“The cat has too much spirit to have no heart” --Ernest Menaul

Yesterday I was on FB checking the latest news and playing Scrabble.  My niece, Jamie, posted that her three year old dog, Holly, a Boxer, had passed away that morning.

I know how sad she was feeling because we’ve gone through losing several of our pets these last few years.  But, this was a young dog and I was curious about what happened to her.

I called my brother, Richard to see if he knew the details.  He said that Holly was playing in the yard with the other two dogs and then suddenly she was gone.

They took Holly to the vet and a necropsy was done.  Holly had heart failure.  When she was a puppy she had a heart murmur, but the vet thought she had outgrown it.  I guess it was not detected in her exams.

Anyway, Josh posted that the necropsy showed that it was “Boxer Cardiomyopathy.  One of the most common causes of sudden/unexpected death in boxers, both young and old, is a condition thought to be inherited and characterized by abnormal heart rhythms involving the ventricles (the main blood pumping chambers) of the heart.”  If they had known about it, there was nothing they could have done.

It’s hard when a pet dies, even if it has been sick.  But, when they just go suddenly, it’s a shock as well as painful.

Kiki and her two kittens, Dash and Cody are here and still making themselves at home.  Since Kiki really does not like other cats, we have moved her to the 4'x4' kennel on the cat patio.  She is doing fine out there, but Jason can’t help himself.  He has to go out and walk back and forth by her cage.  She doesn’t run at him, but she meows in a way that is not, “Well, hello there, handsome!”  If I catch him taunting her, I make him come back into the house.

Lexi stays in the backyard all day and at night she sleeps in the other 4'x4' next to Kiki.  Since Lexi is not really friendly to other cats either, even the ones she has been with all her life, I put a partition between the 4x4's so the girls can’t see each other.

Dash and Cody have the complete run of the house and they are the most active and destructive kittens we have ever had and we’ve had a few.

We raised Jezebel’s seven kittens and four of them went to their new homes at eight weeks old.  But, the three that we kept, Lexi, Ellie and Grady, were not half as bad as Dash and Cody.

Dash has still not learned that she is not supposed to get up on the counters.  Of course, if she hears me coming, I hear her drop to the floor.  I used to catch her up there and spray her with water, but now she is getting smart and doesn’t get caught in the act.  A few minutes ago I went in the kitchen and Dash was scrambling to get off the counter.  I said, “Dash, you’re up there every time I come in here!”  Of course, she’s probably thinking, “Well, don’t come in here then!”

Dash (no doubt) on the top of blinds....the other two followed her

I think there is something about white cats.  I was talking to someone who has a white cat and she said they are different.  Very smart, very cunning and she used the word “cautious”.  Dash is all of those.

Cody is also smart, but she is a little more trusting than her sister.  Both kittens like to be petted, but they usually don’t come looking for attention.  If you can catch them in their cat tree or in a chair napping, they can be petted easily.

This morning I woke up early and sat up in bed.  Dash was curled up asleep in my rocker, Cody was on the foot of the bed.  I was a little surprised that Dash got out of her chair (MY chair) and came up on the bed to me.  She let me hold her and pet her for longer than she usually allows.  When she left, Cody came up and gave me some of her precious time.

I have posted Kiki, Dash and Cody in an ad at Petfinders.  They post lost and found, adoptable pets and there are thousands of pets posted there from all across the country.

When Chelsi was lost back in 2000, I posted her on Petfinders.  I remember that I got some responses from people who thought they’d found her, but it never was her.  She was gone a month when we got her back.  But, Petfinders is a good organization.

The animal rescue service that helped us with the spaying, advertises their pets there.  There are also posts from the local animal shelters.  Most animals have pictures of them.  I’m hoping that someone is looking for that special cat or kitten.

In the meantime, we will continue to take care of them and they will continue to run and chase each other  through the house, play and wrestle with Rhody, and hopefully learn some manners along the way.  Hopefully.

The lady who took the other white kitten, Dot (now Spyce), called this afternoon.  It has been about a month since she took Dot home with her.  Charlie talked to her and just hearing one side of the conversation, I thought there might be a problem and she wanted to bring Dot back.

I was calm.  I came into my room and sat down at my computer, thinking, I can probably just post another picture of Dash since she looks like Dot.  No one would know the difference.  We never could tell them apart unless we could see the top of Dash’s head.

Charlie came in and said, no, there was no problem.  Cynthia had called to say that she can’t catch Dot.  She has hardly seen her since she got her.  Dot runs away and Cynthia doesn’t move very fast.  She’s older than we are.  But, the good news is, Dot gets along with Cynnamon and Cynthia adores her, even though she hasn’t been able to pet her much.

Cynthia said that she hadn’t been able to catch Dot to take her back to the vet for the rest of her shots.  She said that she lets her cats out in the yard when she is out.  One day Dot got up on the fence and went over, but was so afraid, she came back into the yard.  Another time she climbed a tree, trying to catch a bird.

Dash and Dot are a lot alike.  Not only are they both white cats, but they are also free spirits.  At least Cynthia is not giving up on her.  Charlie told her we’d come and help catch Dot if she needed us.  We just wait for Dash to fall asleep somewhere and then we can pick her up.  Actually though, Dash is not that hard to catch.  But, we move faster than Cynthia, I think.

Mr. Creme has been on insulin twice a day for about a week now.  We monitor him closely.  He loves the attention he’s getting.  If it’s nice outside, I let him out in the backyard.  As of a couple of weeks ago, he’s no longer allowed in the front yard.  I don’t think he’s tried to jump over the fence in a long time.  Before he was diagnosed with diabetes, I let him out of the garage and opened the front gate for him so he could be in the front yard.  I did that because one day he came in and was limping.  I suspect that he sprained his foot or leg when jumping down from the six foot fence.

A couple of weeks ago, he went out front.  After an hour or so I went out to bring him inside.  I couldn’t find him.

As I was walking by the neighbor’s driveway, I spotted Mr. Creme up on the hillside.  That’s the same hillside that I have seen coyotes and saw one in the middle of the afternoon one day a few years ago.

That is when I decided that he shouldn’t be out front anymore anyway.  With the diabetes not being completely regulated yet, I wouldn’t want him to be out and start feeling bad.  He might get sick and find somewhere to lay down.  I’m not sure I could find him in time.

So, Mr. Creme spends his time on the back patio with the girls, Jezebel and Lei, his mom and sister.  Who would have thought it would come to that?  Right Mr. Creme?

Mr. Creme could stay in the house all the time if he didn’t feel the need to spray everything.  That is just not appreciated and I don’t think he really even knows how offensive this behavior of his is.

I do have pants that I put on him when he’s in the house.  I found them at a pet store online.  They actually work well.  I buy the Poise (Mr. Creme would not let me buy Depends) pads and they prohibit his nonsense.

But, he hates wearing his pants.  When he wants to come into the house or when I want to bring him inside, I get the pants.  When he sees me coming towards him, carrying the pants, he runs away.  Sometimes I catch him and make him wear the pants, but usually I just leave him alone.  He just doesn’t get to come in the house.  I think he prefers that, over wearing those pants.  Pictures later.

Later.........