ALL NATURAL MAKEUP PRODUCTS

My cat was bitten by a radioactive cockroach. That really is the only logical explanation for her transformation the last few years. Just like Spider Man gained his supernatural powers after being bitten by a radioactive spider, she has become the Amazing Cockroach Cat.

TC (named after "True Colors", the Cindy Lauper tune) is going on 20 years old now. I'm considering changing her name to Skeletor. It has been almost three years since she was diagnosed with a hyperactive thyroid problem requiring pills and tests and surgery and all kinds of indignities for the rest of her life. After having gone down that road with a puppy that did not survive long anyway, I decided she had lived a long life and I'd simply spoil her, feed her good, spare her the daily medical regime and give her the most comfortable senior years possible. Again, that was almost three years ago.

That must be fairly close to when she was bitten. The first of her cockroach powers appeared shortly after when she began to transform from my neat, fussy, tidy cat into a creature that can tolerate -- no thrive -- in all manner of filth. She pretty much stopped cleaning herself. Her feet stink, she usually trails dingleberries, has a constant secretion of goo coming from her eyes and keeps a perpetual hunk of dried cat food clinging to her nose. I no longer have a small out-of-the way liter box discretely available for her use, but an entire room covered with a tarp and three big litter boxes hoping one might appeal to her. And once in a while one does.

The second cockroach power TC developed was an insect-like bony exoskeleton. Petting her is like touching some kind of tiny crooked, hardened washboard with a tail. She has weighed less than three pounds for over a year, consuming three tins of cat food and a cup of half-and-half a day. Each night she selects a new location to vomit about three quarters of that, which I usually discover in the morning before I get my shoes on.

The third cockroach power she has gained of course, is that she will never die. I've taken her to the vet several times wondering if she is suffering, but she seems to still be hanging in there enjoying her new cockroach life. She's actually become far more affectionate now than in any of her previous 16 years as a cat, purring and climbing on my lap and doing her best stinky cockroach-cute impression. I can't help thinking that is just her reaction to knowing how much I'd like to get new carpet though.

Anyway, here's my TC after one of her baths she must take now, drying out in the sun, and planning how to how use her cockroach powers today.


7/12/09 update - I posted this photo over two years ago. My cat passed away shortly after that. She didn't quite make 20 years but had a great life and enjoyed playing and hindfooting with her toys right to the end. I do miss her.

Thanks to all of people who empathized with one of the toughest decisions there is to make - how long to let an elderly animal live and when to put it down - especially when you can't talk to a cat to hear its wishes, and even humans have vast differences in how much they want to live or die if in pain.

In the end the pills did not seem to do anything and giving them was such an ordeal that we skipped the thyroid medication and just kept taking her to the vet to tell us what to do. Twice we packed her up, said our good-byes and took her into the vet who said she was still hanging in there and no need to kill her yet. Again, its a tough tough tough thing to go through - and sometimes you have to laugh through the tears .

Thanks to all for the considerate concerns - and best of luck to the many of you who have faced similar difficult situations. Take care all.

Bobcat (Lynx rufus)
Ontario, Canada
Appearance

Overall colouration, reddish to tawny brown to grey on its back, dotted with numerous blackish spots along the midline of the back. Underside, whitish with dark spots. The long guard hairs on its coat are black tipped. Short tail, blackish above and white below. Legs, tawny with blackish horizontal streaks. Prominent streaked ruff on cheeks extending below the jaw. Ears, short with dark ear tufts. It has large yellow eyes. The retractable claws on its front feet are about 4.5 cm long.

Can be mistaken for a lynx but the bob cat has shorther legs and smaller feet.

The male bobcat's body is about 80 to 100 cm long, including a short tail of about 12 to 15 cm. The average weight for the male is about 10 kg and for the female is slightly less. An average domestic cat weighs about three and one half kg. This means the average male bobcat weighs more than twice as much as the average house cat. There are records of some bobcats weighing over 25 kg. In his book, titled Leonard Rue reports that in Colorado a bobcat weighing 31 kg was killed.

Habitat/Behavior

Primarily in the southern areas of Northwestern Ontario. Prefers hardwood forests, brushy scrubland, rocky mountainous areas and sometimes the wooded outskirts of inhabited areas.

The bob cat's short legs and smaller feet make it less adapted to deep winter snow than the lynx, restricting its range to the southern boreal forest. It is a solitary hunter, congregating only during breeding season when a number of males may compete for one female.

The males travel in a circular way through their home range in search of food. They have resting sites along the way and may take seven to ten days to complete the route.

While domestic cats (house cats) try to avoid water, the bobcats enjoy it. They have been spotted playing and swimming in water. The bobcat makes sounds similar to a domestic cat. They meow, purr, hiss, and snarl.

Food

The bobcat is usually found anywhere where there is an abundant supply of snowshoe hares, the main element of its diet. It will also feed on smaller rodents, ruffed grouse, reptiles and insects. On occasion it will attack a smaller or injured white-tailed deer.

The bobcat's favourite food is rabbit, which may make up 90 percent of the bobcat's diet. The bobcat also hunts and eats small prey like mice, ground squirrels, chipmunks, and muskrats. In winter, the bobcat hunts deer who are weak. It jumps onto the deer's back and bites its neck just below the skull. The bobcat doesn't chew its food. It uses its sharp teeth to cut small pieces of meat and swallows them whole.

Range/Territory

Bobcats live in southern Ontario, but it is difficult to tell how many live in the province.

The male and female bobcats occupy home ranges or territories. The male bobcats have much larger home ranges than the females. An area about 150 sq km is common for the male. The home range for the female may be only 15 sq km.

Breeding Biology

Bobcats are solitary for most of the year, but the male and female get together to mate in February or March. A gestation period of about 50 to 60 days is needed and then the female gives birth to litters that average three kittens. The kittens weigh about 200 grams and are 20 cm long. Their eyes are closed at birth and open in about ten days. The kittens' eyes are blue at birth but gradually change to yellow.

Track

Hind print registers on the larger fore print while walking and while trotting two prints are observed the hind leading the fore. At faster speeds a group of four prints in a lope pattern can be seen. In deep snow bobcats feet leave draglines.