drink water. It was a great start to the morning, albeit a slow one. Finally we had to pack it up, put on our rain jackets and get ready for school and work. UberGeek took the kiddos to school since I was already running late at that point. You never know what amazing gifts will be placed at your doorstep on any given morning.

Lucky and the Diva

Did I mention that I never wanted another cat? I bought a cat in college, when I got my first apartment and my first job. He's a nice enough cat but cats typically pee on things at some point. Our cat did not do this except every once in a while when we neglected his litter box, until we replaced our builder grade, stained and matted carpet with nice new carpet. The last tacking strip had hardly been laid down when off he rushed to a corner to let loose a torrential stream of neutered male cat urine. Male cat urine reeks and it is a terrible job to get out of carpet, I am a witness. That was it, he was a goner. I banished him to the garage, with cat door access to the laundry room, which was tiled. I love him, but I love the carpet, and my kids who roll around on the carpet too. We have been counting the years on this cat, a couple of years ago my veterinarian tried to sell us an expensive teeth cleaning on the aforementioned feline. I looked over my glasses at him and smiled. I have had cats all my life, not a one has ever had even a single tooth cleaned. In my mind, when all their teeth rot and fall out they've probably had a good long life and should call it quits at say, nineteen years of age which is usually how long mine live, without proper dental hygiene even. Maybe that makes me a bad pet owner, I don't know, perhaps teeth cleanings for your cat are standard practice now. I'm not buying it.

So I was happily counting down the years with the banished but relatively happy cat in the laundry room. Until SuperFuzz came along and brought a mama cat and a litter of kittens into our home. That's another story. UberGeek comes from a home that took in strays of all sorts that showed up at his family door step. For a while they had a St. Bernard, Winston, who didn't live long but has a special place in his heart. They had lots of cats, a long parade of golden retrievers, a wippet and all other assortment of pets. If it walked into the yard it was claimed. He has a soft spot for animals so I should not have been surprised when he suggested that we keep two female rescue cats, the mama and one of her kittens. His logic was that each of the kids should have their own cat. So despite our having sworn off cats forever, we seem to have made room in the house and our hearts for two more. If we hadn't this moment never would have happened:

 

Ever since we separated the kids into their own rooms Diva has been a little wary of bedtime, scared of being alone in her little bed and bedroom. Tonight Lucky climbed up next to her and kept her company.

Mom's Best Friend

 

Our dog, Lily,  used to be the baby of the family, before the kids were born. Really it was ridiculous, I baked her dog friendly birthday cakes and we took her on daily walks, bought her special food and made sure she had every toy imaginable. Then Diva and Eddie Haskell came along and she quietly became part of the furniture at our house. The walks dwindled and there were definitely no more birthday cakes for her. She loved the kiddos when they were babies, licking their milky faces and retrieving their pacifiers when they dropped them. I still had to clean the pacifiers but at least someone picked them up for me. The pediatrician assured us that Lily was providing a useful service, exposing the children to various allergens and dander would reduce the likelihood that they would have allergies later on. Too clean a house was bad, she assured us. For all this utility she provided, she received little in return, UberGeek and I were wiped out, she was lucky that we remembered to feed her twice a day and let her out. Still, she was our patient and loving companion, waiting each night until someone went to bed to join us, the only time she had our undivided attention.

Then she hit the mother lode, Diva and Eddie Haskell started eating solid foods at six months. There is nothing that inspires passion in a labrador more than food. As soon as she heard the wheels of the high chair begin to screech across the kitchen floor her entire body began to wag. Then she would make a running leap and slide belly first underneath the chairs. In ecstasy, her body tight like a spring, she lie in wait for the rain of Cheerios that would soon fall. My floors never, ever, have had a crumb on them, anywhere in the last 4.5 years, despite having two small children. As the kiddos have gotten older they have become more interested in playing with her, throwing her the ball endlessly, riding her like a horse, petting her and chasing her around the house. She is definitely our family's best friend. I have her shaved every few months for the hair factor, and that makes her pretty much perfect.

On Lily's last vet visit she weighed in at 79 pounds. Despite the fact that the children have finally been trained not to feed her scraps, except for vegetables, she remains overweight. This is probably due to inactivity and her propensity to sleep. So soon I will have a new running partner, I owe her good health.

Cat in a Glass

No animals were harmed in the making of this post, down PETA, down.  So last night UberGeek calls out to me from the family room, "Kristie, do you think the cats have water?"  "I don't know, why?" I answered back.  "Please come here" was the reply.  This is what I found. 

 
Geez, can't you people remember to give me water?

 

So please remember to give your pets fresh water today.

How Running Landed Me With Five Cats

A couple months ago, just before Thanksgiving in fact, a friend of mine called me to ask for my assistance.  We will call my friend Superfuzz since she is an amazing woman in many ways who also happens to be a law enforcement officer. 

This particular night Superfuzz stopped to type up some notes in her usual spot and she noticed a stray cat loitering around.  Being the conscientious and wonderful person she is she carries (as do many officers) animal kibble around in the trunk of her car.  I imagine it also comes in handy if you are cornered by a vicious pitbull on top of a picnic table.  So, she offered the kibble to the cat who turned up its nose.  Very unusual for a stray so she surmised that the cat was sick or injured.  The cat, at this point, began yowling and rubbing up against her leg.  Superfuzz then took a closer look at the cat and determined that she was not sick or injured but very pregnant and most likely in labor. 

Superfuzz took an old towel out of the trunk and laid it in the rear floor of her squadcar.  As soon as she opened the door the cat took a leap and settled herself into the car.  Superfuzz immediately began making calls to emergency veterinarian centers thinking that they would accept the cat from an on duty officer.  Every one of them refused her and by the time she arrived at her garage in desperation two kittens had been born in the back of the squadcar.  She made a makeshift bed for the kittens in the garage and a call to the Humane Society answering machine reassured her that they did not turn away any animals. 

After a long shift Superfuzz returned to her garage to find five healthy kittens and a sweet mother cat all relaxing in her garage.  A none too happy husband was wondering how long they would be staying.  She called the Humane Society, who despite their answering machine message, refused to take cat or kittens.  So here she was with all these kittens, a cat, an increasingly disgruntled husband a noisy bird and her two dogs, all in an upstairs condo.

This is where I come in.  Superfuzz is a good friend of mine, more than that, she is my running partner and has been for for a year and a half or so.  Those of you who are runners you know how rare a good running partner is.  Superfuzz runs at the same pace that I do and typically we sign up for the same races and run them together.  Usually half marathons; this year we have done four.  We run together almost every Saturday and try for one day during the week too.  So when she called me asking for help of course I wanted to do whatever I could.

I thought it over and talked about it with UberGeek.  He wasn't a hard sell.  UberGeek is like Dr. Doolittle with animals.  When he was growing up any animals that walked through their yard became pets.  My mother in law says it was pretty much a zoo, but a happy one.  We also thought it would be a great learning experience for our four year old twins Diva and Eddie Haskell.  So Superfuzz delivered the feline crew in a giant Tupperware box and we installed them in our spare bathtub. 

For weeks they were no trouble, just nursing and sleeping.  Now, at 8 weeks old they are running all about and generally wreaking havoc on the house.  Plus they have a lot of output litter box wise.  We have found adoptive homes for two kittens and have decided to keep the mother and one other kitten.  It has been much harder than expected to find a home for the last two kittens.  So, for now, we are a home with five cats.  Did I mention I already have an incontinent and ancient cat that lives in the garage?