Watson and Sherlock are back at the vet

So when Sherlock and Watson first showed up their stools were loose. This is very common in kittens to have worms and they are dewormed before coming here as a matter of course. Stools usually firm up in a few days, and theirs did and then they weren't.

By the time I realized that things weren't 'normal' Watson was falling a bit behind and wasn't gaining weight, so to be proactive I told the shelter who sent me home with some medicine for coccidia, which is a pretty standard infestation too. I gave the meds, but Watson vomited them right back up. I contacted the shelter and they wanted to see him so I brought him up and we got more medicine and he got some fluids and for fun Sherlock got them too.

Sherlock was not amused. Watson improved, but he had started peeing on soft things. I thought he was doing it just because he wasn't feeling well, or because he was a boy, but as he continued to improve and he continued to pee I thought there might be something wrong. I wasn't quite ready to say so, but I was keeping an eye on it. When I realized we had a good number of urine clumps in the litter box (20 in one day) I realized this was not normal and not part of the healing process. This is why knowing your kitty and its habits are very important to maintaining health. I contacted the shelter again and they wanted me to bring them up today to be checked on. They were holding a fostering seminar last night so I decided to bring them up last night and if they are able to come home tomorrow then they will come home tomorrow.

Hopefully, this is nothing, but if it is, we'll deal with that too. If it is a urinary infection or irritation it will probably mean another week of medications. Since Sherlock is already over two pounds and Watson wasn't too far behind, this means we will probably get to keep them a little while longer.  I'm not complaining about that.

Since they won't be on the web cameras today (you do know there are two web cameras in the kitten room, right?) I thought I'd share a few images my dropcam emailed me when it noticed activity.

So, a cat shows up...

And you feel you have to say no to that cat because you really want to get your work done on the computer and you don't have it in you to cuddle and do your work, so he plasters himself to your side so you have to rest your arm on his head and feel like a heel..

and then your other cat comes and you say no, just no, and try to deter him away, and he is not deterred and proceeds anyway, and you say no, and he doesn't listen to you and parks himself on your belly because your computer is on your lap (and frankly he only sits on me like this when I have a computer on my lap, if you were to take it away he would totally leave) and then he licks your hands, driving you up the wall, and you want to send him away because a third and fourth cat are showing up, but you know he is fifteen and the days of his sitting on your lap and being obnoxious are almost over..

and then his magnetic key falls on top of your laptop and shuts it down. And your little ray of sunshine has decided to present you with every single toy she can find and must pronounce it very loudly..

#lifewithcats




Remember this from yesterday? I challenged you to guess what they are

These are the buds on my wisteria vine. I can't wait until they bloom, There is a ton of them!

Spring in Maine (no kittens involved) and my chapple tree

This is my blog and I'll deviate if I want to. 😊

Several years ago when we moved into the house I bought a weeping cherry tree. I have always like weeping trees and cherry blossoms, I figured this would be a good compromise. When it started growing sprouts out of the top of it, I was a little surprised but I let it happen. My husband offered to cut them off to retain the integrity of the cherry stems grafted to the base, but I wanted to see what would happen.

This is what happened.

So far we haven't gotten any fruit on it, but this is the first year the cherry part of the tree really bloomed. I believe the original part of this tree is an apple tree, but we haven't had any of those fruits either, but who knows.. maybe one year I can make a chapple pie!

I really like this tree for a variety of reasons. Bloom, where you are planted, is one, deal with what you have been dealt with is another.

Since I'm focusing on the tree, I thought you'd like to see some of the blossoms up close and since I was walking around outside I took photos of the other flowers in my yard. I was amazed at the number of small bees nestled in the dandelions. Thre are at least seven baby bees in this first photo. Bonus points to anyone who can figure out what the last photo is of.

Watson and Sherlock welcome the new week

Thanks to some medication and quick intervention, Watson is back on track and gaining fast.  He lost quite a bit of weight during his illness, but he has put that all back on and then some. He is having a really good time wrestling with his brother.

Sherlock is also doing well. He is still dealing with confidence issues, as it takes him quite some time before he remembers that I am not that frightening. He will come up to me, but if I attempt to pick him up he runs. I don't have the feeling it is because I've had to medicate him, but he just simply doesn't remember how much he enjoys cuddling.

As soon as Watson gets up on my lap and starts purring Sherlock is quick to join in. Both of them are nursers, and they have a tendency to move around when they do it so I quite often leave the kitten room with a wet shirt.

Their poop is looking a lot better but it is still kinda smelly. I am hopeful now that the medication is over that will settle down too.

I'm running into the same issue we have had to deal with in the past year that we haven't really had issue with in the past. Someone (looks at Watson) has been peeing outside of the box. Once he started feeling better I changed all of the boxes (there are three) and put cat attract in them hoping that would help, but I put a pee pad on the couch (because that was one of his favorite places to go) and he used it. I'm quite flummoxed why this has all of a sudden become an issue in general. One box is in the litter box box, and they both go out of their way to use it. I have two other boxes against the walls (under the windows) I even bought a new couch on the off chance the futon was holding scents.

Ah well, when you are dealing with kittens learning how to deal with the world, sometimes you have to clean up a little pee.

Sherlock takes over Caturday

I had a few random photos of Sherlock from earlier in the week. I knew you'd appreciate seeing them, so here are a few moments with Sherlock for Caturday. (FYI, Watson is doing much better he is eating on his own and I am hopeful that he will continue to improve and you'll never know he was ill)