Saying Goodbye and..Hello!!

I had a pretty awful year and a half when it comes to pets!! I lost all four of my beloved senior cats, that I had since birth!

Most recently, I said goodbye to my sweet Fozzie girl, after her battle with lymphoma! She really gave it a good fight! It may sound stupid for some, but once I told her to let me know when she was ready to say goodbye...she did. She no longer came around me. She didn't eat for 4 days, and wouldn't even lay next to me, she would turn her back on me. Cats know more than most people think they do!

Like I did for all of my pets..when the time came, we went to the hospital for our final goodbye. I petted her, and whispered into her ear how much I loved her, and what a good cat she is...until her little soul left her sick body.

I have a really hard time with euthanasia. I understand that it is humane...but in the back of my mind I still feel like it is should not be my decision.

She was the last of my kitty family. I had these cats when I was married...we met at a completely different time in my life, and they have been through so many moves, and break ups. They have heard all of my heartaches, and you can't just "get another cat" to replace such long term companions. I cried until I thought my eyes would explode!

That being said...it felt like cheating, but once I knew Fozzie's diagnosis, I began looking for two new cats. I wouldn't adopt until we had said goodbye, but I had a tricky wish list, and I wanted to get my feelers out.

The cats had to be bonded, and adults! I don't have the patience for kittens, as cut as they are!  I was accustomed to adult snuggley cats!

I prefer persians...but wanted long hair cats, because believe it or not...(having had both) long hair cats shed less than short hairs.

In short, after putting my feelers out with several rescues, I was lucky enough to adopt a bonded male and female from my favorite rescue!

I adopted Garret and Aurora. (named after Jack Nicholson and Shirley McClain's characters in Terms of Endearment) 

They were from a hoarding situation, so they were loved, but had to be given up.  I hope their former owner knows that these two hit the jackpot coming to live with me! 

Life goes on. 

Race Training, Another Sick Cat, and Happy Dogs...

I have been trying to focus on training for my next half marathon that is coming up in just TWO days! Add a dash of work stress, and another sick feline, and a girl who is a total stress eater, (and ok, drinker!!) , has bad feet when training long distances, an 80+degree temperature day...and you wind up with someone who is not 100% sure about the outcome of her next half!

Yes, I will finish. I never expect a time, I just want to finish the race, get my medal, drink my beer, and lounge on the couch with netflix for the rest of the day!! It's all anyone can ask for, really!

I had a bit of a stressful situation at work this week, and in the middle of the ordeal, I was in our parking lot, where I witnessed a giant crow attacking a small bird. At first I thought it was a carcass, but the other little birds trying to attack the crow drew my attention. The little bird it had pinned down was trying to break free.

I'm a sucker for animals. I got emotional, plugged my ears, and closed my eyes. After a few seconds I had to try to save that bird, so I ran toward the crow yelling, and stomping! The little bird was free!

It hopped three times, went airborne...and it flew full speed... right into our office window...and promptly fell to the ground. It broke my heart.

I know it's nature and all, but I felt awful for that little birds demise. Totally ruined my day!

I've also been having the same issues with my last and only cat, who can't eat. She's back to the vet tomorrow to undergo anesthesia to look at her mouth, since just like my last cat, all of her tests revealed NOTHING is wrong, but she just can't seem to eat food, despite her interest in it! Stay tuned for this story.

Last year I had 4 cats, now I have just Fozzie girl. 

In happy news, the doggie pool is open, and these two have been enjoying it!

And these two participated in our bark for life event, to benefit the american cancer society. They are wearing their bandanas proud!

When You Know, You Know...Losing Another Cat...

Nothing knocks the wind out of your sails quite like losing 3 of your 4 beloved cats in just a little over a years time. Of course I knew that they would all leave me one day, but having them leave so close in succession .........was a real ass kicker!

Pikachu..2000-2015

Pikachu was doing better.. until he wasn't. That's the best way I can sum up the decision to let him go.

He'd been tested for everything under the sun. Almost a grand in vet bills trying to find out what was wrong with this guy in the last two months, but nothing came to light. 

Last Saturday morning, he kept crying, and wanting held...he had been really needy for over a week..he hadn't left my side...when I was immobile, there he was. 

I could still feelt his bones thru his fluffy fur when I pet him, once a big stocky cat well over 10 lbs,  he was reduced to an under 5lb bag of bones and fur...and then,  he couldn't seem to get comfortable.

I put him on the electric blanket and I watched him sleep...his eyes not fully closed,  and his breathing slowed to a stop for longer than I felt comfortable with, a few times.

And then..something snapped in me. I had been through this before, and I didn't want him to suffer any longer. I felt like he was telling me he was ready to go. 

I reluctantly said goodbye to that handsome guy last weekend. While the decision to say goodbye never gets any easier, the decision to not let them suffer any more becomes a bit easier. 

Pikachu's Mom was my own cat. I watched him come out of the womb. I loved him from the moment he was born, and 15 years  later, I was still not ready to let him go!!

I have one remaining cat. I went from 4..to one. This girl lost her brother and her mom, and after a bout of sadness....seems to be ready to get on with her life...

Cat Lady Problems...When Your Cats Get Old...

I wish I could say my absence of posts has meant that I have been off doing something fabulous which left me no time for posting.

No, I've been busy caring for another aging member of the household. I lost two of my seniors last year, and this is the son of one of those cats.

Hopefully this may find another cat person, that is going through an equally puzzling journey!

 This fluffy 14lb pile of adorable.....

..is now down to 5.75lbs for no obvious reason!

This cat had been to the vet exactly one time in his life...to be neutered. 15 years and 3 vet visits later, he is baffling us!

He had been slowly losing weight since I put his biological mom to sleep last summer, it was almost un-noticable until he pooped watery diarreah on the floor in front of me,  Then..I knew something was up. 

First vet visit, antibiotics...maybe he had an underlying infection?

But eventually... all I could get him to eat was hand-fed hard cat treats.

I tried every type of food you can imagine. Every brand. Every texture. Every package. Every can. Even tuna..and real chicken, and human baby food!

No go. Hard cat treats.

Back to the vet. His teeth were checked. He was prodded. He had a complete blood work up, and urinalysis. He got fluids because he was dehydrated. There was a huge snowstorm this day, so his blood didn't go out, and I had to wait 3 days for results.

They revealed that all of his levels were perfect, and his vet couldn't believe he is as old as he is. No thyroid, kidney, liver, diabetes....nothing. 

Still no change. still losing weight, having diarreah. I was hand feeding,  and syringing pedialyte...it was a lot of work, but there was no change, and he lost almost another pound in 2 weeks when I took him back to the Dr.

The next visit, he had a fecal test, which came back negative to parasites. No blood, no mucus. He had another check of his teeth, and feeling for tumors. Then? An xray. Which 3 vets looked at within the hospital and found nothing. At that point, she thought he had either a bowel disease, or an intestinal cancer, but felt the xray should go to a radiologist for the final say. So it did.

This time,  he got a steroid shot, which could treat the bowel disease, or cancer...it would also stimulate appetite, and water consumption. 

That night he ate (treats) 4 times! He got fluids at the hospital, but he also drank water on his own, and I still gave him the pedialyte. He was more active than he had been in weeks, and things were looking up!

The radioligist found....nothing weird on his xray at all. So now, the task is to get him to put some weight on! The steroids seem to be making him more interested in food..and by food I meant only treats.

And then, after weeks of expensive canned and dry food and treats trials, we finally had a breakthrough with plain old purina KITTEN CHOW!!  He had one morsel, cried for more, and ate a couple handfuls on his own!

We still don't know for sure what is wrong with this handsome fellow...but despite his pinching my pocketbook, and soaking up most of my time with feeding and watering him..I know he still has a lot of life in him! He isn't just laying around, he is still living his kitty life.

I firmly believe you know when your pet is ready to leave this life, and I'm not getting that at all.

And, until he shows me he has given up, I am not  going to give up on him!!

If this makes me a "cat lady" I wear the badge proud!

Run, Run, Rudolph!!

The high on Saturday in the Cleves was 24. I don't know the official weather at 8 am, but my official opinion is, it was "fucking cold". I wore long johns under my running tights, and a long sleeve tech tee, and a running jacket, a hood, gloves, and smart wool socks. I lost feeling in my buttocks almost instantly. I didn't dress up but there were some creative costumes.

My favorite was a girl dressed as one of the Bumpass' hounds, she had on a dog face cap, and carried a turkey.

My race swag. 

Luckily we got a ticket to tour the Christmas Story House another time, because the line was ridiculously long, and the cold was even worse after working up a sweat!

We didn't have to wait in the mile long line for a ride back to our start line, because my bff scored us a ride to the big city, who also came to pick us up from the finish, and then took us to brunch! I mean, does it get any better?

There were a lot of walkers. Strollers. Kids. People wearing boxes. And, ICE on the road...so we didn't get to really compete for time. Our 5k time was 34 minutes. Not our best, but pretty good considering. But it was for fun, and we didn't mind. 

This is clearly, my new favorite medal!

And since the cold has descended upon us, and everyone loves pet photos, here is what the animals have been up to.

"Somebodies sleeping in MY bed". Mr. Magoo has also started to enjoy the sweater bed I made. Fizzgig is unimpressed. This is cat territory.

 This was a few minutes later...if you can't beat 'em...join 'em!

I guess I need to make more sweater beds. 

When Cat's Break Your Heart....

I got Miss Tai Ming in 1997. Three years after I graduated. I mean, I was still married back then!! I found her in the paper for $60! A small price to pay for 16 years of unconditional love!

She's been a pinnacle of health. Her one and only trip to the vet was to get spayed.

Never a sniffle. Never an infection. Not an itch....Not a bad tooth in her mouth. Easiest cat in the world!

When I returned from vacation the beginning of September, I could tell she was just different.

At first, I thought she was being the normal cat. You know, pissed off at me for leaving for a week, and giving me the cold shoulder. Then an entire day went by and it occurred to me..."I haven't seen Tai today".

Now, she's always been a loner. The other three cats are family, and inseperable, but Tai always made her presence known. She would visit, and she loves to talk, as any respectable siamese mix would!

In just two short weeks, she took a rapid decline, she started hiding more than usual. And since she usually hid most of the time, and I have three other cats...it took me a while to notice she obviously hasn't been eating, she's lost weight! And then I noticed that her coat wasn't so pretty anymore.

I just knew something was very wrong.

A trip to the vet revealed that she also had partial facial paralysis...the left side of her face wasn't responding to touch. Her left eye was blind. And she couldn't blink. She was very dehydrated. Eating was likely difficult for her because of the paralysis.

None of her symptoms pointed to any one thing, and her blood work revealed nothing. Without a CT scan (which I inclined not to do on my 16 year old cat) the vet's best guess was that she had likely suffered a stroke recently.

After IV fluids, and lots of tears, I took Miss Tai home with me. I got her to eat some fancy tuna fish, but not much. It's hard to eat with partial paralysis.

I will only have a few days left with my precious little kitty. Once she decides that even eating delicious tuna is too much for her, I have to let her go.

I have had to make that awful choice for a few of my pets in my lifetime. You always wonder what if...and you never forget how hard it was to do.

But me and Tai had the joy of caring for each other for 16 years! I can't imagine the amount of tears she's soaked up in her fur from all that life has tossed my way, from job losses, to lost loves. She was there with me for the vast majority of my life's events! She knows all my deepest secrets!

She's always been a staple in my life...."My Tai"  I like to call her.....

I am lucky to have had her for so long, and I am going to shower her with extra love over the next few days.

Hug your pets a little tighter tonight.

You just never know when their time is up!

Cat Lady Problems...

So I come home from a long day of work, and working out, and this little kitten is curled up smack in the middle of my front door mat, waiting for me to feel sorry for it. Animals have sucker radar.

Ugh. For as much as I love animals, I've been pretty lucky with strays. The last stray cat I happened upon years ago, exmanfriend adopted, and just like that, problem solved!

Of course, I scooped this little guy up, and took him out back and gave him a can of cat food.

He barely came up for air while chowing down. I knew right then...that this cat was not going away.  I petted him and talked to him, and when I went inside....he cried outside my windows.

He pulled at my heart strings. Since I volunteer at a rescue, I already have to deal with everyone I know wanting to dump strays off on me. It's hard to say no.

But, I already have 4 senior cats, that aren't vaccinated, and one more cat, let alone a stray kitten is just not an option for me.

So, I'm doing the next best thing to taking him in. I'm going to take him into the semi-feral cat program at the rescue and get him neutered on the cheap, and set him back out to roam.

I will still try to find someone to adopt him, but even a cat lady has to know when to say "when". And at least I'll know I did my part to stop the cat over-population!

Cats Are Assholes....

We had such a beautiful weekend in NE Ohio. I spent time digging up a flower bed out back, and getting my bird feeders, and bird bath in place.

I have an enclosed back porch, so my 14yo (favorite...shhh) cat Fizzgig sat at the doorway and enjoyed watching all the bird activity.

Around 10pm I thought...I havn't seen Fizzgig in a while. I searched the usual sleepy/hidey spots the cats have.. no Fizzgig.

Panic ensued.

Did she escape when I wasn't looking?

I didn't sleep all night. I was up every hour looking for her in the basement, and any other room, equipped with my whisker lickins bag...even out in the yard calling for her. No go....she was missing.

When I finally had to start getting ready for work, I remembered how about 6 or so years back, Fizzgig had escaped for a week, and after flyers, and "cat traps" she showed up right outside of my garage. So I went to my trash can outside my back door, and kicked the can, and what should emerge? Fizzgig.

Yea, I'm pissed at you for letting me escape all night. 

I'm glad my miss Fizzy was found quickly, but I didn't sleep. And now she's pissed at me because she escaped and didn't come back in on my many trips to the yard to find her. 

Fizzgig lives with 3 other cats 1 of which is horribly mean, and violent. She doesn't understand mean-ness. She's just an adorable orange-tabby persian. She knows nothing but love and pampering. I feared for her well-being all night. 

The bottom line is....cat's are freaking assholes!