Anniebutt Island and a Crystal Moment

It's been a very busy day but I didn't want to miss a post so soon after returning to the blog. (I'm trying really hard to get around to all of our blog friends so, what time I had, I spent doing that!)

So I figured I could put up one of the pics I have, even if it wasn't part of a foster story.  You so rarely see her on this blog, I thought this one of Annie, the senior member of the Casa's General Population, would do nicely.

Annie is 12 now, and has always been a bit of a "scaredy cat."  But when the new kitchen went in, she claimed the island - I was stunned - she so rarely asserts herself.  I made a few efforts to keep the residents off of the island (they pretty much stay off of the food prep surfaces, which are next to the fridge and sink) but gave up when I realized I wouldn't win.  You see the heat vent comes up right under where Annie is laying and the entire length of the island becomes toasty warm in the winter.  One day I came home to find five of them (yes, she shares occasionally) lined up, basking in the warmth.

Annie has kidney disease and we work very hard to keep the weight on her and keep her hydrated.  After losing Tisha and Annie and Grey, I can't bear the thought of something happening to my little Greyzini.  Of all the critters, Annie has the most nicknames - Anniebutt, Greyzini, Greyzolette, and Bleached Baby, because someone thought her cream and camel markings made her look like bleach had been spilled on a silver grey cat.  They even sang to her - "Bleached Baby, Bleached Baby, give me your paw..."  I do too, now and again!

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Oh, how much I have missed during that hiatus!!  I just discovered that Chrystal at Daily Dose of Dogs (aka cats in your coffee) is having a March blogoversary adoption event.  If you haven't been there yet, go check out her beautiful Cashmere and offer a word of support!

Is she a floofalicious lovely, or what?  Having been feral, she needs furever family who is willing to give her lots of time to come to love them.  (Hey, would you ever have thought our Lucy would come around?  And look at her now!)  Cashmere just needs a quiet household to call her own, and beans with the patience to let her take her time learning to love.

*** Note - It looks like we're having problems with comments.  If you have difficulty, and have the time, drop me a line at hubblespacepaws at gmail dot com and I'll let Google know (how many folks, when, etc.!)  Thanks!! Lisa ***

Post V-E-T Progress

Thank you, everybody, for your well wishes for Annie, yesterday. Remarkably, she's doing a bit better since we got back from Doc Andrew's, and it can't be the meds. Hey, we'll take it! She's not back to her normal self, but she is hanging out in the living room now, if only for half an hour at a time. Here's a pic of her chilling in the sunlight.

Annie had stopped eating with the General Population (and she LOVES her stinky goodness) over a week ago and that's what pushed me from "I'm a little worried she's not snapping back" to "we need to get her checked out." Tonight she actually joined the crew for dinner... OK, three bites and then she took off... but she came out to eat with everybody! That's progress!

Got an introduction and a visit from some old friends comin' up next week!

A trip to the V-E-T

Oh, come on now. Don't tell me your cats haven't figured that one out! Mine sure have!

I leave the carriers out days ahead of time. They don't fall for that one, either. The minute I walk in the house, all I see are stray hairs, dancing in the sunbeams.

But, usually we manage to round everyone up and head out in time - although sometimes, in the ruckus, I forget the camera - like I did this time (cell phone to the rescue... again!). Sophie and Annie were up for this visit. For Sophie, it was to make sure everything was OK and she is just being a little chowhound. You see her belly is quite... errrr... ummmm... big. Smooshy-fatty and that had me a little worried.

For Annie, it was because she's become quite anxious since Grey and Winnie died. Her anxiety level went up markedly after each passing and now, months later, she still isn't back to her regular self. Mind you, "regular" Annie is still quite easy to startle and hyperactive. One of her nicknames is "Squirrelette" for a reason. Extra attention has not calmed her down in the least. She was very attached to Grey (never mind that the love was unrequited - she seemed happier when he was around than ever in her life) and Winnie was her rock the entire 11 years she's been with us, so losing them so close to one another was tough for her, I think.

There's not enough room for the two of us to hide back here... quick! Plan B!

If I stay really, really still they won't see me. You see their visual acuity is based on motion. Wait a minute... dang, that's me not them!

AAAAGGH! He's KILLING ME!!! Let me OUT of here!!!

I don't know what she's screaming about. All he did is mush my tummy, stick that stick up my bottom, the cold thingy on my chest, peer in my mouth and eyes and ears. Not so bad. I think I'll go to sleep now.

As usual, once Doc Andrew got his hands on her, Sophie chilled out. No fussing about anything. And she did, indeed, appear to zzzz out on the table, right in the middle of Annie's exam. Doc says she's just chubby so we'll keep an eye on it and try to get her more exercise. She's only 8 pounds, but that's a lot for her tiny frame - seriously! She's mostly fur!

Annie, on the other hand, went into frenzy mode. Neither Doc nor I like medicating more than necessary, but Doc agrees, she's one strung out kitteh, nerve wise. She's going to be on Prozac for a couple of months to see if that will snap her out of this - apparently anxiety can become self feeding and sometimes just breaking the cycle will do the trick. If she responds and stays calm for a while, hopefully we can wean her off of it.

No word on Wally... it looks like this is going to take longer than we thought!

Progress on the Home Front

Hi there! It's me, Sophie, again! Remember I said I needed to turn on the charm for Annie and Peggy Sue? Well check this out... yep, Peggy Sue is sharing the dinner table with me already!

And, Winnie is sharing the same plate with me, just like she did on the first day. In fact, we usually share our meals.

And, now be prepared to be impressed. Here I am on the lady's bed with Annie (the Space Paws lady tried to be really quiet when she took the picture, but she kinda woke us up). I didn't even sneak... just jumped right up and Annie didn't hiss or anything! OK, she looked a little uneasy when I got too close, but I laid down about a foot away and it was snooze city. Next time, 6 inches. I know how to worm my way in.

Winnie: Hey, don't look at me! I told the others the little twerp was OK from the beginning.

Winnie, I could use a pillow. Is that OK with you?

Yes, charm, I gots it! Give me a month and it won't just be Winnie... they'll all think it was their idea to be nice to me!

10th Anniversary of National Feral Cat Day!

Our friends at Animal Shelter Volunteer Life will tell you all about it. Go on over and see what you can do to help furries still on the streets!

Please Send Your Purrayers to Anya and Kareltje

Anya and Kareltje lost their beloved husband and dad, Wilfred. This vital and loving man had a heart attack in June. He fell into a vegetative state and, after a long and difficult watch for Anya and her daughters, with friends from across the world praying for a miracle, Wilfred passed away on Thursday. Our purrs for peace go out to their whole family.

Really!

Wallet? What wallet?

Oh, this red thing? Well, it was just laying here and so I thought I should protect it for you.

Packages? What packages? You mean there have been deliveries? They have stinky goodness in them? Catnip? Really? You say you didn't order it? And toys? Really!!??

You want the wallet back? I was just protecting it, really!!

5 out of 6 kittehs prefer...

...my bed. At night. With me in it.

Only Miss Bitty is absent from the bed. She, of course, prefers high wire sleeping these days. It's possible she was there at some point. The far bottom corner of the bed is her usual spot and it was unoccupied.

What makes this pic special is the proximity of Miss Lilo to Peggy Sue. :-) This is part of a breakthrough for her that's been developing over the last couple of weeks. So, when I woke last night, hemmed in by kittehs, I very slowly and carefully contorted myself out of bed to try to capture the historic moment - thank heaven for the slats on the headboard to use as grab bars. I used the cell... if I went for the camera, I knew the moment would be over.

And, yes, I escaped through the 2' of space at the top of the bed. I was sandwiched in the channel between Annie, Peggy Sue and Lilo. (Yeah, they managed to nudge me partially out from under my extra blanket.) As the joke goes, sorry guys, king size is the largest bed they sell. We all know it wouldn't make any difference if there was a larger size, though, our furkids would still plaster right up against us! :-)

More amazing, I slowly and carefully contorted myself back into bed and everyone stayed put. Why do we do this? What is the psychology of not wanting to disturb the kittehs? Is it deeply buried desire for a body as flexible as theirs and we see this as an opportunity to practice?

Anyway, back to the breakthrough... up until a few of days ago, Lilo insisted on claiming an entire side of me at night. Sometimes Win would move in to the bottom on that side during the night, but we never started out that way. Then, one day, Winnie plunked herself on the same side right at the beginning of bedtime, although a foot or so away, and ignored the hisses that followed. Surprisingly, Lilo did not get up and leave or move in and run the usurper off. The next day Peggy Sue followed suit in boldness, again at a distance, but on the same side, and got no adverse reaction. Last night, 6" away. Yay!

(Sorry all these pics are cell, but that's the way it's been lately... camera way out of grabbing range.)

I'm very proud of our little grey diva. Lilo has clearly turned a corner and warmed up, not only the residents, but to me, too. Oh, she's been a lap sitter and bed sleeper since day one, but she never burrowed in so trustingly before. You can just feel the difference.

And she's sharing space much more freely now. Here's a pic of Lilo sharing the chair with Winnie. I tried to get one of Peggy Sue and her sharing my lap but, I have to shoot blind and my aim was way off that day... got only the tips of ears.

The construction is coming along. I'm soooo excited. I know it'll be a couple of months, but watching the demo systematically proceed, and the utilities go in, has been great. Gary says the pocket doors will go up first (yes, the French doors will be moving... more on that later) so you'll be able to see some progress. In the meantime, you can see that the living room is in constant disarray. Oh, well, it's worth it!

Wordless Wednesday

I, for one, don't miss her at all!

Sheesh, the way the woman got weepy yesterday, you'd think something was wrong. The Great White One left on Saturday and she hasn't come back... YAY!!!

Aggie was forever hogging the woman's lap. NONE of us stood a chance at getting a shot at the lap in primo time - you know, when she watches TV. Until Grey arrived, she hogged the bed, too, and didn't want me on it when she was there. Grey is nice. Once he came, he decided who can come up on the bed and HE likes me to sleep with him.

And food... puhleeze! All of the rest of us know to stay off of the counters, but not Aggie. She'd jump right up there and get all the good juices before the woman shooed her off or had a chance to put the plates down. Grey lets me go first for the wet food. He's a gentleman.

Nope, I don't miss Aggie one little bit. I bet Bitty thinks the same thing, even if she isn't brave enough to say it. Oh, she tolerated her OK, but I don't think she really liked Aggie, except when they torured Percy together. And the Maples... I don't know. Percy would play with Aggie a lot (he's weird sometimes... I think he likes being tortured) and Peggy Sue seemed to like her well enough, especially these last few weeks, but maybe that's because Aggie was here before they were. Come to think of it, Aggie was nice to everybody for the last couple of months... but I won't forgive her for those first months. She was mean to me!

Winnie, well nobody ever dares be mean to her so she likes everybody - I want to be like Winnie when I grow up. Nobody bothers her. I haven't quite figured that one out yet.

I'm still not convinced about this fostering thing but it's OK, I guess when nice cats like Grey come. Have I mentioned I like Grey? He lets me go first when the woman plays "mouse under the blanket." I put my nose up to his the other day and he didn't mind. I think he's starting to like me, too. And the Maples are alright but, geeze, I used to have my pick of everything and now I've got to share.

Best of all, I've got the top of the cat tree back! It was always my spot before the GWO came and it's mine, mine, all mine again!!! YAY!!

Anyway, that's my opinion.
Annie (aka, Greyzini)

PS - The woman got all red in the face when she read the nice comments from the gentle readers. She says she doesn't deserve all the nice things they said about her, but she's really happy everyone is so happy for Aggie! And she says even if she got weepy, knowing Aggie was worth it. I beg to disagree. ~A

The Object of His Displeasure

Grey. Mr. Laid Back. Not any more. Now we have agitated. Distinctly displeased. The object of his displeassure? Behold:

Ok, it's actually the little kibbles in the object to which he objects. This is Grey's favorite feeding station. Our little drama started when I'd noticed that he threw up twice last week. I'm not really concerned, he's clearly getting plenty to eat but, while cruising the isles of my local PetSmart yesterday, my eyes lit upon Eukanuba's "Sensitive Stomach" formula. Decided to give it a shot.

It was decidedly not a hit with the big boy. One nibble and he spent 10, count them 10, minutes trying to cover up the food with the floor. Now the floors are oak, pretty tough stuff, but I was actually starting to worry that he'd hurt them as his scratching became more and more frantic. He's a pretty powerful cat! I tried distracting him. Unsuccessful. I tried picking him up and moving him away. Howling protest. Our boy returned to the bowl to continue to try to dispose of the offending food stuff. Do you know how long 10 minutes is with a possessed cat scratching at the floor?? Finally he abandoned his efforts and stalked off.

The end? Of course not. After a couple of hours, he came downstairs again and started all over again. My nerves were fraying but I stayed strong. This morning, I came downstairs to spend a relaxing few minutes with my cereal, coffee and book. *Sigh* He was right behind me, and once again began to try to bury what should have been his breakfast.

After work, and a nice crowl with the Grumplekins, I settled down to dinner. Oh yes, you guessed it, he was at it again. And kept it up. The entire time I was eating. I think there's a message here... I'm not going to eat in peace until he gets what he wants.

I'm conflicted. The other residents like the stuff and have been munching enthusiastically. Do I switch this food to another feeder or engage in a battle of wills? I've never let one resident rule when it comes to food. They get wet food at least once a day and usually two types of dry are available for free feeding variety. If someone doesn't like something, they've got options. But Grey really seems to be stuck on making the point that he wants food he likes in this feeder. I'll give it another day or two and let you know if he gives up or if I finally capitulate.

On the bright side, Grey and Greyzini (aka Annie) are still hanging out together. Constantly. This is what the bed usually looks like when I walk in. Sometimes, they're even closer (not touching yet, though). Looks like Grey does, indeed, have himself a girlfriend! This makes me very happy... for both of them!

And they all settled down for a long winter's nap...

Or two... or three...

Yep, I used the snow as an excuse to do, well, nothing! All day! Again! The kittens and I had a couple of naps, I read and we all ate a lot. The following pics aren't of any of that, however... heehee! These were actually taken moments ago when I thought to myself, "You must go get a picture and post before bed." There being no subjects in sight downstairs, I hied myself upstairs and found four furries sleeping on the bed... which was still a wreck from the naps, but what the heck!! Percy fled the scene, disturbing his mom, as soon as the flashy box whirred into action, but I was able to snap three together. ;-)

I'm sort of into layering the bed in winter. As a woman of a certain age, layering helps me adjust quickly to that fluctuating internal thermostat of mine! There's the woven summer bedspread, the blue fuzzy thing, an ancient quilt (outside of this shot) and, always, the cream knitted kitty snuggy (for them, not me!).

The naps were awesome! Me stretched crosswise on the bed, so the lovely sun could stream in on my back, hence the pillow in front of Grey as well as behind him. Percy curled up in the small of my back, Peggy Sue or Aggie (it changed a couple of times) behind my knees and, for a while anyway, Grumplegreykins under the chin. When he moved off, he was still in petting distance. Bitty took up her usual post on the 2" strip of wood that is the top of my headboard - she likes to sleep in weird places - and Winnie on the bench at the foot of the bed. Annie was under the bed, so, at times, I guess we were all together, technically speaking!

Here's Grey in his favorite spot... the sham pillows are usually piled up on the "unused" side of the bed and that is his now... nobody would dare usurp!

And below is a shot of Annie, aka Greyzini. You don't see a lot of our little Greyzini because she's kind of shy. She was great buddies with our long departed Gomez. Unfortunately she hasn't ever been close to any of the other residents. And the 'zini hadn't warmed up to any of our guests, either.

But, now that Grey has taken charge of the bed, Annie, who some time ago abandoned the bed, has suddenly taken to coming up on it again. Given that she's usually sleeping closer to Grey, I suspect he is the reason. Whatever the motivation, it's good to see her more social again.

(Yes, Margaret, that's your snuggle blankie... our little 'zini has dragged it off to her favorite spot under the bed more than once. Mean mommy that I am, I take it away and put it on the bed again for all to share. It is a very popular napping spot.)