An update on Rose

Rose when a bit younger

I've mentioned before that Rose is now 22... and thinner, weaker, and more mellow than she was at a younger age. We almost lost her about 6-8 weeks ago. But she has rallied like a trooper... and is almost acting like her old self again (which is feisty!).

She has done so well that this past week we decided to bite the bullet and take her to the Vet to have some mats shaved off. At her age, she is not so meticulous about her grooming... and has mats around her rear. We have tried everything at home to remove them ourselves (even buying different types of de-matting razors) but she will have none of it. And we didn't think she could handle being anesthetized (which they have had to do in the past to get the job done).

So... after talking to the Vet and the Tech, they decided to muzzle her and try to do it without anesthesia. I was also afraid that if she got too upset, it would cause her heart to give out, but they promised me that if she showed any signs of mouth breathing, they would immediately stop.

Well, they did get it done! But she was definitely NOT a happy camper. You could hear her protests all over the Veterinary clinic... and she can be LOUD!  But no one got bit,  the job was done ... and best of all, she survived the ordeal!  

She is home now and has actually resumed her grooming as we keep finding little tuffs of white hair everywhere. So we're guessing that she is feeling better and doing her best not to have to ever go through that again. 

Life is good.

Rose has one... you're allowed a limited amount of petting

Brownie bark recipe...

Here's the Brownie Bark Recipe I mentioned in my previous post:

Brownie Bark  
(I add 1/2 tsp of espresso powder to dry ingredients - gives it a little 'bite')

Enjoy!

long overdue update...

Sad faced Tux

It occurred to me recently that I've ignored this site to write mostly on my "Older but better" site. Well, I decided to post some pics here that relate more to just Cats, Coffee, and Chocolate. This is a picture of Tux as he likes to sit with his head resting on the end table...

These next 2 signs I like:

 What a good way to think about retirement!

What would we do without coffee? I would have the world's worst headache. The few times I've had to stop drinking coffee, I get that 'lack of caffeine' headache. I know that caffeine is basically a drug... one that we become addicted to at a young age. But if coffee actually bad for you? From what I've read, no. In fact it seems that the consensus of medical opinions is that 1-2 cups of coffee a day is actually good for you. I sure hope so.

Brownie Bark

And this Brownie Bark is my newest chocolate craze!  It's an easy recipe and definitely delicious and addictive...

With cats, coffee, and chocolate in mind -

Happy Valentine's Everyone!

a tale of 4 kittens...

Skita (previously Termite)

This is the story of 4 kitties... 4 little black ferals.  The first one lives in the backyard with his skinny mama. He is the one outside survivor of a litter of 6. DH and I took the others to the Adoption Room at our local Animal Shelter. We left this one (the runt) with his mama. We originally called him Termite, but now call him Skita as he's no bigger than a mosquito... and although about 3 months old... is still tiny and somewhat shaky when he walks. DH and I don't think he'll ever be normal, but we're giving him a chance. His mama watches him very closely and is never far away.

Having an AMT background, I've done a little research and believe that he may have a mild case of Cerebellar Hypoplasia, which is a bit similar to Cerebral Palsy in humans.His walk is shaky, his head bobs, and he occasionally falls over. Otherwise, he eats, sleeps, and plays like any other kitten.

There's another half grown female in the yard who's mother and sibling took off and left her when she was about 6 weeks old. She has attached herself to skinny mama and Skita... and acts like an adopted older sister keeping an eye on Skita when skinny mama isn't around. DH and I call her Aunt Polly.

Then there's another black mama who showed up with 2 little black kittens about 6-7 weeks old. We call them 'the twins'. One is always running around the back yard on his own. The other sticks close to his mama and seems to be afraid of his own shadow.

And then.... there's "the wanderer" in the side yard. He's a little ball of black fluff. His mama leaves him a lot and he never stays where she left him. He wanders about and cries. But he's very brave and has no fear of other cats.

Occasionally all 4 kittens are in the back at the same time and will play together. Today was one of those days. I tried to use my iPhone and get a video of them playing. In it if you look closely, you can see how shaky Skita is.  It starts off with Skita...

Termite meets turtle...

We have a very small feral kitten that lives with his mom in our back yard. We call her "skinny mama" as she is very thin... although she eats well. She is also an excellent mama and takes very good care of this kitten... who is also very small for his/her age. We think he or she is about 8 weeks.

Anyway, I was washing dishes at the sink and happened to look out the window. Termite (tiny kitten) was sneaking up on a good sized box turtle that was eating from the cat food bowls. I immediately grabbed my camera and shot a few pics.

As you can see, Termite was hiding in the grass as the turtle approached. However, in the last 2 shots, he heard my camera and turned to look...

Update on recent feral kittens

If you'd like an update on the recent feral kittens,

go here under "kittens and tea".

a new litter...

new feral kittens

I know it's hard to see them, but we found this new litter of feral kittens on the side of the house a few days ago. If you look hard, you can see... maybe 4 black ones and 1 little gray.  The mama is a tiny little black feral. She takes off when we get close, but always returns.

We will keep an eye on them and hopefully take them in at about 4 weeks old... (old enough to start eating on their own). At this time we will bring them over to the Adoption Room at our no kill shelter. If we can catch mama, we will bring her in too... to be spayed.