Hogmany and a Barking Toy Dog

She acts so cool to such a noisy thing. I admire her so.

Hogmany Plays With Card

My sister gave me a birthday card of the Alice in Wonderland theme in which Alice is swinging on a swing. Hogmany seems to enjoy swinging Alice!

Hogmany and Valentine

My new rabbit Valentine and Hogmany bonding:



I got a secret:

Hogmany and Lassie

Hogmany is so adaptable. I took in a foster dog at the shelter on the 6th of June. The dog I named Lassie had been at the shelter since the 22nd of May. It is clear that Hogmany doesn't really like dogs, though definitely willing to tolerate her presence.

Drinking My Coke!

Just look at that paw daintily holding on to the straw!

Nature Ingredients

Nature Kitten Formula Ingredients:

Chicken Meal
Ground Barley
Chicken Fat
Ground Oats
Chicken
Chicken Livers
Ground Brown Rice
Flaxseed Meal
Tomato Pomace
Natural Flavors
Alfalfa Meal
Fish Meal
Fish Oil
Yeast Culture
Salt
Taurine
Vitamin E Supplement
Choline Chloride
Zinc Sulfate
Zinc Proteinate
Vitamin A Supplement
Vitamin D3 Supplement
Sweet Potatoes
Carrots
Blueberries
Cranberries
Dried Chicory Root
Raspberries
Turmeric
Niacin Supplement
Ferrous Sulfate
Manganese Sulfate
D-Calcium Pantothenate
Manganese
Proteinate
Copper Proteinate
Thiamine Mononitrate Copper Sulfate
Vitamin B12 Supplement
Riboflavin Supplement
Pyridoxine Hydrochloride
Calcium Iodate
Folic Acid
Biotin
Sodium Selenite
Rosemary Extract
Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex
Dried Yeast Fermentation Solubles

Nutro's Ingredients

Ingredients for Nutro Natural Choice Complete Care Kitten formula:

Chicken Meal
Ground Rice
Corn Gluten Meal
Poultry Fat
Dried Plain Beet Pulp
Natural Flavors
Soybean Oil
Sunflower Oil
Dried Vegetable Fiber
Oat Fiber
Yeast Culture
Potassium Chlorode
Menhaden Fish Oil
Choline CHloride
Dried Egg Product
Taurine
DL-Methinonie
Vitamin E- Supplement
Zinc Sulfate
Ferrous Sulfate
Inositl
Dried Bacillus Licheniformis Fermentaiotion Extract
Dried Bacillus subtilis Fermentation Extract
Ascorbic Acid
Dried Chicory Root
Cranberry Powder
Niacin
Copper Sulfate
Manganous Oxide
Bitoin
Riboflavin Supplement
Calcium Oxidate
Vitamen A supplement
Calcium Pantothenate
Sodium Selenite
Pyridoxine Hydrocholoride
Vitamin B12 Supplement
Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex
Folic Acid

Ticked Tabby

Been doing some research on-line. Found out Hogmany's a ticked tabby! That means she may have stripes on her appendages (legs and tail) but none on her body; just varying shades of fur. Interesting! Cat genetics is fascinating!!

Just like Whiskie

Sometimes Hogmany will fall asleep on the left side of the couch, the side closest to the door, exactly where Whiskie used to wait for me to come home from work. It's really nice to see a cute fuzzy creature first when I come back from a draining day.

Tea

Hogmany keeps drinking my cuppa when I'm waiting for it to cool :(

Do Not Give Your Cat Cow Milk

I didn't. I had a bowl of cereal with milk on the table and Hogmany jumped onto the table and drank the milk. This was around 1 pm.

I came home at 5:30 pm to a horrible stink. I will just say that Hogmany can't digest cow milk. Now I know as there is proof. And it wasn't pretty.

Cutting Cat Claws

Let's Take Kitty For a Walk

Tried to train Hogmany to go for a walk on a leash.
Result: A resounding Minor Success


got the harness on at least; this shows she has grown quite a bit because last time I tried putting it on her, she walked right through it even on the smallest setting



OK, you don't want to go for a walk. Got it.

Kitty Likes to do What You're Doing

When I'm playing the guitar, she wants to play too; she will paw at the strings. When I'm on the computer, she wants to walk all over the keyboard.

sigh

Cat On A Toilet

Natural Painless Cat Bath

Batted in the Eye

I tried to hold Hogmany but she was being very jumpy. She looked at me and hit my eye! I actually felt her fuzzy paw on my eyeball! Then she jumped out of my arms and away she ran.

Well, it didn't hurt. I'm just glad she didn't extend her claws.

Mouse Overboard

Came home from work today and Hogmany came running towards me meowing as though there has been some kind of emergency. She walks towards the bedroom, looking behind her to make sure I was following, and she shows me this:



A sad sight indeed.

I rescued her mouse, placed it outside to dry, and changed the water bowl.

Hogmany Giving High Fives

You should turn off your speakers. My voice sounds squeaky high, like the way people talk to their babies. I didn't realize I talked like that too to my cat!

Toy Mouse

Check for playability



Check passes. Mouse is playable.

Flight from LAX

Flying back to Texas from LAX was more of a hassle. I checked in with my bags. And there is another checkpoint to get through the gates where a staff will check your boarding pass and ID. Well this woman would not let me through. She said I had to go back to check-in to get a receipt for my cat. I told her I already paid $180 for her ticket although it doesn't say on my boarding pass. She said I had to go back and get a receipt which would say it. OK, so I get back in line, print out the receipt, but it does not say anything about having paid for my cat. It was hard to get attention from the staff to help me out. They were attracted to the tickets for the luggage printing out like moths to a light. I was able to speak to one of the baggage handler but he said only agents were able to look me up to see whether or not I had paid for the cat. Finally I got the agent's attention. She searched my records on the computer but all she did was write in pen "pet paid" on my boarding pass!

So, I go back to the line for the gates. The woman stops me again and I tell her they weren't able to print anything about my cat but they did look me up and wrote that I had paid. She let me pass though seemed rather reluctant.

Upstairs I take Hogmany out of the carrier (because it has to go through the X-ray thing). Everyone was like aww. And the TSA personnel got the carrier and helped me put Hogmany back in but he was rubbing her head and calling her a little tiger.

Well, everything went pretty smoothly after that. They said it was going to be a pretty full flight but there were quite a few middle seats that were open. I guess what they meant was that most people wanted to carry their suitcase onboard, so there wasn't much overhead room for that.

Hogmany in Arcadia

Hogmany sleeps with me at night!

Hogmany doesnt like going inside the doghouse, unless there's food inside. I don't think Whiskie would mind her using his house though. He's that great of a dog.

Hogmany likes the gardens where she can observe birds and chase squirrels, even if they are larger than her.

Hogmany comes when called now. Hooray!!

And she is so cute when she runs to me.

Hogmany's Flight to LAX

I flew Hogmany home without a problem.

Here is a tip: When you have an e-ticket and you go online to check in and you have a pet, I would advise not to bother indicating that you have one and forego the $90 charge each way. In total, I was charged $180. I thought I was going to get an extra boarding pass for the kitty or at least have it indicated on my ticket I have a cat, but nope, it does not say this. I thought there would be a reason for a charge, like for inspection that the cat is healthy, or have special seating (maybe larger seat for the comfort of the pet), or get special treatment (salmon for the cat or a pet flight souvenir), but no, I didn't get anything. Hogmany was simply placed under the seat in front of me like any other baggage. A few people did make some comments "Ooh is that a kitty?" and I did put a label "Live Animal" and some people were reading it aloud. But other than that, no one really cared. The ticket didn't indicate I had paid one cent extra. Hence, it was definitely not worth paying for the extra $180. What was the point??

The flight from Browsnville to Houston went smoothly. However, the flight from Houston to LA was not as nice. For one thing, the seats were a bit smaller; Hogmany's carrier stuck out a bit more from under the seat. And the stewardess was rude. I was falling asleep in the middle of the flight (this was after we had a snack- cheeseburger and salad with beverage) but I can sense when someone is standing in front of me. So, I opened my groggy eyes and the stewardess was carrying a big gray tup of cups with water. Now why she did this instead of carrying beverages 2 at a time to passengers that need to hydrate, I do not know. Anyway, I thought she was asking if I wanted water. I shook my head and was about to go back to sleep. She looked angry and shouted at me. Mind, I had headphones on. I then realized she was shouting "Please pass it to her!" I found myself quickly getting a cup and handing it to the lady sitting in the window seat who was smiling nervously back at me.

Why should I have to do the stewardess' dirty work? And why didn't the lady on the inside extend her hand out? She did not. She just sat back and watched, so how the heck did I know she wanted water, especially when I had been sleeping???

OK, this should be a blog on Hogmany, not on stupid stewardesses and covert needy passengers. Argh!!!

Think I got it all out of my system now!!!

Random Attacks

Every now and then, Hogmany gets in a strange mode in which she has the urge to attack my hand or bite my leg when we're both on the sofa. I figure she's just playing and it never lasts very long.

Well, today, this mode has happened rather frequently. And I can tell when it's going to happen because her ears get in this bent out of shape and her eyes get huge and they're either following my every movement or just staring into blank space. Normally I will shout no or get her off the couch and it will be the end of that. But this time around it has happened again and again and again. And she will run into the bedroom and come out running, jumping onto the couch and scratching and biting. I saw it coming, lifted up my legs and she jumped over them and jumped back off the couch. She ran into the bedroom, ran out again, onto the couch, onto the table, where I had a glass of Coke and one of her paws got into the glass, I shouted, there's a big splash and she jumps off again and back into the bedroom!

I don't know what's gotten into her. Do I need a second cat to entertain her?

Or was it the Organic chocolate truffles that I bought today and have been nibbling on at night? People say cats have the sixth sense, some extra sense, the Jacobson's organ, for a more sensitive sense of smell. Chocolates can make people go crazy as in hyperactive. Cats too apparently.

Cabinets

How come cats like to get inside cabinets?

Whiskie never liked small enclosed spaces.

Which One Is the Real Kitten?

Cost Analysis and Food Commentary

Almost out of cat food. And cat litter. Last time I got a 4 lb Nutro's kitten food for $11.19. 14 lb Arm & Hammer Super Scoop Cat Litter for - I forget how much, $5 something.

Walmart
21 lb Arm & Hammer Super Scoop Cat litter: $7.44

Assuming I had spent approximately $6.00 (which it prob will be after tax) for the 14 lb litter, it would be a savings of $0.075 for the 21 lb one.

Petsmart
8 lb Nature kitten food: $16.99

This means per lb, I had spent:

$2.80 for the 4 lb kitten food

$2.13 for the 8 lb kitten food

By buying bulk, I saved $0.67. Now some people might say, hey you can't compare 2 different brands! Well, most of the premium brands are more or less the same price. Neither has by-products. Ingredients looks more or less the same.

I'll have to do a pet food review sometime.

Kitty Alarm

Hogmany has been waking me up every morning. I have been waking up around 7 AM to her pawing at my feet and crawling all over me. Eariler than that except I will fall back asleep.

It is both a good and bad thing. Great in that I don't need an alarm to wake up. Physical alarm is more effective than auditory. On the other hand, I do still end up late for work as I'm not motivated on getting there.

I can't help wishing Whiskie were still here. He'd let me sleep!

Here's the picture of the day:

How To Make A Cat Bed

Here is a way to make a cat bed with little or no money:

1. Look at your workspace.

2. See that box of unimportant/ scrap papers (the stack of unpaid bills and unlawful speeding tickets, letters from your mother wondering when you would be inviting her to your place, etc.)? Well, it could be put to good use!



3. Place a pretty pink Hello Kitty towel over it (any color and any cartoon character would be fine; just as long as the ugly mess to remind you how your life is currently horrible is covered up).



4. Admire how much better it looks already.

5. And Kitty loves it too!!

Voila! A cat bed to enhance your home decor!

Hogmany now stays in this beautifully hand-crafted comfy bed instead of mine while I'm slaving away at work. How do I know? Because when I come home, I see her all snuggled up inside instead of jumping around on my bed! Amazing! Or shall I say- a-mew-sing!!

Hogmany In The Kitchen

I was making corn bread muffins after work. After I prepared the batter and was opening the oven to put it in, Hogmany put one paw on the edge of the oven. She then quickly retreated and ran away. I don't know if it was because she realized how burning hot it was (I had pre-heated it to 400 F!) or if it was my shouting NOO!!

Must remember to put Hogmany in the room when I'm baking.

Clumsy Kitten

The problem with having a kitty around the house is that she likes to look at EVERYTHING and knock them over. Before I go to bed, I like to look at the little Sheltie figurine ornament . I have it right next to my bed. Well, this time around, it was not there; it ended up under the desk and there is only about an inch of space between the desk and the floor! That means Hogmany must have been playing with it.

I'm using the Arm & Hammer kitty litter in the litter box for the first time. I have only been using newspapers/ advertisements before because Robert from the animal shelter said the kitty litter may aggravate or infect the sensitive area from the surgery and to wait at least a week before using. Wow, I am really impressed with it. It really masks odors quite well! It really does make the room have a wonderful fresh scent. Far superior than newspapers!

I bought a few more kitty items:

Walmart
Scoop for Kitty Litter $0.86
Cotton swabs (100 ct): $0.96

Cotton swabs are for cleaning her ears. She doesn't like me cleaning them and it's difficult putting medication in them too but definitely far more easier than giving her a bath!

Here's the video of the day- Hogmany chasing her tail:

Tartan Collar

Petsmart was nice and let me return the shampoo.

Well, I came home with a dreadful stink in the room. I looked through the litterbox, but there was no solid waste; just urine. I looked everywhere- under the bed, in the closet, behind furniture to see if Hogmany had pooped somewhere else and saw nothing. Why does it stink so bad then? I had the fan on; sprayed after shower spray.

I tried putting the tartan collar on Hogmany. I think she was afraid to move because of the bell on the collar. All the cat collars had the bells, so I didn't have a choice.

Tried to silence the bell by taping it over, but even the dead ring seems to scare Hogmany when she moves.

Taking the collar off was rather difficult. Maybe because it was new, the collar was too stiff to adjust. Also, it doesn't have those clasps, where you squeeze and release and the collar comes off. It was a different sort of mechanism, one that was not user-friendly. It's the Safe Cat brand if anyone is wondering. Don't get those kind, unless you're the type that doesn't get enough challenges in life and enjoy difficult-to-use products. I managed to widen the collar enough and get it off- Hogmany was backing away. Yep, she's a smart kitty.

Bath Time (attempt two)

Finally got Hogmany in the tub for longer than 3 seconds. I trimmed her claws first. Put the harness on her (which took forever to figure out), put on the arm length latex gloves and voila

an unhappy wet kitty!

I don't see how anyone can wash a cat without the harness. You really need it for control and to keep kitty in the tub. I didn't get scratched at all this time around, but I did feel bad about bathing her and inflicting all this anxiety on her. I tried to dry her with the hairdryer but she didn't like all the air and dashed under the bed. I don't think I will be bathing any more cats from now on. Better to leave it to the pros.

Well, I was feeling bad about making Hogmany bathe, although more than anything it was a mini-bath, until I noticed a dreadful smell coming from the closet. She pooped in the corner of my closet when I was at work! Fortunately, I had newspapers on the floor, but then I don't know if she would have gone if there hadn't been any. Maybe it will be safer to put another litter box there, just in case. Or will that just encourage her? How come cat's wastes are 10X stinkier than dog's?

Kitty Video

Hogmany is behaving better today.

She still jumps onto my bed at night and in the morning to sleep or nap. Maybe it is I who is getting more used to her. However, in the afternoon when I am out, she stays put in her corner and actually sleeps in the carrier, just like how I wanted her to.

She like to nap on my lap; even when I'm sneezing a million times, she will not get off, though she will look slightly perturbed with her ears back and her eyes looking annoyed. Maybe I'm allergic to her.

The nice thing about her is that she is always communicating: she meows when she wants to eat; she meows when she needs to use the litter box; and she meows when she wants to sit on my lap.

Here is the first video I have made of her playing with the toy fish:

More Kitty Items

Petsmart

Cat nail clippers/ scissors: $8.99

Cat collar (tartan design): $7.99

Cat harness: $10.99

I think this may aid in the bath; will also try to train kitty to go out for walks

Target

Latex gloves: $1.00

Walmart

Cat toy (it is of a fish): $1.97

Bath Time

Tried giving Hogmany a bath today. What a disaster that turned out to be. I barely put her in the tub and she's all claws and scratched me up.

Whiskie didn't like baths either, but he was OK getting a little wet as long as he was on my lap. Not the case with Hogmany. Since she obviously was terrified of the water, I thought I could get her to sit on my lap and slowly pat some water on her, but she jumped and grabbed the shower curtains and scratched up my left hand, piercing skin and made me bleed a bit. For a small 14 week old kitten, she sure does a lot of damage and inflicts a lot of pain!!

I will try again after cutting her nails.

Little Troublemaker

Daniel from the Animal Shelter said to make sure I don't excite the new kitten too much- make sure she doesn't jump around all over the place because she just got spayed. She will need about a week to recover. I planned to put Hogmany in the corner of my room. I didn't want her on my bed especially since there has been some indication of her with ear mites and mange. I placed a cardboard barrier, approximately 4 ft in height. Unfortunately, she will jump over this as she would rather be on my bed!

Only on the first night did she sleep in her corner. There doesn't seem to be anything I can do to get her off my bed. She appears to be afraid of sleeping by herself or something. Sometimes she will jump up and put her face right next to mine and breathe right on me.

This kitten doesn't appear to know anything about personal space! When I let Whiskie sleep on my bed, he either chose a side to sleep on or knew he had to sleep at the foot of the bed. In contrast, this kitten will crawl all over me and stick her head onto my side. I think she may even sit on my face if I don't stop her as she will wave her paw around, as though she wants to feel my face to test how comfortable it would be to lie on.

She also seems to enjoy walking all over the keyboard when I'm on the computer, calling up all the menus I don't need.

It is a rather peculiar little thing.

Kitty Items

These are the items I purchased the day before in preparation of bringing home the new kitty:

Petsmart

Nutro's Kitten Food $11.19

Small dog's squeaker toy: $2.99
(it comes with a refillable squeaker toy, but I'll be putting cat nip in it; see picture in previous post)

Cat medication for the ear mites: $10.99

Cat shampoo: $7.99

Cat litter box: $14.99

Cat litter liner: $3.99

Sherpa carrier: $59.99

New Kitten

I've adopted a new kitten from the City of Brownsville Animal Regulation & Care Center.

I am naming her Hogmany in memory of my dog, who was supposed to be with me on Christmas Eve but was told he had "disappeared" from my dad's idiot coworker's house.

Having a new kitten is really different from having a dog. She does not sit, stay, come when called or understand the meaning of "no". I am not sure if her having ear mites affects her hearing.

I am just glad to have something small and furry to partially fill the horrible void I've had in the absence of my dog of 12 + years.