Sly, From The Hood

Sly, and his brother Sneakers, are two lovely cats living in my neighborhood.  I see them almost every day while on my evening walk. Isn't Sly adorable?  And his fur feels as luscious as it looks!

These boys have caring humans, whom I have chatted with many times.  I look forward to my Sly visits!

Tiger Tuesday

When a tabby cat showed up on our deck in late 2013, The Hubby called him "Tiger".  I went along with that for only a short while, because Patty's true personality blossomed with regular feedings and a place to sleep. We trapped him and transported him to a low-cost spay and neuter clinic on the first day of Spring 2014, and I listed his name on the paperwork as "Patrick O'Malley".  He is a very special kitty, even though he really doesn't want to be inside.  The Hubby now calls him Patty From The Alley, or Patus O'Mallus.  I call him every loving and nonsensical name I can, as he's my special kitty.

Gotcha Day Number 12!

Sweet Angelova!

Chucky, looking all mysterious

Angel and Chuck arrived at our house in a box on this day, in 2004.  The Hubby and I had little experience with cats, but we were under the assumption that they were 'easy care'.  Whether that is true or not, these two beings certainly changed our lives, and I wish that they decide to remain with us for many, MANY years to come!  Love you, Pinky and Brogums!

Cat Health News

Angel gives me the stink eye!

The vet said that Angel's urine had bacteria, white blood cells and all kinds of riff-raff that shouldn't be in there.  Namely: a bladder infection.  She received a shot of Convenia, plus some holistic capsules that improve bladder health.

"Mama, let's go HOME!"

When we see our holistic veterinarian in a few weeks, we'll zero in again on Angelova's overall health, to see what we can do to get her into optimal ranges.

On the Chuck side of life, look at what I found when I got home yesterday, before Angel's vet appointment:

Wooly migration!

Chuck was herding my woolies again!  Well, just one wooly, but that's one more than any in a long time.  The Hubby and I take this as a good sign, and think that perhaps Chuck is feeling a little bit better.  We are now orchestrating meals with all of the holistic vitamins carefully crushed up and mixed in, and perhaps they are beginning to work for Chuck.  

P.S. Please visit Four White Paws blog and leave a note; their dear kitty Buddy left for the Rainbow Bridge.

Vet Visit for Angelova

Angel has a trip to the vet's office tonight; she is not urinating properly.  Lots of trips, not enough output.  We all know what that means...urinary tract infection!  Or bladder stones, or...

Will keep you posted.

Since The Hubby and I watched the Olympics and prior to that, the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, there are a lot of women competing who have 'ova' on the ends of their names.  So, we've added it to Angel's name too.  Angelova.  Cute, huh?  I also call her Angel-eeny, which I rhyme with bikini.  She's my babydoll; I love to sing-song to her!

Wordless Wednesday

 

The Weekend

The Hubby drove me to Toledo, Ohio on Friday, where my friend GG from Cleveland picked me up and we continued our journey to Chicago, Illinois. We then met up with DY from Cincinnati, SD from Colorado, and MG from Washington DC-area.

Got a flat tire in Detroit; that's The Hubby changing tires!

My friends and I attended two days of WizardWorld Comic Con, held in Rosemont, Illinois.  See more info here.  Before I was a cat fan, I was (and AM) a huge "The X-Files" TV show and movie fan.  I met these ladies and more back in 1998, and we try to gather together once in awhile to do nerdy, sci-fi things.  This weekend was our chance to ACTUALLY MEET the stars of the show, Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny.

Saw this cat purse while I was in line

Purchased this Pusheen The Cat doll, dressed as Sherlock Holmes
I was a Sherlock Holmes fan before I was a cat fan OR an X-Files fan!

People dressed up as their favorite comic book superhero, or villian, or any TV or movie character they wanted to.  Here are a few samples:

Audrey II from the movie "Little Shop of Horrors"

A couple of MIBs (Men In Black)

King Arthur and Court from "Monty Python and
The Holy Grail" movie

Monster from the movie "Predator"

David Duchovny reads from his new novel, "Bucky F***ing Dent"
(sorry, that is really the name of the book!!)

We listened to a panel of stars from the "Back To The Future" trilogy of movies: Michael J. Fox, Lea Thompson and Christopher Lloyd.  Then, we listened to a "The X-Files" panel consisting of David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Mitch Pileggi (Walter Skinner) and William B. David (Cigarette-Smoking Man).  The photos taken of those events are woefully awful, but it was really fun to listen to the folks who made such timeless movies and TV shows tell US, the fans, how much they appreciated our enthusiasm!  I will admit, I geeked out a bit.

THEN...we had our photos taken with Gillian Anderson (blonde) and David Duchovny (only guy). One could say that I was so star-struck that I DID NOT even put my arm around David's waist, but they rushed us around so fast that I simply reacted too slowly.  Whatever...I did thank them both, then within seconds we were in the hallway exit.

Left to right: Gillian Anderson (Dana Scully), DY from Cincinnati (playing herself)
me (standing like a block of stone), and David Duchovny (Fox Mulder)

So, there was a bit of cat stuff going on; check out Pusheen The Cat here.  I saw one person dressed up like Pusheen, and there were several people wearing cat t-shirts: kittens with light-sabers, Hello Kitty! as a zombie, and people wearing cat ears.  I would have worn some cat ears too, but I did not find any to purchase in the (seemingly) miles of vendors.  

The Hubby was more than glad to take care of both sets of cats while I was away; he was happy that I did not make him GO WITH ME.  I will visit everyone's blogs soon.

August 16, 2016: A Remarkable Day for the 'O' Cats!

August 16, 2016: A Remarkable Day for the 'O' Cats!*

Why, you ask?

Because The Hubby put out his hand, and Patty O'Malley, Aries...
AND
Sweetie all gave him rubs!

Snoozing Aries

Patty and I just have to be touching somehow

That's Sweetie, up on the Stairway to Heaven!

Yep, The Hubby is working his way into their little cat hearts...YAY!

Wait...there's MORE!

Not only that, Sweetie allowed me to put Advantage II Flea treatment on her.  She has NEVER allowed me that much license to touch her before.  This time, she just kept eating at her bowl, while I doused her between the shoulderblades.  Patty O'Malley got his too, but that's not news.

All of this progress, but still not much further with convincing Patty or Sweetie up the stairs.  Next week, I'll start trying daily.  Maybe making it so normal to them, that they overcome their hesitancy.

I'm off for a mini-vacation weekend; see you next week.
Have fun, all!

* not posted until today because it was National Black Cat Appreciation Day yesterday.

Black Cat Appreciation Day

Sweetie!

Chucky!

My two favorite black cats!

Love on your own housepanthers today, or you can come over to my house and love on ours!

A Visit From A Floofy Tail

The neighbor's floofy-tailed kitty decided she wanted a few pets from me!  I am diligently trying to convince her and her sister that they can visit my house at anytime for lovin' and food.  It's not clear how well they are taken care of by the folks that own them, but I'm ready to take up the slack...whether The Hubby or The 'O' Cats are up for it or not!  Look at this sweet baby; why wouldn't a person want to snuggle with her?

Here is the story on the two floofy-tailed beauties.  I was told: the woman's son moved in with her, bringing these two black kittens.  She knew they needed to be spayed, so she contacted the local low-cost spay/neuter rescue, and they were dropped off one day to be transported to get their surgeries. However, both cats were treated as FERALS; spayed and ear-tipped, and then released one afternoon into her yard!  No one told her that was going to happen, so those two babies stayed outside for almost an entire day (during bad weather, too!)  After that, neither kitty wanted to remain indoors, so the people of the house let them out.  I spy them all of the time, but they tend to hang around their 'house' in the evening.  The people of the house used to let them in a window, but another neighbor says that often the cats just sit there and meow and no one in the house pays any attention. From what I see, both cats are fed, and they appear to be in good shape.  Actually, I never know which kitty I'm looking at, since they are so similar.  One day, they may decide to emulate Aries, and join my backyard cat club!

Movie Review: Nine Lives

Official movie release info (image from internet)

Kevin Spacy, as Tom Brand (image from internet)

Christopher Walken, as Felix Perkins (image from internet)

Stepping up on my soapbox:

(Clears throat...ahem...)

I dislike any film or TV show that chooses to show the mishandling of animals in ANY form.  There are far too many people who take what they see and then DO IT IN REAL LIFE!  Feeding a cat alcohol, ignoring its health needs, throwing the cat into a plastic garbage bag, allowing said animal to fall multiple stories from a great height IS NOT FUNNY AT ALL. Don't care if it was an animatronic cat or CGI; abuse is abuse.  Plain and simple.

Thank you.  (Steps down)

How the heck did Barry Sonnenfeld direct such an awful, disjointed movie, with mega star power as Kevin Spacey, Christopher Walken and Jennifer Garner?  None of the characters felt real; all stereotypes and over-used idioms.  The big bad buy, Tom Brand, hates cats but his sweet little daughter wants one, so he ends up at Christopher Walken's pet shop, and because he's such a nasty, awful businessman who treats his employees and family like dirt, gets removed from his body and is placed in a cat's body.  He's supposed to make everyone love him before he can get his human self back again.  The movie got a few laughs out of me in the first 30 minutes, but afterward there was little to recommend it.  Actually, looking for Lil Bub and Henri Le Chat Noir in the background, was the best part of the end!   But the cats in the pet shop were in bird cages!  What?!?

HOWEVER, I must mention that I was joined in my cat movie watching this past Saturday with two terrific and cat-loving ladies, and lunch was A RIOT! BG, MLP and I talked about so many things cat, dog and humane treatment, that the sub-par movie faded away.  We plan to see "A Streetcat Named Bob" together when it is released in November.

Chucky, the Cat Bomb

I just love this boy!

Lots of box tops around our house!

WARNING!  TALK ABOUT CAT BATHROOM HABITS AHEAD!

Chucky is not using the litter box anymore for #2.  This is why we have been to the holistic vet, since the 'regular' veterinarian's do not seem to have a handle on it.  However, the holistic vitamins and even a chiropractic adjustment have not changed this fact.  Because he's not constipated nor has diarrhea, we really aren't even sure if he HAS Irritable Bowel; we've just been giving him the meds for it because at one time they worked.

The Hubby and I feel that Chuck is actually AFRAID to go poops.  He holds it and holds it, until he cannot anymore, which is why it's like a cat bomb when he finally 'let's go'.  Often, he's asleep somewhere, and he wakes up in a panic...because he has to 'go' RIGHT NOW!  His recent procedure is this: he poops right where he was napping, then races around as if the demons of h*ll are chasing him, and he leaves a little trail in his wake.  He'll finally settle in a corner or a window sill, breathing hard and looking scared. Chuck is very unhappy when this happens.

For awhile, he would only do this ON SOFT CLOTH, meaning the bed or any towel/blanket.  Lately, he manages to only dirty a box, or the hardwood floor.  This makes cleanup easier, however we are clueless now how to help him return to the litter box.  Is this a behavioral issue, or is he in some kind of pain or discomfort?  We could put diapers on him, and it may come to that.  We have also tried Zoloft, in the hopes he would settle down a bit, but have no positive results.  For about 15 minutes every other day, Chuck goes off like a cat bomb; at ALL other times he is his usual, loving and luscious self.

A long time ago, we kept Chuck inside a large room, with his own litter box, bed, etc.  He went crazy (peed and pooped everywhere!) after a couple of days and we scuttled that experiment. I've even talked to three animal psychics; their information did not help us either.  There is no specific time of day that the bomb explodes, so locking him in a room overnight won't mean anything.  We added a new litter box, and cleaned and sanitized all of them, and filled all with new litter.  He uses them for #1, after all!

It's a puzzlement.

P.S. Angel is eating almost at 100% again, thank goodness!  When I set down the two food bowls this morning, both Angel and Chuck got to eating immediately.  The Hubby made fun of me, saying out loud, "Fat cats make Mama happy!"  Go ahead, joke all you want, but having a cat bomb and a non-eating cat at the same time was testing my ability to keep it together!  Plus having our old veterinarian shut me down yesterday, did not help my mood.

"Okay, maybe I'll take a taste..."

Angel's bowl at the top, Chucky snacked at the bottom bowl

Angel ate a little...

The Hubby had ceased giving Angel her holistic vitamins about a week ago, because she put up too much of a fight in the pilling process.  We were figuring out how to get into each cat their respective vitamin load, when Angel stopped eating on Sunday.  So last night, he scooped her up and stuffed her pills in as he'd done prior.  What could it hurt?

And voila!  This morning, both Chuck AND Angel danced around the kitchen, as I opened cans and made up their bowls.  Angel ate some...not a lot...but more than before.  Cannot really credit the vitamins as being the key, but she showed that she has an appetite.  I am NOT reeling back my desire to get her to the veterinarian, until I see some stronger indication that she is back to 100%.  However, things seem less dire than they did yesterday.  Thanks to everyone for your support!

WARNING!  RANT AHEAD!  YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!!!

Chuck takes three meds for his heart, and two meds for his intestines.  His original veterinarian put him on the intestinal meds, especially budesonide.  It's a mild steroid to keep inflammation down. I took Chuck to this same doc when he had his first 'running-'round-the-house-pooping-and-peeing-and-barfing' incident, and she said he needed a heart specialist.  That was in July, 2015.  Fast forward to today, when I called her office to ask for a couple of budesonide capsules, since refilling that prescription got ignored until too late...100% my fault.  SHE WOULDN'T DO IT, saying that she hadn't seem him in over a year (July 14, 2015 to August 10, 2016?!), and that her office had faxed his health history to two other offices (heart doc and holistic vet, as supplemental to regular vet).  She said that if I made an appointment today, then she would be happy to make the prescription, once she had actually seen the cat.  The vet said that this is all STATE LICENSING REGULATIONS.

Oh really?  For two or three little capsules of cat steroid that she has already prescribed?  For a client of about ten years AND two cats worth of visits?  A year?  This stinks to high heaven, and The Hubby concurs. Thanks alot, so nice of you to help, but you've just lost us as our primary cat veterinarian. I understand following rules, but seriously, what rule would be broken, to refill a script that is already on record?  Hey, I take responsibility for creating this mess in the first place, but a little assistance from the vet's office that I've spent a lot of money at AND have referred several other patients...well, screw you.  And screw me, for having stuck with you all of these years.