Saturday, December 13, 2014

Catching up with The Crew



It has been a while since I've talked about my own cats. I generally don't because they don't get the comments and engagement that the kittens do, and it makes me a little sad, because these were the kitties I loved so much I could not let go. Every single one of them now are former fosters.. and while I lament from time to time that having seven kitties is overwhelming, I will miss the chaos when the numbers dwindle.

Jack est. 2002:

Jack is doing well. We recently had his one month post I131 thyroid recheck done and his level was 1.9 out of a 0.8 - 4.7 range, so he is right smack in the middle. The way he is acting, it 'feels' to me like that is a little low, but that might just be his old age sneaking up on us (he is now 12 and a half). With this most recent dental he is now missing all of the teeth on his lower right side which has got to be awkward for him, but he seems to do just fine in the eating department - well that is his favorite activity. He is a little slower than I would like, and occasionally looks and starts to act like he is uncomfortable in regards to his urinary issues but so far *knock wood* so good. We will need to do another recheck in a couple of months and then periodically through out his life.



Muffin est. 2002:

Muffin is doing fabulously. She is having some issue with the Bravo food we are feeding - as they all are - so I fear I am going to have to go back to making it all myself. The last few times I did that I got light headed and didn't feel well for the rest of the day, but it is a sacrifice I am willing to make so my cats eat a healthy nutritious raw meal. I am very sad that there are so few commercial options around me. Bravo is using a new 'wash' to protect their food from pathogens, and it makes the food smell and the cats do not eat it.. Seriously, I am hating this zero tolerance for ecoli and salmonella in ALL pet food.  Cooked foods I'm all for it because there is no reason why cooked food should have active bacteria in it.. but raw? it is a whole different ball game and cats and dogs can handle a small amount of contamination.  Why am I talking about this? Well because of the 'lack of food' (Muf's words) she is "starving all the time" (her words) and constantly bugging me about it. Now with all of this starving and no food in the house, I am pretty impressed she has kept her weight up.. (hence my statement she is doing fabulously) I think she is getting food smuggled into her. I know Fleurp is slipping some of her food (but more on Fleurp later)



Eli est. 2002:

For those of you who do not know, Eli is Muffin's brother. They were fostered together. Eli is one very happy boy right now because we have come into his favorite season, 'static season'. Seriously this is one warped cat.. he LOVES static. We have had a bit of an issue with him lately in that he is has been bothering one of his back toes.


He does this from time to time, and I can never see a reason why. I should start to make note of any patterns and see if it is a time of year thing or what. Usually I stick a little atropine in there and it stops it cold, but I haven't been able to put my hands on it yet so I have been keeping some triple antibacterial ointment on there as well as some coconut oil. He did lick it raw at one point, but it seems to be getting better, but we will be keeping an eye on him and take him to the vet if circumstances warrant.

If I am in the mood, you may pat my belly till your arm falls off - Eli

Twee est 2004:

Twee is also good. She has some eye inflammation from time to time lately, but by the time I think I'm going to do something about it it gets better. I love Twee, I really do, but she is so clueless and so LOUD.. she walks right up to you screaming "HEY HEY HEY HEY" when she wants some attention.. I keep telling her to use her indoor voice, but.. clueless.. and she will not stop. I have also come to realize she is not a fan of the pawpurrazzi.. which saddens me, because she can take a nice picture.  But I will learn to respect her wishes, and only do it on the sly.. ;)

Recycled photo from September

Kit est 2007:

Kit is doing well. We had an incident recently where she scared both my husband and I by feeling very mopey and she would not eat. I even scheduled an appointment for her with the vet which I was loathed to keep because she gets extremely car sick - drools for hours - but it needed to be done. The appointment was made in the morning for 3 pm that afternoon and by the time the appointment came around she started eating and was her old self. I decided to hold off and watch her and she's been fine. I have a feeling she got into a scuffle with someone and was just sore from being bit. She is also starting to show her age. She is starting to look and act a bit like and older lady.  For seven years of age this kinda bothers me, but her one joy in life is adoring my husband, so she doesn't get out and about much.

No one is going to bite my but with my polar bear protection squad on the job - Kit
Fleurp est 2008:

Fleurp has a history of spring anemia. Every spring for the past few years her red blood cells plummet and we have to deal with it. I found this out when I noticed she was licking the raw cement in the basement. Googling why a cat would do that I immediately scheduled an appointment for her with the vet and low and behold. That first year I was so paranoid, that if she even looked at cement I brought her in for a recheck. I started calming down come winter time and she started licking the cement again. Another recheck told me her blood count was fine, but it was when I started slipping her some extra food (she loses weight when she becomes anemic) and some pet tinic (or liqui tinic). The other day I noticed her licking the cement again, so she has been getting it a bit more regularly lately. She hasn't been eating the entire can which isn't her routine when she is anemic (she'll scoff it all down and ask for another) so Muf has been getting the left overs - which amounts to a bite or two. With the increased dosing of liqui tinic she has stopped licking the cement, but I'm starting to wonder if we don't have a twice a year cycle with the winter one generally not as bad as the summer.. *shrug* I am completely baffled by the whole thing.  On an amusing note, I can now stand at the end of the hall and make hand gestures to Fleurp and she now knows these mean food time in the bathroom and she comes running.

Momma, you look so beautiful there holding that there food.. ~Fleurp

Skippy est 2009:

Odd, I thought there was two years between Skippy and Flerup.. *shrug* guess not, the blog posts don't lie.. Skippy is also doing very well. He has also had some ocular discharge, but like Twee has not amounted to a vet visit. I love my boy. He grew up eating only raw and his teeth are freakingly fabulous.  Muffin's are too - and they absolutely shouldn't be as she is a junk food junkie. Skippy still likes slinking up and moving in on either my husband or myself - whomever he has decided he wants to spend time with - and impose SkippyTime on us. It constantly amazes me that he has found a way to horn in on any other cats who have decided it is cuddle time and they let him. He goes very slowly and almost ninja like in his movements... not moving when they are looking, taking one step at a time, going slowly, etc. Often when he gets what he wants and there are no other cats either because there wasn't or they left, he will take an age and a half to settle down into a snuggle, prancing this way then that looking for 'his spot'... and he will not be rushed. If you force him to lay down he will just wait a minute and get up and try again.

Skippytime, Skippytime, Skip, Skip Skippytime.. 

I do have to say I wish I could have a few months when nothing goes wrong with one of these guys and I'm not sitting here feeling paranoid and worried.. *knocks wood* Maybe Santa can bring that to me??

24 comments:

  1. I love your "regular" crew and you know, seven isn't all *that* many cats! Since going to all wet food my bunch has realized that MEAT is tasty (and food!) and I'm flirting with the raw idea. Why does making their food make you lightheaded? Is it the blood?

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  2. Great pictures!
    You can never have too many cats...
    Noodle and crew

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  3. Thanks for the update on your crew! And that picture of Fleurp is fabulous. Makes me want to catnap her. ;)

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  4. You should post about the crew a bit more often we Love seeing your beautiful Cats ,Thanks for the update on them,xx Rachel and Speedy

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  5. I love your crew, and I wish I could hear more about them! ESPECIALLY since they were all foster failures.

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  6. It's great to read the update on the gang. And we're so glad Jack is doing well after the I-131! Our human says she isn't sure how you manage them all--she can barely manage just the two of us. LOL.

    As for wanting a few months where all is calm, no health issues...I'm not sure that even if you had that, you wouldn't worry. You'll always been on hyper-alert for something amiss. Well, at least I'm always on hyper-alert, every asthma attack (Nicki), every time they pee (Derry), etc., etc.

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  7. We're glad to hear about THE crew too ! Purrs

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  8. We love hearing about the crew! No matter what happens, the head peep can't figure out a hand gesture that means "come at this food that I don't want the other cats to know about." Pierre needs a hand gesture like that, but the rest of us have food ESP, and always arrive first.

    It's also great to know that Jack's post-I-131 numbers look good. We wish they could track down the actual source of such pervasive hyperthyroidism in cats. So many theories but no actual causes found.

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  9. Enjoyed meeting the gang in depth and I can empathize with you... With my seven, I am constantly living in a state of paranoia - I just love them so much and am like a worried mother hen! Purrs from Deb and the Zee/Zoey Gang!

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  10. It's lovely to hear how they are!! Lots of kitties means lots of worry, but also lots of joy! :)

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  11. What a great update on everyone

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  12. I haven't reading your blog for long so hearing the stories of each of the kitties is wonderful. I didn't realize they were all foster fails. How wonderful for them and you too!

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  13. I always like to hear about The Crew. I am glad that things are (mostly) stable and I hope that continues for a long time.

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  14. What a crew, this was great it was nice to get to know a bit more about them

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  15. Thanks for the update on your crew. Glad they're all doing well, 'specially Jack. We hope things continue to go well for a long time. :)

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  16. We loved Fleurp's photo too - and we LOVE Skippytime! And I'd never EVER heard of cement licking. I learned something interesting today! (usually do around you! :-)

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  17. That first picture looks like paradise.

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  18. What great pictures of them all! I personally like to hear about The Crew. It was good to know more about them and it's good to hear about Jack.

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  19. Your permanent kitties are gorgeous and so full of personality. It took me a while to find Kit under the bear. If Jack were black, he'd look just like my Raven. And what a cute picture of Eli! With all those kitties, I'd be amazed if you went a month without having some sort of health issue. We barely get through a healthy month with just one cat and a hamster!

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  20. Those are seven of the sweetest little faces I've ever seen.

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  21. Great update on all the Crew, we love your Crew! Jack is such a handsome guy and we are glad to hear that he is doing well. Hope that Santa brings you your Christmas wish that would be wonderful...

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  22. Thanks for the update! They are all fabulous felines. You are a wonderful mom-cat, and I can only imagine how worrisome it must be to fret about their health issues, not to mention your fosters. Here's to a healthy new year for all.

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  23. Always thrilled to get a roundup on the crew. I so enjoy your pictures of them on Instagram and FB but I am easily confused as to who's who, so it's nice to have them all lined up in one post so I can keep studying! Happy holidays, and here's to a healthy, purry 2015.

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  24. We didn't even know you had this many kitties living in your house besides all the fosters. Mom mostly remembers reading about Fleurp due to her unusual name. She is super glad you took the opportunity to tell us all about efurrybuddy. She understands about missing the chaos if you have less kitties. Ho, ho, ho, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo

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