Punk Fu
We succumbed to the call of the pesticide. ealdthryth phoned the veterinarian and arranged for me to pick up some Advantage and a small syringe. Since it really is a two-person job, I had to wait for my sweetie to return home before medicating the cats. Two people you ask? One to hold the struggling, protesting cat, and one to administer the evil drops of flea doom to their skin. We actually planned it out well. First, I searched for Kiera--only to find her hiding in plain sight in the kitchen. She is such a gentle cat, she didn't put up much of a fuss--even with ealdthryth pushing the fur the wrong way so we could actually see skin. We closed and blockaded the bathroom door to prevent escape and the other cats from pushing their way in.
The next cat was Josie. Josie is clever and has a knack for knowing when to run, but I managed to distract her with a laser pointer and easily captured her. Oddly enough, the short fur was harder to work with. Josie moaned and whined about her medication. AELf' and Ignatius were both easy to get--they were hanging out by the bathroom door and a little shove was enough to get them moving. AElf' did not like getting her fur mussed anymore than Josie, but she still put up with it with relative grace. Ignatius, on the other hand, wriggled, complained and after we were done, he was extremely twitchy. He HATES being wet, and the sensation of the medicine on his neck freaked him out a bit.
We waited a while before releasing them, carefully watching to make sure no one had an adverse reaction. Well, medically, they were all fine, but AElfgifu got very upset with us trying to mop up some of the excess medication, and she actually screamed at us--mainly because she wanted to run away, and I was restraining her. She said some rather rude things to us.
By the end of the evening, all four cats were scoping out the door, waiting for the first opportunity to bolt. We didn't let them out right away out of fear that they might groom one another and accidentally lick up some of the Advantage. Their fur wicked up some of the oil and all of them were sporting little kitty punk hairdos. After their initial flight from the bathroom, most of the cats parked themselves near the walls of the room--where some of the borax still dusts the baseboards. Now all the punk hairdos have frosted tips!
I am happy to report that none of them did much in the way of self-grooming, but Ignatius did want to scratch. I'm not sure if it was fleas biting him or if the concept of having stuff he couldn't groom away made him think he should be scratching. Poor boy!
Everyone seems OK, but no one wanted to get on the bed last night--a sort of feline protest over their treatment. AElf' and Ignatius slept on a towel ealdthryth had placed on the cedar chest at the foot of the bed. Eventually, Josie curled up on my legs early this morning--just before NPR alerted me to the state of world affairs.
I'm hoping to return home this evening to find dead flea carcasses on the floor.
Arrrrgh!
No, it isn't International Talk Like a Pirate Day. I spent my evening rearranging the furniture (the new modular cabinets have now physically replaced the old Chinese Chippendale table), and working on the archery target faces for W.O.P.P. Following the same idea I had for the novelty Japanese-themed archery shoot, I now have a caravel, skull-and-crossbones, bottle of rum, and a super-deformed cutlass-wielding sailor. I'll paint the originals and build the targets tonight, and then photocopy the faces on my way home tomorrow.
Considering that W.O.P.P. tends towards the silly side, I may consider reproducing more of the super-deformed ninjas and have a Pirates vs. Ninjas bonus theme shoot.
Is Anybody Out There?
I have come to the conclusion that my office is moderately more dysfunctional that I had originally thought. My two week absence was barely remarked upon, and the only interest shown in where I had been or what I had been up to was expressed by the cashiers in the cafeteria. I know everyone is super busy, but to not even show an interest in one another is disquieting. Even as introverted as I am, I do enquire about people's kids and vacation experiences. It doesn't help that there was yet another exodus of contract employees--contract expirations seem to come in waves. I'm wondering if there is a building sentiment against getting to know people well because they'll leave soon enough.
Again, I am disappointed, but not to the point where I am going to leave gainful employment.
The next cat was Josie. Josie is clever and has a knack for knowing when to run, but I managed to distract her with a laser pointer and easily captured her. Oddly enough, the short fur was harder to work with. Josie moaned and whined about her medication. AELf' and Ignatius were both easy to get--they were hanging out by the bathroom door and a little shove was enough to get them moving. AElf' did not like getting her fur mussed anymore than Josie, but she still put up with it with relative grace. Ignatius, on the other hand, wriggled, complained and after we were done, he was extremely twitchy. He HATES being wet, and the sensation of the medicine on his neck freaked him out a bit.
We waited a while before releasing them, carefully watching to make sure no one had an adverse reaction. Well, medically, they were all fine, but AElfgifu got very upset with us trying to mop up some of the excess medication, and she actually screamed at us--mainly because she wanted to run away, and I was restraining her. She said some rather rude things to us.
By the end of the evening, all four cats were scoping out the door, waiting for the first opportunity to bolt. We didn't let them out right away out of fear that they might groom one another and accidentally lick up some of the Advantage. Their fur wicked up some of the oil and all of them were sporting little kitty punk hairdos. After their initial flight from the bathroom, most of the cats parked themselves near the walls of the room--where some of the borax still dusts the baseboards. Now all the punk hairdos have frosted tips!
I am happy to report that none of them did much in the way of self-grooming, but Ignatius did want to scratch. I'm not sure if it was fleas biting him or if the concept of having stuff he couldn't groom away made him think he should be scratching. Poor boy!
Everyone seems OK, but no one wanted to get on the bed last night--a sort of feline protest over their treatment. AElf' and Ignatius slept on a towel ealdthryth had placed on the cedar chest at the foot of the bed. Eventually, Josie curled up on my legs early this morning--just before NPR alerted me to the state of world affairs.
I'm hoping to return home this evening to find dead flea carcasses on the floor.
Arrrrgh!
No, it isn't International Talk Like a Pirate Day. I spent my evening rearranging the furniture (the new modular cabinets have now physically replaced the old Chinese Chippendale table), and working on the archery target faces for W.O.P.P. Following the same idea I had for the novelty Japanese-themed archery shoot, I now have a caravel, skull-and-crossbones, bottle of rum, and a super-deformed cutlass-wielding sailor. I'll paint the originals and build the targets tonight, and then photocopy the faces on my way home tomorrow.
Considering that W.O.P.P. tends towards the silly side, I may consider reproducing more of the super-deformed ninjas and have a Pirates vs. Ninjas bonus theme shoot.
Is Anybody Out There?
I have come to the conclusion that my office is moderately more dysfunctional that I had originally thought. My two week absence was barely remarked upon, and the only interest shown in where I had been or what I had been up to was expressed by the cashiers in the cafeteria. I know everyone is super busy, but to not even show an interest in one another is disquieting. Even as introverted as I am, I do enquire about people's kids and vacation experiences. It doesn't help that there was yet another exodus of contract employees--contract expirations seem to come in waves. I'm wondering if there is a building sentiment against getting to know people well because they'll leave soon enough.
Again, I am disappointed, but not to the point where I am going to leave gainful employment.