Cats - Cursing Cats and Other Curiosities

Catfished by a cat?

Posted on May 10, 2023 | by cursingcats.com | Leave a Comment

Listen, I need to vent. I know we’ve only had Louie for like 5 or 6 weeks. He’s also young, so he’ll change a lot. But… I’m feeling a little catfished.

Remember that snuggly stoner cat in the cat lounge? The cat that just wanted to be held and fall asleep on you? Like if your lap was open it was going to be sat in? This is not that cat. And when I first brought him home and he wanted to be in my face as much as possible? Gone.

I kinda feel like this cat tricked me.

Don’t get me wrong, he’s still a really cool cat. I’m not gonna trade him in for a better model… you know, like one who WANTS TO CUDDLE. Ehem.

Husband refers to him as a “proximity cat.” He enjoys being in the same room as you. Right now he’s sleeping on the couch near me. Proximity. But he no longer wishes to sleep on me or in my arms. Like at all. He either doesn’t sleep in our bedroom or sleeps under the bed. I’m not sure. When I go to bed, I don’t see him again until morning after I wash up. He does not wish me goodnight. (Which BTW, was my most cherished memories with Jack). When I go to bed, he does not come. For a while, when I get up in the middle of the night to pee, he’d come out and let me snuggle him for a bit before leaving. However, the past few nights, I’ve called for him and got nothing. I actually thought Husband might have shut him in the office. But after brushing my teeth and coming out of the bathroom, there he is ready for attention.

The cat likes me. Don’t get me wrong. But he’s certainly a far far far cry from the velcro cat I requested. This isn’t even like cheap velcro. This is like that cheap double sided tape they use in china to stick cheap seasonal decoration bits together that have already separated by the time you get them.

And on top of everything, he likes Husband better than me.

Yeah. I got catfished. Maybe this is why he wasn’t recommenced to me initially. He wasn’t what I wanted. He didn’t “choose” me, he fucking catfished me.

I mean, don’t get me wrong. I just need to vent. I’m upset that he’s not a snuggler. He’s not even sleeping on Husband’s side of the bed anymore. I miss Jack so much. I needed a snuggle buddy. He’ll change. And it’s good that he’s so comfortable to just lounge around where he pleases and not cling to me out of fear.

I don’t think another cat is the answer. If Louie was all over us trying to get attention, I’d say he needs a friend. But Louie is totally cool with just doing his own thing. He loves looking out the windows. And he plays with his toys a lot — just by himself. I got him a motion activated chick. He attacks it and it starts chirping and waving it’s wings and then he just leaves it until hes ready to sneak attack it again.

I like having a cat. I LOVE that he greets me at the door. He does do that. He’s very excited when I wake up (after I’ve cleaned up) and when I get home. It’s just… I feel like he tricked me with all the snuggles and love bombing.

Jack was so fucking awesome.

Review: BAGLHER Pet Carrier Backpack

Posted on April 25, 2023 | by cursingcats.com | Leave a Comment

It’s time for another review! I told you, I’ve been buy a lot of shit for the cat. This time it’s for his carrier! Or as Amazon likes to call it, the “BAGLHER Pet Carrier Backpack, Ventilated Design, Pet Travel Backpack with Comfortable Shoulder Straps, Thicker Bottom Support, Two-Way Entrance Pet Carrier Backpack, Black“. I don’t know why it says black, because that’s obviously the grey one, but whatever. I got grey for $33.29. Here we go:

I just purchased this backpack for my new cat. I had two carriers from my previous cats. However, those carriers were obscenely expensive and had a ton of features I didn’t need. Like wheels. This made them heavy and awkward as hell. So I decided to retire them and find something new.

I settled on a backpack because I loved the idea of letting my cat peak his head out of the top. So I looked at a lot of backpacks. I had a few requirements:

* Lots of mesh for breathing. (No plastic. Sure that bubble is see-thru and maybe even cute until it gets filthy with nose prints.)

* I wanted pockets for keeping important things like rabies tags.

* I also decided I wanted the bottom to be solid all the way around. This way my cat could lay down and have privacy if they were scared.

I took looks into account as well and picked this one. It came just in time for me to pick up my new little guy! I’ve had it for almost a month now and it’s already been through the ringer! He’s been to the vet. I took him to the grocery store (because why not). We also took him for a walk outside and he pooped in it. So it’s also been washed! So I feel like I can really review this bag now.

PROS:

Tons of mesh for airflow.
The bottom is solid on all sides so my cat can lay down for privacy.
Pockets! I didn’t even expect to use the two side mesh pockets. However, as you can see in my pictures – my wallet ended up in one and his medication from the vet ended up in the other.
Three entryways. Both sides of this open up wide and the top opens. I find it easiest to stick him in the side.
Washable! Did I mention he pooped in it? Well, I washed it and we’re fine! I was afraid the bottom liner would shrink. It’s just zippered over a piece of cardboard-ish material (see photo). I popped it in the hot wash and air dried it and it fit back perfectly. No shrinkage.
My cat can sit up. I had never considered that my cat might want to sit up instead of being forced to hunch down as in a traditional carrier. But he really likes to sit up. He’s laid down in it once. But he vastly prefers to sit up. The top opening lets him look out perfectly.
The fact that it’s taller than a normal carrier means I can buckle it in! See my photo to see my cat buckled up and sitting pretty ready to go for a ride in the car.
Soft carrier. This is a must for me because I had a cat that would throw herself against the side of her carrier in a panic. So I always go for a soft carrier for cat safety.
The smaller footprint makes carrying this around less awkward.
It’s a backpack, so you can wear it hands free.
I love the way the top opening rolls up and velcros in place. I leave this sitting around with the top open in case my cat wants to hop in it in to sleep.
The top handle is nice and secure – thick and comfortable to hold. I like it for carrying. It’s not just for looks.
It’s a good looking bag. I got the grey and don’t mind it sitting out in my house. It’s not ugly.
It folds up for storage.

CONS:

Not super high quality. You get what you pay for and this is insanely inexpensive. That means your gonna sacrifice a bit on quality. In this case the bottom is only cardboard and the zippers are not exceptional.
Yeah, that harness clip is worthless. I had hopes of buckling in my cat so I could open the top for him to poke his head out. Not gonna happen. The harness clip is on a long tether and attached to the top of the shoulder straps. Meaning your cat can easily and comfortably get out and sit beside this thing. I’m actually contemplating cutting if off and sewing a shorter length to the middle or bottom of the bag.
It’s a bit small. The dimensions are 12″L x 10″W x 15.5″H. So that means the bottom pad is only 12” x 10”. My cat can curl up in there – but he’s only 9.5lbs. I’m afraid he might outgrow this. For the price, that’s fine. However, be warned – no medium or large cats. Only small cats.
I wish it had support around the sides. Some bags have steel support to keep their shape. This does not. So sometimes when wearing it as a backpack, the top can scrunch and take away some of the head room.
In practice, when walking with this as a backpack, there’s a lot of swaying for the pet inside. We found that my large hips swing a bit too much so we switched to my very slender husband for the walk. Even then he was swaying back and forth a good bit.

SUMMARY:

I’m super happy with this purchase. I gave it 4 stars because it is by no means perfect. I probably won’t be using the backpack feature anymore. However, I like the taller bag with a smaller foot print. It’s easier to carry and buckle in the car. Also my cat likes to sit up and see what’s going on. Love all the mesh and various entry ways. Already had to clean up a worst-case-scenario and it’s still as good as new!

100% worth the price. One of my friends already asked him to send him the link so he could purchase one.

Yes, that’s a gratuitous tattoo shot. You’ll survive.

Cat Food. Also Mario.

Posted on April 15, 2023 | by cursingcats.com | Leave a Comment

Louie

I’m trying to review a lot of the things I’ve purchased for Louie. Which, of course, is a lot of things. But I can’t review these odor eliminating products. Why? Because I just chunked everything available at the problem so there’s too many variables.

I have charcoal bags. Charcoal and baking soda litter freshener. Gel odor absorbers. A little soapish paw print that I tossed in the litterbox. Bath and Body Works Plug-In and candles. Cause Louie has some kind of digestive issues.

I mentioned his gas problem in a previous post (clicky). So I took him to the vet the day after I got him. They prescribed him prebiotics and they did a lot! His gas is a million times better. Our house had just smelled like cat diarrhea. Now we’re doing good. However, his poop smells beyond foul. Yall, it’s bad. Hence the barrage of odor solutions. It’s been two weeks so it’s not anxiety. So time to switch his food. I researched foods for pet food specific for this problem and was recommended Blue Buffalo: Grain-Free and Natural Balance: Limited Ingredients by Google. I asked the vet what they would recommend but they said they don’t recommend specific foods because different food work for different pets. Kinda sounded like bullshit, but whatever.

So Blue Buffalo is good ingredients, but don’t I need to figure out what he’s having issues with? So I chose Natural Balance: Limited Ingredients. We’re switching now. He hasn’t noticed because he’s a vacuum. I hope this gets rid of the smelly poop. I’ve got the house under control, but once you open that litter closet — DAMN.

Also, as to him being a vacuum. I feel bad. I free fed Jack and Tabitha so they always had food available. I tried that with Louie and he ate more than a days worth in like an hour. So Louie gets fed twice a day but he eats it immediately. So I feel bad for him. But I don’t want him to turn into a basketball either. No conclusion to the paragraph, I just feels bad, ya know?

Mario

Have you seen the new Mario movie? It’s fucking fantastic, if you have not. Well, if you like Mario it’s fantastic. It’s a kids movie so we’re not looking at Oscar material here. However, if you know the Mario games and appreciate them, it’s awesome. I was worried because I don’t like Donkey Kong and he’s obviously a big part of it — but Seth Rogen played him great. It was basically just Seth Rogen in a monkey suit and it was fine. Also, Bowser was Jack Black. And it was HILARIOUS. Jack Black is obsessed with Princess Peach and want to marry her. Jack Black sings about her. It’s perfect. I love Tenacious D, so I’ve had the “Peaches” song in my head for over a week. And that’s impressive considering the lyrics are mostly just “peaches peaches peaches peaches peaches.”

The absolute standout though — Lumalee. In Bowser’s prison, there is a demented Luma. We cut to Bowser’s prison throughout the film — the penguins are there (OMG, I have to have some kind of King Penguin merch). Luigi ends up there. And Lumalee is always there. And all Lumalee wants is the sweet release of death. Yall, demented Luma is so fucked up and amazing. I have no idea how they decided to put that in the movie — but my god, it made it wonderful. Lumalee is constantly dancing and singing and user his magic — but he’s dark as fuck. He calls Luigi “more meat for the grinder” when he arrives. And when he’s about to die in the climax, he lays down in his cage and says “finally.” Of course they’re rescued and all you see is Lumalee laying there saying “boooooooo.”

The move ends and it’s good — we’re all happy. Them Lumalee pops up to say that was a happy ending. Except now there is nothing left but the emptiness and the void. What the actual fuck? I’m sorry to the parents that had kids there who heard me say “what the fuck” every time Lumalee said something. I’d want Lumalee merch, but I feel the only way it would be good is if it had the lines from the film. Like maybe a stuffed Lumalee and when you squeeze it, it just says dark shit. 100% would buy.

Review: Made4Pets Modern Cat Tower

Posted on April 9, 2023 | by cursingcats.com | 2 Comments

This review is for Louie’s new cat tower. Or, as Amazon likes to call it: “Made4Pets Cat Tree Modern Cat Tower Featuring with Fully Sisal Covering Scratching Posts, Deluxe Condos and Large Space Capsule Nest.” This is listed at $159.99 right now, but there was a $17 off coupon on it when I ordered.

Not sure where to start this review. A pro/con list? Let’s start with getting the package. This thing was packaged wonderfully. Was there a ton of excess trash because of that? Yes. However, I appreciated that the acrylic bowl was situated in custom cut styrofoam to keep it from getting damaged. I also liked how organized all the assembly bits were in their neat tray. Just don’t open them upside down, like I did.

First, I laid everything out. Then I was intimidated. I love assembling furniture, but I have to say, this had a lot of pieces. The first thing I noticed, out of the box — All of the particle board pieces are completely finished on all sides – even those that meet and don’t show. That’s really nice. I wasn’t thrilled that the front and back pieces are just thin laminate and not solid “wood.” However, I did note that it would be easy to switch those two pieces so this tree could face left or right. That’s nice. The biggest con was the assembly method. It uses cam lock fasteners. I hate these things. They just don’t make for sturdy fasteners. They give too much wobble.

The instructions were pretty good. I’d watch the video first. I did not. Had I done that, I probably wouldn’t have done step 6 upside down and had to back track. Do you know how hard it is to get cam locks out? Real hard. Note that on the piece with the two entrance holes, there are predrilled holes towards the top for the top stair. It’s not just symmetrical.

Also, I posted a picture with some markups. 100% switch steps 11 and 12. This is stupid – do 12 first. That saves you from “some” of the gymnastics to get step 11 done. Good lord, good luck. You’re going in blind – literally, and trying to fasten things you can’t see at strange angels upside down. God speed.

That said, my cat was all over this thing during assembly. He loves it! I was putting the rug mats on and he was already climbing it and getting in my way. He went under the bowl and started attacking those four scratchers immediately. I sat him in the bowl and he started attacking the corner balls. Tons of fun for the cat. He hasn’t been into hiding in the boxes, but I, at least, appreciate the very fluffy butt pillows that are in there.

I found that he loved the bowl if I put him in it, but wouldn’t jump in it on his own. I think that’s because he can’t see that it’s a solid place to jump. So I put a blanket in there. I know, this limited the adorable toe beans and scrunched-up-cat-cuteness, but it’s probably more cozy with the blanket anyway. Even if it does distract from the clean aesthetics. Now that the blanket is in there, this is his GO-TO spot. He just trots up the stairs and gets in his little bowl. My husband says that’s mostly where he hangs out when I’m at work.

I bought this for the high bowl for him to hang out in. I wanted him to have a high place to sit in the window. This is perfect! He sits in the bowl and watches the people go by in the front window. I have to leave those blinds open for him. It is his favorite spot in the house. I also bought this for the clean design. Thank you so much, for not covering this thing in carpet! I hate those ugly cat trees! Also, if he barfs on it, I can wipe it up or wash the part he barfed on (the rug pads are velcroed on).

So in summary, I do love the finished product. If it was screwed together and not held together with cam locks, it would be 5 stars for SURE. Even with the cam locks, it’s pretty sturdy. My cat has leapt at this thing and it’s been completely fine. He loves it, I’m happy with the look. It’s great. So I give it 4 stars.

Louie: The first 24 hours

Posted on March 31, 2023 | by cursingcats.com | 2 Comments

First: The new cat’s name is Louie. Or Lou. Or Louie Lou. I left work early Thursday to pick him up at 3:30 and bring him home. I was so insanely anxious about how it was going to go. Would he just hide for months? Would he pee on the couch? AHHH. All was for naught. This is the most chill cat ever.

So I brought him home intending to keep him closed off to the area with his litterbox by way of a large cardboard wall. This worked for a little while because he was mostly just interested in eating and me petting him. Louie loves pets. However, he started looking at things, getting pets, looking more, getting pets. Eventually he hopped up on the bathroom sink. I knew it was about to be over when he made that leap.

That pedestal sink is pretty tall. It was so cute watching him pace back and forth processing the advanced mathematics of how high he’d have to jump to make it. He was very pleased with himself. So then he jumped over the cardboard wall. Fine, whatever. He had no desire to run and hide. He was a bit scared when Mr C came downstairs. However, I picked him up like a baby and carried him over to show that Mr C is nothing to fear. He was fine with this. In fact, he threw himself at Mr C’s feet showing his belly and begging for pets. Alas, Mr C doesn’t really pet animals.

Louie doesn’t respect boundaries though. So when Mr C came down in the evening to lay on the couch and talk — Louie climbed right on top and fell asleep on his chest. Mr C still has not touched the cat with his hands. Louie don’t give a fuck. I also like how Louie wants to get up in your face. He doesn’t just want to sit in your lap, he wants to rub his cheeks on your glasses. As his foster mom said, he kind likes to play by himself. Not so much a fan of the wand toys. But throw him a mouse or roll a ball and he’s all about it. He’ll run across the room and randomly attack a toy (Like Jack’s favorite banana).

I decided to keep him limited to the downstairs until we were/are sure of his litterbox manners. So I slept on the couch. I was sad that he didn’t sit in my lap in the evening (he chose to snooze under the coffee table). He wasn’t keen on me forcing him to snuggle on the couch either. However, every time I woke up and looked around or shifted positions, he was at my feet on the couch. Then this morning I woke up to this blessed moment:

Oh my god it was so sweet and precious. I used my phone to surf the internet for an hour so I wouldn’t disturb the sweet cheek-to-cheek love (and took this picture). But after and hour I had to pee, so we got up.

First order of business: This cat has BAD gas. Both the foster mom and the owner of cattyshack warned me that he was a gassy boy. But they thought it was just him getting different food when he was at the lounge. However, it turns out that they were feeding him the same food. And I also got that food. But this cats gas is so bad that every time he farts (a lot), I check his butt for diarrhea. And his stools are very soft. Then his stool this morning had blood on it. VET TIME! I scheduled him an appointment for Monday but begged them to call if they had a cancellation this afternoon.

So we snuggled and played until I had to go to the doctor at 11:00. Then I cashed a check and mailed some packages, picked up lunch for the husband and I, and came home. The lovely lady who cleans my house had arrived already. Louie loved her! When she was walking up the stairs, he ran ahead of her and plopped down, belly up for pets. This is a thing he does. Louie wants the love of everyone. He has learned that humans can’t resist a cat belly. He uses this to his advantage. She said he wasn’t even that scared of the vacuum! And of course she paused to pet him lots while she cleaned. Then we found out the vet could see him at 4:30! Wonderful!

So at 4:00, I packed him in his new carrier and off we went.

Review for the carrier coming. The foster mom suggested he might like it since he likes to try to sit up in his crate. She was spot on. He just sits up like he’s a little passenger next to me. I hope to get him harness trained so I can open the top and let him stick his head out. We tried the harness today but it was not happening. He just turned into a drunk that couldn’t stand. Funny yet sad.

I hemmed and hawed a lot over what vet to use. Do I used Jack;s vet who were AMAZING or a cat only vet that wouldn’t be so scary? I called the cat only vet today and they didn’t even have a vet in the office today. What? They only do checkups twice a week and they book out “pretty far in advance.” Also, their fee was $17 more. So no, Jacks vet has vets in office every day. And they managed to get me in same day, it turns out. I was worried the massive amount of dog barking would freak him right out. Again, for naught.

Louie has no fucks to give. He literally laid flat out in the middle of the exam room floor. He was also not remotely shy for the vet tech to pet him and carry him off for an anal swab. Sorry, buddy. I heard the screaming.

Even after that, he chilled back out pretty quickly. When the vet picked him up like a normal cat, I told her he preferred to be held like a baby, so she flipped him over and he was happy as a clam. Complete stranger. No fucks to give. Should have named him honey badger.

So he looks really healthy! He’s been prescribed prebiotics for the loose stools and some more dewormer for funsies. They gave him the dewormer (which is oddly enough, banana flavored) and he ate that shit up. Then he threw it up. They suspect that’s because his stomach was empty. Why was his stomach empty? Because I put out a full days worth of food out this morning and the little vacuum inhaled it all!

Anyway, they don’t want to give him medicine AND change his food because that’s too many variables. So they’ll call next week to check in and see how things are going. If he’s still a gas bomb, we might try a new food. So yeah, good visit. When we were checking out he was just chillin’ in his bag and the vet tech was talking to him and I was like “you can pet him. seriously, he loves everyone.” So she opened it up and loved on him some. He eats attention UP. Total attention whore.

I got him back in the car and just marveled at how insanely chill this cat is. So fuck it, I took him into Publix. Yes, I did. My Publix was out of keto cookies, OK? It was a quick in and out.

Fucker didn’t make a PEEP while we were in there. I think he actually liked it! I will definitely have to take him out for a walk with the backpack and see if he likes it.

So this evening he’s actually just been snoozing in my lap! We’re about to go to bed. BED BED. He hasn’t been in the bedroom yet. I’m tempted to sleep on the couch again for some more cheek-to-cheek love because BE-STILL-MY-HEART! But I’m hoping he’ll come snuggle in bed. We do have the cat stairs he can use to hop on the bed.

So off I go! I’m going to be nice and give him food because he hasn’t eaten since this morning. But from here out we’re measuring it out into two feedings! 1/3 a cup twice a day for this 9lb booger. I thought he was fat, so did the vet tech — but the vet said this weight looks good on him. So to just follow the instructions for his current weight. Oh and after he gets a bit of food, I’m gonna give him his banana dewormer again. I hope he doesn’t throw it up. We’ll start the prebiotic with breakfast tomorrow.

Yall, I’m so glad I got this cat. He’s like a OD of prozac for me (well, prozac didn’t actually work for me, but it’s a turn of phrase, OK?). And he’s so fucking chill. No fucks to give. I wish I was 5% as chill as this cat. I love him. K’s gonna come see him tomorrow!

New Kitty comes home tomorrow!

Posted on March 29, 2023 | by cursingcats.com | Leave a Comment

My new cat comes home tomorrow! This week is my off Friday so I’ll have a three day weekend to hang out with him before leaving him home while I go to work. I went through the cat stuff and threw away the ratty stuff and added a few new things. Replaced the cat wands. His harness is here and his collar with my embroidered phone number has already been ordered. His new cat carrier is set up. It’s inconspicuously open as a possible bed place he might just stumble upon. You know… not a carrier… just a cat bed…

I bleached the litter boxes and the litter closet. They aired out and it’s now spotless and ready for cat poops. I have, like, 100lbs of cat litter. I’ve got food and treats in the cookie jar. I took a long delivery box and cut some holes in it and shoved it behind Sir Bastian if he feels like he needs somewhere to hide away. I have a new cat tree on order that has two hidey holes, but it wont be here in time. I’ve got catnip licks to stick to it when I get it set up. And his cat acne stuff is getting here tomorrow. I just need to move the peace lily somewhere and put food in his dish!

It’s been so long since I got a new pet that I have no idea how he’s going to react. No idea at all. Will he be all affectionate because he’s lonely or will he hide for two weeks? Who knows! We’re going to shut off the upstairs (carpeted) bedrooms until I know he’s got good litterbox manners. But don’t worry, I’ll sleep on the couch so he’s not all alone in a new place.

I still don’t know his name. Should we keep Milo? Is he an Oliver/Ollie? Louie/Lou? Finn? Maxwell/Max? Edison/Ed?

I’m looking at gods of dreams. Bes (Egypt), Morpheus (Greek), Somnia (Roman), Manit (Native American), Oooooo I like this one: “Angus is a god of dreams and love, and the Celtic mythology spun around his life and acts is cherished in both Ireland and Scotland.”

Anyway, I didn’t get a name on the collar.

Can’t wait to see him!

New Cat! Yay!

Posted on March 26, 2023 | by cursingcats.com | 1 Comment

In my last post, I told yall I was going to meet Rey at the Cattyshack. Well, today I went to meet Rey at the Cattyshack. So Rey was a very active cat. She was not showing her best today. Unfortunately, she wasn’t in a great mood because she’s been at the cat lounge since Thursday. She was all up for playing! She is VERY active She loved playing with the fuzzy worms on the wand. She liked to grab them and try to take them away. Kinda like the opposite of fetch. She was all for running on the cat wheel too. She was pretty awesome. However, she was not all about the pets. I did get to hold her and pet her, but for the most part, she just wanted to do her own thing. I understand that she just wasn’t in the mood.

However, while I was trying my hardest to get Rey’s attention, I got a lot of Milo’s attention. I sat on the couch to coax Rey over, so Milo came over. I gave him some love and put him aside. Rey isn’t a fan of other cats and she wanted to pick a fight today. Then I was sitting on the floor playing with the wand toy. Milo came over and helped himself to my lap. Put Milo aside. Then we were in the other room with the foster mom playing with Rey. Milo came over so I picked him up and he fell asleep on my lap. It was so cute they took a picture and sent it to his foster mom.

She confirmed that yep, that’s pretty much all he does. Again later, I picked him up again while we were talking and he went right to sleep in my arms.

Dude was straight up passed out. It was like someone ODed him on gabapentin. Is this a stoner cat?

So I felt kinda bad, because I came to meet Rey. This was a meet and greet with Rey. But damn, Milo was stealing the show. Rey’s hair was very thick and coarse whereas Milo is silky smooth. So I asked why we ruled out Milo. He was in my original email because this is his website bio:

“Milo is a very sweet boy that deserves a better life than roaming the streets searching for food. He deserves a forever home with lots of love and attention to give. He has never met a stranger and greets everyone as if they’ve been life long friends. He is very docile and would do great in a home with another cat!”

Then the original reply to my email was this (in reference to Milo):

“Milo is very quiet and keeps to himself at the cat lounge. He doesn’t interact with people or other cats much at all, but if they approach him, he is very friendly and purrs. And he will play with the wand toys if he’s presented with one, but if he sees one being played with in the distance, he doesn’t go join in the fun.”

So they thought he was too mellow and wouldn’t fit my needs? They also wanted him to be with a buddy since he is so mellow. So I had them call his foster mom and see what she thought about him being an only cat. She didn’t see a problem with it.

With Rey being so insanely active, I was kinda worried about leaving her at home while I’m at work. Yeah, I’d get her a cat wheel and stuff, but cat wants to play. I feel like Milo would just sleep all day. He’s like an old man cat. So I asked his age. He’s only 1 year and 1 month old. WTF? He has a little bald spot on his chin and some chin acne, but we can clear that up.

So Rey is a shit ton of fun, but I kinda felt like Milo was choosing me. Rey wanted everyone’s attention and wouldn’t sit still. Milo just kept following me around for pets. So um yeah… I’m adopting Milo!

He’s kinda funny looking. His eyes and ears are super pale pink. And his inner eyelid kept lagging because dude wanted to sleep. He also has a very small head. And there’s the chin acne. But dude has the chill personality. I like him. He’s coming home on Thursday. We might change his name. I’m kinda meh on “Milo.” It’s not a name I would have picked.

So he’s fixed and has all his vaccines and stuff. He’s even microchipped already. I’m thinking when I have a spare off Friday (that’ll be like a month away at least), I should take him to the vet maybe for a check up? Do I want to use Pet Hospital of Madison — they took care of Jack. They were AMAZING. Or do I want to try a cat only vet like Catisfaction? Also is pet insurance a scam?

Anyway, meet my new cat! Welcome to the family!

Oh and yes, I would LOVE to post on Facebook. But… I’m not sure. My sister2 wanted me to take her cats cause she lives with sister1 who wont let her have the cats. She’s lived with sister1 for like YEARS. Not that sister1 wants her there. She moved in for “a few weeks” when mom was alive and she’s never left. Well, her cats had been at dad’s girlfriends house. Shut away in a single room with no attention at all. For YEARS. And before that, they weren’t great. One had litterbox issues and one didn’t like anyone. So dad’s girlfriend just sold her house.

Yeah. Sister2 tried to get me to take her cats a few times. She even lied and said she only had them because mom “made her get them.” Anyway, I don’t know what happened to them. I assume she just moved them into sister1s house kinda like she did her own ass and life. If that’s the case, sister1 is gonna be fucking pissed that I wouldn’t take them. I mean, to be fair sister1 is always pissed. And of course sister2 will be pissed too. So I’m kinda not telling them. Yet.

It’s kinda sad because I feel like I lost my family. I love my bro and his wife and kids. But his wife never answers when I call. Bro always answers but he’s so busy and not talkative so its kinda hard to have a conversation. I’m not sure if I should just go low contact with sisters. I decided I would after the Christmas debacle, but I feel bad about it. It’s sad. At least I have my husband and friends! And my in laws seem to like me a lot. And now I have a cat!

New Cat?

Posted on March 25, 2023 | by cursingcats.com | 1 Comment

Today I bleached the litterboxes and the cat bathroom. I will also admit that there was totally a poop from my cat that died over 6 months ago in the litterbox. I’m sorry.

So why did I finally get off my ass to stop moping about my dead cat and clean litterboxes? (Seriously, you carry two FULL dirty litterboxes out and dump them and bleach them sometime). Well… I’m thinking about getting a new cat. I mean, obviously I want a new cat, but I’ve been getting extremely anxious when I try to think about it. So it’s been upsetting me. So what changed?

I read an article about a cat that was for adoption and he sounded fucking amazing. Apparently, Pakistan doesn’t have cat rescues. So people rescue street cats and send them to other countries to adopt out. This particular cat loved all the people. I want a cat that loves all the people! Turns out he’s in California and they only adopt locally so bummer. Also someone already adopted him. Oh well. But I did reach out to a local cat place (again ’cause they never responded in January). I’m going with a foster org rather than the shelter because I’m looking for a personality type. I have no requirements on looks or age or sex — only that it be a short hair. Listen, Tabitha was a long hair. When a long hair cat has diarrhea and you’re at work for a few hours — well, your house is now a disaster as is your cat. Also, dingleberries. No thank you.

So I hopped over to their page and read some cat bios. I found a few that sounded good and I emailed them. They actually got back to me this time. So I went full crazy cat lady. I’ve emailed these people back and forth like 10 times. I have thoroughly explained that I want the neediest velcro cat you have. So she sent me like 4 that she thought would be good. Two were out because they wanted friend cats. I kinda want to have a single cat. So I narrowed it down to Rey and Aletha. Rey is young, 7 months, and Aletha is a little over 2 years. I asked if Aletha was going to be cool with me going and picking her up all the time to come sit with me or go to bed. They said Rey’s my girl. Here’s some descriptions of her from her bio and emails:

“Rey is a little firecracker of a girl who is as sassy as she is stubborn. She is the first to greet a new person […]. She’s more than happy to be carried around the house on your forearm for long periods of time, or lounge on your chest while watching TV. Long-haired individuals beware, however: Rey has a tendency to climb your shoulder, wait for you to let your guard down, and then relentlessly attempt to remove your hair from your scalp.”

“Rey is a hilarious little rambunctious girl. She likes to ride shoulders and talks, and is very needy. She would require something like a cat wheel and interactive motion-activated toys to keep her mentally stimulated. She is super duper smart. And she is also extremely social. She WILL seek out wand toys whether she’s invited to play or not, and gets a little possessive about it actually. lol. She also has never met a stranger and wants everyone’s attention that walks through the door. I adore the little squiggle on her nose. When I first saw her I thought it was a piece of lint. LOL!”

“I talked to the foster moms, and Rey would 100% be the affectionate, attention seeking cat you need. Her foster mom has carried her in a baby sling, Rey wants “uppies” which is when she wants to be put on your shoulder…lol, and she said she greets her at the door and loves kisses on the face.”

Here is a picture of Rey at the lounge:

Fuuuuuuck. I’m already in love with Rey. I haven’t even met her yet! So I cleaned everything up really well and bought some food and fresh litter. My Amazon cart already has a new carrier and wand toy in it. I picked out the cat wheel I want to get her (they said she LOVES the cat wheel at her foster home AND at the lounge so they really want her to have a cat wheel. I’m waiting until I see her use a damn cat wheel before I commit to order one. I didn’t think cats actually used those.) I’m going to meet her tomorrow.

I haven’t met her yet. Yall, if this cat doesn’t like me I’m gonna be so sad. I’m all anxious about making a good first impression now! Like I’m all this cat is gonna have. Am I enough? Am I worthy of this cat? I’m so nervous!

Also, all over their website and facebook they make explicitly clear that there are absolutely no same-day adoptions. Then she comes at me with an email telling me to submit my application and I can take her home this weekend if we’re a match! WHAT? You said no same day adoptions! I’m not ready! I haven’t met her! I have to clean! What food does she like? I’m not prepared for this! So I’m going to meet her tomorrow (Sunday). If we’re a match, I’ll get her on Thursday or Friday because it’s my 3 day weekend. That way she can get settled before I go off to work all week.

M, this might be your new god-kitty! Oh I hope she likes me.

Black Hole

Posted on March 11, 2023 | by cursingcats.com | Leave a Comment

I still miss Jack more than anything. You see all these bittersweet comics like this one where your pet is still with you:

But they’re not. They’re gone. I WISH I could imagine he was still around. I would love to see movement in the corner of my eye and think it was him. Or feel a ruffle on the bed and think it was him. I don’t get that though. I haven’t got that at all. I would absolutely love to be the bat shit crazy cat lady that thinks her dead cat is still around. I wanna be that crazy person.

It would be so much better than the emptiness. Just the void. Today I left a hamburger bun on the counter and had the reflex that Jack might get it. But before I even finished the thought I just was filled with the emptiness that no, he won’t.

Sleeve Tattoo Session #2

Posted on February 19, 2023 | by cursingcats.com | 3 Comments

Friday, I had my second tattoo session on my sleeve. Poor Jack has only been a head since November. Now he has his body and his precious bowtie!

As you can see by the outline (yeah, that’s tattooed), we bit off more than we could chew. But to her credit, my artist pursued a lot longer than she wanted to to get the pumpkins done. Apparently, after 3 or 4 hours, your skin starts to turn too red and my artist doesn’t like to go longer than that. That sucks because I have to drive to Nashville and I’d happily sit for as long as she’d tattoo for. So I’m a bit disappointed that we won’t be able to work behind his head until Fall. In April, we’re going to finish up what we outlined — a few more leaves and his tail and then break for summer. She doesn’t want to do more than that so he looks like a completed piece over the summer.

It was a bit of an awkward session. There was miscommunication on what I wanted, apparently. I’m not sure how it happened as on my tattoo page that I originally sent (click here to see our communications page), I stated that I wanted a half to 3/4 length sleeve. Maybe that means different things to different people? But she wasn’t aware I wanted it to wrap around my arm and she didn’t know I wanted it past my elbow and up onto my shoulder. I think she thought I was “adding on” to my original request and she wasn’t happy about it because she wants to make one big cohesive piece and not something that just keeps getting added onto.

So I felt bad ’cause she seemed irritated. But I assumed “sleeve” meant it wrapped around? And I said between half and 3/4 so isn’t 3/4 below your elbow? I get the shoulder thing — I guess I never spelled that out, or if I did, it didn’t hit. But I love a raglan sleeve. I also don’t like how shoulder/sleeve tattoos just round off at the shoulder. I’d like it to be more like a raglan sleeve. And I LOVE LOVE LOVE when tattoos have a little peekaboo on the neck line. Like just a few swirls showing under your shirt making people wonder what’s there. I’ve seen this a few times and it’s always been part of the visual in my mind. I’m not getting tattoo greedy, but I don’t think she knew that, I guess?

We figured it out. We’re going to add pumpkin vines with some squash blossoms below the elbow. As far as the wrap around, she says just leaves will look bad. So I need to do something else inside the arm. She suggested his favorite toy, but 1 — this isn’t ALL about Jack. And 2, his favorite toy was a banana. So not on theme there. So, I don’t know what the fuck’s going to happen there. I’m almost playing with maybe it shouldn’t wrap and close inside? I don’t know. I always figured it would but I don’t like the idea of more stuff being inside the tattoo. But we played with the idea of more fall stuff — maybe more pumpkins? But how would that work? Anyway, we can do a shit ton more on the tattoo before we figure that out. We got the lower part and the shoulder part. We can do those first.

I also wasn’t aware of the 4 hour “limit” thing. I get that my skin was discoloring but like I kinda wanted to ask if we could do the tail. But she had already cursed at my tattoo three times in frustration. Combine that with the awkward misunderstanding and I was just like OK, whatever. Plus she said she had to do some drawings for the next day. So it was a frustrating appointment. I’m worried that she’s not enthused about what I want vs what she originally envisioned. Yall know how anxious I get!

All that said, we got some great shit done. Look at those pumpkins! And I love the leaf towards my back with all the different colors. Her work is stunning. There’s a lot of oranges – I really wanna get some more reds in there. There will be plenty of green as this is her current sketch of where we’re going:

So. I’m very anxious because the appointment didn’t go great. However, I’m in love with the tattoo. It over doubled in size and I love it! Its big and impactful and gorgeous. It’s going to show in all my short sleeve tops this summer and I’m just going to have to buy more professional tank tops. It has to happen. I never thought I could have an arm tattoo — much less such gorgeous work! I love him.

I’ve also already jumped the shark and ordered some rash guards for summer. Can’t have it fading before it’s even finished!