Da da da da, da da da da... PETS!!!

[Lisa]

Don't you love how slow they are to catch on sometimes? Edison has just recently started to realize that when we wake up in the morning, the first thing mommy does is grab him while he's still sleepy, grab the meds, and then it's off to the bathroom to shove pills down his throat with the door shut.

So, the past few mornings, when he hears the alarm, he'll leap out of bed and run and hide before I can even hit the snooze.

The golden part? Ten minutes later, he comes strolling out from his hiding place, right out in the open, looking right at me with this "WOW! That was close, good thing I hid from you!" look on his face.

[V]

Siamese cats are supposed to be smart...

The operative word being 'supposed'.

Bucky's about as bright as a 5 watt light bulb.

[Timothy225]

Jen got the idea in her head and tried to wash our cats once.

Once.

Stitch complained, but took it like a man, because he is in love with Jen.

Patch, on the other hand...

Where was I? In the bedroom, reading a book in bed, giggling my fool head off as I heard Jen and Patch wrestling in the bathtub, and trying not to laugh my ass off when my wife, soaking wet, said "That's IT! I'm NEVER doing that again!" She got changed, went downstairs in a huff. I buried my face in a pillow, laughing like crazy.

Haven't tried bathing 'em since, but both cats are fastidious, and often clean each other, too.

[Lisa]

I mean, Edison IS a smart cat - he does plenty of things that prove he has brains. But then he pairs up the smart thing with something else so incredibly derpy, it's like the two sides of his brain are at war with each other. He has - no lie, I swear on my life - quietly snuck off the bed and hidden 10 minutes before the alarm has gone off. And then he comes leaping out like he's gonna bust my chops - "AAAAHHAAAAA!!! See, I HID before you even woke up, so you couldn't give me my... D'OH!"

[I_Cassini]

The bath is over. It wasnt bad at all. He is currently giving himself his own afterbath bath

Bucky and Vin - your turn.

[Lisa]

You're gonna have to give Vin pointers on how you did that, Cass!

[V]

Lovely...

Visions of a retarded cat actually going full retard, and I end up with superbly lacerated arms...

[Timothy225]

Give Bucky another hot dog. Wash him while he eats.

[I_Cassini]

Lovely...

Visions of a retarded cat actually going full retard, and I end up with superbly lacerated arms...

I wore one of the boy's winter coats.

[Lisa]

My brother and I actually did wear dishwashing gloves when we gave our cat Sneakers a bath!

And here's a tip - one thing that keeps them relatively normal smelling, unless they roll around in poop, is brushing them every night. It's good for their skin, it's good for their coat, it keeps them from ingesting fur when they clean themselves, which can cause hairballs that they then puke up - it's just good for them all around. Something about the brushing loosens up all kinds of gunk from their fur.

[Timothy225]

Shit. Just heard from Jen - Stitch needs dental work. He's got a loose tooth, as well as plaque build-up on a couple of others. If we wait until January, when our vet can see him, Stitch might develop an infection. However, we can take him to the local animal dental specialist much sooner, where he'd get x-rays, full check-up, as well as the surgery for about $1200.

Really hope I get a Christmas Bonus or new job soon - ugh. Ugh. Ugh.

[Abraham Smashington]

Not sure if you feed your cats wet food, but our vet told us to stop as it rots their teeth.

[V]

Agreed... I stopped Bucky on wet food when he was wee.

Just mix it with dry, and then cut the wet down until you don't add anymore.

They get used to it.

You can also give them large bones to gnaw on every so often.

[Timothy225]

Huh. We do, actually - each cat gets a can of Fancy Feast in the afternoon. Otherwise they get Iams Multi-Cat Dry Food, and a big bowl of water to drink.

Stitch is a four legged vacuum when it comes to food, so it doesn't surprise me he's the one with the bad teeth.

[Lisa]

1. Rob and Vin are right - give them nothing but dry food. I did, and Edison's teeth are a whole lot better for it.

2. Just spend the money, no matter how much it hurts, and get his teeth taken care of. A dental infection in a pet is no laughing matter - my best friend's cat almost died from blood poisoning due to her teeth getting infected. And yes, she was one of the ones who thought it was just a gimmick from the vets to get your money, till her cat almost died. It's for real, and it can kill them.

3. While you're at the vet, they will probably have a dental rinse that you can mix into their water that helps prevent the tartar from forming so much. It's great stuff - keeps their breath less fishy, too.