Showing posts with label Cats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cats. Show all posts

Friday, November 4, 2011

It's a Good Life

A few of my favorite shots to brighten 
an otherwise dreary day.

I love my blankie

Queen Sophie

A sunny spot


Three's Company

Have a great weekend!

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Have I Got Holes in my Head?


Don't answer that!
How come it is when you wait until you have time to sit and write down all the thoughts rolling around in your head, they seem to have rolled right out.  It’s like my head has holes in it, and my thoughts and ideas just plop right through the holes.  That’s it – my head is a sieve.  Nope, that can’t be it – then everything would fall out.  I must have a flashing sign inside my head.  One that says “All good ideas must exit here”.  

It’s a one way door like a turn style.  Oops, no can back up.  Sorry, let’s keep it moving.  Don’t want to create a bottle neck.

Then the lights are out and the door is locked.  A couple of the bolder ones pound on the door but the guard just yells “Go Away – She’s done thinking for today."

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Is It My Turn?

The cat carrier, that dreaded implement of transportation.  As much effort as it is to get them into the carrier for a trip to the vet, you'd think they wouldn't hop in of their own free will.  

Sometimes, though, it makes a great place to hang out for a little down time.

Is it my turn?
Even Rosie takes his turn.  Sometimes you can even hear him snoring away in the box.  All cats love their hidey places.

Peek-a-Boo
Apparently it is also a source of entertainment, too.

Who's in there?
And, not to be left out, Dood peers out of the "fun box".

Can you see me now?
  
A grand time was had by all, and I guess it was a lesson in taking turns.


Wednesday, January 5, 2011

It's Sophie's Choice

It looks like Sophie has found a new place to catch up on her beauty sleep, or maybe she's planning to help me with the laundry.   What do you think?



She was just starting to get down when I snapped the picture.  
I guess I spoiled her nap. 

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Monster in the Morning


Doesn't look like a monster, does he?
I have created a monster!  Not the slimy green, two-headed kind out of some sci-fi flick.  No, mine has four legs and long gray hair.  He is my little buddy, Rosie.  
Why is he suddenly a monster?  A little thing called canned cat food (and this is how it all began).  He started out asking for breakfast at 7 a.m.  Every morning, I  make not one, but three trips to the kitchen to feed him.  He must have his food in small portions, otherwise he just licks at it and pushes it around the dish until it's all mooshed up and gross.  

It gets worse.  His "breakfast time" keeps getting earlier and earlier, and his growing addiction to the stuff is driving us both crazy.  He will sit on my pillow, beg and whine into my ear, and then paw at me until I get up.  What began as a 7 a.m. breakfast, has moved to 6:00, then 5:30 and then 5:00.  This morning the clock said 4:50 when the call came.  When he is serious about eating, there is no putting him off and still sleep.  So mama drags her weary butt out of the bed and trudges to the kitchen, pulls out the food and starts the feeding process.  After the third serving, I close the bedroom door and hope he is sated for a couple hours while I catch a few more zzzz's.

How about now?


Rosie has a look that will turn you into Swiss cheese!  In other words, he'll stare holes in you until his needs are met.

So what's feeding time like at your house?

Friday, May 21, 2010

A, B, C, Zzzzzz!

Are you bothered by the occasional bout of insomnia?  Do you wake up after only a few hours, your mind suddenly shifting into into overdrive while your body lies exhausted, desperately yearning for sleep?  I have just the thing for you.  A brand new, untried and unproven method, guaranteed only to make you wonder if I've gone nuts from lack of sleep.

I came up with this on one of those nights.  Here's how it works.  You pick a letter of the alphabet, and start naming words that start with that letter.  Except maybe X and Z.  I mean after "zebra" and "xylophone" there's not much for your foggy, over-stressed 3 a.m. brain to work with. 

Catnip, canaries...Zzzzzz
This mental exercise will redirect your thoughts, and release your frazzled mind back to dreamland.  Just beware of the letter P.  I used that one night, when I was a little bit hungry.  I never realized how much food starts with "P" - potatoes, pancakes, pie, peanuts, pork - you get the idea.

But does it work?  I don't know, I fell asleep (coincidence?). You try it and let me know.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Cat Nappin!

Cats are so helpful, aren't they?  Sophie was "helping" me make the bed the other day, except she stopped for a cat nap before we were done.  I went ahead and finished up without her.



Ummm.  See what a good nap will do for you.

Recycle-cat


Monday, April 26, 2010

Bits and Pieces

I thought I'd share some bits and pieces from the last few days.  Saturday we attempted, once again, to spread weed and feed on the yard, and once again it clumped up in the spreader.  This was a bag that was left over from a couple years ago.  A word of advice...buy just what you'll use, and use it soon.

I love clouds, especially the wild, stormy looking ones this time of the year.

 

   
Spring Clouds


The best of buds


Bun let me snap a quick picture of her.  She belongs to our friends Bruce and Dixie.  We enjoyed a wonderful evening at their house Sunday.  


Bun

Here is Doodle hanging out with his favorite human.  I'm in the race for second place.

DH and the Dood


While I was mowing the yard this afternoon, I spotted my first Iris bloom of the season.  This is my favorite color Iris.


 Purple Iris

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Good News!

I just have to shout this from the roof top.  When we took Rosie in for another blood sugar check, it was an amazing 115.  This is absolutely normal.  Our vet was surprised, amazed, for lack of a better word.  He's cured.  Now really there's no cure for diabetes, but it does reverse itself sometimes in cats.  In his case, I think he was diabetic for a period of time, and we caught onto it at the tail end of its cycle. We (and he)  just got lucky.  I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders.  Now we can try and get him back onto regular cat food.  No small feat since canned cat food is addictive for him.  Off to get more kibble that he'll actually eat. 

"Mrrroowwoo!  Want more mushy stuff, mama."

Wish us luck!

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Gone to the Cats

More adorable cat pictures.  I'm shameless!



 Wanna bath?  Who me?

  My boy Rosie and his buddy Dood


 Ah, it's just my size


Mama's Boy

Last Saturday, we took our cat, Rosie, back to the vet to have his sugar level rechecked (this was part one of the birthday day). Thankfully it was much lower than before, about 260 points lower, but that doesn't mean his condition has reversed or that he won't require shots.  We are simply getting some data to proceed with. 

Next up was a trip to the Bo (BoJangles for the uninitiated) for some lunch.  It would have been breakfast except for the cat thing.  We stopped by the car dealer for a stroll around the lot in the wind.  The lot is on a hill and the wind cuts across it like a knife through butter.  Nada.  

On to Wal-Mart for more Fancy Feast for the fussy feline, and a diabetes testing kit and strips.  I guess it's official now.  Face the facts, you're little boy's diabetic, at least for now. In treating diabetic cats, the key is  partly in what you feed them.  The lower the sugar and carbs and higher the fiber the better.  Certain varieties of Fancy Feast canned food were recommended by our vet and also by some on-line sources.  This has had an unfortunate result.  Rosie wasn't crazy about the new "diet kibble" we got.  You know, that high dollar prescription stuff that you can only get from your vet.   Well, when you combined his obvious distaste for that with the yummy new "treat" food, you get one fabulously fussy feline.  All three cats are used to free feeding, which, in fact, is good for the diabetic cat as it helps keep their sugar level on an even keel.  However, free feeders graze throughout the day versus eating regular meals, and canned cat food does not lend itself to this method.  Now Rosie wants the "good stuff" whenever he gets the urge to graze.  What to do?  That's one of the questions we're trying to figure out.  

The other problem is using the glucometer to do the blood sugar test on his poor little ear.  I suspect that it hurts me more than it does him.  Our first attempt drew nothing to test with, and only served to traumatize him.  He was beginning to tremble like when he goes to the vet.  After all, he'd just had this done the day before.  

This is new to all of us, and we're just muddling through the best we can.  Our vet recommended we get a glucometer especially for cats for, oh, around $175.  I  did a little on-line research and discovered nearly everyone uses regular "human" glucometers.  We took advice from someone who has worked with diabetic cats both personally and professionally, as well as humans, and got a $12 one from Wal-Mart.  I expect that will be just fine, especially if we actually get a sample to work with.

Anyone have experience with diabetic cats?

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Just Another Day

Just me here, pondering on the day.  I haven't accomplished much today.  We started the day with our usual homemade waffles.  Yeah, the kind made in a waffle maker, not popped into the toaster.  This has been a Sunday morning ritual for quite a while.  Backing up a bit, the day actually started with me feeding Rosie some of his mush food (canned cat food - this time it was beef), and I crawled back into bed for a few minutes.  We got up to the sound of throwing up - on the bathroom carpet.  That would be Rosie - I guess the beef didn't set too well.  This was the first time since implementing the new food that he has "lost his cookies" so maybe it was that one can/flavor.

After breakfast we made a trip to Wal-mart for shoe laces, milk, eggs, cheese and, of all things, transmission fluid.  Now we've got to keep that truck running as it's my sole source of transportation these days.  No luck in the car search this weekend.  Anyway, we got the truck back on track at least for now.  We'll get our mechanic to check it out and hopefully find out what's causing the leak.  Just one more thing on the ever-increasing heap of "stuff to do".

I did talk with my friend Ashley for a while.  She (and the kids) are doing better after a round of strep throat tore through their household.  Kevin was the only one who escaped the attack.  
 
As for the rest of the day, I have just been hanging out spending time on the computer, checking out my regular haunts plus a few new, interesting reads.  The weather has warmed up this weekend, but I stayed in just kind of bummed about Rosie and his health issues.  We need to take him back to the vet soon for a re-check on his sugar level.  We're pretty sure he's become diabetic since he's drinking a lot more water and his sugar level was 485 last time.  We're hoping a change in diet with reward us with a reversal of his condition.  It does happen sometimes.  He had a different variety this afternoon and all seemed fine, and I didn't find any more "decorations" on the floor.

I wound up with a sinus headache late this afternoon.  Aren't those miserable?  Dinner time rolls around and I opened the fridge, pulled out eggs, English muffins, butter (Smart Balance) and some leftover sausage patties.  That was my dinner.  Yum!  No, not really, but it was food. So the day wasn't all that exciting, but it was indeed a day, each is unique in it's own way, and beats the heck out of the alternative wouldn't you say?

So, how was your day?

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Does Your Bathroom Need a Pet Door?

Seriously.  I suppose y'all think I'm nuts for asking such a question, but if you live with cats or at least cats like ours, you know what I'm talking about.  We have three cats, and some days it's like Grand Central Station in and out of our bathroom.  They won't close the door when come and go, so out goes my heat and I end up shivering in the shower, well at least after my shower anyway.  Are your cats like that?

OK, just latch the door you say.  Ha!  You don't know our cats, do you.  Sophie will beat her head or some other body part (I can't tell because I'm in the shower at that point) up against the door until the offending door is opened for her - by someone else when he gets tired of the racket or worries that she'll beat her brains out (no comment).

Quite often when she realizes someone's going into the bathroom, she gets up and heads in to get her attention.  She'll put her head down and pretend she's going to roll over to one side, then switches to the other side - ha! faked you out.  This is prime petting time for her, and she doesn't always leave when you leave, she just waits for the next visitor.  She's been known to spend hours in there.  Sometimes she stays during the shower.  If she's already in there when get ready to start my shower, I latch the door.  She's usually OK with that, and it means I stay warm.

Here's Sophie holding court in the bathroom.





Dood, on the other hand, will just lay quietly on the other said of the closed door, waiting.  He is the patient one of the bunch.  If the door is not latched, he'll come in and sit and stare at the shower curtain.  Hmmm, what's going on in there?  I wonder if he's surprised when I peak out at him?  Then he'll leave and come back and leave again.  See why I think our bathroom needs a pet door?  There's too much in-ing and out-ing going on, and it's not unusual to have more than one in at a time.

If the door is closed and Rosie wants in, he'll sit outside and cry...er meow.  Nah, Rosie never "meows".  He has his own language with an extensive vocabulary.  He'll occasionally stay in the bathroom for showers too.  Sometimes, I find him in the small space between the tub and the toilet.  No idea why that particular spot appeals to him but I do believe he feels warmer in there.  He has long, silky hair without the undercoat most cats have, so he feels the cold more than the others.



I guess to sum it up, all of our cats, even those who have gone on, have enjoyed bathroom visiting for whatever reason.  I'd love to hear your cat stories!

Edited to add the pics.

Monday, January 25, 2010

New Pic

Y'all know I can't resist showing off my kitties.  Here are my cuties today all snuggled up together.  They are the greatest buds! 

Rosie is the gray one, and Dood is black & white.


Sunday, January 10, 2010

The Long and Short of it.

I caught this really cute pose, and just couldn't resist posting yet another picture of my "babies".  Actually, Rosie is my baby, and Sophie is her "Daddy's Girl".  They both have their quirks.  Rosie is the old timer around here.  He will be 13 in June, whereas Sopie is truly the baby of the household at about 3 1/2.  We believe she'll be 4 sometime in May.

Sophie (back) and Rosie

This is a shot of Rosie with his other bud, Doodle (or Dood for short).  Not to be confused with Dude, although he is that sometimes, too.  The reason for the title of this post is that when Doodle was a baby, we think he had an accident involving the under-the-hood area of car (possibly one of ours), that injured his tail, and we had to have it amputated.  It is a cute little black stub about 2 inches long, and yes, the hair did grow back, thank goodness.  It was quite vulgar looking for a while.  He was born in the summer of 2000 and lived outside until Christmas of 2007, about a month after we got Sophie.  Now the three of them are friends, and Dood idolizes Rosie.  There are more kitty cat stories and pictures where these came from.

Doodle is the black and white one.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Rainy Day Ramblings

It's a rainy afternoon, and my gas tank is on Empty.  Is that a sign?  So where did all this rain come from anyway?  Only Ida knows, as she blew into Alabama early this morning.  We've had such good weather here lately that I hadn't been keeping up with the national weather scene.  I've spent much time in the yard cleaning up after Mother Nature as the trees eject their dying leaves.  Yes, that's right.  The trees kick the leaves out to dry up and wither away, sucked up and hauled off to become mulch in someone else's yard across the street or across town.

Yes, I am rambling today, but I don't have any big sales to talk about, no community events to invite you to, and no coupons or rebates to tempt the bargain hunters.  It's just me musing on the day.  I went to the Y for my Zumba class, and for lunch I had a tasty chicken salad sandwich prepared fresh from my kitchen.  OK, I'll admit it, I used canned chicken, but it is good.  I used Valley Fresh all natural white and dark meat.  I get it at Wal-Mart for about $2 for a 10-oz can.  It has less salt per serving than the other brands and is made with both white and dark meat which gives it more flavor.  In my book that means more bang for your buck.  Add that to whole grain bread and you've got a healthy lunch, or at least reasonably so - I did use mayonnaise, and garlic pepper for seasoning.

The big question that remains is am I going to brave the rain and get gas, and possibly go to Wal-Mart, or just tell myself there's nothing I need that badly, and hang inside until the rain stops.  From the looks of the radar that's going to be a while.

Pause while I check out the noise in the kitchen.  Well, that was exciting, at least for one of the cats.  Sophie was eating, and a sharp crashing sound nearly scared the fur off of her.  Food went flying and water sloshed into the food bowl.  So much for that - soggy food goes into the trash can.  What happened was I have a decorative item on the ceramic tile in my kitchen held on by a small suction cup.  Every now and then it turns loose and hits the counter.  Not really a big deal unless you're a skittish feline twit.  What can I say, she's our twit!


click to enlarge

Here she is with one of her favorite toys.  It was Rosie's toy, a fishing pole we brought back from a shop in San Diego. But Sophie took it over, and promptly ate about 8 inches off the end.  I picked it up one day and noticed it was considerably shorter.  When I couldn't find the missing length, we were pretty sure we knew what had happened to it.  Sure enough, after several days it showed up - I won't say where but I know you know.  Needless to say, she doesn't get to play with that anymore.  Oh, and that's not all she's eaten...

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

A Rose by Any Other Name...Would Still be Gray

Have you looked at my profile picture?  Doesn't look like a rose, does it?  Doesn't look like me either.  You're probably thinking it looks like a cat.  Bingo!  That's my Rosebud, aka "Rosie", aka "the Rose".  He is my 12 year old little boy.  Thinks he's a human, he does.  Twelve years ago this month we went to the Humane Society in search of a cat or kitten.  We had recently lost our 15 year old to old age/kidney failure.  He had been FIV positive for a number of years, but lived a happy life anyway.  I was looking for another "best friend", preferably a white/off-white long hair.  What I got was so far removed from that image words fail to express it.

Rosie is a long hair, all gray down to his toe pads - only his tongue is pink.  He was a cute little sucker (literally, but I'll get to that in a minute).  I knew he was going to be a big cat.  At 4 1/2 months his ears and paws were huge in proportion to the rest of his body, so I decided he needed a big-cat name.  I thought Nicholas would be a fair representation of the cat he would become.  I couldn't have been more wrong!  Now, he loved people initially, and in particular, loved to suck on your arm, your shirt, whatever was readily available.  He had to be all over you to the point that I threatened to "sell him down the river".  He was just a very loving kitten.  I feel that part of his problem was that he was "fixed" too soon.  He was only 4 1/2 months old when we got him and it was done before that.

Back to the naming part.  Since Nicholas didn't pan out, I needed to come up with something else.  For lack of anything better, my husband started calling him "Bud".  At that point, I said he's more like a Rosebud, and thus he was named.  Mostly we call him Rosie or Rose.  He is indeed a big cat at around 14 lbs.  He is long, with long legs and a mane like a small, gray lion.

He is still my little boy, and one of my best-est friends.


 
Click to enlarge