Day 1 Post FB: General Plan

This is the beginning of the great "No Facebook" experiment and I'm already nervous.  "What if someone messaged me?"  "What if a cat needs help?"  "What if...."  The list goes on, but you know, if I can't get Facebook to work, I shouldn't worry about it.  People can contact me, IF they want to.

And therein lies the question -- what are Facebook friends?  Are they real?  Some of mine surely are but they are also mainly those that will call me.  Are they pseudo-friends?  I would guess that is the bulk of them and they might miss me but won't reach out to me.

Well, the thing is now I have to deal with me and doing stuff, rather than chatting with people.  My big plan for this summer was to:

• exercise with the hope of losing some weight
• do some repairs and remodeling around the house
• get my cats groomed and vetted
• prepare AP Stat material for the fall
• read more on feline nutrition
• sew some vests

I know, that's a lot and it's already mid-July.  I have started on the repairs and the cats, but the rest... maybe now without Facebook I can get more of this done or started at least.

Today's planned activities:

1. Tom, husband who is dying of COPD, wants to go into town to the bookstore, so I will do everything possible to get him there.  I just hope it doesn't totally wipe him out.
2. The glorious cleaning of the litter boxes!  Even with fresh litter, a couple of them smell because James (and yes, I will name names) raises his butt up to pee as high as he can.  So then the piss gets all over the sides, drizzles down the seam to outside the boxes, and collects in the ridge that top sits on.  I really wish I knew how to correct this annoying habit of his!  I at least want to get 3 of them washed thoroughly.  (I'd do more, but I'm shooting low because I don't want to kill my back.)
3. Dig out two books -- one is Weight Lifting for Fat Loss and the other is on the 24-forms of Tai Chi.  (The former I need to review anyway.)  I picked up a 10lb dumbbell and it seemed so heavy, which is one reason I often feel like everything is such a struggle -- I have mass, but no muscles!  And I think going back to the Tai Chi will help me mentally also to be calmer.  So, if I can make a reasonable workout plan using both, I know it will help me a lot now and especially during the school year.

So, if I can get these three done, along with routine things like the dishes and cooking, I will be thrilled.  Fingers crossed!

Anya's Peeing

Well, I spent most of yesterday cleaning the carpets in the bedroom and in my studio.  They really needed it in general, but the reason I did it was because this room began to smell.  With a bit of warmth from the sun, it was bothering me, and I'm not terribly sensitive to smells.

And what was the smell?  Cat urine... from Anya.

Anya is my 14 year old, one-eyed, lilac-point himalayan cat.  She also has herpes and on/off nasal infections, which I can control with lysine and echinacea.  But she's quirky at times.  She'll be asleep, wake up, stretch, and then howl.  She's also very loving and affectionate.

She just doesn't always use the litter box.... And this is probably part of the reason she was dumped at a shelter.  Anyway, sometimes she will go for 2-4 days with no accidents and then sometimes she will go 2-4 days without using the litter box.  Well, you know a cat has to pee, so she does it on the floor.  (And she occasionally poops on the floor too.)

Normally, peeing outside the box normally comes down to 3 causes:

1. Urinary tract infection -- Cats relate the pain of peeing to the litter box, so will pee outside the box.  The pees are usually small and frequent.  Maybe with a drop or two of blood.
2. Dislike of litter/box -- Some cats object to deodorizing crystals in litter, or the size of the grains, or the height of the box, or ...  If the cat doesn't like the box, the cat will find a place and substance it likes to pee on.
3. Dirty boxes -- Many cats object to using a dirty box.  And if you think about it, it's like going into a public toilet and finding "stuff" in the toilet.  With these cats, you need to get more boxes and/or scoop frequently.

None of these fit Anya.  So, I'm left with the more exotic causes:

1. Incontinence -- Cats can lose control of the bladder sphincter.
2. Dementia -- Older cats forget where the box is.
3. Medication -- Oral steroids can cause sudden urges to pee.
4. Not trained -- I know there are some cats who never were trained by mom or the breeder to use a litter box, but I personally think these are few and far between.
5. Tumors

The dementia and incontinence fit to some degree because she will walk along, pause, pee, and continue walking.  If I see her pause and especially if she's pawing at the carpet, I can call her name and usually that is enough to interrupt her and THEN she will use her box.  But I really can't sit here 24 hrs a day!  This is why puppy pads won't work -- she will pee anywhere and not just one spot.

I also wonder with her if her nose isn't a factor.  Cats are attracted to places to pee by smell.  Since I clean the litter box and remove the smells, the carpet ends up being smellier.  Now that I cleaned the carpet (and 90% of the smell is gone), I'm hoping she'll be more attracted to the litter box.  So far, it is working... knock on wood.

I know many people wouldn't tolerate this and... well, I don't know what the alternatives would be.  Dump her at another shelter?  Put her to sleep?  Lock her in a bathroom with hard floors?  These just don't seem viable options to me.  When I adopt an animal, it's for their lifetime, come good or bad.  Putting up with this problem does not make me a saint -- I just love her for who she is.

But she has helped me clean my house... win-win for both of us!