Thursday, January 30, 2014

Sadie enters the Indy 500....



Sadie has taken to sleeping under our bed.  Since we don't trust her in our room, we've been covering our bed with a paint tarp that goes in the closet at night when we're not in there.  We would prefer she wasn't in the room but it's almost impossible to keep her out.  Yesterday I left the bathroom and Sadie was in my tub playing with the ping pong ball I keep there.  The door to the bedroom was closed so I checked behind me, she wasn't there, I opened the door and she ran over my foot.  She's an Olympic class runner.

The girls spent an hour in the spare room this morning, Sassy on a tub on the bed and Sadie on the sewing machine cabinet, but for the most part the only time they are in a room together is with us.  Carl tied a piece of cording to one of those rods you use to open blinds with and they both play with that but not at the same time - they take turns.

Things have been quiet, boxes are being used, Sadie is calm.

Monday, January 27, 2014

Hide the poop, hide the poop....

I have noticed in the last three days that both cats are doing more covering in the litter box.  We've never known Sadie to ever do that.  I do believe that lowering the level of litter in the box made a difference.  I don't know if it will cause them to use the box full time, but it's a behavior we didn't expect.  One of the cats used my craft room box (they haven't used it for over a week) and all the litter is scraped up and in a pile.  It might be the difference between feeling the bottom of the box and sinking into deep litter.

I slept in a bit this morning, past Sadie's feeding.  By the time I got up she was coming back to the bedroom and zipped under the bed before I could grab her.  So, for the first time since she peed on the bed, the door is open to the bedroom and we're not in it.  She's under the bed and I've been checking every half hour or so.  We've decided to purchase a drop cloth for occasions like these.  If she gets under the bed, we can't get her out.  I supposed I could drag out the vacuum cleaner and scare her out, but we never like to do that unless it's an emergency.  Sassy is wary of the vacuum but Sadie is terrified of it.

One day this week I plan to clean the carpets downstairs, especially in the living room in front of the entertainment center.  One of Sassy's favorite pooping places.  When I spray with vinegar water she keeps away from it, but I don't always remember to do that and she's a sly fox.  She waits until the smell goes away and...

Sunday, January 26, 2014

You there....a little privacy please...

This morning while taking something things to the laundry room I discovered Sadie in the litter box and she gave me such a look.  I backed out and waited for her to leave the laundry room.  I needed to add some more toilet paper to the cabinet so went into the spare bedroom to get a couple of rolls and discovered Sadie in the litter box there - another look.  So, again, I backed out and waited for her to be done.  I don't think that's ever happened before.  She's pretty secretive unlike Sassy who doesn't care who in the world watches her go to the bathroom, in fact often goes when I ask her to.

Sadie woke us up this morning a little after four.  I've told Carl if he feeds them at that time in the morning, they will be hungry tomorrow morning at the same time.  I would wait until six and feed them the same time every day.  At least Sadie would let us sleep a little longer.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Sadie protects the house...


No accidents since Tuesday but we've given up holding our breath.  We just wait until the next one.  Sadie is doing very well on a pill every other day.  She's still friendly but doesn't sleep all day and seems very relaxed when she does sleep.  The only out of the ordinary happening was yesterday.  It was 26 degrees (a high temperature for the last week) and one of the stray cats appeared on the deck.  Sadie had a fit.  She yowled and hissed.  She ran from her platform by the sliding glass deck doors to the family room window platform and back again.  She was very agitated and when Carl tried to talk to her, she hissed and growled at him, then went back to patrolling 'her' territory.  After an hour had passed, I could stroke her again but not for long - she was unhappy for several hours before she settled down and in one of her races to the family room window seat Sassy got in her way.  Sadie hissed, growled and kept going.  We thought she'd take it out on Sassy but she was just warning Sassy to stay out of her way.  Sassy backed up but didn't run.  We were ready with the water bottle but didn't need it.  We've had Sadie now for nine months and while she's come a long way, she still has a ways to go.  

On a related note, we discovered pet screen.  It's a product designed especially so dogs and cats can't destroy it.  Carl purchased a roll of it yesterday at Home Depot and plans to re-screen the windows we've had problems with Sadie destroying.  My craft room for sure, the family room windows and probably the slide screen to the deck.  Last summer we had to keep windows closed because of her  tendency to snag her claws in the screen and rip holes in it.

We've had no Sadie accidents since we started the pills again.  The girls are tolerating each other but still are no closer to becoming friends.  Just this morning with Sadie sound asleep on the craft room windows seat, Sassy tried to jump up there.  She couldn't see Sadie, obviously.  The jump woke Sadie up but Sassy was the one who turned around and jumped right back down, Sadie didn't do anything or make any noise.  Now Sadie is awake and Sassy is downstairs somewhere.  I tried to bring her back up but she just did that low, long screech she does, not really a scream or a growl.  I've read it can take a year for cats to learn to get along, I think we'll need longer.

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Mama has a bath....

I woke up at 5:00 a.m. this morning to find Sadie vigorously bathing my left hand.  I don't think it's ever been so clean before.  She was on my pillow with her tail in Carl's face.  He got up to start the day - make coffee, feed the girls, fetch the paper.  He's a good husband.  I went on the 'good poop, bad poop' search.  Good poop in the spare bedroom and craft room.  I think Carl has been adding too much litter to the boxes.  All of them are extremely full.  The one in the laundry room was used the most and had the least litter in it.  Before I could think to tell Carl not to fill it up, he already had.  His box in the basement is within an inch from the top and no one has used it for several days.  I've read that 1-2" deep is the optimum level for cats so we're going to keep the one in the laundry room at that level.  And not add to the others until their level is reduced.

Sadie had her second pill today.  She's on my craft room window seat bathing now and looks very content.  I have not checked her food to make sure she actually ingested her pill.  She was active yesterday and very friendly so maybe the pill she had on Tuesday didn't have a lot of effect on her.  She was purring this morning as she cleaned my hand, something she's doing more of, purring, I mean.  Perhaps that one pill every other day is just enough to take the edge off.  Hopefully we won't find anymore pee in the laundry room.  And we're keeping her out of our room except at night.  And we're praying that she won't pee on our bed while we're in it.  If she does, that will be the end of that experiment. 

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Someone's sick...

Someone threw up three times last night.  Luckily we have the new carpet cleaner (a wonderful tool if you have cats).  Five minutes and no more mess or any indication there was one.  On the other front, we added a new litter box to the spare bedroom to cover the spot that Sassy likes to use and we were rewarded with her using it.  The box in the laundry room had been used by both cats - liquid only.  Both girls ate breakfast, Sassy played with me for a while, Sadie went to the top floor but then spent some time with Carl in the basement.  We started Sadie's meds again yesterday morning but we're only giving her 1/2 a pill every other day like we did when we were weaning her off.  Hopefully the pee problem will disappear; if not, we will go back to every day again.  She was allowed in the bedroom last night but didn't disturb us until this morning.  We actually were really late getting up, normally we're out of bed by five if not before.  This morning it was 6:45 and Sadie was hungry.  Strange that we slept in so late.  Sassy is asleep on the couch and Sadie is now in the family room window.  They both slept in the same room yesterday and it seems they are doing it again today.  Very unusual - they don't normally even sleep on the same floor.

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Sadie ousted from the bedroom...

We've had a disappointment from both of the girls.  Sassy pooped in the spare bedroom this morning and Sadie peed on our bed yesterday but I didn't discover it until I went to bed last night.  I had to strip the bed down to the mattress, clean the mattress, remake the bed and sack up the comforter and mattress cover for the cleaners.  Sadie can come into the bedroom at night but is locked out during the day.  She's asleep in my chair right now (a first) and Sassy is on the couch.  We are left scratching our heads as to our next move.  We've even considered putting Sadie back on pills again so we're still exploring that option.  We love her playfulness and sweetness off of drugs, but not the peeing in the laundry room, in box tops and on our bed.

Monday, January 20, 2014

Thoughts on Downton Abbey....

I'm into the second season of Downton Abbey on Amazon Prime.  Having come late to the party, I'm very much enjoying it.  I think if the Dowager were mad at me, I would just commit suicide straight off.  I think Mr. Bates and Anna need to be married.  I think Mary and Matthew have the best relationship.  I think Mrs. O'Brien should be flayed.  And don't get me started on Thomas.  Who knew that the upper crust needed their newspapers ironed, their place settings arranged with a ruler, and their servants neither seen nor heard?  A revelation to me, certainly.  I can't imagine Downton Abbey without Carson, do you suppose he's really going to leave?  I can't wait to see what happens next.

Just finished Season 3 on Amazon Prime - Josephine Cox is right - it's like crack, I can't seem to stop watching it.  If you are a fan, you know what happened at the end of season 3.  And if you are a Prime Member, you know you have to purchase episodes of season 4.  WTH?  I did read a spoiler alert in the Huffington Post about season 4, so I know what I have to look forward to, but it's not like seeing the clothes, and the white, white, white sheets, dress shirts and tablecloths - how DO they get them that white?   Kind of funny the way Mr. Bates shot himself in the foot with Thomas wasn't it?  I keep waiting for Thomas to get religion and have that 'come to Jesus' moment when he becomes a real human being instead of what he is, but I fear I shall be eternally disappointed in that.

I debated buying the DVDs of Seasons 1 through 3 but even though I enjoying the Downton Abbey ride a whole lot, I'm not sure I'd watch often enough to make the purchase worth while.  Does Alfred eventually get to realize his dream of cooking?  I'd like to see that.  I may just go back to the beginning and watch an episode once in a while while I'm waiting for Season 4 to become available.  It's like sneaking a Ding Dong now and then while I'm on a diet.

Saturday, January 18, 2014

A product review - warning.....

If you don't like cool stuff, read no further.  I've had my Silhouette Cameo for over a year and discover new things about it all the time.  It would help if I could watch the webinars but my life is hectic and time to just sit and play is scarce.  So, as I have time, I tinker.  Today I had a few minutes and wanted to try a background with my Amy Chomas pen holder and some pens that were recommended on another site.  They're the Staedtler .3mm triplus fineliner.pens I bought from Amazon.com. 

Sadie breaks the bedroom barrier...

I was sound asleep last night when Sadie began howling outside the bedroom door.  I sat up in bed and stared at her - she stared right back and then slipped her paw under the door and started rattling it loudly.  She wouldn't quit.  So, I opened the door for her.  It's been months since she's been allowed in the bedroom and she made up for lost time.  She jumped on and off the bed a dozen times, walked over both of us, woke us up numerous times, saying "mert" over and over and over.  I did not want to get up this morning, I was too tired.

We coaxed her downstairs for breakfast but she's back in our bedroom right now, so I guess the door is open for a while.  It's either that or listen to her howl at night.  She isn't even laying on our bed, she's on the floor in the corner.  Go figure.

We believe Sassy did another job on Carl's computer chair (second time).  He was really unhappy this morning and I do believe he's getting ready to lock her back up at night.   Probably for the best since we can't trust her.

Friday, January 17, 2014

Is this the calm before the storm?

Sadie has been getting more friendly every day.  Yesterday she rolled over so I could rub her belly - that was a first.  She's been following me into the bathroom in the morning for some petting when I start my day.  She also lays right outside the bedroom door and this morning streaked in when Carl got up to make coffee.  I woke up with her face in my face and heard her say "mert" which is her only word.  She followed me into the bathroom, rubbing against my legs and purring.  I tried to close the bedroom door when I left the bathroom but she was too fast for me.  I had to leave the bedroom door open until she went down to eat and then close it.  She ate half her breakfast and raced back up to the door which was closed.  Carl asked me later to distract her so he could get back into the bedroom to take a shower.  Since she hadn't finished her breakfast, I took her back downstairs to finish.  We're going to have a problem with her now that she's been in the bedroom and knows that she can get in.  If I was sure our bed would be safe, I would let her in, she loves that room and when we first got her slept on the our bed all the time.  It was only after the second mess on our bed that we closed it off.

No messes since Wednesday.  We're back to poop patrol four or five times a day, cleaning up each mess as it happens.  Sadie has already used the craft room box but we're waiting for Sassy.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Popup Card Studio

The creator of Make the Cut has just launched a new piece of software designed to be used with our electronic cutters.  It's called Popup Card Studio and it's amazing.  I purchased it on Saturday, January 11th.  There is a learning curve but with tutorials from Susan BlueRobot, one webinar, several pdf documents you can print and a yahoo group with experts to answer questions, I have designed my first pop up card.  I took the coffee cup svg into Inkscape and created an outline of the cup, took the outline into PCS and created the popup portion of the card.  I imported the original purchased coffee cup and hello there svgs as well as the popup portion into MTC.  I sized the original purchased coffee cup svg to match the popup coffee cup and then cut everything out.  I crimped the sleeve portion of the coffee cup to more resemble a real one. 


"Hello There" and coffee cup were purchased svg files
Papertrey Latte Love
Spellbinder Grommet Tag
Martha Stewart Heart Punch

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

:(

I accidentally locked Sassy in the living room last night when I went up to attend a webinar.  Carl was at a meeting and when he got home, he said that Sassy had messed on the carpet in front of the entertainment center in the living room.  He was pretty frustrated because it was very close to the litter box.  While I'm not excusing Sassy, Sadie had already pooped in the living room box.  When I started to think about it, I realized that I've seen Sadie use a box that Sassy has used, but I've never seen Sassy use a box that Sadie had used.  Lately we've been a little lax about cleaning out the boxes, only doing it once a day.  I think I will go back to inspecting every couple of hours and cleaning the dirty ones right away.  Sassy has peed twice in boxes today, but nothing solid.  She was on a pretty good schedule right after morning feeding but she's gotten off of it and we never know when she's going to let go.

Sadie has settled down a lot the last few days.  She's been napping on the couch so she's with us at night - Sassy is on the footstool.  Sadie has let me pick her up several times with no protesting.  I haven't heard any growling from her and Carl says she much friendlier to him.  So - a little bad - a little good.

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Welcome to the rodeo....

First, Sassy is fine.  No messes, but Sadie peed on the laundry room floor twice and pooped on Carl's office chair in the basement.  We'd like to believe that it's because she's withdrawing from the meds - we don't know.  She's now locked up in the laundry room with the litter box, blanket, food and water but it wasn't fun catching her.  She hates being picked up anyway and I'm sure she felt the tension so she ran like crazy.  No one wants to pick her up because she's so aggressive when she's mad but I managed to hold her down in the living room while screaming for Carl to get a blanket.  She managed to get away into the dining room and then upstairs in my craft room where we closed the door and trapped her in a corner.  I wrapped her up while she screeched and carried her down to the laundry room.  While I was going down the stairs into the family room and Sadie was screeching, Sassy was running for cover.  All is quiet now, messes have been cleaned up, Sadie is locked up, Sassy is in my craft room window and Carl is off to breakfast.  I need to shower and clean off the sweat. 

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Plan ZZ - Day 11...

Yesterday we had the monthly 'cousins' lunch and we left the house unprotected about 11:45.  I left the pet carriers off of the chair and footstool, the living room open, and my craft room door open.  We ate a leisurely lunch, stopped at Kelly Seed for bags of bird food, stopped at Kroger's for groceries and got home about 3:40.  The first thing I did was check everything - no messes.  None, zip, nada.

Sadie was waiting outside the bedroom door this morning and went all commando on me - rolling over on her back, exposing her claws, hissing and growling.  Not a morning cat, obviously.  We expect those symptoms to just taper off as the final drugs get out of her system.  I've picked her up and had her purr just often enough to know she's going to be fine.  She's in the craft room window now watching the numbers change on the DVD recorder (I'm watching Bluebloods).  She can sit still and stare for longer than any cat I've ever had.  Motionless, regal, sleek.  She even sleeps elegantly.  Sassy sleeps like a 3 year old, all over the place, sprawled out, in configurations that seem impossible to get into.  Sassy is all squishy, soft, pliant; Sadie is all angles, wiry, muscles.  Different personalities, body types, tempers.  What would be the fun if both cats were the same, right?

This morning all was well, litter box in the basement had been used by both cats, litter box in the laundry room used once.  Three litter boxes untouched.  Good girls, both!

Friday, January 10, 2014

Plan ZZ - Day 10...

All is quiet.  Sadie was in my craft room for a while this morning, Sassy came to visit, Sadie left and Sassy took over the window seat.  The new carpet cleaner arrived (my Christmas present to myself) but isn't out of the box yet.  Sassy was smelling the craft room carpet which tells me there is still odor that needs to be cleaned up.  Sunday I will have Carl assemble the cleaner and I'll scrub the craft room carpet.

Sadie has trained Carl to keep his man-cave clean.  She has a habit of peeing on box tops and plastic bags left on the floor - she only does it in his room.  She's good as long as the floor is cleaned up.

No messes last night.  Carl and I said that at the first sign of a mess, Sassy goes back in lock-up for 24 hours.  It seemed to work last time we did it, she really HATES being locked up.

All in all, we're happy with the cats.  Things could be a lot worse as these pictures show.

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Plan ZZ - Day 9...

Sadie had her last pill, Sassy used the litter boxes in the basement and spare bedroom - all is calm, all is wonderful.  Stay tuned....

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Plan ZZ - Day 8...

Dare I say that excitement is starting to build?  As of yet we have not allowed access to the living room, chair or footstool when we are not up to supervise.  I think another month before we decide to do that.  Sadie's last pill is tomorrow, Sassy is good as good, even Carl is pleased.  We are down to two consistently used litter boxes, basement and laundry room.  Sadie spends a little time in my craft room but Sassy hasn't been up here in days.  It's funny how their habits change.  We're thinking boring is good....

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Plan ZZ - Day 7...

No messes - Sadie is in the spare bedroom on the sewing machine cabinet, Sassy is in the family room window.  Bitter cold here and cold inside the house next to the windows.  For animals who are supposed to love the heat, both of my cats don't mind cold.  Sassy lays on the hearth all the time, it's the coldest part of the family room - Sadie likes the upper hallway which is warm but spends half her time in a window sleeping.  Both girls ate breakfast at 5:00 a.m.  Sadie let me pick her up this morning and while talking softly and stroking her, she started to purr.  Then, she must have realized she was doing it so she struggled to get down.  Both girls used the laundry room box last night, one used the box in the basement.  Wondering if they continue not to use the box in the living room if, at some point in time, we can remove that box.

Sassy peed on demand again this morning.  I was doing laundry when she came in, I asked her if she had to go potty - and she did.  Then, she gets so excited that she runs out of the laundry room, across the family room, up Carl's chair and on to the window seat.  More dog than cat, I swear.   Chair and footstool uncovered again today - still covered at night.

All is calm, all is quiet. 

Monday, January 6, 2014

Thoughts on Blue Jays...

We have been overrun by a gang of blue jays.  We've been feeding birds around our house for ten years and have the occasional blue jay visit but this year has been unusual.  The gang of rowdy big blue birds known so well for keeping a look out for predators has taken over our platform feeders.  Their huge numbers have kept the smaller birds away; at any given time there are six or eight on the platform while the cardinals, titmice, native sparrows and chickadees sit in the bushes waiting for their turn.  Blue jays have a crop they can fill with seeds, and while they are responsible for planting some seeds, their voracious appetite can decimate a feeder in a matter of hours, even the one we fill with a bucket.  After they fill their crop, they hurry off to hide the seeds.  Research shows that they are very good at remembering where most of their seeds are, the rest will germinate and produce new seeds.  If a hawk or owl comes close, the jays will sound an alarm which sends all the smaller birds running for cover.  The jays have learned, however, that if they sound an alarm with no predator in the area, the birds fleeing will leave the feeder for them.  Cheeky little devils, right?  Against the white of the snow and in the bright sunshine, the jays are beautiful but remind me of a teenage gang prowling the neighborhood scaring the residents.  They are pretty much all hat, no cattle, but since they are so much bigger than most of the birds, they command attention.  And since they camp out on the platform feeder, we feed in two other places to give the smaller birds a chance at the seed.  The weather is so frightful, I suspect lots of birds won't make it through the winter.  I like to think we help by providing seed, peanuts, suet and fresh, clean water.  We have a heated bird bath we keep filled for the birds and sometimes the deer.  Everything here is frozen solid and the animals need water to survive.  Our cats have a seat in the bay window overlooking one feeder and the bird bath.  Our Persian talks to the birds, chattering like an eagle.  So funny.  Sadie, the evil one, just stares without moving but I would pity any bird who gets within reach, finding clean water would be the least of its problems.

Plan ZZ - Day 6...

Nothing to report.  Sadie got her next to last pill today, one more and she's done.  Sassy slept in my chair most of the day.  No messes last night, and they both used the same box in the laundry room - you know, the one I decorated specifically for them - the one that they never use.  All is calm, all is bright.  Fingers crossed.

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Pop Up Card Box

This box/card comes from a tutorial from Splitcoaststampers which I just fell in love with.  I spent part of the day making a cut file for Make the Cut so I could make these without a lot of measuring.

 This is the box opened.
 Laying flat.
 Laying flat.
In an envelope.

Supplies:
Michael's Recollections Paper Pad - Garden Florals
Memory Box Hot Air Balloon Die
Memory Box Mini Hot Air Balloon Die
Simon Says Stamp Small Folded Banner Die
Papertrey Cloud Dies
Spellbinder Floral Doily Motifs
Papertrey Birthday Basics
Papertrey Stylish Sentiments: Birthday
Action Wobble
Memento Desert Sand Ink
Wink of Stella Clear
Envelope Punch Board - 5.5" x 6.5" Hand Made Envelope

Plan ZZ - Day 5...

Poop in three boxes this morning - one box all scratched up but nothing in it - no messes.  I covered my chair and footstool with clean doubled up towels and left the pet carriers off of it for the day.  We'll continue to cover them at night.  Sadie spent some time in the living room window watching the birds - Sassy was in the family room window but followed me around when I was picking up and starting laundry.  Sadie is due her next to the last pill in the morning.  We've seen no aggressive flair-ups since we started weaning her, so we're happy with that.  With both girls being good, it's boring around here now...

Saturday, January 4, 2014

Thoughts on Judge Judy...

I watch Judge Judy for three reasons.  The first is because I'm interested in the law; the second is because I expect to see relatives of mine on a show someday.  The third is best of all:  some of these cases are funnier than a Gabriel Iglesias special.

Case in point:  a young man staying with a friend loaned his house key to someone else and then left the house.  When he returned, no one was home and he didn't have a key, so he kicked in the back door - after all, he lived there, right?  He refused to pay for the damage saying if he had had a key, he wouldn't have needed to kick in the door.  (Are you scratching your head, too?)

Ready for another?  A single mother working as a waitress for $7.50 an hour loaned her boyfriend $3000.00 to pay his back child support.  The defendant said not only was he not her boyfriend, but the money was a gift because he was so good in bed.  (Oh, please!)

One last one.  A woman left for work leaving her boyfriend in the apartment.  He decided to start breakfast and take a bath.  He left a pot of water for noodles boiling on the stove and climbed into the tub.  The smoke alarm went off, he found a skillet full of grease on fire on the stove, tried to take it to the tub to put it out, dropping fire as he went.  Lots of damage in the apartment and she sued him for the fire.  His defense:  she left the skillet of grease on the stove, the fire wasn't his fault, it was hers.  And she had a curtain hanging in the kitchen to keep her birds out of the kitchen.  Due to the curtain, he couldn't smell the smoke, so it was her fault.  (Guess what?  He lost.)

Plan ZZ - Day 4...

Carl came up to the bedroom last night to tell me both girls had been in the laundry room at the same time (small room).  Sadie came out first with Sassy on her heels, smelling and batting at Sadie's tail.  Sadie paid no attention, walked to the basement and left Sassy in the family room.  No hissing, no outrage, just calm.  He was so excited he had to run up and share.

No accidents last night that we can find - or smell.

The girls were fed at 6:00 a.m. (mom and dad slept in).  Both ate their normal amount of food.  Sassy threw up a little liquid so she might be working on another hair ball.  She coughed one up on my desk two days ago; luckily I was able to grab a piece of paper and put it under her before the big event, so no damage was done.  She has a lot of hair and grooms quite a bit and won't take the paste for hairballs, sooooo.  We deal!

Nothing in the boxes yet and it's 8:04 a.m., but I'm hopeful.  Carl said he cleaned the boxes before bed last night (we scoop twice a day) and as soon as he finished cleaning the one in the laundry room. Sassy made a deposit, so maybe there's another hairball somewhere we haven't found.  She is now officially 'off-schedule', so I don't know if she'll do anything else this morning and she's sound asleep in the family room window.  We have opened the living room and Sadie spent some time with me in the craft room.  There were two pees in the laundry room, one from each cat, but nothing since we woke up.  So, we wait.  I'll edit again if something happens.

Edited 10:18 a.m. - the strangest thing, both cats are asleep but someone scraped up the litter in the laundry room and didn't do anything in the box.  We smooth out the litter every time we clean so we can tell immediately if it's been used.  All scraped up, no poop.  Hmmmmm, anybody?

Friday, January 3, 2014

Plan ZZ - Day 3...

At 7:35 a.m., at GPS Coordinates Longitude:  40.985627 and Lattitude: -89.458882 - drum roll, please...we had Sassy poop in the laundry room box.  Minutes later, Sadie made a deposit in the basement.

We fed the girls at 5:30 a.m.  Sadie ate a half a large can of Friskies and Sassy ate most of a heaping teaspoon of Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers with a tablespoon of warm water mixed in - Sassy likes gravy as much as my husband does.  Sassy immediately took a nap on my footstool which is covered when we're not in the family room.  When we broke up - me to check my e-mail, Carl to take a shower, I brought Sassy to the craft room after covering my chair and footstool.  She immediately went back down to Carl's chair (which is ok, she's never done anything bad in that chair).  A little while later, I went down into the laundry room and called her in, asked her if she had to go potty, and after sniffing her water and food bowl, she walked into the litter box and peed.  So, I picked her up, rubbed her belly and told her what a good girl she was, set her down and went back upstairs.  Carl came up at 7:35 and said we had poop in the laundry room followed by poop in the basement.  We can now open the living room to the cats.

We've gone weeks before without an accident, so although I'm encouraged, we aren't buying any champagne yet.  In fact, we will never know if she's cured, like an alcoholic, there's always the chance that tomorrow will be the mess up day.

On another note:  Sadie is two pills from being weaned.  She had one today, she'll have one the 6th and one the 9th and she's finished.  The only difference in her behavior since we started this process is she seems more eager to play and quicker on her feet.  She was actually RUNNING through the house a couple of days ago, we've never seen her run before.  She's a little awkward, which we attribute to living in a cage most of her life.  She's using the cat tree again and spending time in my craft room.  She's still not loving or anything close to that but I've been able to pick her up for long minutes before she starts to growl and struggle.  Carl says she plays with him in the basement and increasingly is not using her claws to grab him.  We've  adopted the sharp "No" when she hurts us and she backs off.  She's using the cat scratching posts exclusively - at least when we're watching and we haven't noticed any furniture being damaged.  No aggression toward Sassy, either, they walk right past each other and except for a little hissing, there have been no fighting problems since we got home.  And that's the news from our house.

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Plan ZZ - Day 2...

No dinner for the girls last night, but we did give them a few treats at dinner time.

We were thrilled at poop patrol this morning to find....nothing.  Two little pees and one big pee in the laundry room box.  One little pee in the spare bedroom box.  One little poop in the basement box (Sadie) - craft room and living room were closed off.

The girls ate at 6:00 a.m. and we started watching Sassy.  She spent most of the morning in my craft room while I worked.  When she disappeared I would go looking for her.  I talked her into the laundry room and asked her if she had to go potty - and she did, but she only peed.  By 9:00 a.m. I was starting to worry.  Yesterday's elimination came about 7:15 so she was late.

At 9:30, I got up to grab a tool off of my back cabinet and saw her in the litter box so I stood quietly until she was finished - EUREKA!  So, we opened the living room and rejoiced in the brown stuff.  Of course, I was excited and told her she was such a good girl and she raced around the house like her tail was on fire.  And then she went to sleep.

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Plan ZZ...

Last night we closed off the living room and the craft room, leaving three litter boxes available.  We also did not feed last night - we can count on one hand the number of times that Sassy has made a mess during the day when we're home.  Our theory:  food at night = poop at night.  They do have dry food available all night but seem to only poop after the wet food which they eat a lot of at one time - dry food is kind of a munch and run thing.  We didn't lock Sassy up but did cover the chair and footstool.  This morning I was a little apprehensive, did poop patrol and didn't find anything.

After feeding the girls, I kept an eye on Sassy.  Several times between eating at 5:30 and 7:15, I asked her excitedly if she needed to go potty?  She's been known to do that on command if she has to go, she thinks it's a game.  I also picked her up and set her in the litter box several times and at 7:15 was rewarded with a big poop in the craft room litter box.  So, I loved on her, told her what a good girl she was and gave her a belly rub.  Half an hour later Sadie graced us with her presence in my craft room and added to the litter box.  I would have loved on her, but she did a hit and run.  So, Day 1 down.

We also looked at portable catteries yesterday.  Amazon has one with three tiers that would be a good last resort.  It's on rollers so we could move her where we are.  It has a big floor space and a corner litter box.  The ASPCA web site recommended a month in lock up and if she made any messes while in the cage that were not in the litter box, to cover the cage floor with litter, so no matter where she went, she would be in the litter.  A little harder to clean up, but so worth it if this current watching her like a hawk and feeding only in the morning doesn't work.