On Hiatus

As some of you may have noticed, I have not been posting a lot. I have a very crazy schedule this semester and am taking some time off from writing. I'll be back in time for Christmas. Just hang on until then.

Cat

How is a girl...

...supposed to get any sleep around here? There are too many kittens running around the place. Everytime I just manage to fall asleep, one of them runs over me. The only place that is safe is on mommy's pillow but getting there isn't so easy. It's like all the young ones cut me off and the big ones block my path. Maybe I should do what Phoebe does and thwap them. Nah. Too much effort.

~ Bailey

Shadow

I think we've finally decided on the name for the new kitten: Shadow. The little fellow seems to be responding to it which is what we wanted.

Shadow is settling in with the other cats. I think this was a record actually. A majority of the hissing lasted no more than about 24 hours. I was expecting at least a few days of adjusting. What helped, I think, was Loki accepting Shadow. Loki is the alpha cat of the household. Once he accepted him I guess the rest of the flock went along.

What is really funny is watching Nermle's reaction to Shadow. You can tell he's jealous about the fact that he is no longer the baby of the household and he wants to hate Shadow. On the other hand, you can see that he really wants to play with the kitten and have some fun. It's quite hysterical to watch. They start chasing each other and playing when Nermle will all of a sudden stop and run away like he was doing something wrong. I can imagine the little voice in his head going "I'm not supposed to like him."

A New Addition

Last week there was an item on the news about how all the local shelters are overrun with kittens and they needed help with adoptions. Bear and I have been missing Kukai and Bomber a lot recently and we decided that maybe we should adopt a kitten. We went to the local shelter devoted to cats and found this little guy.
















































He is about 13 weeks old and was born at the shelter. I still haven't "discovered" his name yet but Shadow is in strong contention right now. Any suggestions are more than appreciated.

We're doing our job...

...to help mommy feel better. Her depression has really been bad 'cuz she's off of her medications (her V-E-T told her to switch medications). It's really bad at night when she gets home from work so all of us have decided to all pile on the mommy to help her feel better. Last night, six of us were in the bed with her trying to lick the tears off of her face and help bring back the smileys to her. It's working a little bit but she still does the crying too much. Hopefully these new meds will bring back the smileys.

~ Bailey

Burger Wars

When mom gets burger, I'm going to get some. One thing is for sure, I'm not going to share. Monkee and Boo kept on trying to take my burger but each time I just thwapped them on the head. It is my burger. No one else's, 'specially since mom got Wendy's this time and she did it for me. If it was Burger King then they could've had some but not the burger goodness that is Wendy's.

~ Phoebe

Is it normal...

...for female cats to get grumpier as they get older? I thought Ayla was a special sort of grumpy but now it seems Phoebe is embracing her inner grump as well.

For a while now, Phoebe has been getting very impatient with all the kittens. That I can understand especially when it comes to the "Doofi" (pl. for Doofus; namely Loki and Monkee). Last night, she actually thwapped at Bailey in bed. It was a classic Ayla-styled thwap with a loud "thump" as her paw hit Bailey's head. The smack was bad enough but she had the gall to do it with both me and Bear looking on. Bear and I just looked at each other and were positive she had just been possessed by the ghost of Ayla. However, this has been an on-going issue with her.

Is it common for female kitties to get grumpy as they get older?

What Do You Expect?

If you are not going to share the string cheesey goodness with us, you have to expect us to pull the wrappers out of the garbage can and chew on them. Part of it is to get what ever is left of the cheesey goodness off the wrappers. The other part is to annoy the heck out of you for not sharing.

Burger Wars

Phoebe: Why didn't you get McDonalds? I like McDonalds.
Mom: Because I went to Burger King. If you don't like the burger, you don't have to eat it.
Phoebe: I want burger but I want McDonalds burger.
Mom: It's the same thing.
Phoebe: It's got more greasy goodness and flavor. This burger tastes like cardboard.
Mom: It's healthier for you.
Phoebe: I'm a cat. Like I care what's healthy for me. Promise me next time you'll get McDonalds.
Mom: Fine.

We're Still Here

We're still here but mommy has been really busy and can't help us type. She's working two jobs and going back to school. She said she'll try to help us out more often but asks that you all have some patience. We'll be back to writing more often soon.

~ The Fuzzies

Easy Like Sunday Morning

And people wonder why I have such a difficult time getting any studying done...

~ Mom

Helping Mommy

Here I am helping mommy with her studying. As I can't read all the big words, I can be helpful as a book rest.

And here's Monkee distracting her when she gots too stressed out from all the studying.

Yay!

Mommy just told us that we're all getting a bigger sleepy spot to share with her and daddy. They went out yesterday and said they got a king size bed and it's supposedly really, really comfy. I don't know if that's a good thing though. I like to snuggly right inbetween mommy and daddy at night. If the sleepy spot is too big I won't be able to touch them both like I can now. They'll just have to promise to snuggle with me at night that's all.

~Phoebe

I is helping Mommy

Wit her studying...


But these are really big words!

~ Loki

Mine!

OK, I'm sorry but the spot between mommy and daddy by the pillows on the big comfy bed is mine. It has been since poor old Bomber passed away. This location is specifically designed for the ultimate in parental contact. I plan on keeping it and if any of you kittens try to come and take it from me I'll do what Ayla used to do: thwap you upside the head. You all have been giving me a lot of practice and I'm getting pretty good at it. Even mommy was impressed with my thwap the other day.

So stay out of my spot unless you want to get thwapped!

~Phoebe

Wild Turkey Goodness

Mom was saying that when she was driving earlier with Dad that they saw a wild turkey again. Now, I am on a quest to finally eat a wild turkey so I was appalled that they did not stop and grab it for me. Mom explained that it ran into the road, skidded to a stop, and then ran back into the grass. She said she wasn't going to chase after it for me. Why not? Don't I deserve the best? Why can't I have a wild turkey?

What's worse? She saw it again on the way home. If this turkey was so clueless to continue to hang around, it deserved to be eaten. I want a wild turkey. If only I was there with her I could've chased after it myself. I don't care if they fly or not. It has to land eventually...

~Monkee

Dharma and the Banister

The other day, Dharma got herself into a predicament. Nermle was terrorizing her so she jumped up on the banister. The problem is that the banister is at a 45 degree angle. When she jumped up, she started sliding down. She was able to stop and start climbing up it but every time she attempted to change her grip, she started to slide down again. Finally, when she got to the bottom of the banister, she realized that she couldn't jump off and started crying pathetically. Bear had been watching this play out the entire time so he went over to rescue her.

The worst part is that this isn't the first time it has happened with her. You'd think she'd have learned by now.

We're Still Here...

I know we haven't been doing a good job keep up on our blogging but we have a good excuse. We've been taking care of our mommy. Her depression has gotten really bad over the past couple of months. I know that she is seeing a doctor to get the medical part of it fixed but us kitties know she needs more than that. We've been doing kitty piles on her when she gets home. Nothing is more curative than a pile of kitties on you when you are feeling down. Also, we've been making sure she's clean and giving her lots of baths. She's starting to feel better on the new medication but it will still be a while. Please bear with us while we take care of her until she's all better.

Happy Valentine's Day

Just wanted to wish everybody a very happy Valentine's Day. I got the fuzzies some Tuna Flakes for a special treat. I'll let you know how they like them.

~ The Mom

Tastes Just Like Chicken

Mom doesn't like turkey so the only time we ever have any in the house is when she visits Dad's family on Turkey Day. This year they didn't go so I didn't get my turkey. I was very upset.

There are lots of wild turkeys up where we live and I see them constantly outside the big window in the living room. For months, I've been working on a plan to get outside and nab one of those suckers for myself. Then Mom told me yesterday that she was driving along and saw a turkey fly across the road. They can fly? Damn. Now I'm going to have to change my plans. My calculations did not include turkeys that can fly. Bah.

~ Monkee

Things are starting to get back...

...to a somewhat normal routine in the house again.

In the morning, I follow the herd o' kitties down the stairs to the kitchen for their food. It's quite hysterical seeing six of them vying for the food dish (they were twisted around each other in a bizarre spiral).

In the evening when I come home, I'm usually greeted by three: Nermle, Boo, and Phoebe. Then again, Nermle follows me around like a puppy dog and even sleeps by my feet when I'm at my desk. Usually I trip over Loki on the stairs. The guy is so big he has to squeeze in to fit on the step!

At night, the bed is crammed to the gills. Now we've got Fizzy, Dharma, Bailey, Monkee, and Phoebe all trying to squeeze in with us. Usually Bear and I end up in a contorted mess trying to sleep around them.

I don't mind though. I'm just glad things are starting to get back to normal.

Thank you...

...everybody for all the kind words after Kukai's passing.

We're all still adjusting here. It has been so stressful losing two cats in two months. I honestly feel numb right now. We decided to not get any new kitties (eight IS enough) and just focus our attentions on the ones we have.

The cats must have known things were wrong with Bomber and Kukai because they are finally getting back to their old selves. Fizzy, who has been lurking for the past couple of months in the living room, is back to being social and mobile around the house. Bailey is getting around more and is spending a LOT more time with me in my office and in the bedroom. Once again, at night both my husband and I are fighting for our spots on the bed amongst a whole slew of kitties.

I will keep posting up stuff as often as I can. However, with the new semester starting and me hogging the computer, I don't know how often the kitties will get to voice their opinions/rants. I'll make sure it's not too little as I know they have a lot to say.

Caturday

Some days, when life gets too stressful, we all need to reevaluate our priorities. Sometimes, spending a Saturday curled up in bed is a Good Thing.

Goodbye My Friend

Later today we're going to help Kukai cross the Rainbow Bridge. He just is losing too much weight and he can't keep the food inside of him long enough for it to do any good. The poor little guy is so weak that we decided it was time. I will miss you little buddy.

Go play with Ayla and Moose and be free from your pain.

Update on Kukai

We're a bit worried about Kukai. He had stopped eating again so we brought him to the vet on Friday. Dr. Bob wasn't too optimistic about his future. While we're still not sure what is wrong with him, it is taking his toll. He's still under 4lbs no matter what we feed him.

Right now, we have him back on the appetite stimulants and Hills R/S food, which is the prescription diet given to cats recovering from surgery to get them eating. It is stinky as all hell but Kukai is willing to eat it. However, Dr. Bob thinks that he may only have a few weeks left. He said that at his age, it is more about making him comfortable.

One point that Dr. Bob made that really hit home was we really don't know how old he was. The shelter where I adopted him from said he was a year old but they couldn't find any paper work on him. Dr. Bob thinks he's quite a bit older than the 12 1/2 years I believe he is. I really hate it when shelters do that. Even if he was five years old when I adopted him, I still would have taken him. I was specifically looking for a Japanese Bobtail and I fell in love with the little shit the minute I saw him (sorry, he is a little shit but in a good way). If he is 15 or 16 years old, it would explain a lot.

On the bright side, Boo is doing a lot better. The antibiotics are doing their job and he's back to normal. No more blowing green snot everywhere. Big cats are great, but everything about them is big as well, including the snot. :)

Not again

We had to bring Boo to the vet yesterday. He was once again suffering from a head cold the poor guy. This time, though, he was blowing out green snot which means he needed antibiotics. As Dr. Country Bob did his exam, he noted to me that he was losing weight. It has been a gradual decline of about 1 1/2lbs over the past two years. Dr. Bob decided it would be a good idea to do the full blood panel "just in case." I got the results this morning and everything is fine thankfully.

If Boo was sick I don't know what I would do. Things have been so hard over the past eighteen months. First we lost Ayla, then we lost Bomber on Thanksgiving, and Kukai is struggling to keep some weight on him. If Boo had something like kidney failure or cancer I think I would have lost it.

Bear and I wondered if it might be the house. We've been here for two years and we lost two cats to cancer and now one has thyroid issues. However, the other cats seem to be flourishing. Both Loki and Bailey are not skinny kitties and all of the young 'uns are incredibly active. We also give them top notch food so that isn't it either. Our brood, though, is getting older so that is probably what is causing the issues.

Kukai is back on the appetite stimulant and he's eating up a storm. He's also really tolerating the sweater which is really surprising. I just hope it's keeping him somewhat warm.

My New Sweater

I never would have thought I would say this, but I'm happy mom got me a sweater. I've been so cold lately, especially since I've lost so much weight. This morning, she got me this nice blue sweater. Technically it's a doggie sweater but I look much better in it than a dog. She also got me a heated kitty bed to keep my piddies warm. Of course the big dumb Maine Coons will try to take it from me but mom got it for ME! I'm going to make sure I get the warmest spot.

Here is a picture of me with my new sweater. Don't I look handsome?

A Little Tweaking

As you can tell, I'm in the process of reworking this blog. It was kind of boring with the old layout so I'm trying something new.

On the left side of the page, I've put in little blurbs about each of the Fuzzies. As I create more tags for each of the kitties, I'll add those in as well.

Please let me know what you think.

I don't know why...

...but Nermle is fascinated with the toilet in the master bathroom. Every time I go in there, he follows me in and wants to jump into the toilet. It's quite bizarre.

Kukai is doing a bit better. I screwed up his appetite stimulant the other day giving him a whole pill instead of a half and the poor fellow was meowing all day long, sounding like he was in agony. He wasn't in any pain because when we would pick him up and start giving him attention, the yowling stopped and he would start purring. I think it was just his tummy going "I'm soooo hungry" and he just wasn't used to it. With the proper dosage, he is doing fine and is eating more. That is definitely a Good Thing. The bloodwork from the vet didn't show anything unusual besides an elevated white blood cell count but that is probably due from his head cold. Hopefully by next week he'll be in better shape.