Drummer's Corner of the World

Since I moved into this house, back in July, my primary living space has been the huge walk-out basement. My bedroom is down there, and my big-screen TV and comfy squishy sofas, perfect for lounging on with dogs and cats while working (or playing) on the laptop. There's easy access to the backyard, by way of the screened porch, and it's just an altogether more convenient and pleasant "critter space" than the upstairs. (It also allows me to keep the upstairs relatively cat-free, since I have friends and family who are allergic to the feline members of the Reddogs clan.)

Last night, having spent most of the day upstairs doing laundry and unpacking books and generally doing rainy-day chores, I headed down the stairs to grab a laundry basket and realized that the carpet looked funny. Then I got closer and realized the carpet was drenched. Oops! The basement was flooding

As I started the process of contacting the insurance company (who ultimately didn't cover it because it was a "groundwater incursion" for which I'm not covered) and moving furniture to the dry side of the basement, I also relocated all the animals to upstairs. The cats all got caught and stashed in the small bedroom, where they're safe from the possibility of escaping while workers are in and out of the house. Conveniently, that room opens onto the main upstairs bathroom, so I can go into the bathroom, close the hall door, then open the bedroom door to go in and feed/water/snuggle cats, letting the bathroom act as a kind of "airlock" to keep kitties from escaping.

Then I drug all the dog crates upstairs and stashed them in the master bedroom, which is my temporary sleeping space (on a twin futon... bleah) until the Big Noisy Fans are gone from downstairs and I can have my room back. The dogs have taken this in stride, 'cause they're pretty much just happy to be wherever I am, and they can still hang out in the living room with me (Thunder the English Setter looks very elegant sprawled on the leather sofa). The cats, however, are extremely unhappy about this turn of affairs. They're used to being able to sleep with me, and to snuggle against me while I'm working on the laptop. They do not like being banished to a single room, but we've got at least three more days of contractors being in and out of the house to finish drying out the basement and I can run the risk of freaked-out kittie escaping through an open door. :-(

I want my bed back... and my DVR (it's hooked up to the big TV downstairs)... and I want my house to not sound like I live in a wind-tunnel. But we can all survive a few more days of this, and the good news is that the water was limited to the floor... the walls aren't wet, and the carpet is probably okay (yay for really good water abatement crews!), and in a few days life will be back to normal.

Originally published at reddogs.com.

In an effort to start using the blog on my website, I'm going to start cross-posting from reddogs.com to LJ. With luck, this will all just work. Of course, that would be somebody else's luck. With _my_ luck, smoke will start billowing from the laptop at any moment!

( testing the cut-tag, and a gratuitous cat photo )

Comments will be enabled in both places, so you can comment at reddogs.com or on LJ... whichever makes you happy! :-)

Originally published at reddogs.com.

Smudge is currently writhing around on one of my tennis shoes. Moosh moosh moosh... Mine... my shoe... all mine!

At one point, he was upside-down with his head in the shoe. I was waiting to see if he'd wear the shoe like a hat when he turned over, but it fell off first.

Such a strange cat...

I'm home... and within 30 seconds of my sitting on the sofa, I had two cats on me (one on my outstretched legs behind the laptop and one on my left side with her chin on my hand while I type), one behind me on the back of the sofa, and anoher one beside me. Garion looked annoyed and Gorby has decided to shun me for my absence. Everybody else seems to be glad I'm home. (The dogs don't come home from the sitter 'til tomorrow morning.)

Errie was across the room from me, crouched behind a cardboard box, so I couldn't see his feet. He was acting strange, and at first I thought he was stalking something, then it started to look like he was just twitching and he looked unfocused and distressed.

Just as I got up to go check on him, with visions of seizures and all kinds of dire possibilities running through my head, he got up with a bit of a popping noise, and strolled off normally.

Apparently he had a claw hung in the carpet. *rolls eyes*

I really need to relax... really...

Chase is about the same today... he spent a lot of the day sleeping, but when he's been up and around, he's seemed fairly energetic and not stressed. I've done a ton of reading about myasthenia gravis and megaesophagus (and especially what's involved in helping a megaesophagus dog to thrive) and we're now on a quest for the perfect consistency of food. Apparently some dogs do well on (essentially) meatballs, popped in and gulped down, while others do best on anything from normal consistency canned food down to about milkshake consistency. The universal constant, though, is that the dog needs to be vertical while eating or drinking, and needs to be kept that way (think of a dog in a "sitting up and begging" position) for 15-20 minutes after each meal, and there should be four to six small meals a day. So far, Chase is tolerating me holding him upright, but as he gets his energy back that may come to an end. There are plans available for what is essentially a fitted doggy "high chair" and I'm going to check with a couple of my crafty friends (aka, those who have woodworking tools/skills) and see about making one for Chase. It would simplify the meal thing considerably!

Picked the RowdyBoys up from Caring Hands, where they'd spent the weekend. Drummer got his three-year rabies shot, and he and Thunder were both titered for distemper and parvo. Titer levels came back fine, so no need to vaccinate. Yay! Both were clear of any kind of parasites (worms, heartworms, fleas), and Thunder's ears (which I'd been treating for a yeast infection) were pronounced clean and clear. The kennel staff fell in love with Thunder. He's just so happy... and so easy-going. Poor Drummer, who's only been boarded one other time, apparently was pretty obsessive and spent most of his time pacing and worrying. They said he was _much_ better by the end of the weekend. Also, he was massively nervous when Dr. Roach did her exam... one of the techs ended up holding him in her arms like a baby and then he was fine. Apparently I need to get in the habit of swinging by the clinic with him so he can say "hi" to everyone and have a treat and get over being so nervous.

The cats were all happy to see me come home, and everybody seems healthy. Errand had the sniffles and a runny eye before I left, but he's all better now, which is good 'cause I soooooo can't afford any more vet bills right now!

A Cat in a Box Garion, my semi-feral boy, decided to grace us with his presence in the living room a couple of nights ago. Apparently the abandoned packing box in the floor made him feel secure. Awwww...

No, not that Bigfoot... my Bigfoot.

( my very own lolcat )

Now I must go dust under the stereo components. *glares at dusty glass shelves*

Chase went in for his re-check today to see how he's progressing after his most recent bout with what a urinary tract infection of some sort. The antibiotics are doing a fabulous job, his temperature was normal, urine sample looked great, etc. He's learned that visits to Dr. Roach bring yummy treats that he doesn't get from anybody else, so he's become a horrible mooch when we're there.

So that's the good part. Yay for an on-the-mend Old Dog! He's on another 14 days of antibiotics in the hopes that we can keep it away this time, but unless he starts being symptomatic again, Dr. Roach doesn't need to see him again.

The bad part... we've got fleas. Ewwwww...

I actually knew this before I went, so I was prepared for a pricy visit (try getting flea topicals for six cats and three dogs, plus an IGR spray for the house), but still...

Actual medical portion of the visit... $161, of which $75 was another 14 days of Baytril (wow... too bad I can't get the dogs' meds on my prescription insurance!).

Flea portion of the visit... including two months of Advantage for all three dogs, one month of Frontline Plus for all six cats, and a can of EctoKyl for the house... another $160. Ow. And it'll take at least another round for the cats next month... I just couldn't face buying that many more little green vials today!

Lesson learned... take flea spray in the car when I go tromp around strange woodsy places and barns while looking at property to buy. This is twice now... once last year and once this year... that I've had fleas ride home on me (I _saw_ a couple crawling on my pants legs after the place I looked at last year). I need to be killing the nasty little hitchhikers before I bring 'em back to my house.

Three cats down... three to go. Bigfoot is sulking and Gorby is hiding. Too bad I can't _tell_ them that this will make them feel better!

So it's a reasonably quiet Friday evening, and I get a call from the office... one of the servers is down and they need to know what to do. I started logging in to work, and told the 2nd shift supervisor I'd call him back as soon as I could see what was going on.

I tossed the cell phone over onto the CD player which is currently sitting on the sofa waiting to be put back into the entertainment center. The cats, miffed at being disturbed when I got up to answer the phone the first time, stalked up and started to settle in around me again.

About that time, the office called back. On the cell phone... which was on vibrate... on top of the metal CD player housing.

The look on Bigfoot's face as he levitated about two feet in the air and turned complete around was priceless. It would have been more amusing if he hadn't used my arm as a launching pad.

When I finish mopping up the blood, I'm going look for the kitty nail clippers. Wish me luck...