Thursday, December 29, 2016

Finding Cats at the Art Museum

"Cat" dated 1913
by Raymond Duchamp Villon
The Hubby and I visited the fantastic Detroit Institute of Arts today, and of course, I found cats!  I think this is lovely.

SHHH!!!  Don't tell The Hubby that
I snapped this photo of him!

The Kresge Court

Cute child with dog

John Singer Sargeant
"Madame Paul Poirson" 1885

John Abbott MacNeil Whistler
"Nocturne in Black and Gold: Falling Rocket", 1875
I LOVE art museums!  I love art, period.  Must be why I love cats; they are works of art!


Monday, December 26, 2016

Sights of the Season

Chuck would only cooperate if The Hubby held him!

Angel is too cute!
I decorated the cats for the holiday!  They took it well, but I certainly needed The Hubby's help, and he kept a continual voice-over of snide comments about dressing up 'HIS' cats! Quiet in the peanut gallery!

And some photos taken while out and about...

Headless Snowperson!

What are these spiky dingleberries?
 
Tree Vine

Bark Texture

Right now, we have temperatures in the 50's F and heavy rain.  Big ice chunks all falling from the roof, making me jump!  Sounds like someone is hitting the house with a baseball bat!

Hoping you all had and continue to have enjoyable holidays!  I'm off to check out all the blogs.

P.S. My brother asked about the background image; he could not figure out what it was.  Well, folks, it's a photo of shelf fungus, growing on a dead tree in the woods.  I like the textures and colors.

Friday, December 23, 2016

Pink Ball




 
We received a surprise package from 15 And Meowing.com, which contained several cool things, including this pink ball that Angel took to immediately.  Thank you, Ellen...the pickle story is adorable!



Wishing all of you a Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah!

Thursday, December 22, 2016

Nurse and Nursemaid

Yesterday, I received these two photos from loved ones:

Nurse Magoo
Magoo has devoted himself to making someone feel better, after her wisdom teeth were removed. Looks like a job well done, Magoo! Look at that Mona Lisa smile.

Magoo was adopted as a stray cat, found living outside as a kitten. He's adjusted to being a part of a busy family, but he steals kibble from the dog once in awhile.

Nursemaid Bobo
Bobo keeps her eye on the new grandbaby, making sure Grannie hasn't lost her touch! The bundle of joy was born December 10, 2016, and he's already a Cat Guy!  YAY!

Bobo was rescued from the streets of Detroit, and enjoys being an only kitty.  I personally have watched Bobo wrap the adult man of the house around her paw, so she knows what she wants...and she gets it!

How cool is it, that folks send me cool photos like these!  I love my family, my friends, and EVERY CAT THAT EXISTS!  And that's the truth...


Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Wow Wednesday

Goody
noun
plural: goodies.

1. Usually, goodies. something especially attractive or pleasing, especially cake, cookies, or candy.
2. something that causes delight or satisfaction

Wow!  Do I have the goodies!


A surprise gift from my friend PN...
Kitty Lounge Pants!

From my friend and coworker CD..
Cat bookmarks, a cat magnet, and sassy sticky notes!

Purchased from Feline o' Mine here...
A cute cat pin, and black cat ornament!

Another surprise gift from EP...
A cat picture frame!


I purchased Quint's artwork as a gift
to my mother.  Buy your own here!
Thank you, my friends, for these wonderful goodies!

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

The Phonecall

It's 3:10 pm, and my office phone rings.  It's The Hubby, and he says that Angel and Chuck tell him that they had NOT received enough food today, and are starving to death!  He even put Chucky on the phone, so I could hear his forlorn meows.  The Hubby exclaims that the cats will kill him in desperation, and he wanted to make sure that they were telling him the TRUTH.

You know how this is going to turn out!  I say, "yes, I fed them AND gave them a bit extra at breakfast", but my words are drowned out by cat wails.  In the end, I give him the okay to feed them NOW, just so I don't find a human corpse when I get home from work.

This scenario reminds me of a time long ago, when I could overhear a co-worker talking to his dog on the phone.  His wife would call for a chat, then put the dog on.  Back then, I rolled my eyes, and wondered how a grown person could find using the telephone to talk to their pet even remotely interesting!  Now, it seems, I am doing the same thing, and darn it, I wish I could communicate with them even more. Someday, I'll get one of those cameras to watch the cats at home, while I am away. Guess I need two sets of cameras; inside and outside.


Chucky, waiting for his meal-ticket to arrive

Angel is pretending to be dainty,
before she murders The Hubby




Monday, December 19, 2016

Offline

My mother was in the hospital at the end of last week.  Fortunately, she is home now and recovering. The family pulled together, and we kept her company, spoke to doctors, and settled her back home again.  I am so lucky to have The Hubby, who covered for me with both sets of cats while I spent time away from home, plus he packed my lunch box full of food so I would have sustenance.  My siblings were in constant contact via texting and phone calls, and we shared equally in getting things done.

In the meantime, our part of Michigan received several inches of snow on Friday through Saturday, then bitter cold swept in behind it.
Paw prints in the snow
The obligatory Patty and Me selfie

Sweetie, saying hello
 
Sweetie drinking fresh, filtered water

Patty O'Malley hanging out
I promise to visit everyone in blogland as the day wears on.  It is frigid outside today, so I am happy to stay inside to do computer work!

Thursday, December 15, 2016

No Shows

It's bitterly cold and windy here.  The sun is shining, but the temperatures are in single digits F, and feel like minus.  It's like Siberia out there.

Patty O'Malley and Sweetie did not come out of The Cat Hotel for their breakfast this morning, and I don't blame them one bit.  The Hubby has promised to keep an eye out for them during the day, just so we know they are okay.  Temps are supposed to move upwards on Saturday, then plummet again in early next week.  After that, they bounce to above average.  So, if we all can get through the next week or so...

Here are some photos taken when I 'thought' it was cold outside, but it was like summertime compared to now!




Patty is just my honey-bunny!



Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Locked Out!

Patty, surveying his snowy domain
It was a brisk 19 degrees F this morning.  Patty was waiting by the front door, to escort me 'round back to the feeding station.  Sweetie arrived from out of The Cat Hotel, and they both got lots of pets and lovin' before settling down to eat.  The ice on the water bucket was only 1/2 inch thick.

When done collecting old bowls and empty water jug, I walked back up front, up the steps, and...the front door was LOCKED!  I tried again, but nope.  Of course I did not have my house keys on me; I never do when The Hubby is inside, and I'm just going out for The 'O' Cats. I do not lock the door behind me, either.

I knocked on the door, hard.  I knocked on the window too.  I stood and waited.  No sound of someone running to the front door!  I leaned on the door bell.  A brief wait again, and then The Hubby unlocked and opened the door for me.

He said...this is the funny part...ha ha ha (dripping with sarcasm), "why are the cats acting so weird?" "Gosh, dear, maybe all of the banging and bell ringing as I was LOCKED OUT freaked them out! Um, why did you lock the door?"  He thought I was inside, and he assumed that he'd mistakenly left the door unlocked when he went out to put the garbage out for collection day.

But I was outside, in the cold, and what is a person to think when the only other person in the house locks the door on them?  It's obvious that the kitties weren't the only ones with weird behavior!

Monday, December 12, 2016

Vet and Weather News

Chucky, before the echocardiogram.
The walls are painted green,
which reflected in his eyes.
The veterinarian says that Chuck's heart muscle is beginning to weaken, and there isn't enough strength to push the blood out all of the heart. She says that means the blood swirls around in there, and that may lead to clotting.  Therefore, she's upped a couple of his meds, to help avoid clots.  She thinks he's been feeling a bit punky because of this swirling business, and that's why he's not eating as much.  He's lost a full pound since the last visit.

However, she was very interested in the news that the usual food he's been getting is disappearing, and that we are switching...slowly...to Salmon and Green Pea, which is what the holistic vet recommended. She is thinking the new med amounts AND new food might entice him to eat up.  She wants to see him again in 2 to 3 months.

Chuck howled the song of his people all of the way to the vet's office, but going home he was mostly quiet.  I took the opportunity to make up my own songs, with his name inserted.  Not only was he manhandled and had blood stolen, but then he had to listen to me singing too!  Oh my, poor kitty.

The vet tech who handled Chucky was wearing too much perfume. Therefore, Angel began hissing at Chuck Friday night, and kept it up all day Saturday and Sunday!  She may have given it up today, but she is still moving around the house with her tail down, and looking around furtively.  How do I tell the vet's office to advise their staff to get their perfume jollies OUTSIDE of the office?  Even The Hubby couldn't stand the flowery smell on Chuck's fur!

Thank you all for your comments about online ordering.  I heard from Natural Balance today, in response to my email, and they said once supplies for Venison and Green Pea are gone, they are going to STAY gone for a very long while.  So, I'm glad I found that last case of the old food, and have already started transitioning Chuck and Angel to the new.  My plan is to add a second brand too, once we have them settled into the first.

AND THEN...SNOW!

Pawprints on the feeding station

"Let's eat before the food freezes!"

Snow on Sweetie's fur

The backyard

Snowy Ghost Cat 
If I cannot have them inside, I can at least shovel and sweep The 'O' Cats's territory, just so their paws don't have to get snowy.  First thing Monday morning, I shoveled snow from the front door, around the side of the house, and around and over the back deck.  Patty thinks the shovel is a toy and barely avoided getting shoveled up and dumped unceremoniously into the snow pile!  Sweetie is sure the shovel (and any broom) is on this earth to harm her, so she stays hidden or runs away when I do this work.  Temps are dropping into the sub-zero range soon, so any snow left will become ice.  The Cat Car drives in the slush and snow like a champ!

Friday, December 09, 2016

Update: Egads...A Food Shortage!

Missing!
We cannot find cans of Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diet Venison and Green Pea Formula anywhere!  I normally order from Chewy.com; it's on backorder.  I went to Premier Pet Supply in Beverly Hills, Michigan, and managed to snag their last case of 5.5 oz.  But they had no more (I choose NOT to buy all of the cans on the shelves, but maybe...)  I next drove to two box pet stores in the area, willing to pay their higher prices.  Zip at either.  They have all of the other flavors, but not the one that we feed Chuck and Angel.  Researched a couple of other online pet food websites: they are OUT!

For years, Ingrid King at Conscious Cat has been telling everyone to have more than one kind of cat food, just in case a shortage happens.  I've heard these words, but because we had worked so hard to find a food that Chuck didn't get constipated with, I ignored the advice.  Uh-oh!  We may have to work a new food into their diet NOW.  I've emailed the company, hoping for an estimated date of new batches of this food; we'll see if they answer.

And, we take Chuck to the veterinarian this evening, for an echocardiogram and check up.  We also need refills of all of his five meds.  Chuck's appetite has diminished recently, and we need that trend to turn around lickety split.  Maybe introducing a new food will get Chucky noming like a fiend again!  Maybe we'll make lemonade out of lifes lemons.

P.S. Sweetie and Patty O'Malley came running out of their shelter last night to greet me, in the blowing, freezing wind.  This morning, the sun is out and the air is calm, and they both appear to be in good shape.  Thank you all for your kind words about my annual 'my babies are outside in the cold!' freak out.

UPDATE: Per excellent comment suggestion by It's All About The Cats, I've just called Natural Balance.  Apparently, the venison is sourced from New Zealand, and the demand has outstripped the supply.  There is no clear estimate on when they will have this food available again.  Thank goodness we found that last case of 24 cans, because we will need to start mixing the old with the new VERY SLOWLY.  Sheppard's Alternative Animal Care gave me a list of their preferred holistic cat foods, and I'll find a couple that we will start working with.  Now, where did I put that list?

Thursday, December 08, 2016

Brrrr....

This is the time of year when I get especially concerned about Sweetie and Patty O'Malley.  Since I cannot coax them up The Stairway to Heaven and inside the house, this means they are living outside while the first frigid airmass of the season sweeps in.  I am glued to the weather reports, see below...

Copy and pasted from weather.com
 ...and I make up my own temperature graph, and update it every day.
2016 Temperature Graph for home
At some point, I drew an imaginary line in the sand...or snow...in my mind, that above 20 degrees F (-6.7 C) means the cats are okay.  They have a warming pad, windbreaks over the doors, lots of fresh straw, and each other to curl up with.  Yet you know that I will be worried and fretting until March regardless.  And the temps are most definitely dropping below my magic line next week.  I've harbored the thought of grabbing them and forcing them inside, but it's really just to ease my mind. No, it's not perfect, and no, the cats aren't 100% in comfort with frozen water bowls and ice wherever they walk.  And yet, they've lived through two of the coldest winters in Michigan (2013-14 & 2014-2015), and yes, they have food, fresh water and shelter.

You can tell that I am a city kid, right?




Wednesday, December 07, 2016

Wednesday Switch




After reviewing my handiwork yesterday on the office credenza, I realized that the frames were all wrong, and I switched them.  Better, I think!  Quint's artwork kind of got lost with the pale frame, but it looks great on the watercolor.

And, I rubbed some of this holistic cream on Patty O'Malley's back wound this morning; you can see that he doesn't care as long as he gets hugged!  No photos of his boo-boo, but he apparently was bitten and an abscess formed.  He licked all the fur off of the area, and now there is only a big sore left, which is healing nicely.  But I rubbed some cream on it anyhow, and told him to leave it alone and not lick it off!  Do you think he'll listen to me?  The Hubby advised that he broke up a fight between Patty and some other cat on our porch last night, before I got home from work.  No details on the other cat since it was dark, but if he (of course, it's a he!) keeps messing with Patty, I will set out my traps for a neutering.  I wonder if this fighter cat just wants to use a shelter to sleep in?  We will keep an eye out.