This is starting to get a little freaky

I am posting The Crew's posts at work (yes, I know, but I'm bored) and when I got home yesterday after posting Eli's he was ALL OVER ME.  First Ollie becomes more affectionate after I post he doesn't really want much affection, and Eli's complete change of routine and being all affectionate (and very squeaky - he had so much to say)

I'm almost afraid to keep posting these :) 

Ok not really.

My intention is to work through my current crew, then go back and do posts for Kodi, Em and Tig (the first cat I owned after I moved out)

The Crew - Eli

Eli.. now Eli's story is quite long.  He started out life as "Melvin" which was my father in law's name.  It seemed to fit his quirky personality.  He wasn't a stand out kitten, just your standard average every day kitten.  I know that sounds horrible to say, but after fostering hundreds of kittens, the start to blend especially since personalities aren't formed when they are so young.  They all tend to do the same things, get into the same kinds of trouble, etc.

What was different about Eli was his health.  He was the sickest little kitten I ever had that lived. For weeks he suffered from one URI after another, and I had to constantly pick the snot off his nose to help keep it clear or clean the gunk that came from his eyes.  While he liked getting loved on, he was not a fan of being medicated or picked at.  Over time the fear of being picked at outweighed the reward of being patted, and he started running from me if I went towards him.

Eli had a very bad spell over Thanksgiving weekend 2002 while I was still fostering him.  We had family at the house, and even though he was isolated in the basement, the stress still got to him and we found him very sick.  I brought him to the vet the next day and he ended up spending the rest of the holiday weekend getting fluids and medication to reduce his fever.  He came home and recovered slowly, but one of his tear ducts became scared and blocked.  This causes the tears to spill onto his face instead of recycling back into his system.

When we decided to adopt we decided to keep Eli because of his blocked tear duct and his fearful nature.  I wasn't sure it was going to be fair to new owners to pass on a kitty that needed hands on care that was fearful of hands.  I tried so very hard to break him of the fear, but offering treats and going towards him with out intent of doing anything to him, but he didn't care he just ran.  It got to the point that he ran when we walked into a room.

All of this stress caused him another round of URI, and as a result his other tear duct blocked.  Now as you can imagine this was the last thing he needed.  He spent the first years of his life with his face and ears covered with black debris which is what happens to cat tears when they dry.  Why the ear canal was so covered, I am not 100% sure of the mechanics, but I do know they are all connected.  It would become so crusted that I was fearful that it would block it up completely and do damage so I felt the need to clean them often.  Which of course just added to his fear.

So not being able to spend a lot of time one on one with him, it took forever to find a name for him.  Melvin was a little awkward for several reasons, and just isn't that good of a name for a cat. (well to me anyway - my apologies to any Melvin cats out there)  one day I was driving down the road and saw El's Clam Shack, and for some reason my mind read it as Eli, and a light bulb moment occurred.

I ended up working for a vet, and as a result I was able to get Eli in for surgery to try to unblock his tear ducts.  Unfortunately the scaring was too extensive, and they were unable to help him out.  The clinic had several vets, including a holistic vet who suggested that maybe laser light therapy would help him out.  Once a week for several months I rounded him up and brought him in with me for her to work on.  We saw a dramatic improvement.  His ears were no longer caking with excessove debris, and while his face still had problems, it took longer and longer before it got to the point where I felt the need to step in.  Unfortunately though Eli's need to not be caught and worked on was stressing him out, and catching him became more and more of a chore.  When the improvement started to taper off, I decided to stop bringing him in.  It was suggested I could work on him at home but he would not sit still for me for even a moment and I was fearful of that light so near his eyes.  Over time his eyes started showing more spillage, but by that point Eli had started to understand me a little.  I suggested to him several times before cleaning his face that if he got another cat to clean his face for him I wouldn't need to.  Well finally he caught on to what I was saying, and now all I need to do is tell him to clean his face, and by the next day most of the black gunk is gone (you can see just one speck on his face in the above photo - which is incredible.  Generally it is all down the side of his nose)

At one point I got so sad that Eli didn't have a relationship with us, that I started looking into more alternative therapies for him.  I ended up using Feliway, but that really didn't help.  He wasn't fearful in his environment, but with us.  I got a bottle of Rescue Remedy and started dosing him with that.  I put a few drops in his food and slowly over time he was able to over come that initial fear reaction that caused him to run.  I knew that a few months after we stopped medicating him he had no idea why he was running but it was left over that when he saw us coming at him that he needed to run.  The first time I was able to walk through a room he was in and he didn't run (although he did watch me carefully) I almost threw a party.  We broke that instinctual reaction, and it was just going to take time for him to work through the rest of it.  One thing that helped was Eli's LOVE of static.  He is the only cat I've ever known that WANTS to be patted in the winter time.  The more static you can generate the better.  For a couple of years we had a winter only kitty because once we couldn't generate static for him any more he didn't have much use for us.  But in the past year or so he has started to realize that the people are good for more then generating static, and now he comes up and throws himself down near us and asks (ask? yea, demand is a better word) that we pat his belly.  Just the other week he actually climbed up on my lap for some attention - ok so it was just two paws on my leg, but to me it was huge.

One set back in his journey to be a comfortable in the home was a pretty bad bout with urinary crystals.  He ended up blocking.  At that time I had Em who was diabetic and not eating the dry food we were feeding very well so she was being fed a low carb canned food upstairs while the rest of the crew ate Felidae downstairs.    When Eli blocked we ended up feeding him upstairs in a different room the "prescription" food the vet recommended.  I did more reading on crystals, and found out that he would probably do just fine on a canned diet like that Em was getting.  The reduced plant matter would keep the urine from being so alkaline which is when crystals can form.  So Em and Eli ate upstairs while everyone else ate downstairs.  Then Jack blocked and had to be on an even stronger form of "prescription" food because his crystals were excessive.  So Em ate in one room, Jack and Eli ate somewhere else, and the rest of them ate downstairs.  It was downright silly trying to heard the cats to the right areas of the house.  This is when I did even more reading on feline nutrition and came to the conclusion that even the carb content of regular canned food was too much for Jack, and that if I put him on a raw diet he should do ok.  And that a raw diet would be ideal for Em who was dealing with diabetes and extra carbs have been shown to increase the blood sugar levels of diabetics.  And for the kicker that a raw diet was actually ideal for just about every cat.  So I started making my own cat food.  It was not fun, and I HATE raw meat, but it is doable.   With the addition of more cats to the household, grinding up meat for more then six cats got to be overwhelming so we are buying premade raw food for cats, but I wish I had the stomach to continue to make it for them.  That way I could control how much plant matter ended up in their diets.

Eli has many quirks, one of which is that he does not meow.  For a long time I didn't think he could, but he proved me wrong during one trip to the vets where he let out a magnificent caterwaul  Eli squeaks.  Lets out little squeaking noises that aren't quite bird chips but are close.  What's more adorable is he will squeak at you if you call him by his nickname of "Squeaky"..  

Eli is also very much into catnip.  Some cats are sensitive to it, some not, but Eli loves it.

He is slowly becoming our cat as opposed to a cat in the house.  It has been a very long process, but we don't mind one bit.  Sometimes I have to wonder if he wouldn't have done better in another household because it would have been a break from us and a change in general that might have helped him overcome his fear of humans (humans or was it just me, and then my husband because after I stopped being able to catch him on my own I would send him after Eli)   I guess I will never know, but I can only hope I made the right decision.

Ollie

Now this is interesting.  Right after I did his little diddy on this blog, stating that he doesn't seem to really want a whole heck of a lot of attention, he has done little else but demand that I pat him.  Nudging his nose into warm bits as I am laying in bed.  Chirping grumpily at me if I don't adorn his head with my hand, and just generally being a nusance (but in a good way)

Ok seriously, what is going on with my cats?  are they reading this blog??

This morning was really cute.  I didn't much want to get up, and Eli wanted belly rubs (Eli ... now this is a whole different post) Ollie wanted to be patted, and Jack was snuggled up to me.  Just me and the boys.. (Skippy still being just a kitten)

Eli update

Well the dental was pretty straight forward. He did have a broken tooth they had to remove, so that means antibiotics.. *hangs head* NOT a fun thing in my house for Eli.

Eli spent the first six months of his life being medicated for one URI after another. It got to the point where we had to isolate him to even catch him to pill him because every time we walked towards him (pilling time or not) he ran. He's now 7, and he's still running, albeit we have to be walking right at him and with a purpose. Let's just say he's still quite wary.

I opted for pills and went out and got some pill pockets.

The first morning I found him in the bathroom and locked him in and then went in and pilled him. I hadn't tested out the pill pockets will a pill in them (he liked the plain ol PP) and since this was an easy thing, I just did it. Freaked him right out, but we got through it pretty quickly. After wards I gave Jack his supplement for his urinary issues, and was amazed at how different the pilling experiences are. Eli is skittish, nervous and I need to be very careful putting my fingers anywhere near his mouth. Jack just sat there. I opened his mouth very easily, dropped the pill in, it went a little askew, so I stuck my finger in his mouth to pop it down his throat. Almost night and day.

So last night I split the pill in two to make them a little easier to hide in the PP. got out a hand full of dry food "treats" and threw it down for the cats. I got in the mix, and carefully gave each of the two PP'd pills to Eli. He was a little suspicious as to why I was keeping the other cats away, but he ate them no problem. This morning same deal, but I didn't split the pill. Stupid because if it hadn't worked, then finding him to get the pill in him wasn't going to be easy, but he gulped it right down and didn't ask questions (other then why can't Fleurp steal this from me?) So, this might actually work.

Skippy's exam was very "boring" (vet's words) and straight forward. He isn't worried about the rare congestion he's showing. The vet thinks it might be an allergy to something. I think it is his tricky way of saying he hasn't gotten enough attention lately. When I started fostering, I had a litter of kittens that would sound all congested if they didn't get to run around the house the evening before. I would let them out and the congestion would go away. (this was pre-fiasco and I almost never let fostered kittens run around the house any more especially if they are showing signs of illness) The vet commented several times that he looks a lot like an unfolded fold. He was found half dead in a driveway apparently, so I have no way of knowing, but if an unreputable breeder was breeding folds and only wanted folded folds, then I could see them ignoring him and not caring what happens. He does seem to have the physical traits and the personality traits of a fold.. *shrug* not that I care in the least, I just think it is interesting

On a side note, we think Kit isn't feeling well. She is eating, and seeking out attention, but she's reserved, and hasn't been coming to 'treat time' as enthusiastically as she used to. I tried to check her out this morning, but she was a little paranoid about the exam. Her eyes seemed a little sunken in, or maybe the conjunctiva was a little swollen (hard to tell it was slight) and she might have been a little dehydrated, so I gave her some fluids, opened up a can of cat food, and left her in the bedroom to be alone for the day with the food. Hopefully I am over reacting and this is nothing more than a down couple of days for her. Examining her, I realized once again what a very petite little cat she is. A five pound kitty doesn't leave much leeway when it comes to illness.

Six cat wake up call

Well this morning was fun... NOT!

Eli is at the vet having a dental - It's been over due for a while. And to get him there I had to get up two hours early. Well this sparked great fascination with my crew. First it was Ollie Jack and Muffin. Then Eli showed up. I had the "old crew" sitting on and around me staring at me, wanting attention. Then Twee showed up followed shortly by Skippy (who is going in this afternoon for his "meet the vet" check up)

I finally convinced all the cats that the world was not coming to an end and got up out of bed and started my day. Got in some exercise, fed the fosters, got breakfast and my lunch ready and went off in search of Eli to capture and crate up.

Fortunately at one point he was alone in the bedroom, so I had shut the door. At least I knew what ROOM he was in, but catching that boy is NEVER easy. I went and got a carrier to have close by, and of course Skippy and Fleurp both wanted to know what was going on and tried to investigate. Got them out of the carrier, got the towel IN the carrier, now to catch the boy.

Sent DH in first, since Eli knows I am up to no good. No go. I think he heard us talking and probably the noises of the carrier, so he's hiding.

Finally find him, far corner of the bed. I'm of course on the wrong side. Send DH to the other side to try to roust him out of there, and he moves to an ungrabbable spot. We finally roust him out from under the bed, and now he's freaked, hunched over and squeaking like his nickname implies. Oh so upset, I snuggle him but he's not buying it. I stick him in the carrier - which he does not want to go into but Skippy does - and shut the door.

Well he has not stopped squeaking. Instead of meowing, he squeaks. High pitched 1/4 of a meow, it is how he has always communicated with us. Just once have I heard him actually meow, and it was an odd little noise.

Squeaks while walking down the hall, squeaks while hanging out in the kitchen while I get my jacket on. Squeaks while I carry him out to the car, squeaks louder due to the echo of being in the car. I try covering the carrier up, but it doesn't help. The squeaks become swear words. How I'm a horrible mom, and how life is just not worth living, etc. 40 minute drive down to the vet listening to him squeak the whole way down. Get there, carry him into the vet squeaking the whole way, get in the vet and check him in, yup.. he was squeaking.

I wonder if he has stopped yet.

I feel bad, but sometimes you just have to make them unhappy for their own good..

a few photos

I interrupted Fleurp when she was grooming. She looks like this a lot, as she spends a lot of time grooming, and is easily interrupted.



Skippy carving out a little sun bathing time. Looks so relaxed doesn't he?



Quality time with the kitties. Fleurp in the far background. Eli to the left, Twee to the right and the Skipster lounged over my thighs. I had the worst time taking this photo since he is on my upper thighs, angling the camera and seeing through it was impossible, so I kept taking shots and trying to reposition the camera to make sure they were all in the shot.  Eli got annoyed the flash going off so much that he left shortly after this photo was taken.


This is the whole crew.  I can't hand feed them treats as doing so often ends up with me shedding blood (claws in the thighs, teeth in the fingers) so I toss them on to the ground.  This is the ONLY way Twee eats treats.  If I ever catch her alone and try to offer her something individually she completely ignores it.  If I am bold and try to hand feed treats and toss one in front of her, it usually bounces off her nose and she completely ignores it.

*headpalm* or why 8 kitties is a bad idea

Ok, seriously, I know owning Skippy would be a bad idea.  Doesn't mean I don't want to do it anyway though....

but this morning my kitties showed me very clearly why.  Mostly it would be that there would be more of them then I could handle.

So in the wee hours of the morning I woke up.  Not one of those *oh crud I'm awake in the middle of the night and I can't get back to sleep* bits.. but I had left my heating blanket on and I was a little warm, so normally I would have rolled over, shut it off and fallen back asleep.  But there were kitties on the bed who were missing me terribly, so when they realized that I might be conscious they sprang into action, and surrounded my head purring up a storm.  15lb Muffin, 12lb Jack and 6lb Fleurp were all there.  9lb Twee showed up a few moments later jockeying for a position to worship at the head of the sleeping mom.

Now if you have never had this experience, let me tell you it is a bit overwhelming.  I have blogged about it before, but it really is something to have four cats up in your face when you are barely awake... not to mention the fact that their bodies are the perfect length for their noses to be all up in your face, and their back feet to be targeted to your bladder.  *sigh*  off they all go as I stumble towards the bathroom.  I hate kicking kitties off me, but sometimes the bladder wins.

I stumble back into bed, get comfy, and once again there are cat noses where there shouldn't be cat noses.  Those things are COLD when it is cold in the house.  I finally convince all the kitties to settle down somewhere around the area of my legs, and drift off to sleep (but not before annoying the daylights out of DH who went to sleep on the couch.  Kitties were happy - more room for them)

Morning begging is reserved for DH who feeds them since he gets up first.  But when I got up, Jack was all up in my business begging for attention.  Fleurp dug out a superball and was playing with it.  I picked it up and realized that someone had chewed chunks off it.  I probably should have put the ball in my pocket to be stored in a drawer (ok I admit it, I really like superballs.. and yes it is appropriate to give me a gift of one) but I bounced it into the other room, and watched Fleurp fly at it, and look so adorable doing it.  something between a rabbit and a flying squirrel (I so wish I had video proof of it).  The ball ended up back at my feet, so I bounced it again, and this time she was so intent on getting it she missed the fact that the ball was bouncing towards the fridge, and she ran right into it.  Yes, Fleurp makes me laugh every single day.

But later, after I exercised, I went back into the bedroom to get dressed for work, and realized that a flipflop I have not work in over a year (wore them the summer previous) was on the middle of the floor.  I shook my head, knowing my Fleurp thought it was irrisitable and some how had dragged the thing from my shoe rack in the front of the house, through the kitchen, down the hall, and into the bedroom.  I KNEW it was her, only from the evidence of the lone flop on the floor.  Sure enough a few minutes later, she came and flopped next to the shoe and proceeded to "kill" it. I got a photo, but it only looks like she's laying on it.

Then I went to feed the rabbit.  Her water bottle was empty, so I bent over to take it off the cage, and went and filled it.  I bent back over to reattach it to the cage, when Kit in all her claws decided to jump up on my back.. OUCH!  I had been saying for a few days I needed to trim claws, well now was the time!!!

I also think one of the other kitties has convinced Twee to play Hide and Seek, because she has taken to hiding behind the curtains in the kitchen.  They are floor length, and mostly sheer.  When I went to pat her through the curtain, she was quite disturbed that she wasn't properly hidden, so I pretended I was just fixing the curtain so she could be happy.

Ollie is still quite annoyed with life.  He's annoyed that the other kitties want to do what he wants to do, and there for are in his way.  Doesn't matter if they were there first, and he walks in on them, if they are in the spot HE wants to be in, they get smacked.  If he offers his head for grooming and they don't groom fast enough, the smacking will commence.  Not quite sure who I feel worse for, him or them.

They definitely bring a depth and richness to my life.  The love, the cuddles, the laughter.  They do add a certain emptiness to my wallet though, the annual vet visits, the $800 surgery for Ollie, then the $500 revisit this year.  Eli needs a dental.  He has for a while, but I put it off, well I can't put it off any more.. Jack is having issues with his bladder.. at least I'm assuming his bladder is a little uncomfortable and he doesn't just like the Brazilian look.  All of my kitties are under 10 years of age, so I'll have multiple seniors at the same time in a few years.  Being proactive costs money, not being proactive either means more money or the loss of my kitties too young.

I just wish my heart understood all that..

You catch more flies with kittens than with honey

Just so you know :)

Being the dog days of summer, once again my foster room has been swarmed with flies. How they get in? I have no idea. Why they want to be in there? no clue really, unless they are smelling the deposits in the litter box and think kitten poop is the bee's knees? (do flies like bee's knees?)

so for the fun of it I brought down a paper plate with a little honey on it. Flies completely ignored it. However, the kittens LOVED stalking and pouncing on the flies. So.. kittens are a better fly catcher than honey.. albeit a bit unreliable, and their pouncing skills leave a LOT to be desired.

Last week I noticed a flea on one of my own cats. Muffin tends to get fleas on her face. Not sure why. Maybe I'm just more able to notice them on her since she's white. I played ignorant and hoped it was an only child until late last week I saw another one on her, and one on Anne. *rolls eyes*

So I went to the shelter and told them the kittens have fleas, and I was sent home with frontline. Enough to do the kits and four of my own kitties. I have enough to do the rest, I just haven't gotten around to it yet, because once I started dosing my own crew, half of them took off for hiding places yet unknown by Mom. I'll end up having to do one a day (hopefully) and if I'm smart I'll start with Eli, since if he figures out he's on the hitlist he will find his space ship and go home.

I also mentioned the odd reaction the orphans had when I dewormed them last week. They became quite pale and went off their food. I was concerned enough to force feed Annie, but by the time came around to bring them to anyone for a check up they were back to their perky selves. The manager was a little concerned by that, and so I didn't deworm them yesterday but gave them the flea meds instead. I'll deworm them probably tomorrow, since they are supposed to get it once a week for three weeks. I also weighed them, 1 lb 10 oz... so probably Labor day weekend adoption :)

Lula has yet to give birth. I ask the manager when she came into the shelter - so I would know when she went past her last possible due date. She came into the shelter on the 9th, so if she got pregnant that morning she wouldn't be due until Labor day. Labor day?? arrgh. I don't want to wait that long for kittens!! I don't feel any kitten movement - which is usually a sign that she's about ready to pop (because there is no room for them to move) but considering her history, I'm watching her like a hawk for ANY change in behavior or attitude. I'm so scared they are dead or are about to be. but then I still panic that (live) kittens might have died overnight too. Lets just say I'm overly cautious.. (you say paranoid like it is a bad thing)

Yesterday I spent extra time in the kitten room. Usually it is play, feed, clean and gone, but I had some free time and a book I was reading, so after cleaning I sat down on the couch and laid down to read. It was a lazy Sunday afternoon. Lula curled up (well as much as an obnoxiously pregnant cat can) on top of the sofa above me, Oliver sprawled out on my leg, Annie curled up in the crook of my knee, and Anne laid down on my arm, and spent way too much time gazing up at me as if to say, "You are the most wonderful thing, thank you" :) It was just too cute.

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

The Crew

So I got a coupon for some free digital prints, and I have some cute photo frames I want to fill up with photos of the crew, so this morning I took my camera (yes, the stupid Kodak one who will NOT focus on the cats no matter how hard I try) and took about 100 photographs of the kids. These were the only ones who came out half decent (and one that isn't half decent but is too cute anyway)
Click on any photo to view the larger format:

So first I took photos of Ollie. Sitting on the fridge I figured I had a half decent chance of getting a good photo


Then Fleurp decided she wanted in on the action


Then I took a few of Jack that did not come out at all (the rug he was on was clearer than he - the item in the CENTER OF THE PHOTO) and Fleurp was not amused she wasn't the center of attention


So then Muffin came around, and I got one of her on the chair. Unfortunately that was all blurry too, and the first one of Muf and Kit was bad, but this one was cute.


seriously, you would think this kitten never gets any attention!!



Tweedle walked by, and the first few of her were all blurry, but I got this one


Eli's first photo was horrid, the second was good, and he was out of there, because he knew I was going to want to clean his face


More Fleurp.. I swear...


So then Muffin jumped up on the cat tree and proceeded to pose for me in the MOST DIFFICULT POSITION POSSIBLE. I love her.. really I do, and she totally makes me work for it


so I got her to turn around with a few well placed complements and some begging



but then she decided she needed to wash up.


and because that picture was just so priceless, a few close ups



Then I thought I'd go get a photo of Brianna, the Bunny. and guess who showed up


Tried to get one with out Fleup. Tried...

snow day

Yesterday it snowed pretty badly here, so I took the day off from work. I worked out a bit, and attempted to do my taxes. At one point I decided to take a nap, and crawled back into bed. When I woke up, I was surrounded by six kitties. It was such a nice lazy leisurely time. I was so comfy and warm. I finally started to sit up and realized I only had the six, and had to count to figure out who I was missing. Kit. Where was Kit?

Turned out she was at the foot of the bed on the chest we keep there for sweaters. So I did sort of have them all :)

I also spent the day trying to get photos of all my kitties. Shutterfly is offering a free photobook to get you into their services, and I haven't updated my photo albums since Kit was a little kitten. My kitties did NOT like the flash, and most of the photos of most of my kitties are blinking. I also took WAY more photos of Kit and Fleurp, and not nearly enough of Eli but he was pretty interactive. He asked for some belly rubs, but then wandered off to do his own thing.

At dinner time, Eli was very sedate. He remained on the bed and didn't appear to eat. DH mentioned it, and I went to look for him. He had moved from the bed, and was now laying in a cat bed in the middle of the floor in the kitchen. He was very sedate. I offered him a treat, and he wasn't interested. But this morning he was all up in arms about not having his breakfast, so he must have just been a little off.

I am too easily amused

Joy and Happiness are at the shelter today. Joy's face started to swell. I have no idea what is going on, but clavamox is NOT helping it.

poor Happy really didn't like the idea of going to the shelter again, and when I was holding her she started purring, but then realized what I was going to do and pulled her scared cartoon kitty look (eyes open wide, ears completely back so all you can see is her round head with her round eyes) I felt so bad, but I do have a small hope that all these trips are helping her adjust to new surroundings. I mean she is going to have to find a new home at some point.

So while they were at the vet I moved the web cam to the sun room to spy on my kitties. I tried to check it this morning but it was very slow to load, so I thought that maybe it wouldn't work on the other end of the house (even with a wireless booster thing my DH hooked up) but I just checked it again and I set it up with out looking this morning, and low and behold I got a great shot.


What you can't see is Eli in the top of the cat tree sleeping in the little box up there. Kit is on the chair, and I believe that is Jack on the platform.

is it wrong of me to want to watch kitties sleep all day?

Merry Christmas Kitties

Buttercup and Wes went back to the shelter on the 27th. Apparently there had been quite a bit of interest in them - as they were featured as pet of the week in the local paper - so I'm sure they are not still there now. I'm glad they got a home for the new year. Wes's adult teeth were starting to come in..

Fleurp had a LOT of fun at Christmas. She loves playing with wrapping and bows. She's been clear since a few days after starting the antibiotic. Today is day #10, so we'll stop it and see what happens.. Part of me hopes I'm so very wrong and the puss / congestion doesn't come back.. but the other part hates to be wrong.. :)

Ollie spent the holidays in a major grump. It's just so sad. I don't know what to do to bring him out of it. I've tried putting him on RR, but he hates it, and I think it is making him grumpier... but I'm still trying. He's back to chewing on the insulation again too. Going to have to make a point to hide all of that and cover up what we can't hide.

Jack - well Jack was peeing in the tub again, so he's back on antibiotics. I found him some of the new color changing litter.. as soon as he's done this next round I'll get him to pee in it and see what's up..

Muffin - I don't know what's up with Muff. I swear she's being haunted. She has been tearing through the house as if she's being chased, but there is no one there. She acted a little off too which is so unlike her.. no one specific symptom I could pinpoint, just.. off.. but she's seems to be back to her ol self.

Eli - Eli is just Eli.. this boy never changes.

Twee - Poor Twee wants more attention than can be given her. She's rather quite annoying about it too. Walks right up to your face and SCREAMS at you.. like that is endearing. I was hoping one of the kittens could give her the attention she wants, but alas, no.

Kit - nothing new to report on Kit either. She's fluffing up nice for winter.. but she's still so small.. it is funny to see this tiny kitty with a huge fluffy mane.

Happiness - she seemed to be better, so I stopped the antibiotic a few days after she stopped weezing, but she was weezing again this morning, so back on it she goes.. Joy - well Joy is SLOWLY coming around. She sits at the front of the cage now, and if I don't look at her, she stays there. I've tried tempting her with treats, but unless I put them right in front of her nose (which by that time is usually in the back of of the cage) she won't even sniff at them. I usually can get her to walk to the front of the cage if I've let her taste that what I have is good.. oh well.. one step at a time.

Benny.. Benny is still at the shelter. *sigh* poor thing. She's in a condo in the lobby, so there is more to look at and more room for her to move around, but with out some serious advertisment on their part, I fear she wont find a home.

My kids

I also took some new photos of my furkids. You can see Ollie's horrid scar. He's been picking at the bottom of it.. and he isn't as capable of jumping as he was pre surgery. I need to call my vet about it.

we are also a little concerned about Twee. She is meowing more, and it sounds off.. today she was purring, and it reminded me of a squeekey toy who's squeeker was slightly broken. Her throat doesn't seem any different. no swelling, no hot spots, and her mouth looks pretty normal from what I can see. *shrug* last thing I need right now is another trip to the vet.. Ollie's bill was just shy of $600

Click on photos to see larger images:

group update

Benny - vomited last night and this morning. was losing weight, but then gained it back again. Started at 7.5lbs, and was just over 8 this afternoon. Bgs aren't great. started inching up last night - which may or may not have anything to do with the vomiting. She's going to the vet tomorrow.

Buttercup and Weslee. OMG this kitten is cute. Her ears are starting to inch toward the top of her head, slowly but surely. She's a little more into getting human comfort. I can not wait for her to finally interact with the new kittens.. they are going to do her a world of good... as she is very spoiled.

The kittens. oh how I love them. They have personality to spare. I can not wait for them to get out of that cage! When they do I think I'll be spending all my time in that kitten room - but then again if they have full run of the room they might not need my attention so much... that and the attention of Buttercup. Ive decided to name them after English children's novels - well except Googley Bear.(which may or may not be kept.. we'll see) I have Noddy, and Paddington and Corduroy I really have to make sure that the gender of the names fit the particular kittens I've given them to. Googley should be fine as that name works either way :) I looked at gender when they first came, but it never stuck as to who is who. Now that I'm getting to know them, it really is time :) I believe that leaves a little girl with out a name, but before I pick one, ... well I have to make sure.

I finally broke down and bought some ear wash for my own crew. Eli has always had horrid ears. Ollie has always had goopey ears... nothing wrong with goopey.. but then Jack started getting cruddy ears, then Ollie's ears started showing signs of crud, and the other week Muffin - and Muf has always had sparkling clean ears - were completely inflamed and crudded. A little mineral oil slid most of it out, but there is some junk in there, so this weekend will probably be ear clean up weekend. Which is too bad - cause I'll probably not see Eli for weeks.

Can you feel the love

The down side to six cats, is when most of them miss you during the night and ALL vie for your attention in the morning.

It doesn't happen often, and truely I actually love it when it happens, but it can be a bit overwhelming when you get five cats all wanting to be patted and you only have two hands..

This morning Jack showed up.. Jack often just wants to sit near me and doesn't really want to be patted or cuddled. Sometimes he does.. like the other morning when he woke me up by sticking his nose in my face and when that didn't get me to respond to him, he actually bit my arm (a gentle love bite, but still) But this morning, he was fine just being close.

Then Muffin showed up. She took prime real estate, by firmly commanding the spot created by my shoulder and hip (I was laying on my side) Tweedle showed up, cautiously walking closer and closer (Muffin has issue with the air Tweedle seems to disturb) I distracted Muff and started patting Twee.. Then Eli showed up.. I was starting to feel a bit overwhemled, but seemed to manage, until Ollie showed up. Fortunately Ollie took over and started grooming Twee (I'm so glad someone does.. it used to be Em's job) But Eli shoved his head in there wanting grooming too.. which of course resulted in Twee's leaving, then Eli left, then Muffin left, so I started patting Jack which made him leave, and then Ollie left. So I was kitty-less.. But moments later Kit showed up - sans collar. She has leared to take off her break away collar.. smart little thing - and started prancing around wanting attention. When I wasn't quite as quick to give it to her, she left, found another mouse, and came back and we played fetch for a few minutes. I talked sternly to her this morning about keeping her collar on, and when I finally got up and started making my breakfast, she started playing with her collar, so I put it back on her. If it is off again tonight, I'm not sure what I'll do. I might start by taking the bell off and see if that helps (why do they put bells on decoritive collars??) and if that doesn't work I'll have to get her a non breakaway one like Muffin has. Muffin's collar is so loose though that if it gets caught on anything it will immediately come off.

When I finally left for work this morning, Jack was giving me sad eyes.. I told him not to worry, it was Friday - a short day for me - and I'd be home soon and we could take a nap together. Of course I'm sure when I get home he'll have forgotten all about it and will ignore me till supper time.

Made cat food again last night. I am seriously considering buying it from someone, but I need to find a company that makes a food that I'd be willing to feed (I don't want a lot of fillers) and that won't cost me an arm and a leg to get shipped to me. It's just hard for me to consider plunking down $90 for 20lbs of food.. when we make 40lbs at a time and it costs maybe $50.. ok maybe a smidge more with the supplements..

photos of the kids

Kit was being obnoxiously cute the other day, and I filled up my camera with photos of her. Ended up deleting one so I ocould get a shot of Eli in the new sun room. I have a photo of him as a kitten in the last sun room we put in the last house. Not quite sure where the original one is, but I'll find it and share it

a few photos

Mom, Stop bothering me! (Eli)



Kit chewing on the tree


My trying to explain to Kit not to chew on the tree


Kit sitting under the tree nicely - pretending she understood about chewing on the tree


Bunnies!













my foster kitten "Spud"









Some videos
Bunnies eating


Spud playing