Gerbers!!!

Awww!!!! For our anniversary dc wanted to get me some flowers… he said he’s been thinking on it and he knows that gerber daisies are my favorites so he decided on those… and instead of just sending me flowers he thought he would buy them for me for the house so we could plant them and they would live longer than just a few days… bonus, they come back year after year… so.. here is what we did on Saturday… we cleaned out the flower beds and planted my gerbers… I love them! They are so pretty!!

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Updating... Kitty Claws

Update on my dilemma with the kitties… I called the vet this morning and talked to them about having the kitties de-clawed… in a way I am relieved because it’s a no-go… they are too old and the lady said that they wouldn’t do it because of their age… apparently if they de-claw older cats there is a higher chance that they will quit using their litter box…. So my vet won’t do it… which is fine by me… so I’ve spent all day researching alternatives…. I’m going to get a spray that is supposed to help stop them from clawing furniture and carpet and stuff… I’m also thinking about maybe a catnip infused scratching post… the soft paws/claws seem to be an ok idea (if you can get them on) but I’m going to try the spray first… the soft paws are about $20 a package and each set will last for about 3 to 4 weeks on average and there are 40 in a package… the vet will put them on for $25… I’ve read that you can put them on yourself but I honestly don’t know how well that would work… the kitties hate having their nails trimmed, I can’t imagine trying to glue the caps on, dc has to hold them by the neck just so they don’t scratch me to pieces… we decided we would try the spray and other stuff first and see if that would work… keep your paws crossed!!!

Ideas? Anyone?

I kinda feel like I’m stuck and I don’t really know what to do… I’m about to drive myself crazy over-thinking this… it’s the kitties… and their claws… when I moved into the apartment the lady that lived there before me had a dog… the apartment didn’t replace the carpet before I moved in and the kitties were constantly clawing/scratching it… I thought maybe it was just the dog smell that they were after… they have a scratching post, I’ve actually had several for them, vertical ones, horizontal ones… Murphy won’t use it and I’ve tried to “show” him how to use them… Mazzy uses it but she has also started using the back of dc’s couch… Murphy (and sometimes) Mazzy are now clawing at the new carpet in the 2nd bedroom… then, when Mazzy goes outside and freaks out she slices you to pieces… (I got cut again last night, other arm, when I let her outside… she immediately darted off towards the back of the yard and I had to chase her down… needless to say she is not allowed outside anymore!)
I have always been vehemently opposed to having kitties de-clawed… to me it is inhumane and completely unnecessary… there is absolutely no medical reason to de-claw a kitty… the past two days I have found myself thinking about having the kitties de-clawed though… I have even gone as far as to call the vet and see how they did it in town, what was involved, and the cost… de-clawing the kitties doesn’t sit well with me at all… I feel so extremely guilty even thinking about it… I honestly can’t believe I am thinking about it… considering it… calling on it… I can’t for the life of me figure out how to get them to stop scratching the “wrong” things though… I’ve tried spraying them with water, spanking them, showing them how to use the scratching post, and I am out of ideas… I’m going to get some of the spray that’s supposed to stop them from scratching- I tried it in the beginning at the apartment … but that’s the last thing I know of… the vet I called today suggested those nail caps but the kitties hate having their nails messed with so I’m 99.99% sure that’s not going to work… I don’t want to not do anything just because what we have now isn’t “that” nice because I don’t want them to think it’s ok to keep scratching… you know, in case we ever get new furniture or nice carpet… but I really don’t know what to do… my arms hurt like hell from Mazzy’s razor blade like claws and the back of the couch is and the carpet in the 2nd bedroom is getting scratched up… The kitties (and I) would greatly appreciate any and all thoughts and ideas!!!