Sempre Libera, Sempre Amata

Dear Friends:
I went to the Rainbow Bridge this afternoon. It was a 2-year-long battle with kidney failure that I fought with valor, but it ended very quickly and I'm so thankful I didn't have to suffer very long. I'm also thankful that I went on my own, at home with my family. Thank you to everyone for your prayers and concern, and to the people of Banfield Pet Hospital for making my last few hours on this earth more comfortable. I know I was loved and always will be. I'll miss you all very much until the day I get to see you again.

Mild-Mannered and Middle-of-the-Road

I'm such an even-tempered, mild-mannered kitty! I'm the only animal in the house who wasn't involved in a scuffle yesterday. Mommy took us all out on the balcony for some good quality sun time. Yes, all 5 of us were out there: Me, Kirby, Lily, Piston, and even Kia! But, then Kirby, Kia, and Lily started misbehaving, so Mommy made us all come in. (I was just napping and cooking myself in the sunlight, so it really stinks that they had to ruin it for the rest of us.) First, Mommy took the dogs inside, then Kia. But, she set Kia down a little too close to Piston's face, because she hissed and swatted him. He barked at her, indignantly, and Kirby, being her usual vigilante self, tried to chase her up a tall piece of furniture. (Seriously, I don't know why Kirby thinks it's her job to punish all the animals that misbehave! I think she's just trying to get extra brownie points from Mommy or something.) Right after that, though, Mommy took Lily inside, which must have ticked her off because she then swatted Kirby. Kirby screamed and barked at her, then proceded to chase her under the couch and around the room, until Mommy was able to pick her up and shush her. Meanwhile, there was me, being all cool, calm, and collected. I protested a little bit when she brought me back inside, but I didn't take it out on anybody.
Later that night, Kirby got attacked again by Kia and had to get taken to the emergency vet hospital for treatment. So, I still remain the most even-tempered, complacent animal in the whole house. Why can't every kitty be just like me? Why can't we all just....get along??

I just can't quit you, Mommy!

Well, it's been almost 2 months since I was diagnosed with CRF. So far, I'm doing pretty well! I still eat plenty and drink lots of water. I got sick of my special food, so I stopped eating it and forced Mommy to feed me "real" food. Doesn't really matter, though. It's more important THAT I eat than WHAT I eat. I've gotten into the habit of jumping into the shower as soon as Mommy shuts off the water (or sometimes even before) and lapping up the puddles of water on the bottom of the tub. I act like I'm thirsty all the time and I pee like it's my job, but other than that I feel like a perfectly normal kitten. Grandma says I'm quite a gal! S0mething else I've started doing lately is sleeping under the lamp on the nightstand, like I'm cold or something. It's my very own sauna! Right now, though, I'm laying on Mommy's chest while I write this, so I don't need a lamp to keep me warm. I don't need spell check, either, because she's pointing out all my mistakes as I write them. MOL! Oh, I sure do love my mommy!

Unlucky Numbers

My numbers came back...not great. They weren't terrible, but they were definitely indicative of kidney dysfunction. That means I'm the 4th kitty in my family to be affected by this disease. I went back to the vet with Mommy today so they could collect my urine. They say it will help us to know how advanced it is and how aggressively we need to treat this. My hunch tells me, though, that I'll be getting poked and prodded regularly from here on out as Mommy gives me subQ fluids. Maybe 4th time is a charm. Maybe I'll finally be the kitty to beat the odds and leave this earth on my own accord rather than by CRF complications. Right now, Mommy and I are praying that Ceiling Cat restores full function to my kidneys and that I live to be 50! Stranger things have happened, you know.

Just a Little Prick

I had my blood drawn today. Mommy took me to work with her and let me nap in a kennel for a few hours and then she rudely awoke me and had a couple people poke me with needles! I know it's for my own good, but I still don't particularly care for it. The results should be in tomorrow morning, so everybody cross their paws for me!

Thicker Than Water

I'm having some bloodwork done on Monday, Mommy tells me. I've been showing some symptoms lately that mirror everything Bro, Velvet, and Charlie did right before their diagnoses. So, Mommy thinks I may have caught their disease. I really hope not, though. My mom and I are so close and love each other so much! I'm such a good companion to her, and vice versa. We hang out sometimes just for the sake of hanging out, ya know? We just plain like each other, darnit! I don't think Mommy could handle losing me right now....or ever, but now especially. I know that CRF is not an automatic death sentence, but I'm getting up there in years and this would be a big challenge for me to overcome. The good thing is, Mommy works at a vet clinic now so she'll have access to all sorts of treatment methods. So, if the results do come back positive, it's not the end of the world. I just ask thar Ceiling Cat will help stave off the effects of the disease for as long as possible. My bond with my mommy is just too strong to sever, though.

House of the Rising Sunbeam

I recently moved with my mom and sisfur Kia to someplace very far away from my old house. I spent the whole day riding in a car. Thats how far away it is! Kia and I hung out in a hotel room while Mommy and my grandpawrents unloaded all her/my stuff into this new living quarter. I am a very curious and adventurous kitty by nature, so I was eager to explore from the get go. Kia is more timid and spent the first night hiding under the bed. Ive been on this earth twice as long as she has so I have more experience and knowledge of how the world works. Mommy has kept us confined to our room ever since we moved in. But finally tonight she let me out for a while to sniff the rest of the place out. Theres 2 other furry kids there. One looks an awful lot like my fursibling Baby, and the other is about as big as Koivu but less hairy and more slobbery. I whined at him and swung my stumps at him a few times. My favorite part was rolling around on the balcony and rubbing my face against the carboard kitty nip box. Mmmmm! I really like the big window in our room too! I can eat my breakfast in the beam of the rising sun every morning! Definitely, I think I am going to like it here.

Squeaky Clean!

Wanna hear what happened to me yesterday? Well, I've found a new hiding place. No one's really sure why, but I've all of a sudden taken a liking to hiding in my grandma and grandpa's shower. Mommy went searching all over the house for me the other night, thinking maybe I'd gotten locked in a closet or the garage, but then I appeared from behind the shower curtain. Weird, huh? Well, this hiding spot does have its hazards. Yesterday morning, Grandma was starting to get ready for work and she turned the shower on full blast without even checking inside it first. Well, I came tearing out of there, all soaking wet! Mommy blotted my dry with a towel, and I licked myself up the rest of the way. They were laughing at me for being so silly and hiding in the shower. I suppose maybe it would've been funny if I hadn't been so shell-shocked and embarrassed.

Is Eye Goop Yummy?

I'm wondering if I'm the only kitty alive who loves the taste of her own eye goop. It may sound gross to humans, but I just love it! Everytime Mommy picks the dried up crud out of the corners of my eye, I wait for her to flick it off her finger, then I sniff it out and eat it right up! My grandma wants to gag when she sees me doing this, but Mommy thinks it's cute and funny. I admit I'm a quirky cat, but am I all alone on this one?
Oh, I also eat my own boogers sometimes, but they aren't as yummy as my eye gunk. My older brother Bro used to lick his ear goblins off the Q-tip whenever his ears got cleaned. This actually made my mommy sick and my grandma laugh, so it's like they're divided on the issue here. Was he weird for doing that?

I was a Teenaged Runaway

I did something rather naughty yesterday: I ran away from home! It's not quite as bad as it sounds, though. My uncle Rob was laying new tile on the floor of the entry way by the front door. I was watching him intently, waiting for him to let his guard down so maybe I could sneak out into the wild blue yonder. Well, sure enough, he turned his back for 2 seconds, giving me just enough time to slip outside unnoticed. I was outside for a good 20 minutes before anyone realized I was gone! (Everyone was at work except for uncle Rob and uncle Toby, and Toby was asleep, so really it was just Rob there.) He heard me make my trademark pigeon coo and looked up at the screen door, expecting to see me peering out of it. But, I wasn't there. So he looked outside and there I was, running across the street to the neighbor's yard! He had to call to me and coax me back over so he could put me back inside. I was expecting to get into a lot of trouble when Mommy found out. But, she was just so relieved I was safe she didn't scold me. I got a bit of a lecture this morning about the dangers of being outside, especially for a kitty with certain "disadvantages" (i.e. my missing front claws). All in all, I think I got off pretty easy for a teenaged runaway. :)