Thanks for the heads up. I am really finding your nursery reviews helpful. I took a look at the semps, the forum is going to like this place!

If you don't know about Edelweiss, take a look at its offerings too. It's the best mail-order nursery I've ever come across, and it has pages and pages of semps.

http://www.edelweissperennials...

Hi Zuzu!
Your Blog reviews of mail orders are great and so useful.
Thanks for all the info here!
pretty black cat..how many do you have, Zuzu?

Oh, thank you, Janice. I have 23 cats right now.

OMG!!! Are they indoor or outdoor cats? I adore cats myself! Find them fascinating creatures. But, alas, I am very allergic.
However the neighbor's cat found us and sleeps on our porch and pastes himself to our front door whenever hungry. We spoil him with things like tuna and chicken. DH called him the Biafran cat. Now he is fluffy and healthy looking.

Biafran cat, how cute! He's very fluffy and very healthy looking now. My son and I named one of our skinny rescue cats Somalia for the same reason.

They're all indoor-outdoor, although some are only allowed as far indoors as the sunporch because they spray.

He also has all this black in his ears (ear mites, we think) and has sometimes scratched it bloody.
I was going to secretly take him to the Vet until I called and they said if we don't have papers saying he has had his shots, if he bites them, they have to quarantine him for 10 days.

What a rotten vet! I have one that comes to my house.

You can cure the ear mites by pouring a tiny bit of mineral oil, or even plain Wesson Oil, into each ear. Use an eye dropper if you have one and just do one or two drops in each ear. Hold the ears down as you gently massage the oil in. When you let go, he's going to shake his head wildly and the oil will fly in all directions, so watch out. You might have to repeat it in a couple of weeks, but he should feel better right away.

Tell the neighbors it looks like their cat's jaw is dislocated. Maybe you can shame them into taking him to the vet.

Do they do that in California?

Do they do what?

Oh, you can't shame them!

Guess who told me they hit the cat with the car and dislocated his jaw? THEY DID!!!!

Do they quarantine the cats?

your cats are amazing....

I just feel so badly for this kitty....

Thank you so much , Zuzu, we'll try the oil!

Sorry, Janice, I got all involved watching X Factor and wandered away from the computer.

Yes, they do quarantine animals here if the animal bites someone and doesn't have proof of rabies vaccinations. I've only heard of it in connection with dogs, though, because the last case of feline rabies in my county was decades ago.

The neighbors can't be all bad if they paid $1000 to treat the cat. There are some good pet owners that couldn't or wouldn't pay that much.

Thanks for the great help about the ear mites, Zuzu!