The "what's On Your Mind?" Thread -2018

[Mamanyt1953]

SPIT! My "Welcome Fall" cat gif won't post!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

OK...so it did, from another source.

 

[debbila]

I had two interesting experiences. I advertised my old closet doors for free on Craig's List. The woman who took them yesterday is a volunteer for Habitat For Humanity. If she can't use them she'll give them to the organization. We had a good conversation and I learned that they sell some of their donations to the public at low prices.The money goes towards helping their clients who are in need. She offered to let me go along with her on the days she volunteers. She gets 20% off what she buys!

Then, today the woman who bought my Litter Robot has a cat rescue in her home ( my kitty wouldn't set foot in it.... sigh ). This will be her second Litter Robot. She's really glad her kitties like to use it. She would have a lot of scooping to do with the six cats she currently has.

So I've made a new friend! Kristine the HFH volunteer lives right down the street about a mile or two.
Good things do come to us when we help others.

 

[segelkatt]

debbila I'm so sorry your Litter Robot did not work out for you. You did know you could return it if your cat didn't like it? I had gotten the original one some 15 years ago and my Capucchino was in it within a few hours, unfortunately after about 8 years or so she decided she would have no part of any kind of even a partially covered box and eventually declared she would not use ANY kind of box. Now she uses puppy pads on the floor next to the new Litter Robot which I change every day. Oh well, she is 18 years old now. The other cats, even Bebe, the 18 year old declawed Persian who passed away a few weeks ago, religiously use the new Open Air Litter Robot, have to change the bag every day or two. I still have the original one but my cats prefer to use the Open Air. If push comes to shove they will use it although under protest.
We have a Habitat for Humanity store here also. It's pretty much aimed at people who have homes of their own, not renters like me, but they also do have some things for people like me. However the store is located some distance away so I have been there only once. They did have some high-end furniture there, probably from either rich people or from model homes, if I was in the market for some new furniture I would consider that but as I am planning to leave California next August I will get rid of a lot of my furniture which probably not even a thrift store would want and get something new or newer once I am settled down. I am thinking of modular furniture where all the pieces (sides, backs and seats) are interchangeable and they come in small packages so that you can have a huge sofa in an upstairs room up stairs with more than one turn and you don't have to worry about banging up the furniture or the walls as you just carry the various pieces and assemble them once you have them where you want them and you can take them apart and assemble them in a different way. One company says the furniture is made so that a 60 year old lady can put together a sofa by herself and without tools and the furniture is mainly solid wood, not the pressed stuff. It sounds better every time I read another company's advertisement.

 

[debbila]

segelkatt I knew I could return the Litter Robot but I procrastinated too long. When will I ever learn? I'm glad your kitties use yours, so good not having to scoop right? At Capucchino's ripe old age she deserves to 'do it' however she likes. I hope my Chiqui stays healthy enough to live as long as your kitties have. I got the Breeze litter box about four months ago and Chiqui and I both like it. It's so much cleaner with no litter on my floors and no odor. Tossing the pad from the bottom and an occasional 'poop' is so much easier than scooping as I'm sure you know from having the Litter Robot and puppy pads. That sounds great about the modular furniture. We need that when we have to do it on our own. Goodwill will take your furniture even if it's not in good condition. I gave them a couple pieces that were very old, and I had even bought them second hand. They took old pillows and comforters too. I did a major decluttering when I organized my bedroom closets.

Where are you moving to?

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I have the last of my allergy tests on Wednesday and will be able to take my meds again! I am so . I've spent almost two weeks now coughing, hacking, gurgling, itching, and NOT sleeping! I should have been able to get all of the testing done at one go, but oak flared, and they couldn't do part two. That actually ended up being a good thing, because I had a delayed positive on two other sites that didn't show up until I was back at home.

 

[Alicia88]

Well, maybe I'm being overly sensitive but I just sent a message to McDonald's about their new ad. It depicts a black cat as a symbol of bad luck. I feel like ads like that should stop because there's already a stigma and superstition that hasn't quite been dispelled with time. Black cats are euthanized at a higher rate than other cats. They're at a higher risk of mistreatment - especially in the month of October. I feel like it was really irresponsible. Connor says, "We are not amused."

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Well, maybe I'm being overly sensitive but I just sent a message to McDonald's about their new ad. It depicts a black cat as a symbol of bad luck. I feel like ads like that should stop because there's already a stigma and superstition that hasn't quite been dispelled with time.

I canNOT agree with you more, and BRAVO! You did exactly as you should have done. IF you decide to go to Animalpetitions.org, or Care2 and start a petition, I, for one, shall sign it immediately. You can then send THAT to McDonald's, as well.

 

[Alicia88]

I've never made a petition on those things before. I wouldn't even know how to word it . . .

 

[Alicia88]

However, I am in a Black Cat Appreciation Group on Facebook. That would be a good place to start getting signatures.

 

[Alicia88]

Black Cats Are Not Bad Luck

 

[segelkatt]

segelkatt I knew I could return the Litter Robot but I procrastinated too long. When will I ever learn? I'm glad your kitties use yours, so good not having to scoop right? At Capucchino's ripe old age she deserves to 'do it' however she likes. I hope my Chiqui stays healthy enough to live as long as your kitties have. I got the Breeze litter box about four months ago and Chiqui and I both like it. It's so much cleaner with no litter on my floors and no odor. Tossing the pad from the bottom and an occasional 'poop' is so much easier than scooping as I'm sure you know from having the Litter Robot and puppy pads. That sounds great about the modular furniture. We need that when we have to do it on our own. Goodwill will take your furniture even if it's not in good condition. I gave them a couple pieces that were very old, and I had even bought them second hand. They took old pillows and comforters too. I did a major decluttering when I organized my bedroom closets.

Where are you moving to?

I hope you waited long enough for your kitty to learn to like the Litter Robot. I have one cat who had never used anything but an open box. He was 3 years old when I got him and he gave the Litter Robot an evil eye, he wanted no part of it. However, he also did not like a dirty box and complained loudly when it was not to his liking. So I moved the open box next to the LR hoping he would use the LR, no dice. Then I let the open box get really nasty and stinky. He complained but still did not use the LR for 4 days. The other cats were all using the LR. By day 5 he had had enough of a dirty box, (he had a hard time finding a clean spot to put his feet and also did not cover ,I would not have either with that dirty box) and climbed into the LR to do his business. He must have liked the nice clean LR as he has been using it ever since. That was the small old model. When I got the new Open Air he was right in it and everything has been good since then. Capucchino is a different story as she had used it for 8 years and not since then , not even the Open Air, and it has been over 5 years since she changed her mind, go figure.
I am going to move to Reno, NV where my son and his family lives. After my landlord raised my rent by $200.00 and who knows how much more next year I find myself in a place where I just can't afford to live here anymore. I am also getting to the age where I should not live all alone anymore, having family up close is something that comes to us sooner or later. I am hoping to find a small house with a yard where I can dig up a spot for a small garden and grow tomatoes and peppers and cabbages and onions etc. but am close enough to my son that he can help me out if necessary. He will move me and my belongings, people from the yacht club have promised to help load the truck, all my stuff will go into storage until I can find a place of my own, 2-3 months, then get a few day laborers to move everything from storage into my own home. In the meantime I will stay with my son and run his kitchen as his wife does not like to cook and I won't have to pay rent for the duration, everyone wins. I hate to leave California as I have lived her since 1971 and this has become home but I will have to do what I have to do. Air travel is cheap enough these days that I will still be able to visit and get my "ocean fix" every once in a while. The Yacht Club has also said I can keep my membership for a reduced rate and go sailing whenever I come to Calif. to visit. Even driving would not be too bad as long as I have a place to stay without having to pay for a hotel/motel room for a few days

broken branches

this is where branches broke from with another just hanging there, pictures were taken from the second floor

this is all the debris falling from branches next to the building that was blown in by the wind

After the few days of rain we now have the Santa Ana winds roaring out of the desert from the northeast, cold at night but climbing to 80 during the day, gusts up to 80 mph but usually 25-40, bone dry with humidity down to single digits, fire danger is sky high. About 15 miles from here a 40 ft eucalyptus tree fell on a car and the woman inside of it was killed. She had just gotten into her car in her driveway to go to work when the tree fell. Eucalyptus have very shallow roots so it does not take much to fell one and the roots will come right out of the ground. Many people are without power because of downed power lines. So far no fires, there was a small one in one of the canyons but it was put out right away.
Next to the building I live in some big branches fell off a tree, luckily nobody walks there unless they walk their dog.

The walkways are full of debris.

The modular furniture I was looking at is called "lovesac" and they have a showroom in the local mall so I went and looked at it to check it out. Their on-line catalog is good too. Not cheap (like IKEA which is almost all pressed wood but for a very few pieces) but it's solid furniture and they have been around for over 20 years, mainly on the East Coast and now expanding. You can check it out in the store, then order it and it will be delivered to your home with your choice of covers which you change when you don't like it anymore a few years later and get new different ones. They will even send you swatches so you know what you will get. Like most furniture it is made in Asia but shipped from Connecticut.

 

[Alicia88]

I got a response from McDonald's. Meaningless, patronizing form letter. Share my petition everywhere. Maybe they'll take down the ad.

 

[segelkatt]

Newsflash! Capucchino used the Litter Robot and apparently has been using it for a few days. Evidence: the puppy pads had been used but only for pee, I found pieces of "tootsie rolls" in front of the Litter Robot but none on the puppy pads and today I saw her walking very determinately towards the LR, I thought she would stop at the puppy pad but no, passed it right by and walked into the LR as if she was doing that every day and pooped. WOW! there is hope that she will start using it for pee also. After refusing for 10+ years to use it that is really a puzzle but I am sure happy about it.So an old lady cat of 18 can change her mind after all.I tried to reward her with praise and treats, she loved the praise, the treats left her cold, oh well.

The winds have stopped and I have not heard of any fires so we may have had luck after all this time around and the winds were really strong and it would have been a disaster if a fire had broken out.

 

[segelkatt]

What happened? I posted yesterday that I had these weird overlays on some pictures. Now the overlays are gone but so is my post and there is talk about a "monkey virus" that has been taken care of. Can somebody explain to me what was going on?

 

[Alicia88]

Is anyone else having trouble getting the site to load? It's loading very slowly and timing out a lot. I'm not having trouble with any other sites.

 

[Alicia88]

I'm really annoyed.
I've mentioned that we have monthly inspections where we live. Ok, whatever. Well, they were here last Thursday and asked to take pictures of my cats, saying they didn't have them. They did that several months ago, so I thought it was a little strange but no big deal so I said "go ahead" and didn't think any more of it. Today we got a letter saying we were in violation of our lease agreement for not providing their shot records, proof of neutering, and city licensing. We did all that when we moved in!
I don't even know if we still have the city licenses. They were tiny slips of paper that were probably thrown out. I'll have to dig through my e-mail for the vet records.
It's really inconvenient. They've clearly lost all this and they're blaming us. This better not go on any record; I don't know if they keep a list of "violations" or whatever, but I'm gonna be really ticked off if it does. We're going to the office tomorrow to talk to them about it.

 

[LisaT.]

However, I am in a Black Cat Appreciation Group on Facebook. That would be a good place to start getting signatures

I am too!! I love that group! Great group of people and their wonderful kitties!

 

[Alicia88]

Called the housing office. She said they'd been going through files and couldn't find the information. She said she'd look again but asked if I could resend it. The vet records were easy. The vet office e-mailed them to me when we did this the first time so I just had to type "vet records" into my e-mail search bar. I had no clue where the licenses were. They're tiny slips of paper and since we got them while we were in the middle of moving, God only knows where they wound up. I figured I'd have to go into the police station to get new copies, but I took a shot in the dark and called them. They were able to e-mail me new copies. So, it's all taken care of and she said it wouldn't go into our file as a violation. I would hope not! It's not our fault they lost our records!!!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Alicia88 , I saw on another thread that this issue with your cats is now resolved! SO happy for you!

I'm going shopping tomorrow for a new bed! I actually have it picked out. Hopefully it is in stock! Also getting a new recliner. The one I have was purchased used, and is a rocker recliner, so it's hard for me to get out of. This one is a zero wall recliner. WOOO HOOOOOO!