The other cat was the biggest sub on the planet, and all I had to do was pick him up and squeeze his jaw, and his mouth would flop open and he'd go all ragdoll on me, with a look in his eyes that clearly said, "Mistress's wish is my command. Whatever Mistress tells me to swallow, be it a pill, a piano, or the contents of Mistress's poison ring, I seek only to submit and obey."

I miss him.

Thanks for making me laugh, JZ. I needed that bad just now.

I had to actually sit on her over the course of three or four days, doing one or two nails at a go

See I was going to suggest "Sit on it" but didn't want to come across as mean to animals or something. But, yes, with the nail trimming or pill giving I sit on my cats (mostly pretty docile, dumb but huge guys). And, if it's pills, I pry open jaws, jam the pills down and clamp mouth until pills are swallowed. Sounds brutal but it's not too bad really and it's generally efficient. They don't seem to mind too much.

And, if it's pills, I pry open jaws, jam the pills down and clamp mouth until pills are swallowed. Sounds brutal but it's not too bad really and it's generally efficient.

Tha's how I would give Dread Beastie his pills. I'd usually tilt his head back until his nose was pointing at the ceiling, which made dropping the pill straight down his throat much easier. He wasn't thrilled about the process, but eventually got used to it. Of course, that took a couple of times where I hissed back at him and reminded him exactly who the alpha cat in the house was ...

You know, I just got my tax refund, and I was already planning on using it to knock down my student loan, but...I sort of just want to pay off my loan entirely. I have the money. But it's scary! Thousands of dollars, just bazoom. But I got a great performance review, so I'll be getting some sort of raise and bonus and whatnot, so it seems like a good way to mark the occasion.

And that's really only half of that last semester of grad school. My dad paid for the other half, and all of college, and he's not the sort of person you pay back.

I'd usually tilt his head back until his nose was pointing at the ceiling, which made dropping the pill straight down his throat much easier.

This. Plus, with the kitteh's nose pointing skyward, give a stout blow into the nose. This results in a naturally irresistible urge to swallow. A few gentle strokes to the throat and Bob's your pilled cat.

The treat afterward is a great idea too. Makes the process seem worthwhile to the non-grudge carrying feline.

The blowing technique works on dogs who won't let go of something too. A quick puff of air into an ear and their jaws naturally unclench. It's miraculous!

You might want to talk to an accountant about the tax implications, P-C. If you can keep getting the student loand interest deduction it might be worthwhile to keep the loan for a while. But I'm not sure how that really breaks down. Or, of course, how the financial considerations balance against your satisfaction of having school all paid for and out of the way.

If you can keep getting the student loand interest deduction it might be worthwhile to keep the loan for a while.

It's not worth anything, since I was just taking the standard deduction. Hell, even the loan interest deduction I was allowed to take was less than the interest I actually paid. And I'm not sure whether that actually mattered since I did just take the standard deduction in the end. I've had the loan for over a year, so it's done the good for my credit. The loan interest rate is 6.89%, and I'm only a few thousand dollars away from paying it all off.

If that's your only debt, P-C, pay it off. There's no easier way to make 6.89% on your money.

If you make over 65K, you can't take the deduction.

If that's your only debt, P-C, pay it off. There's no easier way to make 6.89% on your money.

That is my only debt, yep. And I probably could have paid it off months ago, but I've just been afraid to take that plunge. But having a job is cool.

If you make over 65K, you can't take the deduction.

Aha! That's good to know.