?

I mean, what's sweeter than a cat purring and "making bread" by curling its toes, when you know that it's reverting to its kittenhood when that action brought the milk down from mama? I have an old, formerly feral tomcat who will lie next to me and purr and work his paws and it just melts my heart to see him feeling so safe and happy just being with me.

10 points to the best happy cat story!

This could happen to your horses too!

http://forum.cyberhorse.com.au/forums/showthread.p...

I don't know that kind of bird it is. It has some pin feathers, and some micro-squiggles under the skin under the wings that I'm guessing are going to come out as down. The baby has its eyes open (are they open at hatching?) and was sitting there fussing about being hungry and alone and on the ground. I don't think there was any way mama bird could have rescued it, so I picked it up and brought it in - God didn't make me in a way that I could leave a creature in trouble, whether it's covered with skin, fur, scales, or feathers.

So what do I do now? I had some ground turkey meat, so I mixed in some saliva for the digestive enzymes (hope it helps) and gave the little bird 3 pea-sized bits of meat with a matchstick. I'm trying to keep it warm, but I'm not willing to roast myself with the AC off.

Are there any diseases I should worry about being transmitted from the bird? Any foods that are better or worse? A dab of plain yogurt for the good bacteria? Some green-drink powder with the meat for veggie vitamins? How much food should I give it? How often? It seems like it would keep eating until it burst if I let it. Just try to get it to a wildlife rehabber ASAP? It couldn't have happened at a worse time, as I'm moving tomorrow. As in, running up and down two flights of steps to move out and up and down one flight of steps to move in, and no time for babysitting a birdie.

I have no idea what kind of bird it is, but I'm calling it Robin because it's a gender-neutral name. I guess it's about 2 1/2" from beak to tail.

Thank you! I'll choose a best answer.

It's very popular in the East, as in eastern hemisphere, not New Yawk Sitteee. The rider gallops up to a small 'target' in the ground and spears it with a lance, then flips it out of the ground. It began as a martial art, to pull up the enemy's tent pegs so their tents collapse in on them and the attacking army can slaughter them as they try to wake up and fumble their way out of the collapsed tent. I've seen a few demonstrations of it, but never an actual competition.

Anybody interested in learning how to do it?

I'm asking on behalf of my friend who is in India. He bought a parrot, which he was told was a baby. Is there a specific timeline of changes in the appearance of an Indian Ringneck Parrot, to tell its age? When do the baby feather moult and the adult appearance start?

It's been eating fruit from his hand, but he says it won't eat from a bowl in the cage. What else should it eat? I told him that with a beak like that, they must be omnivorous and it probably needs more than fruit. I don't think his local Petco has Parrot Chow - he would need to give it regular 'people food', just wondering what kind is best.

It's also pretty aggressive. He thought it would grow out of this behavior, but based on my lifetime of training mammals, I told him that it needs to learn socialization now, or it will only get worse. He bought leather gloves for handling it.

Does anyone have suggestions for handling and taming an Indian parrot? I told him it might have been caught from the wild as an adult, so it will have a harder time adjusting to life in captivity. Can a novice parrot owner usually succeed in raising a baby, or keeping an adult that was wild-caught? I suggested to him that his best option might be to turn it loose.

He took it to the vet once, but he didn't think of all the questions that he could have asked.

Thank you for any help you can offer!

I have my own two fat, healthy, neutered, rescued boy cats. They are very much indoor kitties, but I allow them to go in and out when I'm at home. We live in an apartment that opens onto a big courtyard and they rarely leave the courtyard. They have a little friend that seems to not have a home. He's an intact male, perhaps just past puberty, as he is quite small but his boy parts protrude obviously. He's very thin, has a dislocated hip, and an open wound on his left front leg that's not healing. I let him in to eat whenever he comes by, and I treated him for fleas when I treated my two (with fipronil - that was a waste of $25, so they're all scratching and I'm getting jumped on but not bitten so far.) Slim Boy is quite loving and sweet, so I could treat his wound, but I'm wondering what I should do for it. It's along the long bones of the forearm (radius and ulna, seems like). It's about 1.25 inches long and open about .5 inch wide, and now I can see between the muscles on his little leg. Yikes and yuck.

I know a fair bit about natural health and wound care, but not too sure about what would be suitable for a cat that I can't keep at home and out of trouble. Another, bigger neighborhood tom sometimes picks on him and is probably responsible for the original injury. I was thinking about putting a lavender oil and canola oil mixture on it to kill any microbes and fly/maggot eggs, then a small non-stick pad and a strong sticky tape covering, maybe with hot sauce or something on the outside to prevent him from chewing at the bandage. He comes to visit almost every day and always insists on leaving after a few hours of food, rest, and petting (and sharing his fleas with us, of course).

I had noticed the wound a couple weeks ago, then I saw that it was scabbing over, but now it's open again, and bigger and deeper looking.

What can I do for this boy short of taking him to the vet? I just don't have it in the budget, though I would if I could.

Next question, what is the best, affordable flea treatment for cats? I think I recall using Sevin/carbaryl dust on the cats when I was a kid, a few decades ago, but now the idea of my boys licking that stuff off themselves seems pretty awful. I heard that the best brand of spot-on had its patent expire recently, so now you can buy it in a cheaper brand but it's just as effective. Which brand was it, and/or what's the active ingredient name? I had gotten one from a vet and it was very effecitve, but of course I don't recall the chemical name. The fipronil said not to use it again earlier than 30 days, but I need to do something to help the situation! (I certainly won't use fipronil again!)

Thanks in advance!

I have two neutered toms. They're my little love-monsters. One was neutered about age 8 months, one about 6 months, both the same day. They were both rescued from Out In The World. The older one was about 2 months old and little Calvin was about a month old, a rack of bones and full of fleas. I could touch my thumb and forefinger around his tiny girth, behind his elbows. They're now pushing a year old, mostly indoor kitties who are allowed to go in and out the living room window when the weather is nice and I'm at home to supervise. We live in an apartment and they mostly stay in the enclosed courtyard, close to home. I always call them in before dark and give a spoon of yummy plain yogurt to keep them coming when called. They play like little wild men, ripping and tearing through the apartment, pouncing on each other, rassling, and licking/loving each other.

Even with all the activity, they have MC'oobs! You know when a guy lets himself go to pot, he gets those moobs, or man b**bs? Well these guys have man cat b**bs, or MC'oobs. (assuming Y!A would censor the word) They both have good muscling, I limit their food to 1/4 cup each of Purina Cat Chow Indoor Formula, three times a day, and usually only when they absolutely demand it. I've found that they will play more and harder in the morning if I wait to feed them. Looking at them from the top, they look in good condition. There's a bit of a 'waist' visible in the flanks. Looking at them from the side is another story! They both have this flabby belly hanging down below their flanks.

Panda had started into puberty and started to get that burst of testosterone before neutering, which Calvin missed out on. Panda has more muscle and less MC'oob. Calvin is my snuggle-bear and I can feel his belly muscles toned and tight, but there's this big handful of flabby flesh outside the abdominal muscles, right where a recently nursing dog has a pouch of flabby breast tissue.

I don't think I should feed them less. They are active young cats and they're already hungry several times per day. Calvin has found a new toy that might help - it's a long string hanging from a ceiling light, that's just *almost* within his reach from the bed. He sits on the corner of the bed and reaches up to bat at the string. He was able to get hold of it with his mouth, until he chewed the end off, but he still stands on his hinds and reaches out to play with it.

Any ideas of a special diet food or ways to play with them to get rid of this flabby tissue?

Other question - I heard that the patent has expired on the best spot-on flea treatment, and now you can get the exact same formula at WalMart for a fraction of the price of the original product. What was the name of the brand-name stuff, and what's the name of the new generic? Is it really as good as all that?

Thanks all!

Did they do their Christian duty, including paying their debts off, even though they'd have no consequences while they're up in Heaven, laughing at our debts down here and us treating our boils and plagues and pestilences?

I've gotten my second new email this AM with notification on questions that my contacts asked - weeks ago! Resolved questions, but the emails say "___________ asked a question. Do you know the answer?"

Anyone else getting these 'old news' emails? Any answers about why?

What should I do when interpreting a children's puppet show into American Sign Language, when the performer is singing in a language I don't know? I have tried just sitting there, holding one hand in the other and maybe swaying my shoulders. That felt stupid and stiff. I also tried putting a puppet or stuffed animal in my lap and having it wave or clap its hands. That was awkward when the lyrics switched back to English or the song was over and I had to start interpreting again. I have asked the producer/performer for an English translation of the songs so I can put them into ASL, but I'm not sure if that will be a good answer either.

Thanks for any suggestions and extra thanks for any solid, industry-standard guidelines.

I have written a couple of emails with the YA email system, but they haven't been going through. All I get is an 'oops' message from YA. This has been going on for about a week. I'd like to clear these pending mails from my computer. I've rebooted my computer and my 'net connection, and tried from several different locations and ISPs. nada. All other computer systems work fine, including Skype and other high-bandwidth applications.

I've used it in the past with no problem, but 'tain't working now. Would someone try to send me an email through YA, and let me know in your answer that you sent it, just to see if I can at least receive mail?

Anyone else unable to use the YA email system? Has anyone ever gotten any kind of meaningful help from the YA staff?

Thanks for your help!

I have written a couple of emails to my horsey compatriots here, but they haven't been going through. All I get is an 'oops' message from YA. This has been going on for about a week. I'd like to clear these pending mails from my computer. I've rebooted my computer and my 'net connection, and tried from several different locations and ISPs. nada All other computer systems work fine, including Skype and other high-bandwidth applications.

I've used it in the past with no problem, but 'tain't working now. Would someone try to send me an email through YA, and see if I can at least receive mail?

Anyone else unable to use the YA email system? Has anyone ever gotten any kind of meaningful help from the YA staff?

Thanks for your help!

I see it, mostly from kids with silly polls. (not putting you down, kids. Silly polls are fine for those who are interested in them. I'm just a crabby old woman (^8 ) What does the "20 characters" refer to? It would be a very short answer if that was the limit.

Thanks to anyone who answers!

I took classes in Rajasthan for 3 months, mostly focused on learning to read and write Devanagari script. Now I'd like to get back at it, in preparation for one day returning to India.

Any study buddies on Martha's Vineyard?

Anyone have Pimsleur or Rosetta Stone materials they'd be willing to share or part with? I don't have money to buy that stuff new.

Anyone willing to spend time on the phone or Skype helping me?

Thanks for all helpful responses!

Main larki Ameriki hai. That's about all the Hindi I'm good for -- but I can read and write it in Devanagari!

I spent 6 months in south and north India in '08-09, and I loved the place, mostly because of the people. I heard bits and pieces of the meaning of the svastik and the word Aryan, but I never really got a clear understanding of how they managed to go from the Indian sense of the words, to the Nazi usage.

As an American/westerner, I was conditioned to associate the swastika with Nazi Germany, and the word Aryan was used to mean the blond-haired, blue-eyed Nordic people. Now I learn that they both had usage that goes much farther back, and had opposite meanings.

I had a beautiful brass svastik with Ganesha inside, in my room here in the US. My housemate was creeped out by it even after I explained the original meaning, and how lots of homes in India are decorated with them as a welcome and a symbol of harmony and peace (is that about right?)

So, can anyone explain how this incredible transformation of symbolism came to be? What is the connection between the two cultures, that such polar opposites have common language and symbolism?

I'm not sure if I am able to ask this in a way that will elicit the answer I'm searching for... Thank you for all efforts to understand my real question, and provide the answer I seek.

For instance, if I was sneaking in a bottle of shampoo that is more than (what is it?) 3 ounces, inside my shirt.

umm, no, not exactly shampoo, but a pack of herbal cigarettes for instance. Would they show up at all, or be identifiable enough to warrant closer investigation?

Just curious. Thanks!

For instance, if I was sneaking in a bottle of shampoo that is more than (what is it?) 3 ounces, inside my shirt.

umm, no, not exactly shampoo, but a pack of herbal cigarettes for instance. Would they show up at all, or be identifiable enough to warrant closer investigation?

Just curious. Thanks!

I saw another question about jods, but that pic looks like what we on the left side of the Atlantic call breeches. Maybe that was a Brit/Yank communication variance?

What I've seen called jodhpurs are not stretchy fabric, and not close-cut to the leg. They have the big baggy hips, a la the old timey US Cavalry. I saw them in use in India, mostly as a rather militaristic equestrian fashion statement. So much of the European influence I saw there would be considered archaic here.

I recall in the late '70s, the saddleseat crowd wore something similar along with their long coats. I haven't associated with any saddleseat show people since then (although I've had to rehabilitate their mentally fractured horses).

Just curious - I was given a pair, and wondered if there's any place on this side of the planet that wouldn't consider them goofy-looking.

Thanks all!

No, I'm not talking about lima beans, or those yard-long green beans in the garden. Horse people, you know what I mean. That disgusting collection of nasty gunk in that pocket in the head of a gelding's penis.

I worked with a draft cross who had one that was so big, I had to use a tool to go in and cut it into pieces to get it out. I didn't touch the skin around it when cutting it, just kind of reamed the bean itself until I got pieces to break off. I estimate that it was about an inch and a half diameter when I started. He wasn't used to getting 'attention' down there and it took some serious work to remove it, so he pulled it out of reach a few times, but over the course of a couple weeks I was able to get the whole thing out.

It was pretty tricky to do, because we were working at a dude ranch. Some of the parents might have been unhappy if their kiddo happened to see a female ranch employee 'playing' with a horse's dingdong!

Edit:

When I started to post this question, Answers suggested the following categories to post it in:

Suggested Category Science & Mathematics > Botany

Business & Finance > Corporations

Food & Drink > Ethnic Cuisine

Entertainment & Music > Polls & Surveys

Entertainment & Music > Television > Reality Television

Ethnic cuisine - ewwwwww! I doubt if even the Donner party would have considered that kind of bean to be 'cuisine'. And reality TV? What word did they cue that one off of, 'penis'? And what does any of this have to do with business or finance?

I got a giggle from that, I thought you might as well.