KITTENS ARE ALWAYS THANKFUL FOR ATTENTION, FOOD, AND A WARM PLACE TO SLEEP–AND WE’RE ALWAYS THANKFUL WHEN THEY’RE CONTENTED, FULL, AND QUIETLY SNOOZING!

Time to be thankful and eat!

We had a very nice Thanksgiving Day.  Our friends, Bob and Patti, were going to come and visit for a couple of days, but Patti was sick and they had to cancel.  It was becoming a tradition for them to spend Thanksgiving here with us.  We do see them several times during the year though.  They only live two hours away.

The day was warm and the cats were outside mostly.  We sat down to eat at 2:00 p.m. and then afterward we went out to sit on the patio.  It was nice to just sit and talk and listen to music.  The cats and Sheila kept us company.  Sheila lay behind the glider and the cats strolled or ran by.  It was just a quiet, laid back day.  Nice to have a day off!

Sunset

 When it started getting cooler, we got blankets to put around us just to keep the chill off.  Time went by and suddenly it was getting darker.  We had to round up the cats and bring them in.  Jonesie is the last one to come in because he likes to make a game out of running back and forth, making us chase and catch him.  But, once all were inside and accounted for, they were fed and after a long day, ready for their naps.

Lexi

I have ordered the antihistamine for Lexi and it should be delivered this week.  It will be interesting to see if it helps her congestion.  I hope it works for her.

Mr. Creme will be going to the vet this week to get a fructosamine test to see how he’s doing.  He may be gaining a little weight too, which is fine.  He had lost some and the doctor said it would be good if he could gain it back.  He’s never been overweight, but at one time he was a fair sized cat at 15 or 16 pounds.  He was 13 pounds at his last vet visit.  We have always had big cats.  Jonesie is our smallest male, only weighing about 10 pounds.

Jonesie

Mr. Creme and Debby

We've been leaving the garage door to the backyard open so that Mr. Creme can have access to the yard and also the other cats can come into the garage to use a litter box or get something to snack during the day.  Because we are afraid to let Debby outside, she stays in her 4x4 kennel during the day.  We open the kennel door at night so she and Mr. Creme can snuggle if they want to.

Dash

Kodi

Our fraternal twins, (the frat girls) Dash and Kodi are fully grown now.  They were a year old last September.  We thought Kodi was going to be a very small cat, but she has sprouted up and is filling out.  Dash has always been the bigger of the two.  They are still skittish, even though we’ve had them since they were six weeks old.  They were taught by their mom, Kiki, to stay hidden in the woodpile and I don’t think they’ll ever really be unafraid.  But, they are nice cats.  If they are settled in the cat tree or on the bed, etc., they will allow us to pet them.  Kodi even comes up to our laps for attention.  I don’t think Dash will ever do that though.  She would be so nice to hold.  She has the thickest, soft fur and she’s pure white.

Kiki

Their mom, Kiki, gets full house privileges during the day.  We do put her in her 4x4 kennel at night though.  It saves us from dealing with problems overnight.  We have found that on the times we left Kiki out in the house overnight, one of the other cats, probably Rhody, stalks her and if she’s on the cat tree or couch, she is afraid to come down.  It just keeps peace in the family to separate them at night.  Rhody is not a mean cat, but he has this way of following Kiki and then just staring at her.  It makes her nervous.  If she would meet him and touch noses, everything would be fine.  He is just curious about her and she won’t let him get close enough to meet her. 

Jason and Kaci

Our twins, Jason and Kaci, and Jonesie are our two most well-behaved cats.  The twins are five years old now and Jonesie is two years old.  We wouldn’t take anything for them.  Even when they were just kittens, (we got them when they were about five months old, Jones was three months) they played and tore through the house, but they never broke anything or chewed on things.

Rhody

The other day I noticed that the dining room table pad had been chewed on a couple of edges!  Who does that?  We think it was Rhody.  He hangs around with the frat girls and the three of them are so destructive.  We have never had cats that broke so many things, got into everything, and now, chews on things.  I keep a supply of glue to mend whatever I can save.

Two casualties of my destructive trio--in my intensive care glue repair shop (tape comes off soon!)

Miss Ellie with her mom

With the cooler nights, Ellie’s asthma has been bothering her more.  She sleeps in a bed under the cat tree in my computer room.  Sometimes when she wants to be held, I wrap her in a blanket and hold her on my lap while I’m working on the computer.  She naps a little and then wants to get down and go back to her bed.  I worry about her because she is getting so small.  She weighs about 8 pounds now and although she looks tiny, she doesn’t feel boney.  She’s always been small, but in her prime she was filled out and pretty solid.  She weighed 10 or 11 pounds then. 

Jezibel

Jezibel also has asthmatic wheezing.  The meds we give her and Ellie work well and we only give as needed.  Jezibel, our oldest, will be 14 years old next July, but except for the asthma, she doesn’t seem to have any other health problems at the moment.  Her weight is up and she looks good.  We’re happy about that because her three “kittens”, Lexi, Mr. Creme and Ellie, all have their own medical problems.  They will be 13 years old in March.  Hard to believe.

Sheila gets her hair combed by her dad

Our dog, Sheila, is hanging in there.  She enjoys the cats and when they run around the house playing, she wants to join in like she is one of them.  They like her well enough, but they don’t appreciate her attempts to be part of their games.  She doesn’t get the hint though.

We took her for a walk the other day.  There was hardly anyone around and still she tried to go off the side of the trail and under the bushes.  She is just so afraid of being away from home.  That is the only place where she feels safe and comfortable.  We were hoping that by taking her out and exposing her to strangers, she would somehow feel more confidence in herself.  She also could use the exercise.  I believe in the saying that “if your dog is overweight, you’re not walking her enough”!  The vet has said that Sheila could lose a pound or two.  We don’t have her on a diet, but I think she does need more exercise. 

She’s not like most dogs who like to play ball.  It’s boring to her.  She will run a couple of times and bring the ball back, but then it’s obviously not something she really wants to do.  I think the border collie in her is telling us that she needs more challenges because she’s smarter than to fetch a stupid ball. ( Joke: “How many dogs does it take to change a light bulb?  Border Collie: Just one. And he'll rewire the house while he's at it.”)  I guess just herding cats is not enough to keep her busy.

More later....

TazzyD.... _^..^_

Tazzy D and me

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. - William Arthur Ward

I’m still seeing the chiropractor once a month and having acupuncture at least once a week.  I do notice an improvement though.  I’m walking every day now and have added some running.  The routine is to walk for about five minutes, run for five, walk, run for five, walk, etc.  I have worked my way up to running a total of 30 minutes.  I don’t know how long it will be before I can run that 30 minutes non-stop like I used to do, but I am hoping that I’ll be able to do that sometime soon.  Even if it never happens, I am so much better than I was a year ago.

Mr. Creme’s last fructosamine test showed high again.  It was 630 and his blood glucose was 333.  We increased his insulin from 2 to 3 units in the mornings and remained at 2 units at night, for a total of 5 units per day.  He still eats well and I think he is maintaining his weight well.  He’ll go back for another test in a week or so. 

Lexi still has the congestion.  We talked to the doctor about it and because of Lexi’s hyperthyroidism, we are limited as to what meds we can give her because it may cause high blood pressure.  But, the doctor suggested we try Chlorpheniramine.  It is an antihistamine.  I plan on ordering a bottle when I order my next supply of Advantage for the cats.  That way I will get free shipping because a bottle of Chlorpheniramine is only $6.99.  In the meantime, Lexi is still eating and acting normal.  I think her congestion bothers me more than her.  I’m still using the vaporizer for now.

A couple of weeks ago we noticed that Rhody was squinting in his left eye.  It was tearing up.  We kept an eye on it (no pun intended) and when it didn’t seem to get any better we took him to have it checked by the vet.  She said there were two abrasions on his eye.  We have no idea how he got them.  But, she sent eye drops home with us to put in his eye three times a day for a week.  Charlie took him back to the vet to have his eye rechecked and it is fine now. 

We have decreased our TV watching time.  I used to turn the TV on as soon as I woke up in the morning and watched the news.  Now I get my news during the day, by newspaper and radio.  I find other things to do besides watching TV.  It’s amazing how quiet the house can be.  Of course, I still record my favorite soap opera, “Young and Restless” and we watch that in the evening.  It’s nice to have an escape from the real world.

I also never thought I could enjoy coffee or tea without adding sugar, but I have stopped using sugar.  I am having hot tea in the mornings instead of coffee, and enjoying it.  When I was visiting my friend, Patti, in Palm Springs last week, I did have a cup of black coffee and was surprised that I actually liked it.  Miracles do happen.

The cats are still enjoying their outdoor freedom.  We don’t let them out if we are not at home, but if we are home, they are allowed to spend the whole day in the yard if they want to.  We go outside periodically to count heads and make sure everyone is doing okay, but it’s so nice that they are staying in our backyard.

When we bring them in at dusk, they have their dinner and then while we are having our dinner, they are nowhere to be seen.  I’ve always thought that our cats were happier to be outside, but we have always been careful to not let them just roam.     

We’re happy and relieved that Jezibel doesn’t go into the front yard anymore.  We were lucky that for all of those years she was allowed to roam, nothing happened to her. 

Of course, there was the time three years ago that she was attacked by two dogs who had gotten out of their yard from the street up the hill behind us.  They chased her from our yard into the neighbor’s yard.  If our neighbors had not been in their open garage and come out with a broom to chase the dogs off, Jezibel may have been killed. 

We rushed her to the emergency vet.  She was bitten and in quite a bit of pain, but thank goodness nothing was broken and she didn’t have to have surgery, just some stitches.  It could have been much worse. 

Jonesie has become quite the little sweet cat.  He allows me to pick him up and hold him and he likes for me to talk to him.  When I’m sitting, sometimes he comes up to my lap.  I’ve been hoping that he would spend more time with me, but he is still a little standoffish.  I will keep working on him.  We don’t really have any lap cats.  Jason will come and sit with me for a little while sometimes. 

I still miss Taz very much.  It’s been two years and I miss the attention that Taz gave me.  He was always nearby or sitting next to me.  He was really special to me.

Happy Thanksgiving!  Enjoy your day and remember that we do have a lot to be thankful for.
 
More later....
TazzyD.... _^..^_

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also--Matthew 6:21

Have you voted?  Mom and Dad voted today!

The cats are going outside every day now.  We go out and count heads every hour or so, just to make sure they have not found a way to escape.  So far the lattice extension on the fence is working.   Usually around 6:00 p.m. we go out to catch them and bring them into the house.  Even after being outside for several hours, Jonesie is hard to catch.  He doesn’t want to come back inside.  But, we have learned not to leave any of them out after dark.  We might never catch them.

I put this out for me to lie down on, but looks like Kaci, Jason and Lexi had other ideas

Dash, in the window, would like to be outside with Kaci, but we can't catch her in the house, much less outside!

We will go off of Daylight Savings Time next weekend, the 4th of November.  That means that the cats’ outside time will be cut down an hour to 5:00 p.m.  I can’t believe this year is almost over.

Jonesie and Mr. Creme

It’s time for Mr. Creme’s fructosamine test again.  Charlie is taking him to the vet tomorrow.  It’s been about three weeks since his last one.  We did a blood glucose test on him the other day and it was 504.  Still high, but coming down.  The vet wants us to only do a test once a week.  She’s afraid we will start adjusting MC’s insulin dosage I think.  We would never do that though.  She told us that some people check the BG and if it’s high they increase the insulin, etc.  That’s a dangerous thing to do.  He still gets 2 units in the morning and 2 units at night.  He’s eating well and he looks good.  I also increased his B12 pills from 1 a day to 1-1/2 a day.  There’s no danger of over dosing on B12.  I noticed that his back legs seemed to be more wobbly, but with the extra ½ pill, they are better.

The vaporizer for Lexi works well.  The pre-moistened wicks are kind of expensive and there are only about 6 in a box.  We bought a bottle of the liquid which is used in water vaporizers.  I soak the wicks in it because it is the camphor based solution used in the pre-moistened ones I was buying.  It works just as well.  At least Lexi breathes better.

Her diarrhea seems to be cleared up (knock on wood) over the past week or so.  I hope it doesn’t come back.  With all the tests she went through, we still don’t know for sure what caused it for such a long period of time.  The vet is convinced it’s food allergies, but we tried changing her food for a couple of months and nothing changed.  I have her back on her original food and I think that may be helping.  We’ll see.

Willie, our boarder cat, will be going home next week I think.  I received an email tonight from her parents.  They are on their way home from West Virginia, leaving before the storm hit back there.  They started driving and didn’t stop until they were out of range of the storm.  After driving for 24 hours, they made it to a hotel in Arkansas for the night.  They are pulling a packed trailer so I’m sure they are not going really fast. 

Willie has been here since May and I know she will be happy to see them.  We manage to give her attention, but it’s nowhere near what she gets as being the only child at home.  She’s a really sweet cat, but she really doesn’t get along with our cats, so we keep her in her own room most of the time.  Sometimes when our cats are all outside, I will open her door and she comes downstairs for awhile.  It works out fine, but of course, when our cats come back inside, she has to go back to her room. 

A couple of years ago we decided to replace the carpet in our family room with laminate wood flooring.  We liked the way it turned out.  That left only two rooms downstairs with carpet, the front living room and the master bedroom.  Last week we had those two rooms done in wood flooring too.  It looks really nice. 

The floor guys were here for a couple of days, so we had to shift our cats around.  We didn’t want any of them hiding somewhere and not being able to get to the litter boxes, so we put Dash, Kodi and Rhody in Charlie’s computer room.  They were fine because they just slept all day as usual.  We just knew where they were.  None were allowed to go outside during those two days except for Lexi.  We never have problems with her being outside.

It was funny, at the end of the second day, after the guys left, we opened the door to let the cats out.  They scrambled downstairs and when they saw the floors, it startled them.  They all scattered in different directions, sliding, as they ran.  Cats are so paranoid.  But, no one was hurt and they quickly settled down.  They just notice every little change.  Of course, this was a big change I guess.

Rhody and Jonesie, the cautious one.

If there is so much as a sock on the floor that wasn’t there the last time the cats were there, they will stop and watch it and paw at it.  If it moved suddenly, they would jump out of their skin.  Jonesie is the funniest one to see when he reacts to something new.  It takes him a little longer to decide that whatever it is, it needs to be slapped at a few times to make sure it’s safe.

More later....
TazzyD.... _^..^_

If a flea had money, it would buy its own dog....... Jamaican Proverb

or cat!

Last week we had Terminex come and treat the inside of our house for fleas.  We had to get the cats out.  Since the yard was not being treated, we kenneled Kiki, Dash and Kodi and put them on the back patio.  The others were allowed to be loose in the yard.  We couldn’t get Debby in a kennel, so we had to leave her in the garage and not have the garage treated.  We had to stay out of the house for four hours.

When we were allowed back inside, Charlie vacuumed the floors.  We were told to vacuum two or three times a day for a few days and empty the cannister into a trash bag, seal it up and put it in the dumpster.  I hope it takes care of our problem.

The night before we had the house done, I gave the cats Capstar, which would kill all of the adult fleas on them.  It was supposed to be effective for 24 hours.  While we had them all outside, we applied Advantage II, the topical, for continued protection. 

I feel like we are doing everything we can do to get this problem under control.  It does seem to be better now.  We checked the cats and haven’t found any fleas on them so far.  The weather is turning cooler and that is helping too.

Kiki had bumps on her body.  The vet said it was from an allergic reaction to flea saliva.  We decided one night to give her a bath.  She didn’t like it much, but she tolerated it better than we thought she would.  The bumps were still there, but she seemed to feel much better.  After the Capstar and Advantage treatments last week, the bumps have all but disappeared from her body. 

Ellie’s flea problem was really bad too.  Charlie combed her and we were amazed at the number of fleas she had.  Poor little thing.  She was being eaten alive.  We also gave her a bath.  She didn’t like it any more than Kiki did, but it helped to soothe her. 

When she dried, we combed her again and found a few fleas, but an improvement.  Later, she settled in the cat tree in the family room and went sound asleep.  When it was time for bed, Charlie took her up to her room for the night.  This was before Terminex came, so I had treated the floor for fleas and Charlie said it seemed to be clear.

When I went up to feed her the next morning, instead of being at the door waiting, she was still asleep.  She looked up and yawned as if to say, “Morning already?”  It was good to see her getting her rest.

Sheila was groomed the other day and she received her monthly dose of Comfortis.  I ordered Capstar for her too, just in case.  Charlie has checked her several times and she has no fleas.

We had some trees trimmed in our yard a couple of weeks ago.  It may have been better to wait until the weather cooled a little more.  I miss the shade in the back of the house that the two trees provided.  It made a difference when we were having the 90 degree temps.

Charlie has finished putting up the lattice on the fence and it is working very well.  None of the cats have escaped the yard. 

Jonesie, however, is our little hunter.  He thinks it’s his job to catch birds.  I have been taking the bird feeders down and covering the bird bath when he’s in the yard.  The birds will hopefully stay away.

Mr. Creme went to the vet for his fructosamine test yesterday.  The vet called today and said that his blood glucose was still too high.  We were told to increase the insulin from three units a day to four units a day.  He gets two units in the morning and two at night.  I hope he stabilizes on this.

The B12 pills still seem to be working and keeping his legs strong.  He eats well, but does drink quite a bit of water. 

Lexi is still congested, but eats well and enjoys spending her days in the yard.  We bought a plug in vaporizer for her sleeping area.  When I feed her in the mornings, her congestion sounds better, but when I bring her in for the night, she is congested.  I don’t think that keeping her inside would make a difference and she would not permit it anyway.  She likes being outside and that’s it. 

She still has diarrhea and no matter what food I’ve changed her to, it doesn’t help.  We’ve had blood work done, Xrays done, given her antibiotics, probiotics, and nothing has helped.  I’ve taken her off of wet food and fed only dry food and still nothing changes.  But, she doesn’t act sick at all.

Yesterday was shot day for Jonesie.  We thought he only needed two vaccinations, but he actually needed three.  He just turned two years old and the rabies shot he had last year was only good for a year.  I thought that having three shots would slow him down, but it didn’t faze him a bit.

I took a friend to the airport the other day.  On the way back, I saw two cars go through a left turn light, which had turned yellow and then red.  There is a traffic camera there and at least one of those two people driving those cars are definitely going to receive a citation in the mail.  I know, because a couple of years ago, I was cited there. 

I had picked up Charlie at the airport one night and we were approaching that turn.  I followed a car right through the light.  Charlie said, “You just ran that light.”  There was a bright flash, which almost blinded me.  I said, “I just got my picture taken.”  We didn’t really know if it was really enforced or not. 

Not long afterwards, I received a citation which included a picture of me behind the wheel.  I had joked with Charlie that I would say it was him driving the car.  Well, I couldn’t do that because it was obviously me.  A bad picture of me, but me.  That turned out to be a very expensive drive from the airport. 

More later....
TazzyD.... _^..^_

If we treated everyone we meet with the same affection we bestow upon our favorite cat, they, too, would purr.-- Martin Buxbaum

Our lattice work in our yard is almost complete.  It seems to be working.  We let the cats out in the afternoon and they are staying in the yard.

The flea problem still hasn’t gone away.  We are using Frontline on the cats and Comfortis on Sheila.  When the Terminex guy came the second time, he did suspect that with the neighbor’s dogs, we may have a problem until they do something in their own yards.  He may have a point.

Mr. Creme went back to the vet last week for a fructosamine test.  It came back high and his insulin has been increased from two a day to three a day; two in the morning and one at night.  He will go back in two or three weeks for follow up.  He’s eating well and getting around well.  I think he feels better with the increased insulin.

Lexi also went back to the vet for follow up.  She still has diarrhea and congestion.  We got some more Fortiflora (probiotic) and some Metronidazole, which is an antibiotic that is used commonly to treat protozoal infections and anaerobic bacterial infections. It also has anti-inflammatory effects in the bowel.  Since Lexi has had diarrhea for such a long time, we are only trying to find out something that works, I guess.  It’s a liquid and she will take it for ten days. 

Lexi seems normal in every other way.  She doesn’t lie around listless.  She eats, drinks water, wants attention and looks good.  She has lost a few ounces though.

Ellie went to the vet to get her senior blood panel done.  Everything looks fine.  Her white blood cells are up, but the vet thinks it’s due to her neuropathy.  She also has lost a few ounces.  She gets around fine and eats well.

We are worried about Ellie though because she is so thin.  She sleeps in my computer room, but during the day she likes to be outside.  We’re feeding her three or four times a day to hopefully keep her weight up.  I call her my colicky baby because she is constantly meowing and wanting to sit on my lap while I’m trying to work at the computer.  When I wrap her up in a blanket and sit in my rocker and hold her, she falls asleep.  I will spend as much time with her as I can because I know we won’t always have her.

She had an asthma attack last night.  I gave her a pill.  She started coughing and I took her outside for a few minutes where it was cooler.  It seemed to help.    

Mr. Creme, Lexi and Ellie’s mother, Jezibel, seems to be in good health.  She doesn’t have the problems that her “kids” have.  I’m glad.  She is not on any regular medication, but does have asthma attacks occasionally.  

Last week Charlie took Rhody to the vet to get his shots.  He has never been to our vet because when we got him last year, they weren’t open on Sundays.  I wanted to get him in and checked out before introducing him into our cat household, so I took him to our previous vet.  They took care of him through his kitten-hood. 

While Charlie was waiting at the vet’s, the receptionist couldn’t help but say, “So, Mr. Bell, you have another one?”

The vet noted that Rhody was a big boy and was mildly surprised that he was only a year old.  He passed his physical though.

The “twins”, Jason and Kaci, went to the vet today.  It was clinic day and all shots were half price.  The twins have reaction to shots so we have to get only one shot per visit.  They will have to go back for their feline leukemia shot next time. 

We did manage to get away one night to see The Dave Mathews Band in concert.  It was every bit as good as we expected. The Cricket Amphitheater is a great venue with excellent sight lines and a superb audio setup.  We were just to the right of center stage and toward the back of the main seating area, but there is enough elevation in the outdoor arena that we could see everything that was going on.
The opening act was singer Alan Stone. We didn't know anything about him. Charlie looked up his bio online and it mentioned that he began touring about four years ago and sings R&B/soul.  I would have to say that it’s likable music, but not something I'd go out and buy.
The crowd really wanted to get to the Dave Mathews Band.  Stone, several times, had to plead for the crowd to get loud, but without much success.  The sell-out crowd didn't even start to really fill up the place until Stone was two-thirds of the way through his set.
We had seen the Dave Mathews Band here a few years ago.  If anything, the band has gotten even better. He opened with the song "Why I Am," a big hit from his last album, which got everyone on their feet, and they played almost non-stop for the next three hours.
My only complaint was that there was a couple of people who were two rows in front of us who wanted to stand for the whole concert.  People asked them to sit down for awhile, but they refused.  That got a little tiring not be able to see the stage.   I don’t know why some people are so inconsiderate.  We paid for our seats too.
But, it was a warm night and we really enjoyed being there.  We got home around midnight.

I’m still working at the acupuncture clinic.  My back problem is better than it was a year ago, but it still gives me problems.  I went to the chiropractor two weeks ago for my monthly visit.  My muscles were very sore, but he relaxed them and I felt better. 


More later....
TazzyD.... _^..^_

Most cats, when they are Out want to be In, and vice versa, and often simultaneously. ~Louis J. Camuti

We went to the Padres’ baseball game last week.  It was nice and warm, even after the sun went down.  That is unusual for San Diego.  Usually, even if it’s warm during the day here it cools off immediately in the evening.  Anyway, I love this warm weather, even with the “high” humidity of 60-80%.

Our Padre season ticket rep, Nick, invited us to stop by and see him before the game.  He was renewing for next season.  After signing on the dotted line, we received a glass of champagne.  (Wait, who got the best part of that deal?)

We also found time to go to the Del Mar horse races.  Their season ended on September 6.  We usually make at least one race each season.  Charlie and I are not big gamblers, but we can manage to put $2-6 on each race.  I pick my horse by where it is bred and by its’ name.  I do read a little to see how many times it has run and how it did.  There were 8 races that day.  I played “Comic Kitty”, to place and “Gypsy Kitty” to show in the 1st race.  I won $3.40 on “Gypsy Kitty” for showing, coming in 3rd.

“Include the Cat” did not win anything in the 2nd race and neither did “Bacardi Cat Run” in the 3rd race.  “You Little Devil” lost for me in the 4th race.  “Princess Ash” showed and won $3.00 for me in the 5th.  “Cat Meeting” came in 2nd in the 6th race.  I won $3.10. 

It was the 7th race that was my winner.  Charlie and I both bet on “Tilde”.  She won and paid us $8.40.  But, we also bet on “Awe’ Some Kitten”, me to show and Charlie to place.  She came in 2nd.  We decided to skip the 8th race, take our winnings and go have dinner.  It was a fun day.  Charlie actually did better than I did, but he split his winnings with me.

I checked the paper the next day.  My horse, which I would have bet on in the 8th race, “Mary Helen’s Storm”, came in 2nd.  I would have bet for her to place so there goes my $3.00!

“Tilde”, the winner of the 7th race, was the first horse to win two stakes at Del Mar.  She had won a race there on July 20.

I’m hoping that we have found a way to keep our cats in the yard.  We thought about making an enclosure within our yard for the cats.  The fence would be 7' or 8' high.  We received estimates and it was more than we felt we wanted to spend. 

But, we like to let our cats outside.  It gives us a break and they enjoy being outside.  We just don’t want them out of the yard.  We started putting 4'2' lattice over each gate.  That was enough to discourage the jumpers from leaving the yard. 

After seeing that this temporary fix seemed to work, Charlie went to Lowes and bought some wood lattice.  He cut it to fit over the gates and the fence in the front.  It looks nice.  He plans on eventually running it all the way around.  It adds a foot to our 6' fence and so far, the cats have no interest in trying to get out.

It’s nice to be able to let them outside and check on them once in awhile to let them know we are watching.  They are happy to sleep and watch the birds, butterflies and bees. 

I took the bird feeders down after Jonesie and Rhody caught a bird one day.  The cats get to stay out until 6:00 or 7:00 p.m., summer hours.  It’s been so warm, they love the cool concrete patio floor. 

We are still dealing with fleas.  We have treated the house again and Terminex has treated the yard twice.  Each treatment is supposed to last 45 days.  I have been using Frontline on the cats and Sheila gets the pill, Comfortis.  The topical wasn’t working for her.  I read that flea infestation may take up to 2-4 months to rid.  We haven’t had this problem in a long time.

Today we combed the cats and it looks like the fleas are decreasing, so we’re hoping that soon they will be back under control.  We will definitely treat all year around now.

Mr. Creme is doing fine.  He’s eating well.  I hope he’s gaining weight.  He will go back to the vet for testing on 9/17.  He is so sweet.  We haven’t been doing a blood glucose test like we had planned.  We would like to do it two times a week.  The vet discourages it because she has clients who give the test and if blood glucose is up, they increase insulin.  That is dangerous because it’s better to have high numbers rather than hypoglycemia (low) levels. 

Lexi is doing better.  She does not like the grain-free dry food I am giving her, but she eats the wet food well.  The good news is, her diarrhea is better.  Her congestion is better too.  She goes back to the vet on 9/17.  The tests at her last appointment were good.  Her thyroid meds are working and there doesn’t seem to be any side effects.

Ellie has changed her routine.  We notice all changes.  We know each one and know when they my not feel well.  Ellie now wants to be outside.  It could be the warmer days, but although she is eating well, she has lost a few ounces.  She used to stay at 9 lbs., and at last weigh she was 8.6 lbs.  It’s noticeable that she has lost weight.  We plan to take her to the vet on Tuesday to have a senior blood panel done just to make sure she doesn’t have a thyroid problem like her sister, Lexi.  Hopefully there will not be any bigger problems with her.

More later....
TazzyD.... _^..^_

I hope to make people realize how totally helpless animals are, how dependent on us, trusting as a child must that we will be kind and take care of their needs.-- James Herriot

Mr. Creme’s blood glucose was tested with our home kit on Monday.  He was 438 which is a little high.  We have been giving him one unit of insulin for the past two weeks.  He has been drinking more water and eating more, yet apparently losing weight.  These are symptoms of diabetes that we’ve seen before.   I made an appointment to have another fructosamine test done.  We wanted to see if the vet wanted to increase the insulin.   

The vet did a fructosamine test and also a urine test, to make sure MC didn’t have a bladder infection.  In addition to drinking so much water, he is also peeing quite a bit.  We were told to increase the insulin by one unit, so now it will be one unit twice a day. 

The fructosamine test came in high, just as we expected.  But, the doctor says to stay on two units a day and bring MC back for recheck in a month.  I hope we can get him stabilized again.  We were hoping he would stay in remission, but now we need to make sure he starts feeling better.

Lexi also went to the vet that day.  She is still sneezing and congested.  She had a chest X-ray.  It was clear, thank goodness.  So her blood tests are good, there are no parasites, her lungs and other organs look fine.  We started her on Prednisone and Amoxicillin.  The doctor thinks Lexi might have a food allergy which is causing her irritable bowel syndrome.  Poor little thing still has diarrhea.  But, she is eating fine and as active as she usually is.  I bought some food for her which is grain free.  She’s only been on it a couple of days.  The doctor said to give it a couple of months.  We should see some kind of improvement by then.  If not, I don’t know what to do next.


When Jezibel and her five kittens, Lexi, Ellie, Mr. Creme, (Grady and Toby), were young, Charlie and I talked about how, one day, we would probably be dealing with several of them having ailments at the same time because they are all the same age.  They are 12 years old now.

Jezibel is 13, but she was only about 6 months old when she had these kittens.  She seems to be in pretty good health.  Right now we are dealing with Mr. Creme and Lexi's problems.  Ellie has the asthma, but otherwise is doing fine.     

Charlie and I went to a Padre game last Friday night.  It had been over a month since we’d been there.  We lost to San Francisco 10-1, but it was still fun to have a night out.  It was warm, even when the sun went down.  Usually we need our jackets, but I didn’t even bring one that night. 

We managed to get out of the house again today.  We went to the movies and saw “Hope Springs”.  It was a comedy with Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones.  It was one of those movies that I had read nothing about, so I didn’t know what it was about until I saw it.  I think Charlie had seen reviews on it.  Anyway, it was very good.  Charlie is not a Meryl Streep fan, but he said he thought this was her best movie.  It was one of those movies that had an ending that made you feel good.

More later....
TazzyD.... _^..^_

“Whenever I feel the need to exercise, I lie down until it goes away.” ― Robert Maynard Hutchins

I made my monthly visit to the chiropractor today.  He said I was doing fine and once a month seemed to be working for me.  I know I’m feeling much better. 

I’m trying to walk every day.  It’s been hot and even humid here and if I don’t get out to walk early enough, I wait until after 5:00 p.m. when it starts cooling off.

When I go to the chiropractor, I usually stop at Miramar commissary, on the way home.  Today, in the produce section, I saw a lady who looked just like my sister, Jennifer.  I mean this lady had the same hair style, same color, same type of clothes, etc.  It was amazing.  I couldn’t help but stare.  She was busy shopping and didn’t notice me.  We were on opposite sides of the area.

I managed to get my fruits and vegetables and go on with my shopping.  But, then I saw her down at the end of one of the aisles and it just struck me again how familiar she looked.  I got out my phone and, without drawing attention, of course, took a couple of pictures.  I will send them to Jennifer, but won’t post them on my blog.

When I got home though, I pulled the pictures up on my phone and showed them to Charlie.  I said, “Who does this look like?”  Sounding puzzled like, ‘why are you asking me this?’ he said, “Your sister.”  Then I told him it was the lady in the commissary.  I guess everyone does have a double somewhere. 

We have an avocado tree in our yard.  It was started from a seed we planted over 12 years ago.  We planted it in a pot and then transplanted it to the yard.  It is a true survivor. 

We moved to Virginia for two years in 2002.  Our house was rented to people who, let’s just say, were not very good renters.  They didn’t water the yard or plants. 

When we returned to move back into the house in 2004, we were amazed to see that the little avocado tree had survived.  It was stunted, but alive.  Over the years it has grown and we’ve trimmed it.  Now it is over 10 feet high.  In May, Charlie discovered that there is one avocado growing on it.  Just one, but it’s the first one ever.

A salad is waiting for you!

We check it regularly and it is getting bigger, but nowhere near big enough to pick yet.  I don’t know how long it takes for them to mature because I’ve never had an avocado tree that bore fruit.  If we’re able to eat it, it is going to go into the biggest, best salad I’ve ever made.

Mr. Creme is doing fine, back on insulin again.  I check on him regularly.  He’s usually lying on the concrete floor in the garage, stretched out.  It has been warm and humid here for the past few days.  We don’t usually have much humidity, but lately it’s been at least 60%.  He’s eating well and looks forward to the attention he gets when he gets his B12 and insulin.

Lexi, still as pretty as ever

Lexi still has some congestion and sometimes she has a sneezing episode.  But, she’s still eating well.  I’m giving her the probiotic for her food.  It doesn’t seem to be doing much for the diarrhea though.  We are planning to take her back to the vet for some blood work.  Because of her thyroid problem, she is due. 

Ellie usually spends her time in my computer room.  Since she has weak back legs, she can’t jump up on things.  A three foot gate is all it takes to keep her in the room.  She can walk and get around, but her legs do give out if she tries to move too fast. 

Ellie, when she used to like my rocking chair

Early one morning I woke up and was surprised to find Ellie sleeping at the foot of the bed.  Apparently she has discovered a way of pushing the gate open far enough to slip out.  She comes downstairs and then she can get up on the bed by climbing the steps that are next to the chest at the end of the bed.  We bought those steps for Rowdy years ago when he started having trouble getting onto the bed.  What we do for our pets.....So now, Ellie can be found sleeping on our bed. 

We bring her back upstairs several times a day so she can get some food or water and go potty.  I usually put the gate back across the doorway so she will stay in her room and take care of things.  But, it doesn’t take long before we see her back on the bed.

The flea problem has subsided.  I applied Frontline to the cats the other day.  They’re not constantly scratching now, so I hope we have it under control.  If not, Charlie would be scratching because if there’s a flea or mosquito within range, it will get on him.

Our new walkway

About two years ago we had our back patio textured and coated.  The coating is stenciled to look like flagstone.  It is a great improvement and we were really happy with the work.  We decided to have the same done to the front entryway and walkways of the house.  The same company was hired and they did an excellent job.  We will probably have the driveway done at a later time.  We have to budget for these home improvement jobs.

No one likes to get weighed!

Charlie has been taking Sheila out for a walk every morning.  Her stamina is improving.  She is a lazy dog and would be happy just to lie around the house all day.  But, she was gaining too much weight, up to 74 pounds.  Charlie weighed her the other day and she was 69, which is much better.

More later....
TazzyD.... _^..^_

Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as gods. Cats have never forgotten this. --Anonymous

Last Friday night, Charlie returned from his vacation.  He enjoyed his visit with the relatives, but was happy to be home again.  We were all happy to see him, but I think Jezibel was happiest.

When he left, I asked him if he could bring me some of my favorite Carolina barbeque when he came back.  My very favorite is from Moore’s Barbeque in New Bern, NC.  My  next favorite is a place called Smithfield’s Chicken ‘N Bar B-Q.  That is a chain which is located in several areas.

When I talked to Charlie while he was gone, I didn’t mention the barbeque to him again, so I was really surprised when he came home and unpacked containers of Smithfield’s bbq!

Apparently it was not easy to come by.  There are no Smithfield’s bar-b-q's in Virginia.  They are only in NC, which I didn’t know.  Charlie said the closest one was about two and a half hours away, in NC.  It just so happened that his brother and girlfriend were going down to NC anyway.  He gave him some locations and they picked up some bbq.

When Charlie got home with the barbeque, it was still frozen.  I couldn’t wait to have some.  It had been over a year since I eaten it, but I had to wait until the next day.  It was well worth the wait though.


I really appreciate Charlie and the rest of the family who helped him to be able to bring barbeque home to me.

We found out that we will be able to order this barbeque and have it delivered to us after October 1.  I don’t know what the price will be, but I may have to splurge once a year or so.

Mr. Creme has started drinking more water and using the litter box more.  That’s a sign that he may be coming out of his remission.  We took him to the vet to have his blood glucose and fructosamine test.  He hasn’t had to have insulin since the end of May.

The vet called with the blood test results.  Mr. Creme’s numbers are higher and he’s lost some weight.  She wants us to put him on a unit of insulin a day for now.  We’ll test him again in two or three weeks.  We are definitely going to start testing his BG with the kit we bought before he went into remission.  It was nice while it lasted.

Kiki is still allowed to have the run of the house.  So far she is doing fine.  We leave her out of her kennel all day and then before bedtime, we put her in to sleep in her cat tree.  She hasn’t been bothering any of the cats and now that the mystique is gone, Rhody just ignores her.  He thinks she’s very boring to watch.  She usually goes to one place to sit and groom and then sleep.  He used to follow her and lay and watch her.  It made her nervous.

Lexi

Last week I took Lexi to the vet.  She was sneezing and was very congested.  She also had diarrhea.  I was concerned about everything, but mostly her sneezing, etc.  The vet was more concerned about the diarrhea.  I was given a couple of medications, Metronidazole and FortiFlora.  The Metronidazole is an antibiotic.  If her diarrhea is caused by bacteria, it will fight it.  The FortiFlora is a nutritional supplement which contains a special strain of probiotic to help the intestines.  Poor Lexi also had to give a fecal sample, she didn’t have a choice, they took it.  The vet called the next morning and the sample was negative, no parasites.

Unfortunately, a week and a half later, Lexi still has diarrhea and she is still congested.  I can’t give her the Terbutaline, like I give to Ellie and Jezibel for their congestion.  She is hyper thyroid and the vet says it could raise her blood pressure.  If she doesn’t get better, she will have to go back to the Dr. 

The flea problem we had seems to be better.  I’m sure the yard treatment helped.  I also treated the floors inside the house and garage.  The cats aren’t sitting around itching and scratching now.  They are due for Frontline next week.

Sheila is on Comfortis.  She hates it and I don’t blame her.  The pill is huge and it smells like strong medicine.  I tried to get her to chew it up, and she wanted to please me, but she couldn’t make herself.  I finally crushed it up and put it in some canned dog food.  She likes wet food and normally doesn’t get it every day.  I watched her eat it and she choked it down.  It seems like they could make it a little more palatable.  I need to remember to give her wet food more often, not just when she needs to take her medicine.

While Charlie was gone, I had lunch with a good friend.  She used to live in Palm Springs, but moved to Encinitas a few months ago.  It’s been quite a change for her, coming to the cooler, sometimes foggy coast, from the sunny, hot desert.  She says she is getting used to it though.

from The Beach House Restaurant

We met at the Beach House restaurant at Cardiff by the Sea in Encinitas.  I’d never been there before.  It’s right on the beach.  We sat on the patio, which overlooked the ocean.  The food was good and we had a really nice time.  I plan on going there with Charlie for lunch one day while it’s still nice and warm.

More later....
TazzyD.... _^..^_

The ideal of calm exists in a sitting cat-- Jules Reynard

Rowdy and Calvin, Pennsylvania 1992

Charlie has taken some time to visit relatives in Mississippi and Virginia.  We usually see everyone when we take our summer RV trips, but this year we didn’t plan a trip.  High gas prices and lots of things going on at home, made us decide to stay here.

Jezibel misses her dad.  She came to my lap the other day, something she rarely does.  I petted her, but she wouldn’t lie down.  Finally she left.  She just didn’t have it in her to show me that she wanted attention. 
She sleeps in Charlie’s computer room.  When I go in to feed her in the mornings, she is in his chair.  She’s letting me pet her and I think she enjoys it.  Just a few minutes ago, I had to give her an asthma pill.  It always makes her so mad.  But, it helps her breathe better and has to be done.

Mr. Creme has really become my shadow, or at least he’d like to be.  I do give him quite a bit of attention.  The other day I was sitting on the glider on the patio.  I usually sit on the right side, but Kaci had been there earlier.  She had eaten grass and threw up.  I cleaned it and have to wash the cover.  I sat on the left side.  This is where Taz used to sit when he and I sat here.  I always could feel his presence there after he died.  For awhile, it was hard for me to be there. 

Mr. Creme came up and sat on my lap.  I thought, ‘how nice it was that he liked sitting on my lap’.  Then I thought, “Taz has gone on now.”  About the time I had that thought, Mr. Creme abruptly got up and left.  I guess Taz is still here, after all!  He and Mr. Creme did not like each other and when MC tried to come near me, Taz would not have it.  Nice to know Taz is still keeping an eye on me.

My acupuncture job is going well.  I still get treatments on Tuesdays and Fridays.  My back is improving and it’s nice to be able to do things that I’ve always been able to do.  I went to the chiropractor last week.  He said I was doing well and still on maintenance.  I won’t have to go back until August 15.

Charlie usually does the vacuuming.  We have a Dyson vacuum which is very good, but it has a metal case and it’s kind of heavy and cumbersome to use.  Since I knew I’d have to vacuum a couple of times while Charlie was gone, he suggested that I use the Dyson upstairs, but to not carry it downstairs.  Use the Kenmore vacuum in the closet downstairs.

Today was vacuuming day.  I ran some errands in the morning and then got the Dyson out.  I was busy doing the upstairs rooms and I guess I was entertaining the cats.  When I came out of the rooms, Jonesie and Kaci were there, staring at me like they had never seen me vacuum before.  I have to admit I was a little rusty at it since I haven’t done it in awhile. 

I decided that I could bring the Dyson downstairs and finish the floors there.  It took me awhile to do the whole house, but after emptying the canister three times, I was done and I felt like I had really accomplished something.  I don’t know how long it takes Charlie, because he always does it while I’m gone out on errands.

It was hard for me to turn the vacuuming over to him.  I’ve always done things around the house.  When I started having my back problems, I still tried to do the vacuuming.  Finally, I told him that if he’d vacuum the upstairs and bring the vacuum down, I would do the downstairs.  Then, it got to the point that he started doing the whole house.  Of course, no one can do the job that I always did, so I’d ask him, “Did you vacuum this, did you vacuum that?”  Finally, one day he said, “I have a system.  I do this, I do that, and I get everything.”  You’d think he might say, “If you can do a better job, do it.”  No, his mom didn’t raise him that way.

I know I’ll have to vacuum again before he comes home, but it makes me appreciate what he does even more. 

We’re having flea problems here.  I was using Advantage on the cats and Frontline on the dog.  Everyone was scratching and by combing through the fur, we saw fleas.  Charlie took Sheila to the groomer.  They said when they bathed her, she had fleas.  We got some Comfortis for her, which is a pill that kills fleas.  Even that didn’t seem to help.
I bought some Frontline for the cats and tried that.  Still they scratch and I comb and find fleas.  We don’t seem to have fleas hoping around the house.  If they were, they would have found Charlie first.

I checked with neighbors to see if they also had fleas.  They do.  We have a dog who is always in the yard behind us and our neighbor on the other side has three dogs.  She says that she gives her dogs baths and treatments and still has fleas.

I called Terminex (we have a contract for pest control) and had them come out to treat our yard.  I thought he would spray the grass, but he showed me the granules that he would use.  He spread them like when you fertilize your lawn.  The granules look like celery seeds, very tiny.  I asked him how long before the dog and/or cats could come out into the yard.  He said it was safe.  The granules fall through the grass and set on the ground.  When we have the sprinklers on, they stay and work on killing fleas.  It should last for about 45 days.  He said the granules were like when hard candy is dropped in water.  It slowly melts.  I didn’t let the cats out today though.

I went online to see how soon I could put Frontline on them again, and they recommend to not do it until 30 days is up.  Apparently, when you apply Frontline to the pet, it starts working on killing any flea that jumps onto the pet.  I’m hoping that with the yard treatment, the Frontline will start catching up.  I don’t know if the fleas in our neighbor’s yards will overwhelm us.

We haven’t had a flea problem like this since we lived in Pennsylvania in the 90's.  We had fleas in the carpet downstairs in our basement.  I was down there one day, exercising, using our Norditrak.  Rowdy was down there with me.  He was scratching and biting, and finally he just ran up the stairs to get away.  The fleas weren’t biting me, but I knew we had them.

We bathed our two cats, Rowdy and Calvin.  They had flea collars (this was before Advantage or Frontline), and finally we bought a couple of bombs to fumigate the whole house.  I don’t know whether all of this helped or it was that the weather started getting cooler, but the flea problem went away.

There is a product that is good to use on carpets and pet bedding.  We’ve used it before when we noticed a flea problem.  It’s a spray by Raid, in a purple can, and states that it’s for fleas.  It does work.  You just spray the carpet.  It dries and we didn’t have any problems with the cats getting sick or anything.  It does kill fleas in the carpet too.

This is just one of the things that people with cats and dogs have to deal with.  At least we have some ammunition against fleas now.  Years ago, I can remember my dad spraying our dogs with Sergeant’s Flea Spray.  I can still remember how that smelled and how much they hated it.  But, that was all we had then.  And then those white flea collars came out.  They may have been effective, but I can’t believe any of those things were good for our pets.  Do they still sell flea collars?  Not sure.

Kiki has been spending more and more loose time in the house.  For the last few nights, she has been sleeping in a chair in the front room.  So far she has not bothered anyone and no one is bothering her.  When I feed her, I try to get her to go back into her 4x4 kennel on the patio.  She has gotten smart.  She refuses to go.  I give in and feed her anyway.  Only once in awhile will she run back to her 4x4.  Sometimes I close the door and sometimes I leave it open.  If I’m not home, I like for her to be in her 4x4.  That way, nothing bad is going to happen.

More later....
TazzyD.... _^..^_

Cats place a high value on doing what they wish to do, when they wish to do it, in the way they deem most satisfactory to them....

...It is the declaration of independence that makes the cat the possessor rather than the possessed, and I admire and sometimes envy him for it.
–Winifred Carriere, Cats, 24 Hours a Day

Happy Independence Day!

A couple of weeks ago I started working at the acupuncture clinic as a volunteer.  I work from 10am to 2pm on Fridays.  By donating my time, I get my treatments free.  Of course, I usually don’t get out of the office until after 4pm because we take our last appointments at 2pm.  I get my treatment when everyone leaves.  But, it saves about $30 each week and since I still want acupuncture, it’s worth it.

Because we were expecting a visit from my brother and his wife, I left the office at 2:00pm.  When I got home, Richard and Alice were here.  They drove down from Utah.   Their anniversary (42 yrs.) was on the 28th, so they stopped in Las Vegas for a couple of nights.  I asked them how they liked it and they said, “It was interesting.”  They are not gamblers, but they enjoyed watching while other people won or lost money.

Official NPS site for this park commemorating Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo's landing at San Diego Bay in 1542.

We didn’t go out and do touristy stuff, but it was nice just to visit for the weekend.  On Saturday we took them on a little tour of San Diego and then up to the Cabrillo National Monument Park and Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery at Point Loma.  There are beautiful views of the bay, ocean and downtown San Diego from there.  It also overlooks the North Island Naval Air Station in Coronado as well as the submarine base.  It was a very nice day, which was good because sometimes it can get very foggy up there.

A view from the northern area of the cemetery, overlooking San Diego Bay and the City of San Diego.

A view from the southern area of the cemetery, overlooking the vast Pacific.

My birthday was Saturday, the 30th and our wedding anniversary (23 yrs.) was on the 1st.  Way back when, we almost got married on my birthday.  In fact, if the 30th had fallen on a Saturday, like this year, we would have. 

Charlie was at the Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey then.  We only had a couple of weeks of summer break to get married.  We wanted to get married in Virginia so most of our family could be there.  The wedding was completely planned long distance over the phone.  Of course, our families there helped us get things together and we couldn’t have done it without them. 

July 1, 1989 was on a Saturday and it worked out well, a beautiful, sunny day.  We were married in the chapel at the Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Virginia.  Our reception was at nearby Fort Story.

On this birthday, Charlie got my cake, or should I say “cakes”, from our favorite bakery.  He thought the cake was one layer, so he bought two.  We had a 2 layer lemon filled cake and a two layer strawberry filled cake.  He said he kind of went “overboard”, because in addition to the cakes, he got two carrot cake tarts and two Black Forest strudels.  It’s hard to go into that bakery and make up your mind to buy just one thing.

Oh, and then our friend, Kim, and daughter, Haven, came by with a carrot cake tart for my birthday, since carrot cake is a favorite of mine.  She also presented us with a chocolate cream silk pie for our anniversary.  All from the same favorite bakery!  Great minds do think alike......

Richard and Alice left for home on Monday morning, but they didn’t go without taking some cake and tarts with them.

Today is the 4th of July, Independence Day.  Kim and Haven left on Sunday for China.  They will be there two weeks.  While they are gone, I will be checking on their four cats. 

I remember the days, long ago, when we only had three cats and a dog.  That was in February 2000 and I don’t think we’ll ever see that again.  It’s even hard to imagine now.  But, we wouldn’t take anything for our  cats.

Today I found out that the correct term for referring to a group of cats is ‘clowder’, ‘clutter’, or ‘glaring’.  We have a clowder of cats!

More later....
TazzyD.... _^..^_

There's a point in every true friendship, where friends stop being friends and become sisters. - Unknown

Mr. Creme had a blood glucose and fructosamine test on the 13th.  His blood glucose was very good.  We received those results right away.  The next day we received the fructosamine results and it was also good.  It was 262 which was within the safe range for cats.  The vet told us that we could stop giving MC his insulin.  He had had his 2 units that morning and the test was at 4:00 p.m.

We are going to take him back in three weeks and test him again.  If the BG and fructosamine are still good, we will keep him off of insulin.  Then we will test again in 2 months unless there is a problem, i.e. he starts losing weight, doesn’t eat properly, etc. 

It’s been nice to not have to give MC an insulin shot each morning.  Of course, I think he misses that extra attention he was getting.  We had to make sure he ate enough food each morning before we could give him his injection.  Sometimes he just wasn’t interested in what I was serving, so I’d wait awhile and bring something else to him.  Usually he’d eat that and we could get on with our day.

I still make sure I spend lots of time with him though and he really likes it.  I see that he eats his breakfast and when he goes into the yard, he has food to eat while he’s there. 

Lexi is also in the yard during the day.  Since she has a hyper thyroid condition, she needs food also.  We’re running a nursing home for our elderly (12+ year) cats, but we will do whatever we need to do to keep them comfortable in their old age. 

Mr. Creme’s legs are doing so well too.  I have to thank those B12 pills I’ve been giving him.  He is walking normally.  We’ve caught him a couple of times, sitting on the retaining wall, looking up at the top of the gate.  We tell him no, he can’t leave the yard and we bring him back to the patio.  He is usually distracted by then.  As far as we know, he hasn’t actually tried to jump to the top of the gate...yet.  We don’t want him in the front yard where he will usually walk down the street or up the hill.  Those days that he had free reign are over.

So much for that....Charlie just came and told me that Mr. Creme was in the front yard.  Apparently he has discovered that he can jump to the top of the fence and go over.  The B12 pills are working too well.

Kiki stayed out in the house last night for the first time.  We have been allowing her to come out of her kennel during the day, but usually we put her back in to sleep at night.  She did well last night so we will gradually give her more freedom.  When she is settled somewhere, she allows us to pet her.

Willie is usually loose in the house during the day too.  But, she hisses at the other cats, so I take her back to her room to give her some alone time.  We’ve kept her before and during those times, she blended in well with our cats so she was just one of them.  This time, the other cats seem to get on her nerves, although none of them are trying to chase her or hurt her.  She doesn’t have front claws and neither do they, so there’s no danger of clawing the faces.  She will probably be with us until September sometime.

Kiki’s kittens, Kodi and Dash, are still kind of wild.  Dash, the white one, allows herself to be petted if she is asleep in her favorite rocker or if it’s time to eat.  Otherwise, if she walks by me when I’m sitting in a chair, she gives me a wide berth.  There’s no such thing as her coming to me or Charlie for attention or to sit on our laps.

Kodi, the little tabby, is a little friendlier, she sometimes comes up to Charlie and gets on his lap.  She likes to be petted, but she can’t stand still for long.  I think her love for attention will overcome her wildness one day.

I went to get a pedicure the other day.  When I was done, I stood up and reached to get my purse, which had been on the stool next to me.  You can imagine my shock to see that my purse was gone.  Yes, that same purse that gets left in shopping carts and now I think it has taken on a life of its’ own.....I told “Linda” that my purse had been on the stool and was gone.  She couldn’t believe it either and then word quickly got around that I was missing my purse.  I stood there and kept looking down at the stool, like I couldn’t believe my eyes.  Chair controls were laying on the stool where my purse had been.  I looked to see if my purse had fallen behind the seat I had been using. 

This disbelieving moment went on for what seemed like minutes, when it was probably only seconds.  Everyone was holding their breath and checking to see if their purses were safe.  The lady who had just sat down in the chair next to me said, “This is scary”, as she made sure she had her belongings. 

The manager went back up to the front desk and before I could yell, “Close all the doors!  No one leaves until I find my purse!”, one of the manicurists said, “What color is it?”  I said, “Brown!”  She said, “Is this it?” and held up my purse.  It was safe!  My life had passed before my eyes when it went missing, since my life lives inside that purse!

Apparently the lady who had just finished her pedicure also had a brown purse.  When she went over to the manicure table, the manicurist had picked up my purse, thinking it was her client’s brown purse, and put it next to the lady on the floor.  She didn’t notice that it wasn’t her purse.

All was well.  We all sighed relief that we didn’t have a phantom purse snatcher in our midst.

I have always liked the pedicures and manicures I’ve gotten from that salon, but I do have a problem with the manager.  The salon accepts credit cards and even has the Visa and MasterCard emblem stickers on the front desk.  But, when people give their cards to pay for their treatment, he asks if they have cash.  He’s asked me before and I asked “why? when you say you accept credit cards”.  He said it saves him from having to pay the service charge that the credit card companies charge him when people use their credit cards.  That time I did have cash, so I paid cash.  But, this time I didn’t have enough cash, so I said I had to use my credit card, which is a check/debit card.  He didn’t like it, but he took it.  I think he should just change his policy and put signs up, “no credit cards”, if he makes you feel like he doesn’t want to take them.   

Charlie and I went to Palm Springs for the day on Sunday, the 24th.  We went to see our friends, Patti and Bob.  It was Patti’s birthday and we wanted to take her and Bob to lunch.  She wanted to go to Olive Garden, which was a good choice.

Patti and Bob, Charlie and me

We had finished eating and were just talking, when one of the waiters came over and said, “Did anyone lose a ring?”  He held up the ring that Bob had given Patti for her birthday!  It was a little big for her ring finger, so Patti had been wearing it on her index finger.  She hadn’t even noticed that it fell off and was on the floor.  The waiter said he had walked by and kicked it all the way across the room.  I think she was pretty lucky to get that ring back.

We had a nice visit for the rest of the afternoon.  It was 103 degrees, but of course, we were in the house which was about 80 degrees and very comfortable.  Compared to outside, it was like a cooler.  No wonder these desert dwellers almost freeze when they come to our 70's temps in San Diego.

More later......
TazzyD..... _^..^_