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)

The Crew - Ollie

I thought it would be nice if I did posts for the kitties.  I did pages for them years ago, but they are kind of out of date, so....

Ollie:

 

 Ollie came to us as the product of a mating between his mother and his brother.  My husband's coworker thought they had "Maine Coons" and were breeding them.  This was when I was very new in the world of cats, and I believed what I was told.  Since they couldn't sell them, they offered one to DH.  He, always wanting a "coon" said yes.  He was born around mother's day 1999.  I agreed to a new kitten on the condition that we could return him if Emerald had problems with him.  Em had been an only kitty for a while, and because of her reaction to neighborhood kitties, I was certain it was never going to work out.

But Em had lived with rabbits and rodents, and learned to leave anything in a cage alone.  So we adapted the rabbit cage we had to house a kitten.  We gave him bedding, litter and food and gave him some snuggles before safely ensconcing him in the cage.  Em lumbered in, took one look at the little cat thing in the cage thing and let out a very threatening hiss.  She was confused, because she knew it was a cat, but it was in a cage.  We simply told her no, and when she stopped hissing, we praised her for not hissing.  She walked closer, hissed some more, but got another "NO" and then more praise for ignoring the cage - which is how we taught her to leave rodents alone.  After a couple more dirty looks she left the room.  Over the course of the day, we praised her for ignoring the kitten, and she continued to ignore him.  We thought it might be safe to bring him out.  Well she started hissing again, but a stern NO let her know that we were expecting her to accept this new thing.  Ollie tried his best to win her over, which of course was all the wrong things for him to be doing, including jumping on her back and trying to wrestle with her.  We returned him to the cage, and praised her, and the next time he came out, he stayed out for good.

He is quite unique in his coloring.   You can't see it in this photo, but he has a little milk dribble from his mouth to the bib on his chest.  And if that weren't endearing enough, he's always got one white whisker on the top of his head.  Sometimes it is on the left, sometimes on the right. but only ever one.  As you may have been able to tell due to the quotes around Maine Coon, that Ol is not a coon. He is simply a "regular old long haired cat".  But he is his own uncle :)

Ollie was a happy little kitten.  He was so happy to interact with anyone who visited and played happily with us or Em or himself.  We had him neutered after puberty which was the accepted practice at the vet we were using.  But with puberty came his attitude adjustment.  Not to say every cat who goes through puberty is going to end up like Ollie, but this is his story.  He went from a happy child to a grumpy teen.  His play was no longer happy go lucky, but intense and when things didn't go his way he would grumble and sulk.  He never comes out to visit company, and for years no one knew we had a second cat.

But we loved his quirks, and he quickly gained the nick name "Mr. Grumpy Pants"  He hated being groomed, and would often swear like a sailor when I would try to remove the mats from his mane (he only ever matted under his ears)   One time after a particularly trying grooming session, he was beyond inconsolable.   I tried to calm him, but the second he got a chance, he lashed out.  It was the worst experience of both of our lives.  He was able to hit me square on the face, one paw on each of my cheeks.  Fortunately he had just had his claws clipped, but even still I had four red tracks on each side of my face.  That has been the only time I have ever lost my cool with a cat, and I hate to admit I hit him.  I was able to get a hold of him (and myself) and i locked him in the bathroom while my pulse returned to normal.   I was unsure of what to do.  I wanted him to learn that this was not an appropriate way to get what he wanted, but I wasn't sure how to convey that.  I came up with a very unique solution which actually worked.  I dug out the rabbit cage again, and put it in the middle of the kitchen.  He had all he needed, food, litter etc, but he was isolated from us and the other cats.  Cats HATE being ignored, and will modify their behavior to not let it happen again.  He stayed in there for one day, and the change in him was very noticeable.  After that he came to me and acknowledged that I was alpha, and he never again lashed out at me.  However I do need to be very careful that there are no other kitties between me and his escape when I groom him. 

When Em was alive, she was the Alpha cat by default.  But she was much like the Queen of England, a figurehead only.  When she passed, Ollie laid down the gauntlet and proclaimed he was head kitty.  He occasionally bats other cats on the head just for being too near him and not deferring to him.  He eats alone on the plate first, and he sleeps where he wants.  Oddly he likes to sleep between my hubby and myself up by the pillows but not on them.

He has had a few medical problems over the years.  Once when we were about to go on one of the rare vacations we take, he became severely constipated.  He was vomiting all over the place, and needed to be treated by the vet.  Fortunately he recovered in time, and I had a pet sitter I very much trusted.  I also have had to have two growths removed from the same place near his back left leg.  I did not have them biopsied, but I am pretty sure he had Vaccine Associated Sarcoma (aka VAS) due to the location and the regrowth almost one year to the date of the initial removal.

Ollie came to me when I was new to cat care.  He was the third cat I have owned, and I was still unaware that not everything preached as gospel in cat care was true.  It didn't even occur to me to consider differently.  He ate mostly dry food with some canned.  Not being one of my foster kittens, he ate pretty much the same thing most of his life, so he does have a little bit of a problem when trying new foods.  Fortunately since I have learned of the GI upset cats can face when eating the same foods over and over, I have been able to vary his diet so the impact of food changes are lessened.

now that he's older, I lovingly call him my grumpy old man.  He spends his days on top of the fridge watching the other kitties or in the sunroom basking.  I hope he's around for years to come, but I am very carefully watching his side for a possible regrowth of the tumor we've removed.  I hope I never have to decide to have that removed again, because both surgeries were hard on him, but the second was much more so then the first.  He was very slow to recover, and very PISSED OFF that he couldn't continue on with his life as he wanted.  He is not one for change, and I fear that he is one of those cats that are going to be better off facing death on his own terms instead of allowing me to fight tooth and nail for him.  But I will let that decision be his when the time has come - which hopefully will not be for another 10 years :)

Animal Communicator?

Ok, so I am not an official animal communicator, cause I have no idea what they are thinking at any moment in time - but I can generally figure out what they are about to do by their body posture - but I am starting to believe I have the ability to TELL the cats what to do..

now for the most part my kitties are much like other kitties, they don't listen.  They take a message and get back to you sort of thing.  Often if you want them off something they are on, you have to walk up to them and threaten physical removal in order for them to care.

but recently I have started asking my cats to to get down, or come here, or leave their sibling alone... and it worked!!

I am sure it has a LOT to do with my tone.  If I tell them to get down in a sing songy happy voice, they just bask in the praise they think they are getting.. but there is that no nonsense tone I have that means *I have absolutely had it with whatever you are doing and the next time I speak you are NOT going to like it*.  You know the one, when you say, no, get down, no, go away, leave my food alone, no, NO, GEEZE  COME ON!!, no, down, sit down.. and THEN you get the tone, so you could pretty much tell them to fly to the moon and they'd slink down and sit somewhere close and watch you.  Maybe I've come to be able to use that tone the first time, but I got Kit to lay down on the first command the other day when she was so excited over seeing DH that she was about to step in his dinner for the fifth time.  I got Fleurp to get off the counter, twice.  I got Ollie and Muffin to drop their little scuffle (those are interesting.  Muffin is 1.5 times the size of Ollie, but Ollie is older and meaner.  They've never actually fought, but they have been having quite a few vocal scuffles lately)

I also haven't been able to do anything in my house with out an entourage.  DH thinks it is quite funny when I walk down the hall with at least four cats following me around.  Last night when I got home from work, I had six, and they were all squeeking and whining wanting my attention.  I was in the kitchen trying to talk to DH and I almost couldn't hear myself from all the hubub.  I told them to be quiet a few times, but not in "the tone" finally I had it, and told them to leave us alone! and surprisingly a moment later there wasn't a kitty in the kitchen (they were all on the far side of the island which I refer to as the dining area of our great room kitchen/living room/dining room room) no crying, no noise of any kind.  I almost went giddy with my power.  If I could get Jack to not cry for treats, could I take over the world??

I then went down to exercise, and my entourage came with me.  Fleurp has taken to sleeping in a blanket that is on the floor in the basement where I work out.  She comes down with me and takes a cat nap while I work out.  I have not worked out alone since... well since I can remember :).  But last night I had Skippy running around playing with a ping pong ball and trying to goat Fleurp into playing.  Muffin was there too, doing her best to distract me with her beautiful belly.  She so loves to flaunt that thing at me when I'm busy knowing I have a very hard time resisting it. Life according to Muff is that NOTHING is more important then paying attention to Muff - unless she's busy. 

We do have a little bit of a situation though.  Twee has ended up with a few scabs on her head, so someone is not playing fair.  She had a tiny one at the base of her ear on the back side last week, and on Sunday I found a rather large scrape/scab under her chin.  I see her playing with Skippy and Muffin (ok so Muffin doesn't play she tells her to go away with some rather aggressive tones but I can't see her getting physical) and I've never seen anyone trying to hurt her.  Not quite sure what is going on.  She's lost several patches of fur on her head previous, but with no scabbing, no irritation of any type.  Just a small round patch of fur missing (maybe the size of a pea) and smooth white skin peeking through.  *shrug*  I'll have to keep an eye on it and see what comes of it.

Online Quiz

I took this with Ollie in mind. 

Update on Ollie

Ollie is back to his grumpy ol self.  No idea what was wrong with him.  His thyroid test (we just did a baseline because of his age, no symptoms) came back just fine.  I waited probably a little longer then necessary to recheck his blood sugar levels, but it was 60.  So those are fine

That boy...  he's quite a puzzle.

*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..

Have I mentioned...

How much I miss Skippy?

*sigh*

Ollie had a bad night last night.  We were laying in bed, I was drifting to sleep, and I heard someone start to hurl.  I said "Get up!" and DH was up out of bed in a flash not realizing why.  Eli was also on the bed but when I said get up, he flung himself off the edge of the bed, not touching the foot board nor the chest at the end of the bed.. it was quite impressive.  Ollie hurled with out even standing up - not good.  And he continued to vomit after we put him on the floor.  You could tell he was upset about it, because he tried to cover it up... poor thing.  I think I'm going to wait and see if this is a one time thing, or if he hurls again. 

the good the bad and the skippy

I stopped in this morning to see Skippy.  It was kinda amusing since the shelter is technically closed today that one of the volunteered asked me what I was doing - as if I were part of the general public and I just snuck in.  I love it that she had the courage to ask since you never know what people are doing if you don't know who they are.

Skippy was in the litter box, growling at everyone.  Bearing his teeth at anyone who got close with a big hiss and a swat.  It was breakfast time, and he was growling so much he couldn't (or wouldn't) eat.   However I did get a few cuddles from him (as long as he wasn't in line of site of any other cats up at the same level as him) and a couple of kisses.  I left to talk to the staff about getting some atropine for Ollie (more on that in a bit) and when I looked in on him before leaving for work, I noticed he was about to pull the sound machine down on himself.  They installed white noise machines up high out of the way in each of the general population cat rooms that either play bird noises or waves.  It was unplugged and the plug was dangling down over a low cat tree.  Well Skippy thought this would be a good thing to attack.. silly boy.  I rescued the plug and gave him a few more kisses before working my way to the door.  Skip was back on the floor growling at everything, but yet attempting to play with a white cat's tail.  The white cat was trying to eat breakfast.  He then jumped up on another cat tree and the little thin tiger kitty who has been trying to be friends came over and Skippy swatted at it and hissed at it.  It backed off but Skippy followed.  I think Skip was playing, but it was hard to tell for certain.

I so miss him!!

*sigh*

Ollie & the atropine.  Well Ol has decided that he needs to spend a lot of time licking his healing incision, and has created a hot spot over his knee.  There is no way I could put a Elizabethan collar on him and live through the night, so I looked for the atropine I used last time he started pulling out his stitches.  I couldn't find it, so I looked to see if there was an alternative.  You know, there aren't many home remedies online to help deter that sort of thing.  I heard lemon juice (OUCH!) and I heard deodorant (that can't be healthy) so I figured since I had plans to go into the shelter to visit Skip, I'd ask them if I could have a tube.  Fortunately they had one to give me, and I ran home to apply it so the healing could start.  Oh wasn't he ticked over my "intruding" into his incision!  You know, it would be nice buddy if you could be a little thankful over the care I give you to keep you alive.. but NOOO.. you have to be all Ollie about it :)   He's a grumpy ol man.. all he knows is his sense of entitlement..

He wouldn't be Ollie if he wasn't being grumpy.

another Skippy / Ollie post

Getting a little overhwelming on the Skipster and Ollie postings lately, but they are all consuming right now..

So Skippy.  He was congested yesterday morning.. breathing through his mouth, sounding pretty miserable.  Last night he sounded just fine.  However he had to stop several times in the night (and again this morning) to cough pretty hard.  He's eating and active..   No idea what to make of this.  That little devil part of my brain keeps going back to the "he to smart for his own good, and got sick to be returned to the shelter" statement I made when I first heard he was returned.  I want to think he's doing this so he can stay with us.

Ollie.. I think he's very much on the mend.  He's back to his grumpy demanding self.  He hates the clavamox, but that is almost over.  Now I need to decide if I am going to try to take the stitches out myself, take him to the vet, or leave them in to dissolve..

*headdesk*

Last night I was so uber hopeful!!  Ollie was being a pain in the Ollie.. and he climbed up on one of the cat trees to survey his domain, even found a way up on top of the fridge - his all time favorite place to be (and yes, we were completely freaked out, but sometimes you have to let a boy do what a boy is going to do to help him feel better mentally even if it hurts him physically)  He then climbed up on the bed between us and started disin all the other cats.  I assumed he just felt the need to remind everyone that HE is alpha, even if he was out of commission for a few days, and that all was right with the world.

Well this morning he was hiding on me.  I searched and searched, and finally gave up and relied on the ol "throw dry food on the floor" trick.  With so many cats, giving individual treats is not really an option.  The agressive ones get all the treats while the passive ones get none. (even when you walk up to them to offer treats they walk away) so I have taken to tossing dry cat food on the floor.  I do this very sparingly because I consider dry food to be very low quality food (I think of it as cookies) and it does a number on Jack's system (He loves it, but it doesn't love him).  Usually everyone comes running when I open up the door the bag is in, but he did not show.  I rattled the bag, no show.  I tossed some on the floor, no show.  After a moment I thought I saw something on the stairs to the basement, and indeed he was sitting on the top step.  Why he was not participating I do not know, and it bothers me. I finally went over and gave him his medication, and figured I'd toss another handful on the floor just in case.  Well I only needed to touch the door and he came over, so they got another handful.

and to top it off, Skippy was congested this morning.

I was so hoping for ONE day with out stress.. *sigh*  I guess I'll just have to be content with the hour I got last night.

Ollie is at the vet

well fiddlesticks. 


It is so hard to try to describe why I feel Ollie is not doing well.  It is all very vague symptoms.  He didn't eat his dinner last night.  He didn't eat much of the dry food I offered.  He's tender when I go to look at his incision (which is to be expected, but it complicates things as I can't get a good look at what is going on in there)  He has a lot to say now - which is more like him - but he's asking for things and then not wanting them.  Food is refused, treats are refused, heck even deli meat was refused this morning.

He wants to groom, but doing so is not easy for him, so he stops after a few licks.

and when I scooped his litter box this morning I noticed that he appears to be constipated.  He has eaten since he's been in the office, but there was almost no stool in the box. 

We called the vet, and they wanted to monitor him today.

My poor boy.

well he might have had a huge mad

but it definately helped him.  half an hour after I was in there DH said he was no longer on his bed, and was sitting on his computer chair.  He finished up all his left over breakfast, so we offered him some other yummies.  This morning he left the office and took a walk through the house, checked out the bathroom where we feed but did not eat any of the remaining breakfast.  He wandered around the kitchen/living room for a while, then walked back down the hall and went right back into the office when I opened the door for him.

He didn't eat the canned food I first gave him, but it was a pretty low quality food so I removed it and gave it to the "clean up crew" and even they didn't lick up every last little bit (but most bits -  I mean I don't call them the clean up crew for nothing) I gave him some Wellness, and he seemed more interested in that although I did not have time to check back to see if he ate it all.  He also didn't eat the hunk of beef we gave him, so I gave that to the clean up crew and Fleurp grabbed that and ran off with it.

We ended up putting Skippy down in the kitten room.  Not sure I like the idea, because I'm sure DH is going to let him wander around the house more.  But he does have more room and more activities down there then he does in the bathroom.  He sneezed a couple of times yesterday, producing what looked to be snot, but afterward he was not congested.. *shrug*

A post from Ollie

oh mah Ceiling Cat, i has teh wurst hooman evr!  Furst she gaev me 2 different pills, den shovd 2 different liquidz in mah mouth, AN DEN SHOVD NEEDLE IN MAH BAK!!



I haz hooj mad!!!
 
*note from mom.. he really isn't moving from his bed, and isn't eating very well, so I gave him a pill to help settle his stomach, one to stimulate his appetite, and then gave him oral buprenex for the pain and liquid clavamox for the inflammation and help with the little fever he seems to be running.  Then to help him feel better I gave him some fluids.  I felt the need to take him in to the vet on Saturday morning because he was so quiet and wasn't harassing the other cats.  Vet noticed he had a small fever (102) and that he had some inflammation because of where the incision is.  DH thought we should isolate him for a while so he wouldn't need to act all tough in front of the other kitties.  I wasn't a fan of the idea, but he seems to prefer it.
 

Skippy is sitting in my lap purring up a storm and drooling all over himself.

Lula and the kittens are at the shelter

Ok, I failed.  I realized that with Ollie in one room, Skippy in another, with my own cats and the rabbit and everything going on in my life, I just didn't have the time to properly socialize the kittens.  They are all hissy and spitty and while I find that freaking adorable, I know that does not make good kittens, so I brought them in and told them I was overwhelmed and so they kept them.

I told her what was going on with Skippy, and she suggested I keep him another week.  He had a bad day on Thursday with the congestion and the watery eyes, and so I started up the medication again, but it immediately disappeared and he's been fine since.  She suggested that I leave him a week with out medicating and see what happens.  This just delays the ineveitable, but it gives me a little more time with him.  Oddly enough he became quite pissed off at being at the shelter.  Growling and defensive.  This is not going to bode well with my soul when he goes back..

Ollie is so angry with me.  he does NOT like being medicated at all.  He seems to be enjoying being alone - in so much that he's not crying out, or begging at the door to leave.  When I open the door he's sitting on his bed and looks up at me.  He didn't want to eat his regular food - nor did he want a plain peice of chicken we offered, but he did eat some canned food and one of the two pieces of freeze dried chicken I gave him.  He also ate the few pieces of dry foods I put in there as well.  I hate this, hopefully he'll be back to being his PITA self right quick.

Ollie day one

So shortly after the last post I went to go check on him and offer him some food.  He liked the food, but was still quite wobbly, so I left him in the room for another hour.  bad move as he didn't have a litter box.  Oh well.

When I let him out, he still wanted to be left alone, but wasn't as foul as previously.  I knew he would still need a litter box (he didn't pee) and I did not want him walking down the stairs, so I carried him down stairs, which ticked him off.  I swear I could hear him ask me why I did that.  He eventually wandered off, and I lost track of him, but I found him again 10 minutes or so later under the pool table - which is exactly where he hid last time he had surgery.

He got up the stairs on his own, and he also got up on to the bed last night just fine.  Although he was mad at me for insisting that I look at his incision this morning.  It looks fine.  I couldn't help but kiss his little bare knee. I love shaved kitty bodies..

So, on top of a grumpy Ollie, I also had another problem on my hand.  Someone projectile vomited all over the basement during the day.  No one was showing overt signs of issues, but when I gave treats later on, Kit didn't show up, and when I went to spend some time near her (I was working out near where she was sleeping) she ended up getting up and vomiting twice.  She did NOT wanting me looking at her, and I didn't want to stress her out more by forcing it.  I had DH look at her later on, and while quiet and not interested in food, there didn't appear to be anything else wrong with her.  No signs of abdominal pain, didn't have a fever, etc.  This morning she was brighter and more interested in attention.  I'm not 100% sure she ate, but at that I'm still not concerned.  I will be tonight if she isn't eating.

First is still limping, so I'm apparently now a kitty nurse.  I'm also seriously considering asking the shelter to take back Lulu and her kittens.  I don't feel I'm doing them any good, as I'm not able to spend a lot of time with them, and they are not interested in spending any time with me anyway.  But a) I would feel like a failure b) I so want to see them grow and see this through c) I think that the foster homes are all full, and there is no one to take them.

what the grrrrr did you do to me!!

Well Ollie is home.  and man is he grumpy.  He took a moment to realize he was home, then he jumped out of the carrier fairly easily, but walking in a straight line was a bit of an issue for him.  He growled at everyone he came in contact with, and even eventually me.  He looks horrid, almost looks like they took off a leg all together if he's walking and you are behind him.  Guess that is the curse of being a long haired kitty.  I eventually decided that he deserved not to feel harassed (even if no one was harassing him) so I put him back in the carrier and put that in the office and closed the door.  In about an hour I'll let him out into that room with some food and a nice bed, and I'll go check on him in another hour or so.

Grumpy ol man doing well

Well I just got a call from my vet.  He's doing well, waking up out of surgery.  I can go get him at 2.

I don't think I'm going to relax until he's back home though.. maybe not even until his stitches come out..

Ollie update

Well the growth is back, it is in the same place, and the doctor think it is the same thing - which he now believes to be cancer.  He's going for surgery on Wednesday.

Rationally I'm fine, emotionally I'm a mess

*wimper*

I have avoided posting this, because I was hoping it wasn't real. I found a lump on Ollie on Friday. It was still there this weekend. I have an appointment for him this coming Friday to have it looked at..

poor thing.

picts

The kittens are growing like weeds. The boys have lost their cords and are fat and cubby. The girl still has hers, and is smaller and petite compared to them.
KITTEN BELLY!!
Then they were screaming and Lula came to the rescue.
When I went upstairs Fleurp was being adorably cute and wanted her photo taken.
I got up this morning and saw this, it was just too cute and had to share. Jack (gray) Ollie (black & white) and Muffin (white and gray)

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...

*hangs head*

I am a bad kitty mommy today. I think I've been forgiven, but I'm still kind of ashamed.

Jack needs to get some medication every day. I can either force him to take it, or sneak it in a little meat snack. He prefers the meat snack - and frankly I do as well because he takes it willingly. I've never been a fan of forcing my cats to do anything. I can, and easily, but if there is another way I'll take it.

So Fleurp, never one to practice self restraint, needs to be distracted so Jack can eat his "treat". She will steal anything from anyone and not show a second of fear or remorse or anything. She wants, she gets, period. So she gets a little to distract her, then I give to anyone else standing around, then Jack gets his. Usually by the time Jack has his, Fleurp is done with hers, and is in everyone else's face, but I have time to grab her and hold her.

Today though, she wasn't cooperating with the distraction, and clawed me when I tried to offer her a second piece. i'm trying to teach her that she will get food if she is calmer about it, but she's just not into that. I try to show her that other kitties get food for being calm, but she just goes and steals theirs. I'm making some headway, but it is much like moving a beach with a teaspoon.

So today Jack took his treat and ran off with it. Fleurp ran right after him, so I pushed her gently away and guarded him while he tried to get the deli meat up off the floor. I need to remember they don't do well with bigger pieces of deli meat, because it takes them longer and pieces fall to the floor and getting flat meat up off the floor is harder. So I pushed Fleurp away and she immediately ran right back, and because my hands smell like meat, I got nipped.

Now it wasn't that hard, but it did shock me, and with out even thinking I cuffed her. Now she's been tapped before, and told "NO" but she's always gotten lots of warning before it happened. This time she just got hit. I could see the shock in her face, and she was immediately fearful of me, hiding behind a chair.

i felt horrible. I did it out of reaction, not out of malicious thought. It wasn't that hard of a smack, no damage was possible, but it was enough to shock her, and all I accomplished was to make her fear getting hit again. I am pretty sure at this age she just can't make the mental connection of why she got hit.

So I went and got another slice of turkey, and gave small pieces out until she could not resist, and I offered her piece after piece. I *think* she's either forgiven me or forgotten about it, but I won't know for certain till I get home tonight.

This is the second time I've lashed out at my kitties with out thinking. I did it years ago to Ollie when he smacked me on the face leaving marks. I felt absolutely horrible about that one too.

And people wonder why I don't have kids..

Driving with Ollie

Needed to go out the other night, and I just didn't want to. So I joked that I was going to bring Fleurp with me. Well after some discussion we realized Fleurp would probably not be the best traveling companion.

I used to travel everywhere with Jack, but since I haven't done that in a long time, he's much less interested in doing it.

So I decided to bring Ollie.

Harnesed him up, and set out to the car. DH decided to open up the garage door as I was walking past it.. my DH is not the brightest bulb in the bunch.

Ollie was a little freaked out, so I took him outside and let him walk on the grass. He really liked that. Ollie has recently started to like the outside. I will have to harness him up more often and take him for walks around the house.

He traveled pretty well. Hunkered down near me. He did get a little warm and his feet got a little sweaty, and he cried out a couple of times (to which the DH responded. Um.. honey, if you don't want him to cry out, don't respond to him verbally! it will just encourage him to swear at you more) Some more cuddles and pats and he took the journey rather well. Started looking around, being intersted in the journey.

not that I for a moment think traveling with us is now Ollie's new favorite past time. but it was nice to spend a little one on one time with him.

easily amused AND mean

Well I turned my webcam back on this afternoon, and see three of my kitties sleeping.. So made me want to run home and be a kitty, sleeping in a warm puddle of sunlight on a big soft comfy chair.. But I couldn't. So I called the house.

and I woke them all up!

What I found very interesting, is my generally accepted Alpha kitty Ollie is on the arm of the chair. Jack, the second is on top of the chair. Usually the dominant kitty is in the higher position.

Man I love my kitties

This morning I did NOT want to go to work. I wanted to stay in bed all snuggled down and watch movies surrounded by my cats..

but that is not an option, so I got up.. I was putting together my lunch and I needed a hug from a kitty. I went after Muffin because she is the one that usually puts up with my shenanigans. Well Muff wasn't that much into being hugged. As I was hugging her, Jack jumped up on the chair Muff had been sitting on and rubbed my thigh, so I put Muff down and picked Jack up. Well Jack really didn't want to be picked up and immediately started squirming to get down.. I saw Ollie, aka my grumpy ol man, sitting on the other side of the room, and I said to him "If you want a hug, you should come over here, cause I won't force it on you" well darn it if he didn't get up and walk over. I picked him up and gave him a quick hug, then put him up on top of the fridge for some treats.

Then as I was putting on my boots to leave my kitties started gathering around me. I'll admit, I got emotional. I didn't want to leave. So I sat there for a moment soaking up their presence. and darn it all if Ollie didn't show up again for some lovin.. I have such good kitties.

*ok, I think this is really cute, spell check knows how to spell shenanigans

very confused

Well when I started thinking I wanted Fleurp, I introduced her to my crew. She was THRILLED to have kitties to play with, loved the whole thing, and didn't show a nanosecond of hesitation.. because that is just the kitten she is.

I was expecting my crew to growl at her, and show me their general displeasure.. which they never did. They all seem to love her.

HOWEVER...

Ollie has gotten excessively grumpy at EVERYONE, including myself and DH.. Jack has urinary issues again - I'm assuming brought on by stress.. and there seems to be general discord in my house.. last night I had to lock up Jack because he was attacking Kit. None of this seems directly related to Fleurp..

Even this morning when I gave out treats, some boiled chicken, no one cared that Fleurp came in and took their piece. She even took Muffin's piece right out from under her nose and Muffin did not react at all. Simply let her take it and then sniffed around for another piece. When I went to take it back from Fleurp, she was quite posessive, but I split it up and gave most of it back to Muff, who chewed it right up.

Now Muffin doesn't stand for ANYTHING, but she stood for this?!?!?

so is Fleurp a good addition to the house since she plays with Kit and Twee, or should I send her back to find a new home? I've always said my kitties would revolt if I tried to bring anyone else in.. and there does seem to be a revolt going on, but NOT in any way shape or form tied to Fleurp..

I'm just so confused..

testing the theory

Fleurp would very much like to try out the theory I have that kittens can not over eat.

This morning all of the kitties were screaming for food.. I have no idea why. I feel the older ones can wait us out, but Fleurp being so young, I got up and gave her some food.

Ollie was in a particularly foul mood, so I figured I'd give Fleur a large can of food and let Ollie eat the rest of it.. well later when I went to check on how she had done, she had eaten every last drop of food. Wasn't a speck or a crumb. It was like I put down an empty plate. *rolls eyes* I guess she was hungry.

So Ollie got a piece of chicken.. and he's still really grumpy

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.

There are kittens in the house.

I decided to let the kittens out of the kitten room last night. I sat in the basement right in front of the kitten room (it is our media area, with big comfy chairs and big screen tv) and I watched a little TV while they explored.

Noddy was having fun, and Fleurp was having fun, but Goo was all puff. She bottlebrushed her tail and most of her back. Mostly it was at my cats who just looked at her like she was baked.

Kit so very much wanted to play, but knew they were freaked, so she just tried to be as close as possible with out freaking them out.

Muffin didn't care if she freaked them out at all. She was spending time with Mommy and these stupid kittens could go jump off a cliff (hiss hiss)

the kittens stayed very close to me. First it was to inspect my dinner - Fleurp was totally into finding out what I was eating (and no, she's not graceful about it) but later as the empty plate sat unattended, the other two got into it. got so bad I had to cover up the plate with a magazine (I had garlic cauliflower and didn't want them in it) which of course was great fun, because it was unstable when they stood on it.. silly kittens.

Goo is VERY human dependant. I think she is even more so than Blueberry was. Most of the time she was either on my lap, on my chest, in my face or on my shoulder. purring, rubbing, and being a general love bug. Noddy is to a much lesser degree. Fleur really wanted to run around, but she occasionally stopped by for a patting.

*I can not have nine cats!!!*

When I decided to put them away, I gathered them up one at a time and put them in the cage (so they couldn't escape - which they would have). I had to chase Kit out of the room too. I finally got them all in the room and opened the cage for them so they could have dinner, and I turned around and saw Ollie sitting very quietly and very still on the ottoman - I'm assuming he was hoping not to be noticed. He was cheezed when I removed him from the room. Of course he would have been more cheezed if I had left him in there too.. so I could not have won :)

Kit is a little distressed. her daddy has been out of the house since Monday morning. She and Jack were squabbling this morning.. She will be very glad when he comes home tonight.

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:

OMG Ollie is MAD at me!!

out and out mad at ME! giving me the evil eye, blaming it all on me.. *hangs head* I'm sorry buddy.. Just wanted to make sure you were well..

He got one tooth removed. Last night he was beyond drunk with seditives. Almost seemed like the leg they operated on was asleep too, as he had a very hard time controlling it.

He went down stairs and hid under the pool table. We got him back upstairs, and I offered him some treats, but I think he couldn't see very well because he had the worst time trying to get his mouth around them.

we went downstairs to watch some tv, and I brought out one of the kittens to play with tweedle, but while we weren't looking Ollie made it back down stairs and was under the pool table again and he did not like the kitten being around. He made a strange soft little noise, so off that I didn't recognize it for what it was at first. Took a second one for me to come to the 'rescue' and yes, he was mad at me for that too "stoopid mom for letting stoopid kitten out.. grump grump grump"

I tried to pick him up at one point, and he really swore at me then.

So I went to bed..

Turns out he didn't hate me so much that he was willing to forgo the heat of the bed.. unfortunately I moved, and once again he got ticked off.

I just couldn't win.

couldn't this morning either. He allowed me to grovel at him and beg his forgiveness, but he didn't bestow it upon me. His leg still seemed to be asleep - or at least all pin and needly.. If it is off tonight, I'll call the vet in the morning..

Ollie update

surgery went well. got clean margins, everything looks good. I forgot to ask about the dental..

Ollie's surgery day

I dropped him off this morning. After I medicated him this morning (I can no longer walk toward him with a syringe, he runs away, but if I put it down I can nab him) catching him to put him in the carrier wasn't going to happen, so I enlisted my husband to do the dead. He was quite for most of the trip, just a few pitiful "HEY! this stinks you know!" cries. I get the feeling he knows what is going on, and while he doesn't like it, he knows it is for the best.

so a snip out of a growth, and a grooming of the teeth..

updates when I get them.

Ollie's last day of "freedom"

Well Ollie is going in for surgery tomorrow.. *small wimper* He'll be fine. He's going to have his teeth cleaned, and a lump removed from his flank. Going to cost me a friggen arm and a leg too.

I don't know if he knows what is going on. Almost seems as if he does. He's been showing up each morning and evening to get his antibiotic. You'd think after the first day he'd be leary to show up, but he does.

so no food after midnight tonight.. then an early morning trip almost an hour away.. fun fun.

not!

Ollie ollie oxen free

Well Ollie has an appointment with the vet tomorrow. A while back I felt a lump on his leg. I was hoping it would go away, but it hasn't, and I think it's gotten bigger. It doesn't seem to bother him unless I really try to examine it, and then he doesn't act as if he is in pain, just his normal self of not wanting to be examined and he tries to leave.

The lump is on his left rear flank. If he's standing up it is on his body, but if he's laying down it is on the outside of his leg. I am hopeful it is nothing serious, but it doesn't feel like the smooth cyst that Jack has. It feels ropey.

*crosses fingers*

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.

Ollie

Well, yesterday was NOT a good day for my old man. I came home to vomit from the hallway, through the kitchen, through the dinning room, into the solarium, and found Ollie in the new sunroom laid out like he had had a rough day.

I went about my evening routine, and realized he wasn't following me around like he (and all my other cats) do. So I went to find him, and he was in the exact same spot. He felt warm, but it was over 80 in the house, so I tried to tell myself he was just a little over worked from the hairball that was expelled in the dinning room. I turned on the A/C and brought him in the bedroom. He didn't want to be there and immediately left, so I figured he wasn't dying. I finished up my evening work out, and had dinner, and he was still just sitting where he ran off to.

So I took his temp, it was 104.5!! OMG.. well he fought me to have his temp taken, so I knew he had some fight in him, so I figured I'd take it again in the morning and call out of work if need be. I also gave him some Pepcid to try to settle his stomach.

This morning he was up and about being his old self. I knew there was no way he was going to let me take his temp, and I knew that was a good thing.. so I'm just going to keep a good eye on him and make sure there are no other symptoms..

I mean he is a black kitty, and he was laying in the sun for an extended period of time cause he wasn't feeling well.. so maybe he just over heated himself instead of having an internal fever..

Ollie had a habit of eating insulation (don't ask me why.. he just likes it) so that always concerns me (yes, understatement) and he became constipated several years ago (that was a bad situation) but this time someone had left Bear's bag of DM out, and it was chowed on extensively, and most of his vomit was processed (ok digested) D/M and there was a LOT of it.. so hopefully the silly boy just ate till he made himself sick.

for compairison

I thought it would be fun to get photos for compairison from the kits, my kids and Bear.. in case you can't see the weights, Apple is 2lbs 2 oz, Ollie is 10lbs, Bear is 15.

Apple

Ollie

Bear

Fern and Apple - I just liked this photo

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..