An Arf-Arf Here and a Meow-Meow There... E I E I O!

[Demimonde]

I believe they are called, catwalks

okay, that's not really funny but I'm NyQuil, so there.

[Ensign Steve]

Originally Posted by curses

ES, we will need video of the new Roomba in action.

Will do after the babies come home!

I'm posting my Roomba review here because it's relevant and it's our third pet now anyway.

I ran it the first time with the cats out of the house. Not intentionally or anything, they just weren't home when I got home and I wanted to play right away. But it was probably a good idea, at least the first time. It is freaky as hell watching it learn! I fear this is really how Skynet is going to happen. Or the Matrix. I do not trust it.

So it does an okay job. I am pleased with the purchase specifically because I hate to vacuum and I almost never do it, so anything that does a half-ass job or better is an improvement. I thought it wasn't really doing much, because it has a hard time with the larger (ie: visible) pieces of debris, but when I cleaned out the canister, omfg! We are filthy filthy people. That thing sucked up a shitload of dirt. And blond hair.

It has a function where if it vacuum up the tassels of your rug and/or your electrical cords or whatever, it runs its hardware backwards a little to dislodge it, and that function is effective as hell. It does better than my upright at the long cat hair, too. It doesn't suck it up in the canister, but at least it gathers it into neat piles for me to pick up easily, as opposed to just smearing it around the surface of the carpet.

I recommend it to lazy robot-fetishists with disposable income who would otherwise wallow in their own filth. Most "normal" families would probably do as well or better with a regular vacuum, so consider that before dropping the moneh.

[Ensign Steve]

So was dry-heaving the other day (didn't puke, thankfully) and I was like, "guess it's time to brush Q," because she's the long-hair and those two groom each other like a couple of beta bitches. But then I never got around to brushing her because I am a procrastinator and a terrible mom.

So then this morning I was getting ready and laid herself out on the bathroom counter and I was like, damn her fur is looking kind of raggedy. So I went and grabbed her brush and brushed her out while she laid on the sink looking all cute and sweet.

But yeah, there were a lot of knots and some in her fur. Poor baby! But she was so good and let me brush her all out, even the tangly parts. Now she's my fluffy pretty princess again.

[Ensign Steve]

Oh, and One of One is doing great. I actually feel like a civilized adult when I come home and my carpet is not covered in debris.

Now if only I could train it to negotiate stairs.

[livius drusus]

She let you comb dingleberries off her bloomers without complaint? That's impressive. Even my parents' ultra mild-mannered Persians fought them on that.

[Ensign Steve]

She's extra passive and super retarded. She's like the most perfect cat for brushing. The only difficulty is that she loves to have her face brushed, so she shoves her face into the shitty brush every few strokes and I have to push her back.

[Ensign Steve]

Part I: The Most Relaxing Activity

I was sitting on the floor, stretching after my run, and the kitties automatically assumed it was a game created specifically for their amusement. They came over expecting pets and bellyrubs, and they were not disappointed. So I'm doing stretches and deep breathing while petting two cats at the same time. It's a wonder I didn't pass out from the drop in blood pressure.


Part II: Mud in da Ears

In addition to having excessive eye snot and bloomer dingleberries, has dirty ears. I used a wet cotton ball to clean them out, and the only noun fit to describe how the mud flowed (flew?) out is "rivulets". Fortunately she is still passive and submissive as hell and she just grumps in my lap and takes it. Next time I'm going in there with a q-tip. Not in the ear canal, but in the little nooks and folds around the ear opening. That is one filthy cat.

[Ensign Steve]

First puppy.

[livius drusus]

[Shelli]

My cocker, Tigger, had a seizure in front of my husband last night after I went to bed. Was he, and of course the dog, ever freaked.

Now he knows why I was so freaked the first time I saw it and didn't know wtf it was.

[Ensign Steve]

Is he going to be okay?

[Demimonde]

I had a smooth haired collie growing up who used to have seizures. They were scary. All I could do was hold her and rub her throat and try to keep her still. Otherwise she'd try to get up and hurt herself. Then she'd be sick.

But afterwards she'd be fine. The vet said not to worry too much about it. She lived to a ripe old age of sixteen so I guess he knew what he was doing.

I hope your pup is doing okay Shelli.

[Dingfod]

For part of three days and two nights there has been a German Shepherd - some big headed dog of peace mix mutt lying in our pasture next to the pasture, alive, but not going anywhere. If approached it would limp around holding its left paw up. There was debate around out house of what to do about this, nobody was brave enough to approach this strange dog. Our grandson wanted to keep it, said it was "our dog". Wife wanted to buy it some food, an option which I voted against. Then Wednesday morning I dealt with it by yelling "Git!" when I got close. This caused it to hop to its feet and lope off to the far end of the pasture with scarcely a limp. But, before it went through the hole in the fence it likely got in the pasture through, it looked back at me. I gave it another loud "Git!" and shook my garden tool (skinny hoe-looking thing). It took off through the hole and south down the road like it knew where it was going.

I thought this was the last we'd see of this lame stray, but today, this morning, when I came back from taking my grandson to school, there the cur lay, in the same spot in the pasture as it previously had. I hopped out of the jalopy and yelled "Git!" again. The mutt had started trotting off before I even got out, but ran at a pretty decent pace when I yelled. Later, when I was taking my daughter to work, it was down the road a half mile, limping. The fucking faker.

[Shelli]

Yeah, he's going to be okay, ES & Demi, thanks. My vet told me the same thing as you, Demi, after the first time it happened. It was freaking scary though, because I didn't know what was happening. I had him in my arms, half way to the car to take him to the animal hospital when he came out of it, and I'm all..

He's weirded out for a few hours afterward, but then he's the normal Tigger after that.

[Demimonde]

Smart dog. That's probably how he's made it this long.

My friend's pound puppy, who we nick name Fagan when he comes to stay with our boy, is a criminal mastermind. We think he has been in the pound a few times and lived to tell the tale. Considering that forty dogs a day are put down in our city and maybe two make it out alive this is braggable. Hugo, his actual name, the moment my friend went in the kennel, sat up and presented his paw for my friend to shake with the big eyes. It saved his life. Three times in the years they have had him he has run off for a month at a time only to return. Once he lived with another family, once he came back with three or four stray buddies who thought he was Jesus. He also can steal anything not locked in a cupboard. He hid an entire box of nutter butters in every corner of their house once.

Dante got an Academy Award for faking once too. It was Thanksgiving, and six and a half feet of Mandango stepped on his paw. He was limping pitifully and my man Mr. Monde/Contra was babying him and giving him treats, moaning that we should take him to the emergency clinic since the vet was closed for the holiday, certain that he had crushed his foot. Every time he would turn his back to get another treat, Dante would scamper and wag his tail and jump around. As soon as Daddy looked at him he would curl up his paw and gimp away. I laughed my ass off. Dante was twelve weeks old at the time.

You might want to reconsider Ding, a dog with brains like that doesn't come along often.

Yay! Shelli, I'm so glad.

[Ensign Steve]

[livius drusus]

So fluffy. So, so cute. That's like a calendar pic.

[BrotherMan]

POOR KITTEH IS CONFUSED!

[Ymir's blood]

Every so often I'll look out the kitchen window and see Squeaky playing with a snow ball. He bats it around a bit, then does the 'ignore and step on it, then attack' thing.

I put food out for them before noon. He was out there this evening staring in the kitchen window, next to the empty dish. Poor babby, I'd feel bad for him if he wasn't looking a bit pudgy.

[Ymir's blood]

[Ensign Steve]

[Ensign Steve]

MOAR SNOW PICTURES HERE

[Ensign Steve]

has hiccups.

[Ymir's blood]

Video or GTFO

[Ensign Steve]