No cat day cat blogging

The new kittens:

It has been a long time.

Let me explain.

I unintentionally stopped blogging at the end of July because one of our cats went missing. I intended to write a blog post about it, but had trouble because we had no closure. I didn't want to write about anything else, because everything else I had to say was about something too silly (or required me to be too snarky) given the situation. I didn't want to go back that before discussing the cat. Anyway, I've been ready to write about it for awhile, but having been away for so long was a bit of a hurdle.

Three months ago was the last time we saw Alex. We have come to the unfortunate conclusion that we lost her to a coyote. Please, please, no recriminations about outdoor cats. I have two other cats that were indoor only cats for 12 years, and Alex was an indoor only cat for 3. We got Alex as an adult cat and she spent much of her waking time trying to get outside. Before she came to us, she was in a foster home which informed us she had belonged to a homeless person for the first year or so of her life. She wasn't fond of walls. We could only open windows about an inch - she was able to rip through screens in about 4 seconds. Once I caught her be her hind quarters as she tried to jump out of a second story window, having ripped through the screen in a window that a house guest had left open too far. Constant vigilance was required to keep her inside.

Then, one day, my children got big enough to open doors by themselves. And then all of our cats became indoor/outdoor cats.

Almost three years after making that decision, my worst fears about this materialized and Alex didn't come home one day. We canvassed the neighborhood, put up signs, checked shelters, called vets, called the people responsible for removing deceased animals from the roads - all the things one is supposed to do. The only news was this: at least two other cats went missing right around the same time and there had been some sightings of coyotes in the neighborhood. There are no outdoor cats in our neighborhood now.

Alex was the first cat that Dr. H and I adopted together. She was soft like a bunny, always had a wet nose, loved Cat Chow, didn't like cat treats or expensive cat food and was great at removing mice from basements. She loved being outside. She was also the only cat that got along with Dr. H's cat, who hated all other cats on principle. We don't know why. We assume Alex got along with her because she deferred to all alpha cats (my alpha included). She had the most trouble with my beta cat, until they worked out that Alex was, in fact, beta. (At the time, we had four cats. Dr. H's cat we lost to old age some number of years ago.) Alex was our most cat-like cat, but very friendly and great with the kids. When the kids were really young she often avoided them, finding their unpredictability disconcerting. However, in the last year or so, Alex started to bond with Curie, and I was sure Alex was destined to become Curie's cat one day.

One of the hardest things has been explaining it to the children. More on that another time.

She was a great cat. We miss her very much. I thought I had gotten to the acceptance stage of grief. But last night I had a dream she came home. Does that mean I'm in the denial stage, the bargaining stage or the depression stage?

RBoC in Pictures

• The garden is in bloom:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Cats are cute:
  
  
  
  
  
  
• We have a lot of weeds.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Dr. H. thought he wasn't allergic to poison ivy. He was wrong.
  
  
  
  (The picture is from a week and half later, a few of those days with prescription steroids.)
  
  
  
• Ugh, just ugh.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Fun in lab:
  
  
  
  
  

Two Institutions, Two Sets of Students

I decided during my senior year of college that I wanted to be a professor at a small liberal arts college. I expected to get married to another academic once I was settled into an academic job. I expected to have twins, a house near campus, and a dog, once I got that tenure thing out of the way.

Instead:
1) got TT job at regional master's level institution (loved it)
2) got cats after going to shelter "just to look around" (awesome, no regrets)
3) found a partner who was also an academic (in another city...oops)
4) got tenure (yea!)
5) got married (yea!) (also acquired 3rd cat by marriage)
6) took a leave and went into administration near husband's new TT job (missed teaching)
7) got a job at a small liberal arts college (same metropolitan area, woo hoo!)
8) bought a house (over 25 miles from both our colleges)
9) got another cat (yes, that is four for those keeping track)
10) had twins (Clomid)
11) got tenure (again!)

The first deviation from my original plan was taking a job at a regional master's level (public) institution. When I was considering my options in college, the truth is, I had no idea such institutions existed. In my world there were (1) larger public or private research universities (2) small private colleges and (3) community colleges. It was only in graduate school that I learned about M.S. granting mixed teaching/research institutions. A woman from one of these institutions was doing a sabbatical leave at my graduate school. She was asked to speak to a small group of grad students who were interested in teaching at primarily undergraduate institutions. She was shocked that "small group" turned out to be packed room of more than 20 (mostly women). I liked what I heard there. When applying for jobs, I found a job announcement at one such institution that seemed written for me. To make a long story short, I liked the place, they liked me, and I took the job.

It turned out to be a great fit, in ways that surprised me. The student body consisted of a wide range of students. Some were quite weak, coming in needing remedial work in math and writing. Some students were hard working, some were distracted with other responsibilities, many were both. A few were absolutely brilliant. (Really.) What was remarkable and rewarding about this job was that I made a difference. And moreover, I made a difference to all those groups of students. I developed teaching techniques that "raised up the bottom" while still challenging the top. I rarely had to fail students - yet students often reported my class was the hardest they'd ever taken. I sent students to excellent grad schools. I also got to teach graduate courses in my specialty areas more than occasionally.

Leaving was hard, especially after attaining tenure. I did so to solve my two-body problem. That is a whole bunch of other posts in itself - which I will save for another time.

Today, I find myself at a small, private, liberal arts college, just as I always imagined. My students at SLAC, on average, are much better students than my students were at Regional U. This is nice for a number of reasons. I have to worry less about compliance on homework and class attendance. I also have to spend a lot less time working on basic math skills. These are all good things that make my life easier. On the other hand, the range of abilities demonstrated by my students is considerably narrower when I compare them to the students I had at Regional U. Here's one issue: this means that I don't feel like I make that much of a difference. These students are reasonably good students who will do okay with or without me. I would not have thought I would miss weaker students, but there you go. Something else unexpected: the narrower distribution at SLAC also means that while I have many strong students, I have yet to encounter any truly brilliant students. Maybe Regional U. was an anomaly, but I had two students in my short time there who blew my mind. (Cleverly, I sent one to my undergraduate institution to do an REU, and sent the other to my grad school to get a Ph.D., thus instilling in my former mentors a deep belief in my sound judgment.) My explanation for this is that some really incredible students chose Regional U. because of financial concerns - not something that is going to get such students to choose my SLAC over, say, Prestigious SLAC or Ivy U.

On the other hand, at SLAC, my students are really nice and I have a lot of freedom within the classroom. The faculty is 1/5 the size of Regional U, and the student body is 1/8 the size, which (often) means less bureaucracy. I have a lot more freedom to schedule classes, design new courses, even to pick textbooks, than I ever had at Regional U. I also feel I can make a big difference on campus. Lots of things on my campus are changing right now, and I feel very involved. Usually, that is a good thing. This is a different sort of making a difference than I mentioned before, but one that I also enjoy.

The last big difference between the two institutions is in research support. I had much more research support (time, money and students) at Regional U and consequently was able to do more research. Happily, however, my SLAC has started to put more resources into undergraduate research. I may be in a position to help direct how that happens. This is the last piece of the puzzle for me.

Now, if I could just find a way to shorten my commute....


scientiae-carnival

Friday Live Cat Blogging

Friday Cat Blogging

A photo from Haleakala a few years back.

 

Friday Cat Blogging

Friday Cat Blogging

Two cat-related comments, a little early for the traditional Friday:

1) Nothing I love more than cleaning up cat vomit within the first 24 hours after getting the rugs professionally cleaned.

2) Woke up thinking I had pink-eye. (bleh!) Immediately panicked regarding likely status of Dalton and Curie's eyes (read: infected and infectious) and the resulting consequences for daycare. In the end, it was not pink-eye, but rather a histamine-inducing feline sleeping on my head - unfortunately combined with an air filter set to "off" because certain three year olds like to push buttons.

Friday Cat Blogging

My other set of twins:

This is not...

...what you want to see when you wake up when both you and your spouse teach class at 9:10 and your campuses are each about 25 miles away from home.




Fortunately, it quickly became apparent that a cat had walked across the clock, forwarding the time by two hours.

An update about the cat - and it's Friday, so technically this is Friday Cat Blogging

Thank you for your kind words about the stepping on the cat incident. We had his second vet follow up the other day, and his blood levels are normal, so there appears to be no long term damage from the "trauma". The emergency vet called it that - which is much nicer than saying "from when you stepped on him".

As it turns out, we currently have three cats, two very messy children and one very messy house. Regrettably, the incident is unlikely to change our housekeeping habits, but you may be relieved to hear that we do have a night-light in our bedroom now.

I Stepped on My Cat

Seriously. Last Sunday.

I went to bed after midnight on Saturday. At 3:02 a.m. Sunday morning, one of the kids woke up screaming from what appears to have been a nightmare. This immediately woke up the other child, who also began crying. This all penetrated my deep sleep stage with some difficulty. I stumbled out of bed and across the pitch black bedroom, stepping on a pile of laundry. With fur. One that began moving just as much of my weight was coming down onto said pile of fur.

Fuck.

I pulled back as best I could. The cat pulled himself free. I lost my balance.

At 3:19 a.m., I'm at the emergency vet clinic with a vomiting cat in a carrier full of bloody fluid.

"Accidents happen" they say, in calm, non-judgmental and very professional attempt to make me feel better.

Remarkably, the cat is fine now, at home and acting like his normal cheerful and ornery self. Dx: Trauma to stomach, liver, kidneys and bladder, complicated by existing, but previously unknown kidney stones and very early stages of renal disease, not so unusual in a 14 year old cat. Treatment: iv fluids for 24+ hours until kidney values come back to normal. Start kidney diet to begin to manage existing early kidney disease.

I'm so relieved. I love that damn cat.

Perhaps it is not surprising...

We are plagued by visits from she who shall be called "The Black and White Cat". Perhaps you think this too impersonal? Well, one of our neighbors, who happens to be a member of her family, said "I just call her the little cat" when I asked about her name. The neighbor's partner told our other neighbor ""I call her crybaby because she meows all the time." In any case, The Black and White Cat is almost always in our back yard.

I have been wondering why our backyard is so popular. Several other cats frequent our backyard as well. It is largish, with lots of grass and trees, but not dissimilar from the yards around us.

Then it occurred to me: Our backyard is full of this:



What is it?

A variety of Nepeta or Catmint, also called catnip. It isn't the same variety as "true catnip" (Nepeta Cataria L.) but does have plenty of nepetalactone none the less.

In addition to its well known effect on cats, nepetalactone is also apparently an insect repellent, though how large its effect is seems to be a matter of some debate.

I love this plant. It grows like crazy, flowers for months (the variety I have anyway), tolerates hot sun and lack of water, and I find its bushy overgrown appearance very attractive. The cats do occasionally roll in it, but it is hardy enough to withstand their attentions. Only recently did it occur to me that the cats may be attracted by the catmint.

I am now wondering if I am effectively an enabler. If I embrace the role, perhaps I should be piping Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb into the back yard to give the cats a fuller altered state college-like experience.

Basement Statistics

Dead mice: 5

Dead reptiles: 1

Three cats that can hunt: Priceless