Adventures with Astrid and Creepy Company

Between the excessive heat as well as Astrid's arthritis and recurring vestibular disease issues, the old gal doesn't go for many true walks these days.

When it was still somewhat cool out, she'd happily choose to go for slightly longer walks with the whole family on weekends. These days, though, we often just go down the street, she does her business, and then we go home. If it's early morning and not too hot yet, sometimes she'll choose to go a full block, but that's very rare on these hot days. And that's fine with me. I'm also not a fan of summer heat, and I just want Astrid to be as comfortable and safe as possible.

Astrid has her annual exam in a couple of weeks. She did have a 6-month check in January, when her bloodwork overall looked really good, so we'll soon see if that's still holding steady. At 12 years old, Astrid is finally showing her age, which is more than fair. She's a big old girl at 85 lbs, which makes things like arthritis a bit more troublesome at times. Her pain meds help her feel comfortable, though, and there are days when she tries to go for little runs in the back yard and she tries some of her youthful habits, with mixed results.

Somewhere around the end of last year, Astrid had some sort of mild bout of "old dog vestibular disease", which causes things like a head tilt and loss of balance. One of my childhood dogs had two severe bouts of this, and though Astrid's didn't have a severe, acute flare of it like my childhood dog, her symptoms do recur or flare here and there. Astrid has a permanent head tilt to the right that is often noticeable, as well as some imbalance that makes the big girl not so graceful on her feet. These symptoms aren't themselves painful for Astrid. They just make her a bit, well, clumsy. She also started having occasional strabismus affecting her right eye, causing it to sometimes stare outward even when her left eye is looking forward. It tends to occur when she's having a rougher vestibular day and is turning or looking a certain way. It only lasts a couple or a few seconds, and getting her to focus on me usually corrects it. Her vet said that this can indeed be caused by vestibular disease, and that since Astrid has been having mild symptoms for at least 6 months now, he's comfortable saying that the strabismus, head tilt, and clumsiness are very likely just residual effects of her of having vestibular disease.

One thing that always amazes me is that, in 12 years, there has never a been a single day when Astrid feels sick to the point where she won't eat her favorite foods. The same childhood dog I mentioned above was incredibly food oriented and would eat anything and everything, but she also regularly got what her vet called "gut rot" and would stop eating. Though Astrid has always been a picky eater, she has favorite foods that she will always eat, like chicken and peanut butter. If she ever stopped eating those, we'd know something was truly wrong. In 12 years, though, she's never once had even part of a day when she wouldn't eat her favorite foods. She's had lots of other health issues over the years, including cancer and a torn ligament, but somehow never an upset stomach.

Anyway. Have I rambled long enough? Yeah? Well, Astrid and all of us here wish you a wonderful Wednesday! If you're in a heat wave like we are, we hope you're staying cool.

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Spooky Doodle of the Day

We'll still sharing our new series of spooky summertime doodles. Today, we of course have Astrid's drawing, in which she has some creepy company.

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Tip of the Day

We're continuing with our pet parenting hack tips. So, yesterday we mentioned wrapping sisal rope around furniture legs in order to create money-saving scratching posts that also save you extra floor space. That's not the only way furniture can be used to create something special for your kitty, though. We all know that cats love cozy places to relax, including, of course, hammocks. If you yet again want to save money and floor space, you can suspend a hammock from beneath an end table or other similar piece of furniture. You would start with some cloth, which could be securely attached to or tied around the legs of the table. You could use velcro, some safely tied rope, or even just the corners of the cloth to suspend the hammock. In this way, you could create a cheap, easy, space-saving DIY hammock in which your kitty could snooze.

Tonks Tuesday with Pumpkins and a Ghost

Tonks has shared our household seasonal confusion before. Today, she's sharing it again.

Indeed, those are two Halloween pillows that stay out year round in our home. Our couch is often a mess of blankets and pillows, mostly courtesy of the kitties, and those two spooky pillows are always involved. Though you can't see them in this photo, behind Tonks in that moment above were our two year round Christmas pillows. Because what other pillows would you have out in July?

Tonks and all of us here with you a terrific Tuesday!

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Spooky Doodle of the Day

Yesterday, Evan got to share his zombified self as part of our new spooky series of summertime doodles. And today, of course, Tonks gets to share her new spooky something or other. Since Tonks is a kitty who loves blankets, both snoozing on them and under them, she gets to have a certain sort of friend in her drawing. See?

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Tip of the Day:

Are you interested in saving the money or space that comes with store-bought cat scratching posts? One simple option is to securely wrap sisal rope around table legs, chair legs, banisters, or other similar furniture or home features. This also can spare said furniture from damage from kitty claws. Therefore, this sort of DIY cat scratcher is not only simple and easy, but can also save you money, space, and damage to certain pieces of furniture or areas of the home.

Mancat Monday: Zzzzzzz and a Zombie

It's Mancat Monday, and Evan is celebrating the occasion by snoozing in a sun puddle.

Under there somewhere is the new bed I got Evan for his birthday back in April. He especially loves it when I toss a blanket in it for extra coziness. That admittedly also helps spare the bed, as my hind limb paralyzed boy does indeed have urinary incontinence, among other special things.

Evan and all of us here wish you a magnificent Monday!

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Spooky Doodle of the Day

I've mentioned multiple times how I'm creating a new series of spooky doodles for this summer. After all, we're in a heatwave that has me craving autumn. I finally managed to finish all of these new doodles this weekend, so it's time to bring autumn to this hot summer by giving it some Halloween vibes. For today, Evan gets to cosplay as a zombie.

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Tip of the Day

Our previous pet parenting hack was to use rubber gloves to remove furbaby hair from sofas, car interiors, and so forth. We failed to mention another option, and so we'll go ahead and do that today. If your clothing, bedding, or similar item is covered in pet hair and you're looking for a quick fix, you can try tossing it in the dryer with a dryer sheet. The anti-static nature of dyer sheets will help keep the hair from sticking to the clothing, bedding, or whatever item is in question. The hair will instead make its way to the lint trap. You could also try just rubbing a dryer sheet on the hairy item, as that sometimes will also help remove hair with the aid of its anti-static nature.

That all being said, though, please do keep those dryer sheets out of your furbaby's reach. This is because dryer sheets often contain potentially toxic components. So, keep those dryer sheets well hidden, and find and toss stray dryer sheets before dispersing the laundry. Of course, if you have any concern for your furbaby's safety, then simply refrain from using this method altogether.

Friendly Fill-Ins and Eddy's Blurry Bloopers

Hello, friends! We're ready for the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, and we'd love for you to join us. My amazing co-host Ellen of 15andmeowing came up with the first two fill-in statements, and I came up with the second two.


1. Lately, my main focus is _________.

2. I crave _________.

3. I get my best ideas _________.

4. I only trust _________ with my biggest secrets.


My answers are below in bold.

1. Lately, my main focus is giving the best care possible to my senior and special needs furry family members.

(This is always my main focus, but as of this year all of my kitties and pup are 7 and older and are therefore considered seniors. Thimble, Eddy, and Tonks truly don't seem it, though. Evan and Astrid's special needs have increased the most. They are indeed the oldest in the family, both 12 years old, but they're also the ones who have simply had the most medical issues over the years. They're both on medications for their various ailments, though, and overall they're both doing pretty good right now.)

2. I crave fruit.

(I love anything sweet, and luckily there are a lot of fruit that satisfy this craving for me. I have fruit with almost every meal. I often have a huge serving of blueberries in oats for breakfast, and on the side of my lunch and/or supper I always have a big bowl of watermelon and/or grapes and/or strawberries. I wish I craved veggies as much as I do fruit, but alas, I do not.)

3. I get my best ideas when I'm falling asleep.

(Ever since I was a kid, I'll get some of my best ideas for art, writing projects, and other such things when I'm falling asleep in bed. It's like halfway to dreamland exists this magical place full of gems. The problem, though, is that I either have to immediately jolt awake and write the idea down, or fall asleep and never remember the idea again. There's no in between.)

4. I only trust my kitties and pup with my biggest secrets.

(I have a sign at home that says, "Nobody keeps secrets better than my cat." And that is so very true. Pup Astrid is also pretty darn good at keeping secrets.)

Now it's your turn!

To add your link to the Friendly Fill-Ins Linky list, just click HERE!

You can also click on the badge below to add your link.

You are also welcome to complete the fill-ins in the comments below,

or in the comments on Ellen's blog, 15andmeowing.

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And now it's time for the Pet Photo Fails Blog Hop, hosted by none other than Melissa and Mudpie of Melissa's Mochas, Mysteries, & Meows.

You better believe blooper queen Eddy is here to grace you with her blurriness. Today's outtakes were taken when I pulled out the camera while Eddy rested on her favorite chair. Annoyed with me, the poor girl of course started moving around in that blurry way.

Don't worry, because I left Eddy alone and let her snooze after just a few photos. I even got a couple of decent shots from that photo shoot, which we've already shared in recent weeks.

Happy Friday, friends!

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Flashback Doodle of the Day

This weekend I will be finishing this year's new summertime spooky doodles. As I've been working on those, I've been re-sharing last summer's spooky doodles. We already shared Eddy's last Friday, but we haven't shared Evan's yet, so here was his spooky little something from last summer.

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Tip of the Day

We've decided to do a series of tips on life hacks for pet parents, especially cat parents. These hacks may be all sorts of random, and most of them are repeats of tips from the past. But, we hope these might offer some pet parenting tips for saving money, saving space, saving time, and, of course, keeping your furbaby happy and healthy.

Do you have furbaby hair on your sofa? What about in your car? Surely not on your clothes? Our pet parenting life hack for today is to keep some rubber gloves on hand. Why? Because, aside from the more commonly used lint roller or piece of tape, rubber gloves can be a reusable tool for removing furbaby hair from surfaces such as sofas and car interiors. You just put on a rubber glove and run it over the hairy sofa or other surface. The rubber glove and a little thing called static electricity will help lift the hair from the surface, and the hair will instead stick to the glove. When you're done using the glove to remove furbaby hair from your furniture, one easy way to get said hair off of the glove is by submerging the glove in water. The hair will float off of the glove, and then you can dip the hair out of the water and toss it. So, if you're looking for a quick, easy, reusable tool for removing your furbaby's hair from your furniture, consider giving the rubber glove trick a try.

Thankful Thimble Thursday in the Air Conditioning

Hello and happy Thursday, friends! Thimble is happily here for Angel Brian's Thankful Thursday Blog Hop.

Today, Thimble is grateful for the sunshine, but also for air conditioning.

It's been 95°F or hotter every day this week. Thimble knows she's blessed that she can enjoy some sunshine while sitting in a cool home, and she wishes the same for all kitties in the world. We know a lot of you are also in a heat wave, so we hope you're staying cool! 

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Now, of course, we have the fill-in statements for tomorrow's Friendly Fill-Ins challenge. My amazing co-host Ellen of 15andmeowing came up with the first two, and I came up with the second two.

1. Lately, my main focus is _________.

2. I crave _________.

3. I get my best ideas _________.

4. I only trust _________ with my biggest secrets.

We'll see you tomorrow, friends!

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Flashback Doodle of the Day

We've been re-sharing last year's summertime spooky doodles, and so here's what little Thimble's looked like.

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Tip of the Day

Today's summer safety tip for strays and ferals relates to the trap-neuter-release (TNR) practice. TNR is crucial for keeping the feral cat population under control, as well as keeping individual ferals as safe and healthy as possible. This being said, always keep the weather and environment in mind when embarking on a TNR effort.

The summer heat can of course pose an extreme danger to cats being trapped. Potentially fatal overheating or heat stroke can occur if a cat is trapped and left sitting in the trap in the sun. In addition to this, traps are often made of metal, which means that if these traps are sitting on a hot surface, such as asphalt, the trap as well as the cat inside can overheat in this way as well. To combat such issues, try to trap and thereafter keep ferals in the shade. After they are trapped, do not leave the cats sitting out in the sun and heat, but instead transfer them somewhere cool as soon as possible. Also keep in mind the cats' safety when transporting them. For example, as you all surely know, the interior of a car can quickly become like a deadly oven in the summer months, so do not leave any animals, including trapped ferals, inside hot cars.

TNR is of course a very important practice for the safety and well-being of feral cats. That doesn't mean there aren't risks to the cats, though, and that includes the weather. So, if you are assisting in the significant task of trapping ferals, of course always ensure the cats' safety in all weather.

A Woof Woof Wednesday Sneezing Fit

It's allergy season. Pup Astrid has always dealt with seasonal allergies, and even on her antihistamine, the poor girl is still full of sneezes these days.

Astrid is indeed about to sneeze in these photos. But, this particular sneeze wasn't actually caused by her allergies.

You see, right before this photo shoot, despite being told not to do so, Astrid gorged on grass. Then she vomited said grass. In the process, she inhaled some of her vomit into her nose. This led to much squinting of her eyes and many attempts to sneeze the vomit out of her nose.

Don't worry, because soon after those photos were snapped, Astrid managed a great big sneeze. It apparently dislodged the vomit she'd inhaled into her nostrils, because afterwards she went back to looking and acting normal.

Happy Wednesday, friends! Astrid hopes you all have a far less eventful day than the one she had above.

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Flashback Doodle of the Day

As I've mentioned probably obnoxiously too often lately, I'm working on a new series of summertime spooky doodles. Since those aren't done yet, though, we're sharing last year's spooky series of summer doodles. This was Astrid's drawing, inspired by a fake Halloween cake I saw at a store.

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Tip of the Day

We're continuing on with our tips on summer safety for outdoor strays and ferals. Today we're moving on to the topic of food. When feeding furbabies outdoors, you of course have to take into consideration the heat of summer. Food can spoil in extreme heat, as you all surely know. Dry food is often the best one to feed strays and ferals on hot days. After all, moist food will spoil far more quickly, and will also quickly dry out in the sun and heat. You can try adding additional water to moist food to keep it from drying out too quickly, but even this method won't be able to combat the heat for long. No matter what type of food you feed to strays and ferals, do try to keep it in a shaded area or under a shaded shelter. What's more, remove old food and offer fresh food as often as is possible and needed.

It's also worth noting that though dry food is easier and safer to feed to outdoor cats in the heat, you still have to take precautions. Not only can dry food lose its freshness and safe status in the heat, but also think of instances such as rainy days. Dry food that gets wet will swell, become unappetizing, and can easily spoil if not cleaned up. So, when feeding dry or even moist food, of course keep in mind not only the heat, but other environmental factors such as rain. All in all, keep those strays and ferals healthy this summer with fresh food that is in the shade and protected from spoilage and other issues as best as possible.

Tonks Tuesday with Towels and a Tongue

Tonks has just a tad bit of a blooper to share today. It's nowhere near as blurry as what Eddy often has to offer, though. And it was the least blurry photo in this shoot of Tonks enjoying a hamper full of towels straight out of the warm dryer.

Don't mind the cute little calico's eye booger. She's having quite a time with allergies. Tonks usually lets me get her eye boogers out for her. Usually. She said no to it being removed before this photo shoot, though, because she was just too excitable and unwilling to sit still.

Forget that eye booger, though. Do you see her adorable little tongue peeking out there?

Happy Tuesday, friends!

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Flashback Doodle of the Day

The markers I need to finish this year's spooky summertime doodles arrive today. While I await those and work on finishing the doodles, we're sharing last summer's spooky doodles. Today you get Tonks in a terrifying—or more like terrified—tree.

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Tip of the Day

Today's tip is another one about water. Since water is such a crucial aspect of survival, especially in the heat of summer, we thought we'd give it one last hoorah. Today, we're specifically talking about water bowls.

Water bowl preference can of course play a part in any cat's life. We've talked before about whisker fatigue, for example, and how this often causes cats to prefer wider bowls, as these won't cause them to bump their whiskers while getting a drink. That being said, though, when it comes to offering water outdoors in the heat, keep in mind how the shape and size of the water bowl can play a part. For example, did you know that evaporation happens more rapidly when water has a large surface area? This is why water in wide, shallow bowls will evaporate relatively quickly in the heat. To combat this, try to offer water in bowls that are narrower and deeper. Of course, do try to ensure that the bowl is not so narrow that it makes drinking impossible or difficult, but also try to ensure that a bowl has a decent chance of combating evaporation.

In addition, consider the material out of which the bowl is made. This one can be a bit tough when it comes to offering water to strays and ferals to hot and sunny days. We've talked before about how stainless steel bowls are often a good choice over plastic bowls, since plastic bowls can get scratched and thereby more easily harbor microbes. But, as you all surely know, metallic surfaces can get pretty darn hot in the summer heat. Especially if a bowl is in the sun or on a hot surface, a metallic bowl might not only cause the water to become uncomfortably warm, but the bowl itself might also become painfully hot to the touch. This is best prevented if the bowl is placed in a cool, shaded area. You can also, if possible and safe, try using sturdy glassware as outdoor bowls. This is of course only reasonable if breakage is unlikely to occur, though, as broken glass is indeed a danger.

In short, take anything and everything possible into consideration when trying to help strays and ferals remain safe in the summer heat. This does indeed include their water bowls. Aim for bowls that will prevent rapid evaporation, but that will also be easy and safe out of which to drink.