Hey everyone, it’s Kernook here, or Kern for short. Now I gave you the “proper” The Demented Ferrets update on Monday, but today I wanted to offer something a bit more personal.

For those who care, you may keep up with how my mother is doing. I sometimes talk about her on this blog.

You may be noticing a lack of blog posts, and that’s because she wasn’t doing very well. On top of video footage kerfuffles regarding Kern’s Collections, and Kresh needed to step away from live streaming for a bit for the last few weeks, everything was a total mess. So, apologies for that complete shit show.

So, anyway, last week Wednesday my mother had a low blood count again, and needed two more units of blood. So that was an 8 hour extravaganza on Wednesday. This week, we have 3 different doctors appointments to attend, one was yesterday, one is today, one is tomorrow.

Also, thank you to all of you who donate blood on a regular basis for the good and support of other people. It saves lives, it really does.

My mother is doing much better for now, but the cause for why she keeps needing the transfusions is an ongoing thing. She’s been seeing doctors, more tests were scheduled. She’s doing okay for the moment, simply tired, but that’s what happens when you get old. She’s in her 70’s, so being tired is to be expected.

In other news, more on The Demented Ferrets related side of things, videos are in production, and scripts are being written (I can’t WAIT for Friday). It’s a long haul kind of thing, life balance is important so we don’t burn out. Kresh and I noticed that our Saturday morning time slot for streaming isn’t working out as well as we would like, so we’ve changed the time as a test.

I’ve listed all of our days/times below, but Saturday is the notable change.

Tuesday: (Normally a FFXI stream of some nature)
9:00 PM – 12:00 AM (GMT)
4:00PM – 7:00 PM (EST)
Wednesday:
9:00 PM – 12:00 AM (GMT)
 4:00PM – 7:00 PM (EST)
Saturday:
3:00 PM – 6:00 PM (GMT)
10:00 AM – 1:00 PM (EST)

Anyway, that’s what’s going on with that stuff, but let’s move onto the more personal update.

Sabin’s Fun Filled Day (My Torment)

Dad and I toyed around with the yard a bit yesterday since the weather was nice, we have to get it ready for springtime. We’d do more today but it’s not exactly going to be warm. The stupid weather here can’t decide if it wants to warm up or spit sleet everywhere. On that note, Sabin, glorious little fuzzball that he is, attempted to “help” us clean the yard.

Even as I’m writing this, Sabin is laying across my feet. He rarely leaves my side, and that’s been his habit from kitten-hood. He goes wherever I go around the house, and if I’m not there he affixes himself to my father instead. He is now the only pet I have, as he never took well to any other animals inside the house besides Frisky (the elder cat we had at the time of Sabin being small) and Haley (The family dog we also had at the time).

Really he could use another companion, but he really doesn’t want one. We’ve always considered getting another cat, but Sabin will have none of that idea. Those two really were the only exceptions, and likely because Sabin was so young frightened at the time we got him. He was such a little thing back then.

In his adult life, every time we try to introduce him to another creature, (cat, dog, ferret, bird,) it’s clear he’s not at all happy about the prospect of it saying. The house is usually his territory, and that’s the way it stays. He tolerates the other pets my family bring over when they stay for the summer, but you can tell it’s a grudging toleration at best.

Anyway, I’m always looking for ways to keep him entertained. A good way to do that is to sit out in the yard on warm days and let him have his fun. It’s completely fenced in, so he can’t exactly get into too much trouble if I’m outside with him. During summer he’ll lay around on the pool floats, in the spring and fall he’ll romp around the yard in the grass.

He will also inevitably disrupting any cleaning I’m doing, as he did yesterday. I’m sure he found it great fun to be “helpful”. By help, I mean he tried to climb into every bush I was snipping, tipping over the can of trimmed foliage and climbing into it with glee. He took no small amount of joy in romping around in the worst places (constantly under foot). This on top of harassing every little bug he could find filled his afternoon. He never bothers the wild rabbits, birds or squirrels that come in the yard. For those of you that are worried I’d let a cat roam near the local animals, no need to be. He just watches them, he’s never tried to hurt them.

You know, on that note, I don’t actually think he has any concept that a cat can hunt. Well, at least not anything besides a ball or a squeaky toy. He is also completely terrified of butterflies, which is just too funny considering that his favorite place is under the bird feeders. Which is where ALL the flowers tend to be, and thus also the butterflies. If one comes by, he will absolutely yowl under the nearby table until you chase it away. No I’m not kidding, he hates them. It seems like a real, actual phobia for him.

Maybe it’s because they fly erratically? That’s my best guess. He’s never been a fan of things with sudden movements. Sabin is many things, but a big mighty hunter, he is not. Hes just a coward that likes to find his own brand of havoc. Which leads into the other oh so joyous event of yesterday (note my displeasure). He also climbed the tree. He loves to climb that stupid thing, but I hate when he does that for reasons you will find out in a moment.

It was a fun little adventure I’m sure, except he pointedly needed a bath after he came inside. He had tree sap everywhere, and leaves were sticking to him. I honestly wish I had thought to take a picture of that, it was a sight to behold. I’ve never seen a cat choose to get that dirty in the span of two hours. Well, except for the time he followed the family dog into the mud after a rainstorm, but he was still just a tiny kitten back then. As I said that was well over a decade and a half ago.

Anyway, as you can guess, he desperately needed a bath. Now, before I hear the “never bathe your cat unnecessarily” speech, let me just say I fully agree. You shouldn’t just bathe a cat at whim. However, Sabin is a special case. He’s a very good boy, but he was taken away from his mom when he was too young of a kitten, so he really isn’t the best self-cleaner out there. He never really learned how to be a cat in a lot of ways.

When we got him, he was only just barely 8 weeks old at the time, and considering how small he was, I really do doubt he was even that old. Anyway, developmentally he just didn’t have the time with his mom that he needed to really learn how to be a cat. We were already dog and cat owners when Sabin was a kitten, and he mimicked them a little, especially the dog. However he never really learned the way a normal cat would.

Anyway, in the winter season his terrible skills in cleaning himself usually isn’t a problem. He can’t get dirty enough in the house to require a bath. There’s just nothing that messy for him to get into. In the spring and summer, all bets are off.

Anyway, needlessness to say Sabin protested the bath. It’s not water he hates, it’s the soap. I know it’s the soap because he has no issues playing with the pool water whenever I’m doing laps in the summer, and he’ll play in the bathtub if you fill it up for him. That’s actually a good thing, because nine times out of ten a wet washcloth alone will do the trick, but not this time. This the bath had to be a complete with shampoo. I tried just scrubbing the sap off with washcloth, but that hadn’t been working. So, yeah, full bath for him.

Side note: Always, always, always get the shampoo for your animals from a trusted source. Never randomly use your own hair care products if you can avoid it. Fur is not the same as human hair. If you’re ever in doubt, ask your vet or primary animal care professional. They will tell you what is best to use.

For Sabin, we use the same kitten shampoo from his vet that we’ve used since the day we brought him home as a tiny little ball of fluff. It works, it’s gentle, and there’s no need to change it. Don’t fix what isn’t broken, right?

After he was clean and mostly dry I attempted a picture. As you an see, it didn’t go as well as I would hope.

So, yes blame this little furry asshole for my torment yesterday. I hate giving him baths more than he hates receiving them. Clearly he’s forgiven me, because he is my little shadow, and he always will be. Also at treats…

This has been Kernook of The Demented Ferrets…

“Where stupidity is at its finest and level grinds are par for the course…”

The Demented Ferrets…