Thanks, Ginger. My friend is a pretty hard core baker so I think helping her restock her pantry is something I want to do when she has a pantry again.

Ugh, Amy, I'm sorry for the sucky ass day.

I am in the middle of grading all of the things. WEll, not really the middle. Actually the tail end. But I took a braek to watch Scandal. Holy Hell! The before the credits stuff was awesome, even if Olivia's Dad is without a clue about her ability to blend. I will also say, he laid the smackdown on her so well it was excellent. But still, poor Jack in the box.

Also, when she went to the bunker, I kept hoping it would be her mom. Good times.

Oh, spices and oils, especially if they are cookers. (Me, I'd only notice that several months later. Coffee supplies, sweetner, now...) But scissors and tape measures...and just TAPE and tools. And all that stuff you mindlessly reach into a drawer for...

xpost

lisah, if&when they get their kitties back, I have multiple spare old litterboxes they are welcome to pick from (once I scrub the hell out of them, of course. I just downsized to one.)

Their dogs died in the fire which is so very sad, I can't even.

Oh, god. I can't even, either. I have four siblings: among us we have seven dogs. More dogs than nieces/nephews, in fact. I don't want to think about the dogs (or the kids!) in a fire.

The Big Dumb Dog (my oldest brother's male Chesapeake) ate a sock over the weekend. He barfed it up, but it looks like that might have been one of a pair, because he hasn't kept anything down since Saturday. It's off to the vet for him tomorrow, which will be nothing new: he's had surgery twice for eating the wrong things.

It's all fun and games until someone ends up in a cone...

Warning, cat care rant ahead.

Sammie had her annual shots/exam/dental cleaning today. Ok, the dental cleaning should be annual, but I tend to skip a year or two in between because it is not cheap. Anyway, she had it done today. They remarked that the cleaning did not take long at all. No extractions or other work was required. That tells me that she has reasonably good dental health for a 12 year old cat whose owner does not brush her teeth. When I picked her up after the procedure, they loaded me down with "oral hygiene chews", a cat-sized toothbrush, cat toothpaste, and a sample packet of drinking water additive. Plus lots of pamphlets on the importance of feeding one's pets Hill's Prescription t/d kibble in order to preserve their dental health.

Rant the first: There is Xylitol in the drinking water additive, and they have a picture of a cat AND A DOG on it. Xylitol is toxic to dogs. I'm pissed off that they are pawning this stuff off on people who may not know that. There is more xylitol in it than chlorhexidine, which is the active ingredient I recognize from a mouth rinse prescribed for some of the people I work with, whose ability to complete their own oral care (or tolerate staff assisting them) is poor. If it were just the chlorhexidine, I'd mind a lot less. I recognize it. And while it isn't really meant for drinking, I'm sure a bit gets absorbed or swallowed in the process of using it - in amounts or concentrations probably similar to what is mean to be put in the drinking water with this stuff in the sample. But xylitol is bad business.

Rant the second: The Hill's propaganda pamphlet has a section on what causes oral health conditions. "Feeding sticky foods can lead to a more rapid buildup of plaque". Fuck you, Hill's! High quality wet foods do NOT contribute to poor dental health for cats nearly as much as starchy kibble. Cats don't chew very well, certainly not well enough to provide any form of scrubbing action. When they eat kibble, IF they bite it, it shatters, and some of those carby crumbs might stick to their gums, providing fuel for those plaque germs. And guess what? starchy kibble is less than optimal for other anatomical systems in cats. Here's a hint - if your dentist EVER tells you that since you are doing a sucky job of brushing your teeth the thing for you to do is to start eating more pretzels - it is time to get a new dentist. And how is feeding a cat dry food or dental chews WITH DEXTROSE in them any better than eating pretzels instead of brushing thoroughly?

OK, I think that's it. For now.

We have just un-coned our dog. he keeps gnawing on his feet. The issue is also that he is stone deaf. When coned, he can neither see nor hear. I think if we need to recone we need to invest in one of those pillowy kinds so he can eat least see.

What's up with the feet-chewing, Kat? I hope he's done with it for now.

Thinking about losing my four-legged family by fire is the stuff of nightmares. May comfort come to those who have gone through it.

Thinking about losing my four-legged family by fire is the stuff of nightmares.

I am on the other side of the country from my pets right now, and this is freaking my shit out.

I was just playing Geoguesser and came across the most terrifying road I've ever seen. Not something suspended above a Himalayan ravine by fraying ropes, but three lanes in either direction with no lines painted on it. The lanes and division between direction were only by common consent. It was in the Ukraine, and hooray for common purpose and cooperation, but, my god, what the drivers I deal with would do with that.