I went back to mixing Fresh Step, the old litter, with Tidy cat. ItÂs only been 3 days. I will have to check with my husband to see if he has picked up any "deposits" lately. I have not found any. She does not seem to be constipated. I bought some new hairball medicine, which is an oil I have been mixing with her wet food. Unlike all the others I have tried so far, she likes this one. I have been wondering if the oil will make her stool softer too. I started using that maybe 2 weeks ago. The hairballs have now stopped. The floor pooping predates the hairballs (which show up every year in the spring); but IÂm wondering if having hairballs could have caused the uptick in incidence I noticed. The newspaper mostly makes it easier to clean the box. When I dump it, it all slides easily into the garbage. But I have noticed (maybe this is me speculating) that she does not like the feeling of the plastic under the litter on her toes. When I have run out of paper she has objected (donÂt ask me how I know, she just comes to me with this lookÂ). I usually put a heavy sprinkle of baking soda under the paper. I find the paper, which goes up the sides too, wicks the moisture away from just the one spot and makes it dry faster. She does not cover what she does in the box and never has. Just does it and leaves. If IÂm nearby and smell it, I do it!

I know you don't feel emotionally ready for a new feline, and I completely understand that, but I also think a new feline friend may be the best possible solution for Orange. He's in mourning for his buddies, and now that he's restricted to the house (which I also completely understand), he has nothing to distract him from his losses and loneliness. A new buddy would give him something on which to focus his attention, and the "right" new buddy would give him a companion with whom to bond and feel that all-important same-species connection that he's missing. But you're right; it can be tricky finding the right match. Annz has made a great suggestion about fostering, but I would modify it to "foster with the option to adopt". You would need to make sure that any shelter or rescue you work with would give you first option to adopt your foster kitty. The last thing Orange needs is to start bonding with another feline, just to lose that buddy to an adoption to another home. Alternately, you could find a shelter or rescue that would allow a trial period before finalizing the adoption to make sure the match works well. If you do consider getting another feline, I recommend a young kitten. I have adopted felines of all ages, genders (intact and desexed), and personality types, and I can tell you that the easiest integrations have been the kittens. Kittens don't tend to pose a territorial threat to adult cats, and young kittens' playful antics aren't interpreted as serious attacks. I would caution you, however, against adopting the most boisterous and playful kitten of the bunch. A really rowdy kitten (esp. male kittens, who tend to be relentlessly pesky and aggressively playful) may be overwhelming for Orange. Look for a kitten who is self-confident (not shy or skittish) but who is also fairly laid back compared to other kittens. Avoid the kitten who's always pouncing on his/her littermates. Go for the one who is more moderately playful and enjoys snuggling with littermates. You may also find that Orange will take more quickly to a kitten who is the same color as Figgy. Some cats have very definite color biases. Think about getting Orange a new companion. I have seen bonds form in my own household between strays-who-decided-to-stay and resident cats who didn't previously have buddy relationships in the household. Those bonds have dramatically improved not only the resident cats' emotional wellbeing, but their physical health, as well. Laurie

My husband passed and I immediately called my friends and asked for help. They picked me up the next day and went with me to make all arrangements having done the same themselves a few months before. I don't know how close you are. Does she have friends & family around who can help her get through the next week, going to the funeral home with her, making arrangements? Did she call you or did somebody else tell you about it? A friend lost an adult child last year. She called me so I knew that it was OK to step up to the plate. I immediately went to her house and made all the phone calls, checking prices and talking with her about it. She couldn't handle it alone. Is there somebody to do that for your friend? If she has somebody helping her with those things you can either ask that person, or just wait until after the service and visit and talk to her and her children. Next thing, buy her some healthy frozen dishes, preferably home made, for her freezer. Some Shepherd's pies or quiches for example. No matter what you do, I think the worst time is the months afterwards. When you offer to help make a suggestion -- drive the kids to their grandmother? Bring a dinner? I'm really tired myself tonight. I'll think about it.

I feel for you bpath. They can be such little stinks. Some of by cats never scratched a thing, but into adorable Siamese tore into everything. I tried catnip on scratch posts, catnip on cardboard -- you name it. I see a couple of solutions. Along the artsy lines, you could take some strands of yarn and attach them to a sort of header to hold them together and then I fix that to the areas that are already gobstoppers (I spoke the word gouged up, but out came gob stoppers – whatever they are). Then the cats can just enjoy the rest of their days playing with already cut sections of yarn and he could be a conversation piece. Yes, another conversation piece. Or you can take something like plaster of Paris or wax and form a sort of shell over that area - like a cast, but in color. You can paint it or add different colors of wax or clay. I just saw one of these amaryllis bulbs in a clay-like "pot" molded over the bulb. It looked great. I bet something like that could actually look kind of cool along the edge of your couch -- like a molded pottery patch. Then there is another solution.