How to give a cat a pill

[Wes Tausend]

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We may get another cat. The last one lived 18 years. Named Arty Cat by one of the kids. She was small and could still crouch at the base of a six foot fence post and land perfectly on top while licking her paw. However she was developing a penchant for dirty laundry left anywhere and an avoidence for sandbox. Perhaps we should have taken her to a vet, but at that age I don't know.

Once, when she was younger, and we planned to leave on a trip, I carefully locked her out of our bedroom because she liked to sleep on a shelf in my closet right on top of my sweaters. The top one was already sacrificed to shed-fur, but it still spread everywhere. Before the trip, my wife grabbed one more thing from the room and again carefully latched the door behind her. Unfortunately the cat was already snuck in. She went four days without water or it would have been worse I suppose. Cats get hoarse, by the way.

One of the things I really like about cats, they can take care of themselves if they have any access, to water and food, at all. And they usually don't smell bad, not like a certain 145 pound male Doberman my wife once had. He made it to seven. His name was Diesel and his middle name should have been Fumes.

We are also probably going to get another dog. Full size non-odorous Poodle for the wife, maybe. The last (Maltese), well we "Took her Collar" a couple of months ago, a sad time. Pets are like children ...they should live longer than we do. Senile, blind, deaf as they come, she couldn't distinguish inside and outside any longer. She made it 17 years, living before and well after two Dobies. Maybe the next one will outlive us.

I wish I could solve the cat shedding thing, maybe a different breed, but not bald. And next time, we will maybe have an automatic sandbox cleaner. Do they work?

Wes

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