Couch 212: The French Vanilla couch

Wow, cooties are a great equalizer!

I'll bring the popcorn.

Well at the board meeting this morning it was announced that we will probably be going to four day work weeks starting next month because of the slowing of the economy. We don't know for sure, but as our customers back away from going forward on deals, it's going to affect how much work we have. BLEH. Not wanting to hear this right now!!! HUGS Kit

Amelia decided she's a big girl kitty cat, and she went from staying inside our bricked in back yard to jumping the six foot wall and walking around the front yard (which means she can now wander pretty much wherever she wants)!! This upsets me on so many levels because I imagine the worst. Her getting ran over by a car. Her getting eaten by a coyote. Her getting infected with rabies or some other thing because someone else's pets don't have their shots, or some random animal doesn't have shots. She has her shots, but what if it doesn't protect her. I'm hoping she will just nose around once and decide to stay in the backyard but I know some cats have that wanderlust. Amelia apparently is one of them. Sigh. HUGS Kit.

Does she need to go outside? Indoor/outdoor cats generally have shorter lives and can do tremendous damage to wildlife.

L changed the rug in her room! Why the h*** would you do that? That will be the last time in her office for who knows how long. And I have enough to deal with. Now I'll be in an uncomfortable environment dealing with everything else.

When we got her, I successfully kept her inside for about 4 to 5 months by scaring her off of the doggie doors. But soon enough she got bold enough to go outside in the backyard. I wanted her to be indoor only but it wasn't practical once she figured out the doggie doors and was bold enough to try them. I haven't seen her hunt anything yet. No birds or lizards have been found so I'm not sure if she is hunting. It's not what I wanted but I'm not sure how to prevent her from going outside at this point. My other cat is 15 and she was indoor/outdoor and she stayed in the backyard only. But this one made it over the wall. I can only assume she has done so before. I had hoped not, but there she was, in the front yard.

I had my first video chat session today. I don't know if I like it better than phone sessions or not. It was nice to see Amy's face, but I felt the physical distance between us more acutely. We talked about how I have been coping with the pandemic (fairly well, in general). I think the uncertainty about how long this will last and not knowing what will happen is the hardest part for me. I am annoyed that EMDR isn't an option because there was at least one place where I knew it would have been useful today.

HUGS! I hate when something in the office changes! When my Regular T changed practices, of course all the furniture and stuff changed. I went from a nice big padded swivel chair to a very uncomfortable couch where my feet don't even sit flat on the floor. It's very annoying. I'm sorry you have to deal with this on top of everything else. HUGS Kit

My cats go outside. They have their shots. It would be worse to keep them in and one kills mice in the garden - so win win. The other couldn't hunt no matter what. Once when a mouse got in the house, he hopped up on the bed to get away from it - and curled up and went to sleep rather than it being a cunning ploy to pounce on said mouse from above. I prefer some risk and happierness to no risk and less happierness in my cats and the mouse hunter was a grown stray when we took him in. It might be different (although I doubt it much in my house with the dog door) if I had gotten him as a little indoor kitten already - but he was a grown and experienced tomcat when we came to us- we got him fixed right away but he would claw out of the screens in the spring/summer/fall if he couldn't go out (I have seen him do it)

They make dog doors that only open for the animal wearing an electronic collar paired to the door. If you really want to keep her inside, it's something to look at.

How much do cats actually kill? [Infographic] - The Oatmeal

Go cats. I would be very impressed in chunky elderly cat was killing mice without me knowing it. I still find birds to be a stretch for him - he can barely jump onto the bed. But if he is - way to go chunky boy. I see most of that as a straw man argument - much like the but therapists can't handle email because what if everyone wrote them. But to each their own. Hunting makes cats very very happy. They were born to hunt. If idiots with guns and beer can go shoot bambi, my cats can outside.

Never mind the “Cats” watch party.

We obviously need to stage our own Couch production of “Cats.” We have enough cast.

Over Zoom, of course.

You kittens stay out of my garden.

I'm kinda pushing my H for us to get guinea pigs again. I think having pets would help me deal better with the being stuck at home. H is allergic to cats, so those are out, and D is still pretty terrified of dogs, so, nope. I think something small that's mostly in a cage will be more acceptable to her. They have some available for adoption at a nearby shelter (which is still open by appointment only), so tempted... I think H misses having them, too--was the first time he'd had a pet in his life. The most recent one passed away while I was pregnant with D, so it's been a while... but I'd had them for like 12 years before that (including pre-H).

Schools in the UK are finally closed from Friday.

But it sounds like your thicc boi would be PERFECT for Old Deuteronomy.

You're in charge of the script.

I have dibs on makeup

Una costumes.

If you've already got experience why not go for it?

"They're doing it for fun".

You’re going to put makeup on actual cats?

My hat is off to you.

He is not that wise or awake. He is just an old easy going orange striped boy who mostly just wants to cuddle with his dogs and get fed his purina cat chow - none of that fancy food for him - I tried all sorts of expensive cat foods and he spurns everything but purina cat chow and licking the gravy out of the canned food the other cat likes. If you put wet food on a plate for chunky boy - he gives a look of disgust and walks away but if you give him the can with just the gravy part in it - he will lick it out. I need a cat owner's anon meeting.

And I appreciate their furry sociopathness. Cats hunt. Don't try to turn them into stuffed animals. Let kitties be kitties.

I draw the line at cat baths though.