Space heater hog

Maggie loves when the space heater comes out. She positioned herself on the arm of the couch between Mom and the heater so she could get all toasty. It was genuinely cold here in SC for the first time this winter, and one of the Christmas trees is near the thermostat and it throws off the temperature downstairs a little when the lights are on, so it was nice to have the little heater out. 

Sweet Josie

Josie doesn't get enough attention on the blog, but she is such a sweet sister. Dad vacuumed the couch so of course she needed to stretch out and sleep on the couch. She loves when Mom and Dad hang out downstairs (her domain) instead of watching tv upstairs. She was extra loving today, and actually cuddled up with Mom in bed this morning (forced Mom to stay in bed). She usually gets chased off the bed by Maggie so it was nice that she got to enjoy some Mom time.

Happy Black Cat Day!

I saw on Simon's Cat that today is Black Cat Day so Happy Black Cat Day to all my house panther friends out there, and especially to my brother Huggy Bear! Black cats get such a bad rap, but they are some of the most precious and loving cats Mom and Dad have been around (I've only been around one, but if he's a good representation then they're all OK in my book).


This is an older picture of Huggy Bear (2008 -- wow!) but this is how you'll usually find him, snuggled up as close as he can be to Mom.

Windows are open -- life is better

My abscess is healing nicely and I'm feeling much better. Thanks for all the well wishes. Hurricane Matthew passed by us with few issues locally. We had heavy winds gusting up to 52 mph, and hard rain steadily on Saturday. In Columbia we had about 240 trees down and 31 roads blocked, but we were unaffected. Today was a prefect day, so nice that we had our windows open and enjoyed some fresh air.

During my illness Maggie was acting weird. Mom and Dad decided she had bruised her paw pad or tweaked her back left leg because of how she was behaving. She seems to be moving better now, but Mom also noticed that she was down about two pounds (now 7 1/2) which caused some concern. We are now trying out some wet food to try to get a little weight back on her, but so far it's Josie and I who are benefiting from the wet food. Dad bought 12 different brands and styles and we are taste testing them. We'll let you know our verdict once we've tried them all.

The post I haven't wanted to make

Selfishly, I haven't wanted to post about this, because once I write about it it becomes real, but the same day I ended up at the vet, our dear friend Ginger's Dad passed away. Fred had been battling bladder cancer that ravaged his body. Mom and Dad have become friends with Ginger's parents Fred and Rita over the years, and it just breaks our hearts to watch him fade away. We are purring hard for Rita as she deals with all of this. Please keep her in your thoughts, too.

My Tuesday adventure

Well I had quite the adventure on Tuesday, and not the fun kind involving a pirate's treasure map or giant robots from space or a Time Lord's blue Police call box. No, I had to go to the vet. It all started Monday night when I had an abscess on my left hindquarter rupture. It smelled terrible, and Mom and Dad instantly started to investigate.

I was sitting in my new favorite hang-out chair cleaning and cleaning this mess. Dad quickly scooped me up and took me to the big bathroom to help clean me up. Then I was whisked into the carrier and off to the emergency vet clinic. Mom and Dad didn't want things getting worse and they wanted me to be comfortable, but that guy wanted to do a ton of tests that started to feel excessive, and the price quickly jumped to almost $700.

I've gone through this before, so they knew what to expect, and this felt like overkill. I was doing better because most everything had already drained, so they took me back home and let me sleep in the bathroom by myself that night. First thing in the morning Mom took me to my regular vet. They were very nice to me, although I wasn't too thrilled about the barking dogs. (I know, they were nervous too.)

They had to put me under to do some minor surgery, shave the area, and clean it up real good. I'm home now and getting back into my routine. Mom and Dad have given me some pain meds that are a gel in a syringe. I've learned how to knock it out of Mom's hands, which is fun and makes me feel a little better and in control of some part of this situation.



Being in my box again helps too.Boxes make everything better. My sisters have been a little out of sorts since I came home, especially Maggie, who won't quit hissing at me, although we did share treats last night. (Treats make everything better.) So now Mom is worrying about her, too. But Huggy Bear is starting to hang around with me again, so I think it's more a smell thing.

It was weird, though, when I was at the vet because they talked about me being "a 15-year-old cat" like I'm wearing out or something. First of all, I'm 14-and-a-half. Secondly, my name is not Jasper McOldman-Cat. It's Jasper McKitten-Cat, and I stand by the kitten part of my name. So don't go writing me off just because I'm not a toddler cat.

Hopefully I won't be sequestered in the bathroom at night anymore. But it all depends on if my wound of seeping or not. Thanks for all the purrs and well wishes from the Cats with Blogs group on Facebook. It means a lot. I didn't get to post here because it all happened so quickly.

Also, if you've made it to the bottom of this long and rambling post, thanks for reading it all. I don't normally type this much (my paws get tired), but I wanted everyone to know what is going on. Now I'm going to take a nap on Mom's bed while she's not looking.

Snoopervising

Dad had some online continuing ed to do. Maggie was snoopervising. By sleeping against his leg she made sure he didn't get too bored and wander off.

Happy 12th birthday Josie and Huggy Bear

I can't believe it was 12 years ago that Josie and Huggy Bear came into our lives as little kittens hanging around outside our apartment. You two are the sweetest cats and great siblings. You taught me how to be a cat, the joys of snuggling, and what it means to be a big brother. I can't wait to share sticky goodness cake later tonight!

Big helpers

Mom is going through old pictures while watching the Olympics, looking for good ones for her 25 year high school reunion. You can see that we are being extra big helpers tonight. As soon as little box was emptied I was in it. Maggie is making sure the lid doesn't come off the other box. Huggy Bear is watching gymnastics. Meanwhile, Josie is downstairs wishing Mom and Dad would come watch tv in the living room like civilized people.

Cute as a button

Mom and Dad got new couches earlier in the year. They worked with the old look of the living room ok, but then Mom found a new rug that looks really good with the new couches. Well that started a cycle that included painting the walls and a new chair. This chair is from World Market and is called "Cute as a Button" but the girls think it describes them in the chair, and not the chair itself. Now I will say Josie is a cute girl. (She was even cuter just seconds before this picture, but it started raining really hard and got her attention.) The other bonus of the new chair is that the old chair is currently up in the bedroom and I've been sleeping in it. I may (gasp!) like it better than my box for naps.

I'm having a poopy day -- literally

The last two days haven't been great. On top of the fact that Mom is under the weather and I should be snuggling with her, I was stopped up yesterday. I kept trying to hack up a hairball (but only produced foam) and then had loose stool that kept making a mess on my furs that Mom had to clean up. Well, we were low on food and Dad had some cheap food in his car for the parking lot cat at work that he gave us, and that, along with some cat grass, has seemed to do the trick to loosen everything up. I've been in and out of the litter box all day, and puked some too. Poor Mom hates to deal with the box anyway, and she's been having to come and check it and me. I've got my purr back, and am starting to feel more like myself, but it's no fun having an upset tummy.

Sorry for the TMI post...

Josie on the new couch

Mom and Dad had just finished vacuuming the couch, so Josie figured it would be a good time to stretch out and get her furs back on it. Doesn't she look so sweet on that gray?

Oh the indignity

First of all, thank you all for your concern about my bloody paw. It seemed to be a fluke. But I'll keep you posted. 

Now, today's indignity... I am a very floofy cat and because of that I sometimes get bad matts in my furs. Well I had a few near my bottom and I couldn't really do much about them, so Mom and Dad bought some electric clippers today at Target and gave me a little bit of a sanitary cut. It's not as severe as the one I got when I had to go to the emergency vet with my anal gland issues last year, but it still wasn't my favorite thing I've done recently. It feels better, but the process stinks. 

Strange issue

A strange thing happened tonight. I was lying in bed with Mom and she noticed a few spots of blood on the bed spread. She looked and I had a little blood on my front right paw between my toes. It wasn't actively bleeding, I wasn't guarding my foot while I walked, and Dad was able to clean it pretty well. All I can figure is that I aggravated my paw climbing up the step stool that helps me get in bed. Dry skin, I'm hoping. At least it got me some extra treats. 

Happy birthday Maggie

Happy birthday to my dear sister Maggie. She's the youngest of us and the sister we never realized we needed until she became part of our family. She can be bossy, but we love her so much. 11 years old and she still acts like a kitten. Maggie, you are a special cat and we love you so much. 

Memorial Day

I hope you had a relaxing and restful Memorial Day.

A rare sighting

Hey look! It's all four of us in one picture. We were hanging out in the parlor with Mom and Dad. This was a special treat for them. It didn't last very long, but it was nice while it did.

Goodbye old friend

Our dear old friend William is entering his final days, less than a week after his 13th birthday. William was the first blogging cat to come visit us something like 11 years ago. My blogging opportunities are less than they used to be, but when I did get to visit William's was one of the blogs I always made time for. I remember the passing of his siblings, including the sudden unexpected loss of his brother and best friend Russell. I know we don't get to stay here forever, but William is a year younger than I am, so it just doesn't feel right or OK. I just have to find peace in knowing that William is reunited with Russell and that Caroline and Co. will take good care of his mom. Rest in peace, William. You will be dearly missed. 

Snuggling with Mom

Mom and Dad worked in the yard all afternoon. When they came in to clean up they realized that the pilot light on the water heater had gone out and ended up taking cold showers. Mom got chilled and couldn't warm up, so she got in bed and watched Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Huggy Bear loves when Mom is in bed, and he even likes when she holds him. He's doing his best to help Mom get warm again. 

Snoopervising

Mom and Dad were working in the kitchen last night getting ready for company today so of course we needed to snoopervise. Mom made two ice creams (Meyer lemon and peanut butter honey) but we didn't get to taste any of it.  We weren't too interested in the potato salad or pasta salad. The big score will be today when they break out the hamburgers and brats.  (They still owe me my yummy goodness birthday cake, too.)

Happy birthday to me!

Today is my 14th birthday! It is hard to believe that it was 14 years ago that I climbed out of the cage at the shelter and onto my Mom's shoulder. I picked her first, and Mom and Dad took me home. My plan for my birthday is to curl  up  in my favorite box and sleep. I know, it's not the most exciting way to spend my birthday, but it sounds pretty perfect to me. I'll probably have some wet food and some treats too. But mostly just nap.

Maggie hates the blinds

Maggie hates when the blinds are shut, so much so that Mom and Dad have to leave the right one up at night or Maggie constantly wakes them up getting the blinds. You can tell by the picture that at least she is consistent with which blind she dislikes the most. She is such a stinker.

Goodbye to my favorite Diva

I just heard the news and I'm just in shock, but Diva Kitty is gone. Sophia was one of a kind, the only cat I knew who didn't need a name, just initials, because everyone knew who DK was. And just on the heels of the passing of Ginger ... This makes two of my oldest cat friends in one week. I think I'm going to just curl up in my box for the rest of the weekend. Purr with your people, curl up next to them, let them love on you. Too much sadness right now.

Goodbye sweet Ginger

One of our oldest and dearest friends left us today. Ginger was one of the very first cat friends we made when we started our blog 11 years ago, and the first human (her mom Rita) we connected with via Flickr, and later on Facebook. Our hearts break for Ginger's loving parents Rita and Fred, who had to make the hardest of all decisions, and her cat-sister Mariah who is now an only cat. We've had other friends come and go, but this is one of the hardest.  Please keep Ginger and her family in your thoughts and purrs. Rest in peace sweetheart. We miss you already.

I'm feeling much better

Thanks for all the purrs. I am feeling much better. I was just out of sorts the other night and had Mom very worried. But Dad got me some cat grass and that seemed to help.

Not feeling great

I'm not feeling so hot tonight. I was a little dehydrated with some white spots on the edge of my nose. Mom and Dad tried to get me to eat some canned pumpkin because Mom read where that helps when cats are dehydrated or have upset tummies. So Dad put pumpkin around my mouth to get me lick it because I was dirty. I was a little constipated but finally used the bathroom. My breathing was quick, but now it has calmed back down. I seem to be doing a little better but I'd really appreciate some healing purrs just in case.

Taking care of Mom

Mom had been sick for about a week now, dealing with sinus crud and no voice, unable to kick it. So we have been taking turns snuggling with her to help her heal. It is an important job. Here I am keeping her spot on the bed warm. (Moments after this picture Maggie pounced me and made me leave. She can be such a brat.)

Starting the new year off right

Josie is starting the new year off right ... napping in a sunny spot in Dad's spot on the couch. We hope your new year is restful and warm.