Parrots are fun and pretty and smart! Yes, all of the above, and they are also characters! But the truth is parrots are high maintenance and super messy!
I’m trying to get some work done this morning, and Hector strolls over by my desk. “Wanna come up?” she says, but when I try to pick her up she poops, runs off, and laughs!
The kitties had been playing with a toy, but Hector strolled over and took over. She was enjoying watching the ball go around the track, but when the kitties stopped playing with it because she showed up, she lost interest.
Hector moved on…
She decided to remodel the cat perch I made, with a little help from Bean. I had to redirect her back to her cage with an almond bribe. All is quiet for the moment, other than the crunch, crunch of the almond. Maybe I can get some work done!
Litter boxes are definitely the worst part of owning cats. With three kitties in the house, litter boxes are an issue. I’m constantly in search of the “perfect” box. Now, going from two cats to three, we’ve had to adjust, bigger food bowl, more water refills, more cleaning, and more litter boxes.
For the two cats, I had two litter boxes downstairs. We have a finished basement, and the stairs between the first floor and the basement have an open area under them. It is the perfect spot to have litter boxes out of the way. I keep a basket of bags there, and it is easy to clean the box, and step into the garage to put the dirty bag directly into the trashcan. When we got Bean, I added a third litter box downstairs with the others.
Little Bean started at our house without full freedom. I set him up in our laundry room which is actually an extra bedroom that we use as a laundry room. He had everything he needed in there, and it gave him a smaller space to acclimate to our home for a week or so until he was ready for run of the whole house.
As Bean gained his freedom and we started leaving him loose in the entire house while we were home, and then finally just all the time, I left his food, water, and litter box set up in the laundry room. Our older female cat, Logan, discovered this, and made herself at home.
Logan is kind of a weird cat. She spends a lot of time in our bedroom, and gets super nervous when extra people are at the house, or really there is any kind of change. I noticed that she really liked having the laundry room litter box, so I left it set up.
Logan
I don’t mind having a litter box there, the space works out, but after a few days I noticed we were starting to track litter all over the place. I bought a litter mat which is supposed to help catch and contain the litter, and it does help, but it doesn’t solve the problem.
I had heard of the Breeze litter system, and it seemed interesting, but with four litter boxes in my house, it seemed like it would be an expensive endeavor to keep up with the pads and special litter that go with it. Amazon had a deal I noticed over Christmas for the new covered Breeze box. For $23.99 I could get the box and a starter supply of litter and pads.
The timing was right. I needed a better solution for our laundry room litter box, and maybe Breeze was it.
The new box arrived just after Christmas. It took about a minute to set up, a pad goes in the bottom drawer. The drawer slides into the base, the top snaps on the base, and then you fill the base with the big, pellet litter.
Breeze Covered Litterbox
Design is really excellent. I love that the top flips back and doesn’t need to be removed for cleaning. Such a simple and useful design. There is even a spot on the outside of the box for the included scoop to hang from. The drawer slides open and closed easily. Changing the bottom pad that collects urine takes less than a minute, just pull it out, fold it up, and place a new one in the drawer.
Breeze Box with top flipped
After having it for about 5 days, the cats are still trying to figure it out. They have peed in it, but they are definitely using it less than they were using a traditional box with regular, clumping litter.
The big, chunky litter definitely doesn’t scatter around the house as badly, although occasionally Bean thinks the pellets are toys and I hear him batting one around the upstairs hallway. Even with Bean using the litter as a toy, it is still much less messy than traditional litter.
So far, I’m not noticing any odor from the pads. I did find generic pads on Amazon, so I’m less worried about the price, and since this isn’t a heavily used box, I can probably get away with changing the pad once a week even though we have multiple cats.
First impression is that this box may be perfect for my laundry room. It doesn’t smell, it’s easy to keep clean, and most importantly to me, the cats aren’t tracking litter everywhere.
I’ll update again in a couple of weeks as the cats continue to adjust to the new box and litter.
I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas, or Hanukah, or just some nice family time, whatever you are celebrating. We certainly enjoyed the festivities here. It was wonderful to be home, and to have the whole family together.
After finding the kitties playing in the Christmas tree again last night, I think we will be rushing to take the tree down this year before the kitties do it for us! The kitties also got a new climbing tree for Christmas, but we are waiting to set it up until the tree is gone so we have enough room for it. Hopefully we can get the holiday tree packed up and the cat tree set up over the weekend.
Did your pets get holiday treats? Puck, Bean and Logan have plenty of new toys, Cali has new treats, toys, and a new jacket. We even managed to find my daughter a jacket to match Cali’s. The only thing I can’t figure out is why I find hoods on dog coats so often. They never work!
Hector loves to open presents. She spent most of the afternoon working on this package until all the paper was sufficiently shredded. So far, she has been much less interested in the toys that were inside the package than she was with the package. Next year maybe I’ll just wrap some empty boxes for her.
The lizard didn’t really need much for Christmas, so she got some new greenery for her tank. I just got it set up this morning. I think it makes her tank look nicer, but she hasn’t shown any interest in it at all yet.
Weena is way in the back right hand corner behind the tree trunk.
What did your pet-friends get for the holidays?
Coming up soon on the blog, I’ll be testing out a new litter box with the cats. It’s the TidyCat Breeze litter box. It has a pad system and it supposed to be low litter tracking, so I want to try it out in my laundry room where the extra cat box there is causing some litter mess. I also have some more treat reviews coming, and I still need to get my Pet Fountain review written up. Let me know if there is any kind of product you would like me to check out, or if there is a product you love that I should take a look at.
Do you use a Pet Fountain for your dog or cat? I started using one a few years ago, and I won’t ever go back to a regular water bowl, especially for my cats.
Bean loves the Fountain!
Years ago, I lost a cat to kidney disease. My vet told me it was very common because most cats don’t drink enough water. I switched to a diet of canned and dry food for my cats so they would get that little bit of extra moisture from the canned food, and I switched to a fountain.
I have two PetSafe fountains that I switch between. One is the Drinkwell Seascape Fountain, shown above with Bean, and the other is the Drinkwell, 2 gallon model.
PetSafe 2 Gallon
Both fountains work great. I actually use them both and switch off between them. They both work in essentially the same way, they have a filter which circulates the water from the bowl, and then spits it out through the fountain. The 2 gallon model has a spout for the water to come out of, and the Seascape model uses a large ceramic globe or ball that the water comes out of the top and pours down over the sides. I like to switch between the two fountains to keep the cats interest up. They seem to really like to lick the water off the ceramic globe of the Seascape, but they also enjoying playing with the water from the spout on the two gallon model.
Maintenance is easy. Each fountain contains a foam filter and a carbon filter. It takes me maybe ten minutes total for a thorough cleaning. The process is very similar for both. The foam filter fits around the pump and collects larger debris such as cat hair, and the carbon filter freshens the water. I clean my fountain about once every ten days, and usually change the carbon filter every time. There are times I’ve rinsed the filter and it has looked OK, so I’ve used it for a second cycle. The foam filter is very easy to rinse and reuse. I probably only change my foam filter once every three months. Both types of filters are easily and inexpensively available on Amazon. Here’s the insides of the Seascape fountain:
Seascape Fountain – foam filter and pumpCarbon filter and housingCarbon filter assembled and attached to foam filter and pumpReady to add the globe
The Two Gallon fountain is similar inside:
Pump and foam filter
Carbon filter and water intake
Housing goes over the pump and filters – the lever in the middle adjusts water flowCap covers the tower
The Seascape is slightly easier to clean, simply because of the material it is made from. We have lots of minerals in our water and they build up quickly on surfaces. I find it easier to clean the ceramic bowl of the Seascape than the plastic of the other fountain. As you can see in the picture above, I definitely get some mineral residue.
During the week, I simply add fresh water to the bowl as the level depletes. The nice thing about the plastic fountain is the bigger capacity. The Seascape fountain holds about 70 ounces, while the other, holds about 2 gallons. I’ve got three cats and a small dog, so the capacity of the Seascape works for me. I don’t mind refilling it daily. When I had my yellow lab, it was definitely helpful to have the larger fountain, and even then, I put out a large water bowl along with the fountain in summer because he would go through a lot of water. Honestly, I found my Lab preferred to just drink out of a bowl most of the time. The cats always seem to prefer the moving water from the fountain.
Aesthetically, I like the look of the Seascape better. The ceramic feels more finished. I also prefer the spherical design of the Seascape better than the spout design of the two gallon model.
Another small detail I like better about the Seascape model is that it is easier to pick up. The two gallon model has straight sides that go right to the floor, so it is harder to get a finger under it to lift it, and the sides are straight. The Seascape is a bit curved at the top of the bowl, so it is easy to pick up. It also feels sturdier than the plastic fountain when I have to move it with water in it.
Overall, I think they are both great fountains. If I had to chose only one, I would chose the Seascape because the capacity is enough for me, and I like the look of it, but if you need the bigger capacity, the Two gallon works just great.
Do you use a fountain for your pets? What features do you like? You can check out these two fountains at www.petsafe.com or look for them on Amazon.
Do you include your pets in your holiday festivities? My pets have been involving themselves! Boxes everywhere, and everyone loves them! The cats hide in them, and Hector chews them.
The cats think that putting up the Christmas tree was the best thing we have ever done for them. Little Bean loves to knock the ornaments off the tree, and Puck has been caught trying to climb it more than once. Hector D. Byrd HATES change. She is very thankful the tree is no where near her cage, but she does seem to enjoy holiday music with all the bells.
Cali needs a haircut!
As I started to get a few presents wrapped an under the tree, I realized that none of my packages were going to have pretty bows this year. Bean thinks bows are toys, and I’ve just been finding them all over the house.
We will be home for Christmas, which is perfect because I really prefer to share the holidays with all my pet-babies. Everyone will have presents under the tree. Cali sometimes likes to open her own presents. Hector definitely enjoys opening gifts.
I don’t usually do anything big/expensive for gifts, unless there is something a pet needs that I was able to time right and purchase for the holidays. This year, Hector is getting a couple of new toys, Dragon is getting a new vine decoration for her tank, Cali is getting some treats and a toy, and the kitties also have treats and a couple of little toys. Since Bean is new to our house and Bean LOVES to climb, I did splurge a little this Christmas, and got the cats a new cat tree. It’s 72″ tall and has platforms and scratching posts. I think the kitties are going to be very excited!
How are you going to celebrate the holidays with your pets?
We finally got the tree up last night. We were afraid to put it up too early with some travel we had, since we didn’t think leaving Bean home alone with the tree would be a good idea.
I’m happy to report that the tree survived it’s first night! Bean and Puck were both very curious about it last night, but they aren’t overly obsessed with it.
It has been snowing for well over 40 hours now, and the snow is still coming down. Yesterday and this morning as I work at my desk, all my furry friends are keeping me company. Cali’s open crate is right next to my desk.
When Cali doesn’t have to fight the cats for a spot in the crate, that’s where she will hang out while I’m working.
Logan and Puck often like to snuggle up in or on top of the dog crate. Puck also spends a lot of time on time of the dragon tank as he LOVES her heat lamps. Today, the two cats are hanging out at the extra desk next to mine, just watching everything that is going on.
From this spot, Puck and Logan can watch everything going on around them. They have a view of Hector, Wena the dragon, and me!
Speaking of the Dragon, she’s happily hanging out in her hammock, enjoying her heat lamp, oblivious to the heinous weather going on outside. Smart lizard!
And then there is the one and only Hector D. Byrd. While I’m working, Hector spends her time strutting around, chewing up boxes, and chasing the cats. She also likes to chat at me, especially if I happen to get on the phone.
Unfortunately, Little Bean hasn’t realized that he needs to leave Hector alone yet, so I have to be super careful. I’m working on teaching Hector to “Go Home” which means to go back to her cage. It’s really handy when the cat is being too playful and I can tell Hector to “Go Home” and she heads back out of harms way on her own. Again, I’m always within a couple of feet of them, making sure everyone stays safe.
I keep a folded up towel on one side of my desk, and Bean spends a lot of time there. Yesterday, every time I sat down at my desk, Bean would come over, meow at me, then attempt to climb up my leg. I’d scoop him up and settle him on his towel where he will cuddle up and sleep as long as I’m sitting at my desk. Today, Bean has decided to snuggle up on the chair behind me.
I really love having him snuggle up in the corner of my desk. It’s nice to be able to reach over and pat him, but it’s also nice to not have him stepping on my keyboard!
Stay warm everyone. Hopefully this snow will end soon!
Cali and Bean are friends now too. Bean has spent the last few days trying to curl up with Cali when he sees her sleeping somewhere, but Cali hasn’t been too pleased about it. I think she is starting to figure out that he is a warm, soft cuddle buddy.
My worries about Puck and Bean not getting along are over. I think this photo says it all. Puck seems so happy to have a buddy. Logan is much older, and never really bonded with Puck. The best I can say is that they tolerate each other, which is pretty much how Logan is with Bean as well.
Puck and Bean are actually buddies. They love to wrestle together and they love when I have an extra box to leave out for them to climb and play with. I haven’t been able to get a video yet, but one cat will be in the box, one will be on top or on the side, and they will just pounce on each other over and over again.
Hector has always been obsessed with cardboard. She always has a supply of boxes in or near her cage. Lately, she has been strolling across the floor and getting into the pile of spare boxes I keep. Last night, she decided she wanted the box the cats were playing with. She strolled over, looked at the cats, and went into the box and started chewing it up. I saw Puck zip away from the box, and Bean was sitting just outside of it. I was wondering if Hector would feel trapped and get upset, so I was keeping a very close eye on things. When Hector was done adding some ventilation to the box, she looked at Bean, chirped and strutted back to her cage. Bean just moved right out of her way, smart kitty already seems to know that Hector rules this roost!
About 5:30 this morning, I woke up to the sound of running cats. Bean and Puck has decided that was a good time for a wrestling match. While I’m really happy the cats are getting along, I’d prefer if they could pick another time or location for their escapades.
But look at that little face, even though I’m not a morning person, I can’t stay mad for long. At this moment, the little guy is curled up around the back of my neck while I’m typing. He’s so soft and warm, an excellent neck warmer!
Little Bean is pretty awesome. We had some people at our house for a meeting yesterday, and we were all sitting around the kitchen table. Bean jumped up in to one woman’s lap, then onto the table. He hung out with her for a bit, got some pats, and moved on to the next person. He visited all 6 of us at the table. Eventually, he made his way back to me, and climbed up on my chest. He purred, loudly, then he climbed up to my neck and shoulder. He snuggled in and napped. I finished the meeting with Bean curled up on my neck, got up to walk around, and Bean was still sleeping on me. Carried him around for about 20 minutes before he woke up and ran off to play. Such a baby!
Today I had been out quite a bit, and when I came in the house I said “Where’s Bean?” Next thing I know, Bean comes flying down the stairs, and meows in greeting as I bend down to pat him. Bean meows a LOT! He meows when he is happy, he meows to say hello. He meows when he is annoyed or when he wants to be fed. He meows when he wants to be picked up, or put down. He also meows when he is wrestling with Puck, which he does often. He is not a quiet cat. I wonder if that is a Maine Coon thing?
Bean is trying hard to make friends with Cali. He often tries to snuggle up next to her when she is sleeping, but so far all she does is growl. I hope they can be friends one day. I’ve been giving Cali treats every time she is nice to the kitten.
Snuggled Up
I haven’t weighed him, but he definitely feels like he is growing fast. He has a vet check up on Monday, so I’m sure we will get to see how much he has gained at the appointment. I know kittens grow fast, but this one seems to be growing really fast!
How are you going to celebrate the holidays with your pets?
