I didn't think it was my water, it's only been up and running about two or three weeks. I tested the water last week and then I did it again yesterday after I took the fish out. They were both the same. Nitrate 20, nitrite .5, hardness 75, alkalinity was between 40 and 80, and the PH was a little bit lighter color than the 6.8, but not anywhere close to the 6.2 color. Besides, it's natural spring water; NOT store bought natural spring water, natural, natural spring water. This is a pipe coming out of a natural spring close to where I live, and I went there and filled 50 one gallon jugs with the water. I thought that would be better for them than tap water. Hoping it would, anyway.

They all seem healthy. The bumblebees look twice as big as when I bought them.

I never really permed or tinted my hair much, just dyed it every six months. I haven't dyed it in a few years, so it's pretty much it's natural color. I permed it once a few years ago, but I hated using that pick-comb thingy that you use to keep it wavy or curled, so I started using the brush again about a week later. My mom calls it a pick, I don't know if that's what it's really called.

Yeah it's a pick... at least that's what I call it too.
I don't like them either... I use a brush and wet my hair before I brush it.
Plus, it's so long that the weight of it stretches the curls to where using a pick really does no good.

Wow Daisy! That's some real dedication to fill 50 gallons of fresh natural spring water for your fish... you go girl!!

I don't mind filling them. It only took about a half hour or so to do it. And I've heard its better for the fish than store bought or tap. It's free, too. If I had to pay to fill my jugs up, I would think twice, depending on the price.

I have no clue about freshwater springs.
That's really cool that you have one near you.
What does it look like? Just water coming out of the ground? Or does the pipe drain the water into a creek or something like that?

There is a pipe that comes out of the ground, and is set in concrete to keep it there. It constantly drains, but it doesn't really drain into anything, it just kind of goes down to the right where the ground is slanted. I don't know if it just soaks into the ground or if it runs somewhere else. The creek is across the street from it.

Sorry, I would write more, but there is an annoying lady on the phone and I can't think with her whining.

Also, it is someone private property, and they don't care that people come to get the water. That's actually why they put it in there, for other people. If it had been public property, that pipe would definitely NOT be there, much less set in concrete.

Well that's very neat:D

That guy on the other site responded to all the questions he was asked at one time. It would be the third and fourth response down that you are looking for. I think he changes too much of the water at once, but apparently it's working for him.

I'll take a look - thanks for the heads up:D

I think my cat is going wack. I picked her up and brought her upstairs with me. As we came closer to my door, she started yelling and hissing. When I opened my door, I let her go. She went flying up the steps, hissing and yelling the whole way up and around the corner. She was fine once she got into my bedroom. Then, when I stood up to go back down, she flew out of my room, hissing and screaming the whole time she was going down the steps. Then she sat at the bottom of the steps, hissing until the door opened. She went out and she was fine. I don't know if she doesn't like my room or if there's "something" up there that she doesn't like. And at least one of my other cats can't stay up in my room by herself without screaming and ramming into the door trying to get out. I have to be up there with her. I don't know. Think maybe my cats are a little wacko?

That is very strange...
What could she be hissing at... hummm...
I would think that something is making her mad or scared...
Or maybe she whacked. LOL. My dog is whacked - barks at nothing all the time...

I have a cat dilemma myself... A new little stray showed up...

I have another cat that does that, too, but this one goes near my door at lot more than the other one.

Uh Oh... are you thinking of keeping it? People are going to start calling you "cat lady" soon. LOL :D

I think it wants to "keep me"... hehe... She was wondering around the neighborhood before she decided to stay for good.
I'll probably try to find her a home.
I think she's pregnant...
And at this time, she won't let me get close enough to touch her.

I posted a question about her in the cat section...

I wonder what it is that your cats are going crazy over...
My cats do similar weird things, but it's usually because they're pissed that I'm going to put them outside...

Hope this post helps you some. Gestation period for cats is 60 days or so, so if you're thinking she's pregnant, you might want to find her a home ASAP if you decide you don't want to keep her. I know when mine started showing they only had about two or three weeks, before they had some little kitties. Since the stray is small, she could be showing early. Mine only had one or two the first time, but that could just be a family trait. After the first time they all had a steady four kitties. I know some cats have six or eight kitties at once. And if her nipples look full and they are kind of hard like they would be when they are full of milk (if you get her to trust you enough to pick her up and feel), she is almost DEFINITELY pregnant.

You could always try calling your vet and asking him/her if there is anything specific you should look for in the next few weeks, until you can get her in, to tell whether she has worms. If you don't get anywhere with your vet, I can always try calling a vet near me and ask them for you, but I've found that when they know you've been there before and you promise to bring them in to the office when you can, they give out the information you need. One thing they may tell you, but I'm not 100% certain that they will, is to keep her by herself until you know for sure, because worms can be passed in the fesces. At least that's what I was told in December. I had gotten my cousin's cat fixed for her because I am in a program that is cheap, and her cat had worms. Luckily for me, I kept her away from my cats. And Rescue Groups are ALWAYS full, especially in the spring, which is when all the little kitties that were born in january/february come out to play, and everyone says, "Oh, look at all these homeless little kitties."

This probably isn't exactly the best way to catch her because you would be forcing her hand (or paw, as the case is), BUT, you could always try to trap her in a raccoon trap, so you can take her in for a while, keep her in a room by herself, until you can get done what needs to be done, and if she has kitties in the meantime, at least they will be inside just in case something happens (you know, this weird weather). If you live somewhere that has possible snow (I live in PA, so it can snow through May) then they would already be warm and cozy and you wouldn't be worried that they would be too cold or something else of that nature. And also with her being in the room, she is likely to trust you a lot more quick because she knows she is relying on you to bring her food and water, and you would be her only contact. But this is only a suggestion. I understand if you don't want to do this. This is how I caught one of my cats. There were two kittens under the trash compactor at work September a year and a half ago, and we weren't sure how to get them out. Someone finally remembered she had a raccoon trap. She brought it in. I put milk and tuna fish in a bowl in the back of the trap, and within 24 hours we had caught BOTH of the kittens. The only problem is that the one bit me, and I had to get rabies shots. BUT the kitten did not have rabies, and he was scared because I was the first human contact that this kitten had ever had, and he was only about two months old at the time. (There are barns near by and we are 99% certain they came from the farm.) As I said, this is only a suggestion, and I understand if you don't want to try something like this. Oh, I found a home for the second kitten.

I think it's kind of weird because they only do it at my door. I swear I didn't do anything to them to make them do that. The one actually used to come up to my room all the time, for about two years, maybe more. Then all of the sudden she started hissing at my door. Maybe there's something evil in my room. :D I've heard cats can sense these things. :D

Yes! That helped me a bunch!
I don't have a trap, but it did spark a different idea on how to catch her.
Maybe I could block the cat door so that she can't run out of the garage and get her that way.

Or, I could put a crate on the other side of the cat door so that when she goes out, she goes into the crate...

She doesn't act terrified, just acts like she doesn't want me to touch her.
She'll come up to the food dish with me sitting right beside it, but will move out of the way when I reach to touch her.
Then, she'll come back and eat a little more and we repeat the process.

I was worried that I might not have enough time to get her to the vet,
From what you described about your cats makes me want to try to catch her even more...

But I don't want to get bit... I think I'll try the crate thing.

You had to get rabies shots:eek: did they have to give them in your stomach??
That had to be awaful...

I'll give my vet a call tomorrow to see if they'll give me any information.
Usually they wouldn't because I've called about strays before,
But maybe they will this time since they can look on their records and see how much money I've
Spent there in the last few months with all my animals yearlys...

Yes, we've had some strange weather this year...
I'm further south, so I didn't feel any of that sub zero weather you guys had up north.
My husband felt it though, he had a layover in Chicago and decided to go feel the cold air... he felt it all right... LOL
We did get a half an inch of snow out of it though. It was nice but gone by the next morning...
It was the first snow in 4 years.
And when I say snow, I'm talking an inch... LOL

Then last week was a bit chilly too.

My grandparents live in Moore Pa.
They said they froze their butts off this winter... and some this spring...

You know Daisy, I totally believe in spirits, and I do feel that animals can either see them or sense them...
It was the first thing I thought of when I read how your cat acted,
But I didn't say anything... some people get freaked out over that kind of stuff.

I have had experiences with stuff like that... pretty much total confusion and no answers for the incidences, but I'm 100% a believer...
There is something more out there (I feel anyway)
What's your take on it?

Oh, I forgot to mention...
Big Mouth is doing great.
She's made a friend with another female oscar...
Yeah!!
I was also told that she ate a fish:eek:

It made me start thinking about your Oscar.
Most of the fish you have will be too big to fit in it's mouth because their growing up together... But if any stay small, they might get eaten:eek:

This woman says her Oscars go after the bigger babies in the tank that can no longer hide and that Big Mouth picked up on it too.

She allows it to happen though, as a way to feed the Oscars and to control the fish population in the tank...

Kind-of sad, but she has a huge natural set -up and it happens in nature...

I don't remember exactly where the first set of rabies shots were, because they had to give them at five different spots, and there were ten shots total the first time. They said they had to put them at the same spot on the opposite sides of my body. Then I had to go back for one shot for four certain days. Those they just shot into my back thigh. They have a specific amount of time that they have between each of the shots. I think the second time is 6 days after the first ones, third one 7 days after that, something like that. But I'm not sure anymore how long between each shot is exactly. This was a year and a half ago, and I'm planning on not getting bit by a stray cat again. They weren't that bad. Most people say, "EWW! NEEDLES!!" But I gave blood before I had to get the shots, so needles don't bug me. And you can't give blood for a year after you get the rabies shots, since that is how long they stay in your blood stream. Vets have to get their shots redone every year so if they get bit they are safe. That's what I was told, anyway.

If your vet doesn't give you any info, I will call one of my vets for you. He should though, since you would be bringing her in to them at some point in the near future. I've been to about three different ones around here, so I'm sure someone will help. The people at the desk are pretty nice too, when I call. Hoping your vet will help you. If they don't, they are being jerks, that's all, in my opinion.

I do believe in spirits, too. There are things that happen consistently in my room that I can't figure out why. Such as, my radio turning on and off by itself. The one night last year, when I still had the air conditioner in the window yet, I had it off when I went to sleep. I woke up at 300am and the air conditioner was on. It wasn't too cold yet, so it couldn't have been on very long. Not a minute after I woke up, my radio turned on. I got up and turned both of them off. I laid back down, and as soon as I was flat on my back, my air conditioner came back on. I turned it off and made a bee-line for the steps. But, if it was a spirit, I would think all of my cats would act that way around my room. Unless they are just used to it from being in my room a lot. That's what I can't figure out. I told my sister about that and a couple of other things that have been happening (like the knocking coming from the second floor that my parents didn't hear and the footsteps coming up my stairs in the middle of the night), and she told me she is never going into my room again. I don't like to think on it too much, I may never get to sleep again. :D My house is 97 years old, so I'm SURE there are spirits in this house. One of my friends (the lady on the phone that is annoying, she knows I find her annoying, but she just can't seem to stop talking) wants to bring over her video camera and let it record one night to see of she catches anything.

I so glad Big Mouth is doing great. I'm sure she would do it anyway, being it is different tank, different fish, different circumstances. It's just natural.

If any of my fish get eaten, then I figure it is a way for me to learn NOT to put that particular type of fish in the tank with my Oscar or whatever fish ate it. :D

Wow Daisy, that is pretty spooky...
I understand you don't really like talking about it.
I can relate... I truly can...

As long as you're safe and nothing has tried to hurt you.

I'm not worried about getting hurt. I don't feel it's an evil spirit, just left behind. I think if it was going to hurt me it would have done that by now. It's just freaky when these things are happening and you don't know where it's coming from. My parents have said there are a couple of things that happened to them that they couldn't explain, but I don't know what it was that happened and I know that I have had more experiences than they have. Of course, it doesn't help that they like to tell me I'm nuts for even suggesting it. I know the previous owners wife died of cancer, I think 6 or 7 years ago. I thought maybe it is her. She was only in her 50's. And I found from our neighbors that she loved gardening almost as much as I do.