Dragon

Speaking as someone who works in a vet clinic I can say that indoor cats are typically healthier than outdoor ones simply because they aren't exposed to a number of diseases (though we do still recommend to vaccinate them as some diseases can be carried in on your clothes or through open windows) and they also are unlikely to get into fights with other animals and of course they won't get hit by a car. When I first got my cat and was trying to decide whether to let him out or not a woman came into the clinic with her cat's body for us to dispose of. She'd let him out as normal in the morning, appearantly he'd been hit by a car and dragged himself home only to die on the porch step. She was devastated and felt like it was her fault for letting the cat out and not finding him while he was still alive, though he probably wouldn't have survived even if she had found him and got him into the clinic. That decided me right there to keep mine indoors. My neighbourhood at the time had a crapload of cats running loose too and my cat is a total wuss so I didn't want him getting beat up.

Dragon

Oh Marius, I was going to tell you, if you don't want neighbourhood cats hanging out on your porch there's a product called Garden Ghost. I think I've described a thing called Sssscat before on here, Garden Ghost is pretty much the same thing for outdoors. It's a can of compressed air with a motion sensor attatched so if you set it up on your porch any cats that come up to your screen door will get scared by the spray of compressed air. They learn pretty quick and will likely stay away.

marius

Dragon, was hoping we'd get some vet expertise from you! Thanks!

And now you've helped me TWICE: got a new bath pillow at the dollar store and tomorrow I'm going out to buy Garden Ghost! Sounds great!!!!

So while we're on the cat subject - I've read numerous things about trimming their claws. Not everyone agrees. The vet is vague about this topic, or else I'm not listening. My question: do the back claws need trimming (we never do this - never) and for the one cat that has front claws ... she HATES getting them trimmed and me too!. We only trim her about 3 times a year as it is harder on me than on her. : )

marius

And actually, you helped THREE times - forgot the cat toys idea which I copied and printed off but haven't tried yet ... think it'll be a winter project.

Dragon

I trim the back claws on my cats but they don't grow as fast as the front ones. If they don't seem to get to an unmanagable length or to puncture you as your cat jumps off your lap I wouldn't worry about them. As for the front ones, just keep an eye on them to make sure they don't get so long they grow in a circle and puncture the pad of their foot. I've seen some bad ones and the response from the owner always seems to be 'They just grow that way'. Not as excuse as far as I'm concerned.

Dragon

-s +n = an

marius

good night all ... and even though he's probably in dreamland, I'll sign out for him

... all Baldur, all the time ...

Dragon

Glad to be helpful, but very tired now. Really must get to bed, g'night all.

marius

Great info Dragon - THANKS! We do get punctured by back claws as cats jump off the body. Guess we can put an end to that. And, didn't know claws could grow in a circle! Heavens! The calico's claws never get that long but they are mighty "weapons." And that's when we trim them - when they become SCARY!

Gotta go dream. Thanks again for all the info.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

marius

Methinks all this cat-tonating talk has driven Baldur to draw! Better than driving him to drink! : )

People call them pussywillows
but there's not a cat to see,
except the little furry toes
that stick out of the tree.

marius

Maybe it's cat-tinating. Yeah, sounds better.

-o +i

Baldur

Catatonic?

marius

Not catatonic.

Cat-ti-nate-ing, verb, too much talk of cats.

marius

Actually - I should be polite and clarify. There is another meaning for the word cattinating. When we were kids everyone let their cats run wild. In the spring and summer when the windows were open, some of us kids would invariably be awakened by cats yowling under our bedroom windows. We wanted to know what they were doing. Dad said, they were "cattinating." I think they were! : )

Dragon

That's funny marius, that's where the term Caterwauling comes from.

marius

OH - forgot about caterwauling. funny! I'd actually forgotten about cattinating too ... brings up fun memories.

Now serious question for Baldur the chef. Hoping you can provide and answer, I've found NOTHING on interent searches. Here's the story. One day spouse is cooking, needs milk but alas, there is none. I say, "Easy substitution is cream cheese and water." He looked at me askance. (5+ points if I used that word right). I said, "Hey, I've been using that substitution as long as I can remember. Think I learned it from one of the chef's when I was doing the waitress thing." Spouse is rather picky about cooking and will not use this substitution, instead making the 'needless' trip to grocery store.

So last night at a friends, she is making chicken and dumplings. No milk. I say no problem and fix my "cream cheese milk" for her. No one thought the dumplings tasted any different than normal. I pass this info on to spouse who says, "still don't trust it." So, I search internet. No luck. Write to our friend, Jeff the Chef. Yes, he went to culinary institute and all of that. He writes back that he'd never heard of cream cheese sub for milk.

So, has Baldur? If not, where on earth did this idea come from? Just looking for one person who has also used cream cheese this way. Just one. : )

Baldur

I'd never heard of that substitution either, but it does make sense. Cream cheese is just a stabilized mass of milk solids.
I however find it odd that you always seem to have cream cheese on hand when you are out of milk. What are the odds of that happening?
There is usually no Cream Cheese here at Chez Baldur, when I do buy it, it gets used up fairly quickly.

marius

Thanks for you answer, Baldur. Was sure you would have heard of it. As for the odds of always having cream cheese in the house when the milk runs out - the odds are high.

I have always loved cream cheese and up until marriage, often had it in the fridge. Since marriage spouse has at least 5-6 packs, in the freezer of all places. He uses it for cheesecakes. I don't care much for cream cheese after it's been frozen because the texture gets wonky, but you can still make cream cheese milk with it. : )

Baldur

Robert likes a minute amount of milk in his tea every morning. A very minute amount, barely enough to make it murky.
Baldur doesn't see why he even bothers, but he is very particular that he has milk or cream. (Baldur thinks tea and cream just don't work well together at all) Using Soy or Rice milk just will not do for his breakfast, even though the amount is so small it's highly unlikely anyone could tell the difference.
All this causes a periodic milk dilemna.
Baldur does not drink milk, having never been fond of it. Cheese, ice cream, puddings, yogurt etc are all marvelous but I just don't care for milk be it whole, reduced fat or fat free. I try to use rice milk in my cooking and when I am having cereal. My coffee is taken black, my tea red.
When I purchase a quart of milk for Robert's coffee it inevitably turns sour before he has gotten 3/4 of the way through it.
What I have found to be a good idea is to buy individual servings in asceptic boxes, the type meant to be packed into lunchboxes. There are usually a few in the larder here as they do not require refrigeration until opened. They are too expensive (they cost 6 times as much by volume compared to buying a quart of milk at the grocers) to buy as the everyday milk. They do however make a good back-up supply so that he does not have to go without.

Baldur

Baldur did a few quick internet searches himself but nothing came up.
To console myself I went to youTube and listened to a couple songs by Janet Klein first with her Parlor Boys and then with Hobo Jazz.