Fluffy Friday

 Here I am, just hanging around, wishing that my new sister, Emma, would come play with me.  I was thinking that she was getting used to me and even liked me a little.  Usually, I sleep in my usual spot, snuggled up to Mom's chest and Emma sleeps snuggled up on Mom's other pillow or next to her back.  Last night, after petting time with Mom, I decided that I wanted to sleep next to Emma, so I walked over Mom and settled down within inches of Emma.  She gave me a sleepy glance, then all three of us went to sleep.  When Mom woke up at dawn for breakfast time and moved around, Emma and I both woke up.  When Emma saw how close I was to her, she hissed at me. After breakfast, when we were all settling down to sleep some more, I walked up to Emma and put my head forward for a nose kiss.  She gave me the nose kiss, then hissed right in my face.  I backed off and looked to Mom for some petting comfort.  That Emma sister is too much.  She won't play with me and she won't cuddle with me.  I even have to share my Interferon with her now.  Mom gives me my Interferon, then my shredded cheese, then gets Emma's dose of Interferon ready.  I always tell Mom that I want it, but Mom gives it to Emma anyway.  This morning I totally turned up my nose at my cheese and do you know what Mom did?  She went and got Emma and plunked her down right in front of my cheese! Emma sniffed the cheese, then started looking around.  I was in the living room, just watching.  Emma darted to the hall and started to run down it.  I chased her to the end then turned around for her to chase me, but she wouldn't do it.  How can I play THoE if Emma won't chase me, too?

Karen Jo:  Watching Herman chase Emma down the hall was quite enlightening.  He is twice her size and could have easily caught her, but when he got close to her, he slowed down.  She ran into my room and he turned around before he got to the door.  Then he waited for her to come out and chase him, but she never did.  Only once have I seen Herman show the slightest bit of jealousy toward Emma. Bedtime is Herman's special cuddle time.  I had been petting him and Emma was on the other pillow behind my head. Emma gave her little "I want some attention" meow, so I stopped petting Herman and started petting Emma.  Herman gave us both such a look that I stopped petting Emma and went back to petting Herman.  However, it was just a few minutes later that Herman stepped over me to sleep next to Emma.  He really likes her, but she is still not sure of him.

Karen Jo : At Herman's request, here is Emma wearing the St. Patrick's Day hat. She was really a good sport about it and only tossed it off once before settling down and letting me take the picture.

Emma:  I want to get some blog time, too.  I really love my new Mom and my new home.  However, Herman is a Giant Kitty and he spooks me.  He is twice my size and over twice my weight.  When I was an outside kitty, the other bigger kitties were mean to me and stole my food.  Herman has never been mean to me, except he chases me sometimes.  Mom won't let him steal my Stinky Goodness, but he drinks my water and sometimes eats my Kitten Chow. He also pees in my litter box.  I just don't know what to make of him. Sometimes he touches me gently with his paw.  Half the time I hiss at him and half the time I don't.  He gives me nose kisses, which I like, but sometimes I hiss at him for it, because I am not sure of him.  I want to go out and explore the rest of the house, but Herman is always there, in the hall, waiting for me.  He never chases me unless I run first, but I won't walk past him to get to the rest of the house.  Mom has put me in the living room once and in the kitchen once, but I ran back to her room both times and Herman chased me.  I just don't know what to do, except stay back here where I know it is safe.

Karen Jo:  I hope that soon Emma will get over being spooked by Herman and go into the living room and kitchen.  I am quite sure that Herman will do nothing to hurt her.  Quite the opposite.  I think that Herman wants badly to cuddle and play with her.  Things do get better day by day.  Emma has come up the hall almost to the living room and only changed her mind when she got within a foot of Herman, lying on the floor and watching her.  He really does only chase her if she starts running first.  If she walks toward him, he only lies there and watches her. He seems a little upset now if she hisses at him.  He looks disappointed, but backs off like a gentleman, giving her room.  I want so much for them to be friends, but I am willing to wait for it.  If it stays this way, with Emma just living in the back of the house and Herman lording it over the whole house, I can accept it, but I am hoping for both cats to enjoy the whole house.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Thank goodness Mom decided to reuse this picture from last year instead of putting that stupid hat on me again.  I would like to see her try to put it on Emma, though.  That would be fun.  Mom has been acting really lazy and strange lately.  She hasn't even been going to work.

Karen Jo:  I am on vacation this week.  I have been really tired, so I have been resting and sleeping a lot.  I also had a pile of mail and newspapers to get through and I need to do my income taxes and clean the house. Sorry about not blogging, but I have been going to bed much earlier than usual.

Not a whole lot has changed between me and Emma.  We touch noses almost every day now and she only hisses at me sometimes. When Mom got up the other morning, I grabbed her warm spot and Emma and I ended up sleeping only about four inches apart.  I actually touched her with my paw when we woke up and she didn't hiss at me about it.  I tried to play chase with Emma on Monday, but she wouldn't chase me back.  I have started peeing in Emma's litter box.  I still poop in my own box, but I pee in hers. There is good news on the poop front.  I ran out of Centrine a week and a half ago, but I am still making normal poop.  Maybe my pooper has recovered from my illness last year.

Karen Jo:  I certainly hope so. That would mean that you are a healthier kitty and you won't have to take as many pills.  Emma had to go to the vet on Monday for her introductory visit.  I was glad to take her, as I had noticed that she was scratching and rubbing her left ear quite a bit.  It turns out that she has a yeast infection in both ears and needs medicine in her ears for a week, then back to the vet to see if that took care of the problem.  She is supposed to be wearing a soft E-collar, but there was no keeping her in it.  I let her out of her carrier in the living room, which she had never visited before, just to see what she would do.  She started exploring and Herman was just watching her.  When she found the hall, she ran down it, and Herman chased her.  She ran into her room and Herman stopped short of the doorway and waited for her to chase him back down the hall, but she was having none of that.  She was too busy kicking off the collar.  I tied it back on her and one minute later she had her front paw caught in the neck opening.  I tied it as tight as it would go and three minutes later she was wearing it for a skirt.  That's when I gave up on the collar.  She is not often scratching inside her ear, so I think it will be OK.  I have been tidying up the house, taking care of the mail and working on my income taxes all day and I am getting pretty sleepy, so I'll just say Happy St. Patrick's Day to all of you and end here.  I will try to do some visiting, but if I start falling asleep at the keyboard, I am going to bed.

Mancat Monday for Real

Hahaha!  My silly Mom tried to skip Sunday again yesterday.  She hates Sundays.

Karen Jo:  I don't hate Sundays, but they are really hectic at work and I do wish I could skip them sometimes.  I was tired and there are two important phone calls I have to make on Monday, so I guess I had Monday too much on my mind.

I am telling Mom that I want more treats, but she is ignoring me.  I don't really pester her about it.  There is one side effect, though.  When she was filling me up with treats every night, I let her sleep in the morning because I wasn't hungry for breakfast.  Now I am back to getting her up at dawn to be fed.

Karen Jo:  I don't really mind, because you let me go back to sleep after I feed you.  You are eating more of your cat food now, too.  You completely cleaned up your Medley both last night and tonight. Both Teri and Simba have suggested that your Prednisol might have something to do with your weight gain.  The good news is that we are going to try to wean you off the Prednisol in a couple of months.  We have to wait because the company who made Centrine has stopped making it.  When you run out, we are going to have to see how your poop does.  If you go back to pudding poop or worse, there is another medicine we can try.  We want to get this settled before we start messing with your Prednisol.  You are doing so well that we don't want to upset things any more than we have to.

Karen Jo: Emma was looking straight at the camera when I aimed the camera at her, then turned her head as I framed the photo.  At least she held still as I snapped the picture.  She really cleans her dish of Stinky Goodness.  She is nibbling at the Kitten Chow, too.  I think she is getting  used to Herman.  He really talked and talked to her this morning through the door.

I wanted to know why she didn't want to come out of that room.  I couldn't wait to get out of it.

Karen Jo:  You were an only kitty then and you had been cooped up for months.  Emma was only at the shelter long enough to heal up from her spaying.  She feels safe in her room and she's still not quite sure of you.

She's not very much scared of me any more.  I walked into her room and drank her water and talked to her a little bit and she just lay on the couch and even closed her eyes like she was going to take a nap while I was there.  That looked boring, so I left.

Karen Jo:  I was very pleased to see that interaction.  I think things are progressing very smoothly.

Mancat Monday

 I am showing off my magnificent tummy again.  Mom isn't taking away all my treats, just cutting down on them.  After I regained my weight after being so sick, I leveled off at fourteen pounds and stayed there for a long time.  I only gained the last two pounds when Mom started giving me all the treats I wanted when she got home from work.

Karen Jo:  That was my fault.  I thought that the way you asked for more treats by reaching out a paw toward the treat bag or patting my hand or my cheek was so cute.  I was giving you a ridiculous amount of treats each night.  You were making a whole meal out of them.  This week I am giving you ten treats when I get home and next week I am going to cut you down to five.  Then we will see how it goes.  If the weight starts to come off, then I will leave it at that.  If not, then I will cut you down to two or three.  I do think that when Emma gets used to you and comes out to play, you will be getting a lot more exercise and that will help with the weight.  I do want to keep a couple of extra pounds on you as a cushion against the next leukemia flare-up.

Mom thinks that just having Emma in the house is good for me.  I am playing with my toys more and running up and down the hall a little bit more.

Karen Jo:  I do think that she is good for you.  It got so all you were interested in was eating, sleeping and seeing how many treats you could get.  The other day, you chased one of your balls all around the kitchen, which you hadn't done in months.  Almost every night when I get home I see that you have been playing with your toys at least a little bit.

Karen Jo:  Emma stayed still for this picture, but it doesn't do her eyes justice.  I have never seen such bright golden eyes in a cat in person before, though I have seen some pictures on blogs.  Herman got about one foot away from her before she hissed at him this morning.  It was just a little hiss, too.  Emma has discovered the stairway to the top of the bookshelves and the kitten cozy that I put up there.  It's just some storage boxes stacked up, but it works to let her get up to the window so she can look out.  At present it's her favorite place.  To get down, she moves along the top of the bookshelves then jumps down on the couch. Tonight after I petted her a bunch, I picked her up and took her on a tour of the house.  She stopped purring, but she didn't struggle in my arms or start to shake in fear.  I think she was interested to see what was outside her room.  When we got back to her room, Herman was in there, of course.  He was really checking out the bed that I bought her, but I don't think she has done more than walk across it.  I sat on the couch with her and petted her for a bit while she watched Herman.  When she jumped down and went into her cave, I picked up Herman and we left her alone.  I think she is coming along very well.  Herman chirped at her today.  It wasn't anything like the way he chirps at birds, but more of a questioning sound.  I am hearing lots of sounds from Herman that I have never heard before.

Vet Visit

 Lazy Mom didn't get a picture of me today, so here is one from a while ago that Mom didn't use because it is almost exactly like another photo that she did use.  I went to see the vet yesterday and everything went fine.  I got excused from my rabies booster again because my immune system is so compromised.  Mom was right about the vet lady being impressed.  She said that my Mom is taking wonderful care of me, except for one thing.  I'm too fat.  I weight 16.4 pounds, which is two more pounds than Mom thought I weighed.  I don't think I'm going to like what is coming next.

Karen Jo:  Nothing drastic is going to happen, Herman, but we are going to have to cut waaaay back on your treats.  Those two extra pounds that I didn't realize you had gained came from eating all the treats you want.  You can't do that any more.  I am going to talk to the vet lady again when I take Emma in for her introduction to the vet lady visit and see if getting you back down to 14 pounds will be enough.

So that's why I haven't gotten so many treats the last two nights.

Karen Jo: There is some good news.  We are going to try to cut down and maybe get you off the Prednisol, since you are doing so well.  No more stuff put in your ears after a while.

That will be an improvement.  I wish I could get rid of those really nasty pills.

Karen Jo: Sorry, Herman, you need to keep taking those.  They help keep your immune system as strong as it can be.

Karen Jo:  Emma's picture is blurred because she seldom sits still for long.  She is doing very well.  This morning when I opened her door, she walked out into the hallway.  As soon as she saw Herman, she turned around and walked back into her room.  However, she didn't run from Herman and she didn't hide when he stuck his head in the door to talk to her.  Herman loves to talk to Emma, but I have no idea what he is saying.

I am saying, "Mip, yip, meep, merp!"

Karen Jo:  I won't worry about what that means as long as it continues to sound friendly.

I talked to her some more tonight through the door.  I want her to come out.

Karen Jo:  She will eventually, Herman.  Just give her time.

Meet Emma

 I would like to introduce all of you to my new sister, Emma.  I don't know how she got that name, but she has it now.

Karen Jo:  I was petting her this morning and said all the names I had considered for her out loud to her and Emma was the only one that seemed right.  She is doing well.  She got a bit active in the night, as I found the scratching post knocked over.  I hope that didn't scare her when it happened.  She ate some Kitten Chow and used the litter box. She is still a little shy.  I will be petting her and she will be purring up a storm, then she will suddenly jump down and go into her ladycat cave.  Herman has managed to sneak into her room a few times.  He got in this morning after her petting session when she had gone into her cave.  He approached the cave very slowly and she didn't react until he stuck his head in.  Then Emma hissed at him just a little.  I was ready to grab him, but, like the gentlemancat he is, he backed off by himself and left the room without any help from me.  Early this afternoon, he stuck his head in while she was sitting in the chair.  He meowed to her very softly and she pricked up her ears, but just looked at him.  I stopped him from going into her room.  I don't know whether to try harder to keep Herman out of Emma's room, or just him look in from time to time.  Will this help her get used to him, or upset her?  She seems fine with him unless he gets too close.

I am in the hallway, not far from Emma's room.  I want to go in there so badly.  I like her and want her to like me.

Karen Jo:  It will happen eventually.  Right now she is just a little bit scared of you.

Scared of me?  Why?  I never did anything to scare her.

Karen Jo:  When she was an outside kitty and the nice people were feeding her outside they noticed that the older, bigger cats in the neighborhood would come over and pick on her and steal her food. This is still fresh in her mind and you are an older, bigger cat.

So she thinks I am going to beat her up and eat her food?

Karen Jo:  I think that is a real possibility.

How can I convince her otherwise?

Karen Jo:  Just keep being nice to her.  As she feels more secure and realizes that there will always be plenty of food and you are not acting in a threatening manner she will probably stop being scared of you.

Not Quite Wordless Wednesday

This is one of the less successful pictures of my new sister.  I want to get into her room very much, but Mom won't let me.

Karen Jo:  Don't worry, Herman.  You will get to meet her properly one of these days.  I am going to let her decide when she is ready.  So far, she has given no sign that she wants out of the safe room.  The last two times I checked on her, she was fast asleep in her ladycat cave.  You have been taking all of this in your stride.

I have my usual run of the house, except for the safe room.  I am getting my food, treats and medicine just like usual.  You pay attention to me like you usually do.  I don't have anything to worry about. Dinner was good tonight.

Karen Jo:  I cooked a roast leg of lamb and some black-eyed peas.  I have almost finished the chicken casserole and needed something to eat and make my sandwiches that I take to work out of.  You certainly enjoyed the lamb.

I could have eaten more than you gave me.  With all the excitement, you forgot to wash my butt today.

Karen Jo: Yes, I did.  If I can't manage to get it done in the morning or after I get home from work, you will have to go to the vet with a slightly dirty butt.  It will be a tad embarrassing, but you have to go, clean or not.

Tuxie Tuesday

Just relaxing on the carpet again.  Our cold front has passed through and we didn't get any snow out of it, but it still won't be warm enough for me to go to my wellness exam by stroller.  I wasn't waiting for my Interferon this morning, but when Mom said that it was time for it and I heard her open the refrigerator, I came right to her to get it.  When Mom said that lunch was ready, I came and sat and stared at her until she started sharing her chicken with me.  I have decided that some leftovers are yummy.  Mom kept fishing out little chicken chunks for me and I ate six or seven of them, which is a lot for me.  I like some people food, but I prefer cat food, especially treats.  Tonight things got crazy again.  Mom came home and did what she usually does until it was time for her to blog.  Instead of turning on the computer, she started messing around in my old safe room, moving stuff around and out of the room.  Then she got out the sucky monster and I hid.  Now my scratching post, which I hardly ever use, is missing.  Something is up.

Karen Jo: I got a call from the lady at the shelter about the leukemia kitty.  She is delighted that I would be willing to take her in and I am going to go pick her up in the morning.

You are going to go get that kitty?  But you don't know anything about her.  You haven't even met her.

Karen Jo:  I know that she is in a high-kill shelter on death row because of her leukemia. That's enough for me. Your foster Mom saved you from euthanasia when she took you in and kept you until I could find you and bring you home.  This time the foster homes are full and desperately trying to place kitties before kitten season starts.  If I don't go get her, she will most likely be put to sleep.

What if I don't like her?

Karen Jo:  I am going to give you a good long time to get used to each other, several months at least.  If the two of you just can't learn to get along or tolerate each other, then I will work with the Friends of the Shelter to find her a forever home.  Either way, she will get a chance to live.

You are going to keep her locked up in the safe room, right?  I won't have to share with her.

Karen Jo:  She is going to stay in the safe room until the two of you get used to each other.  You are going to have to share some of my time with her starting as soon as she arrives.  You are going to have to share your toys with her, too.  Once she comes out of the safe room, you will have to share everything with her.

Bummer.