Wednesday, July 9, 2008

A Fun Supper



Last Thursday, my good friend and neighbor, Diane, joined me after work for supper. Steve had a class to attend after work, so he wasn't going to be home until later. So I decided on something easy as Stosh and I had to take "Sweet Pea" to Greenville that afternoon for her monthly checkup from her cancer surgery and radiation treatments. Again, she received a good report! Next month she will have chest x-rays to check her lungs.

So early that morning I again made some turkey salad for sandwiches on homemade bread, and when I got home, I made apple crisp for dessert! We stuffed ourselves, but then we only do this every now and then. We had a nice leisurely dinner and enjoyed an evening of "girl time" and got caught up again on what's going on in the outside world. And, naturally, we had to read some blogs, too! LOL And I also sent a turkey salad sandwich and a big piece of apple crisp home for Steve! Couldn't forget him!!!

Below is a pic of our 4th of July desserts! Lemon Pie, Yummy Chocolate Pie, and Apple Crisp!



Then it was "cat time." I have a mama feral, now spayed, the last one I trapped, March 2007. She still isn't tame, barely lets me touch her, which I try to do every day. She had a rather large, tight mat on her back for some time. I asked my vet about it, and he sold me a couple of Ace tranquilizer pills so I could get her in a carrier and take her in for them to clip it off. I hated to give her a pill like that, as we had used that same medication on our 2 cats when we moved from PA to SC. It was awful! They were like rag dolls! Cats have 3 eyelids, and their inner lids came halfway across their eyes and stayed that way for about 4 or 5 days! They looked drugged the entire time, too! I just didn't like the idea of doing that to this dear little lady cat.

Anyhow, I had been trying to comb this mat a little each day, but this feral didn't appreciate that very much. I was afraid that she would bite me, and I didn't need that. I've had several cat bites, and believe me, they hurt! And once you go to a doctor, then Rabies Control gets involved! So Diane and I discussed the situation and thought maybe I could throw a heavy towel over her and get her by the scruff while Diane ran the clippers to remove the mat. Well, we had quite a time for a few minutes! The cat got out of her pen, right through our legs, as I always leave the bottom pen door open. I have one of those tall ferret pens that she sleeps in, as she feels safe in it. The shelf is at window height, so she can look outside whenever she so chooses.

We left the room for a few minutes, and when we returned, she was back inside the pen under her little pink litter box lid on the pen's shelf. I use that lid as her little hide-away, as ferals feel safe when they can hide. Anyhow, Diane held the box up while I stuck my left hand in under that lid and shaved away with the clippers! The cat kept moving around, and with each touch of the clippers, the mat became looser and looser! Believe me, the adrenalin kicked in! I could feel my heart pounding like mad!!! Then finally, the entire thing fell off! That little kitty's back just had to feel better! I had to take the chance of being bitten, but....NO bite! That had been bothering me for some time as those mats just grow tighter and tighter and can actually harm their skin from the pulling to the point where they can become painful and the skin infected under it! I am so glad it is off!!! She may have a bald spot, but her hair will grow back. These mats are miserable things for a cat! You wouldn't believe how tight the hair grows! I don't think a person could even weave it that tight if one tried! These mats are not a soft clump of hair but a hard mass of tangled, interwoven hair, and they only get worse. They do not grow out, as one would think.



That was our day! The recipes for the apple crisp and yummy chocolate pie will be posted tonight (hopefully) on my recipe blog, Cooking with Nancy. They are so easy to make and yet sooooo good! I served the apple crisp warmed in the microwave and added vanilla ice cream on top! Yummy! Now I just have to get some fresh peaches at Strawberry Hill one of these days and make peach cobbler and peach crisp!!!

16 comments:

Renie Burghardt said...

Hi Nancy,

Oh, those 4th of July deserts look delicious! I love apple crisp, especially with vanilla ice cream. And girl time is always fun.

Wow, you've really had a time with your feral kitty. But I'm glad you managed to get the mat off her back. All my cats are short hairs, these days, so we don't have that problem, but I had some long haired cats in the past, and they had to be brushed, to keep the hair from matting.

I'm glad you didn't get bitten, Nancy. I've had cat bites myself, a couple of times, and I've had to get a tetanus shot over it, and was on antibiotics! And I'm glad to hear Sweet Pea had a good report.

Take care and have a great day!

Hugs,

Renie

Susie said...

Your desserts all look yummy! So glad you enjoyed the time with Diane.
That was one large chunk of fur the feral kitty had.
I have to keep Vincent's long hair well brushed to prevent those. He still gets them on his tummy and he's quite ticklish there. He wants to bat at me 9with claws) when I do that area.
Hope you're staying cool. We're absolutely roasting here..
hugs

Jess said...

Abby has some mats under her legs that i need to get. I have been trying to hold off til she gets better though.

That apple crisp looks delightful!

Hope the rest of your week goes well.

Diane@Diane's Place said...

I just bought a thing called a Furminator to use on Dolly, my medium hair kitty. Her undercoat is so dense that she gets mats and a regular comb or brush won't budge them. The furminator works great! It's like a comb but between the teeth it's sharp like a razor. Maybe not that sharp because it doesn't cut me or her, but it cuts through mats and combs out loose hair and the mats at the same time.

It was nearly $40 for the medium comb but it's worth every penny!

I'm getting hungry and those desserts look yummy! I think I'm having a fried ham sandwich instead though.

Have a great rest of your week, Nancy. ;o)

Love and hugs,

Diane

Sam said...

Wow Nancy,
You're amazing!! I'm so impressed by the committment you feel towards cats. It's so wonderful. And i'm so glad you got the matted hair shaved off. Poor kitty. I hope she warms up to you soon.

Thanks for your comment today. I'm due at the end of November. But I suppose that could mean mid-November or even early December, right? Technically my due date is Nov 28th.

Delicious looking desserts! I love apple crisp!

Mary said...

Nancy,

I love the 4th of July desserts. One of my favorites is apple crisp with vanilla ice cream. Grandma used to make both the crisp and the ice cream. She had one of those antique ice cream makers that you crank. We kids used to take turns cranking it for her.

Take care and enjoy the rest of the week.

Blessings,
Mary

Mrs. Mom said...

Nice shootin there Tex to get that huge mat off- bet little lady kitty DOES feel so much better... (but I also bet she wont TELL you! LOL)

Gosh Nancy, you always have such yummy looking food pics up here...lol...I think I gian a few pouinds every time I visit! ;)

Merle said...

Dear Nancy ~~ ou must be a great cook as the three desserts look delicious.Thank
you for your nice comments on my blog.
I am so pleased you got some smiles there.
Take care my friend, Love, Merle.

Lib said...

Hi,
Glad you were able to get the mat off the cat:o)
We get all the strays out here, of course we adopt them and Love them:)
Enjoyed my visit here.:o) Nice Blog you have!
Blessins,Lib

Talk..to..Grams said...

Hi Nancy! Thanks for your visit to my blog. Yes, Nancy is my special needs daughter who is 46 years old. I don't know if you read my post on Nancy or not, but if you will scroll down (way down) to where it says READS, under there it will say, more about Nancy her lupus story.

She was diagnosed with lupus in 2003 and it has affected her lungs and blood. She was able to work for years at the sheltered work shop but since she has had lupus she had to retired. She has to have oxygen at night. We have been through chemo twice.

How long have you had lupus? It is such a horrible disease. We think Nancy is doing better and wham she is sick again.

I see you have many beautiful kitty cats!! We love cats too! Kelly, one of my other daughters who is our caregiver also has two cats! Zeke and Myrtle and one dog! Please come back and visit any time!!
Blessings, Grams

Mississippi Songbird said...

Making me hungry. Those desserts look delicious. I bet they were enjoyed by everyone..
Have a wonderful evening..
Bunches of hugs!

Diane said...

Yes, we had a wonderful visit, didn't we? The food, the fellowship...doesn't get any better!

Believe me, Nancy is a great cook. Steve enjoyed his too!

The "mat removal" was an experience, yet not nearly as bad as we anticipated. I'm sure the little darling feels MUCH better.

Hugs,
Diane

Nancy said...

Diane is too kind! It was nothing fancy at all, but we did eat and lived to tell about it! LOL I DO love her company as we share some good laughs when we get together!

BClark said...

Well those sure look nummy, I'll be over fork in hand!!
Great you got the mat off poor Miss Kitty. I have a Persian that if you turn your back she has a new mat, it is a constant battle to keep her brushed out. One of the Himalayians is the same. Ya know I don't think I spelled that right,lol. It's late.

Best to you, Barbara

hippo chick said...

My Oh My!!! The food looks great!! We ate more than we should have over the 4th, but I only gained one pound.

You are so patient and smart with your cats. So happy you weren't bitten.

You and Diane always seem to have yummy times together.

~hippo hugs~

Carole Burant said...

Hello dear Nancy:-)

Don't you just love these "girl's night"?!! hehe My friend June and I do that every once in a while, either go out for dinner and shopping or stay at home and eat while watching a movie:-) That dessert looks soooo good, I love anything with apples.

Oh dear, I'm glad you were able to get that mat of hair off the cat without getting bitten. I grew up always having a cat so I remember well those mats they get and yes, they are very hard!! That stray cat I've been feeding since last winter is finally starting to let me get closer to it but if I reach out to it, then it runs under the steps to hide...at least it stays put and continues eating if I open the door to talk to him! lol Before if he even saw me in the window he'd run away.

Take care my friend and have a fabulous weekend!! xoxo