Ooooo Yucky

Grace has taken to sleeping in a box on the porch. Day and night. Despite the fact that it has been going down to zero around here this winter. Then the other day, she changed boxes. Just would not go into her regular box. So.... I looked inside and... ooooo yucky! The torso, back legs and tail of a RAT! This thing was huge! The tail was 6 inches long and big around as a pencil. She had eaten his head off and his arms. Now tell me that this poor three-legged cat is old or rickety. Here I have been so worried about her. Staying outside, not eating much, getting thin. Huh, she still has enough get-up-and-go to catch and kill a rat that big.

Now some of you are probably totally grossed out at this point, but I have to say that I live in the woods and there are loads of critters here. It has nothing to do with cleanliness or hygiene. You can't escape it. The only thing that might make a difference would be if I had dogs. Cats can't keep things away, but they can kill them. Even dogs can't keep everything away.

I don't worry about my cats getting hurt by a raccoon or sprayed by a skunk - even though they are here too. Because the animals seem to naturally respect each other. Keep out of each other's way. The mice and the rats are somehow dumb. They don't realize they can be killed easily by cats. Easily? Well... cats do love tossing them around a bit before they dispatch them. "Kill the mousies, eat they little heads." And cats know that eating the spleen is poisonous, so they leave it alone.

Now has all that made your day?

Cat Tea on the Menu for this Week

Went to see Matthew Wood at Rosemary's Garden in Sebastopol Friday night and he recommended Melissa, also known as lemon balm, for thyroid issues in cats. Not tincture, since cats won't take anything with alcohol (they are smarter than their humans). Make a strong tea then "get them to drink it." I usually do this with a plastic eye dropper in the side of the mouth towards the back. I have never found a better way that works to get cats to take liquid medicines. If you know of one, let me know.

Since Grace has thyroid problems, I plan to try it this week. She was on medication, but it made her vomit constantly and since she is so thin already, I want her to keep whatever food she has eaten. I have found that one of her favorite things is raw chicken liver. It is a little more expensive than cat food, but I don't have to keep throwing it out.

You know I keep telling both Grace and Melody (two formerly feral cats) that they eat better than most people in the world, but they still turn their noses up at most cat food. Very challenging sometimes.