And there were 7: RIP Sable

Dearest Friends,

It is with a heavy heart that I must share the sad news of Sable's passing. Sable crossed the Bridge on Tuesday, June 4, 2019. Mom held him through the entire procedure.

Sable joined our family on October 18, 2001 as a "free kitten." Two little girls were trying to find a home for him (his siblings had found homes.) Although mom wasn't looking for another kitty, she felt like she needed to take him. It was getting close to Halloween and Sable was solid black; those two things can end up badly. Mom got a box from the store and put Sable in it. She placed the box on the passenger seat and by the time she walked around the car to get into the driver's seat, Sable was already out of the box and sitting on the dashboard!

Although Sable was a "mama's boy," he would nap with her dad in the afternoon. He would sleep with mom at night and wake her up with his his meowing and poking her with a paw. Over the past year he had started sleeping on mom's head. Seriously. She would get in bed, get comfortable as a side sleeper, and Sable would curl up on her head/face. She always had her blanket over her head when Sable would do this.

Mom knew Sable's health was failing. His kidneys were going bad, his coat wasn't as shiny as it used to be, and he slept more and more. Mom found Sable in the kitchen late in the afternoon on June 4. He was facing the wall between the washing machine and the garbage can. Sable was meowing, but it was a different sound than his normal meow. He would take a few steps forward and bump the wall, the back up and do it again. His hind quarters were slumped and his feet were sliding when he walked.

Mom called the vet's office and told the she thought it might be time to say farewell to Sable. She and her brother went to the vet's office. Sable struggled when mom was wrapping him a bath towel. He eventually worked himself out and pooped on the floor of the SUV. While waiting for the vet to come into the exam room mom noticed that Sable's eyes were 100% dilated. Dr. S. watched Sable attempt to walk (the slipping of his back feet continued). When he sat down, she moved her hand in front of his eyes. There was no reaction. Sable was now blind. That explained the distressed meows and the walking into the wall. It was time to say goodbye.

Sable's loss has hit mom every bit as hard as mine did. She had raised both of use from kittenhood.

Ann from Zoolatry sent mom this beautiful memorial. Please feel free to share it if you want.

August 2001 - June 4, 2019

With much love,

Angel Clarissa

Sable's Vet Visit (check up)

Sable was dropped off at the vet this morning for his annuals and to have a boo-boo looked at. Our Sable is considered to be a medium hair cat. At age 15, his coat isn't as shiny as it used to be, and he has started getting some mats in his fur. Although he is a black cat, his undercoat is a soft gray. Mom could brush him for hours and he would continue to shed. The problem is when those little mats form in Sable's fur, mom said it is like the beginning of a human "dredlock". She either has to cut them out or pick them apart before she brushes him.

When it was time for bed last night, mom found LOTS of tuffs of black and gray fur that looked like Sable's fur. She picked it up and threw it out. Then Sable jumped on the bed and mom noticed a bare looking spot on his hip/thigh area. She took him out to the family room and gave him a good brushing. He pulled away from her when she went over the bare-ish spot. Upon further inspection she said it looked scabbed over. When she rubbed over it with her finger tip the rough place pulled up and it was bloody beneath it. After cleaning it with some warm water (Sable hated that) she put a little antibiotic ointment on it.

Mom was concerned that the boo-boo might get infected, so it was off to the vet for Sable! The vet called and said the place is nothing to worry about and should heal up just fine. He trimmed some of the other mats off and trimmed up Sable's butt fur. He got his needed vaccines and mom will pick him up on her way home from work.

The vet did tell mom that Sable has lost some of his body mass (aka weight). It's been a gradual loss and the vet said it is age related. Sable has lost 3 lbs. over 3 years, going from a little over 12 lbs. to a little over 9 lbs. The vet recommended that Sable go on a prescription food so mom is going to give it a try. He loved Angel Fred's prescription food, so hopefully he will like this food.

We hope everyone has a fun weekend. If the hots are in your part of the country, take it easy and stay cool. If there are storms in your area, stay safe and stay dry!

Purrs,
Clarissa & Co.

Baby Sable

Mom has found pics of us on her computer at work. In order to clear them off of this computer she will helping us share them here. Some of them have probably been posted here in the past, but we don't think you will mind seeing them again.

This baby Sable in October 2001. He is approximately 9 weeks old in these pictures. Mom doesn't have a whole of kitten pictures of Sable and that makes her sad. Me (Clarissa) and Sable are the only two kitties who came to our forever home as little kittens.

This is the little brat bothering me! Sable is a bit bigger in this picture. I hissed at him when he first moved in and didn't want anything to do with him. But eventually I warmed up to him and taught him a lot the cat things he needed to know.

And this is how Sable looks today. He sure turned into a handsome mancat, didn't he? He is a big house panther but still a sweet boy. His favorite place to sleep is on mom's left thigh when she is sitting in the recliner.

Sable will be 12 years old this fall. Mom says that is hard to believe!!!

Mancat Monday: The Old Spice Cat

I think mom has helped me post this picture before. She did the caption on I Can Has Cheezburger. She said I had the right cattitude for the caption!

We spent the weekend with mom while she watched basketball. Her exact words now are "my brackets are screwed". She does have the University of Kentucky winning the championship.

We had a lot of window whiffie time during the day on Saturday. Then the storms came with lots of boomers and lightening and mom shut the windows. She had to turn on the a/c yesterday because it was just getting to darn warm. It's hard to believe it's mid-March and we are already having some mild hots.

Hope you kitties have a great Monday!!!

Wordless Wednesday: Pretzel Cat (Sable)

Toesday Tuesday: Sable

Today's Toesday post features me, Sable! As you can see in the photo below, I'm having a nap in mom's recliner. If you look closely at my back foot, you will see a little pink spot.

In the close-up picture below you can see that I have a pink toe pad.

The funny thing is, up until a couple of years ago all of my pads were black. Some of them started getting lighter and were more of a mauve color. Then, before I knew it, I had a PINK TOE!!! What's that about?

Have any of you furs had pads that have gone from black to pink?

Easy Like Sunday

Sable, Spunky, Ginger, & Batman

Lily Rose

Bandit

Off to the V-E-T Today...

Clarissa here with our vet updates. I'll start with myself. Other than the lump, I am doing just fine. Weight is good. Heart/lungs sound great! Eyes/ears/mouth are A-OK. I got my rabies vaccine and I was good to go. As for the lump, my surgery has been scheduled for Friday, October 21. It everything goes as it should (and it will!), I should be able to come home Friday night.

Brother Sable also went in for his annual exam this morning. He's another big boy at 14 lbs. And he was so good! I growled and hissed at Dr. Green and Sable didn't make a sound. He had to get his rabies and distemper vaccines. And he got a clear bill of health too. Mom told Dr. Green about Sable's sneezing and she said it sounds like allergies. Since he isn't acting like he feels bad, his appetite is normal, and he is active, we are just going to watch him for now.

Serendipity has conjunctivitis in her right eye. Mom got home from work last night and noticed that Seren's eye was red and a little puffy. So it was off to the vet with her instead of Fiona. Seren will have to get that gooey ointment put in her eye twice daily for a week to ten days. Dr. Green did check Seren's eye for any abrasion or scratch and it was clear.

Mom called early this morning and asked if she could bring Fred in for a weight check. He is holding his own at 7 lbs. 2 oz. Dr. Green looked at Fred's teeth and gums. She pressed around on his teeth and gums and Fred didn't flinch or cry or growl or bite. She said at this time, she didn't think an extraction of teeth would be a good thing for him. She thinks it would be too stressful on his kidneys. She gave me some samples of different kidney diet foods to try with him. He hated the K/D (canned) and wouldn't eat it. Dr. Green also found FLEA DIRT on Fred! *sigh* She put a dose of Revolution on him in the office, and mom had to dose the remaining 14 of us when she got home.

Fiona got a reprieve this morning and her appointment has been rescheduled to October 29, along with Bandit.

We spent the rest of the day sleeping in sun puddles and doing a little window whiffing! It is suppose to reach 80 tomorrow, but then take a turn to much cooler weather.

Mancat Monday: Sable The Punk

Mom took some new pictures of us last week. I was sitting on the breakfast bar when she took this one of me.

We hope everyone had a great weekend. It turned cold and rainy here. We want our warm spring back!

Purrs,
Sable

Mancat Monday: Two for the Price of One

One day mom walked into her bedroom with the flashy box. She knew she could always get a cute picture of some of us cats sleeping on her bed. Little did she know:

"Move along. There's nothing to see here," said Sable.

Yeppers! There he was, Sable the Punk, laying on this back with who knows what showing to the world! And who does she find sleeping next to him? Bandit, our Frito Bandito!