Domingo and I have been busy getting ready for the baby and Lily does.not.like.it. Like most felines, she hates when her environment changes. One way cats show stress is to shed. When you combine that with the fact that it’s been an extremely mild winter, already turning to spring, and we have fur everywhere. Normally I wouldn’t care (hello Dyson Animal!) but the excess shedding is starting to cause hair balls so we need to deal with it.

We’re starting with brushing. She mildly puts up with it. She likes the attention, but not the brush, so we do short intervals of brushing intermixing it with lots of petting. So far we’ve had the most success with the FURminator. It’s the only brush she’ll tolerate. And by ‘tolerate’, I mean ‘doesn’t attack for the first three minutes’.

We’ve also been increasing the kitty treats and kitty love time in an effort to help her adjust. This _may_ be a mistake to reinforce her need for attention, as once the baby comes she will get much less. She has been our fur-baby for so long, I feel so guilty that she will no longer be the ‘baby’ and get as much attention that she craves.

Lily waking me up for early morning cuddle time.

But if we can’t get her shedding under control, the next step may be bath time. Lily actually does pretty good with baths, especially for a cat. We crank up the heater a bit so she won’t be cold, and she seems to tolerate the water alright alright. She’s only had a handful of baths, usually after she’s gotten into something I don’t want her licking off herself. But I have noticed it helps with the loose fur, so it is a step we can consider.

In the mean time, Lily is spending a lot of time curled up on my baby bump. Apparently it makes a good pillow. Zippy starts kicking when the baby climbs into my lap. Lily doesn’t seem to notice, or if she does notice she’s being obstinate. She just purrs away. I swear this kid is going to come out recognizing Lily’s purr more than mommy’s own voice!

Posted in Life | Tags: Lily Monster