This is difficult for me because by sharing this I open myself up to the emotions I don't want to face right now, so I ask that instead of messages of condolence, please share with me a fun or heartwarming story of your kitties.
We received a call from the vet regarding the testing of the cells they took from Kit. He is a very happy guy so the message we got led us to believe that we had good news.. and if you look at it from a certain perspective we kinda did - because at least we had a diagnosis and that is a good thing. What it is, however, is not. Malignant lymphoma. Average life span of a kitty with this kind of diagnosis without aggressive treatment (which has a 30-40% success rate and involves a lot of rides in the car and the cat feeling miserable while they are going through treatment) is three to six months. We are opting to give prednisolone and watching her and make sure she still has acceptable quality of life, at which point we will be making end of life decisions.
After my initial thought that the swelling in her neck was reducing, it appeared to remain the same so I was pretty much of the mindset that this was what we were dealing with anyway, but knowing.. it brings a whole new level of emotions to the party.. ones I was really hoping to avoid until it was too late. I do not want to mourn her while she is still here, so I refuse to wallow. Please, help me do that by instead of telling me how sorry you are about this - and I KNOW you are because only cat people read cat blogs and we all know the pain all too keenly of the loss of a pet - please, share with me only fun things..
Like, see this photo? Notice that one of the catnip mice I bought at Target on clearance is missing from the package? That is because Kit wanted to play with it.. so we did. She was so happy to have the toy and we laughed when she batted right into Skippy's face. He was so confused to have a mouse fly into his face just as he was showing up hoping to get a treat.
This morning my husband was making a lot of visits to the bathroom. MIss Frankie Lulu Belle sat outside the door yowling to be let in. So my husband opened the door, she stuck her nose in, took one whiff and backed away quickly yowling loudly in protest. Cracked me up.
ReplyDeleteLOL.. that is priceless :) thank you for sharing
DeleteWe got a new Target scratcher barn last night, much to Ringo's delight. I mean, what cat doesn't like their own miniature barn? ;-)
ReplyDeleteshh.. or Fleurp is going to want one and my Target didn't have it
DeleteI've gotten into the habit of reaching my arm under a cat's belly while they are standing, and kind of picking them up (at least their rear-ends!) Angel, Chucky and Patty O'Malley are totally used to it, but by chance I tried it with Sweetie today...and she purred! I picked up Sweetie, my fiesty feral!
ReplyDeleteYAY!! that is so awesome!! I can just feel your joy
DeleteDaiquiri is proving herself to be a bit....dingy. She came up last night and gave mom the "look I brought you a ball please throw it" meep. Only...no ball. Mom said "can't throw it if you don't bring it to me". Daiquiri looked down at her feet, checked under the chair, looked back up at mom and meeped again. :) yep - our girl is a few fries short
ReplyDeleteLOL. Kit used to do that. She brought the toy in the beginning, but then she expected us to have one already to throw for her. We started stockpiling them but when she stopped bringing them back because she knew we had more we stopped doing that and fetch ended.
DeleteMy 12 yo boy whom was an only kitteh decided he wanted a brother so the neighborhood kitteh fatty butterscotch is his makeshift brother... since we have been letting fatty in the house (no accidents btw) bacardi will run around like his tail is on fire the look back to see if fatty is chading him... fatty looks at him like wth is this guy doing that is way to much work for me and lays down and slaps at him when bacardi runs past... please keep in mind bacardi is 12 and fatty is like 1. I believe they have roles reversed
ReplyDeleteOh Bacardi.. you are just too funny
DeleteOur neighbors moved about six weeks ago and left behind their cat to fend for herself. I found her in our yard all skin and bones, covered in ticks and fleas. After a trip to see Dr. Allison for a check up, dewormer, deflea-er, vaccines, blood tests and tick removal, we welcomed Junia in our hearts and home. We think (as does the vet) that she is part Maine Coon. She's severely malnourished and her coat is ratty, but I think, with a lot of TLC, June-bug will be fine. She's already a talker, purrer, a lover and gives great head-butts. Hubby calls her "Fuzzy" and he (although a dog person) has really become attached to her in the span of a week. We have won the adoption lottery. Hugs & prayers from Western PA to you, Connie & hubster and the Crew! From Net,John, Asher, Jael and Junia.
ReplyDeletegrrr at heartless neighbors, but thank you for taking her in. Your hubby is going to be wrapped around her paw in no time.
DeleteThe boys' daily tussles always make me smile, even if it's at 5:00 AM. (I'm up long before that.) There was something recently, I can't even remember, but Derry actually startled Nicki (a rarity) and he just about somersaulted over his brother. That cracked me up. Nicki's constant meowling when he looks for trouble...I never can figure out why he announces his intentions. :-)
ReplyDeletelol. I love it when a cat somersaults. Maybe he announces his intentions so that trouble can find him so he doesn't have to look as hard?
DeleteWell, there are still 2 kitties behind close doors here.
ReplyDeleteMy Saxon, who is apathetic toward children, started going nuts, meowing at me and head butting me to get my attention. He led me to our spare bedroom, where my newborn grandson was sleeping while over for a visit. He sat at the door, looked at me, looked at the door, looked at me, looked at the door. Just as I was trying to figure out why he wanted to go in so badly, I heard the stirrings of my grandson beginning to wake up over the baby monitor. Somehow he knew the baby was waking up before we heard anything on the baby monitor and wanted to let us know.
ReplyDeletethat is so awesome! way to go Saxon!!
Deleteno kitty story from me but a bunny and a wild hedgehog.Speedy gets cuddles in bed every night and every morning,and he always flops and rolls upside down and goes into a deep sleep and starts snoring...yes bunnies snore!
ReplyDeleteThe hedgehog is a juvenile from a late summer that would have been run over in the road had we not rescued it,we took it to our friends to look after till it was ready to hibernate as it is to small to survive without help and it decided it was happy being cooped up in a hutch,so now it is in my greenhouse in its own nest box with its own private entrance to a secure garden with plenty of food on tap plus water....it is now stuffing itself nightly it will be allowed to leave the garden in the spring ...that is if it wants to leave,xx Rachel
both of my rabbits snored.. :) it is so cute.
DeleteHow sweet you were able to save the hedgehog.. it still amazes me that they run wild over there.
When I got up this morning, my husband had overslept by almost an hour due to watching the Cubs win the World Series and Henry, our dominant male bully kitty, was patting his face trying to wake him up. When I spoke up, my husband sat straight up in bed, Henry went flying into the pile of laundry and his sister, ignoring all the commotion came up to me asking where was her breakfast. It was truly a keystone cops moment .....
ReplyDeleteLOL.. oh that was priceless.. I bet you were glad you were able to witness that.
DeleteOne of my current foster kittens, India, has decided that she wants OUT of the Foster Room and scoots out the door between my feet every chance she gets. She then runs around the house like her pants are on fire*, until she meets up with one of the big, scary (to her) perma-cats, at which point she goes tearing back to the door of the Foster Room, which she can't get back into FAST enough. Cracks me up every time.
ReplyDelete*It's just a saying. She doesn't *actually* wear pants.
You should totally put pants on her.. it might actually prevent this ;)
DeleteWhen I adopted Millie 4 yrs ago as a one yr old kitty, she had been at least neglected and more likely abused. She is the sweetest little lady, but very shy and timid. She will come and sit beside me for some petting, but is uncomfortable on my lap. A couple of weeks ago I was lying in bed watching TV, and she jumped onto the bed, slowly came over, climbed onto my chest, settled down with her face in mine, and proceeded to purr. I thought my heart was going to burst with joy. Every night since, she has done the same. She lays on my chest with her face in mine for about 15 minutes. I don't think anything in my life has ever felt as special - the four year wait for her trust was worth it :)
ReplyDeleteI can feel your heart glow with happiness from here.
DeleteWe have lots of fursib rivalry here, but mostly it's just funny. They often follow me upstairs, and Play Kitteh of the Mountain, complete with sound effects.
ReplyDeleteI love Kitteh of the Mountain!!
DeleteMy human says this is not fun, but I think it is - I've taught her to pay more attention to me by running behind her desk (where she can't reach me) and making noises! The game ends when she convinces me to finally come out from behind there and then she puts a dress on me and makes me sit with her in her office chair. I will be glad when she is finished with this book layout she is working so hard on... although she says she will be doing another one almost immediately afterwards.
ReplyDeleteSummer, your human is just way too busy. Good for you for reminding her of the pleasure of spending time with a kitteh every once in a while.
DeleteI volunteer at a no kill shelter every week and always start in the kitten rooms. This week there were 6 8-10 week old kittens and two were going to an adoption event. The carrier had a dead stink bug in it that the worker dumped on the floor. I have never seen a kitten with the moves (jumps, hops, leaps, flips)as the one who decided to taste the bug. The look on his face was priceless. So funny. My time in the cat/kitten rooms is the best way to end the week.
ReplyDeleteI had a stink bug get into the foster room before, so I know exactly what you are talking about :)
DeleteI will try to make this short. I have two tuxedo kitties, Jellybean, and Boo Radley. So I have sleep apnea, and I use a cpap machine. Jellybean learned how to turn it off to wake me around 5:30 am. So one morning I woke to the usual airway cutoff. As I reached over to turn the machine back on, I was intercepted by a furry paw, set to turn or back on. I laughed and went back to sleep. A bit later, she shut off the air again. When I reached over to turn it back on again, i got a handful of cat. She had hunkered down on top of the machine, and made her body as slack and heavy as possible, so I couldn't move her with one hand. So now, I keep the cpap machine on the lower shelf of my night stand.
ReplyDeletewhile this interferes with your breathing which isn't funny, this story is a riot! Jellybean is too smart!
DeleteThere was this one time Felix caught an enormous green grasshopper...the only part that we could see was one frantic leg until he spit it out! I don't think he expected that "toys" could fight back. Nearly peed my pants at the look on his face.
ReplyDeleteMy mom keeps threatening to catch a whole bunch of grasshoppers and let them loose in my house, she figures Kira would love that. I figure I would have no glassware or knicknacks left whole anywhere!
DeleteLOL.. I can just imagine..
DeleteA neighborhood teen tom has decided my house is a good place for him to crash on my sofa and snack while playing video games (no need for opposable thumbs).
ReplyDeleteHe's not a snuggly cat, but he has gotten into the habit of jumping on my lap for a little lovin', which he probably learned was OK for him to do based on what he's seen my other two old tomcats do when they climb on my lap.
But as of last night, he's learned that I'm not a happy camper when he jumps up on me and marks me the good old fashioned warm-and-wet way intact toms are known for.
His snip surgery to take care of his beans and frank had been scheduled for a couple of weeks from now (the earliest I could arrange), but I really hope the golden showers dry up before then. But it does remind me of a different neighborhood stray who'd drop in for dinner sometimes and who would show his appreciation by marking me.
I guess little grey tomcats just like peeing on me. :P
beans and frank.. LOL..
DeleteI have a little gray tomcat looking for a home ;)
When I visit my mom and her kitty, I talk to her kitty, Louie (duh). He answers me every time. We sit and have a chat for 5 to 10 minutes. He doesn't ever chat with my mom, which drives her nuts. MOL
ReplyDeleteLOL.. well apparently you need to be convinced to stay..
DeleteMy cats are both boys, Kira, age 6, who I adopted first from a co-worker (there had been some gender confusion when he was a baby due to his floof hence the girl name!) and Monkey who is age 10, but who got adopted 10 months after I got Kira. Anyway, Kira had come from a home with multiple cats, while Monkey had been an only cat. I actually adopted Monkey because Kira was lonely and I fell in love with Monkey's picture from the shelter site. They bonded surprisingly quickly, especially Kira, who loved Monkey at first sight. Anyway, that's a long intro for a semi-long story that is to this day my favourite of the many funny things my boys have done.
ReplyDeleteI went on a kick a while back where I was going to try a new food every week. One week I was in the canned fish section of the grocery store and remembered that my grandfather used to eat these weird oily canned mussels. In a fit of nostalgia I decided this would be my 'new thing' for the week. I did NOT like them, not at all. There may have been spitting and mouthwash involved. So I doubled bagged them up and put them in the trash; garbage day was the day after next so I figured that would be sufficient.
I did not count on how VERY much Kira wanted the darn things. While watching a movie that evening and also being on my laptop, I head some plasticky rustling. I didn't think much of it or really notice it at the time, as the cats have a tunnel and some crinkly toys. Kira was not in sight but Monkey was curled up beside me on the couch. Suddenly there's Kira meowing away beside the couch, and he hops up right in Monkey's face and then takes off running. The odd thing is, my lazy fat Monkey hops right down and tears off after him. All of a sudden it hits me... The mussels!! Kira had stolen them and brought the bag to show Monkey so they could share the bounty.
If Kira hadn't shared, I would not have noticed until he had scarfed them, but he loves Monkey so much that he had to share his haul. I laughed so hard at them although part of me felt secretly sad at the disappointed look on their faces when I took the mussels away. All that oil and salt would not have been good for them. I put them outside in more bags and thankfully it was winterish so nothing came to ravage my garbage out there. Still the funniest and sweetest thing those two have ever done :)
that is so awesome! and while I understand why you didn't want them to eat it, it seems like they totally earned a reward for that :D Thank you so much for sharing!
DeleteTiny has lots of toys to play with but his favorite is my big, empty head which he likes to grab and bunny kick when I'm lying down next to him. He thinks I take up too much of his space when I'm on the floor and that's his way of telling me to get out.
ReplyDeleteLOL.. my cats get all up in my face when I'm on the floor too
DeleteGoro made a huge deposit in the litter box the other day. Maybe 5 - 6 inches long? Usually it comes in 2 - 3 pieces, and the combined length can be easily 5 inches. But it was in one fantastic piece! On constipated days, I really envy him :-)
ReplyDeleteGoro, that is mighty impressive!
DeleteFor some reason neither Chimera or Yang can figure out that when they wrestle on the very edge of the bed they fall off. They both always look so affronted when gravity wins the match and they both fall off the bed.
ReplyDeleteYou apparently need a bigger bed
DeleteWhen I'm feeling depressed, I dig into the Cat CATastrophes archives on youtube (I'm a total fangirl!!!) ... these are my favorites :) Sending all of you love and laughs.
ReplyDeleteCats Caught Sexting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6s_fhAtlIM
The Real Reason Cats Toss Their Toys Under The Stove: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc2PVl4SqzI
My Cat Destroyed My Relationship On Twitter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7DzutdOK58
Cats Get Stuck In Odd Places: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sl35sIpOrfg
Fast & Furrious 8 - Tokyo Dump: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjV8ylIpVBA
Oh, I LOVE that channel! Some of them are strange but there are a lot that are really funny!
DeleteI'm a huge fan too. I just love Louie
DeleteWe've been where you are, and thinking of fun things is best. I love watching the kitties and the squirrels having stare downs through the kitchen window. The three resident squirrels run across the window sill constantly to get to the bird feeders. Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo will sit on the other side of the window and dare them to come across while they are there. Sending you lots of love, Janet and Kitties Blue
ReplyDeletewe have a chipmunk who lives outside who loves to taunt our kitties, so I can so see this
DeleteWell, we had some drama yesterday, as a squirrel somehow got into the house! He was totally terrified, and Louie was very interested, but I didn't relish the idea of them getting up close and personal. I got the squirrel cornered in the fireplace and called the exterminator. I barricaded the squirrel in the fireplace with the fireplace screen, and kept shooing Louie away. None of the cats has had a rabies shot this year yet. I kept vigil the whole afternoon until the exterminators came - they had a pretty easy job of getting the poor critter into a cage, and will come back next week for a full house inspection, looking for entrance points. I lost a whole afternoon of work, just staking out the fireplace.
ReplyDeleteSending you all the best.
love, Ann
I'm glad everyone came out of that one okay :) FYI rabies shots last a lot longer than a year, and evidence has shown if there is exposure simply getting a booster for an outdated rabies shot is enough to protect the kitties.
DeleteMy two small fries are black, as you know. Well, I don't know how many times it's been dark in my house (lights off or early morning/late at night) and I've maneuvered around or talked to a black lump on my floor--thinking it's one of the cats--only to realize "I just about threw out my back so I could squeeze past a pair of black pants." Meanwhile, when I turn on the lights I see either Grizzy or Sophie perched up the bed or bookshelf looking at me like "Momma, you crazy." :) We're all here sending you virtual hugs.
ReplyDeletewell you are one really weird cat for not being able to see as well as they do. :)
DeleteI've been there.
ReplyDeleteMy newest kitten...yes, I broke down and adopted one, my 2nd failed foster, for 5 cats total. Well, she's a princess. She wears a, "diamond & pearl," collar and pink glitter nail caps and she MUST be carried from room to room because princesses don't soil their pwecious pink toes on floors. And if you don't pick her up and carry her, she will dark and twine and trip your ass. Hmmmm...maybe I just need to tell her that she's NOT on the insurance policy?
LOL.. that is one lucky little girl
DeleteNo kitty story here because I am not a cat person, I know, pick yourself up off the floor there are people like me around, hell most of them are in my family.........
ReplyDeleteJo-Anne.. for you to take the time to comment on my post most certainly classifies you as a cat person. Just because you do not own one doesn't mean you aren't. Thank you for commenting, it means a lot!
DeleteI am glad Kit is having fun. You scored better than I did at Target- everything was picked over, I was hoping to find one of the cardboard barns or haunted houses for cats.
ReplyDeletethe local target only gets one or two of those, I don't think I even saw the barn originally. We currently only have one castle, and I'd be surprised if they get another if someone bought it.
DeleteNot really a funny story, but more of a heartwarming story. My rescue has been fostering a black FIV kitty that has been up for adoption since January. Even though she is not my foster I worked to get her featured on a popular Facebook page and now we have 1 application and several that commented that they might be interested... Makes me so happy, I feel like with some innovative thinking, I made a difference and was able to get some people interested in adopting her.
ReplyDeletethis is freakin awesome!! YAY!
DeleteWe had new neighbors move in across the way recently. They have two indoor kitties who sit in their front living room window. The two cats are very shy, so I haven't met them in person yet. But when I walk by their house, I always wave and say hello to the cats in a "kitty voice" - you know the tone. The other day, the neighbors were sitting in their living room as well, but I didn't see them at first. I wonder if they thought I was waving at them and saying hello in my kitty voice.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if this is "fun," but one of the sassiest cats at the shelter has decided she's a lapcat. It was such a treat to see her siting in Tracey's lap, happy as a clam, this afternoon. :)
ReplyDeleteNo cat story I am afraid, but I can share with you that since hearing the news today Poppy has taken up residence in her Tower and has refused to come out and deal with the real world!
ReplyDelete