Casual Conversation

Yesterday she decided to climb up my side while I was in bed, pulled the cover off the top of my head, then BITE MY HEAD. I told her no, she stopped. For a second. Then did it again!! So I shook her off. She sulked by sleeping against my back so I couldn't see her instead of under the covers where she likes.

She is right now in Real Kitten Hours which is running, jumping, biting. Less biting though lately.

A few months ago our neighbor's cat decided he likes us a bit better. He switches homes every 5 days or so, but visits several times a day when he's at her place. For some reason he doesn't trigger my partner's allergy. He's only moderately cuddly, but very smart and considerate. He naps on my bed but spends every night on Kid's pillow and she's over the moon. He waits for her on the porch after school.

Neighbor will be moving and she's considering leaving him with us. We can only hope.

Shirley's getting braver in her cat harness, although she still has her moments. She's terrified of people which is causing issues, neighbors just living their lives and she makes a scene trying to strangle herself on the leash or run into traffic.

Starting today I'm going to start carrying treats with me while walking her, and offer them to the neighbors to give to her. I'm thinking maybe if I find a flavor she really likes, and she only ever gets it from the neighbors, that might help her warm up to them.

She doesn't need to be besties with anyone, but if she ever escapes again, I don't want her to run from anyone who would recognize her.

Old guy enjoying the sunshine

The cockatiel has been starting every day by singing loudly in his cage, especially when the dog enters the room. He's still madly in love with her. Unfortunately I don't know if the dog even acknowledges the cockatiel as a living being (we never let him out of the cage while the dog is around as she is quite destructive).

The dog is getting old last week she had a bad leg. The vet said it was probably because of her age, so he gave us medication to prevent arthritis. She's all good now. Yesterday she had a zoomies session like I've never seen before, she somehow managed to push my mattress almost entirely out of the bed frame in a single jump while me and my sister were laughing so hard we were crying.

Well, good and bad.

Everyone is alive, and currently safe, but there's a neighbor that might not be if they don't get their dog under control.

Our big boy had to do his job twice this week because they can't be bothered to either train or restrain the dog. Which has me furious. I don't care that this rooster has now kicked that dogs ass three times. He's lost feathers each time, and as brave and amazing as he is, it terrifies him for hours after. The second time, after my dad ran the dog off, the rooster was hiding under a bush and wouldn't come out until I crawled down to him and sweet talked him.

My baby girl was hiding in the coop, and volunteer hen was on the roof of the house. Like, my actual house, that little girl can fly. So we can't even let the birds roam right now, not that the rooster will stay in the run and stay safe, he gets aggravated and just tears things up. It's as big a run as I could build, and it's big enough for a dozen birds, but he does not care. The volunteer hen though, she actually ran into the run once she came down from the roof and has stayed last night and tonight in there. I guess she saw that her oversized lover boy wouldn't let the dog even close to the run, and that the marans stayed safe inside it.

But I went after the damn dog. Couldn't catch it, but finally found out where it lives after a sweet lady saw my sasquatch looking self in a hail satan shirt limping and cussing through her yard. Actually came out and asked if I was okay. That's a pretty damn great neighbor, to take that risk. I knew someone had moved in a few weeks back, but hadn't run into them yet. If I saw me coming out of bushes looking the way I looked, I wouldn't have come out without a firearm, but this lady did, and just wanted to make sure I was okay. So that was cool as hell. She has had trouble with the dog too, though not the same kind. It just likes to jump into their fence to play with their dogs and eat their food.

We called animal control, and they talked to the assholes, but I have a feeling I'm going to either have to beat the shit out of one of them, or end up shooting the dog because it didn't run from my dad without growling this time. Once a dog gets neglected and abused enough that it stops being scared and turns to growl at someone, outside of that dog's territory, that's a bad sign. And I swear, if those assholes make me kill a dog to protect my birds, my dad, my kid or wife, I will beat the ever living hell out of them.

Which means this isn't my usual happy chicken story, and it's not casual, but I kinda needed to vent because I woke up from dream about all of it and I'm wanting very badly to haul my crippled ass over there and let the humans taste a little bit of the fear my birds did.

The good news though, they all were settled down by evening. My baby girl was just as cuddly and sassy as usual when she came in for the night. Big guy wasn't as cuddly, but he still sat with me a while and was happily making popcorn sounds when he went in the crate. Little latte was roosted on the coop looking like she had lived there her whole life, so maybe she'll stick around and integrate more fully into the family.

I doubt the volunteer will ever be cuddly, but it would be nice if she would let one of us check on her health more directly. I worry about her feet a good bit, what with some of the places she climbs. Bumblefoot is no joke, and sometimes it only takes a little scratch.

Anyway, sorry for this pet update being unpleasant, I know it isn't really what this community is for. So, if it needs to be removed, I ain't mad at that.

Took my cat for a morning walk in the garden, he's happy now

When people leave home, Siegfrieda often meows loudly. Either towards the door or towards whoever is still home - as if saying "they're abandoning us, do something about it!".

But it's really loud, to the point of being annoying. And this week Kika got enough of this shit: once Frieda started meowing, Kika jumped off her cardboard box, pawed Frieda on the head twice, then went back to her box. As if saying "enough of this drama dammit, the human is back soon."