Black Cat Appreciation Day

Every year on Black Cat Appreciation Day, people are faced with the erroneous "fact" that black cats are overlooked in shelters and that they are less likely to be adopted when they are in shelters. I accepted this 'fact' for years but yet never really saw it in practice in my local shelter. I would have whole bunches of black kittens that would be snatched right up on adoption day.

Then I stumbled upon an article that actually turned that myth on its ear. Dr. Emily Weiss did a study to find out if black cats really were not being adopted. She looked at the data from the ASPCA's A Comprehensive Animal Risk Database, which pulled numbers from 14 communities and nearly 300,000 dogs and cats. She wondered if it could be that there are simply more black dogs and cats entering the system, making it appear that they are more at risk? A quote from her blog post: "Let’s say 4 black dogs and 1 white dog enter the shelter, and the next day 1 white dog and 1 black dog are adopted—that leaves just 3 black dogs in kennels, shifting a perception of risk. However, the same number of black and white dogs were adopted!"

Her post has some wonderful charts looking at the actual data of intakes and adoptions and those figures appear to support her theory. You can read a few more stories on this phenomenon at VetStreet.com, NYMag.com, and OregonLive.com.

I recognize that a lot of people have superstitions about black cats that harken back to the dark ages, but people who subscribe to that generally aren't adopting cats anyway. Personally, I swore to never adopt another black cat after adopting Ollie because taking photos of him was so hard. Fortunately, my photography skills increased quite a deal since 2010, and I now look forward to the challenge of adopting black kitties.

I do not want to diminish the need to adopt black cats and I am all for any adoption promotions that make use of Black Cat Appreciation Day,  I just think we need to not fall prey to myth and misinformation when it comes to kitties.

I learned from A Tonk's Tail that black cats are genetically prone to be more friendly. She quoted what Dr. Temple Grandin wrote in her book "Animals Make Us Human": "black cats are friendlier than other cats, are better able to deal with crowding and urban life, and have greater aggregative tendencies" and "black cats are more social overall, whether it’s with other cats or with humans."

This may, or may not, be your experiences with black cats, but regardless of our personal feelings on coat colors, all cats deserve appreciation - but today is the day we stop to appreciate the black ones.

#TBT Ollie in a hot wood sauna

Winter has hit hard here finally, and I have been so cold these past few days that I have made it a point to sit in my sauna and warm up.  Doing so always reminds me of my Ollie, who absolutely loved sitting in my sauna with me.

~originally shared April 2010

biding my time

Well Peter and Tinsel were done their medication on Friday.. I've kept them over the weekend to make sure things don't flair up.. I wonder how long I can keep them before it is no longer kosher.  Tinsel is fast approaching his six month birthday, and Peter isn't that far behind (at six months all cats at the shelter become free to adopt)  it is a bit of a shame that they haven't found a home before now.  For the past few days when ever I go to take care of them, they end up getting me to snuggle with them for at least 30 minutes.  Yesterday was a bit different.  I wish I had my camera with me at the time, because the two of them were playing with a furry mouse.  There is a black one and a red one in the room, and they both have to play with which ever one is in motion.  If I throw the other one in the mix so they each have one, it is out and out ignored (or the one they were playing with is ignored for the new one)  They were tossing it up in the air and trying to pounce it like it was a butterfly.. which means EVERYTHING was flying.  Once they even body slammed in the air.

They also take turns wrestling.  Peter will pounce on Tin, then Tin pounces on Petie. 

I so wish someone who would keep in touch would adopt them.  I tried to get @Scully_Cat 's staff to consider them, as there was some talk of kittens.. but alas Scully will have NOTHING to do with it.  She's completely content to be an only kitty.  I get that.  I was so certain that I wouldn't be able to add any more cats to my household when Em became an only kitty after Tig went missing (back in the days when I let my cats free roam - but that too has a long story) She not only made it perfectly clear she was an only cat, she put that thought in practice attacking the few kittens that came to visit.  We couldn't turn down Ollie though, and with proper introductions, she became very accepting of him.  Then when we added Jack, she was content to be queen.  By the time we added Twee, she was queen mom, enjoying licking and snuggling with Twee and the others.  I do think she was much happier because of the addition...

ugh.. I'm rambling.  Sorry..

I do wish I could keep them, but then I go up and spend time with my own crew and get covered with four to six cats and realize there really is just no room.  I know Skippy would LOVE them, mostly because Peter reminds me a lot of him in personality... that and he sits in the window to the kitten room every chance he gets and watches them.

Maybe Friday... Friday is do-able. 

Then I'll swap out the flooring in the kitten room (I put cheap linoleum down over the foam floor squares that we replaced this year. I like it a lot, but it already has a tear in it, so I'll buy a thicker piece this time) and sit and wait for kittens.  Often they don't come in force until June..

Ollie

I'm cataloging photos, and I saw this and had to share.  This was from 2007

The good and the bad

Thank you Teri for your comment.  I like that advice very much.  Fortunately or unfortunately depending on how you look at it we would be in the same boat if we had gotten it a few weeks ago.  He was doing pretty well up until Thursday. 

He slept on the couch all day, and I was feeling really lousy that there was nothing I could do.  He stood up stiffly and laid back down looking quite miserable.  I was contemplating a trip to the eclinic. I thought I'd offer him something to eat, and got out a jar of baby food.  That did the trick!  he at 90% of the jar so probably a little over two ounces.  He groomed himself and decided to get up.  I put him on the floor and he moved under the tree.  A few minutes later he came out into the kitchen bright eyed and interested in what was going on.  I threw down some cookies (dry cat food - currently Nature's Variety), and he ate quite a few.  He worked his way downstairs I am assuming to use the litter box, then came back up and went back under the tree.

Eli is currently hanging out with him.

looks like it will be Monday

as long as he holds steady, and doesn't take a turn for the worse, we'll bring him into the vet first thing on Monday.

The shelter will help him if we need it, but I can't see bringing him in there and having him deal with the stress of that in his current state.

He's currently in the solarium near the tree (he always loved the Christmas tree, so I didn't have the heart to take it down) with Tweedle.  She's being very good to him, being there but not intruding. 

I know this isn't the most ideal of subjects, so my apologies for the dark turn this blog took.  But it is a part of owning a pet, and as I said in my last rambling post a lot of people wonder what to expect in the end with their pets.

frig

So last night I woke up and spent some time with Ollie. He once again was "restless" or "inconsolable"  He kept asking for things, and I did my best to figure out what he was asking for and finally I came to the conclusion that it was just time.

I think he has a few more days in him, but I am not sure I can bring him to the end, and while this sounds and feels horrible to say and think, a few more days is just not convenient for us.  Tomorrow being Sunday and the vet being closed, then the start of the work week, where we should be at work.  If he perked up and we waited, he would be alone most of the day, and we both come home after the vet closes, so if something happens...

since this has no chance of getting better, it is better to err on the side of too early... and since he's shown that this is physically and emotionally effecting him, this - to me anyway - is no longer too early. 

In a perfect world with no jobs and time to just be with him, I think I would wait, but I think the responsible thing to do is to let him go now.

Unfortunately this is the one day of the month my vet is closed.  I so should have called yesterday when I got home from work just to see what my options were, but at that point I don't think I would have brought him in last night.  But maybe if my vet knew where we stood, he might have offered to be available today.. (we used to work together) but then again maybe not.

I know the shelter can offer the service, but I don't know if they will.  Several years ago they put my rabbit down for me (Tobin) when he became unresponsive.  I'm going to go talk to my friend and see what they can help me with. 

If the worst happens, there is always the emergency clinic.  If not, there is always Monday... which as I hope I stated above doesn't seem - at this point anyway - to be too far away.

my day in pictures

So it started out with Ollie in the laundry basket.

He spent the night in the bedroom with us and no other kitties, and he was completely content to stay that way.  He urinated but did not poop, so I left him with some food and went to work.

Took the fosters with me for another outing (and because there was a request for a visit) 

That Tinsel, he's something special

even Peter was out exploring

 They looked about the office for a while, meowing to one another when they got separated.  They then settled down in their best hiding spot.  This one is pretty clever as it is behind a door that is generally open and amidst boxes we use for shipping.  Apparently he likes shipping boxes, because he hid in one last time he was there, and when we couldn't find him later in the day, he was back in one of those.

I was proud of both of them.  Tinsel was a little mouthy and did chew through a pair of speaker wires.  Don't know if he is prone or if he's just teething.

Came home to Ollie still in the laundry basket and still haven't eaten, but he did poop in the box which was encouraging.  He wasn't interested in the food I gave him.  So I let the crew in to clean it  up, and to see how they would interact.  He wasn't thrilled with the "intrusion" and jumped out of the basket and left.  I went and looked for him a little later but I couldn't find him.  I was so sure we'd be making that call..

Then this

He's up on the bed, giving me attitude, licking plates clean, and even ate with the rest of the crew.

If he could only just talk to me, so I wouldn't have to guess..

I hope I'm wrong

but it is looking like Ollie has made the decision.  I'm going to check in with him after work (I get out at noon) and see what he wants to do and what is available to us.

Well i feel like a fool

So Ollie has been in the bedroom over twelve hours. He has wet food dry food and litter. Just now he was restless and I thought that he might not like the canned food. I replaced it and he had a bite or two and still was restless. I walked near the toilet and he showed interest but I didn't get it. He then looked at the shower and I wondered why... Why would he look at those two things... That both deal with water... !!!! Water!!! He doesnt drink much so I don't put water down for him in general. I got him a bowl and he had some and is ...well he's not as restless.

Counting in days now instead of weeks

Hopefully the days will lead to at least weeks, but at this point I'm not sure that is fair.

I left Ollie in the bedroom today to have access to food, he didn't eat much of it.  He spent most of the day in the laundry basket. He looked happy, almost proud of his great place to hang out.

 Only problem is that it allowed me to see that one of his lumps has protruded so far off his skin that his fur doesn't cover it.  my new itouch isn't taking the best photos, so the best pict I have of it is below. 

He didn't mind my prodding it. So I think we still have some time.  But since it already broke through once, I have no doubt it will do it again.

*sigh*

snuggles

Since Peter and Tinsel and I were all home yesterday, I spent almost two hours with them watching NetFlix.  While they weren't on me the ENTIRE time, they spent just about 1:50 minutes on me PURRING at full volume.

When I first walked in, Tinsel - unabashed at asking for scritches - climbed right up on me and flomped down taking up as much of my chest as he could.  Looking at me adoringly, purring like a motor boat, I couldn't help but give him the attention he wanted.  Peter worked his way up and sat on my lap looking at us, and I couldn't help myself.  I sat up and grabbed him and snuggled him into my chest.  Well Tinsel wasn't done, and he flomped himself down on top of Peter, using him as a pillow.  It was downright adorable seeing their two faces side by side both of them purring, being just so happy and with most of Peter being hidden by Tinsel.

Peter eventually got up and walked away.  He snuggled down next to Tinsel for a while, then back to my lap.  at one point he got up and had a snack, then came back.  Tinsel was still occupying my chest, and Peter was apparently sick of his being a hog, because he came up and laid down on top of Tinsel.  Seemed turn about was fair play.  These two boys are so different from one another, but they make it work, it's down right adorable.

Then this morning at 5 minutes before the alarm went off (DH gets up an hour or so before I do) I felt a cat paw on my face.  Someone was on my chest/side and someone else was trying to eek out a spot next to me and had to do so by walking over my head.  Well the footing didn't work out, and I got stepped on.  I am NOT a fan of that, so I tried to figure out who it was.  Patting the head made me think Kit because it seemed small and petite.  But a quick trip down the flank revealed it was Ollie.  I had "helped" the kitty off my face, and immediately felt bad.  Ollie doesn't have the best balance these days, but fortunately it had gone OK and he was now next to me looking for attention.  I pushed Muffin off my side (because a. she is ALWAYS there and b. I knew that eventually Ollie would be unhappy at sharing the space) and woke up enough to pat him.  This time he wanted me to only pat the top of his head and down the back of his neck.  Each time I tried to pat the front or sides of his neck (where he wanted it last time) he became annoyed. He didn't lift or move his head to help the scritches to his neck like he did last time, so I finally just settled for patting his head.  We were like that for almost half an hour.  Muffin and Jack joined in the fun, and it was nice to have them all together.  When DH finally got out of bed, Ollie left.  Yesterday he came looking for attention to.  He was happy to have me kiss his head, and it was so nice to be able to make him happy especially since he's not usually a fan of PDA.  He puts up with me giving him kisses much as I would assume a middle school boy would put up with his mother.

This morning I left him in the bedroom with several different kinds of food since I felt so bad at how small he felt.

"The Decision"

This isn't going to be a fun post to write, and I doubt it will not be a fun one to read, but I've been musing this over and over lately and I felt the need to write it out.

Part of owning a pet includes the end of the pet's life.  We all know it, we all hate to think about it, but we adopt these adorable loving creatures knowing that unless something drastic happens to us, we are going to outlive them.

With Ollie's cancer progressing much more rapidly now I fear we are measuring his life in weeks.  I keep finding myself trying to plan for the end, but I know full well that is a decision he is going to make and I just have to accept his timing.  I don't much like that, as it leaves so many "what if's" but my alternatives are not all that great either.

I know it is better to ... what, put them down, let them go, help them cross?  for lack of an acceptable term to me, I'm going to use PTS for the purposeful end of life.

so I know it is better to PTS earlier rather then later.  I don't want him to suffer, and I know full well that what he is dealing with is terminal and there is no chance of his getting better.  With Kodi, I held out that chance, and he was suffing when the decision was made.  Em was also suffering, but she REFUSED to accept it and wanted to stay with me. 

So Ollie has two rather large masses on his body.  Do I put him down simply because of the growth?  That doesn't seem right since he - for the most part - is still his same old self.  Granted he's looking a little scraggly because he's having a hard time keeping up with his grooming, and he doesn't jump up on the fridge any more.  Except for the slight limp you might not even be aware he has cancer unless you look real close (his fur hides most of the horrors of the growth)

If I put him down simply because he has it, then I probably should have put him down two years ago when it first showed up.  But then again I've had over two years with him being his grumpy ol self, keeping the crew in line and being loved by him in his own way.

So I wait.  I wait for that sign from him that he has had enough of this stupid thing on his leg and he's done.  Some pets stop playing with their favorite toy, some pets stop eating, some pets will hide when it is their time.  I don't see Ollie using any of those.  I figure he'll start pulling away or being part of the "family".  When he's no longer Alpha Ollie, I guess I'll know

Until then, it is my mission to make him as comfortable as possible.

and I guess that pet door I put in the bathroom door to help Ollie have access to food isn't going to be a part of that plan any more.  Muffin broke through it once, tearing it right out of the door.  We thought it was because we used small screws.  Well we re-installed it with bigger screws, and she just tore through it again.  That is one food motivated cat.

Snow Day

Well the world (or at least my little corner of it anyway) is shut down due to snow.  The vet that was going to neuter Peter and Tinsel were closed by the time the snow started to fly.  My work is closed, the stores are closing, the wind is blowing and I can barely see the neighbors

So glad I'm inside!! ~Eli

Hey Mom, whatcha doin? ~Eli

 A snow day deserves a nap!

Tweedle, Fleurp, Ollie and Muffin.  Skippy is just out of the shot

 We changed the sheets last night.  Ollie thought he'd be a part of it :)  It was very slow going because we are so fearful of moving him and risking annoying him (maybe it is pain, maybe we just annoy him, hard to tell)

 Fleurp decided to get in the fun once the bed was almost finished.  She attacked the imaginary butterflies for quite some time, running back and forth, pouncing and being silly.

 Then she realized I was taking pictures so she settled down for her GFS.  It's been a while since we've had one, I think she was more then ready for her photo shoot.

How can you not want to photograph this cuteness!! ~Fleurp

No idea when we are going to reschedule the neuter and thus when they will be available for adoption, but if you are still considering it, there is still time ;)

Good Morning

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Snow is a comin, and I think the cats know it.  This morning they started piling on at 3am.  Someone hit my bladder, and I had to get up.  They weren't amused that I wasn't apparently in on their snuggly plan.  When I got back into bed, I got comfy, and just as I was drifting off to sleep I felt little feet working on finding comfy places.

I woke up this morning with just about all of them and no husband.  I think they got so annoying that he left.  I tried to get comfy, and they realized I was awake and Muffin decided I needed fur up my nose.  She would not take no for an answer.  I finally had to throw her off, and Fleurp decided the fur up my nose was a good idea.  So I finally rolled over so far into DH's side of  the bed that I was comfy, but in the process of doing that I ended up laying partially on top of Jack.  So he got up and I got more fur up my nose.

Muffin is back.. fur up my nose, making biscuits on my arm - I need to trim her claws again..

So I sat up in bed and pulled out my laptop to write down a dream I had.  Most of the cats got annoyed and left.  Muffin went to sit on the pillows at the end of the bed (but is back now as you see) and Ollie showed up.  He let me pat him for a bit, and is now laying on DH's side of the bed.  I so want to snorgle him pretty badly, but I know that would just annoy him and he would leave and I really like him near me more.

Well apparently it is breakfast time, because now I'm cat free..

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Ollie & Twee

I wanted to show Ollie's lump.  In the start of the video, it is on your right side (near Fleurp doing her begging)   At the end of the video, you can see Twee walk by with her little bent tail, which fortunately it still does not bother her.

tough morning

I talked to the vet about Ollie.  We are starting Pred and a pain medication for him.  He got his first dose last night.  This morning he didn't want his raw.  So we locked set him up in the bedroom with his raw, some dry, and two different cans of wet food (one chunky one loaf)  He had a few nibbles of the dry, and a few of the chunky, and then sat by the door to leave.  *sigh*  I hate locking isolating him, but I hate the idea of his going all day with out food more.  Cause there isn't a morsel of food that won't be consumed by the garbage disposal Muffin, the dishwasher Jack or the mini garbage disposal Fleurp.  Those three would eat the house down if I wasn't careful.  Muffin in particular is getting worse.  I can't help but wonder if she doesn't have an actual problem not feeling full because she'll chase food relentlessly despite having just been fed.

Hopefully he's just having a morning. Which is fully possible. But with the passing of @Mulder_Cat.I'm a little sensitive.

Twee is still tails down.  I stroked her tail last night, she didn't seem to care.  There is definitely a lump where it turns down.  I tried to see if there was movement in the end of her tail, and it does seem that there is.  It is not much more then a twitch, but she has never been overly expressive with her tail to begin with, so I just need to relax and not worry so much about it right now.

I'm one of those people who are hyper vigilant about their kitties, but considering what has happened in the past, I have good cause to.  But I need to remember that sometimes being so can be more harmful.  I just need to be very grateful for what I do have at the moment, and let tomorrow wait till tomorrow.

I think I'll set myself up for some good Tinsel therapy tonight.  He's such a funny loving sweet little boy.  He loves a good flomp and belly rub.

Ollie and Twee

Well interesting developments with "The Crew"  Ollie has been spending less and less time in the fray of things, only coming out when he was hungry and demanding we feed him  He's generally getting three meals a day, sometimes four.  He doesn't (or isn't able) to eat enough in one sitting to sustain him any more.  I just love his little hungry "Narf" demand, that I don't mind.

His holistic vet finally sent out a few other things to try.  Several holistic "mix one pellet in a whole bunch of water and try that" stuff, and some mushrooms.  Nope as you can guess I'm not a huge believer in that, but I am a believer in trying anything.  It isn't going to harm him, it isn't like he's getting his hopes up, and if nothing else he's getting a little more water.  We gave him the mushrooms the first night, and then the next day the mushrooms and the holistic treatment.  After a few days I noticed he was out and not demanding food, which to me is huge.  So was it the holistic treatment? was it the shrooms? who cares, I'm happy.

He also has been having problems scratching his neck on that side.  I hadn't noticed before the other day, either because he was too proud to even try in front of others or maybe it wasn't an issue before this.  But when he lifts his bad leg to scratch his ear, he is barely able to get it up to the base of his belly.  He makes a scratching motion with it, but it is too far away.  He moves his head down to try to reach, and he can't and gets very close to falling over.  The first day I noticed that, that night he came to me for attention while I was half asleep, and demanded attention.  He made grumpy noises if I patted him anywhere other then the top of his head, the chin and his neck.  When he finally left, I noticed a pile of fur.  I guess he can't get the loose stuff off himself any more.  So the next time he came for attention, I pulled out the comb, and was able to get several small mats off of him, which while I'm sure he didn't like it, he was glad to have gone.  The crew seems to be shedding a bit more this year.

While I'm still letting him drive the bus to the Rainbow Bridge, I'm seeing "road signs" that he's coming up on the end.  the hiding, the infirmity, etc.  But then again he's still bossing everyone else, telling them off, pushing them out of the way even if he did show up late to the party.  I took a nice photo of him on my iPod Touch, which I need to upload to my computer to get it on here.  I'm sure there is a way, but I'm not there yet :)


As for Twee, we had a very interesting development  Yesterday while I was exercising, I noticed her running around and playing with her tail down.  It really isn't like her, so I watched her.  She seemed to be having a grand ol time and it didn't seem to bother her, so I let it go as a fluke.  Last night when it wasn't back up, I got VERY concerned.  I gave her love, then went to inspect it.  It did not seem swollen, nor hot or cold.  the part where it drooped (the first two inches or so seemed ok, moved up and down then the almost inverted V shape of the tail flomped down)   So neither the base, nor the apex seemed swollen or painful for her for me to touch.  If I pushed too hard, she didn't like that, just as you might not like it when someone poked you too hard, she simply avoided.  I felt the tip of her tail, neither hot nor cold.  Pinching brought a "why did you pinch me" reaction so I knew she had feeling down there.

This morning it was still down, and I called the vet.  He does surgery on Tuesdays so getting in to see him would mean I'd have to have an EMERGENCY!!!!!! which this certainly wasn't.  But he listened to her symptoms and my observations and said at this point just watch, and make sure she can use the litter box.

Not an easy feat in a house of eight cats and two owners who work full time jobs.  So I did the next best thing, I gave her the Ollie treatment.  I locked her up in the bedroom with food and water and opened up Ollie's box.

Now if you don't know this about Twee, she's "special" and no not in the way every pet owner thinks their kitties are Special, she's a little touched in the head.  Her full name is Tweedle after Tweedle Dum.. because that was the nicest name thrown out there (there was some doozies)   When she had not one but two severe / life threatening reactions to sedation, we ended up keeping her.  We could not stand to let such an innocent (touched in the head) soul out into the general public and risk them not taking her reaction to sedation seriously.  She is very slow to catch on, almost unbearably sweet and kind.  I've referred to her as my down syndrome kitty, because she is  like kids with down syndrome who are wonderfully sweet and open and kind and honest,

So locking her up confused the living daylights out of her.  Food in the bedroom that wasn't immediately consumed by Muffin and Fleurp confused her.  The fact that there was a litter box confused her, so she just hunkered down and sat there.  I tried to give her some love before heading off on my day.  When I got back a few hours later, the food was untouched, the litter was untouched, and she was basically in the same spot, but when I gave her love, her tail seemed to go up a bit higher on it's own.  So I think we are in recovery.

I couldn't for the life of me figure out what happened to her.  An abscess? did someone bite her?  possibly, but wouldn't that be swollen and painful?  We didn't step on her tail, we would remember that.  No tails in doors, etc.  But going through the options of what might have happened, I remember being half asleep the night before I noticed it, and hearing a thump.  The crew likes to get on the bureaus, and we don't much like it, so we do what we can to discourage it.  I think she attempted to get up on it and missed and feel.  Why this doesn't get a pain reaction out of her I do not know, but at least I think the mystery is solved.

I called and reported the improvement to the vet.  I also asked if some Pred might not help Ollie in these final weeks/months of his life.  It was agreed, and some will be put in the mail for me. (my vet is about a 40 minute car ride)

Overly emotional

We put the tree up last night.  I've got gobs of photos to share, but I'm too emotional at this point to go through them.  As soon as the tree went up, Ollie parked himself under it. He has always loved the Christmas tree, and I can't help but cry over the fact that this will be his last.

Even now.. Ok, moving on, I have a cute Peter photo to share..

(must remember to not grieve what isn't gone)

This explains a LOT

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This morning was a lot of fun and full of cats (and yes, feeties on my bladder).  I didn't mention it, but I was on vacation last week.  We went to Florida, did a cruise to the Bahamas and then a few days in Orlando.  I do not travel well at all, and so I do it as infrequently as possible.  DH loves to travel, and he got an opportunity to go to FL back in October for work, and this particular instance was being held at a fancy hotel, and when we get that opportunity I usually spring for a plane ticket and go with him.  Well his mom took a turn for the worse, and we ended up not going, so we had plane tickets and the such so we rescheduled once she passed.

So we scheduled and my uncle passed a few days before we were supposed to leave.  So in my stress of leaving my kitties, and traveling, I had some grief to process as well.  Fortunately my sister and my Aunt (and their son) all told me I should go on my trip and not feel bad about it.  Didn't help, I still did, but I did go.  (to top off the guilt, they lost their other son a few months prior to a blood clot which I believe was a complication to cancer they didn't realize how bad  he had until after he passed)

I was worried most about Ollie and the progression of his tumor.  When we got home, he was obviously uncomfortable, so I started the metacam again.  I can see where he's starting to give into the fact that this is going to be his life now.  He is by no means ready to give in, but I see the possibility of it, which I hadn't seen before.

Jack woke me up giving me kisses and pawing at my face.  He very much acts like an adoring lover in the middle of the night.  Unfortunately I came down with a cold while traveling home and the exhaustion of the cold and the trip, I couldn't give him the attention at 3am that he wanted.

In the morning though, we were COVERED in all of the cats.  DH got up and went out for a bit, and the nine of us just snuggled into the bed to catch up on the TV I had missed.  through out the day, every single one of the kitties came up for their own one on one time.

I got a call from the shelter while we were gone asking us to take new kittens.  I wanted to get up and go see them and see if they still  had them but I just wasn't up to it physically.  I didn't think I'd have the opportunity to get new fosters again this year... but maybe there will be more.