Happy Boxing Day

Okay, we are American Cats, so we really don't have a boxing day holiday. However, if there is a box around for us to get in then we are all for it! We hope all of our friends had a wonderful Christmas. Ours was on the quiet side. Mom and our uncle both had a stomach flu. Mom started feeling icky late Saturday night, and at 1:30am Sunday morning the festivities began. She was up about every two hours for about 6 hours. The nasty stuff stopped, but she ran a fever all day and just didn't feel well. Her fever broke over night and she felt a little better on Christmas day, but not enough to really eat. Our uncle was hit with it while he was at work on Christmas eve day. He works at "Wally World". The good news is he didn't get sick until his shift was about over. The bad news is, he exposed a lot of people to it. Of course, he didn't know he had it and that is what is sad. The other good news is he is feeling much better today.

I had my annual exam today. My vet said I'm in pretty good shape for a 17 year old kitty. I had my blood stolen and my claws trimmed and I also got my rabies vaccine. The vet said my lungs and heart sound great, and he didn't feel anything unusual when he was checking me out. I have lost a pound since November 2016. I weigh 7 lbs. now. I drink a lot of water, but I always have, so he isn't too worried about that. Mom told him that I like eating Sable's prescription kidney food and he said that was fine. And he added that I should be eating it anyway. YAY!!! It's nummy kibble. None of us like the canned prescription food.

Mom should hear from the vet with my lab report tomorrow. Hopefully it will all be good!

Purrs,

Clarissa

And then there were 12: Happy News!

It's wonderful to share some happy news. Do you remember those two two young kitties that were living in Tennessee? Mom decided to bring them home!!! She made a round trip drive from Louisville to Soddy Daisy, TN and back to Louisville on Saturday. Soddy Daisy, TN is just a little bit out of Chattanooga, TN. The girls are getting settled in and mama cat is trusting of mom. She isn't sure about the rest of us kitties though. She knows how to use the litter box and she is eating in the common area. Baby cat is wary. Once mom or uncle get her, she is fine. But she will take off like a shot if something loud scares her (like the front door opening). She is going to need a little work, but we think she is will be fine once she knows no is after her.

Mom has some good pictures of them, but she hasn't downloaded them from her phone yet.

Also, mom did stop by the 24-hour animal hospital before she brought the girls home. She had them tested for FeLuk/FIV. Both girls are negative for both illnesses. Mama and baby both got their first round of vaccines, and mama was big/old enough for her rabies vaccine. Both girls are scheduled for their spay surgery on January 4. 

Mom thought mama cat's name was Lavinia and baby cat's name was Rosalie, but she was wrong. Then she thought mama cat's name was Noel, and baby cat's name was Tovah. Now she thinks it may be the other way around. Mama is mostly white with some pale orange (more or a beige shade) patches. Baby is beige with white mittens on her front feet and full white stockings on her back feet & legs. Her belly is also white.

Mom was told that mama cat was born on March 1, which means she is still a baby herself. She weighs a little over 6 lbs. Baby cat weighs a little over 4 lbs. She is somewhere between 3-4 months old.

We will try to get some pictures posted of them soon.

Purrs,

Clarissa

And then there were 10: Fly Free sweet Memphis Meezer

Dearest Friends,

It has been a very rough four months for our household. Our Siamese/Manx, Memphis, crossed the Rainbow Bridge yesterday morning. Our vet discovered an irregular shaped growth in Memphis's mouth. He also had the beginning of a second one forming. It was with a heavy heart that I made the decision to say goodbye.

Memphis was adopted from the city shelter in February 2006 or 2007. I honestly don't remember. I do remember that he was approximately 2 years old, and that he took to my brother immediately. He made the ride home from the shelter with his hind quarters parked on the back of the seat and his front half draped over my brother's shoulder.

The saddest thing about Memphis was his mouth. That poor boy had mouth issues almost from the time he came to us. He had chronic gingivitis. He would go through a round of antibiotics and then have a thorough cleaning and be good to go for several months, and then it would start all over again. We always knew when the problem returned because he would get mad at his food dish because his mouth hurt.

Memphis was laying in my lap over the weekend and I noticed something on the side of his mouth, on the edge of his lip. It was a fleshy growth. I was concerned about it and that is why he was at the vet's office yesterday. His vet wasn't concerned about it, but was very troubled when she looked in his mouth. That is when she found the growths and some small lesions. He was also in a lot of pain when she was doing the exam.

The kindest thing I could do for Memphis was to let him go. This situation was not going to get better. Memphis has joined those who went before him. I hope they guided him on his journey.

With so many loses in such a short time I feel like I haven't had the time to properly grieve for Johnny, Spunky, Lily, and now Memphis. I also feel like it isn't a good time to bring in a kitten and her almost kitten mom. I am going to do what I can to help get them to a good home or to a no-kill rescue.

I know when one has a house full of senior cats, the time will come when goodbyes have to be said. But I never, ever expected that I would have to say goodbye to four of my precious babies within weeks of each other. It has left me feeling almost numb.

Kitties, hug your humans. Humans, hug your kitties.

Clarissa's Mom, Malinda