Thank you so much, everyone, for your kind words of sympathy about Elwood. I know it came as a big shock to y’all. We knew it was coming, and were glad to have those last few weeks with him, but it was still hard to say goodbye. We were so focused on him for the last three weeks that to not have in-depth discussions several times a day about how he’s doing and what he ate, is strange. And frees up a surprising amount of time.
From what I’ve read about FIP, it usually tends to hit when they’re quite young (under 2 years) or much older (over 7). So when the vet mentioned it as one of several different possibilities early on, I just kind of scoffed it off because I was so sure there was no way.
I was so sorry to hear that so many of you have recently lost your beloved cats and dogs, and that so many of you have dealt with FIP over the years. This just hasn’t been a great year, has it? I’m looking forward to seeing 2012 mosey off the calendar, and I am hoping that we all have a much better year in 2013.
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Several of you asked how the permanent residents, especially Tommy and Jake, are doing. They’re doing fine – they’re not acting any differently. I suspect that they knew Elwood was sick all along in the way that animals do. The only permanent resident who’s acting any different is Alice, who’s been a bit needier, so we’re giving her all the love and petting she wants. That could be because she misses Elwood – we never saw much interaction between them, but I think a lot goes on between the cats that we don’t necessarily realize.
Or Alice could be acting needier because she wasn’t able to get into the guest bedroom for a couple of days, and that’s where she really likes to hang out.
But you’ll have to keep reading to find out why she couldn’t get into the guest bedroom. 🙂
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Y’all, Sherry could use some advice about her orange boy Jack.
We moved to an apt the day after Thanksgiving (Nov 23). It stressed Jack, my orange tabby out. I’d even go so far as to stay he was traumatized : he got loose from the room he and Smudge were in while the movers were there, and he ran around the empty house trying to get out and threw himself at a (closed) window, and threw himself at a (closed) glass door, and finally threw himself into the screen door and was outside where he promptly went under my car and up into the engine area. He stayed there for about 20 minutes with my friend and myself petting what we could reach and talking softly to him till I finally dripped water on him to get him out where he ran immediately back into the house and we corralled him in an empty room with nothing but the carrier which he immediately went into and stayed in for the next several hours. I took him with us immediately to the apt (because I was scared to leave him alone) and put the carrier in my closet with the lights out so he could have some peace and quiet. For two days he didn’t speak. He’s never been a very vocal cat, but he does growl and hiss easily and he didn’t make a sound at all for two days. I didn’t see him for those two days hardly at all. About a week after the move though, he was back to normal, just a little more skittish about people in general. We had lots of help unpacking and he’d go into deep hiding which was unusual for him. While never friendly, he’d always been the one to at least show himself when people were over but not anymore.
About two weeks ago I figured out he was peeing on my clothes. I had a laundry basket of clean clothes sitting in the floor and he’d peed in them. I wasn’t positive it was him, till I caught him doing it a day or two later on some more clothes. This has been going on now intermittently for two weeks. I don’t keep any clothes out where he can get to them anymore so he peed IN MY PURSE the other day. Then, last night, around 12:30 I hear him scratching at a box, so I turn on the light and make sure he’s not peeing on the box. Turn back off the light, and within two minutes actually hear him peeing in the floor up against the bookcase. No clothes, no purse, not even my shoes are right there, and he’s just peeing onto the foot of my bookcase.
I don’t know WHAT to do with him but this can’t continue. I’ve been soaking all my clothes in white vinegar before I wash them, but I can’t put the floor into the washer. I haven’t checked the tree skirt, but wonder if he’s done it there. I know it’s only been a month since we moved, and maybe I just need to give him more time, but honestly I can’t take this. Any suggestions?
Further to the Jack situation – anything that requires me giving him something by mouth is out. I can’t get medicine down his throat to save my life. His claws are SERIOUSLY long and I tried to give him ½ a Benadryl to be able to trim them, and no matter how I disguised it, he’d spit it out. And holding him down to do anything causes him great stress and me great harm…
Below is what I suggested to Sherry, but you guys, please feel free to jump in with suggestions, I know Sherry would appreciate it and so would I.
My initial idea was to get him to a vet and see if you could get him on Xanax or something of that sort. But since you can’t medicate him, that idea is out! My other suggestions would be to try Feliway (I don’t honestly know that it helps – but it certainly doesn’t hurt) plug-ins, and you might want to check out Spirit Essences. I feel like Safe Spaces might work for him – it sounds like he was traumatized by the move and it’s got him in this cycle he isn’t breaking out of. Spirit Essences can be given to cats by putting it in their water, or even just having it on your hands when you’re petting them. I know that Connie tried some of the Spirit Essences for one of her fosters, and she said that it worked well for her.
Also, Dr. Elsey’s Cat Attract litter might help.
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I had to come back because I’ve been thinking about Elwood all day (and my Cleo, who died when she was just 2.5 years old). Here’s my favorite Elwood photoessay. I hope it gives you a smile and I hope you are doing o.k.
Thanks, Doodle Bean – that definitely made me smile. He was such a silly boy, and certainly loved tromping through puddles and then stopping to puzzle why on earth his feet were wet!
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I am soooo happy that MY Dandelion is sooooo happy! Please post where you got that Cheetah! I just know my little ones would love it!!!
I got that long-armed cheetah at Petsmart. It’s made by Toy Shoppe, and is actually a dog toy (it’s got a squeaker in the head), but the cats certainly like it. I’d link to it on the Petsmart web site, but I’m unable to find it there. I was actually in the store and saw them in person and grabbed ’em up.
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So CUTE!
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I received my package from CafePress last night. The calendars are GREAT! Love the pic of Tommy and Sugarbutt – well – I love ALL the pics. I got an Inspector Stompers mug for work – so he is staring at me as I type. Even though I don’t drink, I got the shot glass because it was just way too funny not to.
So glad you liked it! I finally got my calendars – I got one of each, I’m thinking that the Stompers calendar will hang in the foster room – and I absolutely love them.
And as a reminder, you can get your Stompers gear here and the other calendars are linked over there in the sidebar to the right.
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Spanky is so purty. I saw on his permanent resident page that it says he’s a talker? Do you have a vid?
This is a video of Spanky from at least six or seven years ago (I uploaded it to YouTube three years ago, but it’s older than that). Please forgive the video quality, but you can hear his “voice.”
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Where did you get that KatKabin, and is it an indoor-only thing? I’ve been wanting to make cat shelters but the truth is I’m about as crafty as a rock. If I can buy one, so much the better for me.
It was a gift, but it came to us from Fab.com. They’re not selling them right now, but I believe they were about $75 each last time I looked. I’ll try to remember to link next time they’re selling them.
The one I have can go outside – and if they hadn’t started using it inside, I was going to move it to the back yard. But it’s so popular where it is that I’m leaving it as is!
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I remember Bill and his liplids! Or were they eyelips? So sorry to hear he’s having knee problems… I can sympathize. I hope his surgery goes well and he can go on his merry way.
Fred and I called them eyelips, and the women at the vet’s office referred to them as liplids. Their word better described what they were, but I think “eyelips” rolls off the tongue (so to speak) more easily.
Bill came through his surgery like a champ, and now he’s recovering in style.
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Is there a money-back guarantee if the holiday card fails to clean my house? I’m VERY concerned about truth in advertising, you know!
and
My holiday postcard has yet to clean my house at night while I sleep. I never knew it had such capability.
Look. All I can tell y’all is that they were WORKING when I mailed them out. If they were broken by the USPS, well, you can hardly blame ME.
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That picture of Thistle reminds me of the one you took of Pepsi.
Thistle:
Pepsi:
I definitely see the resemblance! And I love that picture of Pepsi so much that almost a year later, it’s still my wallpaper.
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So, how do you keep the [sherpa] blankets cat-hair free in between washings? You must have to brush the blankets daily?
I pretend there’s no cat hair there, and toss the blankets in the washer every week or so. It works for me (and I swear to you that I really don’t walk around with a thick coating of cat hair covering my clothes)!
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Okay, before you go on to read this next section, I wrote it and then I went back and read it, and I was concerned that y’all would get the wrong impression, so instead of just posting these first two pictures, I’m going to let y’all know that they are NOT back here to stay for good. They’re just hanging out here until after the New Year, when their new parents will be done with their holiday traveling, and ready to finalize the adoption and bring them home.
Yes, Mr. Stripey and Sungold have a forever home that they’ll be going to after the New Year. TOGETHER. I won’t mark their picture on the sidebar as “adopted” until they’re actually gone because I don’t want to jinx the adoption, but these boys have a home to go to.
Yay!
I brought them home on Thursday and put them in the guest bedroom. By Saturday, Fred was dying to let them out into the house, so Saturday evening we opened the door to see what would happen.
What happened? Mr. Stripey walked into the hallway, saw Miz Poo, and immediately tried to head butt her. Miz Poo was HORRIFIED at the very idea and hissed, so Mr. Stripey walked over to Jake and tried to head butt him. There’s been very little hissing from either of the ‘Mater brothers, and not much hissing from the permanent residents unless one of the boys gets right up in their face. I don’t know that they all remember each other – after all, it’s been what, 4 months since they went off to Petsmart the first time? – but maybe they do.
So for now until they leave us, they’ll get the run of the house in the evenings.
There’s been lots of playing with Da Bird.
That stripey boy can FLY.
That’s Sugarbutt over there on the left.
Sungold liked the feel of this cat bed under his paws.
Stripey could use a kiss.
“What?”
Fred’s already nicknamed Mr. Stripey “Mr. Friendly” because he clearly loves other cats immediately and without reservation – and he thinks humans are pretty cool, too.
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BUT THAT’S NOT ALL.
Meet Bitsy Beans.
And Barney Beans.
Bitsy.
Bitsy, I think.
More Bitsy.
And Barney.
Bitsy.
Bitsy in the ham-mick and Barney on the floor.
Barney in the front, Bitsy in the back.
Bitsy and Barney Beans are – if you couldn’t guess – brother and sister. They’re almost four months old (date of birth is guesstimated at September 1st). They’ve been spayed and neutered and are just with us while they get up to date on their vaccinations – so, at least three weeks.
They were pretty skittish at first – Bitsy more so than Barney – but Fred convinced Bitsy that humans aren’t so bad (that’s his specialty), and now when you walk into the room she runs over and squeaks at you ’til you sit down, whereupon she walks back and forth and purrs while you pet her. Barney is a little more laid-back, and will play for a while, approach you for petting, and then run off to play some more. They’re some sweetie pies, is what they are.
We had an issue for the first few days, where they were jumping from the floor to the top of the dresser, and then climbing up onto the shelves in the closet and hiding there. We moved the dresser, and they decided that hanging out in the main room (as opposed to hanging out in the closet where the litter boxes and the supplies are) was fine with them.
When I’m with them in person, I can tell who’s who with no problem at all, but it’s a bit harder in pictures, so I’m going to put a collar on one of them, just so I’ll be able to tell for sure when I’m looking at pictures.
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Clearing out my Permanent Residents photo folder still. Today, in honor of all the gingery goodness Stripey and Sungold are bringing to the house, is Sugarbutt’s turn.
(This was from the middle of the summer, I believe.)
He’s such a pretty boy, isn’t he? I lubs my Suggie.
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Previously
2011: I just got the word – BUSTER WAS ADOPTED TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2010: “Santa! I been good! No, really!”
2009: From us and all of ours, to you and all of yours, wishes for a happy, safe, healthy holiday!!!!
2008: No entry.
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.