kdrip

[kdrip]

Come, one come all to the everlasting tale of the polite Pip and passive aggressive Po; the story comes to you all live from my living room, as I look up to see two black fur blobs on my kitchen table, I am reminded of the unfortunate outcome of transitioning predominantly indoor animals to that of the domesticated sort. It seems my cats have acquired fleas, and I don’t know if you have ever had fleas, but I am here to tell you about fleas. The fleas come and they never really leave. It seems that one female egg can actually hold 100,000 baby fleas!!! OK well that is a bit of an exaggeration, however, it has been about 3 1/2 months and these fleas are still remaining and residing in my home. This morning I went to check on my crazy little cats, as I do every day. Each morning they wake me up chirp chirp chirpin’ along with the birds asking for food. I followed them into the kitchen where I bent over to give my pets some pets and I said “hello good morning how are my babies today.” the usual, and then I checked him for fleas. This has quickly become my daily routine almost obsessively, but I can not stop because once again this morning, I went to scratch my big boy cat Po, and he has fleas!!!! So here I am just a wee little princess in the faraway kingdom, sprinkling diatomaceous earth all around everything. It is like it’s snowing in the middle of July but that doesn’t stop me from going to the pool while the magic stuff does it’s thing. Upon coming back though, you guessed it; it turns out diatomaceous earth does not work as quickly as I originally hoped and thought.. my mom swore by it and Walmart swore by it working instantly, but based on my experience and research diatomaceous earth only works four hours after the application and dusting, so my cats were sitting here scratching and itching and freaking out, when I could have just put them in a flea be gone bath to avoid this. Oh well, that will teach you to check on the Google reviews before using the new products recommended by Mom. Nothing more came of it so I simply vacuumed off the remnants of their existence from before I left and tending to the babies. No hate no shade to mom. It does work after all just takes four hours, not just a little application and then the things start dying off.

Finally, going forward I think it’s safe to say that outdoor cats are not meant to be outdoor cats. Cats did their best for hundreds of years to train humans to domesticate them. Who was I kidding trying to get them to come outside and walk my paths and trails and take trips to the pool? Just do my outdoor activities and maybe get a dog. Maybe that’s what I have learned from this blog assignment. It’s time to get a dog. Only the future will know what holds for Pip and Po and their kingdom but for now it is time for fighting fleas. This has been a wonderful experience and I am very thankful and grateful to my awesome and informative Professor Tyra Burton because I have learned so much from this experience and sharing more about my little fur baby family has definitely improved my social media skills, so thank you to anyone who is engaged with these posts and until next time, peace!

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In my previous blog post about my kitties, I went for a fairytale storytelling kind of vibe. I think I’m going to continue the saga. The tales(tails) of Pip and Po both literally and figuratively have taken a nice turn. Because I have only ever owned cats, I have never really worried about what it would be like to sit a dog.. on Saturday however, I got to learn. At roughly 2 PM on Saturday afternoon, my mother brought over her 10 month old Yorkshire puppy. Now as I have two cats, I am not keen on the ins and outs of what it is to take care of a dog— that will be important for the story later. So Picture This. I’m watching my cats react to a new tiny creature in an even tinier apartment. I was also carefully observing the tiny creature's response to the two apex predators to see if this was a time where their natural instinct would kick in or not. I wasn’t sure if this was a time to act or a time to observe so I was sure to be ready for anything when the little Yorkie puppy approached Pip. At first, he just wanted a friend, it seemed. He slowly walks over from one side of the living room to the other, smelling at the carpets, and seeming intrigued by the sunrise, beaming inside next to where the cat was sitting, so being the initiator that I am, I thought it was my duty to bring him to her so they could get to know each other you know sniff butts slick do whatever animals do. Nothing could’ve prepared me for the freight that I was about to receive. It’s just me to black cats and a Yorkie puppy in the middle of the afternoon in a city full of people screams outside excitement from the Fourth of July. Things are still in the air however, next thing I Knew was a different kind of fireworks being laid out in my living room.

To be fair to myself for not anticipating what was going to happen next, Pip was raised by a dog, a little rescue might on the smaller side, likely a bagel or other small dog; so I presumed it would be just a fine interaction between two similar sized beings, but no, no no the moment Pip felt her territory was slightly invaded, she SNAPPED. I put Bentley next to her in the window to see if they could kind of peep squirrels, or bird watch together and see if it could be a bonding experience for them, but when that cat even sensed the dog was near her, she batted at him. His poor little yelp melted my heart, as I just watched and grabbed for him only a moment too late. Once I resolved the tiny, crying Yorkie issue I had in my hands, I looked at Pip. I looked up to see she was quite proud of herself: sitting still on top of the window sill as if she’d conquered new land of her own. She proceeded to stay there for the remainder of my pet sitting time. When my mom returned, I told her about the territorial #SmackDown that came about during the visit, and she was semi happy to hear that her son survived his very first cat encounter. It was better than expected minus the “one- two” from Pep to Bentley. All that to say, it’s likely I’ll host again. They were a wonderful match. I think a little bit of time between visits though. No?

[kdrip]

Today’s blog post is going to be a riveting adventure between a woman and her cats. On this day, several months ago, a young lady moved into a town to live with a prince.

OK so when I say it’s an adventure, and I say it’s a prince, what I really mean is it’s my lovely little life and the prince is my boyfriend. The adventure does come, however, when I decided to let my predominantly indoor cats outdoors.

Story time! At the end of 2021 a young woman decided that she was going to start being a single independent body. The only goal in mind was to find a safe space for her to live where she and her cats can roam free. Upon meeting many roommates and landlords and even gentlemen suitors, she decided she was meant to be alone for one year/365 days. She ended up moving over to live with her mother in the far away land of Sparta. There she stayed in a camper and had access to just what she longed for, freedom to roam for her and her cats. No, you may be thinking, princess, why would you leave such a beautiful land and wonderful parents? The answer is, I finally found somebody who is worth my efforts, time, and loving energy. I moved in to be with the prince in

January 2023 after one year of decidedly being a single independent woman; now I have the space for my cats and me to room free in the sandiest of Springs, Georgia. Now, it is very different from the land of Sparta, as there is an apartment complex where I will be residing for the remainder of 2024. After a few weeks, my cats got a little restless to say the least. We started adventuring outside more and more each day. You see, when we were ass staying in the land of Sparta, it was in the middle of nowhere. Not like in the city. Here, they have some adjustments to make. We wandered a bit outside neat the dog park. We also took walks around the parking garage, among many open seating areas, and being in different kinds of places like that, they had some outside time; we went trailing and hiking just around the complex, as well. Please try to picture this young woman and her two black cats hiking. The many neighbors stared and some people approached, but nobody really ever said anything. It was more of an interesting thing to see a woman and her two cats roaming around a busy apartment complex in the middle of the city of Atlanta. So decidedly on a beautiful Wednesday, I took my kitties down to the streets. Turns out my cat was very very suspicious after letting him out around the trees because he started wandering under bushes, and eventually found a hiking trail that led to a marsh. Well, I’m grateful because it’s one of the most beautiful coffee spots I’ve ever found, just go and have a cup of tea or a cold coffee or even a nice warm cuppa Joe if it’s winter time. All that to say anyway, Pip, Po, and Kimberly walked up and down the trail multiple times until they were greeted by a sunset. The sunset was the most extraordinary I’ve seen, and I have lived in Georgia my whole life. Turns out, shortly thereafter I found fleas on my cats. The neighbors said they have seen ticks and fleas by the water on their pups before so I knew the root cause immediately. Going forward, they are no longer allowed outside the apartment. We enjoyed it while it lasted. We have the pictures of the memories, but we surely do not need the fleas that came with that adventurous time in Sandy Springs, Georgia. That’s the tale of the woman for two cats and a prince..

[kdrip]

Can you imagine? I am on a Hawaii vacation surrounded by vibrant and beautifully colored trees in the clearest oceans you’ve ever seen with an abundance of overflowing food and drink at my expense, and all I can think about are my two Fluff Balls at home likely feeling abandoned. These two outdoor/indoor turned strictly indoor cats are spending the week with my neighbor, Cindy. In the 24 hours I’ve been on vacation, I’ve spent about 22 hours missing my house cats. The hold a fur baby has on their parents is quite distracting. Yet we find ourselves checking in on the pet sitter two times a day and the ring half a dozen more. If this is what it’s like to be a mother, even a small bit, I get why they say no one is ever quite ready! Each and every time I think of Po — short for Potato— and Pip’s little perfect paws, the sunshine comes out here in Hawaii, and I know they’re here in spirit.

Flashback to when planning this trip began.

I met Cindy outside of our shared apartment complex in late March. She approached me with the typical “are those your cats..?!”

You see, it isn’t normal for two black cats to be roaming free outside in the city of Sandy Springs. The cars and the people seem like a cat's worst nightmare, but my cats were raised by dogs. In fact the oldest one thinks she is a dog. At one point the girl was even potty trained herself after watching after my old housemate’s pup to only use the outdoor space as a bathroom. I was of course fine with it because it meant I said goodbye to litter, poop, and potent piss; that is, until I rescued my boy cat Po.

Anyway, Cindy quickly went from inquisitive to “I see them outside all the time I wanted to say hi and to meet you. It’s cool you walk your cats!” She approached Po who acted as if he’s known her forever, highly out of character for him. It was such a sweet experience. I knew she was trustworthy. The girl cat, however, wants nothing to do with anyone except for herself. Ha! She’s been like that since she was just a little kitten. Cindy and I became fast friends. The idea that I would leave my two cats with a stranger would have been difficult if it weren’t for the fact that this new friend makes her living tending to animals!

Back to the present:

I have walked over five thousand steps to get to the clearest waters of Hawaii I’ve seen yet! The ring notifications have poured out into these words on a screen. I previously mentioned my mothers experience with her animals, and how it is very different from how I experience my animals. Please check my previous blog post for that reference. However, I am realizing I am more similar to my mother than I wanted to admit at the beginning. I’m over here, making friends with strangers and building relationships just to later ask them to look after my cats so I can run over and have a vacation. Times have changed since our parents had babies. That’s something to be grateful for. Mainly because you can’t hire someone to pet sit your kids for a week. This is life with domestic animals. It’s quite a ride! For more daily cat experiences and life as a domestic animal parent or someone with fur babies, follow this channel.

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Do you ever just sit back and wonder how in the world cats and dogs come into our lives and alter them forever? So my mom got this dog right? And now she feels like she can’t go anywhere because she hast to bring her “appendage” with her. I told her that she shouldn’t allow the dog to change the trajectory of her life but unfortunately, that’s just impossible. Once us humans adopt a pet, it’s like an extension of ourselves. We can no longer go out and do the things we used to want to do because now we want to stay in and cuddle with our animals or train them on a new track or go shopping for them online. There’s an endless amount of wonderment when it comes to domesticated animals and I’m eager to dive into them.