A Fun Week

Well it took me a bit to get my diary started but here it is. I am starting it this week as my 5th birthday is on St. Patrick's Day. I have already gotten a really cool bed with steps up to it but figure I will probably get some catnip goodies and my yearly balloon for the event too. Oh BTW- when I put a smiley for me, I use 8) because I think the "8" looks like little kitty eyes. 8) See there! 8) OK, enough being too silly as I may scare ya off from reading more. Anyway so I will be 5 years old already. Where does the time go? It seems like only yesterday that I was climbing the side of the couch and dashing across the back. Oh wait- that WAS yesterday. 8)
Oh well time to go see what little brother, Ethan, is doing and maybe have a wrestling match.

Love,
Louis

My Birthday and the chipmunk shows up

Well I had a pretty good birthday yesterday. I got some cool new toys. In fact I got a bit worn out playing so hard so had to sleep a lot the rest of the day. I was so into the toys that I forgot to pace myself. And much excitement!!!! because I saw the chipmunk for the first time in many months yesterday. My mom said he must be done sleeping for Winter. Oh how I have missed watching him. I would love to get to know him better. You know, get a lot closer to him. 8)

Love,
Louis

My First Walk of 2005

I will tell you about my first walk of this Spring season. I don't usually get to go out all Winter because it is so cold and I don't like walking in the snow. I have to keep shaking all four feet to keep the snow off so it takes me a long time to walk. But the snow is gone and so I headed out with my mom to see what was new outside. She said she was surprised that my harness still fit me and I pretended that I did not hear that coment. 8( We got out on the deck and then I got startled by some noises as it always takes some getting used to the great outdoors again for me. We have a pond and we walked around that. I scared a frog into the water and felt like a big shot. 8) Then more starnge, unknown noises around us and so that was it, back inside I headed. Yeah, I know- what a wimp I am. *sigh*
In my second walk, I made it pretty far out and about before getting scared of some strangers making loud goofy noises in the street. But once safely back inside it takes me a long time to clean mud and dirt from my feet and toes. I think I have a real thing about my paws getting wet or dirty, don't you? 8) I wonder if I would like some boots to wear? Nah, I don't even want to go there.

Love,
Louis

Cats of the Week

I thought it was about time I updated my diary a bit. I've been real busy so have not had much time to do that. So anyway- Cats of the Week! Me first and Ethan a few weeks later. We were all really surprised and honored. My mom will save all the catmail and other things that we have about it and put in our scrapbooks. Pretty exciting for us. Who'da thunk it? 8) Well I had better stop already as Ethan wants a wrestling match and he wants it NOW. 8) I'll try and write more next time. A special thanks to three of our friends- Mouse, Pooky and Cole. Ethan and I really like reading the catmail that we get from all of you.

Love,
Louis

I sure am bugged!

I have to tell you about my fun walk last night. (I go out on a harness and leash.) My mom and I go sit on our swing as I love that swing. Well there I was sitting and relaxing. I look down and see a real big bug walking through the grass. I flew off that swing and went to sniff it. My mom said it was a locust and to be careful as she was not sure if it would pinch or bite. So I kept my distance just a bit. Then I got distracted by a chipmunk hole that I had not seen before and that old locust walked right on my front leg! I sniffedat him harder and he rolled off and played dead. What a silly bug that was.
I also scampered and jumped at a real big yellow butterfly. I tried real hard to catch it but he was smart and would fly up just over my reach when I went after him. He wore me out before he finally flew off. My mom was laughing at me. I'm pretty sure that this was the same butterfly that was teasing Ethan and I a few days ago. He kept flittering around the sunroom screens to tempt us.
Lastly we had a mosquito on the wall. I was going crazy trying to get this bug. My mom said she couldn't even see it most of the time. But I could and I really wanted a skeeter snack. My mom finally swatted it and that ended all my fun. You can see that I really have been bugged lately! 8)

Love,
Louis

My leg hurts!

Well it looks like I am going to the vet. I have been limping on my left front leg for awhile now and my mom is very worried. I am an indoor cat but do go on leash walks outside. I haven't done anything to injure my leg. It's worse when I get up from sleeping. I suppose early arthritis is possible but I am only 5 years old. Plus I already take Cosequin for my bladder and that should help if it was arthritis. My mom is thinking maybe a tumor or something internal. She's just very afraid due to all the problems her other babies have had in the last 5 years or so. Plus our 17 year old Cairn Terrier just crossed the Rainbow Bridge on Aug 27th. I guess that just makes everything seem worse for now. Simon used to limp when had cancer in his leg too she said. But anyway if you see this today, please think some good thoughts for me that this will be something minor. All I know is it hurts a lot.

Love,
Louis

Good news and not so good news

Where do I start? Well the good news is no breaks, tumors or anything like that. But the not so good news is that I have inflammatory joint disease from an injury. It's in my left front elbow. I have to take a medication every other day for a month to try and get it healed. I have no memory of how I hurt it or when. So I deduct it must have been during a catnip frenzy. :) (A little humor to try and brighten things up just a bit.) The best good news is I feel GREAT already! It only took a day for this stuff to help me out. No more limping or anything. I forgot how good no pain can feel. :) The other not so good news is I have to lose weight so this does not happen again. I like to eat my food. I have FLUTD so have to be on prescription food to keep my PH where it won't let me form struvite crystals in my urine. That food seems to be what made me gain weight. But if I go off the food then my PH goes up. So kind of complicated. But I know my mom will get it all figured out for me. Anyway, I wanted to update my diary and my friends about all this. I think I'll go run awhile. :)

Love,
Louis

Overdose

Well some of you know about my latest ordeal but some may not. So I thought I should add it to my diary. Last Monday my mom was giving me my Metacam for my sore elbow. I was supposed to get 2 drops of it. Most pets can just get this stuff on their food and munch away. But picky ol' me would not eat any food with this honey flavored medicine on it. So we've just been doing two easy drops right into my mouth from its small plastic squeeze bottle. Something went real wrong on the second drop and I got a small spray of it instead. Everyone at my house panicked and off to the vet I went. There I was forced to throw up and had all kinds of bad stuff done to me. Well I guess it was all meant to help me but it sure seemed bad at the time. I got to come home later that night but was I ever one sick kitty. I think some of my treatment was worse than the overdose! But after a few days I did perk up and most of the bad stuff seems to be behind me now. I went this morning for a blood test to check my kidneys (BUN) to rule out any damage to them from the Metacam. So please keep good thoughts for me on that. And good thoughts for my mom who is being so hard on herself over this accident. I just hope I don't have to go tot he vet again for a long time to come!

Love,
Louis

It's Finally Over

I am writing this to finsih my overdose saga. My kidney function test was normal! So no ill effects are left from my accidental overdose. And the good news is as I (or my secretar I should say) types this, I have gone 10 days without any of that medication for my elbow. And no limping! I will keep my paws crossed that that will continue. Thanks to all for your carng catmail and other thoughtful things you did to help me get through this. All I can say is- IT WORKED!!!!! :)

Love,
Louis

Christmas Tails and Legends

I really needed to update my diary and I guess today is the day. I also have a Christmas Tail or Legend might be a better word to tell you. First I will update on my sore elbow. It started bothering me pretty bad a bit after I wrote my last entry. In fact I limped most of the time. My mom got very worried as I am on the full dose of my medicine already. Each time Ethan and I started wrestling on the hard tile floor, my mom would make us stop. She feels my elbow conking on the tile so hard during wrestling matches is not good. She also started grabbing me when I went to jump out of a cat tree. She would put me down herself. So maybe those things are helping as I have not had any limping for the last 4 days! I hope that ol' elbow of mine is finally starting to heal.

My Christmas legend is about tabby cats and how we got the "M" marking right above our eyes. You may have heard this tail, er, tale but others may not have.

And so it came to pass that a husband and wife journeyed to a small town called Bethlehem, as the king had decreed that all the people stand to be counted in the small towns and teeming cities from whence they came. The journey was long and hard for both, but especially for the young wife, who was very near to bringing her firstborn son into the world. When they at last reached the crowded and noisy town, the expectant father searched hurriedly for a place for them to rest and where the child could safely be born. But at every door, he was told there was no available room. Finally, an old innkeeper, though having no space left in his inn, took pity on them and offered them shelter in the small stable used by his animals.It was there that the child was born, surrounded by beasts of the field. As the night's cold grew, the baby fretted and cried while his parents pondered how to make him comfortable. His father tried stuffing straw into the open places in the walls, and his mother tried warming him with her meager wrappings. But still, the baby cried on. All the while, a tiny cat watched from the corner. "Of course the little baby is cold," the cat thought. "It has no fur to keep it warm! I will give it mine, and I will lullaby-purr it to sleep." A little jump brought the cat into the manger where the baby lay. There, he quietly gave his humble gift of warmth and love, gently stretching out his thin, fragile little body over the baby's, careful to cover all but the infant's face. The crying was soon replaced by soft purrs and coos, and slowly, the infant smiled. As Mary, the new mother, witnessed this gift to her child, she touched the little cat's forehead. "Thank you, Little Tabby, for your gift of love and warmth. As a sign of my grateful blessing, you and all your descendents will forevermore carry my initial on your forehead."

And to this day, tabby cats are known by the remarkable "M" on their foreheads, and by their extraordinary gifts of love, so gently given.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all. May 2006 be healthy, fun and have lots of catnip for you. :)

Love,
Louis