I repeat: I love cats. They taste like chicken.

I know you didn't get what I meant originally, but for the record - I am not Irish, but I am of Irish heritage (as we say these days). Mum was not born in Ireland, but her maiden name is Doyle.

The Doyle family are as Irish as they come, and all shades of Irish too. He has the silver hair of the Irish (called White Irish) - which turned in his '20s - no Grecian 2000 in those days! Great Aunt Alice was Black Irish. She was grey by the time she died (last year, our closest great Aunt, much missed) but her hair was black for an unfeasibly long time - she had no vanity so I refuse to believe she dyed it. And Great Aunt Emma was a fiery redhead. Suited her job as a union rep and before-her-time feminist. Now in her eighties and legally blind, she still gives Mum an earful about "Your young gels" when Mum visits. Bless them all - brought up on home grown food - rabbits & geese & cabbage![/quote]
Oh yeah. Both Nanny and Breda were fobbed off by doctors for months. Then it was only guesswork that narrowed it down to breast cancer, because it had rampaged through their bodies and was presenting everywhere. Nan, being a woman of a certain generation (when the Doctor cost good money) wasn't diagnosed until she couldn't move her arm. Literally - she lost all feeling and movement. Her journey was doctor, hospital (that afternoon), hospice, home to die - it took a matter of weeks. When Breda was diagnosed it was already too late for treatment. It's heartbreaking - Mum proves it can be treated in day surgery. Bri proves a more aggressive strain can still be survived. Sigh. Funeral next week.

And the reason I'm posting?
It's just bad news week all round. My Uncle Charlie (not Dad's bro who I sometimes post about, but Nan's bro) had a very bad stroke on Saturday. I didn't know him all that well - some visits, but he's been ill for a long time so I haven't seen him in years. Mum is always in contact with Cousin Susan, who I know a lot better. She's been told by the staff at the hospital that there isn't really any hope and she should say her goodbyes. He's been on oxygen for months, but this has shut him down completely. Sounds like they're going to be asked to make a decision re the machines.
Doing my litter tray solid removal today, what was on top? Nice shiny turd with a red elastic band running through it. Red bands are only used by postmen, to hold the letters together. Lord knows where he got it from, but he ate it and it passed right through. Didn't upset me - made me laugh as much as a woman bent over a litter tray can. Didn't seem appropriate for the happy thread though ;)

As opposed to illegally :cool:?

No but seriously. Sorry about Uncle Charlie. As we agreed the other day (I think?) - life's a bummer at times.

Ah, Sundae - you need some Happy-Time Lucky-Good Fun. Things have been grim it seems - death and diarrhea! :comfort: You can always depend on change, though, so here's hoping some good change is on your doorstep, sweetie.

And just for the record - my breast cancer was actually not very virulent. It was negative for all the baddies - was HER2 negative, wasn't any of the three really deadly types - what it was, though, was a stage 3 based on how freaking huge it was - and why was it so huge? Didn't I feel it? Oh, yes. I felt it - for about 18 months; but I didn't have health insurance! I waited until I got insurance and then, that very day, I made the doc. appointment where I got a mammo. After the mammo, things moved very fast as I was set up with biopsy, MRI, etc. (remember, I was enrolled in a clinical trial and got things maybe some other women would not get due to that)
My tumor was large but relatively slow growing and not fed by estrogen. The virulent part came with the type of chemo I got - that was an experience I'll never forget.

It's upsetting me too.

My mom's cat, Tabby, is about 19. She's skinny and scroungy-looking and matted, and I think she's deaf. But she still eats, drinks, jumps on the bed, licks the shower curtain, roams all over the house and does other normal cat things so she doesn't seem to be suffering. But she PEES ALL OVER THE PLACE. She pees in my son's room, in front of the litter boxes we have throughout the house (we have 6 cats, we give them lots of opportunities to be good) and we think she peed on the couch yesterday. One of the cats peed in my office, too, and it reeks. I highly suspect it's Tab. I know for a fact she's the one that peed in my son's room and on the dining room floor, and regularly pees on the floor of our master bath (which is gutted for renovation, so she's peeing on the subfloor!)

I am so torn about this - logical thing to do is put her down, but how can I do that? I've never had to put down a cat that wasn't obviously sick to the point of death, so that the euthanasia just sped things along mercifully. Tab doesn't seem to want to go just yet.

We've tried everything I can think of - shutting her in the laundry room and listening to her cry all day, putting her in a cage and listening to her cry all day, laying down newspapers and trash bags, and the latest one is creating an extra-shallow litter box in the bathroom hoping she just doesn't want to climb (yet she has no problem with the bathtub, go figure).

So I live in a house that smells like cat piss.

That's upsetting me greatly.

Have you had her tested for diabetes?

Nope. I did have a diabetic cat years ago, so yeah, I know how it goes with sick cats. I do need to get her into the vet. I think there's blood in her pee too. I was planning to call the vet today, just never got 'round tuit. :(

ours is a 1yo neutered male. little git. twice in 24 hours, spraying. maybe there's a new cat on the block.

I've heard cats can also go into marking overdrive if you bring a potted plant from outside that's been sprayed by some outdoor cat into the house.

We didn't do that, but are about to bring 2 in, so thanks for the heads up

I thought neutered males did not spray. Odd, my parent's male has never sprayed that I know of.

They can do. It just doesn't smell do bad. Today the little shit brought in a live bird just as I was going out.

J'ever try that Nature's Miracle or Simple Solution or Pet-tas-tic or whatever they're calling it these days? Enzyme-based cleaning, it's always done a good job here.

the story about the gang rape at a homecoming dance in California. Up to 20 people knew, watched, and did nothing. why are we raising such animals?

[sigh]

O.k. Cloud just bummed me out.