Day 142: Management decided to turn off the A/C

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 142: Management decided to turn off the A/C

Even though the summer of 2018 will go down in history as the hottest year around the world, with heatwave after heatwave, the management of our condo building has seen fit to switch off the air-conditioning.

Never mind that yesterday’s temperature reached 32 degrees C (89.6 degrees F) and people are just about fainting in their units, according to some stupid bylaw the heat must be switched on by September 15th and that is the rule the manager of this building followed.

Technically, our building doesn’t have to follow that rule, because it is a condo building, not an apartment building and as such the government doesn’t have any say over us, but because the building holds approximately 10 rentals the bylaw gets enforced.

I’ve lived in this building for the past 18 years and this is the first time this rule has actually been enforced. Other years the building manager used common sense. If the temperature is still in the high 20s he waited with switching off the air-conditioning, after all, who needs heat when it’s still so hot.

However, this year we have a new building manager, a woman, and she goes by the book. When a notice was posted in the elevators that the air-conditioning would be switched off the next day, residents descended on the management office to complain about this decision. Some asked, some pleaded, some begged for the air-conditioning to stay on, but the manager could not be swayed. She said that some people might be cold and might need heat.

Some people might need heat!!! ... When it’s boiling hot outside!!! ... who are these people?

At first the lack of cool air was not such a problem, as the temperature remained below 25 degrees C (77 degrees F), but as from Thursday the temperature climbed and climbed, reaching 32 degrees yesterday. To say that it was uncomfortable inside would be an understatement. It went from warm, to hot, to stifling. Nobody had any energy and tempers flared.

If you live in a house, don’t think for a moment that this a the same as living in a condo. There’s a big difference between living in a brick and mortar house and a south facing, glass fronted condo on the 11th floor.

To bring some relief we have two fans going, but that only cools to air to a certain extent.  And if the days are difficult, the nights are even worse. Who can sleep in this heat?

Charlotte, Gabriel, Holly and Halley suffered too. In a way it’s worse for them then for us. While we could position ourselves in front of a fan or take a cold shower, the cats were laying flat on the hardwood floor, under the bed, or sought relief from the heat in the relatively cool walk in closet. After a while they figured out that though that the fan was nothing to be afraid of and sat in places where the wind of the fan lifted their fur.

Greyson was the only one who wasn’t bothered by the heat. For him it was business as usual. He ran around and played, but for once he couldn’t find anyone to play with. The others clearly were not in the mood.

Today it’s a little cooler than yesterday, and tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday will be cooler still, but on Friday temperatures are going up again. Well, technically it’s still summer until September 21st. Only the manager of our building seems to think it’s already fall.

Day 141: Update on Greyson

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 141: Update on Greyson

Quite a few people showed concern for Greyson after my post of a few days ago ‘The Day Greyson Scared us Half to Death’ https://underthetorontosun.blogspot.com/2018/09/day-139-day-greyson-scared-us-half-to.html

Readers asked if he was okay now and if we knew what the problem had been. At the time, I said that he was totally fine. After I fed him with me finger and next with a spoon, he started eating by himself and several times visited his plate. It was a total mystery. At 6:00 p.m. it looked like we had to take him to the emergency room, at 9:00 he was eating and at 10:00 p.m. he was playing. I thought that was the end of that, but I was wrong.

While on Monday he seemed totally fine and back to his old self, on Tuesday morning he again refused his breakfast. He slept a lot and didn’t look well at all. I decided not to wait. I called the animal hospital for an appointment and my favorite doctor could see Greyson at 4:40 p.m.

To cut a long story short, Greyson was diagnosed with an infection but without doing bloodwork (which the doctor didn’t think was necessary) he wasn’t sure whether it was a viral or bacterial infection. So, the doctor said that Greyson should be better by Friday, if not we should come back and start him on antibiotics. In the meantime, he send us home with Nutri-Lys and Royal Canin Recovery.

Since Greyson also had an eye infection, the vet scanned his eye for an ulcer and also checked his mouth. In both cases the diagnosis was negative.

Back home we gave Greyson the Royal Canin food and the prescribed dosage of Nutri-Lys which is supposed to strengthen his immune system. He loved both.

Today, 3 days later, Greyson is truly back to his old self. His eye is still a bit cloudy but much better then it was on Tuesday. His appetite is back and his whole persona indicates that he’s feeling much better.

Just how much better I experienced first hand this morning. Greyson clambered onto my bed and started chasing an imaginary fly. He raced around the duvet and the fact that I was still under it didn’t seem to bother him in the least. He ran around my legs, over my legs, over my shoulders, around my head and at one point across my face. Continuing to sleep was clearly out of the question.

When he got tired he took a short pause and then went for round two. This time he added a little extra though. Instead of merely racing around my bed, he now started jumping. He resembled jumping beans in a pot or popcorn kernels in a bag. When he saw that I was awake he came to give me kisses and Greyson's kisses are not to be under estimated. Unlike other cats who merely kiss their owners with a gentle touch of their nose, Greyson pushes his whole snout at various places of my face. And he doesn't do this gentle either, no he puts force behind his kisses. Alright, I guess it was time to get up.

In the kitchen Gabriel, Charlotte, Holly, Halley and Greyson gathered around me. It was time for breakfast. Greyson first ate his serving of Royal Canin Recovery and having finished that plate he moved on to what the others were eating. A little later he went back for seconds. That kitten has an appetite you wouldn’t believe.

After playtime with Halley, Greyson along with the rest of the gang went to sleep. Not lying down because he’s not feeling well, but having a proper cat nap. 

Cat lovers know the difference.

Day 140: Cats and Construction Works

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 140: Cats and construction works

The underground parking project is coming along nicely and after a noisy week (the last update being https://underthetorontosun.blogspot.com/2018/08/day-136-halley-and-geese.html the weekend brought peace and quiet. The quiet continued on Monday on account of rain.

If I thought the noise of the jackhammer was loud, that was nothing compared to another tool that was used to smooth out the edges of the concrete. A sandblaster. That thing made one heck of a noise. So much so that we had to yell at each other to make ourselves heard.

To give you an update on the latest progress ... 

 

 

While so far Holly, Halley, and Greyson had shown a keen interest in the works, while the sandblaster was attacking our eardrums with decibels, none of the cats went anywhere near the balcony.

Curiosity eventually got the best of Halley and Greyson though. When Dieter and I took them outside we were surprised at the progress the men had made. 

 

 

While initially Greyson clearly communicated "Hold me, daddy, I'm scared," later on, once he knew he was safe, he took a keen interest in the men and what they were doing. 

And what about Charlotte and Gabriel you might wonder. Those two are not remotely interested in the construction works. While Charlotte is not exactly scared, she doesn't like loud noises (doesn't even like the vacuum cleaner) and as for Gabriel ... he sleeps through anything and everything. I'm not kidding, whether the men used a jackhammer or a sandblaster ... nothing kept Gabriel from catching his zzzzz's.
​
As I mentioned earlier, today it's business as usual, minus the noise.

www.connymanero.weebly.com

Day 139: The day Greyson scared us half to death

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 139: The day Greyson scared us half to death

There are people who complain that their life is boring, that nothing ever happens. In my opinion, those are lucky people. Here there’s always something happening and none of it is good. Take the past weekend for instance …

After a long hot summer, last Saturday the temperature dropped to about 18 degrees C (64.4 degrees F). Not exactly cold, but the air was definitely chilly. Still, I saw no reason not to let the cats out on the balcony. Dieter even took a nap in the swing there, joined by Halley and Greyson.

Saturday evening Halley and Greyson were playing, as usual, racing in and out of the living room to the balcony and back again.

This continued on Sunday morning. Halley and Greyson were playing while I showered and got ready for the day. And then suddenly things went wrong.

When I presented my fur kids with breakfast, Greyson didn’t take one bite. Thinking that he didn’t like that type of food I scooped meat from another can on a plate, but he didn’t want that either. Instead, he curled up on the couch.

When I remarked “Oh this is no good,” Dieter thought I was panicking for nothing. “So Greyson doesn’t want to eat, so what?” he said, “perhaps he’s just not hungry.” This sounded absolutely ludicrous to me. Greyson is always the first one by his plate and the last one to leave. That kitten has an appetite that makes me wonder where he puts it all.

For the rest of the morning, Greyson remained on the couch. Dieter thought he was just tired and sleeping, but I knew something was wrong. I know the difference between a cat who rests, who sleeps and who doesn’t feel well. Still, maybe he just had a cold from being in the chilly air the previous day, so I tried not to be overly concerned.

Dinner time came and went and again Greyson didn’t want to eat. Okay, so now even Dieter had to admit that something was wrong. I called out vet, but unfortunately, the doctors at the clinic were fully booked.

Now it so happened that Greyson had an appointment today, Monday, at 9:30 a.m. for his second inoculation. If he couldn’t see the doctor on Sunday afternoon, at least he would be able to be seen the next day. He wouldn’t be fit to receive his inoculation, but at least he would get a doctor’s attention.

By 6:00 p.m. his situation turned into an emergency. Greyson became unresponsive and we decided to take him to the emergency hospital. I called a cab, we put him in his carrier and took him downstairs to the lobby of our building.

And then something strange happened. While we waited for the cab to arrive, Greyson got up on his feet, took an interest in his surroundings and seemed so much better. He clearly wasn’t as sick as I thought he was so I canceled the cab and we went back upstairs.

Back home again Greyson curled up on a blanket on Dieter’s bed and went to sleep. Thinking that he had to eat at least something, I opened a tin with lots of gravy and let him lick my finger. After licking my gravied finger perfectly clean a few times I switched to a spoon. I loaded the food onto the spoon, presented it to Greyson and he licked/ate the gravy and meat. Ten minutes later he had finished his plate.

That made me feel a whole lot better. He had eaten and with this food, he would get his strength back.

From there on it got better and better. About an hour later Greyson came and ate from the big plate, a little later went for seconds and finished off his dinner with some kibble and a drink of water. Another half an hour later he was playing with Halley with a ball.

Today he’s back to his usual self. He eats, drinks, grooms himself and plays. It’s hard to believe that this is the same kitten that was so sick yesterday to the point that we thought we had to take him to the emergency room.

 www.connymanero.weebly.com

Day 138: Weruva Cat Food

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 138: Weruva Cat Food

A couple of months ago, Holly developed a problem on her backside. She kept licking and licking back there and I could see that it really bothered her. We tried to clean her up as best as we could, we shaved some of the surrounding hair, but there was no improvement. So, we took her to the vet.

In the vet’s opinion, Holly was suffering from a food allergy. We had to take her off whatever she was eating now and feed her a better-quality food.

I felt a nightmare coming on. Holly is a notoriously picky eater. Still, a constantly itchy butt was no joke and if the better quality food would make her better, then better quality food she would get.

Not knowing what she and the other cats would like, I stocked up on a bit of everything: Blue Wilderness, Wellness, Royal Canin, etc.

The switching of food was indeed easier said than done. Holly and the others took one whiff of the better-quality food and turned their tails. Great, I had spent all that money and they didn’t like it. Now what?

A friend told me that I was going about this all wrong. I couldn’t switch my cat family from one food to another overnight, I had to go about it gradually.

“Give them a tin of their old food and a quarter of a tin of the new food,” she said, “and gradually increase the ratio.” So, I did that and all went well, the cats gobbled up the new with the old and within a few days Holly butt problem got better.

The next time Dieter went to the pet store to stock up on food, he came home with Blue Wilderness, Wellness, and Weruva. Weruva … what the heck was that? The cats never had this before. Would they like it? I fed the cats what they were used to by now and avoided the Weruva. When next Dieter went to the pet store he could take the Weruva tins back and exchange them for something else.

That is … until one day I ran out of cat food and the only thing left were the Weruva tins. With more than a little doubt, I took the tins out of the cabinet and … OMG, the label stated, ‘Green eggs and chicken’. What the hell were green eggs? I was almost positive that the cats would not eat this. I certainly wouldn’t eat green eggs. Still, having nothing else I had to try.

I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the tin and there were no green eggs to be seen, just slivers of white chicken meat in gravy. Did the cats like it? Hm, they didn’t just like it, they devoured it! While there are usually some leftovers from dinner, now their plates were licked clean to the last sliver.

The next time I fed them Weruva it was Herring and chicken (an odd combination but they love it) and a few days later they got mackerel and something else. They only get fish twice a week and, on both occasions, they loved what was on their plate.

So, I guess the search for a quality food is finally over. The winner is Weruva. Of course, I’m subscribed to https://www.petful.com/recall-lists/cat-food-recalls/ should anything ever go wrong with Weruva or any other cat food, I’ll be informed.

www.connymanero.weebly.con

Day 137: AWAI Online (Follow up)

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 137: AWAI Online (Follow up)

After yesterday’s post, AWAI Online has been bombarding me with emails:

[FINAL NOTICE] Just a few hours left to improve your life forever…

I just wanted to quickly remind you that this is the last day you can take advantage of the very special offer we put together especially for you.

This is it, Conny … Your very last chance to access our popular B2B Writing Successmembership site. Last chance to become a member. This is the last time we will contact you. We didn’t hear from you so we’re giving you another chance. Last chance to take us up on our offer. On and on it goes. One email after another. Just how many last chances do I get? If nothing else, this confirms that AWAI Online is a scam. No legitimate company pesters potential customers with so many emails, time and time again repeating the same offer. What’s worse, no matter how many times I unsubscribe from their website (and I never subscribed to begin with) the emails just keep coming. This borders on harassment.