A Lazy Sunday Morning

It's a day off -- finished my work week well and feeling strong, if tired. But because I get up at 4:30am on work days, it's hard for me to sleep past 9am on days off, and that's if I really, really try. So Lala's still sleeping the sleep of the justified rocker, and I've been tidying and puttering, backing up the computer, things like that. Don't you feel good when you back stuff up? You do if you're like me, and only do it every six months or so..... (Of course, everything I write is stored online in two or three different (secure) places.)

Boy, that's boring talk. Let's have fun talk! Digit talk! (If you're new, saga begins here.)

Th cat of my heart, continues to do well. VERY well. He's still gaining weight -- when I pet him I can still feel his backbone, but every day the padding gets a little thicker. He bitches and moans, all the time, which is just what he loves to do.

The front sun-porch, a spot that we use for some storage but where I also set up a nice writing spot, is now his space when he needs to be alone. He eats out there, he has a litter box, and the nicest thing is that we can leave the inner door open and just keep the iron security door closed, so he can sit by it and feel like he's outside. The room is all windows, and he has many high perches from which he can view not only the street, but look into the living room to see how the kittens are behaving.

More and more, though, after he eats, he howls to be let into the house, even though the kittens plague him to death. They simply don't understand that passing tails, especially THAT twitching, angry tail, are not to be played with. So Digit WHAPS them, and they skitter (skitten?) off, but they have memories shorter than mine, and minutes later they're all like TAIL! MUST GET THAT TAIL! However, he tolerates them. He'll sit next to them. He'll ignore them. I never expected them to do this well. He won't ever, ever speak to them unless it's a growl, but he can share a lap with them. If they're not near his tail.

Speaking of that tail, I really think he has much less feeling in it now (which would make sense, seeing as how much of his back end was seriously damaged...). That would explain his balance, how he appears a little off balance all the time, and how Waylon managed to hold it down that one time without him noticing and how, the other night while I was having a bath, HE DRAPED IT IN THE TUB and didn't seem to care.

A little in.

and even more tail in the drink. (Why, yes, I WAS worried about dropping my cell phone in the tub, thank you.)

That tail, however, is still a good indicator of geological happenings. Last week I woke up to Digit growling furiously and whipping his tail back and forth across my face. Lala, still not in bed, could hear him from another room. Ten seconds later, a small earthquake, centered in Oakland, rippled through the room. It was a 3.2, and for those of you not familiar, a low 3 like that just feels like a big dog jumped up on your bed. A low 4 feels like more like an earthquake, but a 3-point-something just makes you go, huh? And Digit apparently HATES the sound of them coming.

And just look at that tail's magnificence:

And when all is said and done, my sweet chickens, it looks like we will have about a THOUSAND DOLLARS to donate to Milo Foundation and Best Friends. I'm not sending it quite yet -- I'm taking your excellent advice to wait until he's all better, well and truly, but is that amazing or what? I'm still not over it, and I never will be. I love you all every day, and I pet his head and tell Digit so.

Sunday mornings make me sappy.

So I will close on this note. See that box up there? Behind Digit? I've been meaning to tell you about that. (This is the point, dear reader, when you should click away if you don't have a cat and are offended by litter talk. We cat lovers LURVE our litter box talk.)

I read about this idea here, Ikea hacks for cat boxes. And it was seriously SO easy. See, we have a small (read: big) problem with Clara and cat poop. She sees nothing wrong with diving for the good stuff. I want to die every time she does it. We have to keep the big litter box in the kitchen -- no room in the bathroom, and I hated seeing it there, and Clara LOVED having it there. So I had to do something.

This is a box from Ikea called Hol -- there are two, this is the bigger one. You put it together and then you saw a small hole, just big enough for your cats to jump through. I used a tile-cutting saw just big enough to fit through the small holes (it was easy, I swear -- I'm not a saw kind of gal). It's big enough to place a large litter box into and still have room for litter/scooper/bag storage. And while Clara's head fits in the hole, her shoulders don't, and she can't reach! Hahahaha!

Yes, that's a gigantor Rubbermaid, not a litter box. Digit has issues and pees standing up. No litter box on the market is high enough for him -- I use this, and when I started using this ikea box, I just cut a little away on the side so they can jump in. And yes, that's Trader Joe's pine litter. Wouldn't use anything else.

So there you go!

Comments

[MonicaPDX]

Oh man, Digit looks *so* much better! That is, indeed, a most magnificent tail! LOL on the kittens, and tail in tub, and very cool re the earthquake... And so glad Digit's going nuts trying to get into the house, but not outside. ::keeping fingers crossed on that last:: Plus woohoo on the Milo fund! (May you not need the extra, avert, avert. Glad you decided to wait just in case. We'd worry, y'know.)

Very cool on the litter box. Heck, you should probably put up a tutorial on the mods. Cat+dog owners around the world could be thanking you! ;)

[Alida]

So glad to see Digit doing so well. I had a cat who also let his tail hang in the bath water. A friend of mine had a cat who used to bath with him - soap and rinse and toweldry the lot! I don't think I'll bath with a cat!

[Amanda]

Oh. My. THANK YOU SO MUCH! What a GREAT idea for the litter-box-that-needs-to-be-somewhere-central-but-ick! I have one in my (small, narrow) kitchen and I hate the fact that the dog treats it like a tray of appetizers, the cats track litter all over my kitchen, and I'm stuck both scooping and sweeping ALL THE DAMNED TIME! Can't wait!

Digit looks great - what an incredible turnaround! I'm so happy for you! And CONGRATS on "the end"! Huzzah!

[Becca]

Those photos of the tail in the bath slay me. I think he knew, he was just showing you he didn't care.

I wish I could camouflage Orange Boy's boxes like that, but I fear that he'd never find them again. The compressed pine litter seems to deter doggie foraging in his boxes, at least a little bit--but Josie just lumbers out to the backyard to find whatever the feral kitties have left. And then comes in the house smacking her lips.

[Anne]

Thanks for indulging my repetitive requests for more Digit! He looks so much healthier, and I'm most excited to hear that there's an indoor/outdoor compromise that's working for the time being.

I had a date yesterday with an ER tech and thought of you--both for the crazy hours and the ridiculous things people go to the ER or call 911 for!

And those pictures of your house make it look so idyllic...

[evie]

You and yours just make me happy. Thank you for that.

[PlazaJen]

Yay for Digit! so funny he doesn't mind bath water - but no tail for the kittehs!

I am jealous of the Ikea/Trader Joe's accessibility. But if I had to choose one, it'd be Trader Joe's. I hope they come to Kansas City someday soooooon. Love the ingenuity with the cat box!

[Ilona]

Does the fancy IKEA litter box help keep litter from being tracked around the house? I may serious look into getting a 'higher' litter box my little Buttercup seems to like playing with the litter and flings it all over the place. Baddddd Princess Buttercup....such a bad girl but she is very very cute.

[liz]

Clara has the line on kitty crunchies!

And I love skitten kittens. You need a tee-shirt.

Glad Digit is doing so much better and that you are as well.

[alison]

The litter box thingy is freakin' AWESOME. Mooky's box is in the kitchen, and I hate it there but there's nowhere else to put it. I am so doing this.

Thanks for the Digit update -- he's looking so much better! Was he alarmed at all when he left the tub area and found that his entire tail was soaking wet?

[TracyKM]

Great idea for the litter! Don't have a cat anymore, but I'm going to try to remember that one.
Still want to know about the white lace sweater with the green? ribbon tied front....

[Chris]

I love that 2nd bath picture! Hmm, what a clever idea for the litterbox... mine are in my damned hallway and are the first thing to greet guests. Hmm...

[janna]

What a great idea! Harley's box is under the sink in the powder room - I think this would work great! Of course, the nearest IKEA is 3 1/2 hours away.

And I love the pictures of Digit with his tail in the bath. What a silly boy!

[Melanie]

You're right, we do love our litter box talk! I love the IKEA idea and I'll look for something similar next time I'm there. We too have a dog that thinks kitty poo is, well, the poo. So we have two super large rubbermaid boxes for our cats in two different rooms. A box house would be nice though....

Also, yay for Digit pics!!

[em]

Ugh, my cat Pinky has never been able to handle a litter box. He backs his butt up to the edge and hangs it over the side so that he can pee on the floor. I'm a little paranoid, but I swear he does it on purpose. We have a rubbermaid box too. I so dig the Ikea litterbox hack, but we don't have room for it. This makes our dog very very happy.

I'm glad that Digit is better and I'm glad that you are too.

[Sil]

Maybe Digit's tail feeling will return with healing? Prednisone? Okay, give...

That shot of Digit keeping you company in the tub is priceless. Put that one on the Christmas card.

[Jocelyne]

I'm so happy for you (and him) that Digit is recovering so well!!!

[grace]

Good to see Digit looking so well. Ramona spent a night at the hospital this past week and is also sporting a shorn tail and haunch. I won't go into all the grizzly details of the nasty wound, but we KNOW that somebody must have chomped on somebody else's bottom.

A chomped cell phone charger cord and computer power supply cord are other recent casulties . . .

Lucky is going to have to get a job!

[Laura from beautiful West Michigan]

I'm so happy for you that Digit is back, and I am totally using the idea for the hidden cat litter box in the Ikea Hol storage table! I'm setting up an area in my sunroom for me with bookcases, desk, seating, and I must also have the cat box. And I have a dog who loves the taste. Ew.

[kitkatknit]

Two out of three of our darlings have big butts so we've used Rubbermaid Kitty Boxes for years. I love the Ikea cover.

How you feeling girl??

[Kathy Klinge]

Yeah for Digit. So glad he's doing well. The litter box hidey?? Awesome!!!

[Lynn]

Thanks for the great litter box idea. On the IKEA site, typing HOL in the search field won't find it. "Storage" works. Go figure.

[Linda in Chicagoland]

Great Digit pics and news. Warms the heart. That litter box solution is brilliant. I'm stopping by IKEA on the way home. My spaniel, Charlie, is also a snacker--so gross. I've tried pine, corn, various clay types of litter. Nothing stopped him--but this would!

[Mary Anne]

That is the BEST litter box idea!! I, too, have a puppy that likes to snack inappropriately and I've done everything possible (I thought) to try to curb that appetite. I'll be on IKEA.com this afternoon to order one of those boxes. THANK YOU! That Digit is such an amazing cat. Thank you for continuing to update us on his amazing progress.

[Jen]

So Cool! I was planning a trip to hell, I mean Ikea, this week anyway. Meadow is very bad about enjoying the "kitty rocca" so this just might do the trick

[cyn]

I love the Ikea HOI converted cat litter box!! Did you ever use Feline Pine before you used TJ's cat litter? I wonder if it's the same. So glad that Digit is doing well.

[Beth]

I bookmarked that Ikea hack for the litterbox the first time I saw it - great to see it really was that easy. :) I'm soooo doing this as soon as my IKEA opens (spring '08!)

[Cindy]

I am so glad to hear that Digit is better -and he has quite the tail!

The litterbox trick is amazing. I am seriously impressed. Our cats have always gone outdoors to do their thing and we have never had problems until about six months ago. Now one of them has taken to using various places in the house as a toilet and I have resisted a litterbox because we don;t have a good place to put it and such. But this could work! Awesome!!!!!

[Kristen]

OMG i love to talk about the litter. I thought I was the only one!

So do you have a lid on the ikea box? it looks like you do, but then can the cats jump into the rubbermaid bin easily? I've often thought about using a rubbermaid bin because Packet likes to scratch the wall next to the litterbox instead of scratching in the sand. Wanna see a video? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYTxmklMUWY
It's really cute.

I think Packet would do best if I just found a cheap wall covering that I can change often when she scratches the wallpaper off, though.

[maryse]

the rubbermaid! that's brilliant. although unfortunately no longer necessary. napoleon peed standing up too. and the box was always such a friggin' mess (and he hated the ones with the lids).

glad to see digit doing so well. see, i told you so.

[DeltaDawn]

Go Digit! What a great story - I had come in at the middle so i just caught up. Go Digit!

Love the litter box solutions - we use a big cement mixing pan we bought when our old guy was losing bladder control.... It's humongous.

Still stuck on Go Digit!!