Anyone ever try the cat nails for the furkids?

Please, no posts about declawing. I would never do that!! I have brand new furniture and right now it is covered with sheets, blankets and the like, delivered yesterday, living room full of leather at that (along with new dining room, 10 new chairs that have cloth seats). I tried the scratching posts, I tried the bad smelling stuff they sell at the pet stores, I tried the water bottle (that is effective as long as in the same room), but I want to know who has tried the cat nails and if they work. I want to enjoy the beauty of my furniture and I love my kids! I would never damage those indoor babies but I want to look at my furniture also. Are the nails hard to put on. HELP!!

The messages you are viewing are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select the boards given in left menu

Okay, let me start off by saying, I'm writing this for the primary purpose of venting. I'm not asking for advice or expecting support, but I would appreciate no bashing on this one.

I have 2 boys playing little league this year on the same team. Last night they had a game against the 1 team I really wanted them to beat. I absolutely cannot stand 1 of the kid's mothers on the other team. She is at every sports function and likes to run everything. She is very pushy and will do anything to have her kid come out on top (suck up to the head coaches, offer to run the boosters, make ridiculous posters to hang on her front porch for the kids on the bus to see). You get the picture?

Ordinarily I keep my distance from her because just the sound of her know-it-all voice gets on my nerves. Last night I stood in the same spot I always stand in. My kids were the home team and I was near the first baseline (my kids play first and second base and pitch). She ends up 3 feet from me. The first couple of innings were fine. Let me say that I do not boo the other team or make any remarks at all about their players. I am there to cheer my sons' team on and my sons.

Now to the technicalities, the last 2 games we have been short an outfield ump. The only ump we had was the one behind the catcher. Usually when this happens, if there's someone in the bleachers who's willing to ump the outfield, they can make $10. Last night, this guy volunteers, who happens to be this other woman's dad (hence, the grandfather of a kid on the opposing team). As unhappy about this as I was, I said nothing. I figured he deserved the benefit of the doubt.

He made several calls early on that seemed fair, so I pretty much dismissed the bias I thought he might have. Then about halfway through the game, we have a runner on first and third and our kid up to bat. He hits it and the runner on first goes to second while the runner on third goes home. The ball made it to the infield and the shortstop tries to catch the runner going to second. Our runner makes it second base just before the other kid does and the other kid ends up on top of him and he drops the ball. Now, the outfield ump (gramps), calls our kid safe and we got a run in. The catcher ump turns around and calls the kid out, saying it was a forced play and he didn't have to tag the kid and he thinks the other kid made it to the base first. How he saw that from his distance is beyond me. Secondly, when he called the kid out after the fact, he gave no explanation for it. The coaches didn't even know.

Now this is when I got a litte irritated. I yelled out that our kid was on the base first and the other ump called him safe. I'll admit I was a little heated and was talking rather loudly to my mom. I was not talking about any of the kids. I was stating that the other ump's eyes (catcher's ump) must be pretty good to see that far away when the ump who was right there called him safe (gramps). I probably did go on a little longer than I should have, but it not only cost us a run, it also gave us 3 outs to end the inning.

At this point, the woman sitting 3 feet away, says "Enough already!" I turned and said "I don't think I was talking to you!" I then turned back to my mom and the 1 coach and asked what the call was and why. This woman then addresses me by name and begins telling me the rules of baseball. Now mind you, this woman has never played baseball in her life (we went to the same school) and the only kid she has in baseball a son younger than my oldest. Furthermore, later on in the game, she had no clue what the infield fly rule is (and even I knew that one), my point being she doesn't know the game that well. So after she starts telling me this, I looked at her and said "I've heard enough of out you!"

Needless to say, 2 bad calls later, we lost the game. I'm still fuming. I realize this is only a game and it's not our first loss. But this woman's know-it-all attitude really has me PO'ed. She's been picked up for shoplifting and I really wanted to explain to her what shoplifting is and why you shouldn't do it, but I didn't. I know I'm going to have to see her at every sporting event because she pushes her kid to play sports year-round. She had 3 kids before she even got married and milked the system for all she could. Now she's a daycare provider and I actually took my kids to her once years ago, before I really knew her, and my kids hated going there because all she did was watch TV. The kids had to be quiet and they had to watch her shows. They weren't allowed to go outside to play until her soaps were over.

Okay, I feel better. I just really needed to vent this one. I think the next time we play them, I will stand on the opposite side of the field from her and maybe wear earplugs, so I can't hear her either.

My daughter's both take dance at a local dance studio. Nothing fancy, nice people, etc, and have been going there now for over 3 years. Last night my 8-year-old left her coat there (denim jacket with embroidered butterflies --from Kohl's I think) and a pink scarf. I thought nothing of it, she'd let coats there before without problem, and I knew I'd be back there tonight for my other daughter's dance class, also I was too tired to go back (16 miles round trip) to get it....she told me she left it there when we pulled into the driveway. So get there tonight and no jacket or scarf. Someone there actually stole it (so it appears). I am so po'ed it is not funny. I made a sign asking for its return, saying "lost", etc, and if anyone had accidentally taken them home with them (though they were both pretty distinctive). I just cannot believe someone there stole them. I see these people 9 months out of the year. This is a very small community with hardly any crime and someone steals a coat and scarf. I called the owner and left a message for her, hoping against hope that she took them home for some reason (they have a lost and found box), but still waiting on her call. If no one coughs it up I am certainly going to make a lot of noise there next Tuesday night and talk to every parent and let them know that someone stole my kid's coat.

THE JOURNEY

by Crystal Ward Kent

When you bring a pet into your life, you begin a journey � a journey that will bring you more love and devotion than you have ever known, yet also test your strength and courage.

If you allow, the journey will teach you many things, about life, about yourself, and most of all, about love. You will come away changed forever, for one soul cannot touch another without leaving its mark.

Along the way, you will learn much about savoring life�s simple pleasures � jumping in leaves, snoozing in the sun, the joy of puddles, and even the satisfaction of a good scratch behind the ears.

If you spend much time outside, you will be taught how to truly experience every element, for no rock, leaf or log will go unexamined, no rustling bush will be overlooked, and even the very air will be inhaled, pondered, and noted as being full of valuable information. Your pace may be slower � except when heading home to the food dish � but you will become a better naturalist, having been taught by an expert in the field.

Too many times we hike on automatic pilot, our goal being to complete the trail rather than enjoy the journey. We miss the details � the colorful mushrooms on the rotting log, the honeycomb in the old maple snag, the hawk feather caught on a twig. Once we walk as a dog does, we discover a whole new world. We stop; we browse the landscape; we kick over leaves, peek in tree holes, look up, down, all around. And we learn what any dog knows: that nature has created a marvelously complex world that is full of surprises, that each cycle of the seasons brings ever-changing wonders, each day an essence all its own.

Even from indoors you will find yourself more attuned to the world around you. You will find yourself watching summer insects collecting on a screen (How bizarre they are! How many kinds there are!), or noting the flicker and flash of fireflies through the dark. You will stop to observe the swirling dance of windblown leaves, or sniff the air after a rain. It does not matter that there is no objective in this; the point is in the doing, in not letting life�s most important details slip by.

You will find yourself doing silly things that your pet-less friends might not understand: spending thirty minutes in the grocery aisle looking for the cat food brand your feline must have, buying dog birthday treats, or driving around the block an extra time because your pet enjoys the ride. You will roll in the snow, wrestle with chewie toys, bounce little rubber balls till your eyes cross, and even run around the house trailing your bathrobe tie � with a cat in hot pursuit � all in the name of love.

Your house will become muddier and hairier. You will wear less dark clothing and buy more lint rollers. You may find dog biscuits in your pocket or purse, and feel the need to explain that an old plastic shopping bag adorns your living room rug because your cat loves the crinkly sound.

You will learn the true measure of love � the steadfast, undying kind that says, �It doesn�t matter where we are or what we do, or how life treats us as long as we are together.� Respect this always. It is the most precious gift any living soul can give another. You will not find it often among the human race.

And you will learn humility. The look in my dog�s eyes often made me feel ashamed. Such joy and love at my presence. She saw not some flawed human who could be cross and stubborn, moody or rude, but only her wonderful companion. Or maybe she saw those things and dismissed them as mere human foibles, not worth considering, and so chose to love me anyway.

If you pay attention and learn well, when the journey is done, you will not be just a better person, but the person your pet always knew you to be � the one they were proud to call beloved friend.

I must caution you that this journey is not without pain. Like all paths of true love, the pain is part of loving. For as surely as the sun sets, one day your dear animal companion will follow a path you cannot yet go down. And you will have to find the strength and love to let them go. A pet�s time on earth is far too short � especially for those that love them. We borrow them, really, just for awhile, and during those brief years they are generous enough to give us all of their love � every inch of their spirit and heart, until one day there is nothing left.

The cat that only yesterday was a kitten is all too soon old and frail and sleeping in the sun. The young pup of boundless energy wakes up stiff and lame, the muzzle now gray. Deep down we somehow always knew this journey would end. We knew that if we gave our hearts they would be broken. But give them we must for it is all they ask in return. When the time comes, and the road curves ahead to a place we cannot see, we give one final gift and let them run on ahead � young and whole once more.

�Godspeed, good friend,� we say, until our journey comes full circle and our paths cross again.