Hi Toni!!!! I'm noodling around here, waiting for my bread to cool on the racks :) Everytime I see a thread about a cat chewing plants, I remember when I posted the same thing as well a few years ago. Boy, the kinds of plants I can have is limited to "would Bud chew this". So I currently have peace lillies, shcefflera's, both the Hawaiaan and the umbrella (my favourite style). I couldn't resist buying a 10" pot that was on sale for $4. It's a large spiky thing, (a dracaena?) but alas, Bud thought the tips looked tempting. So I have it in the spare room on top of a pail of kitty litter on the table in front of the window! Hopefully out of Bud's reach. I thought the plant was immune to his taste buds, but he was crunching on it the same day I bought it when it was on the livingroom floor, which is where I had imagined it being. Upon looking at the peace lily I see that he's found it! Note the chewed tips. A friend gave me some spider plant babies, so I had them rooting on the kitchen sill. Bud doesn't go up there, so they were safe. They were, until I planted them in some small pots, and one was upside down in the sink. I now have them hanging in the window, and 2 are i the bathroom on top of the over the toilet cabinet. Smudge was rubbing his face on the pineapple top that I have growing. Silly boy! I was afraid he'd poke his eye on the spikes! If I see him doing it again (I admonished him) the pineapple will go out in the trash.

How are you restraining him? Could he be more upset at being restrained than the actual medication? Can you give him a good tight scruff or is that exactly where the medicine has to go? One of my cats has a full fledged tantrum when it's time to do nails. I make sure she doesn't see me do the other cats before it's her turn. The anticipation gets her more riled up! Cats don't seem to forget that their turn is coming up sooner or later, either! Try doing Henry first, before any of your other animals and don't let him see you getting the medicine bottle ready. Does he like tuna juice or canned food? If you put something enticing down to distract his attention, he might not even notice you applying it.

To adhmumrgh: You create a contradiction in terms by writing "Cats are not domestic animals, humans have domesticated them." Cats are not domestic. Humans have domesticated them. You even claim to have domesticated a cat. Yet you state that cats are not domestic animals. What ???? ALL home/house/farm/ranch animals were (and mostly are) still found in the wild. This includes dogs, goats, horses, cows, sheep, et. al. Domestication is the process of adapting a wild animal (or plant) for human use. In the case of cats, that use is usually pleasure, companionship, or mousing. House cats and feral cats are of one species (Felis catus). Feral cats are house cats that have gone from domestication to the wild (the opposite direction of domestication), and any of their offspring. So, the great-great-great-great-great-great granddaughter of a house cat from 10 years ago is still Felis catus, even though her bloodline is largely from feral cats. She is no longer a domestic individual of a species that is largely domestic, and is considered feral. I have a cat that was a house cat (domesticated) that I got from a shelter. I also have a cat that was feral (not domesticated) that is now domesticated. So, counter to your original post, this cat is a domestic animal. Oh, and I domesticated it. As an aside, I keep both cats outside year round. They grow wonderful coats in the winter, they hunt, they anger me when they kill my songbirds, they play with my children, and are wonderful outdoor pets. There's very little I can do regarding their killing of my songbirds. The birds are wild, the cats still have wild instinct, and things like coyote spray, collars (break-away, or not) simply do not work. I've tried *everything* for 20+ years. I now accept, with grace, when one of my cats ceremoniously deposits a dead cardinal at my feed after she's viciously killed it -- it's a gift, and it's a cat. :-) Cheers!

Not sure what your climate is - however, I'll share my own experiences with Thompson and Chardonnay types. The Thompson was planted on an arbor - this is it's 3rd spring. Actually, It didn't look like it was going to survive either. Some one said they get "Pierce" disease, and I assumed that was the problem. The main vines got all spotty - and the leaves looked awful. I learned grapes need severe pruning - (90 %) - so whacked it pretty hard and said a prayer. This spring - I tossed some aged chicken manure at it - even tho it looked almost dead. Well - the sun came out - the weather got warmer and now the entire arbor is full of vines. So maybe it's just a quirk - but for now I'm hopeful. The Chardonnays are in another spot - an arbor next to the house that reflects southern sunshine - and is looking very well. My only concern is - that my location - 6 blks from the ocean - with summer fog - may not be to their liking. But who knows - perhaps this year they will be stronger. I suspect they like a lot of heat. bejay