Starla's SUNday!

Starla writes:

I know you don't hear from me as much as from the others, but you will be hearing me meow more now!  About three weeks ago, Mommy and Daddy made a major change happen in my life.  As long as they've known me, I've been a scaredy-kitty of the others and of changes.  I was worried when my purrents said something new was going to happen, but it turned out to be a very good thing!

They put me in the carrier and took me to the vet.  I meowed the whole way there, crying to get out, but when we got there all I wanted to do was stay in the carrier and be by my purrents.  I was a very good girl when I got my temperature taken, but Mommy had warned me about that so I was kind of ready for it.  I didn't like being made to stand on the scale, but got through that ok.

The doctor tried to take a pee sample, but I wouldn't cooperate.  He looked at the spots where I've been licking myself bald on my tummy and legs.  He wanted to get a pee sample to once again rule out any stones or infection, but Daddy was firm with him that I wasn't physically sick and tests had already been done by our other vet.  The doctor looked at my chart and agreed to give them some anti-anxiety medicine for me.

Ick!  Medicine!  I have to get rolled up in a blankie and sat on a lap like a human baby to take it, then Mommy pries open my mouth and makes me swallow the pill.  Sometimes I play hide-and-seek with it in my teeth and cheek, but she finds it and gives it to me again.  The first couple weeks, Daddy held me while Mommy gave the meds, but now I let Mommy do it all by herself.  I even came over one time to let her know that it was time for her to give it to me!

They're hoping that, eventually, I'll be as good about taking my medicine as Uncle Skylar was with taking his.  I don't know about that, because he was extremely good about his!  He let them know it was time, sat down, and did everything he was supposed to except open his mouth!

My meds are really helping me, though!  That's why today's a SUNday!  Sunny attitude, sunny day outside!  I love being this happy!  I can play without worrying that someone's going to jump me for the toy.  I can use the box or my pee pad without worrying who else has used the box recently.  I ask for more attention from my purrents and from others who visit.  I even talk to my toys as I carry them!  A few days ago, Mommy heard me talking from down the hall, and knew I was holding something in my mouth because I was muffled.  Sure enough, I came walking to her, talking all the way, with the fuzzy Christmas cape in my mouth and dangling it like a kitten!  Freya and I have an understanding about the fuzzies now, the fleece things in the house that used to belong only to her.  They are shared between us now.  Rori and I share possesion of the catnip pillow.  We trade off.  I carry that around, too!

Looking forward to more happy days!

Happy Birthday to Tabby!

Tabby writes:

It's my birthday already?  I'm not eight years old, am I?  That's how old Mommy way saying I would be today when we went visiting on Wednesday.  My friends always ask how old I am, and Mommy said, "She'll be eight on Sunday."  Two of my friends were worried about how old I might live to be, but were reassured that I just now am considered a senior cat.  Don't worry, friends!  I have a few more years of visiting left!  I'm not ready to quit that yet.  No way!

We got treats delivered two days ago in preparation for my birthday.  Well, they actually are a product sample to review, but we'll get them today.  *licks lips in anticipation*  I love my treats, and am happy to share with the others, too.  The delivery guy scared us, though.  Since we live on a busy street, the Fed-Ex people are told to deliver to our back door.  I was resting in a chair right by the door when, all of a sudden, the guy knocked loudly on it!  We didn't know there would be a delivery, and Mommy thought they would try knocking on the front first or leave the package on the front porch like the other delivery services do.  Nope!  We all ran for it, and even Mommy jumped!  We came right back to see what the package was, and I got to sit on the box first.

Therapy Cat Tales

Tabby writes:

I had a very good day today, in spite of the pouring rain.  I was very glad for my rain jacket and my umbrella, which Mommy held over my stroller so that I didn't get very wet.  Some of the drops came through, but not many.

I slept most of the way to H., except for when we boarded the MAX.  I don't like the sound the MAX makes and the vibration when it comes.  We had extra time, so we walked almost a mile instead of riding the second MAX.  It was in-between cloudbursts, so we were pretty dry for the walk.  The roses were beautiful and smelled good, but I didn't want to get close to them.  I was still waking up.

S. walked around with us for our visit.  The first person we saw on our floor was A., who just lights up whenever he sees me.  He calls me "My Kitty", and you can tell it has capitals from the way he says it!  "Hi, My Kitty," he says as he pets me and scritches my chin.  I actually got to visit with him twice, because he was downstairs later when we went down there to find someone else.

A.M. has become one of my favorite people to visit.  She always lets me sit on her lap, and doesn't care how I lie down or sit on her.  I wanted to curl up on her bed, but Mommy wouldn't let me.  I decided I would settle down against her leg, and she loved that.  She kept laughing, saying, "This old lady loves you."  Yep, I know, and I love her back!  I purred for her, kneading away, with my head on her knee and my eyes closed while she stroked my jowls.  Pure contentment!

I wanted to stay with A.M. for longer, but there were others to visit with.  We went downstairs, where the social hour was just getting over.  That's where A. was for my second visit with him.  S., B., E., and another friend were down there as well.  I got more pets and demonstrated some of my commands for them, because they hadn't seen me do any of those before.

After we were done at H., Mommy took me to a new place.  It's called C.  Someone at H. who used to live at C. told us that they might want me to visit over there, so we dropped by to see.  We walked in to the lobby and were greeted with smiles and pets for me, with questions for Mommy about me.  The people behind the desk were very nice, but I wasn't allowed to go behind the desk to make it easier for them to pet me.  They called the nurses to find out who would like a visit from me and got one reply.  When we got to the room, the lady and her daughter-in-law welcomed us in.  I got up on the lady's bed while they both petted me.  I said hi to them, then settled down against the lady's leg and side, snuggling in so that she'd know I was there.  I listened to them tell about raising baby squirrels, rescuing a kitten who growled like a tiger, and other fun kitty stories.  I love to hear about other kitty families!  The lady would like me to visit her regularly, so we'll try to do that each time after we go to H.

PhotoHunt: Grin and Happy Birthday!

Carbon writes:

Can you see me grinning?  I'm so happy, I even have my little vampire fangs sticking out!  You can see one of them if you look at my mouth above my right eye.  I'm grinning because it's my birthday!!!  I turned 8 years old today!  Mommy says that makes me a senior cat.  Wait a minute!  I don't feel old.  What are you saying, Mommy?  Oh, you're saying I'm a gentleman cat now?  Ok, I'll accept that.  I just hope I can still zoom and play when I'm this old. Daddy says I can, though.

I don't think of myself as 8 years old.  I still think of myself as a tiny kitten, like when my purrents adopted me.  I'm so glad that the family who had my mama cat took care of me when I was born and gave me to the feed store so my purrents could adopt me.  But that's a story for next month!  I'm grateful to that family, even though they don't know where I ended up and my purrents don't know who they were.  They gave me a good start in life and did what was right.  Thank you, whoever you were!

Off for a catnap now to dream of playing chase, then I'll spend the day lounging around, enjoying the company of my family, and playing with Little Bit and Dare.  They love to zoom, too!  Oh, and I'm going to share part of my birthday with our Facebook friend Spaghetti-Bob, because he and his brother are celebrating their birthdays today.  It should be fun!

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PhotoHunt: Quaggy

According to our dictionary, the most commonly used definition of "quaggy" is "marshy".  We live in a very quaggy place!  This picture is of the farm across the road from us.  We are surrounded on three sides by marsh, if you don't count the road out in front of our house.  It's a very peaceful place to live!

On another "quaggy" note, this is one of the very few years that Rose Festival Week has not been quaggy!  The Starlight Parade is tonight, and we have sunny, warm weather!  There's a saying in the Portland, OR, metro area around this time:  (looking out the window at or standing in the rain) "It must be Rose Festival!"  Not this year!  Mommy's glad of it, because her children's dance group (Sons of Norway's Grieg Lodge Leikarringen) is participating in the Junior Rose Parade on Wednesday.  It's supposed to be 83 degrees!

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