The cat behaviorist might be right. But I did it the other way in our small house. I let the cats meet & then I opened the cat carrier door. I closed the bedroom doors & basement off for a few weeks. I brought up a litter pan that I cleaned to the bathroom. After two weeks, I opened back up the basement & put the pan back in the basement. Someone was not getting his butt into the pan when he peed. We opened the other doors a week later. I put out extra water & food bowls. The cat that was scare & hissed was the new 2 year old girl. It took her 6 weeks to give up & let my 11 years old boy love her. Love her he did. He now licks her on top of her head. She loves that & can't get enough! For us, a cat was better than a kitten. One tip! I made extra time to play with my boy everynight. I sat on the floor & played with him, combed him & gave him treats, vitamins or catnip. New kitty watched us & by the third night she wanted to join us. I sat on the floor for a month. PS, new kitty did not like our carpeted scratching post. She liked one of the laminated cardboard ones to scratch on. That was an easy addition to save the furniture. Her favorite toy is a thin bamboo stick. She chases the tip on the carpeted floor. They did not like playing in a box that I cut a small hole for a paw to come through. I thought for sure the box would be a great play time for both of them.

I married a butcher/meat cutter. I am a very clean cook, but I also am a cat lover. I could not believe my spouse when we married to his objection to cats, and it all came down to the counter issue in a nutshell. He is an animal lover, and we've been married over a quarter of a century now, and he also loves the cats. I don't voluntarily let my cats on or near the counters or tables, but I have to laugh because I've done the squirt gun routine for years, but I also know that they find their way there when I'm not about, and occasionallly 'forget' to jump down and hide when I come into the kitchen. My beloved little siamese/tabby mix was particulary fond of my advent wreath and would curl up inside the ring of it, with candles and bulbs all around her. She was an inside only kitty, and I suppose it reminded her of the great outdoors with the scent. I have to admit, that neither I nor my husband removed her from her throne. As for people who do not 'like' cats, I don't trust them because I suspicion they are likely control freaks who can't abide animals who don't drool and slather at them in worship and who can't respect personal space, mine or my cat's. LOL. Cat haters will also be quite open about your animals with a look of distaste on their faces and a smirk. Anyone who can sit in your house and rag on your beloved cat would just as easily tell you your kids are ugly and they don't like them either. ;-) As the old saying goes "love me, love my cat(s)" However, I do respect people with cat allergies. I warn them beforehand and we often visit in our gazebo, instead...or at least I keep the kitties in another part of the house, so they're not jumped on or smooched. BTW, as for clean counters, I just 'assume' a cat has been on mine, whether I see them do it or not. I use a cutting board I keep put away, and I also bleach/sanitise my counters before I cook. I have a picture somewhere of my siamese on my puter counter with her head submerged in my mug, drinking my iced tea. I tried not to think about that, says the lady who keeps her cups of tea parked all over the house.

The Vet started with a miticide in the ears, then followed with the Advantage which is broad spectrum for fleas/includes for mites. This one went on neck like reg flea treatment. I dosed her again in 30 days with same. I'm thinking might have to travel 100 mi to bigger clinic. annzgw I know very well what she has experienced as I had a night flying moth fly into my ear once & couldn't get it extracted until next morning-- it is awful. I think Sassy's mites should be dead by now, but this particular ear is 99% closed off from the swelling. I have already spent over $300 on her and have no problem paying to get her fixed....if possible. People should not have pets if they can't be as responsible as they'd be with their children. We are going back to the vet clinic and ask them to refer us somewhere that might help. Thx for all the suggestions.

I've been going back and forth on this same topic for the white ceramic subway tile I'll be installing as a backsplash in my kitchen. I'm using a 2"x4" mosaic. The problem is they don't make matching bullnose pieces. I can get them in bigger sizes and try and cut them down with a wet saw, but they're thicker than the mosaic (1/4" vs. 5/16"). I'll have some areas where the edge of the tile is open (i.e. doesn't terminate into a wall or cabinet). For those edges, I really just want a matching 2"x4" bullnose piece with the bullnose on the short edge. In the upper corner, I want a 2"x4" bullnose piece with a bullnose on both the short and long edges. For the top row where it's open, I want 2"x4" bullnose pieces with the bullnose on the long edge. I looked at the Schluter, but I really didn't like it. I'm going for a more rustic look, and I think it has more of a modern look. The solution I finally found was a place down in Cincinnati where you send them pieces of your field tile and they make them into bullnose pieces to your specification with a kiln fired finish. That way everything matches my field tile. It's costing me about $4 per bullnose tile, but it's giving me exactly the look I want. I think they have a minimum order amount of $50.