I blame the lack of substantive posts on Obama. Bush would have left us without a fresh scandal to discuss.
2.
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
Today’s xkcd is another great one. How long before people start saying shibboleet to tech support just to see if they get a reaction?
3.
Juicebaggers, ho!
I blame the Firebaggers, hippies, and liberals, oh my!
4.
Persia
Okay, so I’m gonna ask the cat experts. My husband’s idiot best friend ended up with kittens. They are cute as hell and we’re taking two. I have read up on the Humane Society and they recommend keeping the cats with mom until they’re 10-12 weeks old.
However, and you knew that would be there, idiot best friend is an idiot and isn’t keeping their litterbox clean and is complaining pretty much 24/7 about them. So hubby’s afraid we’ll end up with neglected kittens who won’t know where to poop.
I’m going to call the vet later and ask her opinion, but I was curious as to what Dr. Internet thought. Should we pull the kittens out the second they’re weaned, or should I try to buy some more time?
@Persia: Six weeks in kinda the minimum, but we’ve been handraising one from three weeks old.
The neglect is a serious fear; you can wind up with kittens who are afraid of people. I’d pull out the whole shebang right now… does idiot even want a cat?
Of course, I’m a militant cat person. How old are they now?
Litterbox problems are NOT something you want ingrained in kittehs. Are they old enough that Momma cat has at least tried to litter train them?
7.
Ming
I hesitate to suggest this, but if it’s feasible and you’re up to the task, perhaps you could consider taking momma cat and the whole shebang for the remainder of the 10-12 weeks, and then returning mom and keeping the two kittens? (I presume the other kittens are going to other homes.) It sounds like idiot friend is bollixing up all the kittens.
But that’s a lot to take on (hence idiot friend’s complaints) — so please just let this suggestion roll into the dustbin unless it happens makes sense.
8.
SapphireCate
A little bit of fun… I may be farther to the left than the hon. Sen from Vermont, but I still think it’s cool that family members of mine got to meet the president Wednesday.
9.
Persia
@Rosalita: They were using the litter box quite religiously until he started slacking off. Two kittens are already promised to someone else, and he wants to keep the others (though Momma Cat is going to go– he took her in from a co-worker and didn’t realize she was already pregnant, they’re not a good match). I think it’s the sheer quantity that’s getting to him and he’ll be okay once there aren’t so many damn cats to look after (and where he lives they can be outdoor cats and poop outside).
I’m honestly not sure how much he’s actually neglecting them (aside from the litterbox) and how much my husband reads his complaints as literal. (It is a weird thing to be the one giving the friend the benefit of the doubt, but there it is.) But the litterbox thing is a serious concern.
@Persia, I’m with WereBear, get those kitties out of there ASAP — but don’t worry too much. Almost all our cats were/are neglected shelter or found cats, and they all turned out and use the litter box just fine. :-)
@Persia: I think 6 to 7 week old kitten would adjust fine, when we adopted our second kitteh, she was 7 weeks old, well adjusted and knew where to do her business.
12.
Capri
I’ve always been amused at the notion that humans somehow train cats to use a litterbox. They have an instinct to cover their poop, and use whatever is provided that best meets their needs. No human intervention required. I wouldn’t worry about having them not having a clean litter box now. As soon as fresh, clean stuff is provided, they should use it.
Ditto socialization – cats are very plastic in this way. Both my spoiled brats started life as barn cats and only let humans touch them when they were well into adulthood. Now they are on my lap as soon as I sit down. There is no crucial window of socialization time as there is in dogs.
My advice (as a veterinarian although admittedly one who primarily practices on large animals) is to chillax. I’d say take ’em when they are weaned at 8 weeks or so. I’d stop at your vet.s on the way home to make sure they were healthy, vaccinate them, and start to get rid of the little critters that are no doubt crawling on them and in them.
Probably the best investment in your future with the kittens you are planning to take would be to foster the whole bunch and then place mama and other kitties later. Keep their litter box clean [with shallow walls so the babies can step in]. Praise mama when she instructs her babies on proper bathroom etiquette. Praise the babies when they do it correctly. And interact with the whole lot A BUNCH. I would imagine that your idiot friend is not socializing the kittens either.
Edit for spelling
Consider it an investment in your future contentment.
Of course they will. Only someone as dumb and oblivious as the smarmy, intellectually mediocre son of privilege that is Jonah Goldberg could think otherwise. And Chait is right, Goldberg will support said impeachment.
If they were using the box until he stopped cleaning it, I don’t think you’ll have a training issue at your house. Just make sure they have a nice clean box and they’ll make a beeline to it.
When G found Charlotte and her sister in a parking lot, they were about 6 or 7 weeks old and knew exactly how to use a litter box. In fact, Charlotte’s sister refused to use the box of shredded newspaper that he set up as an interim solution at his office until he could get them home. She held it all day until she had a proper litter box with real litter in it at our apartment, thankyewverymuch.
19.
geg6
So glad to have a half day off today and then going up to Titusville tomorrow morning to work on weatherizing the cottage for winter. No politics, no work (haven’t worked less than 12 hours/day all week). Awesome.
Weather is supposed to be about 60F, with loads of sun. The leaves in Crawford County should be fantastic. We’re taking Otis with us as he loves a romp and never runs away and I can’t wait to spend the day along Oil Creek, finishing the painting, and just enjoying the wonders of nature.
The stress of politics has really been getting to me and I need some sanity. Working outdoors on a beautiful fall day in rural PA should be just the thing I need.
20.
Persia
@Mnemosyne: Awesome. Sorry to not reply to everyone, this is all super-helpful. I love this place. (Taking all of them’s not really an option, due to a lot of factors.)
21.
Cain
Day 4 of no kitty :( Nothing at the shelter (they’ll tell me as he’s chipped as well as teh vets) Do cats who show no history of running around do that suddenly? We get all emotional when we say a piece of white fur sticking on our clothes. Even the other cat has started to wonder what is going on.
cain
22.
schrodinger's cat
@Cain: What happened, did your kitty run away? I hope he/she comes back soon.
23.
4jkb4ia
Inner Firebagger is very cranky having looked at the internals of the CNN/Time Feingold poll and noticed that Barack Obama’s approval numbers are the same as the Feingold/Johnson numbers. Once again Feingold is pulling in the overwhelming majority of the liberals but is having trouble with independents and moderates. I think they asked the “who would you vote for” before the approval question, and those were the only two questions. If Feingold is associated with the president, it is probably a matter of the economy and that politics as usual didn’t change. Why electing Generic Republican would cause politics as usual to change for the better is beyond me.
Everything is looking so bleak, I may not even be cheered up by a 2-0 Rangers lead on Sunday.
ChrisWWW
I blame the lack of substantive posts on Obama. Bush would have left us without a fresh scandal to discuss.
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
Today’s xkcd is another great one. How long before people start saying shibboleet to tech support just to see if they get a reaction?
Juicebaggers, ho!
I blame the Firebaggers, hippies, and liberals, oh my!
Persia
Okay, so I’m gonna ask the cat experts. My husband’s idiot best friend ended up with kittens. They are cute as hell and we’re taking two. I have read up on the Humane Society and they recommend keeping the cats with mom until they’re 10-12 weeks old.
However, and you knew that would be there, idiot best friend is an idiot and isn’t keeping their litterbox clean and is complaining pretty much 24/7 about them. So hubby’s afraid we’ll end up with neglected kittens who won’t know where to poop.
I’m going to call the vet later and ask her opinion, but I was curious as to what Dr. Internet thought. Should we pull the kittens out the second they’re weaned, or should I try to buy some more time?
WereBear
@Persia: Six weeks in kinda the minimum, but we’ve been handraising one from three weeks old.
The neglect is a serious fear; you can wind up with kittens who are afraid of people. I’d pull out the whole shebang right now… does idiot even want a cat?
Of course, I’m a militant cat person. How old are they now?
Rosalita
@Persia:
WereBear, where are you???
Litterbox problems are NOT something you want ingrained in kittehs. Are they old enough that Momma cat has at least tried to litter train them?
Ming
I hesitate to suggest this, but if it’s feasible and you’re up to the task, perhaps you could consider taking momma cat and the whole shebang for the remainder of the 10-12 weeks, and then returning mom and keeping the two kittens? (I presume the other kittens are going to other homes.) It sounds like idiot friend is bollixing up all the kittens.
But that’s a lot to take on (hence idiot friend’s complaints) — so please just let this suggestion roll into the dustbin unless it happens makes sense.
SapphireCate
A little bit of fun… I may be farther to the left than the hon. Sen from Vermont, but I still think it’s cool that family members of mine got to meet the president Wednesday.
Persia
@Rosalita: They were using the litter box quite religiously until he started slacking off. Two kittens are already promised to someone else, and he wants to keep the others (though Momma Cat is going to go– he took her in from a co-worker and didn’t realize she was already pregnant, they’re not a good match). I think it’s the sheer quantity that’s getting to him and he’ll be okay once there aren’t so many damn cats to look after (and where he lives they can be outdoor cats and poop outside).
I’m honestly not sure how much he’s actually neglecting them (aside from the litterbox) and how much my husband reads his complaints as literal. (It is a weird thing to be the one giving the friend the benefit of the doubt, but there it is.) But the litterbox thing is a serious concern.
Thanks for weighing in, all.
J.
@Persia, I’m with WereBear, get those kitties out of there ASAP — but don’t worry too much. Almost all our cats were/are neglected shelter or found cats, and they all turned out and use the litter box just fine. :-)
And in technology + cat news, Apple unveils the iPounce, an iPad for cats.
schrodinger's cat
@Persia: I think 6 to 7 week old kitten would adjust fine, when we adopted our second kitteh, she was 7 weeks old, well adjusted and knew where to do her business.
Capri
I’ve always been amused at the notion that humans somehow train cats to use a litterbox. They have an instinct to cover their poop, and use whatever is provided that best meets their needs. No human intervention required. I wouldn’t worry about having them not having a clean litter box now. As soon as fresh, clean stuff is provided, they should use it.
Ditto socialization – cats are very plastic in this way. Both my spoiled brats started life as barn cats and only let humans touch them when they were well into adulthood. Now they are on my lap as soon as I sit down. There is no crucial window of socialization time as there is in dogs.
My advice (as a veterinarian although admittedly one who primarily practices on large animals) is to chillax. I’d say take ’em when they are weaned at 8 weeks or so. I’d stop at your vet.s on the way home to make sure they were healthy, vaccinate them, and start to get rid of the little critters that are no doubt crawling on them and in them.
Linda Featheringill
@Persia:
Probably the best investment in your future with the kittens you are planning to take would be to foster the whole bunch and then place mama and other kitties later. Keep their litter box clean [with shallow walls so the babies can step in]. Praise mama when she instructs her babies on proper bathroom etiquette. Praise the babies when they do it correctly. And interact with the whole lot A BUNCH. I would imagine that your idiot friend is not socializing the kittens either.
Edit for spelling
Consider it an investment in your future contentment.
nevsky42
We had our first congressional debate on Wednesday; here’s Congressman Tom Perriello (VA-5) schooling state senator Robert Hurt on health care reform.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TOpUAjHLr4
MikeTheZ
Swiss Dig Big Bloody Tunnel
New Yorker
http://www.tnr.com/blog/jonathan-chait/78378/will-republicans-impeach-obama
Of course they will. Only someone as dumb and oblivious as the smarmy, intellectually mediocre son of privilege that is Jonah Goldberg could think otherwise. And Chait is right, Goldberg will support said impeachment.
WereBear
@Capri: While you are right, cats have a huge resistance to unlearning things.
And my motto is, it’s always easier to train them than to re-train them.
Mnemosyne
@Persia:
If they were using the box until he stopped cleaning it, I don’t think you’ll have a training issue at your house. Just make sure they have a nice clean box and they’ll make a beeline to it.
When G found Charlotte and her sister in a parking lot, they were about 6 or 7 weeks old and knew exactly how to use a litter box. In fact, Charlotte’s sister refused to use the box of shredded newspaper that he set up as an interim solution at his office until he could get them home. She held it all day until she had a proper litter box with real litter in it at our apartment, thankyewverymuch.
geg6
So glad to have a half day off today and then going up to Titusville tomorrow morning to work on weatherizing the cottage for winter. No politics, no work (haven’t worked less than 12 hours/day all week). Awesome.
Weather is supposed to be about 60F, with loads of sun. The leaves in Crawford County should be fantastic. We’re taking Otis with us as he loves a romp and never runs away and I can’t wait to spend the day along Oil Creek, finishing the painting, and just enjoying the wonders of nature.
The stress of politics has really been getting to me and I need some sanity. Working outdoors on a beautiful fall day in rural PA should be just the thing I need.
Persia
@Mnemosyne: Awesome. Sorry to not reply to everyone, this is all super-helpful. I love this place. (Taking all of them’s not really an option, due to a lot of factors.)
Cain
Day 4 of no kitty :( Nothing at the shelter (they’ll tell me as he’s chipped as well as teh vets) Do cats who show no history of running around do that suddenly? We get all emotional when we say a piece of white fur sticking on our clothes. Even the other cat has started to wonder what is going on.
cain
schrodinger's cat
@Cain: What happened, did your kitty run away? I hope he/she comes back soon.
4jkb4ia
Inner Firebagger is very cranky having looked at the internals of the CNN/Time Feingold poll and noticed that Barack Obama’s approval numbers are the same as the Feingold/Johnson numbers. Once again Feingold is pulling in the overwhelming majority of the liberals but is having trouble with independents and moderates. I think they asked the “who would you vote for” before the approval question, and those were the only two questions. If Feingold is associated with the president, it is probably a matter of the economy and that politics as usual didn’t change. Why electing Generic Republican would cause politics as usual to change for the better is beyond me.
Everything is looking so bleak, I may not even be cheered up by a 2-0 Rangers lead on Sunday.
WereBear (itouch)
@Cain: How awful!