A Byootaful Life » Puddy

WCB: Puddy’s Ear Ouchie

Katie — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 23:58:43 +0000

I was patting Puddy the other day while she was curled up on my lap and my fingers brushed something hard on her ear. I instantly thought “flea!” because it felt like that familiar little hard body they have. I learnt all about fleas when we first took Puddy in as a stray – she was absolutely covered in them and I would spend hours picking them off her and drowning them in boiling water. Eventually, with the help of flea medication from the vet, we managed to get rid of them all, but it was a horrible, horrible experience.

Anyway, with my “flea!” thought, I grabbed it between my fingers and yanked.

Whoops. Turns out it wasn’t a flea, it was just a bit of dried something (blood? skin?), and I had managed to pull out a tuft of her fur! Puddy didn’t react, but I sat there looking at the fur in my fingers thinking, “Oh, oh!”

See the little bald patch on her ear? I felt so bad about it, but she didn’t seem to even notice. Hopefully it will grow back quickly because now, every time I see her, it’s all I see!

At least it wasn’t a flea!

Puddy Goes Green

Katie — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 05:23:32 +0000

Not literally, because I think that would be borderline animal cruelty?

Anyway, turns out enviro bags are just like boxes, because Puddy did this:

I had left the bag next to the chair while I gathered up a few things to put in it. Turning around, I saw that the bag had been claimed by Puddy, who was sitting in it, ears perked up, looking quite pleased with herself. I must admit, it’s a nice roomy bag, so it must be pretty comfortable in there, with its padded floor and flexible sides.

Do you use enviro bags?

Or rather, do your pets use enviro bags? Heh.

WCB: Puddy, Featuring a Box

Katie — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 00:33:48 +0000

Last week Phill and I went to Bunnings to buy some plants. We’d had a sudden urge to grow our own vegetables, especially tomatoes, since the tomatoes in the stores at the moment are ridiculously expensive and very bad quality. We came home with a chili plant, a cherry tomato plant, garlic chives (because I love them!) and a strawberry plant. The strawberry plant was a last-minute purchase, one of those impulse buys.

Bunnings don’t offer plastic bags, but they do offer cardboard boxes for you to carry your plants home in. Great idea if you ask me, although transferring your plants from your basket to the box at their tiny little desk of a register is a little bit of a hassle, especially with a queue of people behind you.

We got the plants home and decided to set them up on the BBQ, where they would receive plenty of morning and afternoon sun, but lots of nice shade too. While we repotted them, we absent-mindedly left the cardboard box on the table. Minutes later, we saw this:

Seriously … what is it with cats and boxes??

I love the leg up on the side of the box. She doesn’t like her legs being touched. One of my favourite games with her is to poke her legs as she’s lying down – she curls them up close to her, then when she can’t curl them any further, she lunges and swipes at me. She’s so cute.

Are you talking about me?

Weekend Cat Blogging is being hosted at Paulchen’s Foodblog, the Carnival of the Cats is being hosted at When Cats Attack and the Bad Kitty Cat’s Festival of Chaos is at Nikita Cat. It’s been a loooong time since Puddy last participated in any of these round-ups so she’s very excited this weekend! I’ve been a little quiet lately because I’ve been sick with the flu, but I’m finally recovering (and my voice is back, yay!) so I’m eager to get around to your blogs this weekend to leave some lovin’.

Cat Furniture Success!

Katie — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 01:31:31 +0000

I was concerned that Puddy wouldn’t like her new (second-hand) cat furniture, but this last week has really put my concerns to rest, because she’s been using it like a crazy cat, especially the tunnel! She loves to scoot under the tunnel on her back, using her claws to drag herself along. She scoots through, then twists herself around and scoots back the other way, clawing at whatever she can reach.

It’s quite amusing to watch and I took a few photos to share:

You can probably see a fair bit of scattered fluffs of carpet in the photos – that’s another reason why we wanted to fix up her scratching post. She’s been using the posts of her big furniture as scratching posts, but it’s very messy. I’m not sure whether it’s completely designed to be scratched to death, so maybe offering her an alternative might spare it a little.

She loves using the tunnel and the section under the tunnel, as well as the posts, and she’s ventured onto the platform a few times, but she refuses to get into the little bed at the top. In the last few photos, you’ll see I’ve placed an old jumper in there, one Puddy loves to knead, but she still won’t get in there. I’m thinking maybe the last cat who owned the furniture spent a lot of time in there, and her scent must be very strong. Any tips on how to kill off that scent?

Anyway, I’m thrilled she’s using it, and it’s so cute to watch her go crazy, scooting around under the tunnel! I’ll have to try to get a video of it to share. Oh and side note: you can see the carpet in the first photos but the second photos were taken after we’d redone her scratching post – we just hadn’t given her the leftover carpet back yet!

Scratching Post 3.0!

Katie — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 03:46:43 +0000

Do you remember my attempt at improving Puddy’s scratching post a couple weeks ago, with the fluro green rope? Well today Phill and I decided to re-do it… again. We thought it could look better and, since Puddy wasn’t very keen on using it, we wanted to get rid of the rope. We stripped it down which left us with the bare cardboard roll.

Now, what to wrap around it?

Puddy has a piece of carpet you’ve probably seen in some of the photos on here. We got it a long time ago to put under our office chairs, so they wouldn’t dent the carpet, but we had some left over and since Puddy seemed to love scratching at it, we put it downstairs for her to use. We figured this would be a good material to wrap around the post, since she already loves it, it’s free and there would be enough left over to leave on the ground for her to scratch at.

We measured and cut the carpet to size, then realised the post could unscrew out of the base, which would make wrapping it much easier. We decided the best way to do this was to place the carpet on the table (fuzzy side down) and lie the post across it. We then squeezed a generous amount of glue down the post, then pressed the carpet against it to stick. We let that dry for five minutes, then did the same at the other end, wrapping the carpet firmly against the post.

We attached the post to the base again and, using rope left over from the original version, we tied around the post to help hold it in place while the glue set. The effect was quite cute, almost like it was a creepy crawley, and I nicknamed the post the “Spidey Scratcher” (although Centipede Scratcher might be more suitable).

As I type this, it’s still drying on the dining room table and Puddy hasn’t been allowed near it, so I don’t know her reaction yet. I hope she’ll like it – it certainly looks more attractive than Scratching Post 2.0! We were debating whether or not to remove all of the rope after it’s dried – Puddy loves that rope and perhaps it would add a fun element if we left some (or all?) on for her to chew and grab at? What do you think? Leave the rope on or take it off?

Oh, and is Scratching Post 3.0 the best version yet?

Puddy’s New Cat Furniture

Katie — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 04:53:24 +0000

Remember how I mentioned Phill and I were going to try to make some cat furniture? Well, don’t get excited … we didn’t. Yet. But there’s a reason for it – on Sunday morning we were at his Dad’s house and I mentioned that Puddy had ripped up her scratching post and we were going to try to make a new one. Phill’s Dad looked at us like we were crazy and said, “Why don’t you just take one of ours? We’ve got heaps.” (It’s true … they have two cats living in the house and a gazillion scratching posts of all sizes and shapes.)

This thought hadn’t actually occurred to me, so I was surprised at the offer. I readily accepted, thinking it would be much easier than making one (okay, so I’m a little lazy!) but I was extra surprised when he pointed out the one we could take.

This one:

The massive, near-new, expensive, gourmet scratching post/cat furniture.

My first reaction was, “Are you sure???” and the second was, “How on earth is this going to fit in the car?” I could hardly believe it – this thing didn’t exactly cost $20! We managed to get it onto the back seat and we drove it home excitedly, wondering how Puddy would react to it – after all, it’s pre-owned and it can be very hard to convince another cat that it’s for them when they can smell the old owner all over it.

We took it out in the garage and brushed at it to get all the white fur off. Remember Isha? Yup, she was the old owner. Don’t worry, she’s happy and healthy – she just stopped using it like she used to. Anyway, once we’d got as much of the fur off as we could, we brought it inside and let Puddy investigate.

Sniff, sniff, sniff… what’s this? Who can I smell?

We put a couple of her toy mice on the platform so she’d feel a bit more familiar. The feather toy in the top perch is also hers, as are the treats in the metal bowl attached to the perch. The dangly mouse came with it.

After a little bit (and much more sniffing) she investigated higher…

And higher…

And higher!

So far so good! She’s being cautious, but is obviously very interested in this new toy. Phill was playing with her yesterday, dangling her mice through the tunnel, and she kept bolting through it to get to the mouse. I’ve caught her batting at the dangly mouse, yanking it towards her (incidentally, I wonder how long the dangly mouse will last?) When I got home from work today, there were little bits of fluff all over the ground – telltale signs she’s been scratching at the carpeted posts.

I’m thrilled (and still in shock!) that we managed to get such an amazing piece of cat furniture for free!

We are still enthusiastic about trying to make a basic scratching post, but now those plans have been put on hold for a little bit, since we’ve now got this new addition, plus her old scratching post which she still uses. It’s pretty awesome, isn’t it?

Scratching Post 2.0

Katie — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 01:42:36 +0000

In May 2009 I bought Puddy a brand spankin’ new scratching post for her birthday and hoped she’d use it, since she’s so unpredictable when it comes to cat toys. Luckily she did use it – in fact, she used it to death! Within a matter of months, it looked like this:

She’d completely ripped the top bit to shreds, revealing the cardboard underneath. She still seemed content with it for a while, so I didn’t buy her a new one, but recently she’s begun scratching at the lounge suite – something she’s never done before – so I took that as a sign that she’s given up on the scratching post and that means it’s time for a) a new one or b) me to fix the old one.

I figured, why not, let’s try to DIY fix this thing, since a new one will cost upwards of $50. I took it outside and put it on the table so I was at eye level. For the first real time, I took in the complete damage and geez, she’d gone to town on the post! The cardboard was even scratched up a little and I felt a twinge of guilt for not fixing it earlier.

First things first – I grabbed a pair of scissors and chopped off all the ripped material and rope. The top half of the post had actually been covered mostly with fur (the fur you can see up the top) and I think Puddy prefers the rope because it’s easier to scratch, but the rope bit was too far down for her to get a good grip. I decided for this reason, to wrap some rope around the top half instead of replacing the material.

Much better. Pulling off all the ripped material and rope revealed just how scratched up the cardboard was. For some reason, this picture makes me giggle when I look at it – it sort of looks like the post has a bowl-haircut.

I wrapped rope (fluro green, unfortunately that’s all I could find, but I don’t think cats care about colour) around the post, tightly winding it so it would be secure when she scratched. I glued both ends but didn’t glue the middle as I figured the tension would keep the rope on and if I found better rope later it would be easier to remove. And whola – the finished product:

But wait – there’s a cat in the picture! That would be because, the instant I turned away to grab the camera, Puddy jumped up on the table and grabbed the post, claws out. I’d tied a spare bit of rope around the top of the post to keep it in place while the glue dried – this will be removed later (so she won’t actually be able to chew on the rope), but as you can see, the bit sticking out proved to be a lot of fun for Puddy. I love the ears back – she was concentrating very hard!

I guess even though it’s a fugly colour of green, Puddy is pleased with her new and improved scratching post … and hopefully this means the furniture will be saved from her claws!

Phill and I are actually thinking about going out this weekend and buying some wood to make some cat furniture! We’ve been looking online at some simple plans and there’s a few really nice designs that don’t look too hard to make. Have you made your cat furniture? Heaven knows it’ll be cheaper than buying it!

The Cat Sleeping on the Dog Pillow

Katie — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 23:57:16 +0000

Occassionally the snuggly, fluffy thing I like to curl up with (Puddy) needs her own snuggly, fluffy thing – a huge toy dog that came to visit when my brother stayed with us for a while. It’s massive and so incredibly soft, so I wasn’t surprised when I came downstairs to find Puddy half on it, chin resting on its tummy, drifting off to sleep.

Of course, in taking the photo I managed to disturb her enough to get the pointy-eared reaction, but she quickly closed her eyes again. I don’t blame her – that dog is really cuddly!

My Cat is Being Bullied… by Birds!

Katie — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 23:47:19 +0000

Puddy likes to go outside for a few hours a day, spending her time curled up under the trees in the shade, or on our table and chairs. She’s not very adventurous – she sometimes takes off and leaves the yard but she’s getting old (ha!) and prefers the lazy approach now. She’s never caught a bird (or come close to it) and there’s no other cats in the neighbourhood anymore so she’s safe from nature and nature is safe from her.

Well, that was how it used to be. Now nature seems to have some beef with Puddy because there are two little squarking birds who have targeted her. They sit on the wall and scream their heads off at her, ruffling their feathers, while Puddy crouches on the ground, staring up at them, chattering away.

I don’t know how it started, or when, but all of a sudden whenever I let Puddy outside, the birds are there only seconds later, squarking at her. It’s not a cute little squark, it’s a loud, annoying scream that drives me nuts, especially when I’m trying to relax inside. I end up having to go to the door and clap loudly to scare them off – but even then they simply fly up, hover and come back. Phill said he’s seen them swoop Puddy and I wouldn’t be surprised – everything about the confrontation screams “bully”.

Puddy doesn’t even try to run after them, she just chatters away with a few little audible meows in there. When I come outside and scare them away, she turns and looks at me as if to say, “Hey, I was dealing with it!”

They are worse than the crows in the morning because at least the crows stop making noises once we’re awake. These little birds are there all day long and it’s really not what I want to hear on my day off!

I’ve brought Puddy inside because of the birds, but also because I just spotted a wasp-infested tree out the front and I don’t want Puddy to think they’re something to play with. As I bent down to pick her up, I spotted another nest hanging under the outside table, which is pretty much right next to the screen door, with wasps buzzing around it, so I might get Phill to deal with that one when he gets home. Until then, Puddy stays inside.

I didn’t manage to get a photo of the birds because, surprise surprise, they disappeared as soon as Puddy came inside. I heard their faint squarking which could mean they’ve found another target. I wonder what’s going on? Are they protecting a nest? I haven’t seen one anywhere near our house that Puddy might be a threat to. Are they just bullies? It’s possible. Why won’t Puddy at least run after them to scare them away? Because she’s a wuss?

Does anyone else have this problem? I thought it was meant to be the cats scaring the birds, not the other way round!

Edit to add: Just as I went to hit “publish” the damn birds came back, squarking loudly from the wall. Puddy is inside at the screen door, chattering at them. How do I get rid of them?????

Not Quite On, Not Quite Off

Katie — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 06:36:35 +0000

Cats are strange creatures. They like to sleep in strange positions that look really uncomfortable to us. One of Puddy’s favourite places to sleep is on our (messy, unmade) bed, with her backside hanging off. Evidence:

Notice where the matress ends? I can’t believe that would be comfortable, but she’s a cat, so it must be. She was so comfortable in fact, that she didn’t even stir when I took the photo, except for glaring at me a little. I’m pretty sure her backside is actually resting against the metal end of the bed, which would also add to the whole uncomfortable thing, right?

Has your cat (or dog or child!) have a funny sleeping place or pose?