Litter can be gritty. It’s usually a form of sand or even pine or ground up wheat or corn. It’s purpose is to absorb cat wastes and make it easy to clean up and get rid of the waste safely. Cats can be very picky and refuse to use the litter if it isn’t what they are used to. I have known one cat not to care and will use the litter if she can find it in a plastic box. I prefer the clumping litter as it makes it much easier to clean up not just poo, but pee as well.
Once I had to give Sir Socks and Spot a litter known as Yesterday’s News. They were hesitant to use it. I stressed to them that I would clean it out just as soon as they used it. It took some time before they used it. Once one did, I cleaned it out as soon as I noticed it. Then they were fine afterwards.
Cats always know whether people like or dislike them. They do not always care enough to do anything about it. —Winifred Carriere
Cats are intuitive and know who likes them and who are fans. They know who can’t stand them. Cats don’t care what we think of them. They will continue to be themselves no matter what we think or how we feel about them. Perhaps cats are on to something with that attitude.
If a cat does something, we call it instinct; if we do the same thing, for the same reason, we call it intelligence. —Will Cuppy
Both humans and cats have instincts. They come into play when we need them. But it’s only the prejudicial humans who have no proof who insist humans are intelligent and cats are instinctual. Why overlook the obvious when it’s the simplest reason that is the best reason to ever use and research when it comes to science?
If you live with a cat, you will have to deal with their poo in one form or another. All you have to do is clean it up and throw it away or even compost it. It’s something which can’t be avoided. If you’re good about cleaning it up and throwing it out, any cat you live with will be happy with you. And as long as you clean up their wastes everyday, you won’t run the risk of catching any diseases from cats.
One disease is known as Toxoplasma and is caused by the Toxoplasma gondii parasite. It can be found in infected cat poo. It is a common parasite. That’s also why it’s a good idea to wash your hands after handling cat wastes. If you do become infected, Toxoplasma can cause flu-like symptoms. You may not get any symptoms at all. But it’s not worth risking becoming infected as you could pass it on to someone else. And the cat won’t be happy you didn’t clean up their wastes. They will let you know their displeasure by leaving poo on the floor somewhere where you’ll be sure to see it.
There is nothing like a cat talking. They don’t even have to be talking to me. They could be talking to another cat and I don’t mind listening to them. They are people with a different language. They know I have a had time with their language, but they have their ways of talking to me with a simple meow.
If we treated everyone we meet with the same affection we bestow upon our favorite cat, they, too, would purr. —Martin Buxbaum
So true for the most part. If we all treated each other better, we would get better treatment in return. Cats know this better than many humans who are too selfish and inconsiderate to even be nice to others. Or even perhaps to themselves.
Cats can be cooperative when something feels good, which, to a cat, is the way everything is supposed to feel as much of the time as possible. —Roger Caras
Perhaps cats are on to something by being cooperative when it feels good. I have noticed the cats I live with aren’t too bad to get along with because I treat them with respect. To me they are people and they deserve to be treated as people. In return, cats are kind to me much of the time.
Like a graceful vase, a cat, even when motionless, seems to flow. —George F. Will
Cats have a grace I’ve never mastered. Even in motion, they tend to have better coordination than I’ve ever had. That’s why I can watch them for hours and find myself waiting to drawing them or write about them.
I found Sir Socks in a good mood and a good place. So, I sat down in front of him.
Sir Socks (SS): Ali, what are you doing now?
Ali: Interviewing you.
SS: Why?
Ali: Because I think the readers of Sir Socks Le Chat magazine would like to learn more about you.
Sir Socks sighed. I raised my eyebrows as I waited patiently on him.
SS: Oh, right, go ahead and ask your questions.
Ali: Why did you start this magazine?
SS: I saw a need that wasn’t being addressed fully. There are charities which get ignored for one reason or another. I knew you had done a book with Frisky Le Rouge to help raise money for Dingo Venezia. I knew from your experience in publishing that you could set up a magazine like this and help keep it going. I wanted to help ensure cat and other animal charities were getting a voice and be able to connect with those who could help them.
Ali: How do you feel about writing articles?
SS: I don’t mind the work. I do like to assert myself and express my opinions.
Ali: You’re good at it.
SS: Thank you.
Ali: Am I still too silly for you?
SS: You are much sillier than I could ever be. However, I have noticed you’ve become a bit of a curmudgeon lately. What happened to you?
Ali: It’s the influence of my dad and you.
SS: Really?
Ali: Yes. It was your examples and some hard times I’ve had to deal with. (pause) How do you feel about downgrading the magazine’s site to a free one?
SS: I wasn’t happy we couldn’t get enough donations right away. I know we have tried to be as clear and as front as we need to be. Yet, there aren’t enough humans who trust us to help out with our mission. I hope we can at least pay writers for the work they share with us. Too many like yourself are underpaid.
Ali: At least we have the free site. I don’t know what I would do if we didn’t have this one. Or even the Cat Tale books to help featured charities.
SS: I am also glad we have the Cat Tales books. And you do so much to keep the whole thing together and running smoothly. I think the current setup is the best way to do things. It gives people time to learn about us and see if they want to support us and our mission. I suppose we will have to change our mission.
Ali: In what way? We already had to drop the featured monthly charity because we couldn’t find one to go along with us.
SS: At this point I wouldn’t even think about bringing the back. If they don’t trust us, there’s nothing more any of us can do now for them. I thought we were transparent enough. What more to people want of us?
Ali: Too many expect me to work for free or work a job I’m terrible at and can’t keep no matter what I do.
SS: Then how are you supposed to afford to live?
Ali: I don’t know. I think people who believe I don’t deserve to be paid decently for any work I do want me to die so they can take what little material wealth I own as their own.
SS: I don’t like them. I think they have misjudged you. I know what a good person you are. Besides, I think you are much happier to work at home and be around us cats more often than not.
Ali: Cats are a big support. I know I have to serve you cats on a regular basis. So, I don’t know why I can’t just serve at least one in my daily life as well as serve many more on a much larger scale.
Sir Socks yawned.
SS: Is that all your questions?
Ali: For now.
Sir Socks stared at me studying my face as he tends to do. We sat in silence observing each other.
Cat pee is something that is easier to deal with if the cat pees on litter. It’s even better if the litter clumps up. Then it’s very easy to clean it up and throw it out. Otherwise, it can be a real pain to clean it up off the floor. I’d recommend tile flooring, even the cheap polyvinyl tile, with a cat and vinegar to clean up their wastes. The floor will get clean and it won’t matter if the cat comes by to inspect and licks the floor afterwards.
It’s also worth noting why cat pee smells so bad. It has a high ammonia content in it. It is much worse from a cat who isn’t fixed and is going through or has gone through puberty. It smells so bad to me that I can’t understand why people think ammonia is a good cleaner.
Kittens are born with their eyes shut. They open them in about six days, take a look around, then close them again for the better part of their lives. —Stephen Baker
According to cats, it is imperative to have an active dream life. It can replace a mundane boring life any time. We have much to learn from cats. In dreams we can be anything and do anything. There are no limits except those we set for ourselves. Real life isn’t always like that.
No amount of time can erase the memory of a good cat, and no amount of masking tape can ever totally remove his fur from your couch. —Leo Dworken
It’s rough when a cat dies. Their memory lives on inside of us. And their hair is just hard to clean up from the furniture without damaging it or damaging a vacuum cleaner. Long live the good cat.
This month’s cat vocabulary is a term from Twitter known as the rainbow bridge. It’s an expression used for a cat who has died. They say the cat has crossed the rainbow bridge.
It is a good euphemism to explain what has happened. The cat’s body is dead. No one will argue that. But where does their spirit, their soul, their essence of their being go? Over the rainbow bridge to their next life or even an afterlife. The cat we knew is no longer hindered by a physical body.
It’s always heartbreaking to have a cat die. I’ve gone through it three times already. Yet, I can’t live without a cat. So, I may end up going through it another hundred times. I was with all three cats when they died. I helped them cross the rainbow bridge.
It was the least I could do for such wonderful companions. When they died, there wasn’t much more I could do for any of them. I couldn’t stop death from claiming them. I just hoped they have long, healthy, and happy lives while they live with me.
As anyone who has ever been around a cat for any length of time well knows cats have enormous patience with the limitations of the human kind. —Cleveland Amory
They do have patience. I would know. As a klutz, I used to drop things on the floor all the time and disturb Sir Socks Le Chat’s nap on a regular basis. That is until he realized I wasn’t doing it on purpose. Then he learned to get out of the way and talk to me so I wouldn’t step on him in the dark.
Even the stupidest cat seems to know more than any dog. —Eleanor Clark
Dogs don’t really care to know much. They know how to please and make us happy. A cat knows more and how to get what they need and want without having to please us.
Sir Socks Le Chat 