The Chillout Zone (Off-Topic Thread)

Pumpkinseeds

Our cats are in crazy kitty mode this morning. Poppy is hiding so she can repeatedly ambush me then gallops off around the house like a maniac. Jazzy is pulling open cupboard doors and having a general mooch. Felix and Toby are trying to sleep through it all. I think the tuxies are built for comfort not speed. Poppy is such a funny cat, for a creature who only weighs about 3.5 kilos she's a little ball of chaos who rules the boys with a paw of iron.

tk123

2 vet visits for Bailey today!! It'll be VERY interesting to see what he's like for the first one after he charmed everyone when he was in for his op - will he be his usual cry baby or will he be happy to see his buddies lol

Pumpkinseeds

Jesus, some days my blood boils. The builder just asked me if one of our cats is pregnant(they aren't), as he saw a heavily pregnant cat just make it across the road. I'll have to keep an eye on 2 vacant neighbourhood houses in case she's a stray as she'll need help with food. If she's got a family they should be slapped for letting a heavily pregnant cat wander.:mad:

honerbright

Maxs suspected stray brother/sister came around to the back door just before for food so I went out with some biscuits and got to give him/her a rub. Cat looks to be missing the tip of his/her ear, I took a photo last time it was here (Aug 23rd) and both ears were full. So happy someone else in the neighborhood is taking interest in all the strays, it's really made my day.

However Roisin went out for her nightly wee and went absolutely berserk trying to protect us from the viscous beast outside and hasn't settled since.. Running around our two cats checking if they're ok :pac:

SillyMangoX

I'm currently babysitting my little 8 year old cousins for the week while their parents are on holidays, of course peach and cream are petrified of them, silly cats are afraid of anyone who moves quick or is loud! Dude loves them but we can't let them play with him too much because of the whole poo everywhere issue, but he got to play for about 10 mins today and he was in his element the little girl had made a special feather toy for him at school, it was the sweetest thing

Even though the older two cats are terrified and will run, peach is actually quite calm if she's in my arms, thus up higher than the kids. She also does this thing where she gets very purry/licky/rubby if you scratch her lower back. So I have her up in my arms and scratching her back, the kids go to rub her and she licks them all over and rubs her cheeks all over their hands and arms. They were delighted

sparkle_23

Pepper had her shots at the vet last week. She got 3 year vacinations, do they do that in Ireland or does it depend on the vet? Smudge & Sparkle go every year! The vet gave her the needles in her back too not her scruff. She had to get a rabies shot too, dam Canada and it's raccoons!! I found the vet really nice and he was really happy with her!

honerbright

Off to the vet soon with Cinnamon to get her shots. She's had a bit of a cough lately too (which typically went after I made the appointment).
She usually behaves but vets always ask if she was a stray (she wasn't but her parents were) because she's so skinny (no matter what we feed her) and not too friendly.

honerbright

So the vet said Cinnamon might have asthma, she heard a bit of a wheeze in her chest and said to keep an eye on it to see if it persists or out might just be the weather/cinnamons love for sleeping on the window in the cold. Apparently an asthma attack can look a lot like cats bringing up furballs.
She's also missing the tip on one of her teeth so if that gets worse it'll have to be removed.

Very lucky I guess, she's 6 years old and this is the first actual need we've had to question the vet about anything other than her vaccinations.

Cocolola

Jesus, I could kill Ollie.

All summer I've been working on being able to leave him at home alone, building up the times slowly. The entire last 4 months he's been brilliant, a few squeaks (watch him on webcam) but generally he settles quietly on the couch. I got him up to 2 hours happy.

Today is my first day back at college and what does he do? Howls after 2 minutes and hasn't stopped since. I'm on the bus on the way in and I can't go back. Little fecker

tk123

That's the downside to being able to watch them remotely and they get upset!!!


Bailey's vet visits went well yesterday! He did have a good cry in the waiting room for the first one although he preferred when sliding doors where opened so I had to keep getting up and pressing the button to open them to keep him quiet!! Then he barked the place down when they took him off for somebody else to check him over.. Second visit was grand - he went asleep on the floor of the waiting room and our vet was impressed with his wound lol While we were waiting a guy came in with a dog he'd "found" up the road.. Now the dog had no collar on but was cuddled into the guy sitting on his lap...and he had an unopened bag of Barking Heads fat dog slim...which I found very suspicious. The only place to get that in our area is a pet shop that'd be a good 30-40mins away from where he said he found the dog. And why would you buy a full bag of food to hand in with a dog you'd found!? Poor dog wasn't chipped so if it was lost it'll be in the pound now.

muddypaws

I'm really enjoying the weather, but this is Ireland we live in? Too hot for the huskies outside, they've all come back inside to the cool house.

Pumpkinseeds

muddypaws wrote: »

I'm really enjoying the weather, but this is Ireland we live in? Too hot for the huskies outside, they've all come back inside to the cool house.

That's where a freezing cold floor comes in handy. Our cats bask out in the back garden in the sun, well Felix and Poppy do, Toby doesn't much like the sun and jazzy prefers the early evening for sunbathing. When they've had enough they sprawl on the freezing kitchen floor to cool off then go back out again, for most of the day.:)

Tea Tree

yay my spaniel finally swims. He has tried it once before when he tentatively followed my other dog but last night he launched himself straight in happily . Silly sod still has a lot to learn though... .he shook the water off himself while still half submerged

tk123

muddypaws wrote: »

I'm really enjoying the weather, but this is Ireland we live in? Too hot for the huskies outside, they've all come back inside to the cool house.

:pac: my zooplus cooling mats are still being used everyday lol!

SillyMangoX

Was reading the kiddies a bedtime story this evening, Peach came down and sat on my lap in the bedroom while I was reading. The kids were thrilled

DBB

tk123 wrote: »

:pac: my zooplus cooling mats are still being used everyday lol!

Mine are getting plenty of use too, once they realised what they were for!

mymo

I must look out for those, my two get very hot, even Ruby the cat came in panting a couple of times.

I'm sick, between hurting my foot last week while walking dogs at night (street lights are all gone in town due to road works, it's bloody dark with no streetlight) and this cold, dogs aren't getting out enough, though they happily helped me steal blackberries from my next door neighbours garden earlier (with her permission) they were delighted to get a sniff around, even if it was on lead, Tilly's (her dog) garden.
Just need a few more and I can make some jam, I already made plum jam, which is delicious, and I got a bag of cooking apples to use up, I made chilli jam a few weeks back, I'm feeling very like my nanny!
God, I'm getting old

DBB

mymo wrote: »

Just need a few more and I can make some jam, I already made plum jam, which is delicious, and I got a bag of cooking apples to use up, I made chilli jam a few weeks back, I'm feeling very like my nanny!
God, I'm getting old

Ah stoppit now.
I spent Saturday afternoon making plum jam and the king of them all... damson jam! Nyom nyom
I don't feel like your nanny at all though :pac:

muddypaws

Oh I love damson jam. My favourite ever though was my Nanny's gooseberry jam, on her homemade soda bread nom nom.

Our blackberries still aren't ready yet, the odd one is black, but most are still red. I couldn't find Diesel the other day, then realised he was hidden in the bramble bushes the other side of the field, blackberry picking.

Of course this is also the time of year for blackish/blueish bird poo!

borderlinemeath

DBB wrote: »

Ah stoppit now.
I spent Saturday afternoon making plum jam and the king of them all... damson jam! Nyom nyom
I don't feel like your nanny at all though :pac:

If you want some damsons I've got two trees full! They're going to waste as I'm not a jam person so they go up to himselfs mammy who does the jam, but as I gather them they're going bad as he doesn't get up often enough.
Also cooking and eating apples and very soon the pears will be ripe. The dogs LOVE eating the sweet pears!

borderlinemeath

muddypaws wrote: »

Oh I love damson jam. My favourite ever though was my Nanny's gooseberry jam, on her homemade soda bread nom nom.

Our blackberries still aren't ready yet, the odd one is black, but most are still red. I couldn't find Diesel the other day, then realised he was hidden in the bramble bushes the other side of the field, blackberry picking.

Of course this is also the time of year for blackish/blueish bird poo!

I think the blackberries are very late to ripen this year. I was only saying it last night on our walk that there were very few ripe bushes, most were still red. I had my own blackberries growing until somebody decided that he would go mad with the hedgecutters :mad:

tk123

Everyone else is making jam while I spent Saturday afternoon making up meals for Bailey for when he goes on holidays...and in the meantime he's been weighed and has lost weight even though I'd increased the amount I was giving him so now I don't know if I should have increased it more!! I've taken to giving him his morning kong filling in a small plastic tub for fear of him doing something to his stitches which he doesn't seem to mind :pac:

mymo

Saturday was my jam day too, I'd love to get some damsons, none around here I can see, my daughter loves them in crumble with apples. I must ask around, sloes are great too, used to get them from my uncle but his neighbours "pruned" them out of it.
I made slow gin for a friend a few years back and she loved it. (I thought it tasted awful, but I don't like gin)

Pumpkinseeds

I'm feeling a bit viral today and Toby is trying to lead me astray by going back to bed. He does love bed that cat.:) He's been racing me up the stairs whenever I go up and going through the nightly bedtime routine that we have. As much as I'd love to give in we have a builder putting up a wall, so not likely to happen.

muddypaws

mymo wrote: »

Saturday was my jam day too, I'd love to get some damsons, none around here I can see, my daughter loves them in crumble with apples. I must ask around, sloes are great too, used to get them from my uncle but his neighbours "pruned" them out of it.
I made slow gin for a friend a few years back and she loved it. (I thought it tasted awful, but I don't like gin)

I think I've found sloes, need to doublecheck, but if so, will be making sloe gin this year

tk123

Bloody hell - my heart!!! Out in the garden earlier (bbq-ing :P) and I glance over to see Bailey lifting rope up with his head all mad sideways - his new way of lifting things on his "bad side" - which is bad enough since the ropes are a bit dirty...THEN he saunters over to Lucy and offers her the other end for a game of tug!!! With a mouth full of stitches!! :eek: Invoice #1 arrived this morning for the 2 days he was in the first week so not the actual op - €991... :eek:

mymo

Just managed to stem the bleeding from my face, thanks to Toby turning on me.
He's been getting progressively grumpier lately, he was trying to get out when I was calling dogs in, so I picked him up carefully (he's been very bitey lately) and he turned and slashed my face, just missing my eye.
I have three lovely scratches accross my face, from nose to ear, one on my eyelid.
It's sore and I bet it'll look lovely in the morning, I should have known better, he's become so bad lately, there's no warning when he'll turn on you.
Not sure it's a health issue, he doesn't seem in pain, he eats fine, is still hunting fine, and he's always been a bit odd about you touching him at times or in certain places. No idea what went on with him before we adopted him.

DBB

mymo wrote: »

I have three lovely scratches accross my face, from nose to ear, one on my eyelid.

:eek:
Bloody hell mymo, that sounds really painful. People will think you've had a domestic :eek:

mymo wrote: »

I made slow gin for a friend a few years back and she loved it. (I thought it tasted awful, but I don't like gin)

I came into the possession of a LOT of damsons today (thanks BLM ) and have been making more jam all evening. But we've discovered that you can also make damson gin, and damson vodka in the same way that you make sloe gin... They recommend giving them a looonnngggg time to develop though, if we got our act together now it'd be coming right by Christmas 2015! :eek:
Still, it sounds lovely, especially the damson vodka.
I do like sloe gin too though. My sister made some from sloes my OH gathered for her last year, and now you're gone and reminded me I still have a small bottle of it here... nyom nyom :pac:

honerbright

Poppy and Roisin had a fight today, poppy came out with a small hole in her neck. Their play fights sometimes escalate into something more serious, very upsetting when it happens, I'm not really sure the cause or how to put a stop to it. They're fairly hard to seperate because they both latch on to each other. Best of buds 99.9% of time :-(

mymo

DBB wrote: »

:eek:

Still, it sounds lovely, especially the damson vodka.

I'd like a drop of that right now, face is sore, hope it looks better in morning, looks awful right now.