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Yes, in reality, a very good idea. Lol.
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FF much better than what passes for reality TV especially right now
What a good idea chasing the males out at dawn!
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Ah, this time of the year squirrels are going nuts [no pun intended]. I have a feeding station on my front porch with bird seed, a bowl of water, in the shell peanuts, and a squirrel picnic table where I can secure a non-waxed apple.

The female squirrels are through building their winter nest up in the trees and they are ready for fattening up for winter to keep warm. Oh my gosh, they are getting very possessive over the food items. Chasing each other to a point that they aren't getting much to eat they are so busy running each other off. It's like I want to yell at them "settle down guys there's a enough to go around". Nope, over goes the water dish, the bird seed bowl is now on the porch floor, and one is frantically eating the apple down small enough so he/she can carry it off :P

Squirrels normally don't have babies this time of the year. And some males don't build nests as the female squirrels will allow them to spend the night in their nests, thus more squirrels in the nest, more heat on very cold nights. The males are usually chased out at sunrise.

Now THIS is reality TV :)
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Anyway, I've seen his dangly bits. But I'd probably still call him/her Bruce, because he actually comes when you call him, and you don't wanna mess with that. :-P
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I guess I'd call her Caitlyn! Bwahahaha!

(Sorry, I couldn't resist.)
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Growing up, we had a cat, named Sam.
A beautiful Calico cat, whose name was later changed to Samantha when the kittens arrived.
Cannot imagine what you would do if that happened to Bruce! Lol.
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Well, there are no ribbons or bows, his name is Ratatouille-that is masculine, and just prior to fattening up, he was really muscular and buff.  Then, I am not looking to find out.
California winters are not that harsh, wondering if there will be any hibernating at all.
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Sendhelp, maybe he's been fattening up for the winter? Wait, are you sure it's a he? And not a pregnant she???
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Well, today Ratatouille received 5 peanuts.
He splayed himself out on the porch, while purviewing his kingdom from the top of the ramp. Relaxing, his back legs shot out from under him, and he plops himself down, waiting, waiting......for his next peanut, amazingly taken from my fingers, just at the front door.
He cleans himself, scratching for possible fleas....or something.
I sprayed the Cedarcide after he left.

I love my new pet.  Should I put a bowl of water out?
What do ya think, Luckylu?
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The wild, but tamed squirrel, named Ratatoullie, came by yesterday. He took a peanut out of the hand of one of my neighbors.Later, he came onto the front porch. I thought to teach him to remove a peanut from a small box with a lid.

He tore the box up, threw it a ways on the porch, even though he had enough peanuts!
Bad squirrel, AND he is getting fat! Mean, fat, and possibly violent!

He is due for rations now, at least at my house. I don't know who else has fed him and trained him. Only one peanut per day for you, Rat!
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I bet Bruce thought it was a vulture come to get him. Keep still and it won't see me!!!!!
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Wayyyy up here on the 6th floor at Mom's.....wee Bruce just saw a pigeon up close and personal for the first time - RIGHT on the bedroom window ledge. His eyes were big as saucers and he didn't even move!
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Bruce and I went to BFF's for a few hours today. One of BFF's 3 cats died this weekend. They found her under the bed Saturday morning, and had to pretend they hadn't, because granddaughter was staying over. No idea what happened, but kitty was in her teens and her brain has been weird for a couple of years now. Such a sad thing. That cat was my favourite animal in the household. She always came running when she heard me come in. :-(

Anyway. BFF and I laid on the floor for awhile trying to persuade Bruce and the dog to play with each other. Or at least to get them mellow around each other. The dog is part whippet and REALLY wants a cat to be her friend. Bruce is not convinced this is a good deal.
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@pamzimmrrt. That bouncing around sounds ADORABLE! Baby animals are awesome, aren't they? They're the best anti-depressant there is. :-D

@luckylu - You are right, the babies do give us unconditional love and it's soooo amazing. And I am so lucky I got such a well-rounded little guy. Playful, friendly, AND lovey-dovey...just what the doctor ordered. ;-)
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Dorianne, Chloe is a sweetheart, and we have found that Chugs puppies don't walk,, she bounces everywhere! She is pad trained, but a few accidents if the pad was not close. However, she did go outside 2x today when I took her out! She is not at all shy..she plays hard then sort of passes out, and she is in love with hubs shoes!
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Dorianne....I'm so sorry to hear you've had such a rough week with your Mom.The babies,the cats,kittens,dog,birds,strays,and squirrels are my comfort too and I'd rather be with animals ANYday than people.It's so nice that Bruce licks away your tears.That's so dear.......They know when Mommy is sad and it upsets them and they just want us to be ok and show us their wonderful unconditional Love.Thank God for the babies!
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Tell us more about the puppy, Pam! I could use some "cute" stories this weekend. :-)

I have had a terrible week with mom, and last night was pretty awful. Mom was mean and combative and completely dismissive of me. Well, can I just say how awesome my cats are? They both slept on my pillow all night, even though they are not even sure they like each other yet. Carmella slept curled up to my face, and Bruce on top of my head. This morning, when it all came rushing back, I had a big cry - Bruce let me hold him tight and cry on his fur, then he actually licked away my tears.

My cats are my comfort.

Thank god for animals. I like them better than most people
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Well after wondering how this new puppy was going to work out with Mom,, it's been great! She is so happy and entertained, and so are we! Mom has a whole new attitude and someone to "take care of", and its wonderful.
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I picked up one of those lighted blossom "trees" yesterday - the ones that look like a bare-branched little winter tree, with lights on the ends of the branches (made of clear cherry blossom-shapes). Tonight I set it up. I thought I would have a problem keeping the kitten away from the cords, but apparently the box it came in is the BEST THING EVARRRR! According to BOTH kitten and elder cat.

The tree is very, very bright, by the way! If you have been thinking about getting one. And it could be about a foot taller.  It does have a heavy-ish base that could be screwed down, to keep it safe from climbing cats. 
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I don't think there is a way, Lonely. I just had a look around and there don't appear to be any options for that. :-(
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Angel demon child lol. So lovely when they snuggle into you and the world suddenly comes good thanks to their beautiful little hearts.

Quick question: is there a way of jumping to the last comment without having to open the first page and click on last?
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Gotta watch those laces, Dorianne. He's guarding you - turn your back for one moment and those sneakers will live up to their name! Kill! Kill!

My lease was specially amended from "no pets" to "no pets except for one dog." I'm thinking of crossing out dog and putting cat. Dog is in dog house, and I don't want to talk about it, and neither does he - yes, he may very well hang his head and hide in his basket.
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Aww thanks, Lonely. Well, it got better thanks to my little demon child. After I got mom home tonight, home support came and I slipped away to my little box room/office. I opened up the forum, and wrote one or two things....then Bruce climbed up on me and settled down with his head tucked into my neck. Well, there's no computering with a kitten sprawled across your chest! We both fell asleep in the office chair for two hours. It was so sweet. I'd wake up a bit, he'd nuzzle me, I'd fall back asleep....

It's funny how a tiny animal can do so much to preserve one's sanity. Demon or angel? Lol.

He's currently murdering one of my Skechers on the floor beside me.
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Your day is so hectic. Hugs and I hope it got better. Your kitten cat sounds divine and ever so demon child like haha
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Mom and I had another spat this morning. Another, "I'm not going to dialysis" day. Not going to shower, not going to get changed, not going anywhere. Like she's 4. She actually hit my hand when I tried to give her her meds. So we argued. Finally I said it wasn't up for debate, and she huffed that, FINE, she would go to dialysis ("Oh al-RIGHT, let's GO."). And then home support showed up JUST at that moment. Badgered her into a shower, made her a cup of coffee, and all is forgotten. Not really, but sort of.

Usually Bruce is pretty chill in the morning, but today, he totally picked up on the energy! He was all "fighty" this morning, like, "I'm gonna attack your elbow and also everything in sight!" And then after the fight with me and mom was over, he started racing around the house like his tail was on fire! Then he played furiously with one of those ball-in-a-track toys for 20 minutes without a break, and I think he just laid down for a nap, now that I am just about to hustle mom out the door.

I think he picks up MY energy, because I try SO hard to keep my temper down. It's like he was expressing my inside thoughts this morning, lol!
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Lol, no they haven't, Countrymouse! But I've been wanting to travel for a long, long time, so I decided if I was going to take on a new baby, he was going to be trained for going out into the world someday. :-)

There is an Instagram of a young lady sailing around the world with her cat! And I recently saw a photo essay from a guy traveling around Australia in a van with his cat - she even has a GPS collar. Stories like that kind of inspired me to think I could take on a new little one and still travel at some point. I've hardly even seen much of Canada yet, and I've lived here all my 48 years! But I don't know when I'll be able to do it in a serious way, so I want to keep this fellow used to leaving home, at least. 

He has actually visited my friend's house a few times, plus he's been to my apartment (I've sublet to a friend while I'm caring for mom), and he also goes to massage therapy with me.   I have dreams of travel, but I at least want him to be leash-trained and get to see the outside world (unlike my apartment, which is on the 2nd floor in a nature setting, mom lives on the 6th floor in a busy area - the only birds are a couple of roosting pigeons!).  He seems to enjoy his outings. And he's actually not afraid of too much! But at my friend's, with all the animals there, he does keep me in his line of sight....which is true just as much at home, honestly. I can't even go to the bathroom alone! :-/
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Gosh!

He's probably terrified you're going to take him Out There again. Have all your cats been so well socialised?!

My mother had a good traveller cat called Willow, a Russian Blue who went everywhere with her in the days when she was young and fancy-free and living alone in London. But by and large cats are strictly territorial and solitary by preference. Getting them used to company early on is a good thing, of course, but didn't he find your friend's house a bit of a lion's den???
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Bruce and I went over to my friend's today. She has 3 cats, a dog, and a 5-year old grandchild. We're home now. He is so tired out that he's napping somewhere I can't see, and didn't even come out when I served up pork roast for dinner!!
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I used to use it religiously when I had other cats and dogs but because this cat has been a 100% indoors one until recently, and I've never found a flea on her, I haven't used it. The fur thing has been around since she was a kitten, but maybe since stepping foot outside she has managed to get a flea or two, and then picks them off, hair  included, with a passionate commitment that adds to her baldness! I'm going to try some just to see if it helps!
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They reformulated the FrontLine for cats quite a few years ago - fifteen or twenty? I've lost track! - so it is perfectly safe for them now, which I'm not sure it was when it first came out, yikes. Not totally safe for you, in that you will certainly get the "eye basilisk" when you put it on her - you might have to go to a #5 of the Seven Levels of Apology - but anything's better than evil expletive-deleted fleas.
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