After repotting I did smell slight urine smell in the old soil but right now my allergies are raising havoc with my nose. It could have been over whelming and I would not have noticed due to poor sniffer right now. George is the reason I went to New Orleans. Well.. rather.. My grandpa George. Most ppl knew him by his middle name though so when I say George even my mom didn't realize it was in honor of her father. My Grandpa died in the middle of January just a few days after my birthday. My mother and I went to Louisiana for his funeral. It was my first trip to Louisiana. Mom and I were just driving around seeing sites. I didn't realize I was in a turning lane till it was too late. and had to turn as there was a cop directly across from me... I took the turn and drove down the road deciding we were in no big hurry and it looked like a lovely street. I figured I'd just make a big circle to see some of the town and there was George sitting out by the road begging me to take him home.. I stopped and turned around to get a better look. Mom told me I should make sure that was the one.. I looked at ALL of the many Kumquats. George was not the biggest but.. there was something about it. I just had to have him.. After a few days.. of having him home.. I gave him the name.. because if it weren't for grandpa I wouldn't have it.. I believe in planting trees to honor loved ones. I've had to plant 4 trees this year. all my life I've only ever planted 4 trees to honor loved ones. this has been a heck of a year. I also have a Magnolia in the front yard for other grandpa. and a few trees out at my mom's farm for others. Heh I sit here thinking of Grandpa George and.. well.. Miewa Kumquat fits him. Sour at first impression and sweet once ya get to the heart of matters.. I really hope George makes it.. If not.. I have the grafted tree... I have considered getting more cuttings but am worried that would add more shock to it's system. The cutting I have growing is doing beautifully. But then again.. maybe cutting it back so the roots won't have to work so hard to provide for the top? and it could concentrate on healing the roots? Yesterday I "treated" George for root rot. formula I found here 80% water to 20% bleach. I did the in the pot treatment as I didn't think repotting again would due it any good.. I let it sit in the bleach formula for about an hr. then flushed the pot with clear water 4 times. I don't know that it has root rot.. but I figure couldn't hurt. I have noticed the remaining leaves have darkened. a very deep green more like it was when I first brought it home. The brown... I scraped the bark and there is no green under it... The brown is still continuing to move down the tree but seems at a slower pace. HOPE?? I guess only thing left now is to wait and hope.. Unless anyone else can make any more suggestions? Thanks!!! Gina *BabyBlue*

As to aiming? Would you believe MOST of our floors are either tile or polyeurathaned wood? But did the cat aim for one of those? of course not. Well, the quilt is back on the bed, nice and clean, and it doesn't look as if she's made any more 'deposits' since. And I've managed to pretty much take it easy otherwise. Thanks for the concern, Georgysmom--I told my dr. when he released me, I'd be cleaning the house and he didn't say I couldn't. Sometimes, you just have no other choice but to do what needs doing, right? And hey--it looks as if it's been worth it. As of about 2 hours ago? WE HAVE AN OFFER!!!! Not quite what we want to sell for, but close enough that I think we may be able to come to an agreement! And we still have those other lookers coming out tonight. (cross your fingers for a bidding war to break out--LOL)

Hmmm. Interesting. Maybe removed too young, maybe just a personalityquirk (some people are slobs, some are neat freaks). What if you put a smear of butter or something interesting on her hind legs or somewhere she doesn't usually groom. That might tell you if there's some physical limitation. Maybe something would click for her about the need to be licking/grooming down there. Or maybe not! Just thought it might make an interesting experiment. Another thought - when my old girl got too old to bathe herself (she died at age 22) I sometimes gave her a cleaning by massaging and wiping her all over with a warm wet washcloth, then rub with a dry towel. Can use dry pet shampoo prior to the wet washcloth. She LOVED it. Often it would trigger her into do some extensive licking and grooming of herself (those places she could reach). Do it in a warm room (with space heater for her her to sit in front of to dry off, if its cold). Once she got used to it and decided she liked it, I could get the washcloth (and my cat) quite wet, and my cat clean and fluffy. Anyway, it's possible this might help trigger some long-forgotten memory of Mama Cat and get your cat to take on some of the responsibility for keeping herself clean. Who knows! The rough texture of the washcloth is like Mama Cat's tongue!

I do feral cat rescue; my most recent aquisition (more than two years ago) had been severely injured by an animal (possibly a raccoon) in addition to having acquired a tumor in his inner ear by the time he appeared, half-dead, in my barn. I had the ear surgically debrided and was thinking he might eventually be a candidate for adopotion when one day I went out to the holding room and noticed what at first I thought was a rat-sized black animal one the floor. (Newly rescued ferals can't live inside with my permanent cats until they are tamed-down and ready for adoption, so they live in a special, heated, space in the former bulk-tank room.) I was stunned when I discovered that the black furry thing was actually two-thirds of his tail that had simply been so badly injured that it lost circulation and died and finally fell off. The stump required a bit more surgery to clean and close up, but he healed quite nicely and now he's my all-black, chatterbox "bob" cat. I hope your cat was previously vaccinated for rabies and that the vet has given him a booster if there's any chance he might have been injured in a fight with a wild animal. If you can figure out how to turn Ralphie into an indoor cat, you will be doing him - and yourself and your wallet - a big favor. You can also consider having the cats out every day, but under your supervision. They will adapt quite well to a regimen like that. Some of mine go out like that. I live on a farm, way off the road, but there are still too many dangerous things about to allow complete freedom, even for these formerly wild-living cats. When I first moved out here almost 25 years ago I inherited a gang of about 30 barn cats who lived outdoors in the dairy barns. The attrition for even spayed/neutered, well looked-after, quite beloved outdoor barn cats was too high for me. I lost several to coyotes, one to an owl, all of the remainder became FIV+ from exposure to feral cats, some simply disappeared and only a few of those, even after weeks of desperate searching, were ever found alive again, and then there was a steady run of fights with raccoons, porcupines, stray dogs, etc. Not to mention the constant need for Frontline to ward off ticks being brought into the house. After few years of regular tragedies - and huge vet bills - I switched the remaining ones to all-indoor living and for that reason even though they had FIV, they lived to be 15-18 years old. After all of the first lot had died I decided that I wouldn't consider keeping any more outdoor cats. I have contemplated fencing off about 6 or 8 acres immediately around the house and barns, but even then I think that letting them out w/o observation would always be a risk as cats are so agile and a fence would be little barrier unless it was capped. Now I walk with them in smaller groups, or have a couple out with me when I'm in the gardens or barns. But I no longer just turn 'em loose to go where they will. Cats are also very hard on the native populations of wild birds and small mammals and reptiles and amphibians. While it's a benefit to me, an avid gardener, to have them catch voles all day long, it comes at the price of them also killing snakes, frogs, birds, etc., which is too much by-catch for me. Cats, after all, are a human-modulated, non-native species. I'm sorry everyones' tempers were frayed during the vet visit. However I think your assumption is incorrect that anyone with more than a few cats is by definition a hoarder. I happen to have 10 indoor cats at present, all excellently cared-for, well-vetted, all spayed or neutered, etc. In my case I will take animals that can't be adopted for physical or behavioral reasons (for instance I have an inveterate and serious biter who wouldn't be alive today if I wasn't willing to handle him, albeit very carefully). I am definitely NOT a hoarder, which to me is someone who takes in more cats than they can care for, particularly when they allow them to breed unchecked. Cats who appear here are always neutered or spayed straight away. I hope your cat will continue to recover with no setbacks. Lack of a tail has not slowed down my guy. One of the things pets teach us is to see beyond the surface of things. Ralphie is still Ralphie; you'll see. L.