Where did the extra hour go???

Well, Bug is schedule for her spay surgery on Wednesday.  Mom weighed the rest of the kittens last night.  See, the plan was to take those that are big enough to Grove City on Thursday to have their surgery done by NOMAD.  Only one small problem....Dakota is the only one that weighs over 2 pounds.  Mom let out a very big sigh....this means only Bug and Dakota can go to Petsmart on Saturday.  She sent a text thingie to the leader of the rescue who agreed it would be faster to just take Dakota with Bug on Wednesday and then get them both microchipped on Saturday before the event.  (everyone else is between 1.4 and 1.75 pounds...except for Miss Utah who weighs a hefty 0.9 pounds)

Then there is Chiclet.  She is doing VERY much better and is anxious to get out of the bathroom.  We can't seem to get anyone to tell us if she was spayed when she had her surgery last week, so we aren't sure if she can go to the adoption event on Saturday as well.  Mom was a little annoyed this morning when she called the clinic that did the surgery and got voicemail that said they would call her back in 3-5 business days.  WHAT????  How do you run a business like that?? 

We thought we would take a look back at how far the kittens have come.  The first pic was taken when they got to the house on Sept. 19.  The second pic was taken 11-4 (thought Utah is missing from that one).

Finally Friday....

Mom is meeting from friends for breakfast tomorrow and then helping with a dog transport on Sunday.  Us - we plan on sleeping...just like normal.  Though mom said something about letting the kittens have some freedom while she is home.  HELP!!

Chiclet is in the bathroom and doing pretty well.  Thanks for all the purrs for her.  She isn't happy about being locked up, but she was very lovey last night and this morning, so mom is sure she is feeling much better.  She is on time out for a few days to give her tummy some time to heal.

And now....more baby pictures.


Junior (I don't think that is what the carrier is for)

Bug (could she get any cuter?)

 

Bug says: Utah tastes like a/d!!

 

left to right: Georgia, Nevada, Maine, Utah, Dakota & Carolina

 

Utah being a big girl and eating dinner on the counter

Give Peace a Chance

We would love to see world peace, family peace and peace for those animals that suffer.  Mimi Lenox is leading a Blog Blast....

(Mo says - I would like a moment of peace from the little orange terror)

Thankful Thursday...

We are VERY thankful that Chiclet is doing well.  She had surgery yesterday for a twisted intestine.  Not sure how it happened, but she stayed the night with the vet last night and will be ready to be picked up after work.  Mom offered to help cover the cost of her surgery...not sure how it was, but we are sure it wasn't cheap.  Guess that means we are going to have to cut back on the treats for a few weeks, but it will be worth it.  Chiclet will stay in the bathroom for about a week to recover and then be let back out with the adults.  Hopefully she will start putting on some weight and feeling a little more lively.  We are also hoping she got spayed and can go to the adoption event on the 13th.

In other news, Mom was worried about tiny Miss Utah.  Then Mom had a thought....there is a spare can of a/d in the house.  She tried that and after some coaxing, Utah gobbled it down.  She ate again when dinner was served before bed, but didn't seem interested this morning.  Utah was nursing more than the others, so Mom has sworn to keep an eye on her....  no more scary cat things with this bunch!!

THANKS for the purrs for Chiclet.  We are sure she can use them while she gets better.

Chiclet and the kittens update

Momma cat isn't doing so hot. Woke up Monday morning and the bathroom was a mess...throw up and everything else. I moved the kittens to the kitchen and left her in there by herself. Got home after work and she had thrown up more and there was bloody pee in the box. Not good. She was VERY listless and didn't eat much of anything. More bloody pee later that night.


Took her and the kittens to the recue today. They kept Chiclet. I asked about the poison thing and they think it would have shown up before this (someone tried to poison her and the kittens before they were rescued using rat poison on the kittens). I am not so sure...if it had done internal damage, wouldn't that take a little bit to show up? I have a friend who is a vet tech and I am going to ask her. Anyhow, they are going to give her fluids and see what they can do for her.

As for the kittens, they are vaccinated and back home. They wondered if they weren't from separate litters based on size, except the dilute girls look so much alike. They were charmed by Utah's tiny self, though she was a pest to vaccinate. We would like to get at least the big ones spayed/neutered before the Petsmart event. I agree....

Oh, and there was a jail break in the car. I took Bug so they could see her...she managed to get out of the soft sided carrier I was using for the kittens and led 3 others on an adventure in the hatchback while I was driving. At one point Maine and Carolina were on the top of Chiclet's carrier looking out the back window - can't imagine what the guy behind me was thinking. :)  I almost drove off the road laughing.  What else could I do at that point??  I did have a couple come over the seat and around the side, but they were grabbed and put back over into the hatchback.  (I drive a VW Beetle and the back seat is down so I have more space)

Please keep your fingers crossed for Chiclet - she is a very nice girl who deserves better than what she got before she was rescued.

Miserable Monday....

OK - we have a bone to pick with whoever it was out there that put that "halloween costume" idea in Mom's head.  She went shopping on Sunday and came back with this....



Mo refused to cooperate with the picture taking



Tommy was just unhappy

 

Tim fell over and pretended to be dead



Maestro just was baffled

 Mom wasn't even gonna try putting that thing on Spud, Junior and the Princess....

Here are some updated kid pictures too.  Bug was just at 2 pounds according to the kitchen scale on Sunday, so Mom is gonna schedule her surgery for next Monday.  The other babies just need to get their vaccinations.  Chiclet seems to be having some problems so we need to get her into the vet to get checked out (we will keep you posted on that).


Maine, Utah & Carolina (there is one in every crowd)



cat condo as clown car



Dakota, Nevada & Carolina

 

Bug



Utah says "the food service around here is terrible"



Mozart is....

The Cat of the Week on Franny's Cat Blog on About.com.  YEAH!!!  I always knew Mo was meant to be famous....

Oh, and stay tuned tomorrow....we have a surprise!!

Finally Friday...

We are so glad it is Friday....we are saving up on the naps!!

Update on the kittens.  Mom got home last night and shrieked....the pen got loose and there were kittens out!!  3 in the pens...Georgia was curled up in the bed next to the pen.  Utah, Nevada and Bug (go figure she was involved in the jail break) were nowhere to be found but wandered out a few minutes later.  No telling how long they were out or where they were.

Mom changed the plan today....she moved their stuff into the kitchen and set the gate up in front of the kitchen entrance.  Cross your fingers that everyone is still in there when she gets home.  It gives the kittens a little more room to run around since she doesn't trust them to be out and about in the house by themselves yet.  When she was leaving this morning, Carolina and Georgia were "hiding" between the fridge and the wall and Maine was jumping around trying to get them.

Maestro is doing ok.  He has been on prednisone and pepcid for 3 days now.  Someone pee'd outside the box again, but she can't ever seem to catch anyone in the act - the downside of having a multi-cat household.  She was pretty excited about this ginormous box she found at Petsmart, so we may get an upgrade this weekend.  She hasn't bought the new food for Maestro yet, but hopes to get to is this weekend.  She is just worried that she is going to spend a fortune on food that he isn't going to eat.

Chiclet (the momma cat) threw up twice last night - mom was doing laundry at 9pm since the "big one" was on the cover on the sofa (she was feeling kind of smart for making sure the covers are on).  Mom gave Chiclet a pepcid too hoping that might help.  She just doens't seem to be putting on any weight and has been a little listless.  Mom hopes to get the rescue vet to check her out next week.

Plans for the weekend everyone???  Mom keeps saying something about the big MSU game on Saturday versus Iowa.  Someone warn the kittens since she likes to yell at the TV.  Whatever....  Us - we plan to try to find as much sun as possible to warm up in since it is getting colder here in Ohio.

Tuesday terror....

Mo would like to place a complaint:

That little orange guy is getting on my last nerve.  He ran around last night for like forever....up the stairs and then back down then around and around the family room.  I can only take so much from the guy.  I swear he is stalking me.  I was sitting on the window box and he was on the scratching post when I planted on paw in the middle of his head.  Didn't stop him from swinging like mad at me.  Mom was laughing, but I don't think it was very funny.  She said I just have to smack him silly (I think he may already be at silly so what good is that gonna do??).  She said something about him getting bigger than me one day so I have to deal with him now.  I keep trying, but I don't think he is getting the message.

Junior says:  haha!!!

Mini Mancat Monday

Well, the little orange mancat is adjusting well.  He is still a little hesitant during the day - I still can't get him up in my lap after the eye ointment incident.  :)  However, he loves me at night and is out around the house during the day.  Plus he isn't nearly as jumpy anymore.  I have feral cat houses in the living room and he has been "cat testing" them for me.  Plus he LOVES to stalk Mozart - who just seems to find him annoying.  He has discovered that the kittens have food during the day and has been jumping in with them for a snack.  He whines when they get close but they don't seem to think he is all that scary.  LOL

Bug had a v-e-t visit on Friday and now has the first set of vaccines.  Weight - 1.6 pounds.  Oh - and I screwed up another one....Bug is a girl.  Which actually works from a cute standpoint.  :)  There is a petsmart adoption event on Nov. 13th.  I am hoping she is big enough to spay before that so I can try to find her a home of her own for the holidays.  Right now she is spending her days penned up with the other kittens and they are having a blast running around and being nuts.


back to front: Dakota, Utah, Carolina, Maine & Nevada

Georgia & Nevada

Bug

And an update on Maestro: nothing really exciting on the blood test.  Not sure if that is good or bad....  I refuse to put him through a boat load of tests just to prove something however.  So for now, the vet suggested changing his diet to a kidney prescription food.  Plus pepcid and prednisone.  I am going to give it a couple of weeks and see if it makes a difference.  I guess I am reluctant to run more test since I don't know what it would prove - I refuse to put him through much and having a "timeframe" doesn't prove anything either.  So, we will treat the symptoms and see what that gets us.  So long as he is getting around and seems comfortable, then so be it.


good news bad news

Well, Ivy didn't eat the vet. I had to herd her back to the bathroom and she was NONE too happy about it. And she spent the time before the vet came swearing at me. However, they got in there with minimal problems and got her checked out, weighed, vaccinated and nail trimmed. No human screaming and Ivy only howled a couple of times.
Tim & Tom were fine as well. All vaccinated and checked out. Tim needs his teeth cleaned, but after this bill, it is going to have to wait.

Ivy gained weight and everyone else lost a little. sigh.....

And the bad news - I had her weigh Maestro again and he had lost more weight. 2 pounds from March which is 4 pounds in a year. Not good. She drew more blood and took another urine sample so we shall see. And of course while she was there he threw up twice. Not sure what is up with that. He is still eating and getting around, though I do sometimes think he is getting senile. Dr Taylor is going to call Saturday or Monday with the results. But, like I told her....he is 16. I am not doing anything drastic. She did recommend a 1/4 pepcid once per day that might help with the throwing up. Keep your fingers crossed and I will keep you updated.

I did get a good pic of Maestro while he was sitting on the chair the other day with me:

Not-so-Mancat Monday

Breaking News:  Utah and Maine are GIRLS!!!

OK - in my defense, they were tiny when I checked for gender and I never rechecked.  Utah was dozing yesterday so I decide to get some kitten love.  He rolled over and lo and behold...no boy parts.  Which prompted me to check everyone else.  OK - except the calico girls....though maybe I should check.  :)  Anyhow, Nevada and Dakota are definitely boys and Utah, Maine, Carolina and Georgia are girls.  Which means the three tinest kittens are in fact girls.

Everyone was out in the pen playing yesterday and having a blast.  It is getting funnier to watch now that the other kittens are big enough to start giving Bug a run for his money.  :)

SPARTY ON!!!

My parents and I decided to try to attend Midnight Madness at MSU this year.  We went to East Lansing Friday and went to the bookstore, watch the Homecoming Parade and the stood in line for 90 minutes to get into Midnight Madness.  We got autographs from some of the players and then went into watch the festivities.  It was late but it was a lot of fun.  Mom has a crush on Draymond Green - she got a picture with him last year at the Final Four and then got his autograph this year.  She did the same with Korie Lucious.  I think they were both a little tickled to be signing pictures like that since mostly they were signing posters and basketballs.  It was cute.   I wish I would have thought to try to get another picture with the both of them.

Saturday we got tickets to the game and watched MSU beat Illinois and remain undefeated!!!!!!!

Dinner and Collars

I was hoping to get a better video, but this kind of tells the story too.  I am asking Santa for a Flip camera for Christmas.... (make sure to use the sound - Tim and Tom were talking to me)

Also, Catster was talking about Dr. Lord's cat collar study.  You can see the Catster article here: Catster article and the full study info from OSU here: OSU Cat Collar Study.  Tim, Tom & Mozart were actually part of this study.  I wasn't sure if they would tolerate the collars and leave them alone.  I was surpried.  Because I had three involved, we used 3 different types of collars - strechy, regular and safety.  I have since switched everyone to safety collars.  The only problem I had was the strechy one which was on Tim. He HATED it at first and it got pretty fuzzy from him scratching at it.  I figured I would come home one day to find it off as he maanged to get out or he managed to convince Tommy to pull it over his head.

Well, I came home the one day and the collar was off.  I thought I had the picture on this computer, but apparently not - I had to take a picture so others would believe me.  The collar was off....and unbuckled.  WHAT???  So I put it back on and made a note.  About a week later, same thing.  Strange....  Put it back on and made another note.  And two days after that, I am sitting in the living room.  Tim is laying on the floor and Daffodil (a foster and one of Ivy's sisters) was laying on top of him.  The kittens would have been about 6 weeks old at this point.  As I watched, Daff reached up and started chewing on the collar - pulling the strap through the buckle.  It took her about a minute or so, but she managed to get the thing unbuckled.  I just stared....I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen her do it.  I reported it at the end of the study, but I am not sure Dr. Lord believed me.

Anyhow, I firmly believe ID and microchips are the best way to get your animal back. Microchipping more than anything since collars and ID can come off.  Spud won't wear his collar but he is chipped.  Junior is next on the chip bandwagon - wish I would have thought to do it when I got him neutered.

weekend update

Friday night the kids came out to play with Bug in his condo.  They ran around and jumped on each other like crazy.  Then I put a box from work in there and the games really began.

After a while, every one fell asleep - the kittens in a pile and Bug off to one side.  It was kind of sad actually.  So I got to thinking about it - there is no reason now that the kittens are basically eating on their own that Bug can be in the bathroom with everyone at night.  Friday night was the first night and he seemed fine with it and so did Chiclet, so he will be in there at night from now on.  Of course, I spent several moments during the night on Saturday and Sunday chasing him down the hall when he made a break for it.

The kittens spent Saturday and Sunday afternoon in the pen in the living room with a slightly different configuration than Bug's condo to give them a little more space.  They played some and spent a lot of time sleeping in the sunshine.  By Sunday night, Maine was whiny and when I put Chiclet in there, she let them nurse, so that worked out too.  The pen got moved this morning and everyone is in the bathroom with the pen giving them more space and some fresh air.



Maine, Utah, Carolina & Georgia



Bug, Nevada (top), Carolina, Utah, Georgia, Maine & Dakota



Dakota, Utah & Maine

Sunday was spent working on the feral cat houses we are going to put out this winter.  Holes were cut and insulation put in one of them as an experiment.  The first one got the Junior seal of approval....

Best Friends Blessing

I got to experience this when I went in March.  While the video can't convey the full experience, it give you some idea.  Each month they honor those animals that have passed.  For the yearly ceremony this year, they opened it up to members to send remembrances of their own animals.  A few friends and I sent one for Ava, who belonged to our friend Nancy and her husband Steve. 

While nothing makes losing a pet easy, I think it help to know there is an organization out there devoted to "No More Homeless Pets" and understands what we all go through as pet owners.

Check it out: Blessing Video

new baby pics

Chiclet with Dakota & Nevada getting some breakfast

 

Georgia & her mommy


 

Wait - how does this work again?


 

Utah, Maine & Carolina



Adoption News!!

Junior is up on Petfinder now: Junior on Petfinder  I don't know if he will get adopted this way - I have my doubts about how many get adopted over the internet as opposed to in person.  However, at least now SOMEONE can see him which is more than NO ONE seeing him when he is just at my house.

In other news, Pistachio was adopted on Saturday.  I wish her the best of luck in her new home.  Walnut and Hazel were moved to a local Petsmart.  Fingers crossed for them too!!

Pecan is doing very well in her new home.  Kelly's brother is slowly warming up to her - he is just adjusting after the loss of their previous cat.  And Pecan seems to have the dog under her cute brown paw:

(baby) Mancat Monday

Bug went to the vet on Saturday. They ran an FIV/FeLV test and it came back negative!!  I was going to start his vaccination series since he is 6 weeks old, but the vet suggested we wait a couple of weeks.  See, they put him on the scale and he weighs a total of 0.9 pounds.

We also had the kittens out Friday night and Sunday afternoon to play with Bug.  He is a little rough with them (I think he is copying the treatment he gets from Junior).  But the kittens are getting their teeth in, so Bug is in for a surprise when they start biting him back.

And speaking of Junior, he won't speak to me during the day right now.  He has some eye gunk and I put an antibiotic cream in it and he is holding a grudge.  But he is still checking up on everyone when we go to bed.  Saturday night he was curled up by my shoulder - which was edging into Maestro's spot at the head of the bed.  Maestro growled at Junior who just ignored him and went on purring.  Can't blame him - he gets ignored when he growls at everyone else, so it makes sense that therefore growling is to be ignored.  :)

Homer

OK - normally I don't post twice in a day, but I had something I was going to post about and got distracted by the car thing (which is now fixed thanks to a great mechanic and $168 on my credit card).

Anyhow, my friend Kelly gave me the book Homer's Odyssey a while ago to read.  I had a ton of library books out then and didn't get it read.  If only I had known what I was missing.  I picked it up earlier this week and LOVE IT!!  Homer has his own website and I have been over there recently too.  If you haven't read the book, pick it up.  It is an easy read and delightful!!!

And in other news, Bug has his first vaccination appointment tomorrow morning.  He will get another bath and then the full checkout.  Paws crossed!

Tim & Tom say take the weekend off!

I should have stayed in bed....

So I got up this morning, ready to go, got in my car and....NOTHING!!  OK - there was a click and that was it.  Dead battery.....  Now what???  I am SO thankful I live close to my parents.  Called Mom and she came to the rescue.  I am now driving her Beetle for the day.  And THANK HEAVEN for good car guys....I called Kevin (the car guy) and he agreed to not only fix it, but drive to my place (about a mile from his shop), jump the battery and drive the car to his shop!!  This guy is worth his weight in catnip (or chocolate chip cookies - I may have to bake this weekend).

All of which made me about an hour late to work.  I am once again thankful for the flexibility of working in a small office - not that I exactly had much of a choice.

Should be a quiet weekend.  Chiclet keeps trying to get out the bathroom door, so I am going to try the kittens with Bug for a while and give her a break.  Just going to have to supervise since Bug has teeth and the other kittens don't yet.

Oh - and MSU plays Wisconsin this weekend.  GO GREEN!!!  GO SPARTANS!!!