Vet Visits

Oja:  I am taking a well-deserved nap in a sun puddle.  I was curled up next to Mom last night.  She had insomnia, so I got lots and lots of petting.  All of a sudden I had a coughing fit and scared Mom half to death.  She called the vet first thing and got me in this afternoon.  I am happy to report that I am 100% normal.  The vet said that because I drool when I am being petted, I might have inhaled some of my own saliva.  MOL!

Karen Jo:  Don't scare me like that!  All I could think of was Brody. I made arrangements to get you to Santa Fe to have your chest aspirated and everything.  I am so glad that everything is all right.

 Rocio: I never got to tell you about my own vet visit between Brody's last trip to the vet and his departure for the Rainbow Bridge.  I sang the song of our people all the way to the vet, the whole time I was at the vet and all the way home.  I drove the vet lady nuts.  MOL!  I am also 100% normal.

Karen Jo;  Purevax has come out with a 3-year rabies shot, so you don't have to have another one for 3 years.

Rocio: YAY!

 Spyro:  Mom can't get the throw and pillow back on the table, because some cat is always using Rocio's Mancat cave.  We got lots of wonderful sunshine today and I am making the most of it.

 Bambino: Rocio's Mancat cave is really neat.

 Horus: My paw is out of focus because I decided to wash my face just as Mom snapped the picture.

 Julius: This is the new cube Mom got for us because the purple one is destroyed.  I think we will get to tell that story tomorrow.  See how close I let Mom get? I let her touch me again today at treat time.

 Cissy: I'm in my cave, as usual when the camera comes out.  I am venturing out of the kitchen more and more.  I like the new cube.

Tabitha:  See how long I am?  I gave Spyro a tiny growl today when he tried to steal my treats.

Karen Jo:  Thank you, everyone, for welcoming us back and all the nice things you said when Brody was sick and when he left.  I will try to get around to do a lot of visiting.

Catching Up

 Bambino:  It's about freakin' time you helped us blog again!  You do this to me and put it up at the Tabby Cat Club for all the world to see and don't even mention my very first birthday.  How could you forget my birthday?!?

Karen Jo:  I am very sorry, Bambino.  I didn't forget your birthday, I just didn't feel like blogging.  I haven't felt like doing much of anything lately.  I'm not depressed or sick or anything serious, just kind of in a funk.  I'll jerk myself out of it and blog more, I promise.

Bambino:  I think you owe me a big birthday bash.

Karen Jo:  What would you like?

Bambino:  I want to have a luau over at the Tabby Cat Club.  It's awesome over there right now.

Karen Jo:  That's a good idea.  We will do it tomorrow, exactly one month after your birthday.

 Horus:  You changed my name and didn't even tell anyone about it.  You mentioned it in passing once, but you didn't really tell my friends about it.

Karen Jo:  Sorry, Horus.  You see, Jose is such a bland name for such a wonderful cat.  In this photo you can finally see his Egyptian eyes.  Horus starts with the same sound as Jose and Horus' glyph is an eye, so I changed his name to Horus.

 Oja:  You have been hauling us all off to the vet and you didn't tell our friends about that.  Oh, and here's a photo for all of you who think I spend all my time in the computer chair.

Karen Jo:  There's not much to tell, really.  I have taken in Spyro, Oja and Rocio for checkups and Spyro and Oja got rabies boosters.  There is a new rabies serum now that is safe for FeLV+ kitties.  All of them are in perfect health.  Oja has neither lost nor gained weight, but I think she has traded some fat for muscle.  I am seeing her up high in spots she has never been before, like up in the high windows in on top of the file cabinet.

 Rocio:  Mom thought I was getting pudgy, but I am just right in the weight department.  My eyes and teeth are perfect, too.  I have mostly stopped annoying Oja.  It's not really all that much fun.  I make Oja hiss and Mom comes and makes me stop.  Playing with Spyro and Bambino is lots more fun.  Horus makes me hiss sometimes and Mom doesn't come running then.

Karen Jo:  You are lots bigger than Oja, but Horus is only a tiny bit bigger than you, so there's a big difference.  You can run away from Horus or smack him back a lot easier than Oja can with you.

Spyro:  I am kept busy inspecting new things coming into the house.  You should see the baby bean cage in the middle of the living room.

Karen Jo:  I am helping out a friend by babysitting a few times a week.  You kitties actually get more attention when she's here.

Spyro:  I don't particularly like the attention she wants to give me: pat, pat, pat.  She pats a little hard.

Karen Jo:  I am trying to teach her to be gentle.  She's only one.

Horus:  I love it when she starts waving Da Bird around, though she is rather wild with it.

Bambino:  I love her cage.  I can get in it when she's crawling around and I'm safe from her.  When she's in it, we are all safe from her attentions.

Horus:  She's not so bad.  She pets as well as pats.  I like her.

Caturday

 Oja: The vet visit went fine.  I was just weighed and got my chest felt.  I lost two pounds since December 1st!  I am down to 11.7 pounds.  The vet lady said that I should weigh 9-10 pounds, so I only have one more pound to go, then no more diet for me.  Mom decided not to stay in bed all day today after all, so we should be able to do some visiting, which we haven't been doing for such a long time.

Karen Jo:  Mom is getting thoroughly sick of bed.  I went to bed right after supper last night and got restless almost immediately.  I made myself stay there, though and got lots of rest for my ribs.  The news from my doctor was worse than I was expecting.  I fractured four, maybe five, ribs but there was only a tiny bit of displacement, so no treatment other than bed rest was necessary.  I get to have them x-rayed again in a couple of weeks.  I am going to try staying up and using the computer, but no housework and see how I do. If I start aching, it's back to bed.

Oja:  I wouldn't care if you went back to bed right now.  I love cuddling with you.

 Spyro:  Mom's been taking more pictures of us than she used to, so she will be using whatever one she likes for the post.  This is over a month old, when we had sunshine.  I scared the heck out of Oja this morning.  Since Oja has lost weight, she has been going places she didn't used to go.  I have gotten used to having the area around the computer desk pretty much to myself.  I darted behind the desk and Oja gave me the "rip your ears off" yell.  I didn't even know she was back there; she never has been before.  I came tearing out from under the desk at top speed.

Oja:  Sorry about the yell.  It's a dead end back there and I had no place to go if you decided that you wanted a rumble.  I hate feeling trapped by another cat.

 Austin: I just love all this knitted stuff.  It is sooo comfy.

Rocio:  When I say that I check out ALL the napping places, I mean it.  I don't quite fit here, but I just had to try it.

Karen Jo:  I have seen other kitties sit in that little box, but you are the very first one to nap there.  All the kitties have been having a great time.  Oja hardly hisses at any cat now.  All three boys rassle with each other and Oja rassles with Spyro.  Austin tried to start a rasslin' match with Oja this morning, but she growled at him and he backed off.  When I put Oja in her PTU, all the other kitties acted very concerned.  Rocio pulled at the bars to get her out; Spyro purred at her and Austin tried to make a game of it by playing footsie between the bars.  Oja didn't like that last move at all.  I think Rocio licked Oja's head last night, but Oja trotted away from him so quickly that I couldn't be sure.

Spyro:  I really like the computer room.  I jump up and help Mom with the computer all the time.

Karen Jo: I have discovered one tiny drawback to having a nice big computer desk with room for everything: there is also room for kitties.  My old arrangement was so crowded that only Oja could fit in my lap and there was no room on the desk at all.  Now there is room for any of the kitties to walk all around the desk and get between me and the monitor and walk on the keyboard.  I don't mind, really.  It's kind of cool to watch Spyro watch the cards when I play card games.  Oja has more room to be lap kitty while I compute and Rocio has room to be a lap kitty, too.

Femme Friday

Oja:  I get the blog all to myself today.  Mom has spent much too much time going on about those boycats, anyway.  I am up on the platform getting some sun in a photo from late last month.  We didn't get any sun to speak of today.  I am still sleeping next to Mom as much as I can, but she isn't spending nearly enough time in bed for my liking.

Karen Jo:  For my ribs' liking, either, apparently.  When I got to feeling almost normal again, I started trying to catch up on the housework, a little at a time, then more and more until I overdid it.  Now I am getting the sharp pain again that had gone away.  I am spending tomorrow in bed again and maybe Sunday, too.  I have to get better again, because I have a three day conference coming up in a couple of weeks.

Oja:  The more time you spend in bed, the better I like it.  You could start by staying in bed right through my vet appointment tomorrow.

Karen Jo:  You don't get out of going to the vet that easily.  Herman's foster Mom is taking us in the morning.  It won't be bad.  You need to get weighed to see if you have lost any weight and we have to discuss what to do if you haven't.  You shouldn't need to get any embarrassing procedures done, though maybe a little feeling around your tummy.

Oja:  I don't mind you feeling and petting my tummy, but I don't want anyone else doing it.  You really are going to keep those boycats, aren't you?

Karen Jo:  Yes, I am.  I filled out their adoption papers and send them in with the check for their adoption fees.  I haven't heard back yet, so they aren't officially my forever cats yet, but it is just a matter of time.

Oja:  Rats!  I was hoping we would eventually get rid of them.

Karen Jo:  Oh, come off it.  I have seen you napping nearly together with Austin and only a foot away from Rocio.

Oja:  But they steal my food.

Karen Jo:  You are getting enough from somewhere.  You are still quite the pudgy kitty.

Oja:  It looks good on me.  I look regal.

Karen Jo:  That you do.

Vet Visit

 Mom snapped the pictures of me and Spyro at mid-afternoon and everyone knows that's nap time.  I keep trying to get a peek at that girl kitty in the safe room, but Mom keeps closing the door before I can get a good look.

Spyro:   I think the laundry basket is the best cat bed I have ever had.  I did get a look at the girl kitty this morning.  Mom left the door open and she poked her head out.  I saw her and she saw me, then she hissed at me.  Three times!

Karen Jo:  Sorry about the three times, Spyro.  She was in the doorway and I kept waiting for her to retreat back into the room, as Emma did, but she stood her ground.  I think that's a good sign for your future relationship with her.  I finally had to shoo her back into the room so I could close the door.

Oja: I'm not going to let any big mancat scare me into running away.  Mom was mean to me today.  She put me in a PTU, then in a metal monster and took me to the vet.  They poked me and prodded me and put something up where it didn't belong.  Then a vet lady squirted something in my mouth.  The only good thing about it was that Mom had another lady with her and they both gave me pets.  The vet lady and the vet tech both gave me pets, too. I was glad to come home.  My picture is all blurry because I won't hold still.

Karen Jo:  The picture is dark because it was taken late afternoon.  I tried to take Oja's picture in the full mid-afternoon light, but she wouldn't hold still enough for even a bad blurry picture.  The vet report is that her nose-drips have cleared up on their own.  I didn't tell you earlier because I didn't want to worry everyone unduly, but Oja also has diarrhea.  I think it is just that I am giving Oja higher quality food than she is used to.  Since Oja didn't have a temperature or any other obvious abnormalities, the vet cautiously agreed with me.  She is getting liquid metronitazale twice a day to help clear it up. She has to go back in 15 days for her boosters.  If the diarrhea doesn't clear up soon, she is going back sooner.

Hug Your Cat Day

 Wowee, kitties!  Did we rock the house down yesterday or what?  Mom gave up at midnight, mixed up a big bowl of meowgaritas, made sure the niptini fountain was full, put a bunch of records on the stereo and went to bed.  We kitties were still a-rockin' and a-rollin' and THoEing to beat the band.  Max the Psychokitty was shaking his booty like mad. When Mom got up just after dawn to get breakfast, there were crashed out kitties everywhere, including in bed with her.  She served up a generous breakfast of Stinky Goodness and Tiki Cat and went back to bed.  By the time she got up for real, all the visiting kitties had recovered enough to teleport home.  There weren't any leftovers to speak of.  I have spent most of the day just lying around on the living room carpet recovering.  Thank you all for helping me celebrate my 5th birthday in style.  ::finally notices the title of the post::  Hey!  This is supposed to be Mancat Monday!

Karen Jo:  This is a special day.  You can have Mancat Monday again next week.  So, how do you feel about being hugged?

I hate it.  Pet me and give me chin scritches and especially chest scritches, but don't hug me.

Spyro:  Man, I'm pooped.  I haven't played so hard in all my born days.  I spent most of the day crashed out in the laundry basket.  As for hugging, keep it to yourself.  Pet me and give me chin scritches and especially belly rubs, but don't hug me.

Oja: Hug ME!  I love to be hugged, petted, scritched, rubbed and loved on any way you please, just love me.  This picture is kind of dark, but I hope you can see my curly tail.  Mom loves how my tail curls up.  My front half is blurry because I decided to jump down just as Mom snapped the picture.  I still spend a good deal of time hiding because it is awfully noisy around here and I don't just mean the party.

Karen Jo:  I hope it doesn't put too much stress on you, but there is a bunch of roadwork going on very near my house.  You come out almost as soon as I come in your room, then it's a love-in.  I lean back on the couch and you get on my chest and we love on each other for a long time.  I got you a vet appointment for tomorrow to see about your runny nose, though it seems better today -- not quite as much kitty snot coming out.

Oja:  I don't wanna go to the vet!  I wanna stay here!

Karen Jo:  Don't worry.  We won't be there long.  We just need to get you checked out and in the vet records as being my kitty.  Then we will come right back home again and I will love on you.

Oja:  I guess that's all right.

Tuxie Tuesday

Mom has been a bad blogger again.  She really intended to make an Easter post and even took this picture of me with my bunny and duck.  Then she got "busy" again and didn't post.

Karen Jo:  I am sorry, Herman.  I have had a lot going on lately.  I did get my taxes checked and mailed in time.  I had to take care of you, too.

Take care of me?  You took me to the vet to be tortured.  Easter Sunday, Mom took away my food at ten o'clock in the evening.  That's dinner time.  She had given me my dinner at eight, but I didn't eat much of it.  I didn't know she was going to take it away.  I woke her up at 1:00 am demanding breakfast, but I didn't get it.  I woke her up again just before dawn and just after dawn and I still didn't get any food.  Then she got up way early for her and popped me in my stroller and whisked my off to the vet and left me.  They stole some of my blood and put me in a cage.  A little while later they came and got me and put something over my face and I went to sleep.  When I woke up, I was back in the cage and they had stolen one of my teeth and some fur on my foreleg and snipped off the tips of my nice, sharp claws.  I had to stay in that cage forever until Mom came and picked me up.  They did give me a little food, but it was yucky and I didn't eat much of it.

Karen Jo:  You needed to have your teeth cleaned.  They trimmed your claws because you are known to be a bit feisty.  They told me you got a little sassy with them.

Of course I did.  They were being very mean to me.

Karen Jo:  They told me to give you just a little bit of food when you got home, but you were starving, so I gave you your regular amount and you scarfed it all up.  They gave me some medicine for you, too.

I took the medicine without any trouble.  It was a liquid that Mom squirted into my mouth and it wasn't too nasty.  I got some treats for taking it, so it wasn't worth making a fuss over.  I didn't feel too good the rest of last Monday and most of Tuesday.

Karen Jo:  They told me you might be a bit groggy for a couple of days.  I wasn't surprised when you didn't come to bed with me on Monday, but you stayed away Tuesday night, too.  You didn't join me in bed until early Wednesday morning.

Your bed is way high and I didn't trust my jumping ability until then.  I practiced Tuesday by jumping up on the couch and Wednesday by jumping up on the table in the living room.

Karen Jo:  They also told me that you have a couple of cavities and you might have to go to the cat dentist in Santa Fe.  Your vet will do a follow-up check on your mouth next month and we'll see.

I don't want to go to any cat dentist.

Karen Jo:  Would you rather lose more teeth?

No.  Man, the stuff I have to go through to stay healthy.  Medicine, vets, brushing and mat pulling or shaving.  Sheesh!  I guess it's all worth it, though.

Karen Jo:  I think it is.  I want to keep you around for a loooong time.

Mancat Monday

Yet another picture of me lying around the living room.  Mom took this picture weeks ago and kept it as a spare in case she didn't get a picture taken, but found she had time to blog.  See my baby sun puddle?  I got too warm in the big one, so I moved to the baby one.  My fur is completely grown out again.  Mom has been really bad about blogging again.  She still hasn't done my award that I got weeks ago.

Karen Jo:  My apologies.  I have been very busy.  I had a lot of work to do with year-end reports for an organization I belong to and now I have to write another report for the state convention coming up.  I still haven't gotten my new computer up and running and I think I will let it wait until I have written my report.  A friend on mine has been having a rough time and I have been spending quite a bit of time with her, helping her unwind after some very stressful days.  All I can promise is that I will blog when I can.  I should be able to do your award tomorrow.  I also have to do my income taxes very soon.

Sheesh!  I had a busy day today myself.  I got taken to the vet for my yearly wellness exam. The great news is that I am so healthy that everything shows up as normal.  The good news is that I have lost 0.6 pounds since the last time Mom weighed me last fall, before the weather got too cold to take me in for a weighing every month.  The bad news is that the vet says that the weight isn't coming off fast enough, so Mom is going to have to take a little bit of food away from me.  The really bad news is that I need to have my teeth cleaned.

Karen Jo:  I am so very pleased with your wellness exam results.  The only change I am going to make this month is to start measuring out your dry food.  We'll check your weight again next month when you go in to have your teeth cleaned.  If I am happy with your progress, I won't make any more changes.  I am waiting a month to have your teeth cleaned because I have so much going on right now.

I can wait; in fact, I can wait a really long time for that.  I have been feeling really good.  I am playing with my toys more and talking to the birds more and running up and down the hall more.  I think I can feel Spring in the air.

Karen Jo:  You are really good at detecting it then.  We had snow just Saturday.  It wasn't much, but a bitingly cold wind came with it. Today it was really nice.  Some people's bulbs are coming up and the crab apple trees are budding.  The forsythia is getting tiny buds, too.

Mom's war with the ravens has come to a stalemate.

Karen Jo:  I thought I had them outsmarted when I put a twist-tie on the suet feeder.  One of them looped the chain over the crossbar of the clothesline pole and got the twist-tie off.  This time I put one of those heavy duty twist-ties that comes on computer cables on the feeder and they haven't gotten it open again.  They do occasionally loop the chain over the crossbar so they can get at the suet more easily, but at least the starlings are getting a share now.  The flickers haven't shown up yet.

Tuxie Tuesday

 Mom hasn't been taking pictures of us for a few days, so here is one of Emma that she hadn't used yet and a recent one of me that she has used, but she really likes it.

Emma has been hogging most of the attention lately.  Mom wants to tell you about her latest trip to the vet today.

Karen Jo:  Emma gained two-tenths of a pound and the vet said that was a good thing, as she was too skinny.  The yeast infection in her ears seems to have mostly cleared up, but something else is going on in there to make her ears so itchy.  What the vet lady did find reminded her of mites, but she couldn't see any definite sign of mites -- no eggs or droppings or actual mites.  We are going to treat her for mites for a week anyway, just to make sure.  The other thing that needs to be taken care of soon is that Emma has a bad tooth that will probably have to come out. The vet suggested that we try to get her ears cleared of whatever-it-is before taking out her tooth, though.  Emma hates the carrier already.

Emma stole my spot for sleeping with Mom, too.

Karen Jo:  She just beat you to it.  I sat up and petted you and made a spot for you near Emma.  You still got all your bedtime petting.  You were just next to my tummy instead of my chest.

To top it off, Emma stole some of my Medleys tonight.

Emma:  Hey, you started it!

Karen Jo:  Let's start at the beginning, shall we?  When we got back from the vet, I let Emma out of her carrier in the living room, as I want her to explore it.  She wandered around for a little, then went back down the hall to her room.  When I got home from work tonight, Herman was in the kitchen to greet me as usual, but Emma was looking into the kitchen from the living room, which had never happened before.  She was very hungry, as she had eaten all her Stinky Goodness and almost the whole bowl of Kitten Chow.  She heard my voice and wanted to be fed.  I fed them both, starting with Herman, as always.  Emma started really chowing down as soon as I brought her her Stinky Goodness and was still at it when I topped up her bowl of Kitten Chow.  I went back to the kitchen to put away the groceries I had brought home and I saw a dark streak dart into the living room.  I hadn't heard the usual Herman thumps, so I checked and it was Emma.  I went to her room and there was Herman, finishing off Emma's Stinky Goodness.  I figured that turnabout was fair play, so I picked up Emma and put her down in front of Herman's buffet.

Emma:  There was more food that I had ever seen before in my life!  I checked out every bowl and dish, nibbling a little here and there.  Then I smelled something that smelled better than anything else and started eating it.

This was too much for me.  I saw her check out my whole buffet, then start eating my Medley!  I hid behind the clothes hanging from the kitchen doorknob and did my wiggle butt, ready to pounce.  I started my run, but Emma turned and gave me a hiss.  I put on the brakes and she went back to eating my Medley.  I gave Mom my saddest look, but she didn't do anything about it.

Karen Jo:  I have told you and told you not to steal Emma's Stinky Goodness.  You have your whole buffet, but she only has what I give her in her room because she hasn't been brave enough to come out into the kitchen.

But she ate my Medley!  My very special food!

Karen Jo:  I told you that if she ate all of it that I would give you some more.  She didn't eat all of it, not even half of what you left.

She went in the living room and rubbed her girl stink on one of my toy boxes.

Emma:  I was only using the edge of it to scratch my itchy ears.  You have three toy boxes, so big deal!

I think you two girls are picking on me.

Karen Jo:  I think I know a big strong mancat who is going to learn a whole lot more about sharing than he ever dreamed of.

Mixed News from Vet

No picture today. The camera had enough power to take the picture, but not enough to upload it. Mom was too tired from work to help me blog about my trip to the vet yesterday. I didn't have to get stabbed with a needle at all, but I hissed at the vet lady anyway. She took me into a back room and weighed me. Mom doesn't know what else, if anything, happened back there to make me so mad. I didn't yowl, so nobody stuck something up where it doesn't belong. Anyway, I don't have to get stabbed with a needle anymore because that medicine wasn't helping me enough to continue to give it to me. I still get my Interferon and my Pred. The vet lady said that she was going to try a more holistic approach. I got a new food, Prescription Hills I/D, both wet and dry. She told Mom to mix it up with my regular good, because it might taste too bland to me and that it is always a good idea to mix up new food with old food, because new food might cause tummy troubles. I also got a pro-biotic powder to mix with my wet food once a day. A funny thing happened when we got home. It was time for second breakfast, so Mom opened up a can of the I/D food and started mixing a little bit of it with my Stinky Goodness. It smelled so good that I jumped up on the counter and started eating the I/D right out of the can. Mom just laughed and let me eat all I wanted. I didn't eat any of the mixed up stuff, but Mom figured that I got enough to eat straight out of the can. Mom mixed up some of my Friskies and dry I/D and I had some of that later.

Karen Jo: I let you eat all you wanted of your new food mainly because the vet lady said that you are starting to lose weight and that is a bad sign. Luckily, you have some fat reserves from the weight that you had gained. You scared me a bit today. You didn't eat your mixed up Stinky Goodness and I/D, you didn't eat your sardine, you didn't even eat straight Stinky Goodness. Thankfully, I decided to mix your pro-biotic with just the I/D and you did eat some of that. You did eat some dry food, too, but not much. I think I am going to get you another bowl and put just dry I/D in it, to see if you like that better now. What a buffet you are going to have! Wet food, dry I/D, Friskies, Purina Complete and Kitten Chow, all sitting there just begging for you to eat them.

I haven't been feeling too good today. I don't know why. I think maybe there's some stuff going on in my insides.

Karen Jo: I just hope that giving you the I/D food and the pro-biotic stops the poop puddles. We are running out of options. All that's left is a stronger pro-biotic that comes in a capsule. I am not looking forward to having to pill you daily. I don't think you would like that at all. Because your IBD is being caused by your feline leukemia and not by any food allergies, looking for the perfect food for you is unlikely to help. I will keep trying anything that might help, though, and if all I am left with is looking for another food, I will do it. At least you don't have to go back to the vet for at least two weeks.

That's the best news I have heard in a long time. Yay!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Mom kept putting this silly hat on my head and I kept moving around and tilting my head back so it would fall off. This is the best picture she could take. If I am looking a little miffed, it is because she just wouldn't leave me alone with that stupid hat. I hope she never tries anything like this again. She has plenty of stuffies to put silly hats on. Mom is posting this a bit early because she has to go to bed early tonight so she can get up in time to take me to the vet in the morning. My poop puddles have thinned out again, but there are more things that the vet can try to make the poop puddles stop. I just hope that I don't have to get stabbed with a needle again.

There is some good news. Grrreta and Ambrose sent me some Temptations and new toys. I got a Temptation, but the best thing was the Turbo Scratcher Star Chaser. I was on that as soon as Mom got the wrapper off it. I batted the ball around the track four or five times and watched it some more. I played more than I have played since the poop puddles started. I also got this furry thing on a string that Mom hung up on the kitchen door. I watch it very carefully when it moves, but I haven't attacked it yet. I am being cautious. You never know about strange furry things, especially when they are on strings.

Not Lucky

Mom took this photo right after my brushing. After she finishes brushing me, I usually look at her, hoping to get some pets and scritches. I almost always get them. I didn't fight Mom so hard about my squirt today and I didn't sulk afterward. I heard her in the kitchen getting my sardine ready, so I went in and ate some of it. My chest fur is starting to grow back some. Mom says it looks and feels like velvet. I made lots of poop puddles today and that means that Mom has to take me back to the vet. I don't want to go.

Karen Jo: I don't want to have to take you, but we have to stop the poop puddles. Thank you, everyone, especially Whicky Wuddler and Mom, for the great advice on giving Herman his daily squirt. Herman likes Temptations even more than his sardines and it would be more immediate, so I'll try giving him one right after the squirt. I have already used Temptations to get him to scratch on his platform rather than the couch, so he's used to getting one as a reward.

Back from Vet

Mom didn't take a picture of me today, so she is using one that she took a while ago. She often takes two pictures, one right after the other, then picks one to post. Hopefully this is the one she hadn't posted already. See my full fluffy chest fur? The vet stole some of it today. Yes, I'm back from the vet. It wasn't too bad after all, except for having something shoved up where it didn't belong. I really objected to that, but she got it done eventually. So what is wrong with me? There are three choices: temporary bowel inflammation caused by Mom perhaps upping the dosage of The Missing Link too quickly for my system; I have developed IBD; I have a virus. The vet decided to go with the first choice for the time being. I got a shot of an anti-inflammatory drug. I do have a slightly elevated temperature, so a virus is a possibility. I don't get any more of The Missing Link until the poop puddles go away, but then Mom is to put me back on it, but to stop at the half dose for at least a month, then we'll see about upping it again. Mom is also supposed to give me an equal amount of Bene-fiber with The Missing Link, which might help my system accept it better. Mom also got a bottle of Interferon Alfa-2A, already mixed up and ready to squirt in my mouth every morning. That is to help control the feline leukemia. I don't know how I feel about that yet, but the good news is that I am to get my sardine right afterward. Yay, I get my sardines back. Here's hoping that the poop puddles go away in a few days, or I will have to go back again. If I do go back, then I get treated for a virus with a really nasty-tasting antibiotic that Mom has to squirt in my mouth.

Karen Jo: I am so glad that the poop puddles might just be caused by a temporary thing and that my giving you The Missing Link was the right thing to do, but I may have rushed it. I have been so worried that I did something bad to you. I am really hoping for the temporary bowel inflammation or even a virus to be the cause. I don't want you to have inflammatory bowel disease along with all your other problems. If you do, though, we will handle it as best we can.