The "What's on your mind?" Thread -2017

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DreamerRose

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A while back I called a local Woodcraft store and asked for advice on this, and I was told that what I probably needed was a hand held jigsaw.  They recommended that I check out garage sales and estate sales.  They also very specifically recommended either a DeWalt or Sears jigsaw, but when I start getting that picky the chance of finding it becomes vanishingly small.

The thing is, the cat condo plans I have recommend using branches.  I've been saving branches specifically for this, and with a jigsaw it becomes easier to select the right angle for cutting.  At least, I think that's the issue.

They do also have this: http://www.harborfreight.com/7-14-in-10-amp-circular-saw-69079.html.  The thing that bothers me about this saw is
That sounds to me like it requires some sort of mount, in addition to the saw, that it's not hand-held.  And I don't know how much the mount would cost.

Margret
That circular saw looks good to me, but it might be difficult to cut the crotch of branches. For the bevel cut, they mean the blade can be turned sideways. It doesn't need a mount. Anne has featured some cat trees made by someone, I don't remember his name, but he would be a better person to ask.
 

1CatOverTheLine

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That circular saw looks good to me, but it might be difficult to cut the crotch of branches. For the bevel cut, they mean the blade can be turned sideways. It doesn't need a mount. Anne has featured some cat trees made by someone, I don't remember his name, but he would be a better person to ask.
A simple word of caution: if you've never used a circular saw, don't buy one unless you're willing  to learn - from a professional - how to use one safely.  It's the second most dangerous power tool in the commercial market; they bind, they pinch and they kick - and when they kick, it's only a matter of milliseconds before you can find yourself on the way to the hospital, driving with only one hand, because the other's in your pocket.

Before you consider it, do a YouTube search for "circular saw injury" and educate yourself to the inherent dangers.

.
 

NewYork1303

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We got our cat litter cabinets today and they are awesome. These are some lovely little furnishings designed to hide the boxes in various places around the house. Very well made and they look great. Hope the cats will use them. 
 

Margret

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That circular saw looks good to me, but it might be difficult to cut the crotch of branches. For the bevel cut, they mean the blade can be turned sideways. It doesn't need a mount. Anne has featured some cat trees made by someone, I don't remember his name, but he would be a better person to ask.
A simple word of caution: if you've never used a circular saw, don't buy one unless you're willing  to learn - from a professional - how to use one safely.  It's the second most dangerous power tool in the commercial market; they bind, they pinch and they kick - and when they kick, it's only a matter of milliseconds before you can find yourself on the way to the hospital, driving with only one hand, because the other's in your pocket.

Before you consider it, do a YouTube search for "circular saw injury" and educate yourself to the inherent dangers.

.
Well, I guess that settles that!  I will continue trusting the advice I was given regarding a jigsaw, and thank you. 
  I don't have the money to pay for a class on top of buying a saw, and severed extremities are not on my bucket list!

Margret
 

Margret

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---SNIP---
 
What's on my mind.....

I really, really need to look at what I have before I go shopping.

It was bad enough when I cleaned the cabinets that act as my pantry.  I use tomato sauce for one thing - meatloaf.  And I had 8 cans of tomato sauce.

Today there was a sale on cheese and I was pretty sure I was low on cheese.  They were sold out of mozzarella but I grabbed a block of cheddar (used for everything) and colby jack (used only as a snack).  Got home, the cheese didn't fit in my box, so I pulled it out to organize better.  I already had a block of mozzarella, two blocks of colby jack and three blocks of cheddar in addition to what I bought today.

So yeah, I see a lot of cheesy meals in the near future.
Fun thing about most common cheeses (like cheddar, mozzarella, and colby jack) is that they can be frozen for about three months. (Not much longer. Surprisingly, it will  spoil even in the freezer, even if you press all the air out of the freezer bags.)
---SNIP---
That's because microbes (and sometimes molds) are deliberately added to milk in order to turn it into cheese.  Everything that is needed to make the cheese spoil is already there, so excluding air doesn't help that much.

Margret
 

arouetta

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Well, I guess that settles that!  I will continue trusting the advice I was given regarding a jigsaw, and thank you. 
  I don't have the money to pay for a class on top of buying a saw, and severed extremities are not on my bucket list!

Margret
I wouldn't do an actual class, but you could probably get away with slipping a framer (specialty construction that puts up the frame and roof of a building) $20 for safety tips.  But yeah, I've even seen the professionals end up with massive damage to their hands.

Another possibility is a reciprocating saw.  Fairly easy to control, fairly safe.  And strong enough that one of the companies that make them does a demo every year by sawing a motor vehicle of some kind in two.
 

arouetta

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That's because microbes (and sometimes molds) are deliberately added to milk in order to turn it into cheese.  Everything that is needed to make the cheese spoil is already there, so excluding air doesn't help that much.

Margret
The process of turning milk into cheese also uses up all the sugar (lactose) in it.  Only cheeses that still have the whey (like cottage cheese) retains anything more than trace amounts of lactose, so hard and semi soft cheeses can be eaten by the lactose-intolerant.
 

arouetta

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The other side of that is that cat scratches and bites have a very nasty tendency to get infected.  However, you're right.  My worst cat scratch required a tetanus shot and a couple of butterflies, plus a little bit of time explaining to the ER doctor why it wasn't Pretzel's fault.  My most recent cat scratch required a thorough cleaning, some salve, and a bandage, plus which I kept my eye on it for a few days to make sure I didn't need antibiotics.  Fortunately, the hydrogen peroxide appears to have been adequate.

The thing is, vicious dogs will attack for any reason or no reason.  Vicious cats will pretty much leave you alone if you leave them alone.  And most cats and dogs aren't vicious.

Margret
My worst one (the one with stitches) was from the back claws, not the front claws.  The front ones are really sharp and cut cleanly.  The back feet are dull as heck and meant for tearing flesh off.

The cat was in my lap and something spooked her.  She went straight up in the air.  Idiot me looked up in an attempt to catch her, and when she came back down, her back foot touched my face and she pushed off.  The scar starts temple high about a half inch from my outer eyelid and runs diagonally down into my lip.  My lip is where I needed the 3 stitches and they said I was lucky, if the tear had gone all the way through I would have had to find an emergency dentist instead (apparently injuries to the inside of the mouth is considered dental, not medical).

Once it healed most of the scar actually looks like a laugh line going in the wrong direction, there's a pretty deep furrow but it's not odd colored.  Near my cheek it looks like a typical cat scratch scar, thin and pale, for about 2 inches in length, and is easily missed.  My lip has an obvious to me scar and is puffed up on the sides of the scar, but no one comments.

It could have been worse I'll admit.  Her foot could have landed on my eye.  But it wasn't viciousness, it was a scared cat who had no idea what the surface was that she pushed off of in order to run away.
 

segelkatt

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What's on my mind.....

I really, really need to look at what I have before I go shopping.

It was bad enough when I cleaned the cabinets that act as my pantry.  I use tomato sauce for one thing - meatloaf.  And I had 8 cans of tomato sauce.

Today there was a sale on cheese and I was pretty sure I was low on cheese.  They were sold out of mozzarella but I grabbed a block of cheddar (used for everything) and colby jack (used only as a snack).  Got home, the cheese didn't fit in my box, so I pulled it out to organize better.  I already had a block of mozzarella, two blocks of colby jack and three blocks of cheddar in addition to what I bought today.

So yeah, I see a lot of cheesy meals in the near future.
Freeze those blocks of cheese before they get mold on them, slices freeze well also and so do cubes. You have to make sure all the air is out of the bag that the cheese is in which is why I have a vacuum machine to do that, I have had cheese which I had bought on sale for many months without any mold at all using the vacuum machine. Even the little hand-held machine with the zipper bags will do the trick.
 
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segelkatt

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1CatOverTheLine

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Well, I guess that settles that!  I will continue trusting the advice I was given regarding a jigsaw, and thank you. 
  I don't have the money to pay for a class on top of buying a saw, and severed extremities are not on my bucket list!

Margret
Sorry to be a spoiler, but circular saws truly can be deadly.  A sabre saw (often called a "jig saw") was probably the right recommendation from the start.  You can certainly manage to hurt yourself by being careless, or placing your hand in front of the saw, but even the worst case scenario won't be Life-threatening.  A good solid cat scratch will hurt you more than a sabre saw, but a circular saw is the equivalent of a Tiger.

.
 

Margret

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The other side of that is that cat scratches and bites have a very nasty tendency to get infected.  However, you're right.  My worst cat scratch required a tetanus shot and a couple of butterflies, plus a little bit of time explaining to the ER doctor why it wasn't Pretzel's fault.  My most recent cat scratch required a thorough cleaning, some salve, and a bandage, plus which I kept my eye on it for a few days to make sure I didn't need antibiotics.  Fortunately, the hydrogen peroxide appears to have been adequate.

The thing is, vicious dogs will attack for any reason or no reason.  Vicious cats will pretty much leave you alone if you leave them alone.  And most cats and dogs aren't vicious.

Margret
My worst one (the one with stitches) was from the back claws, not the front claws.  The front ones are really sharp and cut cleanly.  The back feet are dull as heck and meant for tearing flesh off.

The cat was in my lap and something spooked her.  She went straight up in the air.  Idiot me looked up in an attempt to catch her, and when she came back down, her back foot touched my face and she pushed off.  The scar starts temple high about a half inch from my outer eyelid and runs diagonally down into my lip.  My lip is where I needed the 3 stitches and they said I was lucky, if the tear had gone all the way through I would have had to find an emergency dentist instead (apparently injuries to the inside of the mouth is considered dental, not medical).

Once it healed most of the scar actually looks like a laugh line going in the wrong direction, there's a pretty deep furrow but it's not odd colored.  Near my cheek it looks like a typical cat scratch scar, thin and pale, for about 2 inches in length, and is easily missed.  My lip has an obvious to me scar and is puffed up on the sides of the scar, but no one comments.

It could have been worse I'll admit.  Her foot could have landed on my eye.  But it wasn't viciousness, it was a scared cat who had no idea what the surface was that she pushed off of in order to run away.
That's pretty much what happened to me the time I needed a tetanus shot, except it was a front claw that caught me.  I was in bed and she was asleep on my shoulder.  When I shifted position I startled her awake and she took off, and, unfortunately, my face was in her way.  Mine was next to the eye, and maybe an inch or so long, and the scar is now long gone (unlike my various surgery scars).  But when it's your face getting torn up by cat claws, and especially if it's near your eye, doctors have a nasty tendency to assume the worst about the cat involved.  I don't think Pretzel even knew she'd hurt me; if she was at all aware that I was wounded she assumed that whatever monster had frightened her so badly had hurt me, so she was right to be frightened.

Margret
 

Margret

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Well, I guess that settles that!  I will continue trusting the advice I was given regarding a jigsaw, and thank you. 
  I don't have the money to pay for a class on top of buying a saw, and severed extremities are not on my bucket list!

Margret
Sorry to be a spoiler, but circular saws truly can be deadly.  A sabre saw (often called a "jig saw") was probably the right recommendation from the start.  You can certainly manage to hurt yourself by being careless, or placing your hand in front of the saw, but even the worst case scenario won't be Life-threatening.  A good solid cat scratch will hurt you more than a sabre saw, but a circular saw is the equivalent of a Tiger.

.
That's not being a spoiler; that's giving good advice, and I appreciate it.

Margret
 

Margret

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What's on my mind.....

I really, really need to look at what I have before I go shopping.

It was bad enough when I cleaned the cabinets that act as my pantry.  I use tomato sauce for one thing - meatloaf.  And I had 8 cans of tomato sauce.

Today there was a sale on cheese and I was pretty sure I was low on cheese.  They were sold out of mozzarella but I grabbed a block of cheddar (used for everything) and colby jack (used only as a snack).  Got home, the cheese didn't fit in my box, so I pulled it out to organize better.  I already had a block of mozzarella, two blocks of colby jack and three blocks of cheddar in addition to what I bought today.

So yeah, I see a lot of cheesy meals in the near future.
Freeze those blocks of cheese before they get mold on them, slices freeze well also and so do cubes. You have to make sure all the air is out of the bag that the cheese is in which is why I have a vacuum machine to do that, I have had cheese which I had bought on sale for many months without any mold at all using the vacuum machine. Even the little hand-held machine with the zipper bags will do the trick.
Better yet, leave them in their original packaging, which is already airtight and vacuum packed.

Margret
 

tallyollyopia

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Those look amazing! 
 Do the cats use them?

Well, I just got back from the hospital from making a payment (my first, and only payment this month, but it's been really  hectic), and just barely  stopped them from sending my bill to a creditor. Seriously--they were in the process of sending it when I made a payment and they had to pull the whole thing from the system to reset it with the new amount. 
 The month isn't even over yet! 
 It should not be this hard to pay a hospital bill! Bright Shining Stars in the Sky, no bleeping wonder  so many bills go into collections! 
 

Mamanyt1953

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I've been wanting a small (but not too small) electric saw for some time, so that I can make Jasmine a cat tree and make Roger a tray for his walker, but I can't afford too much.  I have a very nice Dremel, but it's not big enough for the kind of jobs I have in mind.  Well, Harbor Freight is having a sale, and I found this: http://www.harborfreight.com/32-amp-variable-speed-jig-saw-62405.html, but, except for the fact that I can actually afford it, I don't know how to evaluate it.

Does anyone here have the experience with tools to tell me whether I want this?  Fortunately, the sale runs through Sunday so I don't have to rush out and get it right this minute, and since we have a Harbor Freight practically within walking distance I don't have to buy it online and pay shipping charges.

Margret
I don't know diddly about tools, but I do know that my friend, Jane, did quite a bit of business with them, and that they were very responsive in Customer Service.  Dunno if that helps.

Had to pop back in to add this link.  I am so in love with this precious and unusual family!  https://www.thedodo.com/cat-dad-cares-for-kittens-2280715692.html
 
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Margret

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Excuse me. I still have scars  on my head from the very first cat that ever attacked me (I was four and guilty of being in the same room), the stepmonster's cat held me hostage every visit for almost two years (I don't think the car that hit him was an accident--that was a very mean and aggressive cat, and I did nothing  to it), and when we were considering getting a cat back when I was in high school one of the shelter cats (kept in a room that encouraged people to visit, pet, and play with the animals with the shelter's blessing) bit me (chomped down midpurr with no  warning signs it was getting aggressive) and came a hair's breadth away from severing the nerve in my right hand sending me to the hospital again. So--equally bad, just for different reasons.

. . .
 
The other side of that is that cat scratches and bites have a very nasty tendency to get infected.  However, you're right.  My worst cat scratch required a tetanus shot and a couple of butterflies, plus a little bit of time explaining to the ER doctor why it wasn't Pretzel's fault.  My most recent cat scratch required a thorough cleaning, some salve, and a bandage, plus which I kept my eye on it for a few days to make sure I didn't need antibiotics.  Fortunately, the hydrogen peroxide appears to have been adequate.

The thing is, vicious dogs will attack for any reason or no reason.  Vicious cats will pretty much leave you alone if you leave them alone.  And most cats and dogs aren't vicious.

Margret
Ahem. Please see earlier post. I have had cats literally attack me for no other reason that being in the same room. (And no--I wasn't aggravating it--I couldn't have been. I was sitting, curled up on my feet, in the corner of a couch, reading.)
I was generalizing, not trying to invalidate your experience.  Also, I was speaking from an adult perspective.  Children are more easily bullied, especially when an adult human (your "stepmonster," for instance) assists in the bullying.

One of the things I was thinking of was the size difference between cats and many (not all) dogs.  When I was a kid, there was a dog in our neighborhood who was always allowed to run loose and had every kid on the block totally terrorized.  He was at least as big as we were, and it had nothing to do with being locked in a room with him, like you and the cat who hurt you so badly when you were a child.  He had just decided that he was in charge of the neighborhood, and every kid there had better acknowledge his dominance or suffer the consequences.  And, somehow, it was impossible to explain to the adults what was going on, because he was a beautiful dog, and he didn't do it when the grown ups were around to see him.

And, I'm sorry, but it sounds as if your experience with the cat at the shelter who bit you was the exception rather than the rule with this cat.  I've no idea what it was that set it off when it was with you, but they certainly wouldn't have had it available that way if there had been previous reports that it was vicious.  And no, I am not blaming you; I don't doubt in the slightest that you did nothing to provoke it.  I suspect it was something that you had no control over and no way of knowing about -- something about your voice, or your smell, or the way you pet, that reminded it of a bad experience.

Margret
 

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I was generalizing, not trying to invalidate your experience.  Also, I was speaking from an adult perspective.  Children are more easily bullied, especially when an adult human (your "stepmonster," for instance) assists in the bullying.

One of the things I was thinking of was the size difference between cats and many (not all) dogs.  When I was a kid, there was a dog in our neighborhood who was always allowed to run loose and had every kid on the block totally terrorized.  He was at least as big as we were, and it had nothing to do with being locked in a room with him, like you and the cat who hurt you so badly when you were a child.  He had just decided that he was in charge of the neighborhood, and every kid there had better acknowledge his dominance or suffer the consequences.  And, somehow, it was impossible to explain to the adults what was going on, because he was a beautiful dog, and he didn't do it when the grown ups were around to see him.

And, I'm sorry, but it sounds as if your experience with the cat at the shelter who bit you was the exception rather than the rule with this cat.  I've no idea what it was that set it off when it was with you, but they certainly wouldn't have had it available that way if there had been previous reports that it was vicious.  And no, I am not blaming you; I don't doubt in the slightest that you did nothing to provoke it.  I suspect it was something that you had no control over and no way of knowing about -- something about your voice, or your smell, or the way you pet, that reminded it of a bad experience.

Margret
The thing that gets me the most is that all these incidents involve different cats. And, I'm sorry if I sounded short-tempered. I had a nasty phone call interrupting my sleep as a woman demanded to know why I had "assisted" in "promoting uncontrolled breeding" because I have four cats and none of them came from a shelter. I don't even know how she got my number--I don't give it out. So--all things considered I was unfair. I'm sorry.
 
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