torontokat

By torontokat on Mar 24, 2012 at 9:13 PM

Hi Cruizy: My Maine Coon loved to creep into the shower (scared me to death the first time) and get her upper layer of fur wet, then get out again. The moisture never got near her skin. I once had a gigantic Turkish Van (as a breed, they're even bigger than MCs--I have a thing for big domestic cats), and they like water: i have a cat book that shows them swimming in rivers in the Middle East. . Her name was Chanel. She would get into two or three inches of cool water during the summer and sit there happily, cooling off ... My black Asian cat, Batgirl, made a great drama about the carrier. All potential escapes (meaning doors) had to be closed, and access to under-the-sofa had to be blocked in some way. I think the fact that I remained calm made her even crazier! She was small, but fast fast fast.

By Cruizy on Mar 13, 2012 at 6:27 PM

Hey Lady, awww, that sounds so sweet! Wow, amazed how she helped you when you need it. just. wow. And smart too so to see. Here: not always so peaceful, so good job :) I need a small watergun to keep the older lady of the house from fighting with the two males. (that are way bigger but are scared stiff) Carriers can be a big thing, indeed. the little Siberian was a breeze, my not-so-little mischief (adopted from shelter, breed unknown) puts up a hell of a fight and the orange cat... well, forget it. Good thing we live next door to the vet, 'cause I have to carry him in my arms. The Siberian and water is a not-so-much thing. She handles the drinking foutains (for cats) and sometimes drinks from the tap in the sink if I let her, but coming near of getting wet is a total no go. Snow was fun, though, couldn't get her off the balcony. Even took a stroll outside,but she was a little scared of the big outside world. Weird thing is, the lady walking by thought I was maltreating her. The fact that she is a Siberian breed didn't change her mind about it being too cold... People sometimes ;-) How was you Maine Coon with those? Too bad about migraine. Hope it blows over as soon as possible, even though I know these things can take more than a day sometimes. Take care!

By torontokat on Mar 13, 2012 at 8:08 AM

"Placating her," not "placating herself." I have a migraine. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

By torontokat on Mar 13, 2012 at 8:07 AM

Sugar Ray, my Maine Coon, loved to be carried so his paws and chin were on my shoulder. That was his perch. He was also great about getting into his carrier. (He was diabetic and had a vet check every week.) I'd get out the carrier and he'd look at me reproachfully, sigh heavily, and walk right in. This began after several dramatic confrontations about the carrier, and I think he finally thought "why bother? She's going to win anyway." ... He joined the household when Batgirl was already here, and he was masterful at placating herself. When he first came in she did the arched-back hissing thing: he took one step, sat and looked to the side, and waited til she calmed down. Then he'd take another step. A master politician. And so loving. He also could predict when I was going to have a seizure and would weave between my legs to get me into the bedroom and safely lying down. Amazing. ... How is your Siberian with water?

By Cruizy on Mar 4, 2012 at 5:56 PM

*science and or scientific debate ;-) (it's late and I have been on a hard deadline, sorry)

By Cruizy on Mar 4, 2012 at 5:54 PM

well, science and / or doesn's scare me ( being shrink and all) ;-) I'm sorry for you that it's hard to find something that helps. And I'm sorry about your beloveds. You miss them, I guess? Maine Coons are cool though, close to my little one indeed :) they are maxi huggers. When i come home from work, she will sit on my foot until I sit down and then jump up and have a compulsory hugging 15 minutes. Did yours have that too? I have to be careful not to trip over kitteh when i'm in the kitchen. I too like the fact that I can play a little rough with her, play catsandwhich (hold a blanket up, kitteh jumps in and sneaks up on the others like a blanketghost) and the most amazing thing is that she plays and understands hide and seek. She plays it with us and with the other cats. they didn't really catch on, though :P Let's hope with a lot of trial and error and not too many germs around, you can find a rythm you can work with and have a cat again. I would miss my rugrats so much, I guess you do too. For me, I don't have the worst version of crohn, just very very tired sometimes and a weird diet that actually works. hugs!

By torontokat on Mar 4, 2012 at 1:54 PM

Hi Cruizy: Oh, chrons is awful; my nephew and a girlfriend have it. I have an immune deficiency illness, very hard to explain, and science doesn't understand it yet. It's called myalgic encephalomyelitis (don't bother googling; too much science that has been disproven is still on the web, and there are several new theories about what causes it). It won't kill me, but it is incurable. It is sort of like MS. I can walk for two ten minute periods a day ... My two beloved cats, Sugar Ray and Batgirl (Maine Coone and Audrey Hepburn-ish black cat, respectively) both passed away at age 20 two years ago. I'm waiting for my health to settle before I get another one ... And you have a Siberian! So very, very close to MCs and Norwegian Forest Cats. I do love the big ole shaggy ones. Ruffs and tufts forever! ... hugs to you.

By torontokat on Mar 4, 2012 at 1:53 PM

Hi Cruizy: Oh, chrons is awful; my nephew and a girlfriend have it. I have an immune deficiency illness, very hard to explain, and science doesn't understand it yet. It's called myalgic encephalomyelitis (don't bother googling; too much science that has been disproven is still on the web, and there are several new theories about what causes it). It won't kill me, but it is incurable. It is sort of like MS. I can walk for two ten minute periods a day ... My two beloved cats, Sugar Ray and Batgirl (Maine Coone and Audrey Hepburn-ish black cat, respectively) both passed away at age 20 two years ago. I'm waiting for my health to settle before I get another one ... And you have a Siberian! So very, very close to MCs and Norwegian Forest Cats. I do love the big ole shaggy ones. Ruffs and tufts forever! ... hugs to you.

By Cruizy on Feb 29, 2012 at 7:05 AM

Hey there torontokat. Thank you very much for accepting. I wish you many get wells, even though sometimes it is not just that simple. What happened? Thank you for being so honest with me, even though we just 'clicked' to get to know eachothers lolz. I have chrons disease, so I understand temporary -not-as-active-as-i-would-like-to-be situations. I'll try keep posting more lolz, and yeah, I unno about mods, new here, so we'll see. itteh bitteh kitteh is not so itteh bitteh anymore though (she is a Siberian, grows really fast and is going to be twice as big (at least) as the other cats. still cute though. hugz

By torontokat on Feb 29, 2012 at 4:07 AM

Hi Cruizy. My profile says I'm not accepting friend requests right now, but I did want to accept yours, because I adore the LOL I favourited. I usually don't accept requests because I am bedbound longterm with an illness, and so I’m not always up to messaging back and forth. But I do want to be part of welcoming you into the community. I should warn you, tho, that if you message me it could take me a day or a few weeks to respond. Have a great time here ... and I'm so glad I saw your LOL. IMO, the mods very often don't put the best ones up for voting. It mystifies me!