Followup on the Pit Bull Attack

Lexington is staying at the vet all weekend because he is not doing as well as the vet would like.  Dr wants to make sure he is eating well and the shunt is draining and Lexy is getting fluids, etc before he sends him home.  That is fine with me.  They can care for him much better than I can.   Poor little guy.

I went out this morning to take pictures of the fence damage and have come to the conclusion that stupid dog got in my yard and broke the fence trying to get at Lexy (probably after chasing the other cats around first--they were all pretty panicked and ran inside when I was running out)  I couldn't hear anything until the growling because I had the door shut.

The screws are only in about 1/2 inch, but it takes a lot of force to do this amount of damage.  The attack happened right beside that bush on the terrace.  Lexy was undoubtedly outside the fence in front of deranged neighbor's house on the left and tried to get home when he heard the ruckus.  I will give these pictures to the Sheriff when he gets here on Monday.

Stupid Neighbors, Stupid Dog

My cats go outside.  Only when I am home and they are called in when it gets dark or is raining.  They usually stay inside the fence, but like all cats and children, explore the neighbor's yards cautiously while making their rounds.  Lexy likes to sit just outside the driveway gate where he can pop back in through the pickets when he wants to.  I think it's cruel to make them stay inside when they don't want to and they are usually pretty good with coming when I call.  I have some cats that don't want to go out.  That's ok too.  I also have one who lives outside most of the time because he pees on all vertical surfaces.

My entire yard has either a 6' board or 4' picket fence to keep out the dogs and children, but if one of them is determined they could still breach the perimeter.  Some of the houses on my block have college students who never come outside, so the cats feel safe to explore their yards.  Several yards have dogs.  Several have kids.  I have not had any problems with dogs or kids for a long time.

I heard a commotion outside this afternoon--sounded like cats growling--which I hear a lot because some of my cats are grouchy and like to chase each other around outside--but different somehow.  I saw past the driveway gate a ball of yellow and black fur rolling around on the terrace.  As I ran toward it I saw that there was a yellow dog fighting one of my black cats.  I opened the gate and saw that there was a fence picket laying on the sidewalk so I picked that up and began whacking the dog's butt with it.  It finally let go and I saw that it was a pit bull.  I chased it to the corner as my cat limped back through the fence.  When I got to the corner there was a girl with a leash, who I have seen walking this dog--always on a leash.  She was alarmed that I was carrying a picket and I yelled that her dog had just attacked my cat--I'm not getting close to either of them at this point.  I wanted to see where the dog went.  The girl was getting belligerent as I explained that her dog had badly injured my cat and I was trying to see where she lived.  She was not saying she was sorry this happened at ANY point during this confrontation.  She was acting like her letting the dog run around outside without a leash was my fault.

Gotta love those stupid pit bull owners.  It's never their fault when one of their uncontrollable dogs attacks a pet or a person.

As I was hurrying home to see how badly injured my cat was another cretinous neighbor--the one who gives me the bird every time he sees me and never fails to have a string of cursing ready to throw my way (because I told him when he stopped swearing at me I would start listening to him)--had the nerve to say.  "See what happens when you don't keep your *&*&*## cats in your yard"  I told him to shut up and kept walking and he kept flinging invectives at me so I stopped and yelled as loud as I could "I LOVE you Zeke and want to have your baby!"  His look was priceless and he muttered that I was too stupid for him.  I continued to say "But I LOVE you, Zeke" until I was in my own yard.*  That's my new tactic for dealing with him.  My way of swearing.

Lexy was badly injured and was having trouble walking so I took him into the house and got him in a box with towels and made a vet appointment.  They graciously made room for me so I rushed him over.  He was covered with dog spit, poor little guy.  He crawled into my lap while I was driving.

His exam showed several puncture wounds and a massive rip of his lower belly that fortunately was just through the skin and fat--not touching organs or muscle.  His fat tummy was an asset! 

The vet called me after surgery and said Lexy was still touch and go but he would check on him later.  I had an appointment to keep with a part-time job I have so I went after I got the report.  There was nothing on my answering machine when I got home, so I'll assume everything is good for picking him up tomorrow.

I called the police to make a report and they referred me to Animal Control.  Of course, their office was closed, so I called the Sheriff.  A nice officer took my report and said that he couldn't get out to visit the dog's home until after the weekend, so one good thing is that they will worry all weekend what is going to happen to them.  He will call me before he goes there to get an update on my cat.

When I came back from the vet's I noticed that the fence section with the missing picket was torn loose from the posts at both ends.  This section had just been repaired 2 months ago, so it was secure.  It looks like the stupid dog dragged my cat through the fence as he was trying to get away or something.  It's not that easy to rip both sides of a fence loose and take a picket off without a lot of force.  I will have to take pictures and repair this before the officer can get out here because a broken fence is an invitation in this neighborhood--especially with irresponsible pet owners around.

Oh, and my unemployment ran out two weeks ago and I have not been informed about any extensions.  But I fought off a pit bull today.

*If you have ever looked at http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/ this guy would fit right in.  A cadaverously skinny redneck with an Ernhardt hat and shirt and a scuzzy gray ponytail who smokes and drags an oxygen canister around and is lately driving an electric cart.  (Not) married to a fat bleached blonde with her own multiple ailments and a foul mouth to match his.  I have known this couple for over 15 years and they have always been on some kind of medical assistance and banned from driving.  No visible sign of income, and signs plastered all over their doors about their own dangerous dog, and Don't knock on the door, etc.  A lovely couple who I am waiting to hear have died, but they never do, though they have come close a few times.

The Birds

Pretty scary looking, isn't it?  There were a lot more of them in the other trees, too, all screeching and pooping.  I wore a hat to go out to the compost pile and was glad I did.  This was last week when I was trying to do some outside painting while the weather was still in the 50's and not rainy.  I had to wash the bird poop off the cellar doors twice before I could paint them, but did get a coat on that's relatively untouched.  Got another coat on the front porch, too.  Hopefully it will hold up over the winter.  The undercoat and oil I put there last fall did not.

 

Here is the other thing I accomplished, which usually is cut short by snow.

I always pile them in the side yard and they flatten out over the winter.  I have been piling them here for 15 years, so it must be pretty good soil by now.

The Cat Came Back!

Loki came back tonight!

I had written him off last week as deceased over the summer.  He has been taking summer vacations from home for the past 4 or so years and showing up again when it gets cold, but this year he was late, so I figured he was dead.  He's back, but very bony and he has lost all his teeth.  He is, after all, 13 years old, but very independent.

He is destined to be an inside cat now that I see his condition is deteriorating, even though it will be a battle with the other cats, as it always is.  That is why he runs away.  He is basically timid and the other cats intimidate him and chase him, so he runs to the next block where there must be some source of shelter for him (even though I provide warmth and shelter right here) and sneaks back for food.  As there are many animals eating my outside cat food I was not aware he was also eating it.

Loki's sib, Tigger, died last summer.  So far he is not eating that wonderful, rarely seen canned cat food I prepared specially for him, though he did lick the can.  I hope he is not also sick.

A Pissed-Off Pussy

Poor little Bertie!  On Saturday morning I noticed that his right ear was all swollen like a balloon.  Of course I couldn't get to the vet until Monday, so I took him in and the diagnosis was hematoma caused by ear mites.  Somehow the mites made his ear fill up with blood.

I had to leave him to have an operation the next day to drain the pocket and quilt his ear back together.  That's right.  Quilt his ear back together.  He ended up staying two nights and I just went and got him.  He is having quite a problem navigating.  He wants to travel close to the walls and objects instead of just going down the middle and keeps bumping into things.  I think they fastened the cone too narrow and want to widen it out a bit so he can eat and see and not be all squished in there, but he won't let me do it right now.  It's held together with duct tape, so will be quite the project.

I have a couple kitties traumatized under the bed right now because they saw this monster in their kitchen.  Sibley is acting quite courageous and stalking Bertie to get a good sniff.  Three of the kitties have not seen him yet, so there will be more drama later.  I took the hood off one of the litter boxes so he can use it, but that may prove to be the most attractive box in the house.  (Not in the pretty sense.)

I have to take him back in two weeks to get the stitches out and he has to wear the collar the whole time.  We'll see.  His poor little ear is covered by pink sutures.

Storm Windows Finished

They're done! The hardest part was fiddling around with the hooks and eyebolts to hold them in.  There wasn't a lot of room between the storms and the windows, and there was a quarter-round trim piece holding the windows in, so had to screw to that.  Not being able to stretch out the length of the hook makes the storms a little jiggly.  The maid's room feels warmer already.  Next is replacing some torn insulation and eradicating some bird condos

Fall is so depressing.  It's my most unfavorite time of year next to winter.

The only saving grace is fall crocuses.

Installing Spring Bronze Weatherstripping

While the putty is drying on the storm windows I have finished two coats of exterior paint on the multi-paned windows and shaved the edges down a little to make room for the spring bronze weatherstripping.

I purchchased a box of it and the bronze nails to install it with here.  It is a little hard to work with if you are doing this by yourself, and another person holding the ends down would have helped a whole lot, but I got 'er done.

It's really easy to cut with tinsnips.  I laid it on the floor after measuring around two sides and the bottom of the opening, standing on the coil with one foot and measuring and cutting and holding it down with the other foot.  The nails go through it like butter and they are placed about an inch apart.

At the corners, to get a nice crease, I nailed down to near the bottom then placed a block of wood in the corner and hit it from two sides with a hammer to bend the bronze.  At the end, instead of cutting off the excess I just bent it to a 45 degree angle.

For the top piece I measured about an inch longer and bent the ends and stuck them behind the side pieces and hammered them in.

The hardest part is the last--bending the weatherstripping to have "spring".  You take a screwdriver or flat scraper and insert it under the strip and pull towards you all along the length of the strip.  I then inserted my windows and temporarily tacked them in with scraps of wood because I will have to take them out again next week sometime when the putty finally dries and I give the storms two coats of exterior paint. 

I had intended to also add the missing outside sash trim at this time, but don't have the router bit I need ($97!!) to put the right profile on it.  I had a carpenter lined up to do this for me but just before I was walking out the door he asked me what profile I needed.  I said that I had indicated which one in my email, but I guess he didn't read it, because he said he had no panel bits at all.  Oh well.  Greg!  Come to Michigan and bring your panel bit!

By the way, I'm loving the fact that Blogger finally got their act together and made picture insertion so much easier!  You all know what I mean!