Cat poop

Well, this would be a ridiculous topic if it wasn’t so pathetic and oh, so true! Most of you know I have four indoor cats: Grace, Tink, Tess, and Charlie. Four cats equal lots of cat poop. How much can a person write about cat poop? Well, let’s just see…

My day starts out with cat poop. Right after my morning coffee and before I leave for work, I pooper scoop four cat litter boxes. And, once a week, I empty said boxes and re-fill with fresh litter. Needless to say, I go through quite a lot of kitty litter each month, probably close to 100 pounds, give or take.

Grace is the alpha female.

There is a place in my back yard at the edge of where my property becomes woods that I have been dumping the kitty litter. I call this place Kitty Poop Mountain. Brian recently suggested that I start alternately emptying the boxes at various other locales in the wooded areas of our property, so that we don’t end up with one huge pile of poop. Yes, good idea! Why have one huge mountain of poop when I can have numerous hills instead? So, every weekend, usually Sunday, I carry the litter boxes, two at a time, to the edge of our back deck. From there, I can load the four of them into the wheelbarrow for easy maneuvering through the back yard. (Clever, aren’t I?) After a wash at the outdoor water hose, I dry them and return them to the laundry room to be filled for another week. Now, any multiple cat owner can tell you that a pride of cats has a unique pecking order that allows its leader certain privileges, such as using the litter box first. Grace is our alpha female and until Charlie came into our lives, she was always first. But, Charlie, still a kitten and unschooled in the ways of cat society, likes to leap in each of the boxes, right as they are being filled, to do a little business, which, of course, pisses Grace off.

Can you see how much Tess loves Charlie licking on her?

Ideally, I should have five litter boxes in my house, according to what cat experts say –  one for each cat and one extra. If not for Grace’s litter box rule, I would probably need to buy that fifth box.  Grace’s rule is that two of the boxes are to be used for pooping and two are for peeing only. Three cats follow the rule, Charlie, of course, just doesn’t get it yet, which pisses Grace off.

The two boy kitties, Charlie and Tink.

Now, about the litter itself. With this many cats, I have tried to buy the super duper cheap litter, like Johnny Cat. Grace, of course, refuses to use it. So, although I cannot buy the really cheap stuff, I am lucky that I can buy two grocery store brands of litter, which are, at least moderately priced litters. I try to keep roughly 50 pounds of litter available for changes, but of course, the store is sometimes out and my stockpile gets low. Inevitably, the boxes need changed, I don’t have enough litter and I must make a special litter run to the grocery store. (Yes, normal people make beer runs, cat people make litter runs.)

Oh, and I haven’t mentioned that Grace will poop in my ficus tree if I forget to scoop the litter box. Or, that I sweep up several cups of kitty litter from my floors each day. Or, that Sam Dog will eat the poop when he can get into that room. (He normally cannot get in, we keep the door closed and have installed a kitty door.)

I figure I can talk poop with the best of the mommy bloggers! Or anyone, for that matter. Give it your best shot!

And let me leave you with this thought about poop: “Never kick a fresh turd on a hot day.” – Harry S. Truman

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Our house is a very very very fine house, with four cats and a dog…

I get asked frequently about our pets – four cats and a dog – and let me just say that they are spoiled rotten and very demanding of our attention. Each one loves to be the center of our affection and regardess of who temporarily holds that coveted position, the others, jealous creatures that they are, constantly try to knock the other out, in “I’m King of the Hill” fashion, and claim it for themselves. Here are some recent pictures:

Grace and Sam nap on the loveseat.

Charlie and Tink on the back of the couch.

Sam likes his new fence.

Tess wants to help pack.

Charlie and Sam share the loveseat with Cindy.

Charlie and Tink on the rocker.

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Aunt Bee, the crazy old cat lady

Frances Bavier as Aunt Bee.

Frances Bavier as Aunt Bee.

Today, I was thinking about Aunt Bee, Frances Bavier, from “The Andy Griffith Show.” 

After that show and a few other acting gigs, Bavier retired from show business in 1972 and moved to the picturesque little town of Siler City, North Carolina.

I tell you this because Brian and I lived in North Carolina at the time of her death and our local paper had a pretty huge write-up about her. The article stated that she had a reputation for being a difficult actress and apparently even had a few run-ins with Andy Griffith on the set. (Griffith said later that about 4 months before she died, she called him to apologize.) The story also said that when Bavier moved to North Carolina, she became quite a recluse. I read that Ron Howard came to visit once and she wouldn’t let him into her house.

Well, when she died in 1989, she left her estate to numerous local charities. It was also discovered that she left behind 15 cats.

It is the 15 cats that made me think of her. You see, we are now a four cat family (unless someone steps forward to take the newest addition, Charlie).

So I thought of Aunt Bee and her 15 cats today because we brought Charlie into the house. She is so cute and she is absolutely fearless! Sam Dog loves her and I hope he doesn’t eat her! The other cats aren’t real sure what they think, yet.

So, Aunt Bee died and her house stank like cats gone wild and everyone referred to her as “the crazy old cat lady.” 

This is not me.  No way.  Nuh uh.

Here are a few pictures last weekend of our critters:

Sam and Charlie.

Sam and Charlie.

 

Where am I supposed to sleep?

Sam is in bed with Brian. Where am I supposed to sleep?

We bought a new bed for Sam. (See photo above). Grace likes it, too.

We bought a new bed for Sam, and he likes it okay, just not for sleeping in. He'd rather sleep in our bed. Grace, on the other hand, thinks Sam's bed is pretty cool.

Tink is sleeping in a basket on the shelf above my computer.

Tink is sleeping in a basket on the shelf above my computer.

Tess, previously known as "the baby," doesn't like the new kitten.

Tess, known as "the baby," doesn't like the new kitten. I think she may worry that she'll lose her coveted status.

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