Happy Mew Year's Rockin' Eve!

Fashion Friday--Mz Claws!

Coco, who was the center of attention when she visited the orthopedic vet a few weeks ago...everyone was snapping pictures of her, and this is one shot that one of the staff took and emailed to us!


Coco is having her surgery for her luxating kneecap on her left hind leg on Tuesday January 3rd at VOSM, so keep her in your purrayers  on Tuesday for an 'uneventful' surgery and recovery.


You might remember us talking about her injury a few weeks ago on our blog...back in July she fell off the top of a storage cabinet and has been limping on and off since then. The vet Teri works for Xrayed Coco and nothing was broken but her kneecap wasn't stable and the vet suspected she had strained or torn some ligaments holding the knee in place.

Most of the time, patellar luxations are medial, meaning the kneecap slips to the inside. If you've ever seen a little dog 'skipping' along with one or both hind legs, it probably is suffering from luxating patellas, too. 


Coco's knee slips to the outside, which leads the vets to think maybe the ligaments that kept it in place are damaged.

So, they tried some anti-inflammatories and nutraceuticals (Cosequin-Glucosamine Chondroitin) and it brought the swelling down, but not the lameness. It hurt Teri to see Coco carrying her leg and didn't want to wait so long that the muscles started to atrophy...so she took Coco to see an orthopedic specialist.


Although til the vet gets inside to take a real look around, we don't know for sure, but he thinks she may have torn the outside ligaments supporting the knee and if surgery isn't done, then the inside ligaments will be under more strain and could tear, too. 

She does have a Grade II/IV lateral patellar luxation on that leg, and a mild Grade I on the right leg, but it had never given her any problems before she injured it. The vet said they may have to deepen the groove the kneecap rests in, but again, won't know until he can examine the structure.  If you want to learn more about the problem


Patellar Luxation

and surgery, here's a link (warning--photos of surgical procedure):

Patellar Luxation Surgery


As Cornish Rex are so active and athletic, it would be sad to have to confine Coco and restrict her activity just to avoid this very expensive surgery. While there will be about 8 weeks of confinement for Coco while she is recovering, Teri said she will follow the vet's instructions to help ensure a successful outcome.


Teri did qualify for CareCredit, so she will be able to pay off Coco's bill over 6 months with no interest, and more good news, the health insurance Teri gets through work changed to a different company in November and they will reimburse her for her therapy visits without having to meet a deductible and instead of getting $50 back, she will get $150 back, so that extra money will help with Coco's surgery expense, too!


Coco will go to work with Teri every day and then stay in the 'kitten tent' at home. The vet will instruct Teri on how to do 'physical therapy' at home and Coco will go back for progress exams and xrays at 4 and 8 weeks post surgery.

And unlike a kitty with long furs, Coco's leg already looks like a drumstick so she may even be able to continue her Fashion Friday photo shoots, hahameow! And we will keep you updated on Coco's recovery right here on our blog!

Disco's Birthday!

MeWowZa! Disco is 7 today! They say 7 is a very lucky number and we know we are lucky to have Disco to love, sniff and snooze with!

Disco didn't come into our life until he was about 7 months old, but we do have some kitten pix of him that his breeder sent us...here they are!

And once he joined our family, he had fun traveling and being a show cat!

Here's Teri and Mike at a 'Kitty Love In' cat show with Disco!

Those 2 hippies in their wedding garb, hahameow!

and here's Disco and Teri in NYC at Cat-Minster!

And Disco, just being himself, at home...

Ps: the following pix are umm, before Disco got 'Portly'...hahameow!

And a birthday song that will get you dancin', too!

Wordless Wednesday

Just sharing a few photos we got over the holidays from some of our extended family!

Billy (in Missouri)

Jacob (in Virginia)

Sadie (in Connecticut)

Dolly (in California)

Toesies Tuesday!

Teri says she also sticks her toes out from under the covers when she gets too warm, hahameow!

This is Brinkley, who lives with his 'brother' Percy in Beverly Hills!

Mancat Monday--Disco's Diet 'n More!

Ummm. we almost skipped posting about Disco's diet today cuz, well, ummm...Disco put on few ounces during the Holiday...

But both Disco (and Teri) will get back on track this week and hope to have better results to report by next Monday! Despite the lovely crisp, sunny weather...no strollering or walking was done by either Disco or Teri.


Teri did finally finish up her card writing and hanging the rest of the ornaments on our little tree yesterday morning, while we snuggled on our Christmas pillow or inside the Blankie Bag Teri made for us!

Teri gave us our Christmas breakfast (shrimps and chicken sticks) but we turned our noses up at that, which surprised her...she said she thinks she'll stick with baby food next Xmas, or maybe Crab Cakes, hahameow! She didn't let us have any of the Greenies Treats though...maybe we were holding out for them!!

Teri spent the evening with friends on Christmas Day and here's a few pix of the gathering...everyone was full of good cheer and food!

And not to leave out our other chubby mancat, here's some photos of TomTom enjoying his Man Cave!

Merry (Meowee) Christmas (Kittymas)

And our 2011 Christmas video...hahameow!

MAY ALL OUR CAT BLOGOSPHERING FURRIENDS, AND THEIR HUMANS, HAVE A CHRISTMAS FILLED WITH LOTS TO PURR ABOUT!

WARM FELINES FROM DISCO, BRIGHTON, COCO AND SAMMY, AND FROM TERI, TOO

Caturday Saturday, Christmas Eve Edition...

Well, all this preparation for Christmas...and it's almost here! Teri still has a dozen cards to send out (guess they will be New Years Cards, hahameow) but for the first time since our Daddy died, she really wanted to get back into the spirit of friendship and keeping in touch.

She is going to spend Christmas Day with friends who have a kitty from us! Her name is Candi (with an i, hahameow) and boy, is she a Diva! She is Queen of the house and likes it that way! Here's a pix of her as Ms Claws!

Photo by Kathy Manley of Work2Snap Photography

Teri is making her special homemade Eggnog with Licor 43 and she has to make it today so it will be ready to drink tomorrow.

Then she is supposed to take us out walking today (that's what she said yesterday but it never happened!). She was kind of sad yesterday because of some news she got about one of our kitty extended family, and didn't feel like doing anything but focus on helping this kitty.

As our faithful followers know, Teri is 'there' for all the kitties that were born at our house, forever and ever. We are getting a kitty, Clem (who is Coco's brother) back next month due to behavior issues...

Well, another kitty, named Cinnabar, who lives in Wisconsin with a disabled couple, has multiple health issues and his family can no longer take care of him because of their own worsening health and financial problems.

Cinnabar is 8 years old, has a worsening undiagnosed heart murmur, IBD and urinates outside the litterbox. When they adopted him, Helen was ambulatory and was the main caretaker of their cats and home. Since then, she has had a stroke. She suffered from seizures all her life and had brain surgery to eliminate them, which it did, but she had a stroke while recovering, had to have hip and leg surgery, and is now in a wheelchair most of the time.

For quite a while now, he has been urinating outside the litter box, sometimes due to a UTI and crystals, so he is on a prescription food. But some of that behavior was more than likely due to the fact that they only have one box and it doesn't get scooped enough.

When they adopted him, they also had 2 other cats, a Devon Rex and a La Perm, but as their families health worsening, they made the tough decision to seek new homes for the other 2 cats through a purebred rescue who are based near where they live, hoping it would also help Cinni be happier getting more attention and help his litter box problems.

But Teri got a phone call on Thursday that they are going to have to give Cinnabar up, too. Because of the weather, he is unable to fly back to us right now and Teri considered seeing if she could ask for help from the Rescue Railroad to get him back home to us.

His family took him in to their vets, to have some tests done to see about his urinary problems, coughing and vomiting and we came to the decision that if he had serious health problems that it would be kinder and gentler to euthanize him rather than go to a home that wouldn't care for him properly...

But the vet said she wouldn't put him to sleep because his issues were treatable (no UTI but heart murmur worsening) and the vet felt he could be rehomed and she worked with a local purebred rescue organization and felt they did a good job with fostering and evaluating the cats they brought in. After Teri talked to the vet, she paid a big chunk of the bill for his exam and tests to help his owners out.

Still, Teri wasn't really comfortable with someone else making a decision that she didn't know. So she contacted Kirsten of

Specialty Purebred Cat Rescue

and after talking to her (she has a Cornish Rex of her own, too)...they came to the decision that they were actually in a better position to take Cinnabar and help him, because they were close by and he wouldn't have to wait til Spring to fly back to us...

Part of Teri feels like she is not 'there' for Cinnabar as he is not coming directly from the home he is in now, to us. Teri has traveled to pick up cats, had them brought back to us and even paid for one cat to fly back to us when his owner refused to send her back but would just take her to a shelter if he had to pay.

But as this organization is located so close to where he is, and Kristin said one of their best foster homes is available, and has much experience with CRex, Teri also feels that in working with them, while there is a 'degree of separation', she is not abandoning him. She will also make a donation to them, to help with Cinnabar's care. She says she hopes she is not just trying to make herself feel better by saying that...

She asked Kirsten to keep her updated on his progress and if he gets adopted, where he goes, so she can keep in touch with his new family...she has to have faith and trust that will happen. That is her worry...that she will lose track of Cinni and regret not pursuing getting him back home with us at his time of need...

So, as you can understand, we are not as Jolly here as we could be right before Christmas, but we hope things will be brighter for Cinnabar in the new year and that he can warm the hearts of a new family that can take care of his special needs.

So in your Christmas prayers, say one for Cinnabar and maybe one for Teri...we know the power of purrs!

Fashion Friday 'n More

We knew we couldn't outdo Daisy the Curly Cat's Holiday outfit today, so we thought maybe if your weather is cold and dreary, that a photo of Coco, in a bright, summery, flowery dress might bring a little sunshine to your winter day!

And for those of you who like their outfits more Off than On...we are having a Give Away that will be sure to warm even the coldest day this winter (and all year long, for that matter, hahameow!)

The Found Animals Foundation is raising money for cat rescue with their 6 Packs 9 Lives Calendar. The 6 Packs 9 Lives calendar features 14 real cat-loving guys. Each month, one barely dressed hunk and one furry kitty bring a new meaning to the term 'Heavy Petting', hahamew! Proceeds from the sale of the calendar go to help kittens in shelters.

Here's a video telling you all about Found Animals Foundation!

You can buy a copy of 6 Packs 9 Lives for $9.99 and be helping shelter kitties. Or you can leave a comment on this post and try your luck at being the winner of one copy of the 2012 6 Packs 9 LIves Calendar! We will hold the drawing on December 31st. And Teri said she'd mail the calendar anywhere on Earth!

Thankful Thursday...Our review of NOse Offense!

Way back in October, we were asked if we would be interested in using and reviewing a new odor eliminator. See, we aren't only behind in visiting furriends but also on our duties as Testers and Reviewers of various pet care items!

While we do hear Teri say PeeYou sometimes when we exit our litterbox and she has been seen crawling around on her hands and knees sniffin the carpet...we are not sure we are as stinky as she says!

That being said, there are times she says she sniffs the air when she walks in the house and is suspicious that we have been, ahem, missing the toilet, if you know what I mean. So, she said she would love to try NOse Offense for Pets!

If you visit their website, you can get your servant to tell you all about NOse Offense. The humans who make it say it takes care of all odors on carpet, fabrics and in the air, and in an environmentally friendly way without adding any scent to hide anything.

Teri read that NOse Offense neutralizes and eliminates smells found in the air and also on most any washable fabrics. It can be used in litter boxes and also wood floors, too. In fact, they say it is safe to spray on a washcloth or sponge and wipe any stinky pets in your house, too. (Teri says Disco smells like Mushroom and Potato casserole when it's time for his bath, hahameow!).

NOse Offense even has a link on their website that explains what bad things are in most 'air fresheners' and NOse Offense is safe, non-toxic, organic, biodegradable and100% free of enzymes, alcohol, phenols, phosphates and phthalates. And they are a 'green' company, too, using recycled or biodegradable packaging!

And gosh, before Teri even tried it, she looked at the 'Testimonials' on NOse Offense's website and it looks like a lot of our furriends already use NOse Offense and gave it their Paws Up!

So Teri went looking around the house for places she could let NOse Offense work it's miracles!...

The plastic tub she puts our empty stinky goodness cans in til she can take them out to the garbage...

The other plastic tub she scoops our 'eliminations' in til she takes them out to the dumpster.

And after cleaning our litter boxes, she sprayed NOse Offense on them, too!

And she said she felt comfortable knowing there wasn't anything in it that might harm us if we contacted it. Then she kinda went crazy and started spraying everything...curtains, Ham-Micks, cat trees, even the Christmas pillows!

She sprayed NOse Offense on the front of her 'undies' drawer where Coco used to spray when she was in heat, and on the old antique headboard where Disco had sprayed many moons ago.

She even sprayed the stuffies!

As you can see, she used up about half the bottle, and guess what?! Truly, no lingering scent of any kind from the NOse Offense, just like they say!

She says she is going to order some and put it in little spray bottles in every bathroom and next to our 'bathroom', too and even keep some in her car, cuz she says it kinda smells at times since we live in a humid area in the summer and a wet area in the winter!

While NOse Offense is only available online from their website, Teri is used to ordering lots of our things online and she says it's convenient and keeps her out of the stores buying needless items, hahameow!

We are so glad we were among those picked to test and review NOse Offense, because Teri says she thinks it will become her 'Odor Eliminator' of choice because of 1) how well it works, 2) that's it's Eco and Pet friendly, and 3) that they have a blog that is full of helpful and informative pet info.

Disclaimer: We are happy to be a part of this product review, and we did receive free product from NOse Offense to use and review, and keep! However, all of the opinions about the product are ours and not dictated in any way by the company.