pets – Ahuva’s Blog

Sleep Well, Beloved GC

Siri 1

GC passed over the rainbow bridge last night. We knew it was going to be any day now. We’ve been cherishing her, and trying to give her last treats and indulgences. This weekend we had been giving her cream, and a little bit of cheese, and any cat food she wanted, and greenies.

baby kittens all together — Baby kittens in their new home

She did not seem to be in any pain. She has been growing weaker and less steady for weeks, months. No matter how much we fed her she was growing thinner. She was a happy girl, though, and stuck to the regular schedule. She got her cuddles, her skritches. She came to check out visitors. She and WC were born in August 2002 and came to our home in October 2002. Someone had dumped them in a dumpster next to a pet grooming business. We brought them and their little rescue mate brother (from a litter dumped 2 weeks after theirs) home together. We had only planned on 2 kittens, but there was no way we would leave any of them behind. We were determined that being dumped in a dumpster would be the last indignity and cruelty they would ever suffer.

We brought them home to our 6-month old puppy who ADORED them. She promptly adopted them and took care of them. Her favorite thing was to lick their ears for them – we called that a Mu-do, a shortening of the dog’s name. While the others seemed to take getting a Mu-do in good humor, GC merely endured it. 🙂

gc Oct 2002 after what might have been her first Mu-do

From the time she was a little kitten, we were fairly certain that GC was going to be a couch potato. She loved to eat and sleep and sit around watching everyone else work. Everyone needs a manager, and GC figured she’d be perfect for the role. She had a special affection for our son – he was “her boy”. I used to tell her when “her boy” was coming home so she could have the fun of anticipation.

baby wc and gc oct 2002 — sisters learning the world can be good

She was so plump and cuddly. Do any of you remember Gund stuffed animals? They are/were the softest plushiest cuddliest stuffed animals. GC was what Gunds would be if they came alive. She was beautiful, so beautiful. She looked like she could have had Russian Blue blood in her, her coat was that color. Her paw pads – I always called them a dusty rose color. They weren’t pink – they were much more subtle and interesting than just pink.

GC and LB 2005 — GC and her little brother, who was quite a bit larger

Oh my G kitty – we will miss you so very very much. May you be where you can have all the treats you want and a warm comfy place to nap.

Didn't happen often but they DID get along — Sharing a seat didn’t happen often but they DID get along

GC and her little brother on the steps 2005 — WC is/was, oddly enough, much braver than her siblings. They’d sit on the stairs during parties while she would venture into the room once the crowd thinned out

sisters 2005 — Before we had the fireplace, warm radiators were the place to be

gc and wc snuggling 2005 — snuggling sisters

3 cats on a couch — proof that there were times when we were one big happy family, no sibling issues

A New Definition of Insanity

I’m such a GOOD girl – I NEVER give you problems!

We all attribute to Albert Einstein the saying that “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results” (even though it’s fairly certain he never DID say that). I have a NEW definition of insanity, one with which I think many of you will agree.

The definition of insanity is “expecting cat behavior to make sense or conform to prior cat behavior”. My cats are in league to drive me crazy (or crazier than I am already). I absolutely MUST get healthy and get OUT of the house and AWAY from them.

We’re sisters. We like hanging out together. Sometimes.

Cat beds. I will never ever again buy a bed for a cat. My dog was wonderful. I bought her a bed and she used it. She was CONSISTENT in where she slept and what she did. She was, in hindsight, perfect.

BC spent the day today in what I have been calling her bed in front of the fireplace. GC spent the day on the red couch, in my husband’s seat, keeping company with the WC, who was in HER familiar spot on the back of the red couch. Until we went in and spoke to them. Apparently THAT changed the aura in the house.

I’d forgotten how much I like the radiator

WC is now comfortably ensconced in the ORIGINAL cat bed – the one that was hers, until GC gave it cooties. BC – in her bed. GC – on the radiator. My husband saw her approach what we thought was now her bed. GC saw WC in the bed and turned around and went to the radiator. (Actually she went and sat on MY work chair because I was not in it at the moment. When I chased her off so that I could sit she headed to the radiator.)

What? This is MY bed now. Again. Sometimes.

3 cats. 3 beds. One might think that every cat could have a bed. But apparently that is NOT how cats think. Apparently the original bed no longer has cooties. Apparently the newest bed is unappealing. Apparently WC has a new game – driving me bonkers. I do not care HOW ill I feel next week – I am NOT working from home!!!!

Except for when it is MY bed. Now. Sometimes.

WHY do cats sit with their faces against a wall?? I don’t think this is a healthy pose. 😦

Suppertime

Eyes focused on me
Five beings with but one thought
Dinner! Feed us NOW!

Rethinking the Pet Issue

No, this is NOT about THAT kind of pet. So to all of you dear ones who have offered to collar me, sorry, I’m not rethinking THAT issue. *grin* My answer remains “So kind, but I must decline your offer.” 🙂 I am talking pets – animals, both RL and digital.

My beloved Simba has diabetes. We got the official diagnosis last week. Sigh. Major sigh, actually. Okay, diabetes is not immediately fatal, there ARE things you can do. Such as special food and insulin injections twice a day. Yeah, right. You see, my current crop of cats is crazed. We have had them 7 years. Seven years of love, kindness, pampering, affection, gentleness. But apparently being left in a dumpster at birth scarred them sufficiently that not one of the 3 likes to be picked up. Not one of the 3 really lets us approach them directly. They will come sit and cuddle on THEIR terms (I know, how like a cat). But to try to catch them and say, take them to the vet, or ha ha ha – give them a shot?? Just not happening. So I was looking at a death sentence for Simba. I love Simba. I refuse to let him go without a fight. The first day I had his meds, I loaded the syringe and waited for an opportunity to seize him. He was so weak, I figured no problem. But since we’d already taken him to the vet that week, he wasn’t coming anywhere NEAR us. Round 1: Ahuva 0, Simba 1. So I took the food away. *evil grin* Yeah, won’t hurt the girls any to go without food either. So the next morning, all three of them were looking at me accusingly. FEED US!!!!! Well, that worked. Greed overcame fear. While Simba pigged out on special WET food (they NEVER get wet food) I came up behind him and injected the insulin. This method appears to be working. I hide the food during the day. I feed them twice a day, Simba getting wet food. I come up behind him while he’s eating on the window seat, and I inject the insulin. At this point we just finished Round 14: Ahuva 12, Simba 2. Oh yeah, Sunday morning I stabbed my finger, but didn’t inject myself. *grin* Unlike eating the dog’s meds. But each round is exhausting, dinner especially so. Simba knows I am coming and even tho’ the whole thing is less than 5 seconds, he doesn’t want it. So some rounds get drawn out – I have to remove the food, put it back, go off schedule. Trust me, there is no way I am on a regular 12-hour schedule. Even though I am “winning”, the daily scrimmages are simply exhausting me.

Frenis, my sion rooster is dead. Murdered. ANGELBABY killed him. Do you know that when Sion chickens die, they tell you how and by whom? Oh yes, they do. So with his dying breath, Frenis fingered his killer: ANGELBABY. He gave me her UUID. [2009/09/20 5:08] sionChicken rev2: I (Frenis) died because of an object of avatar 216c3767-d1b4-xxxx-yyyy-e4285368542! My position is McIntyre at pos
[2009/09/20 5:08] sionChicken rev2: Use the sionChicken healing kit in order to revive me!
Using a script I got the name of avatar etc. I IM’d ANGELBABY (yeah, she spells her name in all caps. blech). [2009/09/21 8:56] Ahuva Heliosense: Hey there Angelbaby. My rooster tells me that you killed him sunday morning. 🙂 I was wondering what happened?
To her vast credit, she REPLIED. I admit: I was totally stunned. Of course, she said that she had no clue what I was on about. So, she actually lost points for poor grammar. LOL. Seriously – I was totally impressed that she answered me. I figured a rooster killer would not have any manners whatsoever. So I wrote back:
[2009/09/22 13:06] Ahuva Heliosense: Thank you for answering, Angelbaby! I live next door to T on M—- I know she and her friends fly lots of cool vehicles etc. I had a sion chicken rooster in my water. If an object comes in violent contact with it – like lands on it, for instance – it dies. it is a no-copy item. when it dies, it gives me the uuid of what killed it. and it gave your uuid.
[2009/09/22 13:08] Ahuva Heliosense: so i was wondering what happened. I see that you are relatively new to SL. maybe T knows more about sion chickens,maybe not. but i was wondering what happened – if you landed on it, or dropped something off her skybox accidentally. because, i was rather fond of my pet, had it for months. and now it’s dead unless i buy a resurrection kit. so i’m curious about what happened. thanks!
Well, ANGELBABY did reply again, but again denied all knowledge, said I should contact T, that she doesn’t live in a sky box.

Sigh. Well, ANGELBABY is a noob – only came inworld in July. According to her RL profile she’s 18. What I WANT to do is write back and tell her I’m sorry she has no clue, that maybe she needs to learn a bit about life and manners and responsibility in RL and SL. She destroyed my property. Ignorance is NOT an excuse for not accepting and realizing that you have done wrong. I think that I was fairly restrained and polite in my IMs. If someone had sent such messages to me, I think I would have replied asking for more information, not simply reiterating that I was an ignorant git. (I’ve been hanging about with the UK folks too much, I think. 🙂 )
I have contented myself with banning her from my property, which runs the full length of T’s property. I hope that banning her causes her some inconvenience. Maybe that will encourage her to learn about SL manners and rules when she can’t fly over my property. LOL.

I also received a “pet” that requires no maintenance, unlike Frenis. Unlike Frenis, Bad Horse only makes noise when I touch him. (Folks – do NOT go there, really.) Bad Horse is yet another gift from an SL friend. The same friend who taught me about Wilkinson’s Family Restaurant a few weeks ago. *grin* I LOVE that video still. This friend has sent me several other video links that have made me laugh and I’ve passed them about. But Bad Horse….. well. I was dancing to Komuso. Oh wow, I LOVE Komuso. WHY doesn’t he play more often???? So when I got the inventory labelled “Bad Horse” I was torn. Didn’t want to stop dancing, but I wanted to see what it could be. I mean – Bad Horse – that could be sooooooo many things, no??? So I IM’d to ask for more information. And was told: It’s from Dr. Horrible’s Singalong blog. Okay, I confess – that did NOT help in the least. I started googling. LOL. I have not watched all of this. I’m not sure I will EVER watch all of this. Certainly the synopsis is interesting. I’m told my niece Darcey LOVES it. My coworker has indeed heard of it. My SL friend HAS been right on the other links, so maybe this one is okay too. YOU watch them first and let me know. But in the meantime, I have a horse that sings the Bad Horse song from Dr. Horrible’s Singalong Blog. The lyrics make me laugh and cringe. LOL. Much like Wilkinson’s Family Restaurant, come to think of it. *grin* For those of you who have no intention of following EITHER of those links: Bad Horse , the Thoroughbred of Sin, is the leader of the Evil League of Evil. Dr. Horrible wants to be accepted to the Evil League of Evil. Bad Horse informs him that the league will be watching for Dr. Horrible’s next heinous crime (“Bad Horse Chorus”). Oh – Bad Horse is a horse and communicates via three cowboys, the Bad Horse Chorus, who sing his messages by telephone or in accompaniment with written letters. C’mon, you KNOW you have to at least read the links, even if you don’t watch the show.

The Rooster Grows

Frenis is growing up. Whereas chickens have eggs, roosters, apparently, have anger. 🙂 I can’t keep the stupid bird out of the water. No matter where I situate him – the next time I come back, there he is, standing in the water, up against the invisible wall. Hey – if he wants shrivelled wrinkly feet, fine. I’m tired of moving him to dry land. You can see Mallory, Bill and I checking on Frenis. Drake doesn’t appear to care overly much.

The aviary grows

I love my ducks. You KNOW that I love my ducks. I had to stage a commando raid to bring them out from behind the firewall into the liberated land of McIntyre. When one of the ducks had problems adjusting, immediately I brought the doctor in for consultation. My ducks never cause me any trouble. They are excellent companions, quiet, friendly, supportive, cheerful. They are the upside of pet ownership.

This past week – people have been pushing other pets at me. Now I like animals. I really do. I have 3 cats and a dog in RL plus family members. *grin* So I have a lot of experience in the care and feeding of pets. But I DON’T want to spend my time in SL feeding and cleaning and all that stuff. So when Oura gave me a pug puppy, I started thinking of finding it a better home than with me and Mallory, Drake and Bill. Lucky for me – Darcey wanted a puppy and had room and time to care for the pug. Yay!! Mission accomplished, pet unloaded. Oops – that sounds a tad cold, doesn’t it?

Shenlei has been raising chickens. (Hey Shen – I much prefer it when you and I are raising hell. *grin*) There I was, exhausted from Jaymin’s Beyond Blogging conference, still trying to catch up from all the work pushed aside from being a dancing fairy, buried alive in RL with holiday preparations (everything went WONDERFULLY – thank you very much for asking), and Shen gives me a chicken. With the warning: it needs to be unboxed by tomorrow or it dies. Wow. Talk about pressure. Little chicklets are cute, but a grown chicken? Chicken fricassee, chicken paprikash, chicken salad. This chicken requires that I feed it. That I tend to it. It is NOT self-sufficient like the ducks. It needs attention.

So we argued back and forth. Shen claimed the chick didn’t need a lot of attention. I said that “lot” is relative. She warned me that if it got hungry, it would send me screaming IMs telling me that it was starving. I need this????? I offered to find it a good home. I protested that I had already raised as many infants as I cared to raise (I love you my darling son, not that you read my blog, thank goodness). Shen pointed out that she’d given me all the food for free, the chick for free, that it wasn’t much trouble AND added that she’d done a favor that I had requested. Oh. And she was beginning to get a bit miffed, I thought. Then she added the coup de grace.

This wasn’t just a chicken. It was a male chicken. That is, it was a ROOSTER, also known as a. (family blog) Well. Now is the time to stop reading if you are easily offended. I mean it. You have been warned. All I can say in self-defense is that I was very very very tired. Somewhat punchy. What – you are still reading? Go away now. You can stop.

So, I accepted the rooster. After all, it was free and male. Males are hard to find in SL, we all know that. So meet my new pet – Frenis. *grin* And just as you would expect, Frenis is nothing but trouble!!!! He continues to walk into the water to be with the ducks. I have SPOKEN FIRMLY with Mallory about this, and she just smiles a little inscrutable duck smile. Three times now I have had to go and rescue Frenis from the water. Finally last night I built walls. They are invisible and fairly low so they shouldn’t bother the rest of us, but it does seem to keep Frenis out of the water. He is incredibly noisy. I used to be able to hangout with the ducks, and listen to the water and wind (and the sound of my neighbor’s horse neighing in the far distance). Now – non-stop rooster sounds. I have to keep a food dish handy for him. So there are ants and other bugs near my beach blankets. Sigh. But I have to admit – sometimes the little guy is amusing. So we shall see what happens. Frenis gets too annoying – he’s a goner. But if he stays on dry land and behaves, well, this may work out. Frenis may prove to be worth keeping.