Thursday, December 24, 2015

Thankful Thursday, Crisp Mouse Eve...

To help get everyone in the Christmas spirit, here's our Annual JibJab Xmas video, HaHaMeow!


We are all very 'good sports' (or accepting, as Teri tells everyone) about dressing up for real...and here's a few choice pix of us in silly & specatular Christmas attire!













May you be surrounded by good friends, happy family and your beloved animal companions on this Christmas Eve!

Monday, December 21, 2015

ManCat Monday: Sammy, Forever in my Heart...



I did not know I would have to say goodbye to you today...


I did not know, and if I had, what would I have done differently today...


I would have kissed your sweet forehead one more time...


I would have told you how happy having you in my life made me.


You could have told me you loved me, too, with your face close to mine.


I could have held you close and let you feel my heartbeat.


I could have given you an extra helping of fishy flakes.


I might have wondered if we would have another nap together.


I might have made time for that nap, a simple pleasure for us both.


But I did not know...but I know now...how much I loved you.


And how much you will be missed...


Fly free, Sweet Sammy... Your heart was broken, and my heart is aching.


We tried to keep you here with us, but it was time and I said farewell...


I want to tell you about Sammy. 

He didn't like to travel--far from it! He had his own Thunder Shirt for trips in the car, to try to keep him calm and lessen 'accidents'.  He was told by one vet to 'Never Come Back'...yeah, we didn't!

You didn't see much of him here on our blog, but he was a presence here at home. He didn't dress up much, but he did go to #BlogPaws once...one of the "Flat Pack" instead of Rat Pack!



He was less threatening without his 'bitey' teeth, having to have an almost full-mouth extraction a number of year ago due to severe resorptive disease, but he still was a wrestler at the vets!

He used to be a daddy cat. He was a gentleman with the lady cats. He was very hard to 'read' and had Fractious in red on his chart. But all the staff admired his studly demeanor

He mellowed with age and shared his love in little ways one might miss, but I never did. He loved me. He trusted me.

He was content in his old age to snuggle with Kely and lay in the sun. I was happy they had each other in their Golden Years, both of them 15 years old now...


He had a known mild heart condition, very stable and he was hypertensive but doing well on meds. He had just seen the cardiologist and was given the go-ahead to have his teeth cleaned.

He just did not recover normally after the procedure last Wednesday. He did not want to eat. He did not want to come out of his heated bed.

He went back in to the vet's and got more pain meds, and something for nausea and we began subcutaneous fluids. He let me minister to his needs, but continued to decline.

Today, he came in to work with me and his condition worsened. He was cold, shutting down. They warmed him with a Bair Hugger. He hung in there and I felt there was hope.

But his lab work, which had been normal a few weeks ago...told us why he felt so bad. BUN 140, Creatinine 4.6, Glucose 400. The doctor thought he was possibly having a pancreatitis flare. I was scared.

More blood was to be drawn for more tests, and a catheter placed so he could get IV fluid therapy. But as those treatments were begun, he went into cardiac arrest. They brought him back once. but he didn't stabilize. The cardiologists were called, and they felt his heart issue was not the cause of what he was going through now.

He did not respond to all the emergency care being administered, hope was fading as he was, and I made the decision to let him go gently. And he did. And I said goodbye. And I kissed his forehead one more time. And I told him I loved him.

So today I did some of those things I loved to do with Sammy...but I am crying and sad because I will never have the chance to do those things again with him. But I will share that love that was for him tonight with my other cats. And I will tell them I love them, too. And I will try and live each day not having regrets of missed chances, but to remember the happy days and may time soften the memories of this sad day...

If I should ever leave you whom I love
To go along the Silent Way,
Grieve not,
Nor speak of me with tears,
But laugh and talk of me as if I were beside you there.

( I'd come - I'd come, could I but find a way!
But would not tears and grief be barriers? )
And when you hear a song
Or see a bird I loved,
Please do not let the thought of me be sad...
For I am loving you just as I always have...
You were so good to me!

There are so many things I wanted still to do -
So many things to say to you...
Remember that I did not fear...
It was Just leaving you that was so hard to face...
We cannot see Beyond...
But this I know:
I love you so -
'twas heaven here with you!
(By "Isla Paschal Richardson")

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Happy Eat All You Can Eat Day & Then Take A Nap!


Giving Thanks...to all our friends, to stinky goodness, to fresh kitty greens, for laps to snuggle in, for love! 

Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone!


Friday, November 20, 2015

Frootbat Friday, Nolo Style


Our blog posts have been few & far between as of late...and our visiting our furrends even less... 'cept for clicking 'Likes' on FB kind of visiting! But that means there's lots of room for improvement, right?!

Frootbat Friday always brings smiles, and is a purrfect day to give you all an update on Nolo! You might remember him, from this blog post, when Teri sprung him out of the Fairfax County Shelter, two months ago!

http://furrydancecats.blogspot.com/2015/09/frootbat-friday-nolo-style.html

Teri is fostering Nolo from Sphynx Open Arms Rescue, and they have been so supportive and generous in taking on the financial responsibility for his healthcare so far. Yes, Teri works for a kitty vet and that's a big plus, but SOAR wanted him to have a full physical, blood work and a fecal test to start.


So Teri took him into work with her and got all that done. His lab work was all purrfect,  but it was found that he has a heart murmur, and SOAR wanted that checked out...so off to the cardiologist for Nolo! He needed his teeth cleaning but we didn't want to do that without having his heart checked out first!

Nolo is 4 years old, but as he came into the shelter with no medical history, it was unknown what healthcare he had before now, or if the murmur had been present his whole life, etc. Teri thinks he was well taken care of because he was amenable to bathing, having his ears cleaned and nails trimmed. She was sure it wasn't the first time he'd had a bath and he's had 3 in the 2 months he's been with us and he is very well behaved for his 'spa days'.


The heart doctor found he has a thickening and blockage, possibly early onset HCM, and so he is on meds for that now and has to go back for a recheck in another month, to see if the meds are helping his heart work better. Another plus...Nolo is very easy to pill, too!

SOAR has covered all his vet expenses and Teri so appreciates that, as she has all of us to take care of. And they have shared his photos that Teri has sent them and are starting to take adoption applications for him now Teri had gotten all his healthcare taken care of. Nolo's met us and Teri's been evaluating his personality, reporting to SOAR that he was ok around other cats, but we are not so OK with him and have been aggressive, but not Nolo!


He is the sweetest, mild mannered kitty! He must have been really terrified in the shelter to act the way he did. He has been into work with Teri 4 times now, and has not shown any 'cage brave' behavior at all! He doesn't even respond inkind when we hiss and swat at him. Teri said he just looks like his feelings are hurt when we are mean to him. He wants to be friends and Coco says no way, but Nolo and Brighton are play chasing and having moments of fun together, but not enough for us to be together 24/7 yet.

When Teri isn't home and at night, Nolo has his own bedroom. That way, we don't get too jealous of sharing Teri and Nolo doesn't get bullied. Sometimes she puts us in the bedroom and lets Nolo have some roaming time around the house.


He just wants to be with Teri, sitting on her shoulder when she's on the computer and having some kitty massages and playtime with her. Teri is also using flower essences with us, Jackson Galaxy's Ultimate Peacemaker Set to help our emotional state.

There have been 2 hopeful applications received for him...one from the lead tech at the cardiologists which sounded perfect! But she has not responded to multiple emails and phone messages, so she must have changed her mind...but letting us know would have been the polite thing to do! Then the second family, who had taken on some special needs cats before, after getting more info from them, just wouldn't have been the right place for Nolo either...

So he is still here with us, and Teri says he isn't going to be a 'Foster Fail' since she already has all of us...so she is going to start posting more about him on FB and Twitter and Instagram and hopefully with SOAR sharing more about hime, too...he will be able to find his forever home!


A home experienced with a Sphynx or Cornish Rex would be nice, but Teri would be there for him to help his new family with advice and recommendations on caring for a Cornish Rex, as would the rescue. Of course, taking on a kitty with a known health issue scares some people, but other than his heart...he is the picture of health and has no bad habits at all! And he has so much love to give!

Many of our friends are Cornish Rex fans cuz of us Curly Swirly cats, and if any of you have been longing for one of your very own, visit the Sphynx Open Arms Rescue website and fill out an adoption application. And you can ask us any questions at all about Nolo and we will try to answer them for you.


And if you just can't add another kitty to your family (like us), then you might think about making a donation to SOAR in lieu of giving Christmas gifts this year. You would be helping cats like Nolo and such a dedicated nationwide organization that helps mutant cats like us! And it would make Christmas shopping easy, too!


Ps: All our friends know...if you live in our house, you have to wear silly hats from time-to-time!




Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Dona Nobis Pacem #Blog4Peace Reprise...Cuz we liked our 2014 Peace Globe so much!


Today, November 4th, we cats, and bloggers all around the world, are gathering together for a BlogBlast for Peace

because...

“When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.” Jimi Hendrix

Some of our hopes for the day...purr loudly; don't stay angry longer than 15 minutes; breath deeply, and love just as deeply...that sounds peaceful to us!

Ps: Want to learn more about BlogBlast for Peace? Click this link Blog4Peace


Wednesday, October 28, 2015

#BlogPaws Wordless Wednesday is Wordy today!


Well, it's almost Halloween, and while we don't confine our dressing up to just holidays, there is something about Halloween that brings out the 'Please Don't Dress Up Your Cats' pleas...


Our friend, Ingrid Kind, of The Conscious Cat, did a post today which we give our paw of approval to, because as she says... most cats don't enjoy dressing up or the attention it brings... 

And thanks, Ingrid, for linking to the Coco le Chat book that is helping make Coco famous and $1 from every book we sell goes to local cat rescue organizations!

And Pam Bennett-Johnson, the cat behaviorist we so admire, wrote a timely article today giving the reasons not to dress up your cat at Halloween, too! And every reason she lists are based on her wide experience as a behaviorist and Teri read each item and gave each reason some thought, too...

But those of you who have met us personally, and know Teri wouldn't do anything that was detrimental to our well-being...know we like socializing, being out in public and strutting our stuff on the cat walk...because when we do that, it's benefitting homeless pets!


We don't dress up at home...

We don't dress up without supervision...

We do have custom fitted clothes, designed with our comfort in mind.

We do love rolling around in our stroller, and being the center of attention.



We do get lots of Fishy Flakes as a reward and are even learning tricks like siting pretty and giving our paw High Five! 

And Teri doesn't force us into clothes that are uncomfortable or dangerous. In fact most of our outfits are actually harnesses, with a D-ring to attach our Bungie leash to...so we are always safe and not running amok!


Teri truly feels like the time she spends with us, out and about in stylish fashions, is part of the human-animal bond the enriches both her life and ours. And if dressing up in costumes wasn't something we were ok with, Teri would let us stay at home, content to burrow into our Kitty Clam!


Sammy doesn't like to travel and gets car sick (though he has been known to put on a costume for a photo shoot a time or two) so he stays home and prefers it that way. Kely, who never put on a dress until about a year ago, enjoys going to work with Teri every day, and surprisingly, also is comfortable wearing dresses, too.


Some of it may be the personality and temperament of the Cornish Rex breed, but we think it's because Teri is calming and gentle and lets us be cats as well as fashionistas and therefore makes wearing costumes a good experience for us...

So whether you dress up or put on a virtual witches hat or just have some fun with JibJab... we hope you have a Safe and Sane Hallow's Eve!


And it's Wednesday, so don't furget to join in the #BlogPaws Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop...you don't have to dress up, we promise!