Gigi and kittens

Now you should know that cat have different temperaments and attitudes. Some are vocal and very talkative (like our Garo). Others are shy and reserved. Others are aloof, etc..
Gigi is like nothing I have seen before. She is clearly the strongest of the bunch as all the other cats in the neighborhood (males and females alike) move out of her way and step back when she hisses at them. And her hiss is barely noticeable. She’s very calm and steady. On the other hand she’s very warm with people. She will rub on anyone’s feet. Will not balk away if you try to pet her. And will gladly climb into any welcoming lap. She doesn’t vocalize much and before she gave birth we rarely heard her voice except for the casual “beep” (half a “beep-beep”) if someone steps on her tail because she’s always laying behind our feet when we’re in the kitchen!
Now Gigi is not litter trained. Mainly because she takes care of business (and sleeps) outside. But since the kittens came, we decided to keep them inside (closed porch). Gigi is happy with the arrangement since she doesn’t have to fend for her litter. Garo comes in for feeding on that same porch a couple of times every day, but he’s a pushover and she doesn’t worry about him much. We even closed the small opening he used to enter, so he now stands outside and yells for someone to open for him. So, when Gigi wants to eliminate, she has to go outside. She could simply leave, but we noticed that before leaving she comes looking for us. Every single time, before going outside, she comes looking for either one of us and starts taking loudly. We know we have to do something because she never speaks otherwise, and she’s never loud! When we follow her to the porch and stand next to the kittens, she rubs her head on our feet once and then steps out. She makes sure that the kittens are asleep before she leaves. And she only stays out for a few minutes each time. She trusts us to handle the kittens: no hissing or any sort of complaint when we do that, but she licks them thouroughly after we put them back. So I’m guessing that she wants us to kittensit for her while she’s away! Have you ever seen such a behaviour?

Update: after exactly 7 days, gigi was very vocal again. She was going out more and after a few trips, she came back and started taking her kittens one by one to hide them in the bush across the street. Pia was not too happy with that.

Another update: Xena came back after 2 days of absence. She delivered her litter somewhere in the neighbourhood. She is coming to feed more often now and is back to her playful and hyperactive self.

Yet another update: it’s been about a week since we noticed Xena’s delivery. She was very noisy today, even more than usual. And she was exploring the house. At about 6pm, I was taking a nap when I heard a scream. Pia was screaming (joyfully as I learned later) because Xena was carrying one of her kittens in her mouth and she took it straight into our living room. She went though the whole ritual 5 times (telling us she was going, drinking some water our milk, then going to get a kitten). I’m writing this update now sitting on the floor next to them. She is tired, but purring loudly. And the 5 are taking turns at feeding. bliss…

We had recently lost our cat “The Boss”, and had plenty of cat food left over. So my wife started feeding one of the cats that was bold enough to stop and “chat” with us while passing by.
He came back again for more and we took his picture. Comparing that to an older picture we had of “the boss” conversing with another cat from behind closed windows we knew that was not the first time this particular cat was at our door (and windows). We had thought it was a female previously. And “the boss” was bold enough to chase away other cats that ventured near his balcony, so we never saw that cat again while he was with us.
Soon after, my wife was leaving food for “Garfield the red” on the balcony every night, and we always found the bowl empty in the morning. Garo (for short), was also visiting during the day, and screaming for attention (and food) whenever he saw us. But we suspected he wasn’t the only one eating our food.
One day, we saw the one I always called “hag” passing by. But instead of taking the trail down the wall facing the office and to the street, she went straight to the balcony and to the bowl of food! Yeap, Garo had competition.
And it was real competition for our affections, as Giselle was so cuddly and human-friendly you wouldn’t believe it was a feral cat. She spent her time rubbing against my wife’s feet. When Pia sat down she would come and sleep in her lap. And she was never too hungry or preoccupied to let us pet her and check her for flees.
It was mating season, so we heard plenty of screams night and day. That was normal. Then one day, Garo came with a huge cut on his forehead, next to his right ear. He allowed me to put some betadine on the wound. We were worried, but he’s doing fine now except for a bald spot where the wound used to be. We also treated both cats with tick repellant.
Giselle was now spending most of her time on our balcony, leaving only for a few hours every day. On one night, we heard her calling out in her small voice (as opposed to Garo’s howling cries) to someone we couldn’t see outside. We came out to see another female of the same size, coming in from the outside. This one we called Xena after a few days because she always annouces her entrance with the same war cry that Xena the warrior pricess used when attacking enemies!
Xena and Giselle were now inseparable. They even defended “their” place against all other intruding cats. Even Garo was sent crying when he tried to come in for a bite.
The story continues, with lots of interaction and new cats coming in from the wild daily. Giselle went out one day and did not come back, we’re not sure where she is. Garo is sleeping on the balcony now. Him and Xena tolerate each other. The stealthy Gerard and his black and white side-kick are venturing nearer now, but Xena still slaps them silly when they try to trespass!
I’m posting just a few pics, let me know if you like them.

For the last couple of months, “The Boss” has been on a strict all chick diet. The problem is that he doesn’t always feel like chicken! It was all ups and downs until we got him a pack of chicken legs “drumsticks” from the supermarked (“Shuman” brand). He ate them all over the period of 2 weeks without any problem. We got another batch (from “Hawa Chicken”) and he ate those too. Great, we thought, at 1 drumstsick a day it’s both easy and not too expensive (in comparison to the hypoallergenic food we got him and he was too much of a snob to even taste it).
I was at another supermarket (“Charcutier Aoun”) when I heard they had a special on chicken legs. I got a 1KG. Back home, I cooked him one of the new drumsticks and he came to check it out as usual. The Boss smells it for a sec, then goes back to his bed. He comes back after an hour or so asking for food, but he never touches the chicken!

I tried cooking another chicken leg from the old batch and he jumps to it immediately. The same happens on the second day.
I just bought a new batch from “Hawa Chicken” and he happily ate one of those. Honestly, I am afraid to eat from the “Charcutier Aoun” chickens after the boss turned them down. Any thoughts?

On the first day, we arrived at the kennel at about 4:30PM. Our friend (the owner) was not there, but he instructed one of the guys to give us the dog. We asked him if he could trim her claws, but he “didn’t have any scissors”.

From there we went to the vet. She’s fine, a bit of scratches and flees, nothing too drastic. We asked about spaying her, as we read that should be done before her first period (6 months). She’s already 5 months, but the vet said we can wait a couple of weeks until she’s gotten used to us and the house.

At home, we discovered that Bella had peed in her travel crate. We took her outside, cleaned her. One of us stayed with her while we cleaned and disinfected the crate (she will be living in that for the next few months).

We spent about 2 hours in the yard with her trying to make her eliminate (poop). Nothing! In the end we were too tired, so we put her in the crate (door closed), in the living room. She was frustrated and made plenty of whining noises. No barking so far (up until this day, I only heard 1 bark out of her when a fly landed on her nose while she was asleep!) I slept that night in the living room, woke up 3 or 4 times to speak with her. I even took her outside a couple of times, she peed once!

The second day, I was so exhausted and so was my wife. She couldn’t sleep either with all the whining and clawing inside the crate. I took Bella outside at about 6:30AM and she immediately chose a place to pee (same as the night before!) I was happy.

Things went easier after that. At noon (after she slept in the crate for a few hours) I took her outside again, and she eliminated almost instantly as soon as we reached “the spot”. Pia and I spent many hours since then teaching her stuff. She now knows her name and answers to it immediately (almost 100%). She will also sit and fetch on demand. Next is “handshaking” (requested by my father) and “down” (essential). Hopefully we’ll have that in the next 24 hours.

Did I mention she’s now going to her crate alone and sitting there beside me all day while I’m working? She will still make some noises after we leave her alone in the room, but will stop after we say “NO” with a firm voice just once. Pia is responsible for the discipline (my voice seems to be too low )

We were following the “DogTrust” training videos on YouTube so far. All good, but we need other sources as the 25 videos in the series only cover so much. I will write about the training later. Pia is preparing a blog for “Our Cat and Dog“, further info will probably be posted there.

I’ve been reading about dog training and handling a lot lately, and I feel like I know nothing! I also downloaded and watched many dog training movies. Here’s one series that seems to be very useful: http://www.youtube.com/user/DogsTrust

We’re going to get the crate and other stuff for the dog on our way to the kennel. The kennel owner is a friend and he recommended a pet shop on our way to his place, so we’re going to stick with that.

We also scheduled an appointment for the vet to checkout the dog on our way back, so we should be covered there.

One of our main concerns at the moment is how will the cat and dog act around each other. Bella is a pitbull puppy with plenty of energy and a feisty terrier attitude. And Boss is a 12 years old cat that does whatever pleases him around the house (mostly sleep). Googling the issue returns plenty of hits and misses, but mostly it’s about slowly introducing the animal to each other and keeping constant watch whenever they’re in the same room. I’ll probably post about our progress in that area later on.

I’m adding a new category here for the Dog.

I’ll update with some pics when we take some.

She’s going to be a beautiful blond, with brown eyes and a wonderful personality, just like her parents.

Don’t panic! We are just adopting a gorgeous female Pit-Bull. And we need your help to pick the right name. So far we have:

• - Bella
• - Sienna
• - Stella
• - Ruby
• - Eva
• - Xena
• - Sasha
• - Thuraya

Your votes and suggestions are welcome.

I found a good deal on a “Bosch” impact drill with a bunch of spare drills and other “accessories”.

I also got some shelves from the mall: those turned up nicely as a makeshift closet while we’re waiting for the IKEA closet to arrive by ground delivery from KSA (thanks Juliano for taking the trouble to send us those!)

Later, I got some hooks and setup a clothesline with some wires. That looked really good

After that, I setup some door stoppers, a plastic net so “the boss” (our cat) can go out to the balcony without venturing “outside” to the garden.

Next on my list is setting up a metal closet/racks in the office room. Also for the office, I’m getting a large white-board and a black foam board. Plenty to do and it’s lots of fun (so far).

Going back to my day job now!

Well, when you see the picture of the “thing” that my friend Simone brought over yesterday afternoon, an exclamation is in order! He had a paper bag in his hand. He said it was a gift from his mother. Nothing I knew about mushroom prepared me for the sight.

Here it is in a pic taken earlier by Pia:

Later that night we prepared the huge mushroom to Simone’s mother’s recipe (thanks!) with some garlic, olive oil, salt and a squeeze of lemon, oh and a steak! DELICIOUS!

Anyone who’s ever worked from home will tell you it’s hard to stay focused with too many distractions all around. Having no children, the only distractions at home for me would be the cat. But we have both learned to respect each other’s space and daily habits, so there’s no problem for me there.

Now, I thought this would change once we came to Italy. I had a goal to work in public places at least once a week since we came here. I have managed to do that a couple of times so far.

The key was being well prepared. I have a couple of extra batteries for the netbook I use (Acer Aspire One). The larger one (12cell chinese made) will stay up for about 7 hours without wifi. With the UMTS/broadband USB key however, I found it will stay up for about 4 hours. The other batteries keep me up for the rest of my 8 hours work day, so I’m covered there.

The other thing to look for is a good place to sit and be comfortable while trying to concentrate on troubleshooting server problems
I tried doing that at the pitti palace gardens (boboli gardens) last month, but it was too hot to bare. I had to go find another place to work as mosquitoes and other annoying things were eating me up in the heat. The solution then was a nice busy restaurant with good air-conditioning and friendly staff.

The best time I had so far working in public places was at the Piazza della Signoria. The main attraction for tourists in Florence. It’s where you find the free open-air meuseum, the Palazo Vecchio (with the fake David up front) and right around the corner from the Uffizi Gallery.

I found a nice spot under one of the historical statues (not the one with the warrior holding high the severed head of an ennemy). There was a street musician playing guitar (same tunes over and over). And there was a nice cool breeze all day. I completely phased out of my surroundings as I started to work, up until the time when Pia came back from her self-made tour at the Bargello.

I hope I can do that again sometime. Maybe with the nicer weather I could find other interesting places to work at. It’s so nice to work from home, but troubleshooting Linux server issues at a museum is a dream come true!

Today, I was very excited about visiting the Uffizi Gallery! It was a dream coming true.
For an art lover, seeing the works of the Grand Masters (Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Caravaggio, Donatello…) is actually a big deal. And I have to thank my husband for that

We went in the afternoon, not worrying about the long lines in front of the museum, because of our membership in “The Amici Degli Uffizi”. We went to gate number 2, a nice lady handed us our tickets and directed us to the entry.
I was a bit mad because it was forbidden to take photos, and despite that, many couples were taking out their small point & shoot digital cameras and snapping shots secretly. I couldn’t do the same with my 0.703 Kilograms Nikon D90!

We wandered around the rooms and corridors of the Uffizi, amazed by it’s grandeur and beauty, the ceiling frescoes and the large collection of roman sculptures and paintings.

The original post and the pictures an be found on blog.scrum2.us