OT QI's

GREAT story Sunny, thanks for sharing :-). For those who don't know, cats will almost ALWAYS go to the person who either doesn't like them or is allergic to them :-). Never fails!! We had a Siamese once (Taja was her name) who was the epitome of disdainful cat. She was absolutely beautiful, a very sweet kitty who absolutely loved to be held and petted and loved on and fussed with, etc. When *anyone* came to the house, she would walk into the room we were in, sit in the middle of the floor and look from person to person. Invariably, she would choose the person who was either allergic or didn't like cats and go directly to that person, jump into their lap, "circle the wagons" 3 times widdershins and then sit herself down for a nice rest -- LOLOL! If it was just a workman in the house, she would make a nuisance of herself rubbing his legs, meowling at him and generally making herself a nuisance until I locked her in another room. So, the moral of this story is, if you are allergic to cats or just don't like them, too bad :-). Those ornery cats will find you *every* time and make it his or her mission to pester you and get cat spit all over you and everything you have brought with you that you will take away with you! Personally, I think people who say they don't like cats

-- assuming there hasn't been a traumatic childhood accident -- have never had a cat. Often, it's not a case of not *liking* cats but a case of preferring a dog or some other animal which is OK. As for having to "use the facilities", well, if you are in a home with friendly cats, that's a given :-). The last time I went to the bathroom alone was when I stayed in a hotel -- LOL! I don't have any babies right now who want to sit on my lap but I have two who come into to get petted and have their back scratched. CiaoMeow >^;;^<

PAX, Tia Mary >^;;^< (RCTQ Queen of Kitties) Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their whiskers! Visit my Photo albums at

I think indoor pets know they have a 'captive audience' when their mommy is on the 'throne'. My dogs all come into the bathroom with me- four big dogs and a very small bathroom. I'm pretty much stuck in there until everybody has had their fill of lovies and wanders off.

And I wouldn't change it for anything!

Leslie & The Furbabies >> .........

What a mental picture that is! LOL!

That kind of love is priceless- even if a bit of a bother and hassle. Good thing I live alone. I doubt many people would 'get' The Ritual! LOL

Leslie & The Adoring Furbabies in MO.

You know, the bathroom was my only escape when I was a little child. When we lived in houses with locks on bathroom doors I was in heaven. So I have never, ever shared my bathroom with anybody. When the boys were babies, of course they were in the bathroom with me. But around the time both were toddling around, something snapped. One day I remembered the bathroom door lock. For weeks, everytime I went potty I didn't have to worry about where the boys were. They were both just outside the door, banging on it for all they were worth screaming "Mommyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy, Mommyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy, in, in in in in in in Mommyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy." I prevailed. Two months later I put a lock on the inside of my bedroom door. These days locks aren't necessary because nobody in the house, DH included, would even dream of coming into a room with a closed door without knocking and waiting for permission. No permission, no entrance. And the dogs obey the same rules. Nobody, nobody follows me into the bathroom or bedroom unless I want them to.

I believe this has saved the lives of every single person/pet in the household more than once. You folks with open door policies must be saints. You have my most sincere admiration.

Sunny who has had a cat (who I loved very much) and definitely doesn't like them much

Howdy!

ABC even> Omigosh Sandy - that's hilarious!!! How on earth did you find it??? >

I would go insane in your house. We rarely ever shut a door. Somehow, I can't inagine why it would cause so much stress if they were left open. Gen

A funny thing about doggy smells. Until a few years ago, I've always had good sized dogs, big enough that they didn't sit on my lap. I now have two little ones and they are truly lap dogs. They like to lie on their backs, on my lap, and have their bellies rubbed. Sometimes I make believe to "bite" their toes. I made a discovery with these little guys that I never knew before.

THEIR FEET STINK!!!

No, really, they really stink. That typical doggy smell comes from the pads of their feet. I think that's where they sweat. My female is worse than my male. Her feet smell like some unwashed sweaty old mutt. I've washed them with baby wipes, but the smell comes right back.

Now everyone, go smell the bottoms of your dog's feet and let me know if they all stink, or I just have weird dogs.

Denise

Sunny said: Send them a list of motels and tell them that last time they came for a visit, the dogs complained that the house smelled of rude relatives for weeks afterward.

------------------------------------------------ OMG, Sunny, I haven't laughed so much in a long time, I love it!!

Denise

I don't have my two little Shitzu/Bichon dogs any more but they were sure to corner you in the bathroom for a rub. They also knew they were safe in their from the real kids. I do miss them. No one shuts the door around here. If it is shut it probably means someone is throwing up, cuz no one wants to see that. The rest is all normal for any human so we just don't care. But it has created some problems with my young kids. Especially when visiting, they leave the door open and don't understand why they should shut it when your at someone else's house...so it can be embarrising. Take Care Joanna Alberta

Michelle, that's such a hoot! It never crossed my mind to put a couch in my bathroom but it would have been well used. Yogi is Certain that there is a secret back door to our bathrooms and that we'll escape if he doesn't manage to race inside and block all exits. Guests are temporarily surprised that they must perform their necessities with Yorkshire accompaniment but thus far nobody's died from it. Polly

"Michelle" When my kids were little, everyone, kids and husband, came into the bathroom

The girl QI will stand outside the bathroom door and cry if we close it.

On the doggy smell thing; everyone's house smells like SOMETHING. My MIL's house smells like the fireplace in the winter, my friend's house smells like diapers, my neighbor's house smells like bird feathers, and I have a friend whose house smells so darn doggy that everytime she walks into my house she says "Man, it always smells so CLEAN in here!", while my husband always thinks our house smells like cat. I think it still smells like new hardwoods. He hates the smell in the garage, which is sawdust, and I love it. I have a relative who's husband wears so much cologne that their house and car smell like nothing but. The smell of Pine-Sol always makes me think I'm 10 years old and away at camp. I think a Target store has a particular smell, and every Target store I have ever been in smells that way.

The point is, usually, after you've been in the house for five minutes, you usually don't notice it. If you DO, you might have a problem.

The other point is, smells are terribly personal things. I think a slight dog smell makes a house feel like a home, as does that slight "kid" smell - you know, sort of a diaper/peanut butter/grape koolaid smell. I use a lot of "smell good" cleaning stuff (like Method) so that I get a little aromatherapy, and nothing smells as good as fresh sheets, but that doesn't mean I change the sheets everyday!

Some people are also just more sensitive - my husband calls lots of things "smelly" that I don't find really that offensive.

Maybe you should move next door to a paper plant - no one will ever notice that doggy smell again!

Patti: You might want to check with the local vet about those frogs. A few lifetimes ago we lived in South Florida, and had a very curious dog. I seem to recall warnings that some of the frogs produced a poison when attacked, so I had to monitor her curiosity after heavy rain, when those critters visited my yard. PAT

No matter how clean the home, or the animal, some dogs produce unpleasant odor. I do NOT mean the normal, healthy doggie smell! I mean that some animals have gum or dental issues (causing bad breath) and some animals react strongly to some food (farts.) So, you might want to be aware of those potential problems. Give those QI a hug for me! PAT