Remembering Krista

[tarasgirl06]

iCloud for Windows:

It’s just another sync drive extension. That would be okay if Windows wasn’t even worse than Apple for organizing photos.

Google Photos, on the other hand, I’m really liking it. I can browse all the pictures and videos in my web browser rather than having to replicate all of them on the local drive. And edits and deletes I make in Google Photos, I can carry over to Apple easily enough.

I still have to go through the pain of sorting my Apple photos into Apple albums and the same photos in Google Photos into Google albums.

Yeah, I like Google, too. But no matter what, we gotta work for our rewards, right?
Just like with Krista. Have to be careful there, but it's so, so worth it when you're able to get in there for a snorgle.

 

[daftcat75]

Found this in my Google Photos.

Looks just like OC!

 

[tarasgirl06]

Found this in my Google Photos.

Looks just like OC!
View attachment 355597

*OUCHIE OUCH!**Just musing on there being OC and AOC, and that AOC is also Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Just so there's no confusion.*

 

[daftcat75]

Though I don't know this cat yet, there is also an NC (next cat.) I hope to meet her (probably her) someday soon. When I'm ready.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Though I don't know this cat yet, there is also an NC (next cat.) I hope to meet her (probably her) someday soon. When I'm ready.

Oh yes! She will come into your life at precisely the right moment.

 

[daftcat75]

I threw out another piece of Krista this past weekend. In her final days, she peed the pregnancy pillow more times than I could keep up with the washing. Thankfully, it was dilute pee. I took that pillow off the bed and moved it into the office. She passed before I got it washed again. Then I got caught up in the grief and shock of losing her that I didn't want to deal with that pillow for the longest time. It doesn't smell like cat pee. But then I don't have a cat nose. It was probably salvageable. I don't want to risk it with the next cat. So into the dumpster it went.

8/26/2019: Krista nestled into her cloud within moments of unpacking the pillow.

In a similar vein, her litter box enclosure will eventually need to be replaced. It probably smells of her pee more than I could ever know even if I don't smell it. I also need to spend more time trying to get the pee smell out of the closet in the front room. That I can smell when I open that closet. Thankfully, I don't use that closet very often. But I want to get pee smells out of the apartment before I bring a new cat in. I don't want NC marking her territory because she can still smell Krista's pee.


5/12/2013: I think this date is wrong. I didn't think I moved into this apartment until July of 2013. In any case, this is the enclosure when it was new. Before the awful Littermaid automatic box leaked pee for years because the seams between the upper and lower box were not sealed solidly enough. It was gross the first time I moved this enclosure to clean beneath it. The door has since been removed so Krista could have an easier entrance and exit. And these days, it is being used as storage for the remaining litter, litter genie, and various other cat supplies that I used to use but don't currently need available at the moment.

I have temporarily moved her cat stairs that lead to nowhere away from the door. I am expecting a package that will require me to be able to open the door wider than these stairs allow. These stairs are even more useless today than when Krista was still around. But it's so hard for me to look at the empty space where they used to be. I'm so relieved these stairs will go back there later today. I bought the stairs for a convalescing Krista after her ruptured eardrum last year. I purchased them online so that's why I never bothered to return them when I figured out there was no place for them. Except that space behind the door.


10/4/2019: A rare stair spotting. Krista was only up there a handful of times. Usually it was to get off the floor when I started to Bissell her barfs or bombs. Once or twice she was waiting for me up there when I came in the door.

Most of the time, the stairs simply serve as a "shoulder" to lean upon while buckling or unbuckling my sandals. I'm thinking about getting a stool or a bench to serve that purpose. But these stairs to nowhere are harder to part with than a peed-upon pillow.

 

[tarasgirl06]

I threw out another piece of Krista this past weekend. In her final days, she peed the pregnancy pillow more times than I could keep up with the washing. Thankfully, it was dilute pee. I took that pillow off the bed and moved it into the office. She passed before I got it washed again. Then I got caught up in the grief and shock of losing her that I didn't want to deal with that pillow for the longest time. It doesn't smell like cat pee. But then I don't have a cat nose. It was probably salvageable. I don't want to risk it with the next cat. So into the dumpster it went.
View attachment 355693
8/26/2019: Krista nestled into her cloud within moments of unpacking the pillow.

In a similar vein, her litter box enclosure will eventually need to be replaced. It probably smells of her pee more than I could ever know even if I don't smell it. I also need to spend more time trying to get the pee smell out of the closet in the front room. That I can smell when I open that closet. Thankfully, I don't use that closet very often. But I want to get pee smells out of the apartment before I bring a new cat in. I don't want NC marking her territory because she can still smell Krista's pee.

View attachment 355696
5/12/2013: I think this date is wrong. I didn't think I moved into this apartment until July of 2013. In any case, this is the enclosure when it was new. Before the awful Littermaid automatic box leaked pee for years because the seams between the upper and lower box were not sealed solidly enough. It was gross the first time I moved this enclosure to clean beneath it. The door has since been removed so Krista could have an easier entrance and exit. And these days, it is being used as storage for the remaining litter, litter genie, and various other cat supplies that I used to use but don't currently need available at the moment.

I have temporarily moved her cat stairs that lead to nowhere away from the door. I am expecting a package that will require me to be able to open the door wider than these stairs allow. These stairs are even more useless today than when Krista was still around. But it's so hard for me to look at the empty space where they used to be. I'm so relieved these stairs will go back there later today. I bought the stairs for a convalescing Krista after her ruptured eardrum last year. I purchased them online so that's why I never bothered to return them when I figured out there was no place for them. Except that space behind the door.

View attachment 355695
10/4/2019: A rare stair spotting. Krista was only up there a handful of times. Usually it was to get off the floor when I started to Bissell her barfs or bombs. Once or twice she was waiting for me up there when I came in the door.

Most of the time, the stairs simply serve as a "shoulder" to lean upon while buckling or unbuckling my sandals. I'm thinking about getting a stool or a bench to serve that purpose. But these stairs to nowhere are harder to part with than a peed-upon pillow.

As long as the stairs are non-peed-upon, you could keep them, though, right? They look nice.
Nice pix of Krista.
I'd get rid of the pillow and the enclosure, too. Some things you can salvage, Some you can't. We had some nice beds and napping pads from Drs. Foster & Smith that got used the same way. I washed them a few times, and then conceded victory to the yellow river. Out they went. They were well-made and attractive products and I miss them. Baby Su doesn't. Elvis never saw them.

 

[daftcat75]

The platform bed arrived yesterday. That was a beast! 137 lbs! They really should ship it in two separate boxes. It took me three hours to assemble. Part of that was deciphering the IKEA-like instructions. Which piece is this and which hole is it going into? I have no doubt this would have gone smoother if I still had my furry foreman to keep me focused.

Trying to get this behemoth into the bedroom required a detour to the bathroom.

Montage of the build:

The result:

The remainder. Not a box worthy of a cat.


This is my mattress lab. My main bed is an Avocado hybrid spring-foam mattress. It’s both too firm and too soft. It’s an improvement over the mattress I had before it. But I think I can do better. First up in my mattress lab is actually a placeholder. I wanted to put something on the new frame. So this is the $99 hybrid mattress from Amazon. It’s actually pretty decent. Unfortunately, I don’t know that it will scale up well to a queen size.

I want to fix my sleeping before NC. It’s still all over the place. But a little better than before.

And because this is still a Krista thread, here's a judgemental Krista, probably upset that I built this without her.

March 20, 2016: Before any of her health concerns and when my office was still a bedroom.

 

[tarasgirl06]

The platform bed arrived yesterday. That was a beast! 137 lbs! They really should ship it in two separate boxes. It took me three hours to assemble. Part of that was deciphering the IKEA-like instructions. Which piece is this and which hole is it going into? I have no doubt this would have gone smoother if I still had my furry foreman to keep me focused.

Trying to get this behemoth into the bedroom required a detour to the bathroom.
View attachment 355813
Montage of the build:
View attachment 355816
The result:
View attachment 355817
The remainder. Not a box worthy of a cat.
View attachment 355815

This is my mattress lab. My main bed is an Avocado hybrid spring-foam mattress. It’s both too firm and too soft. It’s an improvement over the mattress I had before it. But I think I can do better. First up in my mattress lab is actually a placeholder. I wanted to put something on the new frame. So this is the $99 hybrid mattress from Amazon. It’s actually pretty decent. Unfortunately, I don’t know that it will scale up well to a queen size.

I want to fix my sleeping before NC. It’s still all over the place. But a little better than before.

And because this is still a Krista thread, here's a judgemental Krista, probably upset that I built this without her.
View attachment 355819
March 20, 2016: Before any of her health concerns and when my office was still a bedroom.

AWWWWW, Krista watching the ball game! *Did your team win?*
Not sure, but it sounds like maybe your bought a MALM from IKEA? I have the King size. I mean, WE have the King size because it has accomodated 10 cats very adequately in the past, and now sleeps 2 felines plus one servant. Problem is, my ex had a Cal King waterbed when I moved with him, and when I told him, finally, that I hated his Colonial style frame and we got the MALM, it is a King, not a Cal King, which is longer than a plain King. SO, the really nice expensive mattress he'd bought for the Colonial beast is on top of the IKEA King mattress and slatted bed base. Hey, I figure that when the first one wears out, I'll get rid of it and the IKEA one is there, ready to use. Probably for the duration, by that time. I made the big mistake of thinking that the firmer the mattress, the better. WRONG. IKEA has guidelines as to what mattress you should get based on height and weight and according to it, I should have a soft mattress. *IDK how Baby Su and Elvis would feel.*

The monster that should have its own ZIP code, with Baby Su looking on as Elvis tries to enjoy a private moment with Tarifa.

 

[daftcat75]

It's South Shore platform bed something or other. Not IKEA. I got it from Amazon. The mattress is also from Amazon. To be honest, it wasn't even my first choice. I've had my eye on this bed frame with cube storage for the longest time. But it hasn't been available to order for an equally longest time. Ironically, I got the notification from Target that's finally back in stock yesterday. After the other bed was delivered. This is probably adequate for now. I had a bad habit of throwing clothes on the bed rather than putting them in a drawer. So I put three drawers beneath the bed. And now I hope I'll have no excuses about leaving stuff on the bed.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001IWO7BC/?tag=thecatsite

The next thing I need is a dining table. I got rid of my dining set when I converted that area to Krista's wall. I am leaning towards this:

Wayfair.com - Online Home Store for Furniture, Decor, Outdoors & More

At that price, it will be a good placeholder until I find something better. But it will be nice to have some place other than the bed or the chair to eat and work after I've left the "office" for the day. And when I do replace it, it looks solid enough to become deck furniture.

I don't know when I'll be ready for NC. But I don't want to live in a Krista museum until then.

In other news, I talked to a local pet food store. They'll take two cases of Rawz off my hands. That just leaves one more to "return". All of them came from Internet. Two of the cases from Texas and one from San Francisco. I just may drive the San Francisco case to their brick and mortar store. But if I can take it to a more local store, I'd certainly be happier with that.

 

[daftcat75]

AWWWWW, Krista watching the ball game! *Did your team win?*
Not sure, but it sounds like maybe your bought a MALM from IKEA? I have the King size. I mean, WE have the King size because it has accomodated 10 cats very adequately in the past, and now sleeps 2 felines plus one servant. Problem is, my ex had a Cal King waterbed when I moved with him, and when I told him, finally, that I hated his Colonial style frame and we got the MALM, it is a King, not a Cal King, which is longer than a plain King. SO, the really nice expensive mattress he'd bought for the Colonial beast is on top of the IKEA King mattress and slatted bed base. Hey, I figure that when the first one wears out, I'll get rid of it and the IKEA one is there, ready to use. Probably for the duration, by that time. I made the big mistake of thinking that the firmer the mattress, the better. WRONG. IKEA has guidelines as to what mattress you should get based on height and weight and according to it, I should have a soft mattress. *IDK how Baby Su and Elvis would feel.*View attachment 355841
The monster that should have its own ZIP code, with Baby Su looking on as Elvis tries to enjoy a private moment with Tarifa.

That's an impressive cat tower!

 

[tarasgirl06]

That's an impressive cat tower!

Oh, thanks. My ex got that from Petco and it was a great surprise. It gets a lot of enjoyment, too. Rani angel used to climb up on top and LAUNCH!!! herself onto the bed, screaming for treats as she flew. I wish I had a video of that. Now, Elvis likes to curl up in the third level. He's very hard to see in there. If I put my hand in there looking for him, sometimes he'll pop it with a soft paw.
Nice furniture choices! IKEA has MALM and other named bed frames with drawers, too. They didn't when we bought mine, but that's okay, and preferable, actually, for us, because Baby Su is like the kid in the basement in there. Sometimes I wonder if she has a gaming rig in there.
That's thoughtful of you to make your supply of RAWZ available to other cats. Hope you can find a convenient store for the third case. I'm imagining some really grateful cats (or their people, at least).

 

[daftcat75]

From Caring For an Orange Cat thread...

I understand completely. It just sounded as if you were a bit "getting-ready-ish"/cat needy.

Some thoughts on where I am and when I might be ready again...

I'm nearly eating and cooking like "normal" again. Still leaning a little too heavy on comfort foods to take off the 15 lbs I need to lose. Not for vanity, but for my back health. While I started running again this week, that's for cardio health and will do little for weight loss. Pounds are lost in the kitchen or with strength training. I'd like to get back into yoga as a prelude to strength training. That's going to require a little more discipline in the morning than I have right now.

One of the grief books I listened to on Audible says that those whose lives were unbalanced or unhealthy before their loss will find grief to be much more transformative than those who had a more balanced life before loss. The latter group presumably would have more resources and routines to fall back upon. I do not consider myself a member of the latter group. To care for Krista, to provide the intense round the clock care, I sacrificed what little social life I had before, I pulled back on job responsibilities, I gave up sleep, and I even changed the way I was eating, opting for a lot more comfort foods when things weren't going so well with her--hence the extra 15. I have to unravel all of these sacrifices as best I can within the confines of a raging pandemic.

Speaking of the pandemic, having a dependent while living alone and having an effective social pod of zero made me very nervous and anxious before. I had nightmarish visions of being hospitalized and having Krista starve or be put down because she couldn't be placed and no-one could take on her care. I've gone long stretches without a cat before. I think I would like to wait out the darkest 12 weeks to come of the pandemic before taking on a new dependent. I would also hope that when I'm ready to adopt again, that in-person adoptions will be happening once more. Hopefully they'll let me back in the vet's office again too.

And then there's the intensity of Krista's care. I'm still PTSD'ed over that. I'm not ready to think and worry about food selection and poop quality. I'm not ready for hairballs or vomiting. Or any other random illnesses or infections that might come with a new cat. Presumably a new cat will be healthy for a good long time before any of these are concerns again. If that were so, there'd be a lot less traffic on the health boards. I'm not ready or willing to deal with any inappropriate urination or marking that might come with a new cat who can still smell the places I couldn't clean well enough.

But more than any of this, I still haven't shed all the tears for her. Today has been especially soggy. I'm definitely still not ready to have a cat that isn't Krista in my home and under my care. As intense and disordered as her care and my life became, I would do it all again for her and her alone just to have more time with her because I miss her like crazy. Even if I couldn't change a thing, sometimes I feel it would be enough just to get one more day with her. But if it isn't her, my heart just isn't ready for any other cat right now.

In short, I have issues. And most of those issues cannot and will not be solved with some new cat. As long as I have this time between cats, I owe it to myself, to honor Krista's memory, and to the next cat to take care of myself first. I'd like to establish healthy patterns and routines around eating, exercise, sleep, self care, my career which took a hit in Krista's last year, and probably a multitude of concerns I haven't listed or even thought of yet. Thankfully, I've discovered for myself strategies for self-improvement, that when consistently applied, can result in marked and significant changes and growth. I simply need to slog through and do the time. I have plenty of life left to share with future cats. But this between-time is rare and precious. I won't rush through it.

 

[tarasgirl06]

From Caring For an Orange Cat thread...


Some thoughts on where I am and when I might be ready again...

I'm nearly eating and cooking like "normal" again. Still leaning a little too heavy on comfort foods to take off the 15 lbs I need to lose. Not for vanity, but for my back health. While I started running again this week, that's for cardio health and will do little for weight loss. Pounds are lost in the kitchen or with strength training. I'd like to get back into yoga as a prelude to strength training. That's going to require a little more discipline in the morning than I have right now.

One of the grief books I listened to on Audible says that those whose lives were unbalanced or unhealthy before their loss will find grief to be much more transformative than those who had a more balanced life before loss. The latter group presumably would have more resources and routines to fall back upon. I do not consider myself a member of the latter group. To care for Krista, to provide the intense round the clock care, I sacrificed what little social life I had before, I pulled back on job responsibilities, I gave up sleep, and I even changed the way I was eating, opting for a lot more comfort foods when things weren't going so well with her--hence the extra 15. I have to unravel all of these sacrifices as best I can within the confines of a raging pandemic.

Speaking of the pandemic, having a dependent while living alone and having an effective social pod of zero made me very nervous and anxious before. I had nightmarish visions of being hospitalized and having Krista starve or be put down because she couldn't be placed and no-one could take on her care. I've gone long stretches without a cat before. I think I would like to wait out the darkest 12 weeks to come of the pandemic before taking on a new dependent. I would also hope that when I'm ready to adopt again, that in-person adoptions will be happening once more. Hopefully they'll let me back in the vet's office again too.

And then there's the intensity of Krista's care. I'm still PTSD'ed over that. I'm not ready to think and worry about food selection and poop quality. I'm not ready for hairballs or vomiting. Or any other random illnesses or infections that might come with a new cat. Presumably a new cat will be healthy for a good long time before any of these are concerns again. If that were so, there'd be a lot less traffic on the health boards. I'm not ready or willing to deal with any inappropriate urination or marking that might come with a new cat who can still smell the places I couldn't clean well enough.

But more than any of this, I still haven't shed all the tears for her. Today has been especially soggy. I'm definitely still not ready to have a cat that isn't Krista in my home and under my care. As intense and disordered as her care and my life became, I would do it all again for her and her alone just to have more time with her because I miss her like crazy. Even if I couldn't change a thing, sometimes I feel it would be enough just to get one more day with her. But if it isn't her, my heart just isn't ready for any other cat right now.

In short, I have issues. And most of those issues cannot and will not be solved with some new cat. As long as I have this time between cats, I owe it to myself, to honor Krista's memory, and to the next cat to take care of myself first. I'd like to establish healthy patterns and routines around eating, exercise, sleep, self care, my career which took a hit in Krista's last year, and probably a multitude of concerns I haven't listed or even thought of yet. Thankfully, I've discovered for myself strategies for self-improvement, that when consistently applied, can result in marked and significant changes and growth. I simply need to slog through and do the time. I have plenty of life left to share with future cats. But this between-time is rare and precious. I won't rush through it.

Excellent. You know exactly where you are and what is effective. *How typically aspy, right?* When NC does come into your life, you're going to be a wonderful catdad!
So much of what you say resonates here, but not "just" because of our loss(es) or the pandemic. It's life here, since we moved here, basically, and I've lost a couple of good friends (who passed). Reconnected with another one, who's problematic at the best of times but bottom line, a good friend on some levels. And I think that, even with the imperfections, it was an inspired move to get the roomies. Not that I could depend on them to give the kind of care I prefer/would want for Baby Su and Elvis is something happened to me, but they're here and they wouldn't let them do the things you're worried about, worst case scenario. With auto-delivered food, litter and treats, the way I've got my legal stuff set up, all would be well, whether they stayed with them or went on to my designated caregivers. These things can be so difficult and especially for people like us who really care about our cats and need to plan for the future for them.
If when the time comes, you're able to get an older kitten or a young adult cat who's had all the vetting and is healthy, yeah, you stand a good chance of quite a few years of smooth sailing. You take excellent care of your cats, all in all, and you provide a very good environment for them.
I think a lot of people need to be good to themselves, regroup, and take breaks when needed during these times. I'm trying to do that. I kind of slave-drive myself and expect 110% from myself. Always pushing the envelope. So I'm trying to relax a little, try to socialize a bit more and make more quality time to play with Baby Su and Elvis.
When you're ready, she will come.

 

[daftcat75]

When you're ready, she will come.

The long and the short of it is that I'm not nearly ready for her to be anyone but Krista right now. I window shop on Instagram. But I won't let myself look at any cats that can be adopted. I don't want to be tempted when I know I'm not ready. I do miss OC in the same way I miss some of the dogs I knew at the tap room pre-pandemic. I love them. But I wouldn't want to take any of them home.

As cute as all the kittens are on Instagram, I don't think I have the patience for a kitten right now. A two year old like Krista was when I rescued her would still have plenty of that kitten energy left without the kitten crying and the kitten poops.

 

[tarasgirl06]

The long and the short of it is that I'm not nearly ready for her to be anyone but Krista right now. I window shop on Instagram. But I won't let myself look at any cats that can be adopted. I don't want to be tempted when I know I'm not ready. I do miss OC in the same way I miss some of the dogs I knew at the tap room pre-pandemic. I love them. But I wouldn't want to take any of them home.

As cute as all the kittens are on Instagram, I don't think I have the patience for a kitten right now. A two year old like Krista was when I rescued her would still have plenty of that kitten energy left without the kitten crying and the kitten poops.

Yeah! A young adult cat gives the best of everything -- playfulness, kitten cuteness, silliness, AND all of the things that make adult cats so amazingly wonderful. PLUS, of course, they need loving homes too, and little kittens get scooped up more readily than adult cats in a lot of cases.

 

[daftcat75]

Help me decide the color of the dining table set to place in the space. The chair and the end table across the room are both compatible with the Black/Brown. The Black/Silver would match the kitchen. And my red dishes would pop on the black surface. I think the Natural and Espresso are the wrong shades of brown. And I think the all black is too boring. So should I go with the Black/Silver or Black/Brown?

The dining set:
Best Choice Products 3-Piece Wooden Round Table & Chair Set for Kitchen, Dining Room, Compact Space w/Steel Frame, Built-in Wine Rack - Black/Brown https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KFXMNBW/?tag=thecatsite

And the space I’m looking to put it in:


The Katris looks so weird flattened out like that. Changes are making me uneasy. But I can’t live in a Krista museum.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Help me decide the color of the dining table set to place in the space. The chair and the end table across the room are both compatible with the Black/Brown. The Black/Silver would match the kitchen. And my red dishes would pop on the black surface. I think the Natural and Espresso are the wrong shades of brown. And I think the all black is too boring. So should I go with the Black/Silver or Black/Brown?

The dining set:
Best Choice Products 3-Piece Wooden Round Table & Chair Set for Kitchen, Dining Room, Compact Space w/Steel Frame, Built-in Wine Rack - Black/Brown https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KFXMNBW/?tag=thecatsite

And the space I’m looking to put it in:
View attachment 356096View attachment 356097

The Katris looks so weird flattened out like that. Changes are making me uneasy. But I can’t live in a Krista museum.

Well, the Katris is stylish, though -- it looks like the Greek key pattern, sorta. It's not ugly, anyway.
I like both colors but personally I'd go with the Black/Brown. I like warm colors best, and it keys in with the carpet and cat furnishings and the furniture I can see there. But again, either is really nice. (SO helpful, right?)

 

[daftcat75]

Well, the Katris is stylish, though -- it looks like the Greek key pattern, sorta. It's not ugly, anyway.
I like both colors but personally I'd go with the Black/Brown. I like warm colors best, and it keys in with the carpet and cat furnishings and the furniture I can see there. But again, either is really nice. (SO helpful, right?)

The nice thing about that price is that if I go with one and don't like it, I can move that one to the deck and buy another in the other color. I think I am leaning towards the Black/Brown as well. I can see the black surface looking a little cheap compared to the black granite counter tops. And anyway, who wants to use the fridge or dishwasher as your matching piece?

Thanks for the input. I'll hold off on ordering in case anyone else wants to provide some thoughts.

The last two pieces of the Katris were previously forming a U shape. But to make room for the dining set, I flattened those last two pieces inline with the other pieces.

 

[Tobermory]

I like the black/brown. As tarasgirl06 says, it’s warmer and fits with the furnishings. The black/silver to me seems a bit cold and institutional.