Pets & Vets

In October, it felt like I was at the vet every week for several weeks in a row. Zipper got an eye infection one week, and we took Blue to get his shots. The next week I took Blue in to have him fixed. The next week, I had to take Zipper & Gaby in for a sinus infection. A week later, we had to go back for Sage.

Gaby and Zipper both hate the vet. With Zipper, he gets mean to the vet when we are there. We literally have to take the carrier apart around him so the vet can look at him. Then reassemble it around him. But with Gaby, the trick is even getting her into the carrier so she can go to the vet.

 With the addition of Blue, I needed to buy a new carrier, but I hadn't yet. I stopped at the vet one day, but all they had was a cardboard box. 

The first week, I had wanted to take Gaby also. My plan was simple. Put Gaby in the box and then put Blue and Zipper in the carrier together. 

Gaby clawed and chewer her way out of the box in less than 5 minutes. So she didn't go with us the first week.

Just as we thought our pet woes were over, we found a sore on Sage's leg. It actually wasn't very bad, but she was licking it CONSTANTLY, which was making it bigger. So she had to wear the cone of shame for a few days so it could heal.

 

Blue

Last week, I was feeling very overwhelmed with my college classes. Normally, I meet Jessica at the walking park, but I just didn't feel like I could leave the college that night. I told her, if she would come to the college, I would walk there. My plan was to walk until we got our Fitbit steps in, and then I would go back inside and study for another hour.

It was a good plan. Until about the 4th lap around the school grounds. As we were walking by a tree, the branches moved, and a kitten fell out. (Okay, he jumped, but the story sounded better to Josh when I said it fell.) He immediately ran over to us and I picked him up. We didn't want him to get ran over, so we were trying to figure out what to do. I agreed to take him home for the night. I knew Josh was going to his parents that weekend, and he could take the kitten to live on the farm. 

Then I named him. Which really just meant, he was never going anywhere.

I decided to name him Blue, after the mascot of USU, since I found him there. Of course I didn't go back in and study. Instead, I went home, in hopes of beating Josh home. It worked. When Josh came home, Blue was sitting next to me on the couch. But when Josh walked in, he hopped off and ran to his feet. He even meowed twice. But Josh was too busy looking at my big grin to see him. (I could never play poker). He kept asking me why I was grinning and I kept telling him it was nothing. But then I'd just grin bigger because it cracked me up he hadn't noticed the kitten at his feet. After about a minute, the kitten started to walk away. That is when Josh noticed.  

I told him it was an orphan that needed a good home and if it didn't work out, he could take it to the farm that weekend. Two minutes later, Josh was holding Blue and I knew he wasn't going anywhere. I laughed on Sunday when Josh went to the farm and didn't even ask if he was taking Blue.

Zipper and Gaby weren't happy at first. But Blue was ready to make friends. He immediately took to Sage. Its been hilarious to watch because Sage is terrified of cats. Josh sent me this picture while I was the college on Friday. He said it was like Sage was happily terrified. 

  

Sage is slowly coming around. If she knows Blue is right there, Sage doesn't sleep, she just watches Blue and tries not to move.

But when she doesn't know Blue is there, she is fine. Each night, Blue will sleep with us and then with Sage. Some nights, I'll wake up and Blue is on the blanket and Sage is curled a few feet away. I thought they were making good headway, but then Blue wanted to play and chased Sage's tail. Sage has been more on the terrified end since then. But I really think they can become best friends. 

Zipper and Gaby still aren't sure about the new kitten. But after two days, they did decide to at least forgive me. This is what I woke up to. But right as I took the picture, Gaby hissed and ran to another room.  (I love how Zipper is staking his claim on me.)

I've been wanting another kitten for a while now. Each time I asked Josh, he reminded me I was holding out for a munchkin cat. But the second I held Blue, I knew he needed to be a part of our family.  

Cats At Work - Winner, Winner, Friskies Dinner

One of my favorite Facebook Pages is Cats At Work.

Monday - Friday, the creator posts a cute meme of a cat at work. Often, she will also post a Top Fans chart. It is based on how many comments you make and how many pictures you liked during the week. I wish it also took into account how many shares, because I share all of them on my wall. I'm usually in the top 3. A few weeks ago, she gave away a prize to the top #1 fan of the week and I won! I got to choose a coffee mug. She has several cute options, but in the end I could only choose one. It arrived in the mail last night.

Zipprer's Ear

In November, we decided to get Gaby fixed. When we took her in, we also took Zipper. He had developed a sore on his ear and it wasn't getting better. The vet looked at it and said it was most likely a cancer spot; given the fact he is a white cat and they sunburn so easily. He told us to watch it for a few weeks and see what happened. It got rapidly got worse.

Then two weeks ago, I came home from work to find a piece had fallen off, with his ear. So I called the vet and got him an appointment as soon as they could get him in.  Also, the night before his appointment, we felt a sore starting on his other ear. 

Here is a before picture the morning of his surgery. He wasn't happy because we had locked up all the food and water the night before and both cats were convinced they were on the brink of starvation. Until Gaby saw the cat carrier. When Josh put Zipper in it, she was a blur as she ran upstairs and hid under the bed. She did the same thing when I brought him home that afternoon.

  

I went to the vet on my lunch break to see if I could pick him up early. The front desk receptionist thought he was still too sleepy, but then the assistant saw me and told me I could take him now, while he was still to groggy to bite. I think he had let them know his displeasure earlier in the morning and they didn't want to see it again.

They were able to burn the newer sore off of his one ear, but they had to completely cut the bad one out, ear and all. They actually saved more ear than we originally thought; but there's no hiding it, he only has one and 3/4 of an ear now. It seemed tender for a few days, but now he's back to his normal self. We are hopeful they got it all, but we will have to be diligent now to always be checking so we can catch cancer spots sooner and just freeze them off in the future. 

How Much is the Doggy in the Window?

Ever since the week we took Sage camping with us, she has become more needy. She has learned how to climb on the BBQ grill and the central air unit so she can look into the kitchen to see if we are home. Most days, when I come home for lunch, she is looking in to say hello. But she usually gets down before I can get a picture.

 What a silly dog.

And then there is these two crazy fur balls that round out our life. 



Dedicated to Pyro

Earlier this week, we said good-bye to our dearest Pyro.

 

Pyro entered my life in the summer of 2000. Josh was away fighting a forest fire in Idaho and I was missing him horribly. I had ran to the store for something, and saw some kids giving away kittens. I thought about calling and asking my mom if it was okay to get one, but instead I decided to use the philosophy "beg forgiveness later". I can't remember how many kittens there were, but I picked her for her unique coloring. I named her Pyro since she was to be my companion while Josh was gone.

 

When Josh and I got married in 2001, she was the first member of our family. She brought so much joy to our lives.

Our first house had a curtain in the front door. She immediately figured out how to get in it. Which she did daily, until she broke the bottom rod that held it in place.

 

 

She was a house cat, but once escaped to the outdoors. Even my dad drove around looking for her. She didn't show up until the next morning. Josh happened to look outside and see her. When he ran out to get her, she dropped and rolled, as if she were saying "see how beautiful I am."

 

 

She could find every odd spot for a good nap. In one of our apartments, we didn't have a real closet, just a cupboard. It was a leap to the top, but she could do it. One time, when she jumped off, she landed right in Josh's.....lap.

 

The same apartment had horrid heating. It has base floor heaters that didn't heat much after the first foot. It didn't help that she would lay in front of them and soak up all the warmth.

She may have been my kitten first, but once we were married, she was Josh's cat. She loved his ear rubs. Almost nightly, he would awaken because she was licking his hand. And she wouldn't stop until she got a good ear rub. 

She LOVED elk meat. Each, and every time, Josh cooked an elk steak, she was right there to sample it. 

 

 

 She loved car rides. Unless, you put her in the carrier. Then she would get car sick and make a mess. But as long as you let her sit in the back window, she was fine.

 

 

She is the reason our cats will ONLY drink from the tub. Our first house had a faucet that dripped all the time. So that is where she would drink. Each time we would move, we would try putting a water bowl by the food dish, but then we would find her in the tub, looking for a drink.

 

She always tolerated all our other cats, but she sincerely loved Missy. They were best friends. We know they are taking a peaceful nap right now waiting for us.

We love you and will miss you. 

Gaby the gourd killer

Last week a lady at work brought some of her gourds to work and left in the break room for others to take home for decoration. I took a bagful home. That night I walked in and sat the bag on the floor. Then I put the groceries in the kitchen. When I came back, this is what I found. Gaby had already dug three out of the bag and had gone in for more.

 Then she chased this one all over the front room. It made for about an hour of fun before I picked them all up and put them where she hopefully can't get them.

 Zipper also tried to get in on the fun, but Gaby kept chasing him away.

Her newest thing is to sit (and explore) on the counter while I do my hair. I know I shouldn't let her, but it seems to be the best way to keep her from climbing my legs so I let her get away with it. 

Sleeping Cats

During my Pampered Chef Party, some of my guests wanted to meet Gaby. I knew she was hiding in the bedroom because our cats are not social creatures. What I didn't expect was to find her hiding in the same place Pyro was hiding. That is the closest I've ever seen her get to Pyro without Pyro hissing at her. I think she had to have snuck into the other side so Pyro didn't know she was there.

I also had to take this picture of Gaby and Zipper sleeping on the bed. I think he's pinning her down so she won't bite him when she wakes up. Chewing on him seems to be her favorite thing to do.

Playing T Ball

Our nephew, Preston, was old enough to play T-ball this year. Most of his games are in the morning, but he does have a few night games too. I was able to go to one last night. The weather was beautiful, until about 5 minutes before the game started. Then the wind kicked up. But it was still a fun game.

My pictures are blurry. I think my Nikon is having problems. I need to break down and send it in, but that means giving it up for several weeks while they fix it and I don't want to do that. But its a nice camera so I need to so it will preform to its best abilities.

Preston's team is the Gold Team. Last night they played the Yellow Team. Preston is the one in the gray hoodie. Both teams have kids 4 - 6 years old.  They do two innings. During the first inning, Preston was in the center of the field.

Chasing the ball.

When they bat, someone pitches to them 3 times. If they hit it, RUN. If not, they set up the stand and let them hit it from there. Preston came close a few times to hitting a pitch.

Running to 1st base. When the last batter hit the ball, they have all the kids on base run to home. I didn't know that soon enough and Preston was last so I didn't get a picture of him on the other bases. But I will next time.

Running so fast for home, he's about to pass up the kid before him.

And he's SAFE!

During the 2nd inning, Preston was covering 3rd base.

About this time he told me to stop taking his picture. So I switched to my smaller camera so it wasn't so obvious. Those pictures are lower. ;)

Back up to bat for the 2nd time. He was so close to hitting the ball a few times. And I was so close to a good action shot, but this lady kept stepping in front of me just as I took the picture. I kept moving for a clean shot, but then she would move just as I hit the shutter button. Oh well, I'll get more pictures next time. I'll risk injury on the field if I have too.

Running to home the 2nd time. He was pretty excited.

These pictures are from my other camera, so they are out of order.

I'm trying to train my cats (HAHAHA) to scratch only kitten scratching approved items. I bought this tunnel thingy at Walmart. It opens on one end, and then other end has holes so they can play with another cat on the other side. I really didn't think my cats would like it, but Buddy LOVES it. His body is twice as long as the tunnel, but he still curls up in it.

My wonderful in-laws. :)

I throw Buddy and Zipper outside everyday. Pyro gets to stay in since she is getting old. We think she enjoys being the "only" kitten of the house. Each night at dark, I let them back in for bedtime. On Tuesday night, Buddy was a pill and wouldn't come in. He came up to the door twice, but then shot around it. The second time he took off across the lawn. I was tired and decided he could spend the night outside. So when he came in last night he had been outside for like 36 hours. He was pretty lonesome. He cuddled me all night. When I went to throw them outside this morning, I found him cuddling Zipper while Zipper bathed his head. Hopefully he learned his lesson and will come in at night.