The Chillout Zone (Off-Topic Thread)

Pumpkinseeds

reallyrose wrote: »

Can you do anything to discourage them from doing it? I'm loathe to make the "stop doing that/jumping on the counter/eating what you found under the couch" hissy noise - I don't want him to think cleaning himself is Naughty.

I've found that making extra time to play with her and give her lots of fuss helps calm things down a bit. With Poppy it's down to anxiety, she was abandoned in an apartment complex and came running up to me one day when I took a shortcut through there. She wouldn't move past a certain building so we knew that was where she'd been living and was waiting for them to come back for her, which they never did.:( It took us weeks to nab her from the woods there and get her in a carrier, we were going down to feed her twice a day. Shouting wouldn't help, it would just make it worse I think.

Pumpkinseeds

mymo wrote: »

Jake is running around like a kitten the last few days! (Well a very sleepy, slightly arthritic kitten)
He plays with Arabella, jumped on Tiffi to play this morning, poor dog was a little shocked at first, has been bossing Toby around (slapping the head off him if he dares sit in jakes spots, where he usually just goes off sadly to another spot) and generally running around much more.

Must be spring air getting to him!

Only a month ago he was on his third dose of antibiotics to try and shift a respiratory infection, we were worried he wouldn't last much longer.

It's almost full moon, ours always get a bit crazier and more excitable around full moon.

on_my_oe

Pumpkinseeds wrote: »

With Poppy it's down to anxiety, she was abandoned in an apartment complex and came running up to me one day when I took a shortcut through there. She wouldn't move past a certain building so we knew that was where she'd been living and was waiting for them to come back for her, which they never did.:( It took us weeks to nab her from the woods there and get her in a carrier, we were going down to feed her twice a day.

Thats an awful story, I really can't understand how people can abandon their furry family members, I really can't

Mech1

My little bird is home and asleep here tonight, I am hoping for first egg tomorrow!

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/mech11

ncur

Mech1 wrote: »

My little bird is home and asleep here tonight, I am hoping for first egg tomorrow!

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/mech11

Saw her last night too, have been checking in periodically over the last few days. Will have to get one for myself at some point!

mymo

Arabella has been catching flies for my daughter for a couple of weeks, there's been the odd moth too since we started lettting her out, but this morning she moved onto bigger prey...

I caught her attempting to get into daughters room with a mouse!

She wasn't sure what to do with it, but wasn't letting anyone near her, last seen hiding under a shrub in the garden.

angeldaisy

Rotten nights sleep again, the dogs are being a pain during the last few nights.
Last night Elly wouldn't settle in her crate - where she has slept since we got her. So I let her out and she got into bed with me, the OH was in the spare room - he's on early shifts this week and we need our sleep:D

Elly literally slept glued to my side and at one point I woke having almost been pushed out of the bed by her. It's typical- big king sized bed and the dogs have to sleep practically on top of me!!

On a separate note, we think we are going to take her in for her first dog show today - should be interesting! Just a local animal welfare show, but she's been practising her trick - she plays dead when I hold her in my arms! Guaranteed she won't do it under pressure though!!

angeldaisy

Well, we got absolutely soaked, Elly really doesn't like the rain and spent most of the time in my arms like a baby!!

Most of the dog show was called off, but they brought all the dogs who stayed into the ring. Elly got into the 1st round and won 2nd prize and Tara got into the second round and came 4th!

They weren't crazy about the dogs running loose, there's always one who doesn't believe their dog should be on a lead. But they were relatively well behaved for their first adventure!!

Dord

Our cat is coming up to 1 year old now so trying to get him onto adult food from the kitten food. I thought I was being clever by mixing the remaining kitten food with adult food (50/50)... but... he's more clever apparently. He ate all the adult food and left the kitten food. Picky git! :eek::o

mymo

I've mixed cheap food with the good stuff when running low waiting for a delivery, and mine do the same!
Three of the four pick out the good stuff, the other fella would eat anything so cleans up the rest.

borderlinemeath

Took Cocos final big dressing off today. The nail casing is growing back but it's still red and tender so it's socks and booties for the next few weeks until it hardens further. She's been brilliant, she wouldn't even look at the bandage or attempt to take it off and she's the same with her socks and booties. I have to tape them on to make sure they stay on though! It's hard to judge what size baby socks to buy for your dog!

on_my_oe

awake since 6.15am

Heard Princess Foxy batting the Roman blinds so I brought them up 50cm so she could look out. No, she was still attacking them, took them up half way. Closed eyes... Opened eyes - she is now hanging off them. Rolled them up fully, sunshine streaming through windows. Princess Foxy decides ahh they're not interesting now - much better being on mammys bed demanding a pat and now she's asleep and I'm wide awake.

Mech1

My Bluetit nestbox continued.....

Well still no sign of any eggs, but I got the second camera sorted and the sound fixed.

Check it out live here http://www.ustream.tv/channel/mech11

Pumpkinseeds

Both Toby and Poppy decided to join me in the bathroom this morning. She was trying to use his tail as a toy, didn't go down well and is a good thing he's a patient cat.:) I wonder if Poppy remembers having a tail, all she has is a constantly twitching little stumpy one.

ShaShaBear

FINALLY getting our stinky old carpet ripped up and some laminate put down. Fingers crossed it withstands the dog test, at least for a while!

OH's dad is down staying for the week to help us put the floor down, dog went decidedly less mental than usual for about 2 minutes, and is treating him exactly the same as myself and OH after just a day of him being in the house. Had my mum up yesterday morning for tea, and as soon as she squeaked his toy a few times, his mind totally refocused on play and he forgot she was someone to greet. He was very good, returning the "ball" for fetch games, and there was only one or two times in the space of a few hours where he forgot his manners, but my mum was very strict and issued a stern "no".
As such, we're hoping to pick up a heavy duty squeaking toy for when visitors come, as the more noise they make the easier he is distracted by them. We did the same with Shadow, and eventually when people came to visit he would either lie down for a belly rub or go straight for a toy. Hopefully because the training instilled the behaviour and not just because he was a nutjob

Pretzill

ShaShaBear wrote: »

FINALLY getting our stinky old carpet ripped up and some laminate put down. Fingers crossed it withstands the dog test, at least for a while!

Took out the carpets a few years ago best decision ever! Dyson couldn't invent a hoover capable of removing the hair and I used to have to get down with a scrubbing brush first to remove the hairs - I put tiles in the rooms except for the bedroom where we fitted laminate but my girl dog at the time did not like walking on the laminate one bit - she would skirt gingerly around the edges like she was on skates!! The dogs I have now don't mind it at all and it's down eight years without any problems!

mymo

The only place we have carpet is on the stairs, they'd be too slippy without it (for dogs and teenager who falls down the stairs as it is, almost weekly)

When we moved here first Tiffi didn't bat an eye, Oliver spent most of the first few days on the stairs!
I had to buy loads of cheap mats and make a path to the kitchen and backdoor, he was fine after a week, just have to keep his nails trimmed and both their hairy paws.

tk123

Yeah we're the same now - only have carpet on the stairs and landing which we got the same time as Lucy because we thought the stairs were too slippy for dogs and for carrying a pup up and down for toilet training! Bailey moved up to my room at night when we got the carpet The last room that had carpet is having a laminate flooring put down by my dad while the rest of us are on our hols. That one was pulled up a couple of weeks ago because it was infested with moth worms!!! >_< puke puke puke

on_my_oe

Princess Foxy attacked the curtains again this morning. OH quickly pulled them up, so her next tactic was to climb on top of the bedside lockers so she had a higher launching position. Now she's prowling around with a 'what trouble can I get into?' attitude on her

Pumpkinseeds

The neighbourhood crows are creeping me out a bit today. I feed the birds every day, there's a large green area out the front of the house and we get a lot of different types of birds. Usually the crows will sweep down for the food first but today they're too busy shrieking at each other in the trees for some reason and ignoring the food. The noise is creepy, even our cats are on edge.:eek:

borderlinemeath

Pumpkinseeds wrote: »

The neighbourhood crows are creeping me out a bit today. I feed the birds every day, there's a large green area out the front of the house and we get a lot of different types of birds. Usually the crows will sweep down for the food first but today they're too busy shrieking at each other in the trees for some reason and ignoring the food. The noise is creepy, even our cats are on edge.:eek:

It was a full moon last night, I wonder is it affecting them?

Pretzill

Pumpkinseeds wrote: »

The neighbourhood crows are creeping me out a bit today. I feed the birds every day, there's a large green area out the front of the house and we get a lot of different types of birds. Usually the crows will sweep down for the food first but today they're too busy shrieking at each other in the trees for some reason and ignoring the food. The noise is creepy, even our cats are on edge.:eek:

There could be a threat to them somewhere, a couple of weeks ago I saw a few crows chase away a Sparrow Hawk in flight - mind you I've seen swallows doing the same.

Pumpkinseeds

Whatever it is bugging the crows Toby isn't taking any chances. I was trying to encourage him to play in the back yard with the Da Bird but he was having none of it. Instead he made it clear that he wanted me to stand in the yard so he could sit on the nice mat inside the kitchen door in a patch of warm sunlight and I could stand on the concrete in the wind swishing the Da Bird within swatting distance of him.:rolleyes: More fool me I let him win.:D

He is such a clumsy cat though, it's hillarious watching him tumble over himself or roll off things. I shouldn't laugh but it's so funny. I don't think anyone ever really played with him before he showed up here. He didn't seem to have much concept of play, but the first time I showed him the Da Bird he grabbed it, ran off across the green out the front of our house and growled at the other 3 if they went near him for it.

mymo

We got a stove in on Friday, since the weather was a bit crap and chilly, we lit it every evening. I came home from work and three of the cats are sitting looking at it, I think they want me to light it.

ShaShaBear

tk123 wrote: »

Yeah we're the same now - only have carpet on the stairs and landing which we got the same time as Lucy because we thought the stairs were too slippy for dogs and for carrying a pup up and down for toilet training! Bailey moved up to my room at night when we got the carpet The last room that had carpet is having a laminate flooring put down by my dad while the rest of us are on our hols. That one was pulled up a couple of weeks ago because it was infested with moth worms!!! >_< puke puke puke

After roughly ten minutes of attempting to Sonic his way around the floor, he's totally stopped running and will only walk. It's almost like he's got no other choice but to walk calmly. When we let him in a few minutes ago, he clattered across the kitchen lino and skidded to a slow walk as soon as he hit the laminate! :pac:

Seriously, I'm going to put the stuff everywhere, it's like having a normal dog and a clean floor at the same time!

Mech1

1st egg has arrived!!!

angeldaisy

I've no idea what's bothering Elly at the moment, but she's driving me nuts!

the last week or so, she has become really clingy, if I crate her at night, which we've done since we got her, she cries until I let her out. If I don't let her out, she howls in that ear splitting puppy voice until I give in before she wakes the whole house.
Of course because she won't stay in the crate, she has decided the best place to be is glued to my side in the bed!

She is following me absolutely everywhere - my head is wrecked from it!

I've had to come into college this morning just to get a break from her:D

reallyrose

I took Mr Fluffy McWhingy to the vet on Saturday, he was totally chilled out, wandered around the clinic like it was his own living room. Had a purr, had a meow, licked his arsé in front of everyone, not a bother.

The vet said he got a bite off a flea at some stage and had an allergic reaction, that's why he's been chewing the fur off himself.

Got an injection of steroids so hopefully he'll improve now.

Pumpkinseeds

Someone's cat snuck in to our kitchen in the early hours and I came rushing down at 2am to see what the commotion was all about. Felix, Poppy and Jazzy were all making that horrible owyowyowy noise they do before a fight. The intruder was gone but the sensor light in the garden was on and Jazzy went out sniffing everything. Since then Felix and Toby have been having a piddling contest in the kitchen and hall.:rolleyes:

Mech1

1st egg laid this morning!

Should be one laid every morning from now on for maybe 8 to 12 days.

Tune in at approx 5.00Am till maybe 6.30Am to see each laying Live. http://www.ustream.tv/channel/mech11