The Pets Update

The pets are all eager whenever someone disappears into the main bedroom. I've been forced to learn to open the door a crack to check if any cat is already heading for the gap at speed. Tuski wants to be a ninja like Max (and she's harder to shoo out of the room when she does break in! She hunkers down under the bed).

The cats beg in the morning to be let outside. Carrie gets the final call, but I'm happy to let the "barn cats" play at being barn cats.

And it's cute when they play with the dog. Loki was trying to keep an eye on Laura walking Ernie in this shot, while kitty-kitty was keeping an eye on him. For what?

Tag of course!

Meanwhile, Max has no interest in dogs. She's happy to explore and the first one out the door. She ranges the farthest of all the cats. 

Aria is "my" cat. She's clearly claimed me and hunts me down wherever I sit to Carrie's great delight.

"Look at her! I want to take a picture."

Apparently, I used an incorrect look.

Tsuki is Carrie's favorite. I try to send the occasional kitten pic to boost morale if I feel it's flagging.

Tsuki has decided Carrie is her mother. She attempts to nurse. Nurse. She will nest, nibble, and suck on whatever blanket is on Carrie. I've never seen anything like it before.

And that bond with Carrie is the only thing keeping the cats in the house after they've had multiple "accidents." Aria's the only one who's been caught, but we've thrown away pillows and cushion covers.

Carrie's theory is that the kittens have peed anywhere they can nest and that smells strongly of dog or other cats. Loki's been banned from the couches for the cat misbehavior! We've picked up blankets, blocked the cat door into the guest bedroom, and provided a new litter box.

So far, it's been popular. Which is great, because cat pee is the drip of death to fabric.

I didn't want Loki on the furniture originally, but it feels unfair to change things now that I got used to it. It's fun to watch him bounce around after the cats!

Happy still loves him, at least.

I caught her giving him a kiss right on his face.

We really should work on leash training with Loki, but I'm not in a hurry to take him anywhere.  I suppose he could come on a hike, but he'd also neeed to get a collar and/or microchipped. 

Poop. I got 2 weeks behind again.

I got two weeks behind again. I have photos uploaded and laid out ready for writing, but the blog took a back seat again. Why? Well, you'll just have to see the updates as they come in. Next week is Thanksgiving break, so I'm planning to regain ground.

For now, I'm going to start with a poop story. I even mentioned it in the title.

Did you know that beans can substitute for litter pellets?

Navy beans are much cheaper per pound than the litter pellets. The kitten food is higher in protein and has led to 'rich' deposits in both odor and amount of pellets they cling to. Carrie made the call to try beans instead of pellets to save a few dollars and I figured it'd be worth a story at least. 

The beans probably don't stop scents as well, but I worry less when Loki crunches a few down. They probably provide some nutrition.

And the biggest advantage of the beans: They're organic material. We can flush them.

The cats find the process fascinating. Maybe they'll learn how to use the toilet themselves one day and save us a step.

The last time we had this much fun with beans they were in a suitcase.

Cat Problems

You can be cute and annoying at the same time. Exhibit A:

The kitchen sink is more annoying than the bathroom one. I turned the water on. 

We won't talk about how Shane balanced the dirty plate.

And why do you need to steal the dog's food? 

A fun picture or Carrie giggling can balance out some annoyance. In this case, the picture was evidence the kittens had been up to mischief.

And then there's outright trouble. We've caught Aria peeing outside the litter box. First it was a towel I dried Loki off with. Then it was on a blanket behind the dog cage. Then we noticed the dog bed smelled, too. Then Shane left the closet door open and I noticed her peeing on his snowpants.

Cat pee is terrible. All of those items are trash.

There are standing orders to keep doors to all bedrooms closed. I asked Carrie about getting another litter box in case that was the issue and have said, "She can always go back to being a barn cat."

Maybe Tsuki or another cat has done it, too, but I've only caught Aria in the act. It seems like a new problem, but she could have been wetting Loki's bed for a little while (It's not like we actually smell checked it frequently).

I would be okay with letting the cats outside more often. Any time they choose to use the bathroom outdoors is one less we have to do anything about.

Thought I will admit, I do feel a small amount of trepidation about letting them out. It's based on "How would Carrie react/feel if one didn't return?" 

Carrie seems fine with it and aware of the possibility. There are hazards outdoors and a cat's curiosity could keep one walking. So far, Max ranges the farthest. She's come back with ticks several times while the kittens stay close and tick free.

Happy cat has joined the morning outdoor romp. She stayed on the porch at first.

Then she started to range a little further out.

Shane has started to think of Happy as "his cat." Tsuki's claimed Carrie, Aria likes to bother me, and Max does Max. Happy started off her indoor career sneaking into Shane's bed to sleep. She likes to hide most of the day, but she's very tolerant about him snatching her and burying his face in her fur (no matter how many times Carrie says, "Don't do that.").

So Shane got nervous when all of the cats came in but Happy. He went out to look for her. Carrie followed a little bit later and found her on top of the hay bales. She had to climb to the top to retrieve her.

Will Happy get to venture out tomorrow? I don't know myself. I'm not used to being the hesitant one, but I'd just as soon leave her in. Carrie's the one who opens the portal to the yard each morning.

And that's the full cat update. The kittens are full of energy, cause trouble, zoom around, and wake Carrie up at night. They also curl up next to her and she falls back asleep making happy murmurs, so it somewhat evens out (I get to deal with any grouch/tired the next morning!).

Household Additions

"Barn cat" just means "delayed house cat" to Carrie.

I fell for it twice, but no more.

The kittens came inside to recover from being spayed and they haven't left.

And they get away with everything, because they're cute.

"You know, that's a terrible idea to allow," I said. "It's cute now, but that's a pain when they keep doing it."

My wisdom fell on deaf ears. I refused to pick up the mess. I don't know if Carrie or Shane did it in the end.

I know where my loyalties lie.

"Oh, hai. I'm in your picture!"

Shane and Carrie are both very pleased with having the pair in the house. Shane's less fond of the kitten poop (it's extra smelly), but it's not enough to convince him to side with the Barn Cat Coalition and kick them out!

The kittens immunity status is largely Tsuki's fault. Aria is cute and playful, but Tsuki wants to be a lap cat when she grows up. And the lap of choice is Carrie. 

She's very affectionate. Anytime Carrie sits down Tsuki is not long to follow. If Carrie goes too long in between sitting down, Tsuki will follow after her and call out.

And Carrie eats it up. She coos and giggles and her mirth is the only reason I'm not more sour on the interlopers.

And don't think for a moment I'm the only one taking pictures.

It's Carrie's favorite pastime. 

Many of the pictures here are hers! And these are just the ones I've decided to post!

I get frequent picture notifications whenever Tsuki is passed out on Carrie's lap.

And they get into everything.

Everything.

Nothing is sacred or off limits save the bedroom. 

The older cats take the hint when you take them off the table or counter and put them on the ground. The kittens keep at it. They refuse to be dissuaded. 

Aria's been difficult with virtual school. If Tsuki's claimed Carrie, Aria seems to think she has a claim on me. Either that or she finds the feeling of the keyboard stimulating under her feet.

It's a good thing they get along with the other cats and Loki. 

I haven't given up on the idea of them being outdoor kittens.

They'll come with us when we do barn chores. Then they'll roam outside hunting and playing.

But they keep coming right back. We can make a kissing noise and the kittens take notice. They know they've got it good and they have no intention of sleeping in the barn again especially with the weather cooling.

20-21 Virtual School for Me!

It began Tuesday! 

I sent out a welcome letter Monday night to all the families, set up reminders all over my computer, and was eager to get to it.

Virtual school went well. 

My chief fears were that the technology wouldn't work, most kids wouldn't show up, and/or that whoever did show up stayed silent.

The technology worked save for one big blip I worked around, there were lots of kids, and most of them communicated in some shape or form.

A lot of teachers spent the week on sappy "get-to-know-you" activities" that I hated as a kid. I spent the week on "how to virtual school." We practiced screenshots, alt-tabbing windows, and how to zoom. I had the kids doodling on my screen and then sharing each other's screen so they could doodle on those while in breakout rooms.

"Just don't use what I show you for evil," I said. 

Most listened. One kid had a lot of fun renaming himself as a demon and doing lots of LOL's in the chat for the first day, but he settled down the next!

The big tech blip was when Schoology deleted all of the students in my 4th block. Thankfully, everyone was already in the class. I did a workaround and Schoology "found" everybody a couple hours later or it would have been a disaster. 

"Better this happens on day 2 rather than day 20," I said. "You'd lose a lot of work then. Now, you can laugh about it."

A lot of the kids got a kick out of Aria. Either she likes me or she likes the feel of walking on my keyboard (possibly both).

She flashed her anus to the class multiple times walking across my shoulder and jumping back and forth to the cabinets behind me.

I tried not to touch her as much as I could (allergies!), but whenever I had to remove her she jumped back up a second later.

I felt good about the week, but it was exhausting. I spent hours each morning building my materials and then sat on Zoom for 4.5 more hours. It was easier in that it was less time I would have physically been at work, but it was harder in that I like to be at work moving around and social. That energizes me. Being trapped at a computer talking to a screen does not. It drains me.

Speaking of draining, our internet is going to be a problem. Virtual school is blowing through our metered internet quotas.

We get 100 GB a month. That averages to 3.33 GB a day most months. We normally use well below that, but we noticed a big spike day 1. We wrote down "32.4 GB"  Thursday morning and we were at 39 GB after school ended (6.6 GB). 

We only had 3.5 days of school and we're nearly halfway through our internet for the month. 

Zoom has to be the big culprit (4.5 hours minimum for me and 3 hours minimum for Shane), but all of my grades, materials, and communications come through the computer, as well.

Carrie's already started researching supplemental options. I asked my principal if the County offered any support, but there was nothing we qualified for.

It's nothing insurmountable. I've got options. The cost will be comfort and convenience. I may have to drive to Shane's school to use their wifi and teach a class from the car. It's a much further drive, but I could also drive to my real life school and use the internet there. I'd rather be at home if I have to be virtual, but you do what you have to do.

One week down. Eight more weeks until 1st quarter ends. The County *might* start to switch to a hybrid model then, but we won't know until October.

I'll need to keep converting materials and think about how to attack things next week over the weekend. I slipped in a little content already, but the pacing guide is really tight. We're building the plane as we fly it.

Spay Day - Not "Spa" Day!

Memory is a funny thing. This is one of the comics that always comes to mind when someone says, "The Far Side."

Carrie bundled up the kittens and Happy to take the SPCA Tuesday morning. 

The SPCA is north of town, so it was a 40 minute trek. The kittens were dropped off early and then picked up late.

The SPCA was closed for part of the pandemic, so they're playing catch-up now. Carrie sat in the parking lot for an hour waiting for her turn to discharge!

Happy got a reprieve. She got the happy juice and her belly shaved before the vet noticed a scar in the right place. She'd already been spayed! There was never any chance she was pregnant to begin with!

Apparently all the volunteers took turns passing her around and holding her to help her wake up. 

She was still "drunk" when she got home.

The kittens got the whole kaboodle. The discharge instructions said to keep them INSIDE for a week to heal.

Carrie's thrilled.

Carrie slept in the office bedroom the first night with the kittens in case the anesthesia dropped their body temperatures to much (or was that all an excuse to cuddle?).

All the animals are getting along really well, so we haven't had to quarantine anyone since.

Loki's the only one who hasn't been 'tutored.' I was initially for it, but Carrie wanted to hold off in case he could get paid to be a stud (he's papered). That hasn't happened. He's been a well-behaved young man, so I don't think there's much point at this point in the game.