Ribh's D'Coopage

[RoyalChick]

Leonard has arrived.
We're not entirely sure what breed/s but he is a bantam & has some frizzle.​

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The girls are interested but Ha'penny is crowing... ​

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Wow. He’s a looker!

 

[Ribh]

Wow. He’s a looker!

Well, we all know my propensity for pretty chickens!

 

[Ribh]

Chavi & Tootsie are not only my youngest hens, they are right @ the bottom of the pecking order & Chavi is total bottom. They are both dingbats so I compromised & gave them an egg each because I'm not convinced anything will survive their squabbling. At present Chavi has managed to snavel both eggs & is covering them nicely. She has more sense than Tootsie, which is not saying a great deal. Alpia has 4. She is an experienced sitter but being sweet natured & docile is easily pushed off her nest by anyone wanting to lay. Wrold has the remaining eggs & so long as the eggs are fertile I would expect her to manage to raise all 6 with no problems. I did purchase another double nesting box but the girls aren't keen on it & of course the sitters want the favoured boxes.

 

[MaryJanet]

Just checking everyone knows about these important freckles on Blossom's right ear.

Happy Caturday!

 

[Kris5902]

We had a literal bloodbath at our house this week. Éowyn occasionally gets some poo stuck in the long hair on her bum. It's not usually a big deal. I snip it out with some scissors and off we go.

This week has been nothing but nonstop rain. Day after day. Well apparently something got stuck and Mrs BY Bob let her go outside. Éowyn sits around in the damp and smushed the poo all through her hair.

This necessitated giving this very large cat, or lynx as @RoyalChick calls her, a bath.

This is obviously a 2 person operation which has never been attempted before at our house. I set up the tub and the shower wand so we can easily rinse her bottom. It has a handy switch on it so you can turn off the water and flip it on to rinse without it being on the whole time making things more difficult.

Éowyn is very large and strong and has all her claws sharp as she is outside all the time and needs to be able to escape from large dogs if necessary.

I am designated to hold the cat as Mrs BY Bob deals with the mess. Trust me, there are no winners in this scenario.

I know there is a time limit to how long I can hold her. I have communicated this to Mrs BY Bob clearly. You must go quickly.

So I bring the cat into the bathroom and into the tub. Éowyn is standing in the tub. I am holding her by her front shoulders with the messed up bum pointed towards the spout and shower wand.

Everything starts out ok. Éowyn is surprised when the water hits her bum but doesn't react violently. Mrs BY Bob starts to scrub her.

All is fine as Éowyn cannot get any purchase on the porcelain tub with her claws. It looks like we are going to pull this off with no damage.

Only Mrs BY Bob is not in a hurry. She is very thorough shall we say. I start to warn her, "she is very strong and I'm not going to be able to hold her much longer. Please hurry."

"I have to get it all."

The soaping is completed and I still have control of the cat. Mrs BY Bob turns on the shower wand but is not rinsing the cat. Why? I have no idea because Éowyn has discovered a way out of this indignation.

While she can gain no purchase on the porcelain tub, my flesh offers an excellent leverage point. First she gets a hold of my left foot with her right rear foot, then her right front paw grabs my left elbow.

I am becoming insistent. "I cannot hold her much longer!"

I figure we are seconds from done so I'm holding on. But no rinsing is occurring. Why is no rising occurring?

Then Éowyn's left front paw finds my right elbow. I'm going to lose any ability to control her soon. She has good leverage now. But I'm still holding on we are almost done.

In desperation I look to Mrs BY Bob. She is messing with the hot and cold knobs.

"What are you doing?!"

"The water is too hot"

"I can't hold her anymore. Rinse her!"

At that point, I could not hold her anymore. I had to let go and Éowyn escapes the tub still covered in suds.

Everyone takes a breath and Mrs BY Bob notices that I am bleeding from multiple points in my body.

"You're bleeding!"

"I told you I couldn't hold her any more!"

Éowyn cannot escape the bathroom. So after a brief break, Mrs BY Bob gets the water temp correct and I gather up the cat again. This time I am holding her by her shoulders but I am behind her holding her up in the air, claws towards Mrs BY Bob. Without getting into claw range, Mrs BY Bob rinses her off, I briefly wrap her in a towel to get the majority of water off her and release her into the house.

The wet lynx....

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Proof that it was a "bloodbath"

Spoiler: The bloody shower curtain

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I was afraid to sleep that night as I thought Éowyn might try to kill me in my sleep in revenge, but she has remained as loving as beforehand.

I think I need one of those goat hoof trimming stands that @Kris5902 uses in case I ever have to do this again.

We have encountered a similar issue with Kaz… so far he’s only 2kg of feral menace, but I’ve found the chicken burrito technique on the three front pointy bits pre bum washing to be helpful. Cats are far too twisty to be contained by a simple milking stanchion.

 

[RoyalChick]

It’s a sad Caturday for me. After six hours at the emergency vet, I have left Nightshade overnight in their ICU.
His soft palate is 3+ times the size it should be and close to choking him.
Likely cancer but unclear. Surgeon will call me in the morning.
I hated leaving him there.
He is the only one of my cats to regard me as more than a mere servant.
He is my cuddle buddy.
Feeling a bit bereft.

 

[Ribh]

It’s a sad Caturday for me. After six hours at the emergency vet, I have left Nightshade overnight in their ICU.
His soft palate is 3+ times the size it should be and close to choking him.
Likely cancer but unclear. Surgeon will call me in the morning.
I hated leaving him there.
He is the only one of my cats to regard me as more than a mere servant.
He is my cuddle buddy.
Feeling a bit bereft.
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Oh, no! Oh, I do hope it is good ews in the morning!

 

[MaryJanet]

It’s a sad Caturday for me. After six hours at the emergency vet, I have left Nightshade overnight in their ICU.
His soft palate is 3+ times the size it should be and close to choking him.
Likely cancer but unclear. Surgeon will call me in the morning.
I hated leaving him there.
He is the only one of my cats to regard me as more than a mere servant.
He is my cuddle buddy.
Feeling a bit bereft.
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Oh no! I'm so sorry RC