Bad Days for Pets

The Byrnes lost a cat to sudden onset kidney failure and have another that is unfortunately on its last legs. John the Methodist's rabbit Hyzenthlay died of cancer.

Milo had a miserable weekend, but is otherwise fine. We went to Amy's parents for a well-attended early Thanksgiving. It was fun for us and Amy got to see a lot of relatives for the first time in a while. Not so much for the cat. He likes his grandparents' place and his grandparents, but he was emotionally overwhelmed through sheer numbers. The three of us are back at home now and he's a lot happier.

Rube Goldberg Cat Training

Cat eating the potted plants? Hook your blender up a motion detector to freak him out anytime he tries. Or for the 10 cent solution, just apply double sided scotch tape to the counter top. Cats hate that stuff.

Things to Freak Out the Cat

Make gives us the robotic planter box, which seeks to optimize the sun exposure for it's plants by walking to the brightest spots in the room.

Homicidal Feline Rage

This is why Milo is not allowed on the counters in the bathroom:

A Bad Month for Cats

First Porch Cat passed on the 12, then Mittens died yesterday. September was a bad month for blogger cats.

So True

more animals

Every Morning at My House

I also like this one.

Treadmill Cats

This behavior seems to be quite common, but Milo has never shown any interest in getting on the treadmill with me. I don't think he understands the idea of walking without going somewhere. He sits to one side of the treadmill and stares at it as if to say "you know your not actually moving, don't you Bellyscratcher?"

The FetchBot 2000

This robot tennis ball slingshot is a neat way to keep your energetic dog busy. It is also really well engineered. Notice how the thing doesn't go off if the dog removes the ball.

But it wouldn't work for our cat. Why? Because cats don't fetch. They might bring their fresh kill to you, but they don't fetch it reliably. Milo likes to kill things like birds, mice, or bugs. Balls aren't on that list and don't hold his interest very long. Milo also wouldn't go near the thing because it makes too much noise.

Thankfully cats don't seem to have the boundless energy that dogs do. Milo will play for at most 15 minutes. Then he sleeps for the rest of the day until his next feeding.

Attack Cat

There's a good psycho kitty.

The Furry Alarm Clock

Until we bought the cat's automatic feeder, our mornings really were a lot like this:



On the other hand I have no sympathy for this person. When Amybear and I wake up at 8:24, it means the cat has let us sleep in for over two hours. We consider those occasions a precious gift from God.

Kitten Cuteness

Awwww. Knees getting weak, must hit back button before consumed by kitten cuteness...

Actually, I wonder if kittens are so cute for just that reason. You get overwhelmed with cuteness, then they gang up on you and go for your jugular. Then they eat you. It wouldn't surprise me to see a brood of feral kittens take down a deer or a hiker that way.

Cat Blogging Across Teh Internets

Evangelical Outpost is posting on cat macros also known as lolcats. I don't know from whence this trend came, but it just proves that cats are kooky, funny, animals. I think they are made all the funnier because, unlike dogs, cats have dignity.

Via Tamara, it's a seasonal adventure with a great pictorial payoff that still makes me glad Milo is a shorthair.

Over at Incoherent Ramblings, Risawn once more exposes the lie that is the "free" cat. Even if you don't adopt an animal with serious health problems like Ruth, you're still going to pay out the nose for quite a while if you care about the animals well-being. We adopted Milo for $80. Getting treatment for his ear mites and fleas, bringing his shots up to date, and then treating his urinary crystals probably cost us several hundred dollars. That isn't even looking at how much we've spent on kitty litter, toys, electronic food/water units, cat beds, etc. But he is a great cat and he's worth it.

The Manly Cat

I must admit that when Amy and I first got Milo, I wasn't too sure about this whole cat owner deal. My family went through three dogs growing up and I had all ways been a dog person. Cats just seemed girlie to me.

Milo has done a lot to change my mind. There is something that is just cool about cats. Mostly I think it has to do with their killer instincts. Living with a cat is like living with the sniper of the animal kingdom. Milo was great when we had crickets last year. He'd just wait outside of that little crevice they were chirping from. Then he'd pounce on them repeatedly or bite them in half. Thankfully he didn't eat them and then barf them back up.

With dogs, you play very contrived games like fetch or tug or whatever. They're like your sloppy, slobbery buddy. Despite a working relationship with humans for millenia, cats show a blessed lack of this form of domestication. Sure Milo wants his belly rubbed or some good scratchings, but all the games I play with Milo are just variants on Kill It. What is that flittering bird-like thing? Orange furball must kill it! Is that a mouse? Feline fist of death! A big bug? I will Stalk It. Closer. Closer. Yes. Yes. Now kill it!

And that literary device about catlike reflexes? Really true. I've thrown something across the room only to have Milo streak out of dark recesses of my apartment and intercept it before it hit the ground. He's like Milo Cat, the Ginger Jedi.

All in all, Milo has proven the value and coolness of his entire species to me. Especially since his automatic feeder has now gotten him through the stage where he wakes me up at 5am every morning.

Duck Season, Wabbit Season, Cat Season?

Sufferin' Succotash! Wisconsin is talking about issuing hunting licenses for cats. That's right, house cats. Why? Conservation and public health concerns.

Cats are great pets. Or so people say, I'm a dog guy myself. I like pets that live in my house, not pets that allow me to live in theirs. And a great guy like me is already so incredibly humble that I don't need no stinking cat to improve my humility.

The problem with cats is that people let them out. This means you have a house cat who feeds off the local bird, mouse, and varmint populations. Cats will basically eat anything made of meat that is smaller than they are. My parents occasionally get a cat that stakes out one of their bird feeders. Feeders become game baiting stations for cats even when they aren't designed to be. My parents hate it (the cats drives off the pretty pigeons I suppose).

Feral cat colonies just make it worse. Feral colonies are groups of wild house cats that do what cats do. Only there are no people involved so they tend to spread illness and disease along with decimating the local animal population.

California forbids residents to own ferrets for all these reasons. They have the same predatory profile. Cats get a pass because cat lovers are a more powerful voting bloc. However some states, like Wisconsin, are considering hunting nonetheless.

What is the moral of this story? Keep house cats in the damn house. If you let your cat out, don't expect him to come back. Even if your area doesn't allow hunting, there are still cars and dogs and the like. Keep your furry friend home where he is safe.