Mancat Monday

MARLEY:  Im just leg-lounging.  TBT was eating dinner, but I don't like Being-food, so his food is safe from me.

Ayla will eat some of it when offerred (especially gravy or butter left over in bowls).  Iza will eat nearly anything.  I saw her eating a piece of buttered broccoli last week and I had to leave the room... 

But none of that is happening right now, so I'm good.

Caturday Saturday

 We're protected!

Friday Flashback

AYLA:  This week in 2010, we were getting catgrass in the house.  We loved it.  But TBT realized that mostly it just made us frow up IN the house instead of OUT.

Somehow, that bothered him.

So he decided  to stop paying to buy seeds to grow stuff we could purrfectly get outside and that he had enough messes in life to not assist in creating more.

I kinna missed it, but since he spread Nip around outside a bit more, it werked OK.  WOO HOO!

Thursday Garden Tour

IZA:  We haven't done that for a while.  It has been a hard Summer.  We got less than 2" of rain in August and .1" so far this month.  September is usually a rainy month...

We try not to waste water here, but TBT has watered a lot of the flowers and veggies (yuck)  each week.  I learned this thing about drilling a small hole in buckets and setting them near plants he want to save the most.  The water drips out slowly and gets down deep to the roots.  That helps them a lot I guess

So there are some plants doing OK, and I want to show them...  Let's go around and see what we can see.

The Asters are doing well...

This is some kind of weed.  But for a weed, it is pretty impressive.  And the flowers are COVERED with  small waspy incests we think are native and declining, so we aren't going to bother it.

Not everything went well.  The meadow bed completely failed. TBT says he will till it up and try again. 

The Bee/butterfly/hummer bed didn't do too well either.  TBT raked the soil loose in early Spring and spred seeds.  He even put some seedlings in.  They died.   The funny thing is that he accidently spread Niger seeds meant for the goldfinch feeders.  THEY grew!

They have some nice orange flowers.  He may spread some in specific places next year.  Almost anything that grows here is appreciated.

We had a great crop of Pokeberries here this year.  Seriously, TBT is sharpening a sword to hack them down.  Don't ask me where he gets stuff like that.  We don't want the pokeberries though.

We also grew a great crop of thistles.  We don't want them either.  But the pokeberries and thistles are easier to deal with than the wild blackberries, so things are getting better back there.

The Mums are beginning ta bloom.  We have orange, red and yellow.  And one that is red with a yeller center.  He will move them to the flowerbed later.  That tree in the front is a Sourwood.  It gets burgandy leaves and gold small flowers in Fall.   TBT has 2 planted in the back yard, so this one will go in the front yard.

The gold zuchinni have done well and they look great.  Dad mixes them with onions, tomatoes and oregano.  That sounds pretty evil to me,  but iffen ya like vegables, at least they look inneresting.

The small pond is doing well.  Lilies and Sweet Flag.  There are 2 happy goldfish and a bunch of frogs.  

The Autumn Joy Sedum is beginning to color up.  Those things seem to last forever.    Good, Dad needs some plants like that.

This one is new.  It's called Tithonia.  The flower looks a bit weird, all waxy and harsh color.  But it survived when most of the Zinnias and others around it died.  And it self sows, so maybe we will bet more of them next year.   Any flower that comes back on it's own seems good.

A few Purple Coneflowers made it through the hots.   Bugs like them and I like bugs sometimes.  Works for me...

Well, lets go up on the deck.  The air is sort of cool and the deck is warm but not hot from the sun on it earlier.  So what does Ayla have for us today?

Interesting.  "Beyond" Trout and Catfish and poached chicken!  And Niptinis.  An excellent choice, thank you Ayla.  And ooh, she was hiding some turkey crunchies! 

Thank you all from coming along...

Womancat Wensday

AYLA:  I'm relaxicating on the deck.  I know it looks a bit uncomfortable.

 But how often do ya get the chance to warm on a black carpet AND get yer head warmed on a metal?

TBT was trying to see which stayed cooler in sunlight, the black rug, the deck, or the metal.

There wasn't much difference, and I liked the warms...

Besides, I think the sundial will tell me when it is dinnertimes.  It will ring or something, right?

And Iza has something to ya...
  
IZA:  Well my pudding poops didn't end after 10 days of metronadaizole.  I learned ta accept it in my food.  Ya gotta eat, right?  And there isnt much I wont eat.  And the thyroid ear gel med arrived today.  That doesn't sound too bad.

I mean, the stuff will soak in, right?  Like the stuff Dad uses when the mosquitos bite him.  I hope...

Seriously, better he can cream my ears than mess up my food or squeeze stuff into my mouf.

But I'm not letting him take pictures of that.  Maybe next week...

Twofer Tuesday

IZA:  I love my pillow.  Marley loves the top of the chair. 

 So we are doing a Twofer today...  Me and Him.

Marley asks "how can you just sleep there and not lick TBT's hair"?

And I say I don't want to.  Which amazes him...

To each, their own...

Mancat Monday

MARLEY:  I was sitting at the deck door last evening and watchin it get dark outside.  I sure wish I was out there.  Dad says its not safe out there at night.  But it is SO inneresting out there in the dark.  I can catch mousies better.

But the only way I can stay out at night is iffen I don't come inside when he calls me at sunset.  I stayed out twice this moon.  He got pretty upset, so I suppose I shouldn't.

He's getting trickey though.  He calls me before sunset for "Dinnertime" and I always LOVE to hear that.  I pay more attention to "Dinnertime" than I do my own name.

So here I am sitting at the deck door as it gets dark after dinner...

I wish I was out there.  But as Dad says, "there are owls"...  So, I guess it is better to eat a few thousand more meals and nap on his lap than catch a few more mousies. 

Easy Like Sunday

AYLA:  Iza and Marley usually eat together (though Dad has to watch Iza to make sure she doesn't eat Marley's bowl too).  I usually eat alone and I have a bunch of places and make Dad follow me around until I pick one.  Princesses get to choose like that...

But sometimes I like the food so good I will eat near them.  Dad bought some stuff called a "Beyond" variety pack and I really like it.  Enough to eat in the kitchen...

Caturday Saturday Horrible Day

IZA:  Help!  Dad tried to poison me yesterday.  TWICE!

He squeezed some stuff into my mouth that was SO horrible, So vile, So unbelievably "not food" that I ripped up the vinyl tablecloth, thrashed around, and scratched him.  And I eat insects!

And that was only half of what he wanted me to swallow!  So he got on his knees and shoved my in between and forced THE REST of the stuff into my mouth while cruelly cat-handling me in ways I have never experienced before! 

He must have gone insane.  He finally got my head pressed to the floor for the rest.  I am SURE the tears from his eyes were completely fake.  It was gasoline.  Or maybe mole poison. 

It was SO BAD, he offerred me a couple of the BEST treats and I couldn't even find then from the horrible taste and smell.  I knew they were right under my nosie when I looked but went I bent down to eat them, I couldn't find them. 

Ayla has convinced TBT to get rid of me, I tell you.  He is planning to build a box above my grave (unless you just throws me in the compost bin)!

If I could climb the fence like Ayla can, I would run for my life!

This isn't me, but it was the best I could find while TBT and Ayla were plotting my demise...
Seriously, I spent an hour shaking my head to get rid of it, drinking water, and trying to throw it up. THe stuff is gluish.  Ya know how ya lick yer paw ta wash yer furs?  Well I was using my paw to wipe my tongue!

And I'm sposed ta get another dose of poison 2x a day for 10 days.  Oh Bast...  Will someone please adopt me?  I'm not gonna survive this.

TBT HERE:  Iza just got her first dose of metronizadole for her diarrhea.  A couple of you warned me that the stuff tasted awful, but I really didn't understand how bad it was. And at the same time, I got a call from a pharmacy about her methimazole thyroid ear gel med for the foam vomit and maybe stomach lining problems.  On the phone, those sounded both the same.  So while Iza was pretty much hating me, I also had to talk to the pharmacy and the Vet a few times. 

The pharmacy confirmed the med.  The Vet said "yeah" they do sound the same.  But she had heard that the metronizadole tasted awful (especially the chicken flavor) but she only ordered the flavorless variety.  She suggested I try mixing it in food, especially Gerbers baby food meat varieties.  I happen to have some.

Iza really did go kinna nuts when I tried to syringe the metronizadole.  I sniffed the bottle and it doesn't seem to smell bad to me, but for all I know I tastes like 10 year old rotten cabbage.  I don't plan to taste it...

And part of the problem is that Iza may have been shocked by me holding her tightly and trying to push something into her mouth.  But it was a real struggle.  One person can't handle an upset cat easily; 2 can. 

Iza is a very muscular cat.  She twisted and turned and thrashed.  It brought tears to my eyes to have to hold her so firmly and roughly to force her to accept an oral injection.  There is no possibility of coaxing her into accepting it.  This is likely to be a bad week...

Friday Flashbacks

TBT:  Today's post isn't about The Mews and it is long, so I hope you'll forgive me.  This week in 2012, Dad had been staying with me a few months.  Mom had died in 2010 and Dad was going downhill  physically and mentally.  He had fallen down and hit his head.  Somehow he drove himself to a hospital.  I didn't know that until the hospital called a couple of weeks later, finding my phone number in his wallet.  They wanted me to come get him "yesterday".

They said he simply could not live alone, drive, and prepare food safely.  Apparently, he variously thought he was in a hotel in PA and/or between homes of the 60s.  I was confused and not sure what to do, but I convinced them to give me a week to arrange things.  Fortunately, he had great insurance, so they agreed.  I finally worked out a plan. 

I despise driving.  An hour and I'm falling asleep from boredom.  But my sister said our brother didn't mind driving at all.  So I came up with a plan.  Since I was retired and a homebody, I would clear out the Mews Room and buy a bed for Dad.  My brother and I would both to fly to FL where Dad lived.  We would pack up all Dad's daily stuff (clothes, and meds, and whatever valuable stuff we could fit in Dad's car) and my brother would drive Dad to my place while I stayed behind to shit down utilities and such and then fly home ahead of their arrival.  My sister (her offer) would fly down in a few weeks to arrange for disposal/sale of the furniture and other stuff and the row house.  My brother would leave Dad with me, Dad would sign over his car to my brother (who really needed a working car), and drive home.

My siblings said my plan was "too complicated to work", but they would go along with it since I would care for Dad.  But I was an analyst it didn't seem THAT complicated.  I bought a Cricket cell phone for emergency calls while travelling.  I bought the plane tickets.  I arranged to rent a car at the FL airport.  I gave my brother more than enough cash for gas and motels and food on the trip. Yes, I paid for it all.  I could; they couldn't.  I even made sure to tell my brother to make sure we were both at the ticket counter so we would travel together without problems.

The new bed arrived and I set it up.  I called my brother the night before to confirm our plans and make sure he knew to not check in if he got there before me.  I printed out Mapquest directions from the airport to the hospital, to Dad's place, from there to I-95 N, and through my neighhborhood.

What could go wrong?  Well, guess who sailed right past the ticket counter through security, and was waiting in the boarding room?  Not me...  My brother had only 2 things to do.  Have his wife drive him the the airport and wait at the ticket counter. 

I should have experimenting with the new cricket phone.  By the time I figured it out well enough to place a call and then read a voice mail and finally contact him learn where he was, I barely had enough time to get through security and find him. 

But I got there as boarding started.  The flight was fine.  The rental car was fine.  We got to the hospital.  We sat down in front of Dad while he was eating his hospital dinner.  It took him a few minutes to recognize us (uh, oh).  The Dr released Dad to me after making me sign ~100 forms.

I found his neighborhood.  No one ever told me it had a security guard.  And it was a typical security guard.  Dad was right there in the car and I showed him Dad's driver's license.  But I didn't have a sticker on my windshield!  I pointed out that I was bringing him home from the hospital.  It took him a few phone calls to "someone", but he eventually gave us a temporary visitor pass.  For which I gave him my most polite submissive smile and wished him a good day. 

We got Dad into the residence.  And discovered the A/C was broken.  It was 95F inside.  I wilt at 75...  It took an hour to find a repairman who would come out at once.  Telling one that Dad was just home from the hospital and I was from Far North finally worked.  Well my brother works out all day and Dad liked heat, but I was desperate. 

It turned out the A/C was fine but the cheap house wires had failed.  The place was clean, but mechanically a wreck.  But he did get electricity to the A/C and I could breathe again.  I handed the guy my credit card and he said he didn't accept credit cards (too many customers died owing money) and I hadn't brought my checkbook. 

Dad was really reluctant to pay for the repair (it had been repaired a few months earlier for a completely different reason) and he thought he was being cheated.  I had to work hard for that check!

There was no food in the house (well one frozen fish fillet and and orange.  And some gin.  So I drove to the security guard station and asked if the was a local chinese place nearby.  After all that, I was determined I wanted some food *I* liked.  I WAS paying after all.  Moo Goo Gai Pan, Roast Pork with veggies, and fried rice.  At the grocery next to it bought some fruit, chips, and sodas.  That was a Thursday.

The next morning, Dad was complaining about leaving.  My brother was just watching TV.  After lunch I found a big bag of trash bags and told my brother to start filling them with everyday clothes, underwear, socks, shoes, etc.  I went looking for things that Dad would want about Mom, anything valuable, his Gin, and odds and ends that make him feel "at home".  Actually, I already had a lot of his stuff.  When I got my first apartment, they gave me old family furniture and I kept it.  So he recognized some of it and thought he was at home (which home exactly, I'm not sure).

He sometimes walked around outside the first year, but the deck stairs were tricky and I had to be below him in case he lost his balance.  It was a good year for the garden (nice regular rain 2x a week) and he loved seeing the corn beans and tomatoes, etc.  

But I've actually wrote all this to show a couple pictures.  One day of relative lucidity, he told me that he really liked my stir-fries and my bread.  Mom wasn't keen on those.  Veggies had to be soft and bread came from "Wonder".  Dad himself once had a co-worker who opened a chinese restaraunt and told him the secret was to cook veggies until "just crisp".

And he was a bread fanatic.  He wanted bread at every meal.  He would eat bread with spaghetti!.  But he went crazy for mine.  Well, I use beer instead of water, and I add a tblspoon each of garlic powder, onion powder, and 2 of oregano.

So here are a couple of pictures he asked me to take at the time of him holding a loaf of my bread.  He liked it that much...

Miss him...

Talk Like A Pirate Day

Happy Talk Like A Pirate Day Mateys.  Yarr...

Werdless Wensday

Hut Stay

MARLEY:  I din't mention this before, but I skinned my jaw bottom a couple weeks ago.  I felt kinna stupid about that and werked hard not ta let Dad know.

But ya can't hide things from Dad fer long.  I mean, he KNOWS I love chin scritchies and when I jumped at the touch, he made me show him.  He did some quick research and it said the stuff he uses on his own ouchies was OK fer cats.  So he smeared me up.  Bast, ya can't lick yer jaw bottom very well...

So that's why I was hiding in the barn.  I spent most of 3 days there (well I did eat) and that ointment stuff worked really good.  Even all my fur is back now.

So when I went to Dad, I ASKED for chin scritchie.  All is well.  I'm not telling him WHAT I did that caused it, but I'll sure try not ta do that again.  And I WONT blame that rabbit with the nasty teef...  I'd fight too.

The Vet Visit

IZA:  Im resting...  Dad dragged me off to the Vet yesterday, completely by surprise.  I mean, I knew I was going to go sometime soon because he told me. last week  But I dint know it would be "right then now".

But since it was just me, I got the "good" PTU.  It has a top I can see out of.  Sometimes ya can be grateful fer small things. 

So we got there and it wasn't bad.  No barking woofies or crying kitties, just us.  So I just settled down and waited.  Not like I had much choice.  Ive rattled the door and pushed on the top before and nothing ever gets loose.

So we went into the room.  A lady Being was there.  Im used ta that.  But the new Vet is a lady too.  That was a surprise.  So I came out.  The metal table had a cushiony thing on it and I liked that. 

She held me gently fer a bit and looked at my teef and ears.  And didnt do the the temperature thing.  But then she told me a was a very pretty girl.  And that I had such good silky fur.  AND that I had a very good purr.

I like her!

She said she was going to have ta do a couple things I wouldnt like much.  Well, that wasn't a surprise Dad desn't bring us to the Vet fer fun things...

She took me away and stabbed my leg and then put stinky stuff on it because she had to test my blood.  After that, she brought me back to Dad and I curled up on his lap while we waited.  I even napped a bit.

Finally, she came back and said I had good bloods.  I'll turn it over ta Dad, because I didn't know the werds she was saying...

TBT:  Iza's bloodwork came out very normal.  Her thyroid levels (I don't know what that actually measures) were high and the Vet said that can cause problems with bile production, causing the white foamy hacking (maybe).  She said there was a med to try first that came as pill oral liquids or an ear gel.  I decided to try the ear gel, as being easier on both Iza and me.

I was surprised she said she would have the manufacturer ship it directly to me to save a visit and not add to the cost.  I was impressed!

I had to remind her of the pudding-poos, telling her I had tried a pet store anti-diarheal that hadn't had any effect.  She looked at the list of symptoms that included the active ingredients and said, well that sometimes works, but I'll give you something stronger called Metronidazole.  Its a liquid I have to squirt into her mouth twice a day for 10 days.  If it works, I should know in 3-4 days.

If that doesn't work, the Vet will decide whether to entube Iza to take a stomach sample or try a different med.  Depends on whether it helped "some" or "not at all".

Knowing that starches tend to be "binding agents" (koff, koff) in humans, I asked whether the gluten-free canned foods I've been feeding the cats for years was possibly causing any problems.  She said no but it also wasn't necessary unless a cat had an allergy problem.  But she made a note on Iza's file to consider allergies if the Metronidazole doesn't solve her problems "just so I would know".

I had mentioned that The Mews get beef, chicken, turkey, rabbit, duck, and fish, and se agreed that Iza might be allergic to something but that was generally rare in cats.  I had looked that up once and the general advice was that "meat is meat".  Dogs can have more problems, being omnivores, and veggies are more varied than "meat".

I also mentioned that Iza sleeps next to me at night and she often has "stomach gurgles" (air being squeezed around in an empty stomach, just to mention).  Dr Noyes (No-yez) said that slightly increased her confidence in the thyroid diagnosis.  Well, I couldn't think of EVERYTHING to put on the list...   

So Iza starts the Metronidazole treatment this morning for pudding-poops.  I should get a call from the thyroid ear gel company to arrange shipping info and payment later today.    I'm hoping for good results from the Metronidazole, but if that doesn't work, the Vet and I will try other meds.

I am very encouraged that Dr  Noyes is paying attention to Iza's problems.  Dr Miller was a very kind Vet, but I could never quite get him to focus on those.  Maybe he just thought those were normal problems with cats.

I was a bit concerned when I walked in.  All the pictures on the walls were of dogs.  Yet Dr Noyes had specifically mentioned her own cats, and she immediately recognized that Iza was a Tonkinese an mentioned the "people-orientation" of the breed.  Dr Miller didn't know about them at all.

I once read that the best human Dr to have was someone about 5 years out of medical school.  They had current training and enough experience.  Maybe the same is true for Vets.  When I started with Dr Jeffrey 33 years ago, he was like that.  But 33 years is a long time.  Maybe it is a Very Good Thing that Iza is visiting a new Vet.

More when we see how the meds work...

Easy Like Sunday

IZA:  I really love the laudray bsket!  All those small holes on the sides mean I I can see out but nokitty can whap me through them.  Not that anykitty does but you can't be too careful. 

 And there is a whole JUG of kibbles I like right next to me.  Is that great or WHAT!

And, even better, I am preventing TBT from collecting laundry.   It was all cooled and I don't like cooled laundry.  So I'm in control here!  He has to heat it up again later.

Caturday Saturday

IZA:  Nokitty better mess with me today!  No particular reason...

Flashback Friday

Today we are looking back to this week in 2011.  We were all sharing the tree.

We dont do that very often these days.

There are so MANY comfy places ta relax on...

We all like each other (pretty much),  the odds are just against it.

9-11

We have to remember this day.  It was before our time, but TBT tells about it.  And there are other bad things that have happened since.  But 9-11 seems to have been one of the awfullest.



But there is more.  We got online last night to visit our friends.  The first thing we learned was that Pip of Fraidy Cats went over The Bridge and the second was that Noel of 15&Meowing will be soon.

Our hearts just wern't into happy comments after that...

We will try again soon.

Twofer Tuesday

MARLEY:  Iza and I often Lap together to share Dad, but we dont often Nap together on our own.

So Dad was happy to see proof and that we dint jump up before he got the picture, MOL!