Happy 4th of July!

Our Mommy says this is a really special holiday for us Americans. When we asked her why she said all of our freedom came from the sacrifices our ancestors made over two hundred years ago. Does this include freedom to eat all the Stinky Goodness we want? The Mommy said yes but she's mean and won't let us do that (something about us getting sick).

All we know is that this is the time for the really loud boomers. Our town had them last night but thankfully they were on the other side of town. This meant they weren't as loud or as scary as they usually are. Still, neighbors have been setting off boomers for the past three days. Hopefully after today there won't be any more.

Happy 4th of July everybody!

Easy Like Sunday Morning

Here I am enjoying time on the Mommy's desk. It really is my favorite spot to hang out in, at least when it's clean. If it's not clean, I just knock all the stuff off of it to make it clean and give myself a proper place to lie down.

As you can see in the background, the Mommy is playing one of her silly video games. Why would she be playing games when she could pet me? I don't understand humans sometimes.

~ Chloe

Belated International Box Day

OK, so we missed a really important holiday. The Mommy made up for it by placing a small box near the window in the kitchen so that way us kitties could look out the window and enjoy the box at the same time. Great idea Mommy! However, the minute she put it up there, Dharma jumped in and refused to leave all day. Mommy and Daddy both thought the box was a perfect size for her 'cause she's a really petite kitty. There was no way the Maine Coons were going to fit in that box though they would probably break it in the process of trying.

Doesn't Dharma look so smug in there?

Bailey Budinsky

So there I was, about to enjoy scritches from the Daddy when this big fat grey blur goes in and takes the pets away. Big Baily Budinski came right in and got between Daddy's hand and my head. She literally took the pets away from me. Big meanie.

Wordless Wednesday

(We're not sure which one Tao is in the group but he's in there)

Update on the Meezer

I got a few e-mails from the breeder over the past couple of days and she said that the little guy is doing much better. He's starting to eat on his own and is playing with the other kittens. Hopefully this was just a little setback to his growth and nothing more.

My husband and I have decided to name the little guy Tao. I wanted a Siamese sounding name and he thought it was rather ironic. You see, one of the reasons why we are getting the Meezer is to fill the void Kukai left when he crossed the Rainbow Bridge a few years back. Ayla (of the Ayla the Grump fame) used to call him The Annoying One, or TAO for short. See the irony there? That's when we knew that Tao would be the perfect name for our new Meezer.

~ The Mom

We'z Sorry

Da Mommy left on the vacation to visit our grandparents down in Florida and she forgots to give us access to da computer. We'z sorry that we haven't written in quite some time but now that da Mommy is home we can start blogging again. But we've got to wait a day or so 'cause we missed da Mommy soooooooooo much and wants to snuggle with her for a long time.

P.S. - Da Mommy gots some bad news from the breeder we're getting the Siamese kitten from. It seems the little fella isn't doin' too good. He's not growing like his brothers and sisters and seems tired all the time. Please put in some purrs and prayers for the little fella. We don't want nothing bad to happen to him.

Update on the Feral Kittens

Yesterday, Mommy went to see the Really Nice Lady next door because she got the feral kittens from the shelter. Remember those two? The ones who bit and scratched Mommy up pretty good? They cleared quarantine so the Really Nice Lady was able to take them home and bring them to the V-E-T for their shots. The V-E-T said the kittens were about eight weeks old and were in pretty good health. The only problem was that they had the worms, but I think all kittens that have been rescued start out with the worms. I had worms too. Mommy is very glad to hear that they were doing so well. The Really Nice Lady named them Tippy ('cause he's black with a white tip to his tail) and Charlie.

The only problem now is catching the other two. They are living under Daddy's truck some of the time. Daddy won't drive his truck until they are caught which annoys him 'cause he doesn't like Mommy's car very much. The Really Nice Lady, though, has a scheme to catch them. She's gonna start putting Stinky Goodness inside of a really big cat carrier with the door open. Once they get comfortable going in there, she'll close the door using a really long rope. Hopefully it works. We don't want anything bad to happen to those cute kittens. If anybody has any other suggestions, we would appreciate hearing them.

Caturday

Today the weather is back down to something more seasonable so all the windows are open. The kitties are very, very happy now. Here are Stiggie and Chloe enjoying the view from my home office window.

~ The Mom

A Bear!

Mommy was woken up by the sound of an air horn this morning. That usually means one thing: a black bear. I gots to see the bear 'cause I was looking out of the window. It was really big and was eating the Really Nice Lady's bird food. I heard Mommy call Loki the "Loki-Bear" before so I figured that bears were the size of Loki but this thing was bigger than one of the evil vicious deer that we usually see outside. The Really Nice Lady used the air horn to scare off the bear so it was gone before Mommy could get any pictures of it. But trust me: it was HUGE. Makes me glad I'm an inside kitty.

Tabby Tuesday: Meet Dharma

This is our sweet little tabby, Dharma. She was rescued from a local shelter when she was about six months old. It was right after the passing of our beloved (and grumpy) Ayla, and I really wanted another grey and white tabby cat. The shelter tried to pass her off as 12-weeks old--I guess to make her more adoptable--but we didn't care. It was love at first sight with her. Unfortunately, because she was feral, it took a while for her to warm up to us.

She is now three years old and is the spaz of the household. For such a tiny cat she can run very, very fast. She can make it from one side of the house to the other and from one floor to another in only a matter of seconds. It's quite impressive to watch. She has also embraced her inner tabby which means she can be a major mush when she's in the mood for it. It's hard to imagine that such a feral little kitty turned into a big lovebug.

P.S. In total, we have eleven cats so yes I guess that does qualify us as crazy cat people. >^..^<

Wow! We gots an award!

Thanks Sir Spitfire (aka Spitty the Kitty) for the award! We are humbled and honored to receive it. We love his blog and especially his interaction with his human.


Now since there are so many of us, it's difficult for us to tell just five things about us but we'll try our best.

1. Most of us are rescued kitties though Mommy does occasionally get a purebred. Her favorite breeds are the Maine Coons and Ragdolls as she loves big kitties. There are three Maine Coons and one Ragdoll amongst us. The rest of us are all rescued.

2. Daddy is actually allergic to us. It's kind of funny 'cause we think that by being in a house with so many kitties, he's developed a tolerance towards kitty allergens. Then again, as the Mommy says, he knew what he was getting into when he married her 'cause she already had five kitties at that time.

3. Our favorite toys in the whole wide world are crocheted catnip balls that our Mommy gets from the rescue group when they have adoption days. Even though the nip is old and probably worthless, we still love playing with them and enjoy the nip.

4. Even though there are so many of us, we all stay inside. Mommy had an outside cat once when she was a little girl and that poor fellow constantly got hit by cars (how he managed to survive all of the hits is a miracle). Because of that, Mommy made a promise that we would never go outside unless it's in a PTU (prisoner transport unit).

5. We all have our favorite spots in the house and you can usually find us there. Though when it's the humans sleepy time, we all pile up on the humans' bed with them and snuggle up at night with them. This drives Daddy nuts because he's "pinned" to one spot for most of the night but the Mommy loves it.

We'd like to share this award with two other kitty bloggers. The first definitely has to go to the Psychokitty who we think started it all. We all love Max and his dealings with his two humans and Buddah Pest. We also have to give one to Katnip Lounge who not only has more cats than we do but always manages to take some great pictures of all the kitties.

Formerly Feral Friday

It's ironic that today Formerly Feral Friday. You see, this morning the Mom saw a feral mommy cat and her kittens outside. Her neighbor, the Really Nice Lady, was feeding them. However, the mommy cat keeps the kittens on the other side of a busy street so our Mommy went to rescue them. She had never done anything like that before but managed to catch two of the kittens! They are about six weeks old and the neighbor took them to the local shelter. The Really Nice Lady brought them in so they could be quarantined as Mommy got bitten. One of the kittens put in a really good fight. Mommy now has to go to her V-E-T and get lots of shots just in case. She said it was worth it though. Saving the kitties was important 'cause she could never live with herself if one of them got hit by a car and the Really Nice Lady is going to adopt them once they get out of quarantine.

Here are a couple of pictures of them:


UPDATE: The Mommy is fine. All she needed was some antibiotics just in case the kitty bites gots infected. The kittens are at the shelter but don't worry about them. They just have to be in quarantine for ten days to make sure they don't have rabies and then the Really Nice Lady from next door will be adopting them. This made Mommy very happy to know that they are going to a good home where she can go and visit them.

Rare Tabby Tuesday

Out of all of our kitties, the one we see the least is Tasha. She is a beautiful black tabby whom we rescued as an older kitten. She is the most feral of our kitties in that she does not interact with us except on a rare occasion and it's usually with the Daddy only. Today I was lucky enough to grab a picture of her on the bed, a place that she is usually under, not on top of.

Happy Memorial Day!!!

We just wanted to wish all of the American fuzzies out there (and their humans too) a very happy Memorial Day. Mommy also mentioned that we should remember our vets...wait! Why would we remember those guys? They constantly stab us with those pointy things...oh...veterans not veterinarians. OK that is different. So we should remember our vets and those who are fighting for our country. I hope they are fighting to keep us in stinky goodness. That's definitely a cause worth fighting for!

Our humans are going out to visit their own flock for a barbeque. Mommy promised she would bring back burgers and hot dogs for us if we're good. I don't know about the rest of the guys but I would do anything for burger! Though this is going to be tough 'cause Mommy said that I need to be a good girl and not thwap any of the others while she's gone. That might be an impossible task but I'm willing to try for burger.

It's Too Hot

Phoebe: I will be the first to admit that I don't like the cold but this heat is not so much fun. It's only May and the Mommy says it's getting up into the upper 80s which is too hot for me. The worst part is that the really big air conditioner that cools most of the house is broken so most of the rooms are really really hot. The only ones with nice cold air now are the bedrooms but because they air conditioners up there use up so much 'lectricity Mommy says that they can only keep one on at at time or else they blow the fuses (whatever those are). This means all of the Fuzzies are sharing my space in the bedroom which is NOT FUN. I'm OK with my spot as they usually leave me alone but now that my spot is in the only cool room in the house they are invading MY space. This isn't fair. Mommy and Daddy really need to get the other air conditioner fixed soon or there might be some serious thwapping going on.

The Mom: We're working on it sweetie. It'll be fixed by the end of the week. We're suffering too.

Meet Nermle

Nermle is our three year old blue point Ragdoll. We got him after Bomber passed away. As Bomber was my "mush" cat, I wanted a really mellow cat who could be hugged and cuddled with. This meant only one thing: a Ragdoll. He has got to be the most mellow cat I've ever come across, and I've known a lot of kitties. His favorite position is lying on his back with his belly exposed to get rubs. Our nicknames for him include "Binky" and "Roly-Poly" because he loves to roll around on his back. He even will move across the bed doing that! What is really nice is that he gets along with most of the cats in the household. His mellow personality makes me a friend for everyone. He really is a sweet boy.

Oh and his name comes from the cute grey kitten, Nermal, from the Garfield comic strips.

Tabby Tuesday: Meet Fizzy

Hi! My name is Fizzy. Well, it's actually Fizzgig but my humans seem to prefer calling me Fizzy. I don't mind as long as I get the cuddles and the pets. I am seven years old and I'm one of the two tabbies living in this house. The other is Dharma but she's a little spaz kitty so I'd rather not talk too much about her.

My humans adopted me from a shelter when I was just 12 weeks old. I don't think the Mommy was planning on getting a tabby but it worked out well for both of us. Actually, it was the Daddy who picked me out. He wanted to sit down in the chair I was lying on so he picked me up and held me. It was love at first sight! When I was a kitten the humans called me a "little terror" as I used to run all over the place and constantly play with the blind cords. Now I'm as mellow as they come. As Mommy says, I've embraced my inner tabby"

Mancat Monday

There is nothing as fantastic as the Nermle belly. As a Ragdoll, he is mellow to begin with but this boy actually enjoys belly rubs. Our nickname for him is Roly-Poly as he likes to wriggle around on his back. How can you resist that belly?

Easy Like Sunday Morning

Our bed is always covered with cats in the morning with a few of them curling up together. Here is Shadow lying on top of Loki. Not a common sight as Shadow is a bit of a loner, but Loki never minds as he is so mellow.

~ The Mom

Siamese Saturday

Mommy got some new pictures from the Siamese breeder where we're getting our new lil' brother from. Here they are at four weeks of age. Aren't they cute!

Formerly Feral Friday

Chloe is our sweet little girl who was rescued twice. She originally was found in the Camden, NJ animal shelter as a young kitten by a local rescue organization. If you notice her left ear had been clipped by the shelter after she was spayed (something that makes me very mad). She was adopted but after a year the owners couldn't keep her any more and returned her. We were lucky enough to come across her at an adoption day at our local PetsMart. Now she is enjoying our home and food and turns into the biggest cuddle monkey when she wants attention. I'm so glad we got her.

~ The Mom

Thursday Thoughts

From Chloe:

• Why don't I get more french fries? I like french fries. Mommy hasn't gone out and gotten me any more darnit. I want french fries!
• Mommy told us that we're getting a new little brother. I don't know how I feel about this yet. I like being the baby. Hopefully this one won't be too annoying.
• Did I mention that I also like honey mustard dressing?
• Mommy really needs to clean the window, doesn't she? How can I enjoy all the birdies outside if there's all this cat snot all over the window? You can thank Phoebe for that one. She sneezes everywhere.
• Where are my french fries?

Yes?

~ Stiggie

Itty Bitty...

...Siamese Kitty Committee:


The Mommy said that her and Daddy went ta look at some little kitty buddies for us. The Daddy really misses Kukai (aka The Annoying One) so they decided to get another Oriental type of kitty. This means we're going to have a new playmate soon! Yay!

Oh the Mommy says we hafta wait until July 'cause the little kitty is too tiny to come homes with us now. That's a good idea 'cause Loki might accidentally sit on him and squish him.

~ The Flock

Helping the Mommy

I'm just helping Mommy with her grading. All of the paperwork makes for a nice comfy bed.

~ Phoebe

Hello Again

I've been itching to get back to blogging but with my schedule as hectic as it has been over the past two years I just haven't had the time. Now things are calming down and I'm finally able to give an update on how the Fuzzies are all doing.

Some very sad news: our oldest cat Frankie crossed the Rainbow Bridge back around Christmas time. He had gone completely blind and was having seizures. We knew it was time for him and helped him cross over.

Some good news: our flock has actually increased in size. We have new additions of The Stig, Tasha and Chloe. All of them are about a year old and were adopted from local animal rescue groups.

• The Stig--named after the character from the British car show Top Gear--is all black and a big cuddle monkey. He loves hanging out with us and enjoys belly rubs. Unfortunately, he does have a bad heart murmur but we are treating it with beta blockers and regular visits to the cardiologist.
  
• Tasha is an exotic looking black tabby (yes, it is possible). She is very feral and not very interested in humans for the most part but in those rare occasions that she wants attention, she turns into a big belly slut.
  
• Chloe is a beautiful medium haired tortoise shell. She has definitely become "my" cat as she hangs around with me most of the time but she is a major food hound and has a thing for Wendy's salads.

Hopefully I'll have plenty of good stories for you in the future plus some new pictures once I get the batteries replaced in my camera.

~The Mom Cat

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.

Now I know why...

...Max calls it the "stabby place." Mom took me to the V-E-T today. I've had a nasty head cold and she was worried I lost more weight. We saw a different V-E-T today 'cause Dr. Bob was on vacation. The lady was nice until she tried to stick a needle in my throat! I know I'm a tiny dude but do you literally have to go for the jugular? Geeze.

Dr. Stabby then told mom that she was worried about me being dehydrated. So I got stabbed again! This time was in the back so they could put fluids in me. Now my whole right foreleg is all puffy from the fluids.

It's bad enough that I'm sick. Do you have to keep on stabbing me? I get stabbed in the throat and then stabbed in the back. I am not having a good day.

Caturday

I think Dharma has the right idea. I'm going back to bed and sleeping for the next day or two.

It's Cold!

It is really, really, really cold. Please turn up the heat now. What do you mean it's already up to 72? That's not warm enough. I'm a skinny little guy! I need the heat at like 80! What do you mean you won't raise it that high? Oh come on.

Yes, I've already tried sleeping on dad's laptop. No, it's not warm enough. Yes, I've already tried sleeping on the router. No, it's not warm enough. Have you found the heated kitty bed yet? Oh, it's still in a box somewhere. Pfft. What a surprise. You got me a warm kitty blanket? Yes, I'll give it a try. You do realize that you are now forcing me to cuddle up with the other kitties to be warm, right? And you wonder why I intentionally sneeze in your face all the time.



















Oh and if Loki sits on me, I will be very, very upset.

Bah, bah, and double bah

Mother is finally taking a break from grading and I finally get to use the computer. It's about time. All she has been doing when she is at home is grading, grading, and grading. Why, oh why is she wasting all of her time doing that when she could be petting me? I don't ask for much of her time but she's hardly ever home any more (what is this professor thing anyways?) and when she is home she's grading, sleeping, or playing with the kitten thingie.

Oh yes, the kitten thingie. Ugh. Like we need any more in this house. He thinks he's so special because he's cute and cuddly. Ew. He may be cute now but he will grow up. I'm the prettiest one in the house. Mother said so. Nermle can never complete with me.

There are so many times I wish I was an only cat. This way I can get all of Mother's attention. Father? He only gets in the way. The only other cat I can even tolerate is Monkee. I don't know why but he doesn't annoy me. The others? Bah, get rid of them.

Oh poo. Mother needs the computer again.

Little Nermle

This guy really has saved my sanity over the past couple of weeks. After losing Bomber, things got difficult for me. However, the little fellow keeps doing things to keep my mind off of that and is helping me with the stress associated with the end of the semester.

When we brought him to Dr. Bob last week, we found out he has a heart murmur. Nothing terribly serious right now but it does have the vet concerned. As he's only 3 pounds, the doc isn't sure if he's too small for an ECG but they got a new machine and the "younger" vet knows better. Unfortunately, that one has been out sick all week.

I just want to make sure Nermle is OK. Bear and I were talking about it and we're going to give him the best medical care possible but we just want to know what it is.

If you folks can be kind enough to keep him in your prayers, I would really appreciate it.

This is why...

...I can't get any work done.

Nermle has decided I'm too stressed out.

He thinks that I should just take a nap.

Ah I wish I could.

Goodbye My Friend

I know I haven't really kept up with this blog, but I wanted to share some sad news. Bomber was diagnosed less than a month ago with cancer in his intestines. Monday night he stopped eating and we thought about putting him to sleep on Tuesday. Our vet wanted us to try one more cortisone shot to see if it would help him but it didn't. Early this morning, Bomber crossed the Rainbow Bridge. It took the tough decision out of my hands and I'm glad that he was able to pass at home where he felt the safest (the bedroom).

I will miss you terribly my little mush cat.

Bomber
1998-2008

Hmph.

It seems that Mommy and the other Fuzzies have been neglecting this blog. I wonder why? It's bad enough Monkee got his own blog, but he hasn't been updated that either. Well, considering I've finally figured out how to work this darn computer thing, I might as well start updating it myself.

Let me introduce myself. My name is Bailey and I am one of the older Fuzzies in this household. I won't divulge my age because no girl in their right mind would. I'll give you one hint: I haven't hit double digits yet in human years.

Hmph. It seems that Mommy does not have any recent photos of me. Now that's not nice. Here is one of me with Monkee. I'm the one curled around Monkee.

(clickify to make bigger)

I guess you can say I'm the Alpha Female of the household since I am the oldest one. The two older boys are definitely not alphas. Kukai would like to be but my paw is bigger than him and Boo is just...well...Boo is just too darn dumb. The Alpha Male is Loki. He's dumb too but he's even bigger than me. I guess size does matter in certain aspects of life.

I'll try to keep this blog updated though I can't promise anything. Mommy is going through a hard time right now. Her foot is still hurting her and she's grading papers. Since I'm her Bailey Baby it is my duty to keep her company and purr her to sleep at night.

~~ Bailey

We're Alive...Just the Mom Is Lazy....

Ya, you can blame me for the lack of posts. I've been so busy with my teaching job that I haven't had a chance to update this blog. I plan on rectifying that once the semester is over (December 22nd) so bear with me until then.

It also doesn't help that I've broken my foot either

I do know that Monkee is in the process of designing his own blog. He is the only one who is interested in taking up Ayla's reigns and he plans on launching it soon. Hopefully it will be right after Christmas.

Just in case we don't update this before the holidays, I want to wish everybody a very happy holiday(s). Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Solstice, etc.


The Mom

Ya know...

If you're going to give me Stinky Goodness, you have to expect stinky farts. Don't complain when I'm sitting on your desk and let out a good one. It goes with the territory.




Kukai

Formerly Feral Friday - Dharma

I figured this would be a good opportunity to introduce the newest member to our crazy household: Dharma



After Ayla passed over the Rainbow Bridge, Bear (my husband) and I went to the local shelter that was devoted to rescuing cats. Originally our plan was to adopt an older cat but I made the mistake of going into the "kitten room." We all know how that is, right?

That's when I saw this little girl. She was in a cage with three other cats but she was rubbing all over the cage door and looking at me saying "take me home please!" When I picked her up, I was able to hold her like a baby and rub her belly and she LOVED it. That sealed the deal with me.

She is approximately six months old and is a little lovey. She's also a big spaz. All she does for most of the day (and I mean about 20 hours a day) is run around the house, going up and down all the stairs, exploring, and getting into relative trouble. Loki is having a blast with his new best friend. It's funny seeing this five pound cat chasing the seventeen pound Maine Coon. Boo, Monkee, and Phoebe have also been playing with her. The only big holdout is Fizzy, who is a bit jealous, but even she seems to be slowly falling to the charms of this little one.

Oh and yes, the name is partially from the show "Dharma and Greg." We were actually driving past a store a couple of towns over called "Dharma's Gifts" (or something like that) when I said "hey, that would be a good name." It does fit because she is a free spirit. :)

And I'm sorry for taking so long to share about her. I was going to last week but I literally could not get a good picture of her since she is constantly on the move. Every time I thought I had a decent shot she would move before the camera clicked. This picture was a miracle since I just happened to be sitting at my desk at the time and she came up to look out the window.

Etyomology of "Fuzzies"

You are probably wondering why I call my kitties "Fuzzies." Well, most likely you're not but just in case they are a few of you out there with the slightest bit of curiosity, I might as well sate it.

And yes, I do call kitties "Fuzzies." Make sure it's with a capital F. Why? Lower case means it's all cats. Upper case means my cats.

It started way back when I first rescued Ayla in 1990. For some reason, I had a lot of problems finding a suitable name for her. Sometimes you don't even have to look at the cat and the name will fit. In her case, I had a premonition it wouldn't be that easy. Until I could figure out what the "right" name was, I started calling her "fuzzy." Why? She wasn't long-haired but she wasn't short-haired either. She was...well...fuzzy.

Now at the time, I didn't want a cat named Fuzzy. No offense to those of you have cats named "Fuzzy," or "Snowball," or another simple, common name. This was back when I was one of those smug-assed college history students who could give her cat some kind of profound name like "Confucius" or "Augustus" or "Dante." One of those type names if you know what I mean.

It took two weeks before we agreed on a name. By this point I threw out almost every name I could think of and she would give me this "oh I don't think so" look. You know, the kind that if you do something the cat doesn't like she'll poop on your pillow type of look? The name we finally agreed on was Ayla. I had been reading the Clan of the Cave Bear at the time and the main character was smart and independent. When I said the name to her, she looked at me and said "that will work."

However, the name "fuzzy" just wouldn't go away. Until she passed on I would occasionally call her "Ayla-Fuzzy." She accepted it and I couldn't let go of it. After a while, the term "fuzzy" morphed into a generic label for all cats. Mine just got the upper case "F" 'cause they're special to me.

As for "Flock O' Fuzzies"? Well, what do you call a grouping of fuzzies? I've heard some strange ones over the years like a "gaggle of geese" or a "herd of cats." "Flock" seemed to go with fuzzies (upper case "f" on both for mine). Then, the "o'" just came with me being silly.

Hence, my little Flock o' Fuzzies.

Gooodbye sweet girl

Yesterday, I realized it was Ayla's birthday. She would've been 17 years old yesterday.

99% of me is sure I made the right decision. It is never easy. This time had been especially tough. The tumor in her mouth not only had poked out of the skin but had ulcerated. She could barely open her mouth to eat. On the other hand, she still had a lot of spunk left in her. However, we were watching her die in front of us, a slow and painful death.

When we saw Dr. Bob on the 5th, he said she had only a week or two at most. We knew going in that this might be her last visit. She had lost another pound in the two weeks since we had seen him last and that's when we knew. I loved her so much and to see her face and the rest of her body get slowly and painfully eaten away by that disease was heartbreaking. Was giving her two weeks worth it? There was barely anything left of her physically, so who was I doing this for? Her or me? I knew I had no other choice to make.

She went so quickly. Dr. Bob had barely inserted the needle and I could feel her slipping away. It was like she was eager to join her old friend Xanadu who had crossed the Bridge so long ago. It also told me how truly sick she was. As her body relaxed I still see all the strain and pain work its way out of her face. Up until then I didn't know how much pain she had been in, but now I knew. Dr. Bob told me afterwards that I had made the right decision since she passed so quickly. I know I had but it still hurt.

I keep my favorite picture of her on my desk now in a place of honor. I still cry when I think about her and sometimes a trick of the eye makes me see her in her favorite spot: my pillow.

I will always miss you dear friend.
You were good to me through some of the toughest times of my life.
I hope I was able to return that favor to you.
I will always love you my sweet little grump.
Have fun with Xanadu, Moose, and Boo Boo.
Goodbye.