September: What's happening in your world?

[SomethingElse]

I had band practise until 9.30pm, went for some food and then came home (with R, as R is going to help me with my room tomorrow when I finish work; it's being cleared out to be replastered, as the walls are wrecked with damp and mold just reoccurs). At about half ten we were walking home from the station and R sort of made a noise and jumped over the other side of the pavement to avoid something.

It was a dead cat by the roadside. He had blood coming from his mouth (a lot still in his mouth and on the pavement by his head, and his legs had blood on them, too). R was deeply upset by this and couldn't stand to look at him at first, but I saw he had a collar on and tried to see the tag. It was the wrong way around and had blood on it, so I used a small stick to flip it over. I said that we should call if there was a number, because I'd want to know if something happened to either of my cats. So R used my phone to call the owners, and waited while they came to collect him (they lived very locally and R said we'd wait so they'd see exactly where he was).

They seemed very upset. The man had brought a carrier bag with him to put the cat in, but as he picked him up he was saying, "Come on, boy," and seemed to really care about him. He did sort of dump the cat rather unceremoniously in the bag, but I think that was because it was hard to fit him in and he had quite a lot of blood on him (the man ended up with blood dripping down his arm).

R cried. She said that to her that's a hit and run, as serious as if it had been a human who had been hit (even on accident). I agree.

It wasn't very pleasant but I didn't want to leave the poor cat there. Lots of people had walked past without taking much notice. Also, there was a patch of blood in the road where the cat had been hit, and we think that someone must have moved him out of the road, but not bothered to check his collar and make the call.

A real shame, though. Apparently he was only just over a year old. He looked a gorgeous cat, even with the blood. And I'd had an ace time at band practise so it was a shame for the evening to end so sadly.

[Sophist]

Another reason I keep my cats indoors.

[SomethingElse]

To be fair, I don't think it's quite as simple as that. The perils of an outdoor life vs the insane boredom of being stuck indoors all day every day for your entire life? There's a line in Lady and the Tramp; 'A short life, but a merry one.' I think of this whenever I think of outdoors cats (although of course some live long lives, same as some indoors cats live short ones).

Having said that, of course it makes no sense to allow a cat outside if you live near a main road as the risks would outweigh the benefits. The woman also said that they'd only just moved in (not sure how recently, perhaps they had had two weeks of keeping him in and then let him out), and they lived on a side road from that main road. I live two blocks behind the main road (a different main road that links to that one), and I know Oscar goes over the ditch (which also comes off of that main road) but I'm pretty sure he doesn't venture further (he can get to the ditch by crossing a quiet road and cutting through gardens, he doesn't use the entrance near the main road btw).

I'm torn as to whether, if I ever had cats from non-feral beginnings (who knew no other life) I would keep them indoors, regardless. It just seems sort of sad? I would be heartbroken if anything happened to Oscar (or Cleo, but she tends to stick to the back gardens and our front garden, fingers crossed), but I know that with them they'd be extremely unhappy cooped up indoors.


ETA: Obviously that's one of your reasons for keeping your cats in, which is completely fine, I was making the point more for the sake of it, as I know that on other forums there are often debates about letting cats out (be it that you don't care about them if you would risk their safety by letting them out, or that you're inconsiderate because cats are a nuisance, both of which I think are ridiculous statements, obviously).

[goddessoflubbock]

I don't hate cats - let me make that clear. However, I hate that my neighbors gte cats which they allow to run all over the neighborhood. Cats have dug up my entire front flower bed and eaten or destroyed all my bulbs. They ate much of my vegetable garden, including all the leaves/flowers off my cantaloupes. They use my sandy cacti area as a potty. They will also use my carpeted back patio when we don't clean the sand. They drive my dogs crazy - dogs who never leave their own fenced-in yard. One little fellow used a pillow on my patio furniture to scratch on.

So, yeah, there's two sides....

[SomethingElse]

I understand that cats are a nuisance, and my family has been on that side once upon a time! In fact, my mum says she is sure that she threw water at 'Mama Cat' at least once before realising she was trying to raise kittens. And after that she'd throw water at cats to keep them away so that they didn't intimidate Oscar and Cleo. And, I was someone who also didn't get why people let their cats out (because of the risk of harm, mostly, but also because they are seen as pests).

Now I am less bothered by other people's cats because I see them more for what they are (okay, yes they're a potential pain if they're pooing in your garden or winding up your dog or bullying your cats, but they're CATS. They're just behaving normally, albeit with little regard for anyone else (although I think that in most cases that's genuine innocence and part of their charm ). And of course I now think that if a cat comes in and meses up my garden, it evens it out for any that Oscar and Cleo potentially ruin. And I am honestly bothered by the thought that Oscar and Cleo are seen as pests and would actually rather they just messed in our garden (I don't think we get much cat mess now, though, because of cats being territorial and so Cleo and Oscar (and Louie in the back garden) probably keep them at bay! Which I actually feel kind of bad about when people complain about getting cats pooing in their garden (because, having cats myself, I sort of 'deserve' at least a bit of it myself!).

I also don't feel like I did have a choice in the matter with these two. More's the pity, really, because it would have been lovely to be able to NOT feel like they were missing out. But their desire for the outside world was actually quite romantic. The beseeching eyes, the longing stares out of the window, the pitiful crying at the back door and looking at me with those wide eyes... just about broke my heart. And for the whole two weeks I kept thinking, "Maybe they'll give up! Maybe they'll either decide that they're prisoners forever and accept it and move on, or maybe they'll realise that inside is nicer than outside and that'll be problem solved." Then the two weeks was up and they were potentially allowed out and I was all for waiting for a bit, mostly through pure fear at them scarpering or something bad happening, and my mum couldn't take any more of the crying and staring and 'set them free'. Obviously I LET them do it, because we let them out and caved in to them, but they're more important to me than my neighbours, so although I don't want them messing up other people's gardens, I'd rather they were happy than my neighbours. And it's not their fault they were born outside.

So, if it makes you (well, not you specifically, because they're obviously not your nuisances!) feel any better, while you're getting P*ssed off about another cat poo, I'm probably indoors fretting over how long Oscar's been out and whether anything bad has happened, and any black and white cat I see crossing the road in the immediate vicinity frustrates me no end until I realise it's not Oscar and so not quite as important to me. I'd rather they stuck to our garden and gave me cat poo instead of worry. Then everyone would be happy!

Funnily enough, though, for people who were bothered about cats, we probably had more trouble from people. For some reason a lot of people throw rubbish in our garden as they walk past.

[SomethingElse]

Sorry for double post but this is a completely different subject.

My room is going to be replastered (and possibly have a ventilation brick/s put in because my room doesn't have any!) to help combat the mold. So I've been clearing it out, and today stripped the wallpaper from the walls (well, most of it). I hate this stupid job, and wish it was finished.

Tonight my mattress is in the living room. The cats are on it (and Louie was earlier, too) so I can't fit on yet! Tomorrow night and Saturday night I'm staying at R's because her mum is away and so I have somewhere proper to sleep. On Sunday I guess I'll be on the floor again, then Monday my brother's staying at his friend's university so I'll stay in his room until he comes back (I think he's staying there for five - seven days).

[Sophist]

No worries about double posts.

[Civet]

I've always had indoor pets, including dogs that stayed indoors with the family aside from their walks, so it's hard for me to imagine letting Pandora run around the neighborhood. Besides, she is declawed so I think it would be cruel and dangerous to put her out there with the other cats that do have claws. I do feel bad that she seems very bored all the time, which is why I have considered from time to time getting another cat. Well now we have my roommate's cat, and they aren't getting along at all, but I guess as my roommate said it is adding a little bit of excitement and a break from the boredom for Pandora .

I see a lot of cats wandering around outside when I take walks and also out my windows sometimes. I haven't seen them messing anything up in the yard but I don't tend to the yard, either, so I may just not notice it. I like coming across cats and saying "hi" to them, though, so I'm not bothered by them being out and walking around.


The last couple of weeks I was socializing a lot and I have had a much needed break this week. I am seeing people a bit, though, and tomorrow will be helping my friend move into his new apartment. I am already looking forward to Halloween, as well, and thinking about what kind of costume to make, and also trying to come up with fun fall activities to do, like going on a Ghost Walk and doing another corn maze or hay ride, or possibly taking a trip to Salem, as I've never been to Salem during "Halloween season." I think Halloween is probably my favorite holiday



Oh yes, more on cats, last week I was helping take care of my friend's kitten while she was away for a few days. She has two kittens and both were recently neutered, and one of them had to have most of his tail removed because it was broken either when he was born or shortly afterward and he had very little movement in it, it mostly just hung there or dragged behind him awkwardly. Fortunately both kittens are doing very well and the kitten that lost his tail does not seem to notice any difference at all (he doesn't even seem to be aware of the cone that's been on his head, either, and keeps running into things with it!)

[SomethingElse]

I'm not having a brilliant week. First of all I thought I was working 20 hours and getting paid for all 20 but it turns out that half an hour each day is actually an unpaid break (even though in this job you don't always get breaks and I seem to get away less than anyone else because the children are more attached to me, and also because even when I'm off the clock I can't ignore a child if they need me for anything (whereas other people will just walk off and hope that someone else deals with it). This means that I'm only one and a half hours over the threshold for my benefits, but likely worse off moneywise. It also means that I am no longer eligible to get Reed to fund a course for me. So it seems like the more hours I work (unless it's full time) the more I lose out. I don't know what to do about this, and I haven't actually received my contract yet so I'm not even certain of what hours I have and what I'm being paid.

I'm off to R's for a couple of nights. Only really on here to check weather and travel!

[Sophist]

That really really sucks, Benji.

[goddessoflubbock]

Wallpaper removal is my least favorite house renovation project. I have lived in this house for over 8 years now, despising the blue and white striped paper in the front hallway the whole time. Yet there it stays . I think after the holidays (providing husband has found a job and I'm not in foreclosure by then!) the wallpaper will come down...

He could easily find pt min wage work, but we'd be in the same spot - it would be enough to kick me off prescription assistance, not enough to pay for my drugs...

I also love Halloween (already have the tablecover out!) but Thanksgiving is my favorite. It is just about the food - no gifts, no sewing, no real extra work except what I love...the cooking!

[Sophist]

Wallpaper removal is my least favorite house renovation project. I have lived in this house for over 8 years now, despising the blue and white striped paper in the front hallway the whole time. Yet there it stays . I think after the holidays (providing husband has found a job and I'm not in foreclosure by then!) the wallpaper will come down...

Just curious, is that one of those things where you say it every year, "This year we're gonna take down that wallpaper!" and each year passes and it doesn't happen? Sounds like it could be one of those.

[goddessoflubbock]

Yup. Just like painting the outside of the house. We are excellent at procrastinating. Unfortunately it's usually more a case of when we have the time (like now) we don't have the money (like now).

We've always been very frugal, but we've had to tighten the belt even more now. We're about one step away from dumpster diving

[ozymandias]

Trying to keep up with our daughter in college. Went to a concert last night of Chad and Jeremy at the local performing arts center and it was awesome.

[Sophist]

Yup. Just like painting the outside of the house. We are excellent at procrastinating. Unfortunately it's usually more a case of when we have the time (like now) we don't have the money (like now).

We've always been very frugal, but we've had to tighten the belt even more now. We're about one step away from dumpster diving

You guys are always welcome to my dumpster.

Trying to keep up with our daughter in college. Went to a concert last night of Chad and Jeremy at the local performing arts center and it was awesome.

I need to go to more concerts... Live a little. Life! Etc.