It’s That Time of Year

Posted on December 1, 2013December 1, 2013 by Dusty Roads

It’s the most wonderful time of the year
With the kids jingle belling
And everyone telling you “Be of good cheer”
It’s the most wonderful time of the year
It’s the hap-happiest season of all
With those holiday greetings and gay happy meetings
When friends come to call
It’s the hap- happiest season of all

This is the week that launches the holidays. Already there have been tree lightings and parades and I’m not talking about the Macy’s Thanksgiving day parade. I’m hoping to get into Boston to check out the tree and decorations at Faneuil Hall. There was a 30 minute TV presentation for the lighting of the 95 ft. tree!

No snow yet. The weather folks were saying it was snowing on the south shore when I turned on the TV yesterday morning. I’m not sure where they were looking because here the sun was out and it was a beautiful, if cold, day. This morning, rainy and gray.

I think I might like the snow this year. I don’t have to drive in it. Working from home lets me relax and enjoy the changing New England weather without worrying about maneuvering through traffic to get to work.

Some of my neighbors have their holiday decorations up already. I’m still dragging my feet. It took 10 years before I was able to get a small Christmas tree up and keep it up with 2 curious cats. Each year they would systematically dismantle the tree. In the early years they pulled it down faster than I could put it up. Last year was the first year it really survived the whole season. Now I have a new cat and I’m debating if I really want to start the battle of the Christmas Tree all over again.

It’s not like I have little kids to impress. It’s just me but I did enjoy it last year. And the antics of 3 cats might make for an entertaining post.

Yes, I’m thinking I should at least try it out and see how Buddy reacts. See that’s why I write these posts. It helps me make decisions.

Mr. Crankypants

Posted on November 25, 2013November 25, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Have you ever seen a group of cats together? They roll around play fight, they butt heads to say hello and they groom each other. This behavior spreads the scent around and each cat then smells like the group. It gives them a sense of belonging.

When I brought the stray who became “Buddy” into my home there was the usual spitting and hissing but eventually Buddy worked his way into the group. He and Rocky roll around play fighting and race around the house .

They groom each other. Smokey will have no part of it and in the beginning I actually saw him acting like a prey animal, slinking away to hide under the couch. This made me very sad.

As time has gone on Smokey has gained more confidence around Buddy but he still won’t groom him or let himself be groomed. Rocky can groom both Smokey and Buddy and both will groom Rocky but Smokey gives Buddy a wide berth.

About a week ago things began to get interesting. Buddy came bouncing over to me meowing persistently. Now Rocky is the vocal cat, Buddy gives me little chirps and “merps” and Smokey just purrs so this was a little out of character. Clearly something had Buddy upset. At first I didn’t see anything to cause his distress but then my eyes went to the cat tree.

Rocky was stretched out under his heat lamp but Smokey was not on his usual perch. No Smokey was in the “Crow’s nest” at the very top. From the first day Buddy joined us this has been his place. And here was his sworn enemy sitting in his special place.

To make matters worse Smokey couldn’t get down. He start and his clawless paws would slip so he’d back off. I helped the miscreant down and Buddy climbed up and all was peaceful again.

A couple of days later I got a visit from a very agitated Rocky. In actions very reminiscent of Buddy, Rocky was meowing and pacing until I got up and followed him to…the cat tree. There, under his heat lamp was Smokey.

Rocky would stretch up and nose him and all Smokey would do is turn around and show him his butt. I had to laugh. As I stood there Rocky got up on the perch too and unceremoniously pushed Smokey off. I guess he just wanted “Back up”.

Poor Smokey. Buddy came over , ears up, whiskers forward, just being friendly and Smokey would have none of it. He flattened his ears and whacked Buddy’s nose with his clawless paws and stalked off. Ok Smokey. Clearly you have not learned to play well with others. I think we’ll just have to call you Mr. Crankypants from now on.

Wordless Wednesday

Posted on November 20, 2013November 20, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Animal Antics

Posted on October 27, 2013October 27, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Have you all heard of or seen the “People of Walmart” emails and posts that float around the internet? Well, a Walmart in Florida had a switch on the typical tacky dressed customer. This customer needed some serious dry skin treatment. This guy really had a bad case of alligator skin!

APOPKA, Fla. (AP) — A 6-foot alligator made an unwelcome appearance at the front door of a central Florida Wal-Mart. The incident happened Sunday morning in Apopka, outside Orlando. The gator stopped in the entryway, causing the automatic doors to open and close until employees locked them. Orlando television station WKMG (http://hrld.us/1b5psYE) reports Apopka police officers tried to lure the gator away as customers gathered to watch and take pictures.

The gator took off toward the nearby woods. Officers searched the area but couldn’t find it.

No one was injured.

Didn’t anyone think to call the Gator Boys?

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Oh No! Cat Lover Alert! Does Petting Your Kitty Stress It Out?

Could petting your cat really stress the animal out? Headlines started appearing last week about a study that supposedly showed just that. Luckily one of the study’s authors stepped in with a calming update. Stating that the study had been misinterpreted, Rupert Palme of the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, Austria, assured cat owners that they “can carry on stroking their four-legged friends without worry.”

As an example of how petting can stress out a cat, here are some pictures of my cats after a “petting” session.

Buddy:

Smokey:

Rocky:

I can tell they are very stressed out…can’t you?

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Ladies, we are not alone!

A new headline:

Hot Flashes in Cold Waters? Killer Whales Undergo Menopause

This rare evolutionary trait may enable older females to help offspring survive.

According to the article, Killer whales have been revealed to be one of only three species whose females are known to undergo menopause—living on long after their reproductive years in order to help their offspring, particularly their sons, survive the rigors of young adulthood and later to help raise their grandchildren. It is a rare evolutionary trait, shared with humans and pilot whales.

The article goes on to say that they haven’t really been able to determine if the whales actually suffer from hot flashes.

And that’s the latest from the world of Animal News! 🙂

Bring on the Heat

Posted on October 24, 2013October 24, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Last year I was trying to figure out a way to make my orange cat, Rocky (you may know him better as Editor -in – Chief )

relax and stop over grooming. I started using Feliway which is a pheromone diffuser and that seemed to help some.

Rocky also like to “escape” out into the hall where he happily chirps at the sun spots and rolls on them. My apartment is on the shaded side of the building so I don’t get too many sunspots. I began to think I was depriving him of a basic cat right, to lounge in a sun spot. This got me to thinking about how lizards and reptiles like to bask in the sun. So on a trip to Petco I picked up one of the sun lamps they use in the reptile cages.

Rocky took to it right away.

Then suddenly, this spring he seemed to lose interest. I turned it on for him a few times and he’d sniff around it and then walk away. I had no idea what had changed but I wasn’t about to waste electricity running a heat lamp he wasn’t using. Neither Smokey nor Buddy showed any interest so I packed it away.

The first really cool, fall weather finally hit today. About noontime Rocky started wandering around meowing quietly. It was a very sad, plaintive kind of meow. Then he hopped on the desk and got in my face. I took a time out to pet him but that didn’t seem to satisfy him.

Then a light bulb seemed to go off. Could he want his heat lamp? I pulled it out and plugged it in. After a couple of experimental sniffs he stretched out and was down for the count.