pet mama drama

frankie is on a rampage. his ears are chock full of yeast. i've caught him scratching at the back of the sofas. and, oh yes, he peed on evita's new bed while i was in boerne (bernie) this weekend. the fun part is that i didn't know he'd peed on it until after i vacuumed it. (my friend and petsitter had not yet told me about the incident, but had soaked up as much of it up as possible with paper towels. i couldn't see the stain and my allergies had rendered me cat-pee oblivious for a few blessed moments.)

luckily, the bed is totally washable so i put it through a hot cycle with bleach, twice to be sure, and let it air dry overnight.

as for the sofas, i have brought the scatmat out of the closet and placed it on the floor right where the little bugger will have to step if he wants to scratch. (yes, i am electrocuting my cat, slightly. yes, it is an uncomfortable sensation for him, i'm sure, but i'm doing everything i can to train and re-train him and i am absolutely not the kind of person who would simply abandon him because of his pee issues even though he has ruined carpet, many clothes, and a sofa--all of which had to be replaced, because i also can't live with a pee-smelling house. so animal rights folks, of which i count myself, please be kind. this cat really has it very good.)

i cleaned his ears out this morning with some nifty little cotton swab things i found at petsmart. you snap one end and the cleaning solution drops through the tube into the other end. i have to say they really did work better than regular cotton swabs with alcohol--my old method.

the fate of the vacuum, however, is still undecided. remember that i used it on a pee soaked bed when i got home on monday. not fun. the entire f'ing thing absolutely stunk of pee and there was no way i was going to use it on anything else. so i took it apart last night and scrubbed out the hoses with mr. clean and with my nature's magic enzyme cleaner. then this morning i scrubbed out all the pieces that actually have contact with the floor: brush roller, wheels, plastic casing, etc. and left it all to dry. (and yes every inch of smelled horribly of pee and so it needed to be torn apart and cleaned. i was not just being a neat freak here.) i will finish the disinfecting ministrations tonight by applying some Thieves oil to everything and then putting it back together.

keep your fingers crossed that he gets back on track and forgives me for needing to leave town yet again. i might actually board him just to be sure that he doesn't lose it while i'm gone. and to be sure that i don't lose it when i get back.