Class C again, Tirekickers, and Shots.

The ladies at the quilting club have been making pillow-beds for the SPCA adoptees, and here is how happy these pups are to get one of their beds.


Because of the impending storms we had put the Class C in my RVport, but it rained so hard that it still rained in there a bit. A tiny leak had come in the Class C, and when looking at the clearance lights, we realized that nobody had ever removed them, and put new butyl putty tape on them. Someone had daubed them with silicone, but that was it. So we took them off, and some were so sunbaked that they had to be replaced. Once installed with Butyl putty and Dicor Sealant, Jay couldn't get them to work right, so I called Jim the mechanic down the street. He had to replace two more, as the contacts were old. They were all working when I had it inspected. RVers seldom suspect that their innocent looking clearance lights are a common source of their leaking problems.



Some folks came to look at it, and I had explained what we were doing before they came. We still had loose wires, a moving pad, and a long board on the hood, so as not to scratch or dent it, so they couldn't drive it. They seemed to like it, if the price is right. "We will get back to you, we have another to look at". They were going to look at a 72 Winnie, and we all know what skin pitting problems they had with the Thermopanel !



Then I got an email from a guy who has wanted the Class C for a long time, but he wanted to trade a party van, not camper van, for it, but today he also added "plus some cash". That did get my attention ! I wrote back and asked how much cash, as by now I am tired of trying to sell a manual transmission motor home. He has seen it, and driven it. So we will see how that works out. I am ready to get it out of my yard, even if I do have to have another van around here.



Today, I was supposed to give Shay's cat, Blackie her shots. I had often given dogs their shots when I had my kennel, all except Rabies. But I had never given a cat a shot, and wondered what you do with the flailing four corners with sharp claws !! One of the SPCA volunteers at the Adoption Day told me how to do it. You "scruff" the cat. Now, I have never picked up a cat by the scruff of it's neck before, I always pick them up with two hands under their body. But Shay and I got Blackie in her utility room, and I scruffed Blackie and gave her the shot 'sub q', that means under the skin, not like a muscular shot. Easy, once you know how.



I doubt if Blackie will ever let me touch her again. During three nights of freezing weather, I had brought her in my grooming room, to keep warm, and shoved worm medicine down her each morning. A couple of weeks ago I crated her, took her to Petco to have her picture taken, and she stayed there all afternoon during Adoption Day. Last week I picked her up, put her in a carrier, and hauled her off to Kenya's, who then took her to the vet. The vet put her under, and shaved her tummy. That's when they found her old spay scar. Then today, I scruff her and give her a shot. She must think I am a nasty 'people', when all I have done, is for her own good.

I just fed the animals, and starting to feed me, so this is another Sunday.

Pups, Kittens, and Working on Class C Upper bed.

Here are the pups in extended larger pen and larger bed:

Boy, oh boy, when I turn them loose in the grooming room they chase round and around the pen like little race car drivers. But mostly they want attention, and tug on my jeans with their little teeth. They started playing with toys now, and I still think that they are older than "Dingbat" said they were. They are a lot more "live" and healthy, than they were when I got them. De-worming had a lot to do with that. One is already booked for adoption through http://www.petfinder.com/

It was so great to be able to wear just a T-shirt the last couple of days. Before that, I would start out with a coat and two cardigans (button down the front) over my T-shirt, and I was still cold. It has been in the 40's during the day, but up to 70's now.

I dress in layers that are easily removed, as you never know about TX weather. Mornings would be downright chilly, and then the sun comes out and warm things up.

Today is Adoption Day at Petco, so I will be taking the two kittens. The pups have to wait until two weeks after their first shots to be on public display.

But first, Jay and I have to address a problem that was discovered in the Class C. That tiny hole that Ray discovered up on the side over a window, damaged a little bit of paneling inside that has to be replaced in the cabover bed area. It rained last night, so I will know if it is really fixed.

This morning Jay and I tore out the offending paneling and board insulation that was in the cabover bed, and determined that the reason this had a leak was that the Previous Owners had not followed the Golden RV Rule. Remove all windows and roof vents, and re-install with new BUTYL putty tape every 10-15 years. Folks would have so many less problems if they would stick to that. The old putty tape from when they originally installed the windows was all dried up and old. Water had got in between the walls and damaged the floor to the cabover bed. The PO had caulked around the windows, with silicone, a NoNo, but that was just a temporary fix. You have to do it right, and pull the windows. It is just a bunch of screws on the inside that hold the outside of the window in place. If it is a sliding window, sometimes it needs a new track, and if it is a Hehr window, you can get that at Interstate Metals. We will work on the windows tomorrow, time and weather permitting.

I cranked up my Big B+ as it has a real RV door on the back, and went to Conroe to get some 4'x8' sheets of thin plywood for the bed base. We wanted to put it all back together today. It was time to take the kittens for Adoption Day, so they went with us, too, and I dropped them off at Petco. We went to Home Depot, as we also needed some staples for the pneumatic staple gun, and Lowes doesn't carry the size we need. We got the sheets of luann, and some Fir 2"x4"s. Pine is not usually used as it is heavier, and every little bit counts in an RV. There are other reasons too, like Fir doesn't split like Pine does.

I had sprayed the bed area down with Concrobium Mold Control, before we left, so that there would be no chance of any mold, and it was dry by the time we got back. We screwed in new framework, see picture on left. I insulated a place all the way up in the front, that hadn't had insulation, and replaced the board insulation. Then we measured, cut, and stapled in the base for the bed. See picture in center. As rain is forecast we put the Class C in my RVport until the windows are re-done. Don't want all our new work to get damp.

Then at 5.15 pm it was time to go pick up the kittens at Petco. It was starting to storm, and so it got dark early, but we made it home OK. I don't do dark !

Another busy day.

15th is Bastille Day (Revolution Day)

See the kittens watching the puppies ........


Today, the 15th., is the day all the critters get their monthly dose of Revolution on their necks. It stops them from having heartworms, fleas, mange and earmites, so it is important. We buy the big vials of it, put it in a baby food jar. Then we draw up the required dose for each animal in an insulin syringe (with no needle), it is a lot cheaper that way. If they already have earmites, then they get a dose of Ivermec in their ears on the 1st of the month, it helps get rid of them quicker. Jay called and said he was going to be half an hour late, so I got all that done before I picked him up.



We went the RV store south of Conroe, found out where to get a new ballast for the florescent light that doesn't work, and got the parts that I needed for the Merry Miler. Then went to the Humane Society, which is also south of Conroe. On to Lowes to get more parts. Came back and worked on a few small unimportant projects, like cleaning the staples out of some boards that we were going to store, while I waited for someone to come to look at an item I had for sale.


I had to take a stray cat to the Humane Society. They scanned her to see if she had been micro-chipped, but she hadn't. I hated to do it, but as sweet as she is, she will probably be on display in their big main lobby with the other adoptees, after she has been spayed. If not, it is better that she isn't running around loose, hungry, homeless, getting Feline Leukemia, FIV, Rabies, or contributing to the 400,000 cats that are the progeny of one cat. We have so many wild ones here, that we trap them, and they go to the Humane Society, as they can't be tamed. They can give the domesticated cats all sorts of diseases. That is why it is better to keep your cats indoors. This one was very loving, and probably hadn't been a stray for long, so she needed a chance to find a home. She will have a lot more chance of getting adopted quickly there, as they have a much larger organization. We can place kittens, but our foster moms have so many adult cats that need homes already, we just don't have room to squeeze in one more. Too many get born ! EVERY LITTER BIT HURTS !


The Pups have already outgrown their bed, so I put a larger one in there for them. This shorter puppy pen will go longer, but I don't have much room in my grooming room to extend it. I hope that one of the "Puppy Foster Moms" has room for them soon.


So that was my 'exciting' day.