Busy Mom

Mom did get out the sucky monster and I did hide under the bed, but I did get some treats after it was all over.  Then she put all my stuff back on the floor and I got to relax.  I can't believe I didn't tell you the worst danger of an energetic Mom.  She actually held me down and furminated me all over, despite my meowed protests. Sheesh!

Karen Jo:  It's a good thing that I did hold you down and furminate you, Herman.  Your chest was getting tangled fur again.  I got great clumps of it out.  I am sorry if it pulled a little bit, but it will save you from having your chest shaved again. Remember how embarrassed you were walking around bare-chested?

I remember.  I didn't like that one bit.  Can't you just work the tangles out with your fingers, like you did with the one that you found last night while you were petting me?

Karen Jo:  I am afraid not.  I can't always find the exact spot of the tangle with my fingers.  I just noticed that your fur didn't feel right when I was petting your chest before I furminated you and that's why I held you down and made you go through it.  If you would just let me brush you all over every day and furminate you once a week, you probably wouldn't have any problems with your fur.

I know that I should let you do that and I used to let you do that, but it doesn't seem to feel as good as it used to.  I would rather go under my platform and try to get some treats from you.  You have been a bit stingy with the treats since I barfed.

Karen Jo:  Only a little bit.  You still get plenty of treats.  I let you finish off the bag of Dairy Temptations tonight.  I don't want you barfing again and the amount of nip treats you got that night may have had something to do with it.  I would rather give you some treats more often than give you all you want at one time and have you barf again.

You said that you thought it was the dry food plus water that made me barf.

Karen Jo:  Yes, I did, but there was only a little dry food and a whole lot of treats.  The difference is that you chew up your treats, but swallow your dry food whole, at least the Purina One and the duck and pea, which are little disks.  You chew up your Kitten Chow and Friskies.  Come to think of it, it's the Purina One and duck and pea which tend to get barfed.  I will think on this some more.

I hope you decide that I can have all the treats I want whenever I want them.

Karen Jo:  I don't think so.  When I was really letting you have tons of treats, I noticed that you weren't eating as much of your regular food as you used to, so I started to cut back on the treats.  Then you went back to eating more of your regular food.  Treats are great and I love giving them to you, but they shouldn't take the place of your regular food.

Rats!  I would love to try living on treats.

Karen Jo:  That is not going to happen.

Caturday

Mom was hoping that my eye color would show up a little in this photo and it did, but you have to look closely to see it.  I let my Mom sleep yesterday and, let me tell you, kitties, a well-rested Mom is a dangerous thing.  She went nuts.  She got up and went shopping.  Then she started cooking up a storm.  She totally trashed the kitchen, then cleaned it up again.  There was the smell of cooking chicken all afternoon, but she didn't give me any.

Karen Jo:  I was cooking my lunches for the next few days and more for the freezer.  I had almost depleted my stock of cooked food for when I don't have time to cook from scratch.  I offered you some sweet and sour chicken today, but you didn't want it.  That didn't surprise me.  I didn't think you would, with the soy sauce and vinegar in it.

When she was through with all that, she cooked a steak and I helped her eat it, a little.

Karen Jo:  You asked me for lots of treats just before I cooked the steak again.  I didn't give you as many as you wanted because I was afraid you wouldn't have room for steak when it was ready.  I was almost right.  You only wanted two bites and you had me tear those up into tiny bits.

After all that activity, when it came time to blog, she told me she was too tired.

Karen Jo:  I wore myself out and I still didn't get everything done that I needed to get done.  I gave you another ride in your stroller.

I enjoyed the ride and didn't jump out until it was over.

Karen Jo:  You did jump out the second it was over.  I was reaching for the camera and didn't even get it into my hands before you were out.  I think I am going to have to zip you in to get a picture of you in your stroller.

I don't want to be zipped in.  I like being able to stick my head out to see where we are going without any mesh in the way.  Mom is threatening to get the sucky monster out tomorrow.

Karen Jo:  I know how much you hate it, but the carpet really, really needs vacuuming.  I need to dust, too.  Actually, I think I better get up early in the morning, with all the work that needs doing.

You will find me under the bed.  I better get some treats when you finish.

Snoozy Thursday

I'm taking a nap on the carpet again.  Mom had another one of those days where she doesn't do anything again yesterday.

Karen Jo:  Sorry, Herman.  I have to work very hard on Sundays and Mondays and sometimes I am very tired on Tuesday.  I will get and cook the chicken tomorrow and we will have steak.

That sounds good.  I barfed big time Monday night and Mom took my treats away.

Karen Jo:  You are such a drama king.  I didn't take your treats away yesterday; I just didn't give you as many as you wanted, in case your tummy was still upset.  From the looks of the barf, you ate some dry food on top of a whole bunch of nip treats, then took a big drink of water.  When the dry food began to expand, there just wasn't room for all of it. You got as many treats as you wanted tonight.  The nip treats were well on the way to being digested, so I figured that the treats weren't the cause of the barf.

I really bugged Mom this morning.  I got her up early for breakfast, then woke her up again a couple of hours later and wouldn't let her go back to sleep.

Karen Jo:  You were being a little stinker.  You didn't even get up with me the second time, when I went to check if you had eaten your breakfast and wanted more.  As soon as I got back in bed, you went back into your routine.  I petted you in case that was what you wanted, but you put your paws on my hand.  It turned out that you wanted to use my hand for a pillow.  By then, it was almost time to get up, so I didn't get back to sleep.  You did, though.

I finally played with Mom a little bit yesterday.  I let her know that I wanted to play and she tried out various toys on my until I batted a ball back to her a few times.  Then I walked off to my bed for a nap.

Fuzzy Tuxie Tuesday

Many of you have wanted to see a picture of me in my stroller.  I didn't cooperate.  I am a bit fuzzy in the photo because I jumped out of the stroller as Mom was taking the picture.  Mom put me in twice, but I didn't want to go for a ride this morning.  Mom will keep trying.  She wants me to get used to it.  We won't be going outside any time soon.  It snowed a little bit today.

Karen Jo:  I was hoping that your first reaction to the stroller meant that you liked it.  This time you gave your complaining meow when I first put you in the stroller and jumped out almost immediately.  I put you back in and just managed to get a picture.  I know you don't like being confined, but this is meant to be fun.

It's only fun if I can get out whenever I want and I wanted out.  Mom actually found some good food in the freezer.  She found a package of chicken and rice and I helped her eat it.

Karen Jo:  You surprised me again.  When you first came here, I gave you microwaved chicken bits from the freezer for your elevenses and you liked it, but not for long.  Since then you have turned your nose up at anything I got out of the freezer.  Maybe you liked this because I thawed it first and the chicken had no herbs on it.  I am going to cook sweet and sour chicken tomorrow, which you probably won't like, but I will also make baked chicken, which you do like.  I think I will make the baked chicken with Swiss cheese, which you went nuts over the first time I cooked it.

Yummy, fresh baked chicken.  I can hardly wait.  I fooled you again about what I want.

Karen Jo:  Yes, you did.  I was giving you nip treats tonight and you went and scratched on your platform again.  I didn't really believe that you wanted me to change treats, but I did and gave you an Indoor Adventure treat.  You ate it but turned away from me and didn't ask for another one, so I put them away.  Luckily, I hadn't put the nip treats away.  I showed you the package and, sure enough, you wanted more nip treats.  So what was the platform scratching about?

I just felt like having a scratch.  I love to keep you guessing.  It's fun and I still get what I want.

Mancat Monday

Mom didn't take a picture of me today.  She said that she didn't want still another picture of me lying on my side on the carpet, so she went outside and took a picture of the moon instead.  It didn't turn out, so here is a picture of me from a day or so ago, enjoying a bit of sun on my warming mat.

Mom didn't have anything good for lunch, so I didn't even ask for any.  She managed to get her work done a bit early and had more time for me, though.  I got lots of treats, but not too many, as she was afraid I would fill up on treats and not eat my lunch while she was at work.  She didn't have to worry.  I licked my Medley and Stinky Goodness dishes clean.

Karen Jo:  You sure did.  I hardly had to wash them at all before I gave you your dinner when I got home.  You wanted lots of treats when I got home, too.

Yes, and I got them.  I had mostly Temptations and some nip treats.

Karen Jo:  I think I interpreted what you wanted correctly.  You show me that you want treats by going to your platform and scratching.  Once I start giving you treats, you pat my hand or reach toward the treat package to tell me that you want another one.  After a bunch of Temptations, you walked back to your platform and scratched again, so I switched to nip treats and you ate several of them before you decided that you were full.  I tried to get you to play with me before I went to work, but you weren't interested.

You should know by now that I like to play at night more than during the day.

Karen Jo:  But you haven't been interested in playing at night lately, either.  Your toys get moved around, so I know that you are playing at least a little while I am at work.

I will let you know when I am ready to play.  I think Ayla, Iza and Marley have a great idea.  You should cook chicken again.

Karen Jo:  That is a good idea.  I will pick some up tomorrow and decide how I want to cook it.

Bad Fur Day

Here I am wondering if I would rather play or nap.  I have been having bad fur days lately.  It just sticks out every which way.

Karen Jo: It's the dryness of the air, Herman.  You get a touch of electric cat and your fur stands out.

Then I wish the air would get wetter.  This is a bit embarrassing.

Karen Jo:  I wish it would, too.  We were supposed to get snow today, but we didn't even get clouds.  There was a very nice almost full moon out to light my way home from work.

Mom finished off the meatloaf today and I even helped her.

Karen Jo:  That surprised me a little.  You ate quite a few tiny bites even though you haven't been the least bit interested in it for the past few days.

What's next on the menu?

Karen Jo:  I haven't decided yet.  I will probably eat out of the freezer for a day or two.

Yuck!  I don't like stuff out of the freezer.

Karen Jo:  Don't worry, I will cook again soon.  You have enough treats to see you through.  I found your nip treats on special today, so I stocked up on them, too.

At least I won't starve to death waiting for you to cook something good.

Caturday

Here I am just lounging around again. Mom got a bad case of the blahs yesterday and didn't do much. I didn't get another ride in my stroller and we didn't even get steak.

Karen Jo: Sorry, Herman. I decided that I really needed to eat more of that meatloaf, so I can finish it before it goes bad. I don't want to freeze it.  I did give you lots of Mom time.

Yes, that was fun, even if I didn't want to play. 

Karen Jo:  You did play with the red spot for a while.

Good news.  Mom brought home lots and lots of treats.

Karen Jo:  They were on sale, so I stocked up.

Mom opened up a package of Dairy Temptations.  I like them.  I also like the Friskies Indoor Adventures treats.

Karen Jo:  The only treats you haven't liked were the ones that were supposed to be good for you.

Healthy treats, yuck!  It seems like a contradiction in terms.  Treats are just supposed to taste good.

Karen Jo:  Well, you have a good supply of Temptations and Friskies Party Mix now.  I still haven't gotten you any more Greenies, but the weather has been too cold to walk all the way up to the store that carries them.  Maybe my next day off.

Strollering

Mom got this picture just as I decided to move, so my front paw is a bit fuzzy.  Mom did put me in the stroller yesterday and we went up and down the hall.  She kept her promise and didn't zip me in, so I could jump out if I decided that I really didn't like it.  I surprised her by staying put.  I put my head out of the side where the zipper is, but I didn't even try to jump out.  I didn't even meow as we went up and down the hall.  Mom will try to get a picture of me in my stroller tomorrow.  I am going for another short ride.

Karen Jo:  It looks to me like you might even enjoy strollering.  You just watched the world go by as we went on our way.  Usually you complain like mad if I put you in something and move you around.  It isn't nearly warm enough to go outside yet, but I am looking forward to that.  Your wellness exam is going to me in early March and I hope we have a nice day for it.

Mom did make meatloaf and I did try it.  I got several tiny bites.  Mom just gave me very tiny bites to make sure that I didn't get any onion.

Karen Jo:  There was only 1/2 cup of onion to two pounds of meat and I didn't dice it up very finely, so I figured it would be all right.  I know that onion isn't good for kitties, but I made sure that there weren't any onion pieces in the bits I gave you.  You seemed to like it last night, but you didn't want any today.

You know how I feel about leftovers.  Tomorrow is steak night, isn't it?

Karen Jo:  Yes it is.

Lots of kitties want to know how I trained my Mom so well.  First, make sure that you pick a push-over for a Mom.  It helps to be an only kitty, too.  Be as cute and loving as you can most of the time, so she will feel willing to give into any demands you make. When you really want something, be insistent.  When you want her up, start softly, then up the ante.  First, I pat my Mom's cheek with my paw.  I will try this several times.  If it doesn't work, or if she turns her back on me, I put my paw on her scalp and sloooowly extend my claws. So far that has worked every time.  Keeping her up is more difficult, but once I have been fed, I don't really care if she goes back to bed.  In fact, she is often very susceptible to suggestions to pet me after she goes back to bed after my breakfast, if I don't get her up too early.

Tuxie Tuesday

Mom took this picture from fairly far away, trying not to wake me up.  The whirr when the camera turns on wakes me up every time, though.  I am not very much awake, though, and put my head back down almost immediately.  I had been playing with my sparkly nip candy cane just before my nap.

Mom has been whining that I don't play with her.  Well, I told her last night that I was ready to play, but she ignored me.

Karen Jo:  It was two o'clock in the morning.  That's sleep time, not play time, at least for me.  I had to get up to go to work in the morning.

I told you again when you got home tonight that I was ready to play.

Karen Jo:  I was using the human litter box.  By the time I finished, you didn't want to play any more.  You wanted your dinner, which you got.

I wanted treats, too, but you wouldn't give them to me.

Karen Jo:  My feet were killing me.  I had to change out of my work shoes and clothes before I could relax and give you treats.  You got plenty of treats after that.  You finished off your bag of Whisker Lickin's and ate a whole bunch of Temptations.

Some kitties have wondered how I can eat as much as I want whenever I want and not get ginormous.  Mom has a theory.  She thinks that my body uses up a lot of energy every day keeping my FIV and FeLV in remission.  She has absolutely no scientific backing for this theory, it just seems likely to her.  I am just happy that I can eat as much as I like of whatever I like and stay at about 14 pounds.

Karen Jo:  That makes me happy, too.  You just stay a little bit fat and a lot of sassy.  I am really looking forward to showing your vet how big and strong you are in a couple of months.

I am not looking forward to that.

Karen Jo:  Don't worry.  It will just be a checkup.  You won't get a shot or anything.  At most you will get your temperature taken, though I don't know if that is part of the wellness checkup.  You may only get weighed and felt over.

Mom hasn't put my in my stroller yet.

Karen Jo:  I just might do that tomorrow.  I think you are used to seeing it around.  How would you like a little ride up and down the hall?

I don't know.  We will have to see.

Mancat Monday

Mom likes to get up close and take my picture when I am lying like this.  She loves the way my whiskers show up.  She wishes my eyes would show up better, but I am almost always faced away from the sunlight.  I use my scratchers all the time now and Mom even gives me treats for it sometimes.  I didn't eat quite as much today, but I made up for it at treat time.  I got my Interferon again this morning.  I love my Interferon.  I start meowing for it as soon as I see Mom pick up the oral syringe.  I miss it on my off weeks.  Mom nearly forgot it this morning, but she finally remembered, but not until after she had given me my cheese.  I should get my Interferon first, then the cheese.  It started out as a treat for taking my Interferon, but I like my Interferon so much that I don't need a treat for taking it, but don't tell her that.

Karen Jo:  I tried and tried to get you to play with me while you were lying there, looking bored, but you wouldn't.

I only play when I feel like it.  I will let you know when I want to play.  I don't want to be brushed any more.

Karen Jo:  I know you are resisting it now, walking away from me and going behind your platform where I can't reach you.  You used to love it.

It pulls sometimes and turns me into electric cat.

Karen Jo: I think it is pulling because you fur is beginning to get tangled because you haven't been letting me brush you enough.  The air is very dry and that is what turns you into electric cat when I do get to brush you some.  If you don't let me brush you, you will get mats again.

I don't care.  I don't like being electric cat.

Karen Jo:  I have seen an ad for something called a mat cutter.  I might buy one, just in case.  If it works, it will save you a spot shaving if you do get mats again.

Well, I certainly don't want to get shaved again. At least you are using my old brush most of the time now and not the Furminator.

Karen Jo:  You aren't shedding now, so I am just trying the Furminator on you once a week.  I am thinking it doesn't feel as good to you as your old brush.  At least you let me brush you a bit more when I use your old brush.  It helps, but it didn't stop the mats last year. We will just have to see what happens.

Yup.  I bet you are thinking that if I groomed myself more I wouldn't have as many mat problems.

Karen Jo:  Yup, but at least you don't get hairballs.

Taking It Easy

Oh, I love my ham-mick in the sun puddle.  We have been getting sun puddles every day lately and I love to take my afternoon nap right here.  I lifted my head when I heard the whirr of the camera turning on, but I couldn't be bothered to open my eyes.  I have been a hungry boy lately.

Karen Jo:  Yes, you have.  I have been coming home to find that you have licked either your Medley dish or your Stinky Goodness dish, or both of them clean.  I love it.  Tonight I came home and found your Medley dish completely clean.  I gave you your dinner and you licked your Stinky Goodness dish clean.  Fifteen minutes later, you were ready for lots and lots of treats.  I don't know where you put it all.

I just love to eat, most of the time.  I am glad that you decided not to feed me just before you cooked your steak on Thursday.

Karen Jo:  I decided that it isn't really fair to you to feed you your dinner, then bring out the good stuff for my dinner.  You made the most of it.

I got about six bites of steak before I decided I had enough.  I got my dinner about an hour later.  I like it better this way.  Your lunches have left a lot to be desired.  Mostly I am not the least bit interested.

Karen Jo:  I have been eating stuff out of the freezer.  I will cook again soon, but I am not sure how you will feel about meat loaf.  Don't worry, steak night will come around soon again.

Meat loaf doesn't sound very interesting to me.  I might give it a miss.

Karen Jo: I like it and I haven't made it in a very long time.  I wish I could get a picture of you doing something beside napping.

I am either napping or tearing down the hall at top speed.  You would never get a picture of that.  I also play with my toys while you are at work.  You need to find out how to work the video function on your camera, so you can make that little movie of me asking for treats.

Karen Jo:  I will work on that on my next day off.

Something funny happened tonight.  I was asking Mom for treats, but my nip ball was within paw reach as well.  One time, instead of tapping Mom's hand for a treat, I tapped my nip ball, so Mom thought I wanted to play.  She tried and tried to get me to play and I finally had to go scratch my platform to let her know that what I really wanted was more treats.

Lounging Around

Here I am, lounging around in a sun puddle.  Mom thought she took a little video of my asking her for a treat, but it didn't show up when she hooked the camera up to the computer.  Fortunately, she was still just taking pictures of me.  Mom has been a bad blogger lately.

Karen Jo:  Sorry, Herman.  I have been working really hard lately and I have just been too tired to blog.  Your big Christmas present from me arrived yesterday.

Yeah, what is that thing?  It's big and blue and rolls around on wheels, but I never saw anything like it before.

Karen Jo:  It's a stroller.  When the weather warms up, I can put you in it and we can go for walks around the park, or maybe up to the pond to see the ducks.  It's roomier than your PTU, so I thought it might make getting to your checkup this spring easier on both of us.

You mean it's a PTU on wheels?

Karen Jo:  It's meant to be more fun than that, but, basically, that is what it is.

I'm not sure how I feel about this.  I haven't been in it yet.

Karen Jo:  I wanted to just park it in the living room and let you get used to it for a while.  Tomorrow I may take you up and down the hall in it, just to see if you like it.

Don't count on it.  You know how I feel about being confined.

Karen Jo:  I won't zip it up, so you can get out if you like.

That sounds a bit better.  I was a hungry boy today.

Karen Jo:  You sure were.  When I got home tonight you had licked up every last bit of your Medley and Stinky Goodness and eaten most of your Kitten Chow, as well. After I got home, you ate some more for dinner and asked me for lots of treats twice.  I could see that you played some with your toys.  Did playing make you so hungry?

Maybe.  Mom put a blanket in my cube, but I still wasn't interested in it.  Today I stuck my head in it and it was fun of toys.

Karen Jo:  Since you weren't interested in using your cube, I decided to put the toys in it that you have already played with.  I will get new toys out of your bucket, then put them in the cube after leaving them out for a day until the bucket is empty, then I will get you toys out of the cube and put them back in the bucket.  That way you will get to cycle through all your toys.  You will still have easy access to all of them.

That sounds like a plan.  If I decide to nap in my cube, I could always kick all the toys out.

Toys on Sunday

These are my new toys that I have played with so far.  As you can see, I am still most attracted to balls.  The first one is a ball with a mouse painted on it and it squeaks when squeezed.  I knocked it all over the living room and chased it for quite a while.  The second one has little holes in it so I can pick it up with my claws and throw it.  The last one looks a bit like a star.  It's really soft plastic and it flashes when I swat it.

Today Mom saw me using the scratch pad in the middle of my Turbo Star Chaser.  I had never done that before, that she knows of.  Mom is very glad because before this when I felt like scratching something flat, I used the carpet.  I also used the base of my scratching post, but mostly the carpet.  I still scratch the carpet a little bit when I wake up and stretch, but I seem to be doing my real scratching on my cardboard scratcher and my Star Chaser.  I guess I finally figured out what they were for.

Tonight I taste-tested all my water sources.

Karen Jo:  That was weird.  First you looked in the toilet, so I flushed it for you to watch, but you wanted a little drink.  Then you went straight to your water bowl and meowed at me, so I gave you fresh water and you drank a little of that.  Then you jumped up on the sink and wanted a drink from the faucet.  All this happened in the space of about three minutes.  I was happy to see that you ate up all your Stinky Goodness while I was at work.

I am eating more canned food now.  I go back and forth between preferring wet food and dry food.  Mom is tired, so we will stop here.

Catchup Caturday

 Look at all these toys!  My Christmas package from my woofy cousins arrived and it was huge.

Mom got them all out for me and I just felt overwhelmed.  I did play with a couple of them a little bit and I have been playing with more of them.  Mom laughed because now not all my toys will fit in my toy bucket.  I guess I just have to have more toys out.  Mom hasn't been much fun lately.

Karen Jo:  Sorry, Herman.  I get depressed from time to time and I just can't seem to make myself do much until it passes, which is only a couple of days, usually.  I am fine again now.

Mom finally cooked the lamb last night.  It was delicious.  I ate more bites than usual.

Karen Jo:  But when I offered you some more today, you weren't interested.

Maybe I just don't like leftovers.

Karen Jo:  Could be.  You gave me a real treat last night.

Mom was watching TV while waiting for dinner to finish cooking and I was in the computer chair next to her.  I put my forepaws on her thigh, then lifted one of my back legs, then put it back down, looked at her and meowed.

Karen Jo:  It looked to me like you wanted in my lap, but you weren't sure that you could step across.  I lifted you up and put you in my lap and you actually stayed.  You got comfy and I was petting you, then the timer for dinner went off in just a very few minutes and I had to get up.  It was the very first time that you had sat in my lap.  I was sad that it ended so soon.  Maybe you will do it again.

Maybe.  You never know what I will do.

Karen Jo:  I certainly don't.  I have just been bragging about how good you were about taking your Centrine and today I found three doses on the floor in various places in the living room.  You must be holding in your mouth until after I have checked around you to see it you spit it out, then spitting it out.  It doesn't seem to have hurt anything, as your poop is still firm.

I don't really like taking pills of any kind and I will get rid of them if I possibly can.  At least I am done with my really nasty pill for this month.

Tuxie Tuesday

Mom finally remembered to get the camera out just before she went to work.  Here is where I love to spend the early afternoon.  Mom is weird.  She goes to work at 2:00 pm.

Karen Jo:  A grocery store has shift work.  I volunteered to work afternoons and nights for lots of reasons, but mostly because I am NOT a morning person.

My ham-mick is the very best place to nap in a sun puddle.  I am so glad that Mom was smart enough to set it up here.  If you don't have one of these, you really should get one from Forty Paws.  They are the best cat beds ever!  I don't even care that it is pink.

Karen Jo:  It is pink because I was expecting to get a girl kitten when I bid for it in the auction.  It was supposed to be her bed.

Man, am I glad that the little girl kitten never showed up.

Karen Jo:  You should be glad that she got her very own forever home where she is the only cat, just like you are.

Yeah, I am glad for that, too, but mostly that I am glad that I got her bed.  I finally started playing with Mom again.  She rolled my nip ball to me three times and I batted it back two times.  If it weren't so cold, Mom might be worried that I don't want to play much, but she has read so many blogs where the cats just like to nap through the winter that it seems more normal to her.  See, the one of the signs that Mom had that I was really sick last Spring was that I wouldn't play any more.  Now that she knows me better and knows more about cats in general, she knows that there are several signs that cats aren't feeling good and she watches out for all of them, but doesn't freak out about one, especially when she sees that it seems normal for other cats.

Man, am I getting the medicine. It just all came together.  I always get my Centrine, two half pills per day to keep my poop firm.  Once a month a get a week of Metronidazole to beef up my immune system against things like upper respiratory infections (which could set off an attack from my Feline Leukemia and send me to the Rainbow Bridge).  This is also the week for my Interferon (which helps keep the Feline Leukemia in remission) and I always get a daily dose of Prednisol in my ear to keep my digestive system in order.  It seems like every time my Mom sees me, she is giving me something.  I am not really complaining.  All of this is keeping me a happy, healthy boy and I love that part of it.  Mostly I just wish that the Metronidazole didn't taste so bad.

Karen Jo:  I apologize for the lecture on Herman's health, but reading about Admiral Hestrob just brought it all to the fore and I felt that I should write about it.  Please remember that Herman is mostly a perfectly happy, healthy and very loving cat and no one should shy away from adopting a cat with health problems for fear that the cat won't be like other cats.  Herman acts just like any other cat, apart from his personal eccentricities, which you will find in any cat.  I can hardly believe it.  Herman just reminded me that it was time for his Centrine by going to the little PTU where I give him his treats for taking his pills and looking inside, then looking at me, as if to say, isn't it time we did this?  He took his Centrine very easily and ate up his treats.

To change the subject, Mom brought home a giant piece of meat.  I can hardly wait until she cooks it.

Karen Jo:  I found a whole leg of lamb for $4.99/lb, all natural.  I love lamb, especially the leg.  I can hardly wait, too.  We are going to feast tomorrow night, Herman and I.

Mancat Monday

Mom hasn't been taking pictures of me lately, so here's an older one that she hasn't used yet.  Mom also apologizes for not knowing what day it was yesterday.

Karen Jo:  I think I was probably just trying to skip Sunday.  I wish I had.  It was a hard day at work.  Well it's over now and I'm home, giving you treats.  You finished off another bag of nip treats tonight.

I just like them a whole lot.  You can get another bag tomorrow, can't you?

Karen Jo:  Yes I can.  You are getting too good at spitting out your nasty pill.  I had to try five times this morning to get it down you.

I hate those pills.  They are the nastiest things I have ever had in my mouth. I am very glad that I only have to take them one week per month.

Karen Jo:  So am I.  I keep seeing the claws coming out when I give them to you.  You almost got me yesterday.  You were silly with the hot dogs at lunch.  You kept asking me for a bite, but when I offered you one, you turned your head away.

I guess they smell better when they are cooking than when they are done.  When are you going to cook something good again?

Karen Jo:  Tuesday, I hope.  Pot roast is on sale, but I'm tired of pot roast.  I'll look for something good tomorrow.

At least we have been getting sunshine.  It's still very cold, but not quite as cold tonight.  It's  7 degrees instead of being below zero.  I still don't feel like playing with Mom, but I was really glad she went to bed an hour early last night.  She was in a mood to pet me and I got petted until I got tired of it and moved away a little bit. We keep each other warm at night.

Cold Mancat Monday

Here's another picture of the big snow that fell Wednesday and Thursday.  Since then we have had sun, but it has been very cold, like below zero at night and only up to about 20 during the day.

Karen Jo:  That's right.  It got so cold Thursday night that the ice cracked the bottom of the bird bath, so it won't hold water any more.  I am going to try to duct tape it, but I will have to get a new one.  I don't know when I will be able to do that.  Normally the stores only have bird baths for sale during warm weather.  I got sad tonight while I was walking home.  A couple of big dogs started barking at me.  I don't know if they were just out for a five-minute potty break or if their people had left them out there, but it was 5 degrees below zero and I felt very sorry for them.

The food around here has been very good, but I haven't been getting much of it.

Karen Jo:  It's your own fault.  I offered you salmon, but you weren't interested.

I had just eaten my cat food.  You gave me new food just before you ate.

Karen Jo:  You told me that you wanted new food, so I gave it to you.

I didn't get any steak at all.

Karen Jo:  Who begged and begged for lots of treats while the steak was cooking?

I did.  The smell was making me very hungry.

Karen Jo:  You have only yourself to blame if you didn't leave room for steak.  You did take a lick of sour cream.

I finally got some cheeseburger, too.  Mom made herself a cheeseburger for lunch today and I wanted some, so she gave me tiny bites.  It was good.

I still haven't been playing with Mom.  I just want to curl up someplace warm and stay there.  The sun was so nice on my ham-mick today that I didn't even get up to ask for treats when Mom was leaving for work.  She told me goodbye and I just looked at her and yawned, then curled back up to continue my nap in the sun.

Karen Jo:  You have been playing some while I have been gone, though.  I found one of your balls in the little PTU where I give you your treats after you take your medicine.

I surprised Mom yesterday and today.  She got me one of those flat cardboard scratchers when I first came to live here and I have only used it for a catnip tray.  Yesterday, Mom heard a strange noise and came to investigate.  I was on my cardboard scratcher giving it a real workout.  I did it again this morning.  I got treats for doing it, too.

Karen Jo:  I was amazed.  You have ignored that scratcher for over a year and now you like scratching on it.  Maybe it finally got enough catnip on it and in it to interest you.  As you said, it has been your catnip tray all this time.

I usually meet Mom at the back door when she gets home and try to get a sniff of fresh air.  Now the fresh air is so cold that I dash back into the living room when she opens the door.  I love to get fresh water out of the kitchen faucet, but now the water is so cold that I only take a couple of laps.  I want warmer weather and I want it now.

Happy New Year

May you all have a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.  And if your weather looks like this, please be very careful if you go out to celebrate tonight.