It's my friends 21st tomorrow, and I thought as well as giving him his awesomely amazing present which I really hope he loves, I shall also bake him stuff. He's not a birthday cake kinda guy, so instead I've made cookies which shall soon be Game of Throne cookies once I pluck up the courage to pipe sigils on them!
I'm also making PB&J cupcakes for all the cool kids who will also be attending.
So, why am I blogging this? Well, because lately I've been doing a heck load of baking, and have no idea why. Maternal instinct? Womanly instinct? Is my rightful place really in the kitchen?!
Ha! No!
I like to see the satisfaction on other peoples faces once they have tasted my wares. Generally this happens. Last time I made PB&J cupcakes, and I almost rugby tackled for the recipe (bitch be crazy!). I think I'm a pretty decent baker, my scones are apparently to die for (yes, I am tooting my own horn, but I have references to work off.). I no longer measure everything as exactly as I should, more working from eye, and that got me thinking, let's screw this plan of being a big timely producer/director, and just open up a bakery.
Naah! I've wanted to work in the film industry for too long. It's a good back up plan to have if I fail and the art of Tandoor cooking (That's my first back up choice).
I'm typing this up while waiting for cookies to cool. I think it's time to pick up my piping bag and get to work. I'll let you know how it all turns out, and might even have pictures for you!
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Monday, June 11, 2012
Depressed Kitty?
My male cats, who are both neutered, have been spraying (marking territory) all over the house for the past 2-3 weeks. They will pee on everything and anything, they don't care. Jeans, favourite t-shirts, the couch, the baby's pram, the stairs, the door mat, the floor and even my laptop. Nothing is sacred anymore.
I, as well as the rest of my household finally had enough when one of them decided to spray the new car seat we got for Baby. Thankfully it was still in it's plastic wrapping, but that's beside the point. We took a trip to the vets (we had to go anyway to buy cat litter and a "cone of shame" for Dexter.). After having a fairly long chat with the vet nurse, who knows us by name now, we have discovered that Dexter (who is the main culprit) is depressed. Who knew a cat could get depressed, and express it by peeing on everything we loved! This is a true story people!
The vet nurse asked us to think back to when it all started, and to see if something out of the ordinary happened. Of course it did. Daisy fell into a river. Daisy is perfectly fine now. Why might this get Dexter depressed? Did he love Daisy dearly? Ha, no! Dexter got annoyed because Daisy took his spot on my bed, and got all the attention for two entire days. This just sparked it all off. It was a downward spiral from here. About a week later, Dixon came down with an urinary tract infection (We have had really bad luck with our cats lately). Our cats are really good when they're sick, and come and tell us in anyway they can. In this case, Dixon would come into a room, mew loudly and then pee on the floor. Charming, eh? But this is how we noticed he had an infection, all the tale-tell signs, which you don't really need to know (gory details). So, another trip to the vets for more antibiotics. This just made Dexter feel even more left out, because not only did we not tell Dixon off for peeing everywhere, we in fact praised him for coming to us while he had this problem.
That was the final straw for Dexter.
The next morning, he peed on my laptop. Yes, it happened. Thankfully my laptop is fine and took no damage. But that's when he finally got our attention. And as you do when a cat, or well anything pees everywhere for no reason, you tell them of. This just made him worse. He went from peeing, to licking off his own fur. We originally thought this was from a cut that he had acquired, because he has done that in the past (that is what the "cone of shame" is for) and we've just coned him, and apply manuka honey, or tea-tree cream to the area and it clears up.
We were wrong in this case.
Once we mentioned what the "cone of shame" was for to the vet nurse, she said this was another very common sign of depression and stress in cats. Dexter was essentially self-harming. I have an emo cat. The nurse was very helpful, and didn't make us feel like horrible pet owners, Dexter is just a sensitive soul, and if it was the other way around, it wouldn't have affected the other cats. It's just him.
How do you cure a depressed cat? There are no shrinks to send him to so he can talk about his feelings, there are no antidepressants he can take. He just needs extra TLC. From the outset we knew this was going to be difficult. First thing we did when we got home was put on the "cone of shame". Next, applied aloe vera to the hairless patch under his leg. This made him mad, very very mad. He tried to hide, and then got stuck.
We were already off to a bad start. To make matters worse, we had to run out and pick up E-face from fiddle class. We got home, and he was sulking on the couch. I actually think we succeeded in making him even more depressed. Great, now the job had become even harder. From that point we've all picked him up and made a complete fuss over him, cuddled him, gave him cat treats. Treated him like a baby basically. Just like the vet nurse said. Her exact words? "Babify him a little, it'll help".
Things seemed to be going well, that is until Dixon got chased by a pitbull from across the street. The attention was off Dexter again. To make matters worse, Dixon was so stressed and angry, he bit Dexter's leg. Back to square one.
I now have an angry cat, who is growling at the house across the street, and another who is sulking on the back of the couch. Maybe I'll just bring them upstairs, put on The Titanic and feed them chocolate; that helps when people are depressed right? Or is that just for break-ups?
I, as well as the rest of my household finally had enough when one of them decided to spray the new car seat we got for Baby. Thankfully it was still in it's plastic wrapping, but that's beside the point. We took a trip to the vets (we had to go anyway to buy cat litter and a "cone of shame" for Dexter.). After having a fairly long chat with the vet nurse, who knows us by name now, we have discovered that Dexter (who is the main culprit) is depressed. Who knew a cat could get depressed, and express it by peeing on everything we loved! This is a true story people!
The vet nurse asked us to think back to when it all started, and to see if something out of the ordinary happened. Of course it did. Daisy fell into a river. Daisy is perfectly fine now. Why might this get Dexter depressed? Did he love Daisy dearly? Ha, no! Dexter got annoyed because Daisy took his spot on my bed, and got all the attention for two entire days. This just sparked it all off. It was a downward spiral from here. About a week later, Dixon came down with an urinary tract infection (We have had really bad luck with our cats lately). Our cats are really good when they're sick, and come and tell us in anyway they can. In this case, Dixon would come into a room, mew loudly and then pee on the floor. Charming, eh? But this is how we noticed he had an infection, all the tale-tell signs, which you don't really need to know (gory details). So, another trip to the vets for more antibiotics. This just made Dexter feel even more left out, because not only did we not tell Dixon off for peeing everywhere, we in fact praised him for coming to us while he had this problem.
That was the final straw for Dexter.
The next morning, he peed on my laptop. Yes, it happened. Thankfully my laptop is fine and took no damage. But that's when he finally got our attention. And as you do when a cat, or well anything pees everywhere for no reason, you tell them of. This just made him worse. He went from peeing, to licking off his own fur. We originally thought this was from a cut that he had acquired, because he has done that in the past (that is what the "cone of shame" is for) and we've just coned him, and apply manuka honey, or tea-tree cream to the area and it clears up.
We were wrong in this case.
Once we mentioned what the "cone of shame" was for to the vet nurse, she said this was another very common sign of depression and stress in cats. Dexter was essentially self-harming. I have an emo cat. The nurse was very helpful, and didn't make us feel like horrible pet owners, Dexter is just a sensitive soul, and if it was the other way around, it wouldn't have affected the other cats. It's just him.
How do you cure a depressed cat? There are no shrinks to send him to so he can talk about his feelings, there are no antidepressants he can take. He just needs extra TLC. From the outset we knew this was going to be difficult. First thing we did when we got home was put on the "cone of shame". Next, applied aloe vera to the hairless patch under his leg. This made him mad, very very mad. He tried to hide, and then got stuck.
We were already off to a bad start. To make matters worse, we had to run out and pick up E-face from fiddle class. We got home, and he was sulking on the couch. I actually think we succeeded in making him even more depressed. Great, now the job had become even harder. From that point we've all picked him up and made a complete fuss over him, cuddled him, gave him cat treats. Treated him like a baby basically. Just like the vet nurse said. Her exact words? "Babify him a little, it'll help".
Things seemed to be going well, that is until Dixon got chased by a pitbull from across the street. The attention was off Dexter again. To make matters worse, Dixon was so stressed and angry, he bit Dexter's leg. Back to square one.
I now have an angry cat, who is growling at the house across the street, and another who is sulking on the back of the couch. Maybe I'll just bring them upstairs, put on The Titanic and feed them chocolate; that helps when people are depressed right? Or is that just for break-ups?
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