I remember reading that people that hate cats do so because they can't control them, that Dictators hate cats for that reason...Hitler, Mussolini, Tojo, they hated cats.... they loved dogs because they could dominate them, dogs are pack-animals and have to have a 'leader' to submit to...whilst cats are more solitary creatures that do not 'submit'....and are far more intelligent than allowing someone to dominate them...LOL.....sally

Are you saying that cats are little women in fur coats?

Nick

Nick
Can't have an electric fence within the city limits Besides i don't havea locking 4 foot fence around it and it is 2 foot deeper than allowed and I did not pull a permit when i built it lol Probably silence is golden??
Problem was solved by moving the entire family to Texas lol
As to the squirrels ,my wife feeds the birds They are rather fun to watch . and they keep the neighbors dogs busy life is too short to sweat the small stuff. gary

Gary, WELCOME TO TEXAS! You're gonna like it here.

I hope this is a joke. But I doubt it.

Gary, you left Florida???

Jane

Shirley

Thanks for the welcome but I didn't move to Texas. The family with the small boys did Don't know what the move did for them but it solved my problem!!lol However they doidn't seem to take any squirrels with them. Very inconsiderate ?? lol
Jane I'm sure I''ll be in florida until the grim reaper decides otherwise Had wanted to move to Costa Rica
but not going to happen lol gary

Well Gary, I'm glad!

Jane

Nick! In all honesty... that sounds like a day at the groomer's for a cat!!! Except I also use the forced air hair dryer and handheld dryer on them too!

Ginnibug

Thought of this thread today. Just moved to Fla and have a bunch of plants (small catts, oncids) hanging under a tree, outside our patio. I looked out the window, for no reason, and there I see this large kitty, sitting under the tree staring at my orchids which were gently swaying in the breeze. I walked out the door and he looked at me, never moving. I looked at him and said, 'what are you looking at, kitty?'

He ran off into the bushes.......

Jane

Jane, he/she/it will be back! The whole point of this thread, aside from an attempt at humor, was that I managed to successfully train a cat to stay away from my place. Cats are not easy to train and generally will do exactly as they please. To do so without harming it (other than a good scare) and allowing it to remain in the neighborhood I considered an accomplishment.

Nick

Many moons ago, when things were a little different and not quite as PC as today, my father showed me that a shot in the ass with a bb gun works well to train them to stay away also. Doesn't hurt them permanently, but it really makes them "kick up thier heels" :-)

Bob

Someone just emailed me this;

How To Give A Cat A Pill

1. Pick up cat 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 garden.

6. Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, hold front and rear paws. Ignore 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 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 neighbor's shed. Get another pill. Open another beer. Place cat in cupboard, and close door on to neck, to leave head showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat with elastic band.

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. Throw Tee shirt away and fetch new one from bedroom.

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

13. Tie the little b-----d's front paws to rear paws with garden twine and bind tightly to leg of dining table, find heavy-duty pruning gloves from shed. Push pill into mouth followed by large piece of filet steak. Be rough about it. Hold 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 the emergency room, sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm and removes pi ll remnants from right eye. Call furniture shop on way home to order new table.

15. Arrange for SPCA to collect mutant cat from hell and call local pet shop to see if they have any hamsters.
-
- -
- How To Give A Dog A Pill

1. Wrap it in bacon.

2. Toss it in the air.
- -

Completely complements my message here.

Nick

OMG! That is hysterical, I can't stop laughing...how true it is!

Jane

Nick, I laughed till my stomach hurt. Our two cats, not "BOB" & Kerplunk, were startled out of their naps - a satisfying image for you, I'd guess. :)

not "BOB" needs a pill twice a day for his chronic sinus condition. We wrap the pill in canned cat food, and he almost mows us down to get to it.

The cat food works with the 3 dogs, too.

Whitecat8

Has anyone used the pill-pockets?? I tease my kitties w/treats and then sneak the pill-pocket w/pill in when they are all excited abt. getting the treat, and they gobble it down!! and don't know the difference.....works every time like a charm..... and yes, the neighbors w/doggies never notice when the doggie does his poo, they stand and look the other way or check their cell-phone....some folks sure are strange, aren't they?? but they sure yell when my kitty wanders into their yard, funny eyesight, eh? have a good one, sally

I actually don't dislike cats, the opposite is true. I just wanted to teach that particular cat to stay away from my place. And the cat actually did no harm, it just loved to tease the dogs and make them chase it all over the place, that's when the damage occurred.

Nick

Ginnibug, I let it pass but cannot resist so tell me what's this 'A day at the groomers' all about? I thought cats are so self sufficient, intelligent and God knows what else, that they can keep themselves clean as compared to dogs who can't be bothered. Again the 'little women in fur' and 'little men in fur' comparison.

Nick

Since about December the FleaTrap "based on Kansas State University patent" has caught approximately 2000
fleas. Guess we should wash our two little darlings, but have you ever tried to wash an unwilling cat?

Getting an unwilling cat to do anything takes a real man. My hat off to you Arthur if you can accomplish the feat. I would put a flea collar on the little beasts.

Nick

The little beasts are not all that beastly and are treated with the best Bayer product that money can buy.

Still, I am amazed that this gadget works. Just a sticky pad and two green lights that go off and on. Wonder if the Kansas State University has made any money out of the patent and if it works on dog fleas?

I've said it before, the big advantage of a desexed urban cat over an urban dog is no walkies are required.

Arthurm, what is this 'flea trap' you talk abt.??sure would love to get one of those!! my kitties just trade the fleas back and forth.... I use Capstar, also a 'spot-on', supposed to be good for a month, but a week later the fleas are back..... very frustrating, also very expensive.... thanks, sally

Hi Sally,
The flea trap was a Christmas present. Made in China for a company registered in Israel using the Kansas State University patent. Runs on batteries. Expensive, so i do not think sales are all that great.
Approx 27cm x 27cm. Sorry, only have a metric ruler.

Has killed approx 2000 fleas since December. Two pampered cats inside at night, outside during the day.

Fleas are attracted to the green light at night and die on the sticky paper inside the trap.

Google Kansas State University + fleas and
Westham + Fleas
For more information

If anyone is interested, I can shed some light on the flea situation. I'd like to repay everyone who helped me with my foundling orchid, but don't know enough about orchids (yet) to offer much that way. I also don't want to turn this into a flea forum. :)

Lynn

Lynn, there is a conversations forum, but it is as dead as a Dodo. So shed some light on the flea situation.

This post was edited by arthurm on Wed, Apr 3, 13 at 18:14

This turned out longer than I intended, but if it helps even one, that's okay, I guess.

While I was feeding the pets, and watering the phal (yes, I still have only the one orchid), I was thinking if anyone wanted to know how to get fleas under control, how would I tell them, and I realized a complete explanation would take a really really long post, and might actually sound like I own a business. (I do, but it has nothing to do with pets, fleas, orchids, or anything you'd ever find on GW.) The absolute best way to eliminate fleas once and for all takes 4 steps over 14 days, It requires using chemical insecticides that are not so popular because of their toxicity. They are useful in extreme situations, or if there is some reason a fast fix is needed, but not really what most would choose, especially those of us who have extensive collections of plants, especially orchids, which I am learning more every day need air, hmmm, CLEAN air to thrive. If anyone wants the fast way, email me directly,please.

First, you need to understand that fleas have 4 stages in the life cycle - egg, larva, pupa (cocoon), adult. The pupa cannot be killed because the cocoon is impervious to pretty much everything.

A much simpler and safer, though slower method is to just use products with an IGR. IGR is short for Insect Growth Regulator, and what it is, is basically birth control for fleas. Well, any insect with 4 stages in its life cycle. You won't find it in outdoor products, like yard sprays, because it will destroy a lot of pollinators that we depend on for food. Not good - think butterfly: egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa (cocoon), adult. It's not in flea shampoos because you rinse them off, so it would be wasted. It is in treatments for pets and in premises treatments for indoors. There are a lot of different names, but the important thing to look for on a label is "breaks the flea life cycle" or "kills all life stages." They don't really kill all 4 stages, but if you make sure what you are using has the IGR, you will eventually kill off the entire population in your home. Where you get the pupa is in the fact that once it hatches out of the cocoon, it can't develop to the point that it can lay any eggs that will hatch. No eggs, no larva, no breeding adults. Fleas cannot continue. Right?

You can look up how IGRs work online with a simple keyword search now that you have something to look for.

Anyone who has an active breeding population in their home (the pets are swapping fleas) might want to look for premise sprays that have the same claim. Carpet, furniture, or pet bedding sprays that say they break the life cycle of fleas will have two active ingredients, one that's an adulticide, the most common end with "ethrin," but there are others, and a second ingredient being one of the IGRs. Always read and follow directions, but spraying it around will help to kill the fleas a bit faster that just a product on the pets.

Thank you for the information arthurm, I googled and found lots of info., ( google is my best friend!).... There is a trap available at 'myflea trap', $39. and the sticky paper is more, sure sounds good....has anybody here used this thing? or ordered from this Co.? I can't find a physical address for this firm and their language sounds foreign.... there was also a 'orville pet flea trap', and there were more leads to explore but I'm too tired tonight! I appreciate the lead and information and w/post results, I'm sure others might be interested especially pet owners, Thanks again, sally

Someone once looked at his creation and said: "Let there be fleas". I wonder what he was smoking.

Fleas are no problem for me, I use a medication called Advantage II which goes on the dog's skin every 6 weeks or so. Costs $10 a dose and does the job. Fleas don't like me, I have never been bitten even when other people in a given situation are bothered.

We have 2 large dogs which spend most of their time outside sleeping in the sun (I think they sleep for 20 hours a day) and get a bath every 2 to 3 month whether needed or not. Never noticed fleas but treat the dogs when they start scratching. It works immediately and they get retreated when they start scratching again, about 6 to 8 weeks.

Haven't had a 'Flea' thread for a while. We are done with cats, have to do squerrls next.

Nick

My apologies. TMI, I guess.

TMI? Just as well Dr. Google is on hand. We use advantage on the cats and it costs $41.99. After reading the above I suppose the kill all fleas chain is broken when we let our pets outside during the day.

No, the IGR stays around for months, how many depending on which one it is. It can be as long as 7. Advantage II has it.So when you let them out, even if they pick up a flea outside, if its female, any eggs it lays just won't hatch. Mission accomplished. You might have the one flea inside, but that's all you have. One. Or three. However many, you won't get a breeding population as long as you remember to use products with IGR included.

Nick says $10 a dose. I can't buy it that cheap with my employee discount. $41.99 sounds a lot more like real life.

And, Nick, if you treated every 4 weeks instead of 6-8, your dogs wouldn't scratch. You let them go long enough that the fleas start biting. Applying just a little sooner kills them before they bite, so no itches from bites. They don't bite until they are full adults.

You're lucky - where you live, your dogs get to live mostly outside. You probably don't have the indoor problem because the dogs don't come in long enough to spread the population. Some of us have really cold weather, and the dogs need to come inside.

Sorry, that sounds like I'm accusing you of something. NO, I'm remembering when I lived in SoCal, and I'm probably jealous that I don't now. :)

I forgot to say that I learned all this because of 2 things. 1) I work for a pet product distributor who shall remain unnamed and 2) I am married to a man who is horribly sensitive to flea bites. I will not live without my dogs, so I had to learn the best, most effective way to make it possible for him to live with them.

Sounds like a miscommunication of the price of Advantage ll. I also pay about $40 a package but that contains 4 doses. Allso sells for $107 for 12 doses which brings the price to below $9.00

Check out: http://www.1800petmeds.com/Advantage+II+-prod10433.html?AFFID=GG&ID=512935158

Nick

Whew! I thought I might be looking at really serious discussion with my boss about the amount of that discount, LOL!

This post was edited by thedogsLL on Fri, Apr 5, 13 at 17:19

Advantage II no longer works on my fluff-balls, I was at my Vet on Monday and got some Revolution, w/ selamectin...so we'll see how that works..... I use Capstar but it is only good for one day....I tried Comfortis but all they did was throw it up, an expensive fur-ball...LOL...sally

After my elderly calico became allergic to Advantage and chewed off almost every hair on her body about 2 1/2 years ago, my vet recommended I switch to Flea-Go, which is boric acid crystals, sprinkled lightly around the house and wherever the cats hang out -- indoors or outdoors.

I have three cats; one indoor, one indoor-porch, one indoor-outdoor. I have not seen a single flea since since then. I really still have difficulty believing how good it worked. Dries out and kills the fleas, eggs and larvae.

Nice to hear from you again CJ, the Boric Acid crystals sound good. I probably won't use them as I have no real problem. I do have a 150 lbs Sulcata tortoise that roams the back yard and chews on everything so I have to be careful what chemicals I introduce there.

Nick

Hi Nick! We'll have to do a trade later in the spring!

It's meant to be used indoors or covered areas outside, and in very small quantities. Cannot be used on bare floors; makes them as slippery as a poltician.

Sounds good.

If we can get people ranting and raving about sqwerrls, this thread could hit 100. Haven't seen this in years, used to occasionaly happen.

Nick

Well, I'll help keep it going.

CJ, since we moved to Florida, I have used Boric Acid a few times (not with cats) to get rid of ants. Worked like a charm.

We were staying in a condo for a few months and my orchids were on the outdoor porch near the kitchen door. Low and behold, they became covered with tiny ants which proceeded to crawl into the kitchen. They were everywhere.

Bought a box of Boric Acid and sprinkled around the door and along the kitchen baseboard. They were gone in a few days.

I realized the orchids were the initial attractant with the honeydew. So I sprinkled it around them as well. Works very well.

Nick, don't have a recent sqwerrl story but something is digging holes in my lawn and all my pots. I know it isn't sqwerrls as it only happens at night. What ever it is I want to kill! It has dug up so may plants and pulled others out of the pots. The holes are perfectly round about the size of golf balls.

Jane

Moles and gophers will do this but the leave mounts of fresh dirt to cover their holes. I have no idea what leaves open holes like that.

Nick

Possums.....sally

Possums???..... :-(

Jane

Possums are too big and they do not dig. I have never had them cause any problems.

Nick

Do you have skunks in your area. They dig for grubs around my house.

Are there chipmunks in Florida? But like tree rats/sqwerrls, usually a daytime 'issue' here in Ohio.

Bob

Here's a few.
{{gwi:144579}}

Please excuse the dirty feet...
{{gwi:144581}}

{{gwi:144582}}
{{gwi:144583}}

That's a sizable hole! Baffling is the lack of mound of fresh dirt on top of it. Any critter I have ever dealt with leaves freshly dug dirt visible. The gophers I have to deal with make holes of identical size but cover them with loose fresh dirt. Florida on the other hand has some unearthly creatures that no one else has. Maybe gigantic space worms that have come to rob earth of it's oxygen.

Nick

Looks like may be a vole hole. Voles have underground runs and dig numerous escape holes. They dig from the inside and toss the dirt behind them back into the burrow. Every now and then one of my cats will bring me a vole, which I put back beside one of the holes and let it scamper back into its run.

They seem to be omnivorous, mostly vegans, but I have never seen any real damage from them. The only critters that will damage my outdoor orchids if they are sitting on the ground are the ducks.

Florida also has shrews and other related types who dig holes without mounds of dirt left behind.

Oh my Lord Nick! Sorry I've been MIA for soooo long!!
"A day at the Groomer's"= I've been a groomer of dogs and cats for 22 years. Doing some show grooming of said dogs and cats as well. There are some good days and some bad days. Most of my bad days involve cats!

Let me say it doesn't matter how much money that you spend on a show cat, if they feel like being a freak that particular day...there is going to be some hell to pay and the groomer is the one that pays. There are few groomers that even want to touch a cat. I just happen to one of the fools.I'm always amazed to get phone calls from cat owners that want to know why it's so hard to find someone to groom Fluffy; yet they can't run a comb or brush through their own cat without looking like they had a fight with a Cuisinart. The sweetest cat can turn into a chainsaw with fur! gb