Take a Step Back to Look Forward

Do cats have memories of the past? You can teach animals new tricks through either positive reinforcement (i.e. giving them a treat when they do something right) or negative reinforcement (punishing them when they do something wrong). Study after study shows that positive reinforcement works much better and creates better memory than negative reinforcement. And this is true of humans too! If you want to really change and influence behavior reward those behaviors that you want to see and people will keep doing them. But I digress.

Very often in this new world we’ve created we don’t take the time to look back. We don’t have the time to reread old journals, look at old pictures and remember the good and bad times and how far we’ve come. I was cleaning out my email a bit and I found my stash of poetry I had from my college days. It took me back to so many memories and allowed me the perspective to see where I’ve come today.

You have to know where you come from to be able to know where you are going. It’s ok to change direction. Maybe where you came from was to the east and now you want to go west. You can change. Don’t disparage where you came from either. It allowed you to be in the position you are today. If Roxie had never been found in that bush, she wouldn’t have been in the shelter to tap me on the leg and to keep me up at night because she’s mad at me.

And It’s Good for Me Because??

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Roxie was sick for a time and had several prescriptions.  I or CCL would give her  the medication in her food or treats but the joke was on us as she always discovered the hidden pills and  ate them anyway.  Now she’s better and while  the vet wants her to stay on medication for a bit longer,  Roxie’s not having it.   Drama queen that she is she no longer willingly take the pills without force and much drama and hollering.  Here for pet lovers and pill givers everywhere are instructions on “How to Give A Pill to A Cat.”

How to Give a Pill to a Cat 

1.  Pick cat up and cradle it in the crook of your left arm as if
holding a baby.  Position right forefinger and thumb on either side of
cat’s mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in
right hand.  As cat opens mouth, pop pill into mouth.  Allow cat to
close mouth and swallow.

2.  Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind sofa.  Cradle cat in
left arm and repeat process.

3.  Retrieve cat from bedroom, and throw soggy pill away.

4.  Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm holding rear
paws tightly with left hand.  FORCE jaws open and PUSH pill to back of
mouth with right forefinger.  Hold mouth shut for a count of ten.

5.  Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of wardrobe.
Call spouse from yard.

6.  Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, hold front and
rear paws, ignoring low growls emitted by cat.  Get spouse to hold
head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth.  Drop
pill down ruler and rub cat’s throat vigorously.

7.  Retrieve cat from curtain rail, get another pill from foil wrap.
Make note to buy new ruler and repair curtains.  Carefully sweep
shattered figurines and vases from hearth and set to one side for
gluing later.

8.  Wrap cat in large towel and get spouse to lie on cat with head
just visible from below armpit.  Put pill in end of drinking straw,
FORCE mouth open with pencil and blow pill down drinking straw.

9.  Check label to make sure pill not harmful to humans, drink 1 beer
to take taste away.  Apply Band-Aid to spouse’s forearm and remove
blood from carpet with cold water and soap.

10.  Retrieve cat from roof of neighbor’s shed.  Get another pill.
Open another beer.  Place cat in cupboard and close door onto cat’s
neck to leave head showing.  Force mouth open with dessertspoon.
Flick pill down throat with rubber band, close cat’s mouth and hold
shut to the count of 30.

11.  Fetch screwdriver from garage and put cupboard door back on
hinges.  Drink beer.  Fetch bottle of scotch.  Pour shot, drink.
Apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last
tetanus shot. Apply whiskey compress to cheek to disinfect.  Toss back
another shot.

12.  Call fire department to retrieve the cat from tree across the
road.  Apologize to neighbor who crashed into fence while swerving to
avoid cat.  Take last pill from foil wrap.

13.  Tie the cat’s front paws to rear paws with twine and bind tightly
to leg of dining room table, find heavy duty pruning gloves from shed.
Push pill into mouth followed by piece of steak. BE ROUGH ABOUT IT.
Hold cat’s head vertically and pour 2 pints of water down throat to
wash pill down.

14.  Consume remainder of Scotch.  Get spouse to drive you to
emergency room, sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm
and removes pill remnants from right eye.

15.  Arrange for Humane Society to collect mutant cat and call local
pet shop to see if they have any hamsters.

How to Give A Dog A Pill:
1.  Wrap it in bacon.

Well it’s a New Year!

And there were lots of things that went on last year. Azeena has been pressuring me to blog but I keep forgetting that I can blog through email. That’s much easier for me. So recently, Roxie went to the vet. She’s a natural born trouble maker but we still love her anyway. Roxie will always get herself into trouble whether it’s running outside and down the street but all we can do is try to protect her best we can and help her get herself right when she does get into trouble. However, she will be getting health insurance ASAP!

Both of the cats are extremely different (which if you’ve been reading this blog you can tell). Jean-Claude is relaxed and chill and very smart. He can go outside and will merely knock on the door when he’s ready. He’s also a loving cat, but likes to do his own thing. Roxie on the other hand has a need to be around her people. She follows me and my mom through the house and at night must be snuggled in bed next to either CCL or Azeena (depending on whose house she’s at).

We haven’t talked about it on the blog, but recently both CCL and Azeena started new businesses. We’ve both been navigating through the ups and downs of taking on the new challenges a business creates. It’s a great experience for learning both about yourself and about other people. to make a business successful ultimately it comes down to what can you give your customers and has nothing whatsover to do with you.

Solo Act

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Roxie At Rest

Roxie is at my house. Jean Claude is with his mom, CCL. Roxie got sick again and this time the veterinarian prescribed three different types of medications for her.  In fact Roxie now has a profile at the CVS pharmacy and her name is on one of her prescriptions.    She seems to be coming around but clearly she misses her pal J.C.    She’s a little less noisy and fussy than she was when CCL brought her by the other day.   Also Roxie  has made it clear she wants her laser toy …and she is not a big fan of wet food.  Diva.

Moving Beyond Shallow Aspirations

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I found myself in a pretty deep conversation with a friend about people’s motivations, fears and  sense of self.  We are both good at promoting products, people and issues.   We agreed that a spiritual foundation is necessary for personal growth.  Now my friend and a lot of my friends have pretty fabulous lives filled with yachts, riches,  celebrities etc but they still find time for church, God and self reflection.   Roxie, the Japanese bobtail and Jean Claude, the black bombay who share residences with my daughter CCL and me, have pretty fabulous lives too.  Yet they find time for deep thought and are always ready to move to another level of understanding.