Sunday Summary

We've had a lot going on this week here at the PDX pride!!!  Socializing, a vet visit, hunting monsters, being afraid of Mommy's witch hat (for a Halloween party at her work), and hanging out with Daddy.  We'll let each other tell the highlights of the week.

Tigress writes:

I love my house and my inside family!  It's so nice being inside when it's wet outside, especially when it's cold.  Even when it's dry outside, I realize now that my inside family wants me to come inside to visit them at night.  I've been spending almost a third of the time in with them, especially at night, but they let me out when I want.  I even hopped up on the bed when Mommy was sleeping to let her know I wanted out one time, and another time I walked all the way to Daddy's chair when the TV was on to let him know I wanted out!  I realize that TV isn't as scary as I originally thought, but I still don't like it.  Panther and I have been getting along well.  I am worried about his eyes and ears, so I make sure to check on him every time I come in.  I'll let him tell how he's doing, though.

Panther writes:

I had to go to the vet again!  Foster Mommy and Grandpa took me this time, because Foster Daddy started a new job and was very tired after a week of training.  That's fine, because I like Grandpa.  I knew what the vet was going to check, and growled at the nurse when she took out the thermometer.  They were very nice to me, though.  I got some new medicine that's really helping me!  It's a liquid medicine, so no more drops in my eyes.  The vet said my eye infection turned into an upper-respiratory infection.

The medicine is helping me so much that I now feel like playing again!  This morning, I was running around trying to get my aunties and uncles to play with me, but they kept on growling and hissing.  That made me nervous, so I attacked them!  Mommy and Daddy yelled at me for it and stomped their feet or clapped to break up the fights.  Not fun, and certainly not playing!  I don't even know why I keep on getting into fights.  I don't want to!  Somehow, I manage to start fights, though.  I try to make up for it afterward by trying to apologize to whoever I attacked, but they don't want to accept my apologies until a few hours later.  Why not?  Inside kitty rules are very confusing!

Little Bit writes:

I tackled a monster, but it won!  No, I'm not talking about Panther, although I did fight with him and won.  I'm talking about the air monster that lives underneath the house.  It blows my fur around when I stand over the vent, and is nice and warm right now, but it makes a horrible sound when it starts up.  Since it's started to be a little colder here, the air monster has been making sounds more often.  I decided a few nights ago to fight it.  Big mistake!  It was in the middle of the night, so the house was mostly quiet, meaning I could hear the air monster start up.  I went over to its escape route and attacked!  I pulled its door open, but the door itself made such a horrible noise that I ran away!  It clanged and banged, squeaking as it came up, then banged down to the floor when I ran!  Mommy woke up and put the door back on the vent, because she didn't want anyone exploring the monster's lair.  She calls it ductwork.

Tabby writes:

I put myself to bed last night!  We were all out together for a long time, because Carbon, Starla, and I have been getting along better again.  I start getting sleepy around midnight, so I curled up with Daddy for a bit, then told him I wanted to be carried into the green room for night-night time.  He said I could go to bed myself.  I walked over to Mommy, got my good-night petting, then walked down the hall.  I hopped up onto the tote I've chosen as my bed, then yelled down the hall for Mommy to come in to tuck me in!  She came in, petted me again, kissed the top of my head, turned out the light and shut the door.  ZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!  Later on, she let Carbon in to join me when it was night-night time for him.

Mini Mancat Monday Eye Repurrt

Panther writes:

My owie eye is doing better!  It's still very winky, and very weepy, but I can see better out of it.  That is, until Foster Mommy puts the drops in and everything goes watery!  Unfortunately, since it's so weepy, the dried goop covers my ear and the side of my face.  That's the side I like to sleep on, so it drips down over my fur when I sleep.  The infection also got into my other eye!  Foster Daddy says it's because I wipe my paw over both eyes to try to clean them, so I spread the infection from one to the other.  That means I have to get the drops in both eyes now!  Grrrrrrr....

On the other paw, Auntie Tigress and I are actually getting along!  She and I weren't sure about each other when she came back last week, because of her chasing me and me taking her territory when we'd seen each other last.  I told her I didn't mean to take her territory and that I've been guarding it well.  She forgave me and actually has been trying to headbutt me!  She's also been checking on me and my hurty eyes when they go watery after Foster Mommy puts the drops in.  She sniffs my face and leans against my side, then walks away.  That's her way of giving me a hug, I think!  Unless she surprises me by it, I like it.  If I'm surprised and don't know she's there before she does that, then I hiss or growl but immediately realize who it is and stop.  Foster Mommy thinks it's the cutest thing, and so does Foster Daddy (but he hasn't seen her do that yet)!

I don't like that Auntie Tigress gets to go outside during the day and I don't.  I get mad at that and cry at the door for a few minutes, then go pout in the hallway.  I understand it's because I'm still taking my medicine, but why does she get so much attention when she comes back in?  My foster purrents say it's because she's still learning what being inside means.  Ok, but it didn't take me that long to adjust!  She adjusted easier to using the box than I have, though.  I still don't cover, and I whine at the door for about 10 minutes before going in to use the box.  She covers and doesn't whine about it.  Showoff!

I did one thing that she hasn't done, though.  I snuggled with Foster Daddy on the big chair!  I was looking up at him, so Foster Mommy picked me up and put me behind his knees.  Both of them encouraged me to lie down and petted me, so I curled in that spot.  It was so comfy that I snuggled and purred almost naturally!  I didn't stay long, but they said that was good for a first try snuggling behind someone's knees!

Mini Mancat Monday: Panther's owie eye!

Panther writes:

I have an owie in my eye!  It really hurts!  Foster Mommy has to drop some medicine in it every 6 hours, which makes it hurt more for a few minutes then makes it feel better for a while.  Boy, does it ever sting when the drops go in!  The first few times, I didn't want to move my third eyelid for her, but then I started to notice that it helped if my eye was open more.  Now I keep my eye open enough so the drops can coat it.  I also have some oral medicine that I have no problem taking, because it makes the pain go away for a while and also makes me sleepy.  I get that one at night.

When my foster purrents took me to the vet, I cried the whole way there and back.  I hate car rides, and hate being confined to that carrier!  I told the receptionist all about it when we got to the vet, so she got us into a small room faster.  Then, I was able to get out and walk around, although I spent most of the time under Foster Mommy's chair or within petting distance of Foster Daddy.  The vet had to take me into the larger room in the back to put some stuff in my eye so she could see what was going on.  She thinks it's some kind of an infection, so we're all hoping it goes away with the normal eye medication.

But, she said I can't go outside until two weeks from now!  That's 14 days without checking out my territory!  I've never been gone from it this long since I found it.  What if another cat takes over?  I want to go out and explore, but my foster purrents say it's doctor's orders that I stay inside so they can give me my medicine when they're supposed to.  Phooey to them!  Crying at the door doesn't help, and looking sad and cute doesn't help, either.  At least I'm a good boy about using the box every time, now that I've figured it out.  I still don't cover my poop, but Uncle Heimdall hops in after me and covers it for me most of the time.

By the way, if you missed the book launch party for Three Feral Kittens, you can still check out all the links and information on the website!

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!

Miss Marble has exercise jailbreaks!

Miss Marble writes:

Yesterday I got to have three supervised jailbreaks for exercise!  After the first one, my legs were very wobbly and I had to take a long nap in the carrier.  The second one went much better, and on the third one I was walking almost normally!  I still have that mucous coming out of my rear end, though, so Mommy follows me with a wipe or a soft, dry washcloth so I don't leak everywhere.  I even got to sniff my sister and talk with her through a crack in the door on my last jailbreak!  She and I were so glad to be able to smell each other, but we wanted to greet each other properly.  Our purrents said that we can't yet, though.

I took my medicines well again, plus I was very well-behaved for my pee pad changes.  I'm eating my dry food and drinking my water.  My pee looks and smells normal, but I hate that I have a pee pad instead of a litter box or dirt.  I yell, then someone changes my pee pad and cleans me up as much as possible.  They can't do too much to my rear end, because of my stitches, but they can clean around those.

Mama Freya bopped me on the head on one of my jailbreaks, but she was nice to me on the next one.  I don't know why she bopped me on the head, but my purrents think it's because I smell of pee and medicine.  I'd just taken my medicines.  I'm glad she licked my head the next time!  Maybe she didn't realize who I was?

Update on Tabby

Tabby writes:

I'm taking my medicine and being a good girl drinking water from the water bowl.  Mommy got me some (human) baby food, chicken-flavored, which is more watery than the canned food.  Funny, it makes me thirstier!  Maybe that's from the medicine, though?

Good news, bad news for Tabby

Tabby writes:

We just got the results back from my latest blood test.  It's not hyper-T.  It's mild hepatitis.  My thyroid levels are all within range, so it's just the liver levels that are elevated.  I'm getting three medicines to take for the next few weeks, because I've either got:

1.  A primary infection that is causing my liver some trouble.

or

2.  My liver's having some trouble and I got a secondary infection.

The good thing is it's not contagious to the other cats or to humans.

P.S.  There's a slight possibility that it's cancer of the liver, but that's a very slight possibility.  We'll do the medicines for the infection first, and then I'll have another blood test once I'm over the infection.

Mini Mancat Monday: I coughed up a monster!

Hemming writes:

I coughed up a monster in the litter box!  It was icky, squirming, and bad-smelling.  Foster Mommy said it was something called roundworms and my half-eaten food.  Whatever it was, I wanted it gone and buried, so I buried it!  Foster Mommy scooped it out of the box right away and threw it away, along with the poop that I was doing when the monster came out of my mouth.

She then took me into the bathroom and gave me a big pill to swallow.  I tried to get rid of it, but she said I had to swallow it.  I finally did, but my eyes got really big when I swallowed!  She said that pill was for tapeworms, but I had to take it because I had a flea on me also.  Just one flea, and I had to take that big pill?  What would have happened if it had been more than one flea?  Foster Mommy says that the flea can have tapeworms, so I needed the pill.  Good, because I don't want more monsters!

After I swallowed that pill, Foster Mommy gave me some liquid medicine.  I had the liquid medicine before, a few weeks ago, but obviously I needed more.  It didn't take care of all the monster wormies the first time, so we're trying it again.  I kind of like the caramelly taste of the medicine, but I don't like it for the time it takes me to drink all the liquid.  It's too much after a while.  Foster Mommy tried mixing some of my food in, but I wouldn't eat the food after the medicine soaked into it.  She looked for a syringe or an eyedropper, but couldn't find them.  Finally, she got the idea of a straw!  I love straws, and will carry them around the house.  She put it in a mug, then poured my medicine into the mug.  I played with the straw while she did that, and sniffed the contents of the mug.  Then, she put her finger over the hole in the top of the straw and trapped some of the medicine in it.  She lifted it up for me to drink!  Wow!  I got to drink out of a straw!  Boy, did I ever lap that up.  I got most of the medicine that way, so she thinks I got enough to kill those bad roundworms.  I drank most of it myself, but she had to put the straw into my mouth for the last bit because I was done with that flavor.  She said I was a good little boycat, though, taking my medicines!  I just hope the nasty roundworm monsters are gone this time.

Thankful Thursday: Begging for Medicine

Skylar writes:

Yes, those of you who commented on yesterday's post were right: I DO beg for my medicine. I'm very thankful to have it! Before my vet figured out I needed to be on medication, I would have days when I was racing all around terrorizing everything (including my littermate sister), then days when I would be too tired to do anything. I was happy, but hyper. That continued for 5 years, before I adopted Mom. My other family didn't know what was causing it, and the vet didn't run the right tests. When I adopted Mom, then she and Dad returned the favor, they took my sister and me to the vet. There, they ran blood tests on me and figured it out: hyperthyroidism, also called hyper-T. It's really common in cats, especially older cats. You can find out more about it here, but the basic symptoms are increased blood pressure, rapid weight loss, increased water consumption, and sometimes heart problems.

When I don't have my meds, I revert back to all that really quickly. It didn't take me long, only a couple weeks, to figure out it was that little tablet that made the difference. At first, I didn't want to take it, and would eat around it even when Mom put it in cheese or hotdog or something else I like. So she'd make me sit and then force it into my mouth. I'd spit it right back at her, of course, so she'd hold my mouth closed while I swallowed it. Once I figured out the tablet was the key to feeling better, though, I started running toward the kitchen when I heard the pill bottle rattle. For a few days, I would get mixed up and come when it was Mom's medicine bottle, but then I learned to distinguish between the two. I would even remind Mom and/or Dad when it was around the time I usually take my medicine! Mom was so surprised, but that's when things really started turning around health-wise for me as well, so she assumed that I'd made the connection. Now, even if I'm half-awake, I walk out to the kitchen when I hear, "Skylar, medicine time!" and patiently sit down. She has to open my mouth for me still; after all, I have to have some of my feline dignity! But that little tablet makes all the difference in the world, so I LOVE my medicine!

April Fools from the vet?

Skylar: Whattaya mean, no medicine? I have to have my medicine! *follows Mommy around*

Mommy: I'm sorry, buddy. The vet gave us the wrong thing!

Skylar: You're not April Foolin' me, are you?

Mommy: Nope, I wish I was. See, your label says it should be methimazole, but the bottle label says it's fluoxetine and it's definitely not shaped like your regular stuff.

Skylar: But I want my medicine!

Mommy: *pets Skylar and tries to reassure him* I'm sorry. It will have to wait until after 11:00 am. I'll call the vet right away when they open.

Skylar: After my 8:00 medicine time? I don't get my 8 am medicine either? *looks very, very sad*

Mommy: I'm so sorry, hun.

Skylar: *goes to sulk by the food bowl where Rori is eating* They better have the right stuff at 11 am. *goes to stick his nose in the bag where the other bottle is*

UPDATE:
Yes, we did get the right medicine now from the vet. Someone had put a special shipment of the other medicine in the wrong cupboard. Skylar is happy and medicated. :)