Rainy days, kids, and cats....

It's been raining for 2 days now here in Dallas.  Cats are loving the cool breeze coming in through the windows... and extra attention of grand kids who are a bit bored with having soccer games cancelled and no Park time.  But thank goodness for Nook, X-box, etc. 

GS wins Angry birds game

We did make it over to the pancake house for a diversion and breakfast.  DH and I shared strawberry crepes, DS had hash browns and Canadian bacon, and kids had chocolate chip pancakes!  Life is good.



Bed buddies and Aga buddies...









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Julie (8) and Ghost (5) on bed





Molly (19) in her spot on my chair








Rose (19) , Tux (8), and Jack(8) hanging out by Aga

This is a normal day for our 6 cats... lying about (or is it laying about?).  They occasionally get 'full of beans' and run around chasing invisible flying objects, or one decides to chase the other for no apparent reason but perhaps to hear the other squeal.  But they are all getting up there in years (except Ghost who has never been very active, not even as a kitten).  So-oo lying/laying about is their normal routine unless it's feeding time or they're watching the outside critters run around in the back yard.  Our french door in the kitchen acts as a TV screen that works both ways.  Either the inside kitties are lookin' out or the outside critters are lookin' in...

Tux watching TV

But they also watch a little TV...



The possum and the kitten...

"Hey, don't sneak up on me!"





This morning our little young possum came by for breakfast.  One of the half-grown kittens came by and sniffed him.  This shot was taken after the possum hissed at him... basically telling him to 'shove off!'   Then he resumed eating. 

Some people think possums are ugly.  I tend to think that they are rather cute.  Ours are especially handsome (as are the raccoons) as they are fed well and have thick shiny coats.  And the wildlife all seem to get along fairly well.  They give each other a wide berth at times... laying together at other times.  Occasionally there will be a hissing fight, but that's about it. 

Mama and baby coon

Baby coon up close

Ghost, Tux, and Jack...



Ghost and her birdie



This post really isn't about Ghost, but this picture I took of her on the bed was too cute not to post. And then there's Tux laying his head on my hand as I read.  Aren't they sweet?



Tux

We recently had a cat problem come up. Jack, our huge black and white 'heart of the house-hold' cat takes medication (Prednisolone 5 mg). He was diagnosed with Feline Leukemia about 5 years ago when he was 4.  Jack was born outside (along with his siblings, Tux, Julie, and Cocoa).  When his mother dropped the kittens off on my patio and then disappeared, we took them in.  My daughter took Cocoa and we still have the other 3.  Anyway, we took them to the Vet and had all of them tested, vaccinated, etc.  So, when Jack got sick the first time, we were confused.  He was tested negative as a kitten, and he'd never gone outside, how did he get this disease? We can only guess that it passed from his mother and didn't show up until 4 years later.  Anyway, he is not 'actively' sick with it.  But he has 'episodes' (so far only about 2 -3 times a year) when his blood count drops drastically and he turns yellow.  Anyway, even though we have been told many times that he would probably not survive, Rx Pred has always 'somehow' kept him going.  (BTW, we keep the others vaccinated and tested so they shouldn't be susceptible).



Our Jack

Now for some unknown reason, the Vet has told us that Prednisolone is no longer going to be available. When we ask why... because from what we've been told, there are a lot of cats on it... no one seems to know.  I'm guessing for some reason, it is no longer economically feasible.  Anyway, after discussing our options, we ended up ordering a special pill to be compounded for Jack.  It costs more than the old med, but hopefully it will work the same miracle with him.  We just got it this Saturday and hoped to all heaven that he would take it... since it is in the form of a treat (his others were pills and he's a good pill-er).  Well, luck has it that so far he seems to like it and chews it up readily.  Thank god for small favors.

Perusing old posts...



Thibbadeaux in 2002



"If the English language made any sense, a catastrophe would be an apostrophe with fur."

Doug Larson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I came across this picture and quote while I was perusing an old online journal yesterday.  Thibbadeaux was 9 then.  He died this past year at the age of 19.  He was a good cat and is sorely missed... especially by Molly who was his constant companion.  She is 19 also, but seems to be doing fine. She has 'slowed down' a bit - but haven't we all? 

 

Thibs' mother was one of my sons' cats.  She was schizophrenic. And I take it from some article I read years ago that research was being done concerning the schizophrenic gene in cats. It wouldn't be hard to believe. One minute his mother was extremely friendly, the next she was a raging wildcat (maybe I exaggerate... but still).  When she had kittens, she gave birth to a wide range of personalities. 

 

My daughter took one of the kittens and named him Hucklebug.  He grew into a beautiful large orange male with a white chest.  But he was a one-woman cat... 'mean as all get out' with most everyone else. DH and I  kept Thibs, a sweet orange tabby that for whatever reason was scared of his own shadow.  Spent a lot of time hiding (and boy could he hide!). He would only come out when DH and I were alone... and was never in the least interested in going outside. I told a friend once that it always looked like our house had been ransacked because Thibs would have every drawer and cabinet open as he searched for hiding places. And he was very quick with his paws... if the doorbell rang, you would see an orange blur and quick as a wink he would open a drawer or the cabinet under the sink and slip inside. But odd as he was, we loved him... and we still miss him.

 

 

I will tell this one story as it always makes me laugh when I think about it.  For some reason when one of my grandkids was about 4, he was afraid to use the hall bathroom when he came over. I finally asked him about it and... apparently he was in there one day when the bottom drawer slowly opened and Thibs stuck his head out and hissed at him!