Footprints on the Moon

Yesterday was a really hard day. Today is still difficult. But yesterday, I had to say goodbye.

Goodbye to my 16 year old dog, Chance. Chance has been a (furry) part of my family since I was 10 years old. He lived a long, hopefully good life.

Although it has been a long time coming, it was really hard to say goodbye. After I got the phone call from Dad letting me know it was time to put him down, I went over there to see him, pet him, and let him know he was loved. I rode in the backseat with him on the way to the Humane Society while he enjoyed the breeze on his face, scratched his back and his ears. And went through all the Kleenexes I had stuffed in my pocket.

I really didn’t want to go, but Dad asked me to, and no one should have to do anything like that alone. I felt like it would have been selfish of me to say no just because it was going to be difficult. It got even harder when we were standing out front with Chance waiting for them to get organized and some ignorant lady walked by and asked, “Oh, are you taking him home?” Dad and I both hesitated before saying “No…” and rather than letting it go, she pressed on with, “Oh, he looks like a dog I was visiting yesterday so I thought he might be going home today.” I really wanted to tell her to shut up. But I guess in a way he was going home. Just to a different home, where there will be no more pain, where he won’t have to struggle to get up or climb the back steps.

The lady who was going to do it came out to talk to us and let us know what was going to happen and give her “comforting” pep talk. They don’t have the room available to allow you to be with them when it happens so she told us that she would give him a shot to take the pain way, and that she’d hug and love on him, and it would all happen very quickly and peacefully. Then she wanted him to watch us walk out the door so that she wouldn’t have to drag him away. I glanced over my shoulder on the way out the door, and that was heartbreaking. Dad and I waited in the car until it was over, and then we drove him home where Dad buried him in the back yard after I left.

So very, very hard.

Chance, you were a wonderful dog. I’m glad you could be with us for 16 and a half years. Love and miss you already, buddy. See you on the other side.

My furbabies, that is!

They are FOUR years old today! I can’t believe I’ve had the little balls of fur for 4 years already. I don’t think little is the word for it… Pudge was sitting on my scale this morning, and when he hopped off of it, it said 21 pounds! Guess he really grew into his name!

Their birthday usually entails getting some canned catfood and some snuggles. Might as well get them industrial hand wheels for their birthday for all the difference it makes, but oh well! It makes me happy! I’m sure I’ll stop celebrating the furry babies birthday when I have real ones someday lol

My babies are 3 years old today!! Here are some pictures of them 3 years ago. Neither one of them sleep in the sink anymore… Lucy would rather pee in it, and Pudge doesn’t fit!

They’ve got some canned food to celebrate. What can I say? We go all out around here!

Look at me, not writing for more than a week… not participating in Self Portrait Sunday and not even making an excuse! Then I come back, post a picture of my cat, and run. So here you go… a picture of BOTH of my cats, on a cat blanket. Awww… They looked so cute sitting there, too bad they refuse to look at the camera and be cute for a picture. ANYWAYS. So I haven’t been writing, but not because I’ve had nothing to say. More like I haven’t had anything to say that seemed worth it’s own blog post.

Like:

~ Why is it so hard to find cute night gowns for “curvy” girls. By that, of course, I mean a fat chick who has big boobs. Most of the nightgowns to be found are what I call “old lady.” Sometimes I can find cute PJs in my size, but then they don’t have enough fabric to cover my chest. I’m not looking for sexy corsets (although, I’ll gladly order one of those if I can order the man to wear it for too. ), I’m just looking for a cute nightgown that fits. I ordered a couple from Old Navy, but they had the opposite problem– there was enough fabric puckering out of my armpits for a couple more breasts.

~ Is it really unreasonable to expect a cell phone to last more than a year? I don’t have a landline, so my cell is the only phone I have. It’s now decided that it’s not going to charge. The phone lights up, even beeps, when it gets plugged in, but it will not start charging. The only charger I have that will actually charge the phone is my car charger. Unacceptable. It’s currently beeping that it has a low battery, but I really don’t want to go sit in my car and charge my phone either.

~ Why are 4 day work weeks the Longest. Weeks. Ever? Those four days felt more like seven.

~ For a day off, today sure hasn’t been restful! I was up before 6… usually I can at least manage until 6:30 or 7 on the weekends, but the cats weren’t having any of it this morning. I’ve also been cleaning today. So far today, I’ve washed dishes, scrubbed down the stove, made the bed, swept all the floors. I need to clean the rotting food out of the fridge and take the trash out. Then I’m going to take a shower and call it good. Maybe even take a nap… it’s a day off, after all!

That’s the ad I wanted to take out today. I am so mad at a certain little orange cat, I could have choked her. I don’t remember having ever been so mad at her, including the time she looked me right in the eye and peed on the bathroom floor a foot in front of me, so that’s saying quite a bit.

Things had been accumulating on the bathroom counter all week, so Saturday being the day I usually catch up on the clutter, I started to put things back where they belong. And then I picked up a piece of paper and discovered something.

SHE PISSED ON MY BATHROOM COUNTER.

Not in the sink, where it could at least go down the drain… no, she peed ON THE COUNTER so it would pool under my bottles of lotion and mouthwash. I was seeing red, and I probably scared the neighbor with the curse words I was yelling. I tell you what, she’s probably really lucky that I couldn’t find her after that particular discovery.

Are you reading this, mother? Innocent, good little kitties don’t PEE ON COUNTERS!

Just wanted to pop in really quickly because it’s getting past my bedtime. But I wanted to update you on Miss Lucy, or LUCY NO! as she’s usually called. I switched the litter in one of their boxes on Sunday afternoon. And once they figured out it was litter (yeah, Pudge tried to eat it. Ew.) all has gone well. I did see Lucy pee in the sink twice, but there has not been a single potty on the floor outside the litterbox all week.

The biggest victory came this morning when she used the box. To pee. And got all the way inside instead of walking round the edges. I did a little celebration dance, and trust me, it takes alot to get me to dance before 6am. So fingers crossed that this continues to be a good change for my naughty little redhead.

How? I don’t know what to do!! I know I’ve posted about this on multiple occasions in the past, but I’m hoping if I post about it enough times, someone will come along and have the magic answer to make it all better! I have a little redheaded kitty cat that is about to need some term insurance if she doesn’t stop being such a destructive little turd!

See this thing?

She looks all cute and adorable, but she’s so ROTTEN. I don’t know what to do! She scratches all my furniture, she tears up any cardboard box in sight, and she pees outside the litter box. The other day, she squatted on the bathroom floor RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME and started peeing on the floor… I’m at my wit’s end. I really just don’t know what to do to get her to use her litterbox, and to stop destroying my furniture. I don’t want to give my cat away to another home, but I can’t do THIS for the next 15 years or so! At some point I’ll want NICE furniture, and I can’t do that if she’s just going to tear it up. Not to mention that cat pee is not the best substance to have constantly pooling on your bathroom floor!

Someone, anyone… please tell me it’s almost spring. I have seriously hit my quota of cold winter weather. If nothing else, I can’t afford to heat this apartment like this for very much longer. Seriously, the electric bill I just got was painful! I think the end might be in sight though because the cats are starting to shed their winter coats.

While watching movies yesterday and again today, I sat down with a shed-ender brush and just brushed the heck out of the cats. Well, Lucy won’t really let me do it, but I get as many swipes down her back with the brush as I can manage before she gets away. Pudge, on the other hand, loves it. I swear I got enough hair off of him for 4 cats!

Speaking of Pudge, he’s currently begging for my attention. Cause I never pay him any attention… he’s so lonely and unloved. Or so he would have you think.

Alternatively titled: Why a Certain Orange Kitty is in BIG TROUBLE. I’ll explain it in a minute, but first I’ll just SHOW you what she did.

That’s Killian’s Christmas present. Which was a pain in the rear to wrap the first time. I now get to wrap it again because she tore it open. I can’t remember if this picture was taken before or after she broke the tape on the top of the box and burrowed inside to sit in the Elmo chair. Rotten cat!! Rotten is her nickname, by the way. I call her that all the time and for good reason! I wouldn’t doubt if there are several more presents that need rewrapped before they can be gifted. Anyone want a kitty?