Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. - Robert A. Heinlein

Mama "Kiki"

"Cody", "Dot" and "Dash"

The “Mom and Kittens of the Wood” are doing fine. It wasn’t intentional to name the white kittens “Dot” and “Dash”, like Morse Code, but we’ve decided to have a little fun with it. The kitten we called “Woody” is now “Cody” and the mom we called “Princess” is now “Kiki”. Of course, when they are all adopted, their names may change again and that’s fine.

That’s what we did. “Jonesie” used to be “Brody”.

Jonesie (Rhody is on the floor in background)

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I took Sheila for a walk the other day. Because she gets scared sometimes and starts pulling, I stopped walking her for awhile when my back was healing. Now I only take her every other day or so unless Charlie can come along too. That morning he had a dental appointment.

There were not many people at the park when we arrived, so I thought Sheila would be okay and it would be a nice enjoyable walk.

Everything was going fine. We were walking along, me listening to my itunes on my ipod, Sheila on alert as always. She usually turns to check behind us several times. No one can sneak up on her.

Suddenly Sheila turned to look behind her. I saw a startled look on her face and she jumped. I turned to look back and there was a man on a bicycle about ten feet behind us. By the time I turned back to check Sheila, she had already started running away. The leash would extend to 16' and she was at the end of it already. I was caught off guard so the handle of the leash was jerked out of my hand. Sheila was running down the road. I called her and my voice fell on deaf ears. She didn’t stop and wasn’t about to. She never even looked back at me. Then she turned and ran into the thick brush.

The man on the bike apologized, but I explained that Sheila was afraid of people and it wasn’t his fault. He offered to stay and help me, but I told him that it would make her worse. She’d never come if a stranger was there. He went on his way. I had seen him many times on this road before and I’m sure he thought we knew he was behind us.

I went to the place where Sheila ran into the brush. I called and called. I could hear her in the brush when she first went in, but couldn’t see her. Then I didn’t hear her anymore, although I was calling for her.

I walked up and down the road, calling “Sheila! Come!” It didn’t do any good. She was not coming.

Then I looked back up the road and there were three guys on bikes. I’d also seen them on the road before. They were stopped and it looked like they were contemplating a steep hill to climb with their bikes.

I sometimes don’t have my cell phone with me, but this time I did. I called Charlie. He was on his way home from the dentist. I told him what happened and I knew Sheila would come to him if he called her. He started over to the park. It took a few minutes for him to get there, but we stayed on our phones. While I waited, I walked back and forth calling Sheila.

I asked the bikers if they’d seen a dog when they were coming down the road and they said no. They wanted to help find her, but I knew that as long as Sheila knew they were there, she definitely wouldn’t come.

Charlie was in the parking lot now and had started walking down the road to meet me. Sheila and I had walked about 15 minutes when she got away, so Charlie had a few minutes to get there. I started walking back to meet him. We were talking on the phone and both of us were calling Sheila’s name.

Suddenly I heard Sheila barking. It was a very frantic, desperate bark and some whines. I knew I must be walking away from her wherever she was and she heard both of us calling her. She was trying to let us know where she was.

I still didn’t see Charlie yet and I could tell he was running now. He had also heard her barking through my phone.

One of the bikers was still on the road. The other two were watching from the top of the hill. They thought they had seen her on the other side of the canyon. But, the barking seemed to have come from the place that Sheila had originally gone into the brush.

Then the barking stopped. I asked the biker to go on up the hill because Sheila would not come out if he was there. She wasn’t even barking now. He went up to join his friends.

Charlie went down into a clearing to see if he could see Sheila in the bushes. When I called her, I could hear her moving in the brush, but she didn’t appear.

Charlie is in there, but you can't see him

This is very thick underbrush

Charlie went into the brush in the area I had heard Sheila rustling earlier to see if he could find her. It took a few minutes. He completely disappeared from my sight, that’s how thick that brush is down there. Then I heard him yell that he saw her. It was hard to get to her. She was totally tangled up. Her halter was caught and she was unable to get out of it. Then, because she had that long leash on, it was also wrapped around and around the limbs and branches. She really hadn’t gotten far from where she had left the road and disappeared in the bushes.


Charlie finally got Sheila loose and brought her out. He had left the leash and then went back to get it untangled. I think the thought occurred to him to just leave it in the brush, but that thought quickly vanished when I asked, “Are you going to go back and get the leash?”

That took a few minutes and Sheila and I waited on the road. The guys on the bikes were watching everything from the top of the hill. I heard them laughing and saying, “I think she’s lost her husband in there now.” But, he finally came out with the leash.

Sigh!

Sheila (and Charlie) were no worse for the wear. I don’t think Sheila learned anything from this entanglement. If she gets scared again and gets away, she will run right into that thick underbrush again. Charlie said it was a miracle she didn’t get into the patch of cactus there.

As for Charlie, he had so many stickers and thorns in his shoelaces, he has decided to throw the shoes away and get a new pair. (He needed to replace the shoes anyway, this will make sure he does).

I felt better when we learned that Sheila was not coming back to me because she literally could not. I had decided that I couldn’t take her out there anymore if she wouldn’t even come back to me when I called her. But, when she knew I was walking away from her, she barked to let us know where she was. She didn’t want us to leave her there. Of course, we weren’t about to stop looking for her.

It’s been awhile now, but there have been a couple of times when there was no one on the road anywhere. I felt enough confidence in her to let her off the leash, especially if we weren’t far from the parking lot. But, both those times, something or someone spooked her. She ran into the bushes. But, when I called her, she always came back onto the road. Her harness was kind of twisted and I knew the underbrush must be thick to do that. I then decided that I couldn’t let her off the leash anymore.

Last May when we were at my brother’s house in South Carolina, we let Sheila out of the RV. We thought she’d stay with us since we were parked in my brother’s driveway. No. She saw my brother and headed for the woods. Charlie managed to get her back without having to go too far in.

I don’t know if we’ll ever get that fearfulness out of her. Probably not. We don’t know why she’s like that. When she’s in the house with us, she is the most loving, playful dog. She loves the cats and they (most of them) love her too. It’s amazing to watch her play with them, wash their faces and ears. Our youngest, Rhody, is almost seven months old. He walks over to Sheila, falls down and grabs her tail and plays with it like it’s a toy. Sheila not only allows it, she encourages Rhody to play some more. I was watching them tonight. Rhody was asleep on the floor, where he likes to sleep most of the time. Sheila went over to him and started licking his face. Rhody didn’t even wake up.

"Rhody", our seven month old "kitten"
He's about 10-1/2 lbs. now

Sheila isn’t the perfect dog, but I don’t know many people who have a perfect one. We were just happy that she got along so well with the cats when we got her from the shelter. It would have been very hard to return her if the cats had said “She’s got to go!” Around here, the cats rule.

More later...........

"A meow massages the heart.” -Stuart McMillan

I came across an article on the way catnip affects different cats when I was doing some research on Lexi’s hyperthyroidism medication. Most of our cats really like catnip. We usually have a couple of plants growing in the yard for them and I also buy it dried.

I have taken pinches of dried catnip and put it on the floor for each cat. They all react different. Some eat it, some roll in it, and others act like I just put something nasty in front of them.

As far as the catnip that grows in the yard, the cats usually like to lay in it and they eat the leaves. Right now, we don’t have many plants. It will come back in the Spring. In the meantime, I plan on buying a couple of fresh pots and getting them started.

Here is the article:

Catnip, the Mysterious Herb
by Arnold Plotnick MS, DVM, ACVIM, ABVP

Gigi loved it, but her brother Brandy was indifferent. Crispy loves it, but Ethel was unmoved by it. There you have it: a quick inventory of my past and present cats’ reaction to the plant from which this magazine derives its name.

Fourteen chemicals of diverse biologic origin, including certain plants, are known to affect the behavior of the cat when their fragrances are inhaled. The most famous of these, of course, is catnip. For centuries, ailurophiles (cat lovers) have marveled at the delight cats seem to get from smelling, nibbling on, and rolling in the stuff.

With the possible exception of man (i.e. eccentrics who claim to get a “buzz” when they smoke the stuff), a behavioral response to catnip is found only in members of the feline family. Lions in particular demonstrate a rather spectacular response, and hunters have used catnip to lure bobcat and lynx. Leopards, jaguars, pumas, ocelots, and sever other so-called lesser cats also respond to catnip.

The typical catnip scenario for the domestic cat initially involves the offering of some catnip leaves, either fresh or dried. Cats will first smell, and then lick or chew the stuff for a few minutes. Cat owners then stand back and watch the fun begin.

Some cats show a “like, wow, man” response and just gaze off into space, that being the extent of their reaction. Most “responders” progress to rubbing their cheeks and chin in the catnip source and act a little dizzy.

The intense responders will rub their bodies on the ground while rolling from side to side, purring, growling, and perhaps leaping into the air. Some cats get a little frisky and will smack a fellow housemate kitty on the head.

Reactions vary, although most cats experience both a relaxing and a stimulating effect. The complete response lasts for five to fifteen minutes, with a type of satiation developing so that a response cannot be evoked again for at least an hour or two.

Approximately 30% of adult cats show zero or minimal response to the plant, and nearly all kittens under 2 months of age show no reaction to catnip and often actively avoid it.

Animals that are fearful or under stress will have a decreased reaction to catnip. Males and females respond equally, although there’s some evidence that among susceptible cats, males respond a bit more strongly than females.

Whether a cat is a responder or not is based on heredity; a recessive gene is involved, so that two cats from the same litter may have different responses to the plant, like my Brandy (bored) and Gigi (thrilled).

It’s probably not a good idea to give it to a cat that goes outdoors, since the cat might not be able to care for itself while under its influence.

So what exactly is in this stuff? Catnip (Nepeta cataria) is a member of the mint family. In fact, it has also been referred to as “catmint”. It is related to common kitchen herbs like thyme and sage, and can be easily cultivated as a houseplant.

Years ago, in England, dried catnip leaves put in boiling water was a popular tea for humans – it was said to have a calming effect. When the plant is crushed and the oils are distilled, catnip extract is obtained. Studies have shown the active ingredient in the oil is nepetalactone. This chemical repels certain leaf-eating insects, providing protection for the plant. It is the smell of this oil that triggers the response in cats. Anesthetizing the nasal passages and obliterating the sense of smell in a cat will abolish the catnip reaction.

Interestingly, the plants that belong to the catnip family are indigenous only to the Old World, and yet, members of the feline family that respond to catnip are found in both the Old World and the New World.

So, if you think about the catnip response from an evolutionary standpoint, it seems clear that some species of cats have acquired the ability to display the catnip response even though the natural source of nepetalactone was not present to influence the evolution of this behavioral response. (Yet another fun fact that adds to the overall mystique of the feline).

Why catnip produces the response that it does is not fully understood, but there are several possible explanations. There is an unmistakable similarity between the catnip response and the rolling and squirming of female cats during courtship and just after copulation, leading some investigators to conclude that catnip may be acting like a hormone, activates a neural system in the brain related to female sexual behavior.

Another school of thought is that catnip produces a form of pleasurable behavior unrelated to sexuality, and that the rolling and rubbing is simply a manifestation of a pleasure response.

In 1972, Canadian researcher R.C. Hatch reported in the American Journal of Veterinary Research that the chemical structure of the active ingredient in catnip is very similar to that of LSD, leading to speculation that the bliss that cats seem to experience is similar to the reaction humans experience to these drugs.

In other words, if you’ll pardon my French, the cat is simply stoned out of its mind.

Cat owners are undoubtedly familiar with the myriad of catnip toys, sprays, and related paraphernalia available in pet shops and online, as these products are consistently popular with the cat loving public. Perhaps the most notable of the catnip items is Cosmic Catnip.

Good stuff, dude!

Approximately 25 years ago, Leon Seidman, a graduate student, went searching for the ultimate catnip for W.B., his cat. Avoiding the commercial products, Seidman went to drugstores where catnip was sometimes kept in jars and sold along with other pharmaceutical herbs. W.B. gave it a try. His response, (if cats could speak, mind you) was “whoa dude, this is killer weed”.

That summer, Seidman visited a friend in Virginia and found catnip growing wild on his friend’s farm. He grabbed a bunch of it and zoomed back home to Maryland where he began a small business selling what he called Cosmic Catnip, an especially potent variety.

Today, Seidman and his wife Pamela are president and vice president of Cosmic Pet Products, Inc. which packages and sells around 140,000 pounds of catnip a year in the United States, Canada, and Europe.

According to the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, a Washington-based trade group, no other company produces more of the stuff than Seidman. When the scent of my cats’ catnip toys begins to fade, rubbing a fresh batch over the surface of the toy freshens it up, and the fun begins anew.

Cat owners who worry about whether they may be indulging their cat too frequently should be told that, like anything special, it should be offered for a little while, then put away for a few days, so that it remains a special treat.

Catnip is safe and not addictive, however, because of the altered mental state that it induces in most cats, cat owners should be warned that they should avoid letting their cat drive the car or operate heavy machinery while under the influence.

Does that include computers?

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Two things......I didn’t know that cat lovers were called “ailurophiles” and I can vouch for the Cosmic Catnip. I had never heard the background on it though. This is the brand that I usually buy ....in the large container. It does seem to be the strongest smelling and it gets the attention of all of our cats, even the ones who are not crazy about catnip.

I still remember a time when all of the cats were in the yard. I got the catnip out and gave each one a little pile to roll in or eat, etc. Ellie just couldn’t get enough it seemed. Finally, she was stretched out on the walkway. Her eyes are big anyway, but they were solid green with just a slit of pupil. She looked like a gecko. I think she was as high as a kite that afternoon. I like it when our cats are happy.

More later.........

"If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans" ~ James Herriot

We’re trying to take Sheila out for a walk every day. We took her to the vet a couple of weeks ago for a blood test. Her weight was 66 pounds! She should weigh around 60 pounds.

She doesn’t seem to overeat, but it is hard to get her to go outside and run around the yard. She is a lazy dog. If we’d let her, she’s sleep all day like a cat.

But, Sheila is a very sweet dog. She's come a long way since we got her. We have to remember that we don't know what happened to her before we got her. It's taking patience, but it's paying off I think. We don't regret bringing her home with us.

Lexi

Lexi, our long haired calico, was sneezing and coughing and was really congested. We waited to see if it got better. She didn’t stop eating and seemed normal every other way. After a couple of weeks, when it wasn’t any better, we took her to the vet to have her checked out.

They did a full blood panel on her. Since her mom, Jezibel, and sister, Ellie, have asthma and are on Torbutaline, we thought that maybe Lexi might also have asthma. The doctor put her on antibiotics to see if the cold symptoms went away. If they didn’t, we would try the Torbutaline.

A couple of days after the blood work, we received a call from the doctor. It was discovered that Lexi has hyperthyroidism. She will have to go on medication for it. At her checkup, she had lost a pound. We had been aware that she was coming in to eat at every meal, whereas before, she usually just ate dry food. That’s usually one of the symptoms of hyperthyroidism. Lexi was eating more, but was not gaining weight. In fact, she had lost weight.

Years ago when Calvin had hyperthyroidism, we had him on the pill form of Tapazole. At the time, it was very hard to get the right dosage. I can’t remember what dosage we started him on, but every few weeks we had to take him in for a blood test to see if his thyroid levels were lower. It seemed like we could never get it right.

I think he was on medication for three or four years. He maintained his weight most of the time, but gradually started losing and never really could maintain again. He died quietly in his sleep Thanksgiving weekend of 2004. His heart just stopped. By that time he had gotten to the point where he wasn’t really eating much and he threw up a lot.

In hindsight, I think Grady may have also had hyperthyroidism. He was so ravenous at each meal and ate well, but never gained weight. He looked good, he seemed happy, but I always thought he was too thin. Of course, we didn’t get a blood panel done because he seemed healthy otherwise.

The last night I gave him dinner, he ate every bite and he curled up in his bed and died peacefully in his sleep. If he had hyperthyroidism, we didn’t know it. I’ve read since that any cat over 8 years of age should get full blood panels. This thyroid condition usually occurs in older cats. Grady was 9 years old when he died.

From the internet: Elevated thyroid hormone levels cause increased metabolism and the other common clinical signs of hyperthyroidism: weight loss, appetite changes, increased water consumption, vomiting, diarrhea, rapid heart rate, heart murmur, elevated blood pressure, increased vocalization, muscle weakness and poor haircoat, although not every cat experiences all of these symptoms. Hyperthyroidism tends to be a gradual onset disorder, with many cats losing weight slowly over several months or a few years.

If left untreated, the increased metabolism will eventually cause organ failure (heart, kidney, blindness due to retinal detachment) and premature death.

Lexi has lost weight, she’s eating more than before, and she’d drinking more water. Poor little thing. I can’t say she has poor haircoat now, at least from the thyroid condition. Back in April we took her to be groomed and agreed to have her fur shaved. We were a little shocked when we picked her up. She was completely shaved except for her legs, head and tail. She actually got a poodle cut I think. So, she looked pretty pitiful for a few months, but her long hair is coming back and she looks good now. Of course, we will never do that again to her.

The medication we will be giving to Lexi is Methimazole (Tapazole) in the gel form. We get it from a pharmacy in Arizona. It will be applied inside her ear, once a day for seven days. This is to see if she is going to have any side effects like loss of appetite, lethargy, vomiting, and a few others which are possible. If she doesn’t have any problem, we will apply the gel twice a day and then after six weeks, she will go in for a blood test to check her thyroid levels.

I’m hoping that we can get her regulated and she will be with us for as long as she can. She’s 11 years old now and will be 12 in March.

Jezibel and her kittens are our oldest cats now. She’s 12 and her “kittens” are 11. She was only 6 months old when she had the kittens. Besides Lexi, we have Mr. Creme and Ellie. Like older people, older cats and dogs have health problems too. We will always do the best that we can for them to keep them comfortable in their old age.

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Now for the latest on the mother cat and little kittens from the firewood pile:

Last Wednesday night, we moved them upstairs into a room so they would have more space and we’d be able to interact with them more.

First, we had to kitten-proof the daybed in the room. We didn’t want them to be able to get between the trundle bed and the top mattress, or behind the bed. It would be impossible to get them out. It has worked out fine. They love the cat tree and spend their time in it.

Princess

Princess, the mom, is starting to accept her new life, I think. She was very restless the first night that she was in the room. I was concerned that she would try to scratch at the screen in the window, so I just had the window cracked a couple of inches. Most of her time was spent on the cat tree, staring out the window. I can only imagine that she was yearning to be roaming the streets back in the old neighborhood with her kittens’ dad, Studdly (appropriately named by Greg).

When the cats were still in the 4x4x6 kennel in the garage, Karen came over to see them. It was very obvious that Princess recognized Karen when she came in. She also knew her voice. Princess acted as if she wanted to get out of the kennel and had not been doing that before. It was as if she wanted to go with Karen because she associated her with the backyard that she had been coming to when her kittens were in the woodpile and she was caring for them. It was just amazing to watch this little cat act like her “owner” was there to take her home.

After Karen left, she settled back down. She did not act like that again and did not try to get out of the kennel, like she had when Karen was standing outside of it.

Now, upstairs in the room, Princess is never at the door trying to escape. She’s very calm. When I go in, I always pick her up and hold her. She usually lets me hold her for a minute or two before she starts to want down. But, she has never scratched me or even put her claws out. I don’t try to hold her when she wants down.

Three little angel kittens

The kittens are all as sweet as they can be. They are getting used to me coming in and don’t run and hide. I feed them and Princess, canned food twice a day and of course they know that I’m bringing them something they want. I’m their fairy godmother.

Each night I have been bringing a kitten downstairs to sit on my lap while I watch TV. I have a little pink blanket that I wrap them in. After all, they are all girls.

I have been letting everyone know about these kittens. I’d love to find a good home for them. They are so small right now, but they are eating on their own and using the litter box. I think they are very smart.

We were downstairs last night watching TV and we could hear them playing upstairs. Charlie couldn’t believe that they could make that much noise. I assured him that they could. I kept going up and checking on them. Princess was playing too. When I go into the room, Princess acts like she’s “the adult”, but, I know she does play because I’ve seen her.

I play music for the cats in their room. It’s a CD that I bought a few years back and it’s very soothing to listen to. It’s called “Pet Music - Peaceful Playground”. I used to play it when I was in the yard with our cats. I was naive enough to think that it would settle them down. Of course, it didn’t work for them. They hated each other and were totally unaware of any soothing music that was playing. I always liked it though and I still do. I think it settled me down.

When I go into the room, it’s nice to see Princess curled up with one or two of her kittens and the soft music is playing. It might just be me, but I think music does have a soothing effect on her and her kittens.

More later..........

It is in the nature of cats to do a certain amount of unescorted roaming. ~Adlai Stevenson

Jonesie takes on some pretty heavy reading

My back has gotten so much better. I hope I had my last physical therapy session last week. I didn’t make appointments for next week. I took a walk this morning and so far, I’m not having any problems.

The rash I had is gone, the itching part at least. I can still see where the rash was. I went back to the dermatologist last Tuesday. She said the culture they took was negative, meaning that it was not a fungus. She thinks it’s something that came into contact with my skin, like deodorant or something I wore. I am supposed to use fragrance free deodorant and I have a prescription to put on my rash area which is going to make the discoloration from the rash go away. I’ll go back to see her in a month...or not. If the discoloration is still there, I’ll have to take a skin patch test, which I have never done before.

On Wednesday I went to the dentist for my sensitive teeth. He added a desensitization material to my teeth . He also adjusted my bite on the right side. I hope it helps.

Seems like I’ve been spending all of my time visiting doctors lately. When I had my annual checkup a couple of months ago, my doctor again asked me to get a shot to prevent Shingles. She had given me two or three prescriptions before and I never got the injection.

Well, with the problems I’ve been having, I figured I didn’t need Shingles on top of everything else. For those who don’t know, Shingles is a viral infection of the nerve roots. It causes pain and often causes a rash on one side of the body, the left or right. The rash appears in a band, a strip, or a small area. Shingles is most common in older adults and people who have weak immune systems because of stress, injury, certain medicines, or other reasons. Most people who get shingles will get better and will not get it again. My mother had Shingles and I remember how miserable she said it was. I saw the sores on her stomach when they were starting to heal.

Shingles occurs when the virus that causes chickenpox starts up again in your body. After you get better from chickenpox, the virus is dormant in your nerve roots. In some people, it stays dormant forever. In others, the virus "wakes up" when disease, stress, or aging weakens the immune system. It is not clear why this happens. But after the virus becomes active again, it can only cause shingles, not chickenpox.

You can't catch shingles from someone else who has shingles. But a person with a shingles rash can spread chickenpox to another person who hasn't had chickenpox and who hasn't gotten the chickenpox vaccine. I did have chickenpox when I was a kid, so my chances of getting shingles is there.

In 2006, the FDA approved a shingles vaccine called Zostavax. The shingles vaccine is now recommended for everyone age 50 and older. For this age group, the vaccine cuts the occurrence of shingles by about half. Even in those who are vaccinated and still develop shingles, the painful period is reduced. This is a great development because one out of five people who have had chickenpox will eventually get shingles.

I made an appointment to get the vaccine at Balboa Naval Hospital. Generally, I’ve never been afraid of shots. The last time I had a shot was in 2005. I had to have a tetanus shot because I had been bitten “accidentally” by a cat. So, I thought I’d have this shot and not feel anything.

I told Charlie that I was like Barney Fife when he had to get a shot one time. He felt the alcohol swab and sighed with relief because he thought it was over. (That wasn’t so bad!) But, then the needle went in and if you’ve ever seen Barney, you can imagine his face.

Well, that was kind of how this shot was. I felt the swab and knew what that was, then the tip of the needle, but then I didn’t really expect that strong burning sensation that followed. I heard the click of the syringe and knew he was done, but the burning continued. I asked how long it would burn and he said just a couple of minutes.

I walked out and it was a LONG walk to the elevators. Balboa is huge. I was on the ground floor walking back to the parking garage when the burning started to go away. Of course, it was fine and I hardly could tell where the shot was placed in my arm. I’ve never had bad reactions to vaccines.

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Mom with one of her three kittens

Last Thursday my friend Karen called and said that they had discovered a mother cat with three kittens in their yard. They were living in the firewood which had been stacked there about three weeks ago. Apparently the kittens were born there since they looked to be about three weeks old.

Karen and Greg were concerned that something would happen to the kittens. When they went out, the kittens ran back into the wood pile.

We decided that we would try to catch them and get the mother spayed when we could and find homes for the kittens. Of course, all of this was easier said than done. I took my cat trap over and we started working on our strategy.

There were two solid white kittens. Each had a gray dot over the left eye. Looking at them straight on, they looked the same. Then we noticed that one had a gray smudge on top of the head as well. The third kitten was a gray tabby.

At first we thought of setting the trap that night, but we weren’t sure if the mother was still nursing the kittens. We decided to wait and watch the next day to assess the situation. I went on home and would be back the next day.

On the way home, I thought of names for the kittens: Dot has one dot over the eye; Dash has one dot and a smudge; and Woody, the tabby, because of the wood pile...as good a reason as anything.

I went back over on Friday morning. I told Karen and Greg about the names I thought of and they agreed that we should call them Dot, Dash and Woody.

We went outside to see if we could figure out how to catch the kittens and the mother cat. We saw the mother. When we offered food, she was so hungry that she came over. While she was eating, she allowed me to pet her. That showed that she was not really as feral as we thought. Even after she finished eating, she stayed close by. Of course we were sitting near the wood pile where the kittens were.

Karen named the mom, "Princess”. I agreed. She was a Princess.

We set up our chairs nearby, but far enough away that we thought Princess might eventually feel relaxed enough to call her kittens out. But, she never did as long as we sat there.

The kittens would come out, but then when they saw us, they would run back into the wood. We knew we wouldn’t be able to catch them while they had a place to hide.

At the end of the day, I left and we still had made no progress, other than finding out that we could get Princess close to us with food.

I called Karen the next day. She said that she had fed Princess and Princess had allowed her to pick her up. But, when she tried to put her in the kennel, Princess struggled free and ran out of the yard. She didn’t come back for awhile.

Karen and Greg looked out the window that night and saw Princess lying with the kittens on the tarp, feeding them. So then we figured they were not completely weaned yet.

On Monday, I called and talked to Greg. Karen was at the store. While I was talking to him, he saw Princess go to the wood pile, carrying a mouse that she had caught for the kittens. She was definitely in the process of weaning as well as nursing.

Charlie and I went over that afternoon. We were going to try to coax Princess into a kennel if we could. While the four of us were in the yard, Princess came over to eat. We didn’t give all of the food to her, just enough to keep her there. At one point, I was petting her and I thought if I could get the scruff of her neck, I would be able to get her into the kennel. She didn’t have much of a scruff. I petted and massaged her neck until I had enough to hold onto. But, she was too quick and she got away. Plus, I really didn't know if she would scratch or bite.

This Princess left the yard. We figured we wouldn’t see her for awhile. So, we did the only thing we could think of. We went inside and had a glass of wine! We sat in the dining room by the window so we could watch to see if she came back. We had to drink a couple of glasses of wine and still Princess didn’t come back.

Charlie and I went home. Karen set the cat trap that night. She put a towel on the bottom so Princess wouldn’t see the spring. They had watched her one morning when she went into the trap, stopped just short of the spring and leaned over and ate the food. She was very smart.

Tuesday morning Karen called and said that Princess was in the trap! She brought her over and we settled her in the 4x4x6 kennel. She did very well. We were able to pet her, pick her up and hold her on our lap. She was still nursing the kittens though and was very uncomfortable. She still had lots of milk and she really wanted to feed the kittens. We knew we just had to get them out of that woodpile. Plus we were expecting some heavy rain and it was going to get colder.

We went back over on Wednesday morning with Princess in the kennel. We were hoping that she would “call” the kittens over. Karen set a dish of food in front of the kennel.

It took a few minutes, but sure enough, Princess laid on her side and chirped at the kittens. We could hear them calling back, but they wouldn’t come out at first. We took up positions near the woodpile, with Princess in her kennel just behind. That way, when the kittens came out, they would have to get away from the woodpile.

I had to leave to go to the dentist. Right after I left, Dot and Woody came out and started eating. Karen and Charlie just picked them up and put them with their mom in the kennel.

Then the third one, Dash, came out and he was feisty, but Charlie got him too.

I was disappointed that I had to leave and just missed the “capture”, but I’m glad we got them.

Princess with Dot and Dash
Woody is to the left

Princess with Dot, Dash and Woody

Princess, enjoying her babies....I think....

Mother and Baby

We have them all together in the 4x4x6 kennel. The kittens are not quite weaned, but they are using the litter box already. Princess is definitely not a stay at home type of mom. I’m sure she would rather have her life back of feeding the kittens, leaving them in the wood pile and running around with the presumed kitten’s dad. He is solid white and Greg calls him “Studdly”.

Princess has an appointment on November 14 to be spayed. She has to wean the kittens and her milk has to dry before that is done. The kittens are already showing interest in cat food, but I will have to separate them from Princess, because she likes to eat all of the food herself right now.

Karen is not sure whether she will be keeping Princess. They have a cat already and are not sure the two will get along. But, Princess will make someone a nice pet. She belonged to a neighbor who moved away and left her.

As far as the kittens go, we will be working hard to find good homes for them. If anyone is interested........?



A little action

Oh, and as far as “Studdly” goes? Well the plan is to trap him, have him neutered and release him. He’s just been having too much fun.

More later............

There are four questions of value in life…

… What is sacred? Of what is the spirit made? What is worth living for, and what is worth dying for? The answer to each is the same. Only love.
--Unknown

Me and Taz

Taz
focused on something

Well I guess there’s just no way that I wouldn’t write about Taz on this day, one year since he left us.

There has not been a day that has gone by that I have not thought of him. I miss him terribly. To people who don’t know what that feels like, I really don’t want you to know. For me, I think it has made me sick. I think part of my health problems that I’ve had for the past year, have been because I have been so heartsick and hurt over losing this little cat, Taz, who I loved and needed so much. I just couldn’t get past it. It is hard to explain and I’m not really going to try. I will say that Taz was unlike any cat or pet that I have ever had in my whole life.

He was mine. He was completely mine. I don’t know when it happened, but I think we knew he was special from the moment we got him from the animal shelter in December 1998. He was only about 6 weeks old.

Taz came home with us and from the minute we got him home, he was known as “The Baby”. Not “Baby”, but “THE” baby. We knew that one day he would be the one who was going to help us get through the sorrow of losing our two older cats, Rowdy and Calvin. Of course, they were only about 10 years old when we brought Taz home.

Rowdy and Calvin

I honestly thought that I would have Taz for a long time. Rowdy and Calvin lived to be 14 and 16, respectively.

Taz was never sick. He was always a healthy cat. When he was a kitten, he was very small, all ears. We fed him kitten chow. We took him to the vet when he was about 18 months old. The vet weighed him. She asked if we still had him on kitten food and we said yes. She said, “Take him off. He’s huge.” We put him on regular adult food then.

Taz and Grady

We used to buy kitten food for him and he just loved it. We never thought anything about it until the vet said he was getting too big. He wasn’t fat, he was just very lean and long and heavy.

The only problem Taz ever had was with his teeth. We took him in for an exam and the vet found that some of his teeth were missing. I told them that we’d never had his teeth cleaned or pulled. Either they never came in or they fell out. It was characteristic of the Abyssinian cats and we think that Taz was part Abyssinian. He had the almond eyes and the tawny undercoat, not to mention that distinctive sound when he meowed.

Anyway, it was quite a shock that in July 2010, we took Taz to the vet because he had been losing weight. Our vet took an X-ray and noticed something that she thought required an Ultra Sound follow up.

Sure enough, they detected a tumor in his intestines. After a biopsy, they diagnosed lymphoma.

We were devastated when we heard the news. We immediately contacted our Veterinary Specialist Hospital, the same ones who had treated Chelsi and her cancerous tumors back in 2007.

They examined Taz and since he was still in pretty good shape, had not lost a lot of weight, they had an optimistic outlook for him. We started Taz on chemo and really didn’t know what to expect.

He took it fairly well, although at first he hid under the bed a lot. He wasn’t sick to his stomach like I expected, but then they told us that cats are different on chemo.

He had a protocol that I wrote on the calendar. I think it was every couple of weeks we’d have to take him in for the procedure. I’m doing this from memory now.

We were so hopeful that he would get through the protocol and go into remission. We’ve always been so blessed. I had no reason to think that Taz would not survive this. Really, I thought he would.

When we discovered his blockage and that he had to have surgery, we thought, maybe this will get it and we’ll have Taz back. But, he was only in “surgical remission” for a short time. When the cancer cells came back, they came back with a vengeance we had not seen before.

We knew that we were losing the fight when they took him off the original chemo protocol he was on. That was the most aggressive one. If it wasn’t going to work for him, the rescue one probably wouldn’t either.

Now that I know more about this thing, I would have fought harder for Taz. I would have kept him on the rescue drug longer, just to see if it would have helped him.

He was so strong, right to the end. He still had so much strength in his body. It was unbelievable. I can still feel his muscles when I held him that last day, October 7, 2010. We were at the hospital. The vet was going to examine him.

I feel so lucky that I had Taz in my life. He was one of those little souls that come into your life and they are there for awhile sometimes before you realize what they mean to you.

I’m not sure just when Taz and I bonded the way we did. We think it’s when he was about 4 months old. I had foot surgery and had to stay close to the couch for about a week. He was with me the whole time.

Taz
about 6 weeks old

Since he was “The Baby”, he just took over our life. He was my cat, but at night when we were watching TV, he could walk across Charlie, just to say hello, and then come over to me. He loved both of us, but I knew he was mine.

I’ve never felt so loved, adored and owned by a cat, than I felt with Taz. I miss him with every beat of my heart, every day.

Me and "The Baby"

I want to keep him close to me, but I also know that for the past year, I have been so obsessed with his memory. I thought it was strange and unusual, but when I read my lymphoma-loss website, I know that I’m not alone. Others have cats who mean the world to them too.

I was dreading the one year anniversary of Taz’s death. It’s like it’s been one full year now. That seems like such a long time.

I’ve survived that year and it really hasn’t been easy. My life really did change when Taz first got sick and then when he died. I really never could imagine him dying. I don’t know why, but I thought he’d just live such a long time. If he got sick, it would be from thyroid or something like that. He would just get weaker and die in my arms one night. I never thought he’d have cancer, go through chemo, surgery, and then die after only about 3 months.

And I think sometimes that we should have brought him home that afternoon, October 7, 2010, instead of letting him go and taking him to the Pet Memorial Park for cremation.

What if we had brought him home with us? Let him sleep in the cat tree in the afternoon sun, where he liked to sleep? How long would we have had him? When would he start having trouble breathing, like I’ve read that so many of them do? I couldn’t bear that either. Even though, in my heart of hearts, I know we did the best thing for him and for us, I still can’t stop saying to myself, what if? I don’t think that will ever go away for me.

So, this day marks a year which has gone by and it has not been an easy one for me. It’s one I will not forget and I don’t say that with a smile. Because I know I can make myself sick by thoughts I have, I work on getting past this. To a lot of people, it may be silly, but Taz, yes, he was a cat, was an incredible little guy who was with me all of the time. He was amazing. He watched over me. He gave me attention. Charlie understands our relationship. He knows what I went through when Taz died and it has not been easy for him either. I know he loved Taz too.

Sleep tight, Taz. I will always remember you. I will always think of you. Looking at your pictures comfort me, although sometimes they make me miss you. That will not ever change though. I love you. I know you are somewhere watching me, just as you always did. We will have other babies, but you’re always going to be “The Baby”.

Taz, The Baby
about 6 weeks old

More later.........

GERRY (Jack Lemmon): We can't get married at all…I'm a man.

OSGOOD (Joe E. Brown): Well, nobody's perfect.
Some Like It Hot



We went to see The Lion King in 3D on Sunday afternoon. We’d seen it awhile back when it first came out. It’s really a good animated movie. One of Disney’s best I think. I can't get through it without crying though.

The theatre wasn’t really full. There were some kids of course, but not enough to be noisy like some theatres can be.

They gave us 3D glasses when we bought the tickets. They look like Clark Kent glasses, but they are much better than the cheap ones they used to hand out. These were in plastic bags and we were allowed to keep them. Of course, The Lion King 3D comes out on DVD on the 4th of this month, so I'm sure that is why we were allowed to keep the glasses.

I was looking around and started remembering when my dad used to take us to the movies when we were little. I'm sure he really wanted to go and enjoy the movie alone and not have to take little kids with him. He would get ready to leave and we started begging to go with him. We had no idea what movie he was going to, definitely it wasn't a kid movie, but we still just wanted to go.

He'd say one of us could go and then since we'd all be standing around hoping to be picked to to, he'd say, "Well, get him/her ready and he/she can go too." He'd wind up taking two or three of us with him.

I don’t remember going to any cartoon movies. If Pop was going to the movies, he was going to see something he’d been wanting to see. He wasn’t taking us to see some cartoon for kids and he, for sure, wasn't about to sit in a theatre full of screaming kids. He could hardly stand his own screaming kids at home!

One time I was along when we went to see a western movie. I only remember bits and pieces of it. I still don’t know what the name of it was or who starred in it. I just remember a cowboy was trying to put out a fire on a ranch or something.

Then there was a movie where a guy was trapped in the cargo hold of a boat and it was sinking. I think the guy who was trapped was played by Jack Lemon. Anyway, the boat was being abandoned. People would come down and talk to the guy and say their goodbyes. They gave him some whiskey and he said he might as well drink it, he couldn’t go anywhere. I think I finally found out years later that the name of that movie was “Fire Down Below”. And by the way, not to spoil the ending for anyone, but the cargo shifted and Jack Lemon’s legs came loose and he escaped.

The final scene was of him limping into a bar where his girlfriend interest (Rita Hayworth) and partner/friend (Robert Mitchum) were and then the looks on their faces when they saw him. I guess more was going on, but it was way over my head at the time and probably still is. I've looked the movie up on the internet and could probably watch it now and understand it.


Those are the only two movies I even remember seeing. They were not for kids and I used to fall asleep. It was pretty boring. But, every time Pop was going to the movies, I always stood in line to see if I got picked to go. I’m not sure why I wanted to put myself through that every time. I don't even remember if we got a soda or candy or popcorn!

Later on, he didn’t go to movies much and I can’t remember my parents going to a movie together. I know when we were younger, Mom stayed home with my two younger brothers. When Pop took two or three of us with him, it probably gave her some time without a houseful of kids.

When we got older, my mother would take us to the local drive-in theatre every Saturday night. Pop never came along. He definitely would not have been trapped in a car full of kids at a drive-in.

The drive-in was called the Midway Drive-in. On Saturday nights a car full of people could get in for $1. And everyone got a Lucky ticket.

Lucky was a game which was like bingo. At intermission they would call the lucky numbers and you punched out the ones you had. If you had 5 numbers in a row, across, up and down, or diagonally, you won. You’d go up to the concession stand for your prize. Someone in our car won $25 one night. There were other prizes too. I can’t remember how many games were played.

One thing I always hated about theatres then was that someone taller would always sit in front of me and I’d be moving from side to side trying to see the movie. How nice it would have been to have had the stadium seating that theatres have now! I might not have slept through those movies that Pop took us to and I might have known just how Jack Lemon got trapped in a cargo hold with a bunch of bottles of booze in the first place.

More later........

Cats love to sleep softly--Theocritus

My back is feeling much better. I took some time off from walking and I think that combined with the physical therapy, it has helped.

Last week when I was with Mike, my physical therapist, I was starting to feel better. He agreed that not walking for a few days seemed to help. He evaluated my strength on both sides and determined that my right side was weaker than my left side. The pain is on my left side. Somehow I am shifting everything to my left side and overworking that side.

He showed me exercises to do that would strengthen the right side, as well as work the left side. I will go back to see him tomorrow and see how I feel when he starts twisting me into a pretzel.

I decided to not see my doctor right now since my problem might be getting better. We’ll see.

It’s been almost two weeks since I went to the dermatologist about the rash under my arms. I’ve been using the cream and powder and the rash is almost gone. It doesn’t itch anymore. I will see the dermatologist on Tuesday to see if she got any results from the skin she scraped.

I also went to the dentist about my sensitive teeth. The X-rays didn’t show anything wrong with my root canal, but he thinks that I may have a reaction to medal in one of my crowns. He couldn’t find an infection.

I am seeing him again on Wednesday. He is going to do some bonding and buildup near the gumline of a couple of teeth which showed abrasion from brushing. I’ve had that done before. The enamel wears away and exposes the root and when something cold hits....OUCH. He’s also going to adjust my bite on the right side.

****************************************************************************

Miss Willie

We have had a little house guest for a couple of weeks now. Her name is “Willie”. She has been with us before. She is a little cat who belongs to the sister of someone I know from work. We actually met her last year.

Last year, Willie’s mom was going to be out of town for a few weeks and couldn’t find anyone to take care of Willie. Charlie and I volunteered to have Willie come and stay with us. She came just after Thanksgiving and stayed until the middle of January.

In that time, Willie got to know our house, our cats and our dog. She was following me around the house, watched me while I sorted laundry, sat on my lap at night when I watched TV, and was just always nearby. I think she was beginning to think that she was here to stay. It would have been fine, but of course, her mom wanted her back.

In January she was reunited with her family, but we stayed in touch. We made it clear that Willie was always welcome to come here and stay anytime.

So we were happy when I received a call from Willie’s mom, asking if we could put Willie up for about three weeks while they were out of town. We said fine.

Willie hasn’t changed one bit. She is still the calm little cat she was last year. It hasn’t yet been two weeks since she came. We are keeping her in “her” room for the most part. Our cats camped outside her door for the first day or so. Sometimes when the door was opened they ran in to investigate and see who was in that room. There was the usual hissing, but no one really came to blows. The intruders were ushered out and Willie was left alone.

Last night when I went to check on Willie, she was at the door, obviously beginning to get “cabin fever”. I usually pick her up and carry her around the house for a few minutes until she gets tired of it and wants down. This time, since most of our cats were hanging out in the garage, like they like to do, I left Willie’s door open. Pretty soon she was downstairs snooping around the family room.

Soon she settled down and dozed nearby. All was well until Rhody decided to see if she was interested in playing or just in spending some time with him. That was it. She hissed at Rhody. We didn’t want it to escalate so Willie was back in her room in no time.

Of course, Rhody was not trying to fight with her at all. We’ve never seen him get agitated or angry. He’s young, about six months old now, and he just thinks everyone should just love him. He’s all peace and harmony.

But, he has no qualms about leaping right in the middle of a sleeping cat in hopes of getting a good wrestling match going. Nothing like being awakened in the middle of the night by two cats wrestling at your feet. Jonesie used to do that to the twins and now Rhody does it to Jonesie. Turn about is fair play.

Willie goes home on the 12th, but I’m sure we’ll be seeing her again.

More later.........