Yay! Hubbard is OK! ...And Frankie, Lord of the Manor!

Hubbard is home!

Sundown says he apologizes for the cell pic, but he wanted to get the word out quickly! He's promised to update as they know more. So, here's the news:

I picked him up from the vet this evening after work and he is home and doing good so far.

According to the emergency vet, his diabetes is apparently in remission and his pancreatitus is much better than it has been. That is why his blood sugar dropped like a rock; We gave him insulin when his body no longer needed it. Nobody is quite sure how or why it happens, only that it does happen occasionally.

So, he is off the insulin for now, and we are supposed to reduce his medication for the pancreatitus (which makes him happy, as it tastes terrible!). We also have an appointment with our family vet tomorrow to get his glucose tested again and make sure he is still doing ok. But for now, everything is right with the world once more!

Our deepest thanks to everyone at Space Paws who wrote in and wished us well! I am overwhelmed how everyone responds in these kinds of situations. It is humbling for me to associate with such thoughtful and caring people.

Thank you so much! Hugs and purrs from our reunited fur family!
Sundown, KittyChair...and Hubbard, Treelo, Leo and Rocky

Oh, guys, we're so glad you're part of our internet community! Hugs and love!

Frankie, Lord of the Manor!

We had several requests for a "current" pic of Frankie, after having showed off his baby pictures the other day. His mom, Judy, was glad to comply. She left this comment on that post:

Frankie is very embarrassed from all the nice comments (actually he's his usual conceited self). Frankie is a real sweetheart in temperament and he is extra special because Frankie has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. He has his own cardiologist and he is quite snooty about all the attention. We have sent Space Paws one of our favorite pictures of a grown up Frankie which I'm sure you will be seeing soon.

Judy

PS - Thank you so much for posting these pictures as I did not have most of them. I am so glad to put a face to Victor so we can tag the album too! What a lot of cheesecake!

Hmmm... I wonder if we should do a post on each of the sibs so that Judy can put faces to them all? Should I ask the furever parents to share current pics?

Just to let you know, both Victor and Missy also have this heart condition. The parents noticed excessive panting after only moderate exertion and had it checked out... and shared their news. Missy's doc is very interested in her case because it's fairly rare for a doc to be able to keep track of the health of all the sibs of a cat with the condition... not to mention the mom. When Vickie, Missy's mom asked if everyone would keep her updated, all the parents agreed. Can't remember if the other docs want to keep track, too. [Update - Frankie and Missy go to the same cardiologist and he compares their records. We're passing on their doc's name to Shelly!]

Now, on the "it's a small, small intertubes" front, we just read today that Hyacinth's Bino has the same heart condition! What are the odds!?

And, finally, I may not post this weekend, we'll have to see what the days bring... it looks like it's gonna be busy!! But I'll be by to read about our friends!

We get questions!

From the comments section yesterday:

Frankie wants to know if Victor's name was Victor when he was Frankie's big brother (weren't they all Frankie's big siblings - he was the runt?)? We want to update our baby album and, yes ma'am, we have one. ~Judy

Yes, Victor was Victor from the very beginning. Shelly used to stop by and keep Bitty company in the last days of her confinement so she knew the little guy from the time he was a bump in his mommy's belly. OK, one of many bumps, but still. Anyway, she named him and she was doomed... everyone knows how that goes. Name 'em and they're yours!

No, Frankie (or Emmett, as he was known then) wasn't quite the runt. He was the smallest of the boys, but tiny little Missy (then Dot) was the smallest. Frankie was, however, the last to be born - #7 of 7. I know you've seen this before, but it's one of my favorite pics, so here's a reprise... the two smallest of Bitty's kittens in just the cutest pic. Frankie giving Missy a kiss goodnight:

Now, we just love the idea of baby albums for our furkids here at Space Paws, so we'll take this opportunity to help you chock yours up, Judy! Hope these are some you don't already have!

06/30/07 Frankie is just a bump in Bitty's belly. She was so small... all babies!

07/07/07 Frankie's Birth Day! From the left: A triplet (Ash, Moe or Draco), Frankie, Triplet, Triplet, Victor, Missy and Carena.

7/14/07 Frankie is a week old and his eyes aren't even open when he sits (or rather, won't sit still) for his first portrait.

7/14/07 Frankie in his favorite corner. I worried about him sometimes, but he loved it.

07/14/07 Frankie the contortionist in a kitten pile with his sibs. Clockwise from the top, Carena, Ash, Missy, Victor and Frankie.

07/25/07 Frankie in portrait session #2, with his eyes wide open. He still won't sit still.

07/25/07 The family napping. Top row: Bitty, Carena, Victor, Frankie and Missy. Bottom: Body parts of Ash, Draco and/or Moe (it's hard to tell them apart unless you can see the faces!)

07/29/07 Frankie and mommy.

07/29/07 Frankie prepares to take his first steps into the world outside the box. If only mommy and his sibs would move!

08/15/07 Frankie in the hole. His favorite place to play at this age.
'

08/15/07 Frankie desperately trying to get out of the hole now that Carena and Ash/Draco/Moe (no face, I can't tell!) have arrived.

08/29/07 Frankie on top of things.

08/30/07 Frankie's first shot. The indignity!

08/30/07 Frankie's in good hands with Doc Andrew.

08/31/07 Frankie's last portrait and last day at Space Paws.

'Cause then he went to Judy!! (OK, you caught me, the pic was taken 08/16/07 during the meet'n''greet, but I wanted to end with Frankie going to his new mom!)

What a Lovely Christmas Gift

Hi folks! We're back after a lovely holiday weekend. Hope yours was great, too!
Wendy's LOL Spot kindly graced us with a bit of Christmas cheer... thanks Wendy!!

Wendy explains: "Bubkes" or "Bupkis" usually means nothing. I think you'll agree that this "BUBKISS" is very heartwarming (and that's not nothing)!

Happy Sisters

For our little hiatus here, furever mom, Vickie, provided this shot of Missy (aka, Dot), from Bitty's Brood. She's seen here, in the cat cave, with her furever sister, Kayleigh, lounging on the bench. Ah, contentment! Thanks Vickie, we needed that!

And here are pictures of Missy when she was just a baby with us. I know you've seen the kissy pic with Missy and Frankie (formerly Emmett) before, but it's so darling I figured we could handle having it aired again!

Alumnus Pic and More Angels

Here's His Frankeness in "His Place." Does this pic beg for an ICHC caption or what??? Frankenstein's mom, Judy sent this along today... some of you may remember Frankie as Emmett, one of Bitty's Brood. It's always great to see the grown up kittens!!! Thanks, Judy!

And here's another short of Abigail's Angels and their foster mom... this time featuring Miss Hannah's snuggle technique!

A Little Something from the Previous Adventures: Bitty's Brood

Not much time tonight for posting but, since we all thrive on insanely cute critter shots, here's one of our favorite pictures, taken on July 25, 2007 of Bitty's kittens. It looks for all the world to me like Emmett (aka Frankenstein) is kissing his sister, Dot (now Missy) goodnight.

More on Aggie and #1 Son tomorrow. And folks, they thank you for all your support!

Previous Adventure-Bitty and Her Brood

As we find photos from previous adoptions, we'll work those stories into the blog. Maybe in more than one installment!

In 2007, the administrative division staff found a pregnant cat on the grounds of the Institute. Margie lured her near, Allisa scooped her up, Lisa took her home and we named her Bitty... 'cause she was just a little thing. Bitty had 7 bebes! Financial and moral support came from dozens of folks at the 'tute. And we found homes for everybody. Six went to STScI staff and two to relatives of staff! Here's the adoption poster we used:



The little darlings received superlative care under the guidance of Dr. Andrew Jendrek of the Carney Animal Hospital. Doc Andrew and his staff made sure we did right medically by Bitty's Brood so they'd be in tip top shape for adoption.


Doc Andrew and Brian check out Splotch, 8/30/07. (Splotch's furever name is the much more elegant Carinae - she's named after the nebula... yeah, we're all at least borderline geeks, even the admin staff.)


Checkin' Emmett's ticker. (Emmett's furever name is Frankenstein! And we hear he lives up to it!)

Oh, the indignity! Poor Dot! (Now to be known furever as Missy.)