Mossy Cottage Knits

Yes, maybe the blues are okay if they make it seem too much of an effort to go buy booze for when the crash happens.
Those cats are brilliant.
May I humbly suggest that you yourself take the hairtrap out and hide it post-shower?

Animals are good things. :) Endless affection, and I don't think it's a bad idea to have sweet, cuddly reminders that you're needed! And having two is better - they have each other if you're having a day that you can't give them more than food and water.

I don't know if any of your readers have mentioned this idea, but I'll tell you how I broke one of my kittens from biting. Whenever Cleo would take a nip at my toes or fingers, I'd scream. Not a bloody-murder kind of scream, more like "I'm a kitten who thinks you're playing too rough". Then I'd ignore her. It wasn't long before she got the connection between the biting and the noise and the ignoring (which she hated). It's been 8 years and she hasn't bitten me since she was 4 months old. Now if I could get her to stop scratching the furniture....

Your cats a adorable-Take care Ryan! Sending good thoughts your way

Cats are supposed to come in twos aren't they? ;) And there are some cats who simply aren't affected by catnip. They lack the little catnip receptors in their brains. Both of mine like catnip, but only Priscilla likes the fresh kind I grown in my garden.

I suggest putting the hair trap in the cupboard overnight.

My kitties have saved me from dissolving into my bed on a number of times. It really helps when you have to get up and feed someone else have your nose bitten...

Oh yeah, and I once had a roommate whose cat couldn't be bothered with dry catnip, but she positively REVELED in the fresh stuff. Rolled, scooted, played, ate, sniffed, batted at... it was entertaining for her AND us.

Yo, dear--if you do take an ULOA you are going to be in BIG BIG trouble, because people have spent waaaay too much time on that pile of afghan squares I've accumulated for you to check out now.

Hunh! Jade loves catnip - we call it her weed. She eats it, rolls in it, practically makes love to it. Goldie? Not so much. But it never occurred to me to try him on the fresh stuff. Now I'm going to have to find a pot and see what he does.

Hold on sweetie. You are in the process of growing - growing bigger than those black spots. Imagine how it will beel to look back on them and see how puny they really were :)

I hope that in some, small way the fact that there are a lot of people out here (some of whom have never even had the pleasure of meeting you!!) who care about you. What you're going through sucks big time, no question about it. And there aren't any short-cuts to be taken, only the long way through it! You are in my thoughts.

Hope you are hanging in there :-) Thanks for documenting your progress,I have a close relative that is going through something similar and it is good ( sorry that sounds weird) to have someone to compare progress with. Hugs

I have a bitey kitten too, and spent a lot of time researching how to break her of that habit.

Turns out, kittens have several urges to chew in their first year. They're losing baby teeth and strengthening adult teeth, they're encouraging their mother's milk, and they're learning hunting skills. When they grow up in a litter, the other kittens and the mother cat teach them not to bite. Since I just have the one cat, I had to work a bit harder at it and was not fully successful in training the Gizmo out of it.

But some things helped. I got her a variety of toys, including several that were her size or bigger so she had something safe to wrestle with and chew on, and lots of toys with a variety of textures to sooth her gums (I even tried tiny rawhide toys marketed for small dogs). I discovered that while leafy catnip makes her hyper, sprayable catnip makes her very mellow, and is ideal for "refreshing" catnip toys. Now I spray most of her big toys with that. I got spray bottles of water and stashed them all over the house, for disciplining her when she acts up. I voice-trained her - she is told no in a loud and firm voice, then I reach for the nearest spray bottle, then she gets sprayed if she hasn't stopped yet. And finally, I paid attention to what was going on when she got bitey.

When she was a baby, she bit all the time. Now that she's 3, she mostly bites either when she's wound up from aggressive play, tired of being messed with, or receiving pets that are not to her liking. She's also backed off on the biting a bit - she'll use warning nips to say "stop doing that" instead of just hauling off and drawing blood all the time. So all in all, I'd say the training has been mostly successful, though not perfect. I bet, since you have Joon to help teach Benny in cat language not to bite, that your training will be much more successful than my own.

I third the suggestion to pull the hair trap out of the tub post-shower, and raise it by suggesting that you then add a cat toy to the tub. Something soft, so as not to make yourself crazy when they play tub hockey in the middle of the night. As a wool addict living with a cat, I've found she's much more interested in her toys than mine, when she has a choice. This is why my cat has handspun and alpaca cat toys - ten minutes making her a toy of her own out of the good stuff has saved many dollar's worth of expensive yarn from becoming impromptu cat toys.

{{{{{hugs}}}}}

I'm very sorry you've had such a tough time lately. But glad that Rabbitch could come and keep your kittens off the streets, what with her nostril-cleaning needing tending.

Here's a good {hug} from me to you, even though you don't really know me. But Janice does. Mostly. Take care.

I'm just sending you a hug or two or three. And I'd force you to do a "touching hug," not a Princeton kind. :)

I hope Rabbitch transmitted my hug. I hug like Norma does, but with less height, and she was given strict orders to avoid the little wimpy pat-pat-pat on the back thing :-)

I knit you squirrels. You can't leave.

I get the kitty thing. It helps a lot to have something take us outside of ourselves. Someone who depends on us.

And it is very generous of you to share the drawma. You are right, acknowledging it does help you and others who may be going through this.

You are a good egg Ryan and I'm rootin' for ya! Wish I lived closer so I could share the greyhound love with you. Let me know if you come near the Portland area and we will knit and bask in the needlenose love.

Is there anything sweeter than cuddling kitties? I don't think so, either. :)

Like Diane T, I've had excellent results teaching cats not to bite by simply ignoring them when they bite/kangaroo kick too hard. In a calm voice, "I won't pet you if you can't be nice." Then walk away. It's amazing how quickly they get the message!

I don't know if you do or not, but for what it's worth I recommend never playing rough with the kitties. That only encourages them to be aggressive -- which is exactly what you are trying to avoid.

Two kitties are MUCH better than one. They take care of their own entertainment, exercise and warmth.

Be well!

Two cats is a good thing. Animals in general are a good thing, and, in my experience, they help during times like these. I know that there were times when I was dealing with a very deep, dark depression that the only reason I got myself out of bed was because of my dog, who needed food or a walk or a pat or something. It wasn't a cure, but it most surely helped. Hang on; it will get better.

OH yeah. Two cats for sure -- I dreamed of mine snorgling like that; they tolerate each other, so I'm happy enough. Evangeline is a very nice social druggie - rolls in it, chews it, then smiles mysteriously and goes to sleep. Lilliane, whom I suspect of having kitty ADD anyway, backs away from it! Oh, and the rubbing face AND teeth along you means "this person is MINE, belongs unto ME, and if you get close enough you'll know that!" (scientifically called "scent marking"...yup, even the teeth). I don't know about everyone else, Dearling Ryan, but I surely do recognize the bottom of that black pit, and when you find yourself there, realize (don't *imagine* - nothing imaginary about it) all of us with our bungee-cords-o'-love tumbling down there for you to hang on to as you work your way back out. 'Cause they're there, right enough.

What everyone else said. Your courage in sharing with total strangers is amazing; and if it helps to know that a total stranger is sending you hugs and love from a continent away, then just imagine it, because I am.

I got two kittehs once from the same litter and there's nothing like it. That snorgling just doesn't happen between stranger kittehs. They'll love each other and you all their little lives.

consider yourself wrapped in good thoughts from this direction as well. thank you for blogging your journey, in a strange way it gives me hope as well. love you!

Keep paying it forward Sugar - you're doing good! Projectile crying may happen for awhile - keep up the liquids, jah? Why WOULDN'T you get two kittehs? They need each other when you be out! Big Love....

Hey, Ryan.

Pat yourself on the back. You made it through that deep, dark crash this weekend. You CAN come through this. No alcohol needed. It sucks, it's hard, but it IS survivable and you are a survivor.

:o)

The cats are lovely. I have a cat who's a 'love biter', she makes light chomps on my hands when she's feeling extremely affectionate. Benny could be a 'love biter'. If I just leave my hand lie there, she doesn't fasten onto it, just takes a nibble and lets go.

The Ugly Cry is kind of scary, but it cleans things out, right? (at least it does for me) You're doing big work here; keep remembering that, and be nice to yourself...

Hang in there, sweetie. Big hugs!

THAT is exactly the reason you get two at once.
EXACTLY...
They're absolutely adorable, all you want to do is nuzzle, stroke, play with kitty paws...pull tearstrips along for them to chase (Meezer made me say that one)...

They love you back. No matter what. THAT is huge.
;)
(((Hugs)))

The UC can be a good thing - proof that you can slip over the edge a bit and pull yourself out. You're stronger than you think. I'd say "no" to the liquour and "yes" to the gym...it's the least fun answer possible, but the right one.