Frank, I don't think you're a dork, at all! There's nothing wrong with being sentimental, and remembering good things... even if they do make your eyes tear up. I can clearly remember the beautiful Bleeding Hearts my Grandma grew... and her luscious Peonies... and I half laugh/half cry when I think about all the plants my Mom killed, even though she tried so hard... she just didn't possess the gardener gene! It skipped a generation! Actually, Ryan, I have my Calla Lily planted in a very well-draining medium, in a clay pot. It bloomed and grew ok last season, but wasn't really that impressive. It was a $2 bagged rhizome from Lowe's, I think. Not the highest quality, I'm sure. I'm just surprised it hasn't begun to grow yet this year. I haven't had a chance to look at that website with the Irises yet... but I'm going to! I never miss a chance to drool at online photos of gorgeous flowers! I didn't know that those fountain pumps could be adjusted... you learn something new every day! Thanks for that, Ryan! That little piece of information has just widened my choice for an indoor water thingy... I need to up the humidity, and I think a little fountain will help. Well, guys... it's been fun, but the dogs have their legs crossed, so I'm off for now! Have a sweet day!

I received my box from Melinda today, and it was great! When I opened it, on top was a package of treats for Bump and Stella, so I opened those up and gave them some so I could go through the rest of the box in peace. They can be ever so "helpful" when a box arrives...lol! Once I had them situated, I found crackers and cheese (one of my favorite snacks), a variety of tea (already claimed by my roommate Joe. he's the tea drinker, I'm the coffee drinker), a package of smoked salmon (which I'm also going to give as a treat to the cats IF they're good this week-end), a fudge brownie (MINE!!!), simply indulgent tea which has flowers in it (not sure what'll happen with this, but it sounds like a lot of fun!), a great assortment of charms, and some tomato soup echinacea! Melinda, I've been wanting to try growing this, so these seeds are perfect! Thank You For Everything!!! -Dan

newhomeseeker, I do not think the mom will keep the kittens in two separate places The first few days a mom cat wont leave her kids for long, but as they are growing, they take longer sleeping breaks during feedings, during which time the mom cat would walk away, looking for food I think the best thing you can do is provide, if possible, a nice waterproof shelter...Maybe since the hay is wet, make another box for her? Mom cats do not want the kittens to be touched much and to be disturbed either....They are protective and paranoid, and reasonably so... Try offering a different box... And feed her really well - she needs extra nutrition. Get some goat's milk (canned is fairly cheap) and offer it to her, and lots of wet food... Get her spayed please, once the kittens can eat on their own! See if any rescue groups in your area do TNR - and if they can let you borrow a trap. Once she is trapped, maybe there are low cost spay neuter clinics in the area? A LOT of vets will give a price break to S/N a feral cat in a trap We are very lucky in Hillsborough County (Tampa, FL) We have a feral cat program and two low cost S/N clinics...Feral cats can be fixed for 10-25 dollars, depending on whether there is a grant available (with grant money, a caregiver pays 10 dollars per cat)

My gate came and works well. So I can shut the living room, dining room, and den off from the cats. If I move the gate elsewhere I can also cut off the whole upstairs, confining them to kitchen and basement. It is not beautiful but it is easy to take up and down and I can live with it. Today I came home and immediately inspected the living room for feces as is my habit, only later realizing they couldn't get in the living room. I felt a notable release of tension--at least I have reclaimed my lovely living and entertaining spaces and no longer fear stepping in poop or having it arrive on the carpet 5 minutes before guests are expected. I think I'm drawing the conclusion that a cat may decide to eliminate outside the box for no good reason that a person can possibly understand, and that some such behaviors simply cannot be changed. Then one moves to accommodation (I guess) with the goal of minimizing headache and damage. I'll see how it continues to go but am thinking of putting doggy pee pads all around the litter boxes so at least the feces are not on the floor and are easy to clean up. miss-sistersue, I'll bet the problem cat would love a litter box that contained soft rug material--preferably in an all-wool, high quality oriental pattern like the one she so loves in the living room :) One thing I didn't say before is that about a year ago my other cat, the diabetic one, began to stick his sizable butt outside the litter box and urinated half in the box and half out. So I was cleaning pee up quite a bit. I experimented with many boxes and finally found a brand that stops the problem. I also have the litter boxes sitting on big plastic washing machine pans; they catch any overflow and litter kicking. I got these ideas from helpful people on this forum. So I guess I did successfully solve one foul problem, albeit with lots of searching and trial and error.