Crossed the bridge today 2 Apr 2012

Tigger made her journey across the bridge a little after 2am this morning. It was a shock to say the least. She was fine last night. I've been up since midnight because I couldn't sleep. So, I went out to the kitchen and wiped the counters down, filled food and water bowls, etc. Then around 2:10 am, I came back to the bedroom and went to turn the light on. Tripped over a cat on the floor before finding the light...that kitty was Tigger. She was laid out on the floor. I picked her up, looked at her face and I knew she was gone by her eyes. Then she peed on my arm. So, I missed her last breath by less than a minute. She just had her 10th birthday on March 15th. I never expected her to die so soon...and without me holding her! She died alone. She was my first cat of my adult life and I've had her since she was 8 weeks old. My life won't be the same without her!

Everything was normal last night. She loved the shower stall and would sit in front of the door and meow at me to open the door so she could go inside. Last night was no different. When it came time for my shower, she just sat in there, so I turned the water on. She slowly mossied her way out and then sat in front of the door when I got in. I opened the door just after getting in, and Tigger walked back in, getting wet but she didn't care. I took her collar off and hung it on the shower curtain rod...where it still hangs. Then after my shower, she sat in the shower stall while I dried off. Then when I went to bed, Tigger was under the covers trying to stay warm. She was still wet, so I made sure she slept up against me to stay warm while she dried. When I woke up, she wasn't on the bed anymore. Not sure where she was. So last night while she was under the covers, that was the last time I saw Tigger alive. I just can't believe she's gone.

Tigger knows she was loved and I know she loved me. She was my first kitty and I still remember the day I found her at Petsmart. When I picked her up, she laid in my arm and just purred and purred. That's how she lived her life...usually right next to me, purring and purring and purring. I'd kiss her on her forehead and she'd would lick my forehead right between my eyes...that was her way of showing affection to me. I'm going to miss her so much!

God Speed my sweet Tigger! May you rest in peace. I hope you'll be waiting for me at the bridge and we'll be together again when it's my turn to cross that bridge. I love you, Tigger Tigger...always and forever my little girl!

Guess mom didn't like that!!!

You see I really don't like being brushed. I try my best to keep my fur un-matted by myself but I've been doing a horrible job lately. Mom thinks its because I'm shedding so much now with the change in temps here. It's pretty hot now.

But I seem to get tiny mats of fur on my sides and right in the middle of my back. It's nothing really noticeable until someone pets me. If mom takes the slicker brush to me, it seems to go right over the mats. So, over the last 3 days, mom got out the comb and has been working on getting these mats out. I DO NOT like it when she pulls at these mats. I growl, hiss, spit and try to bite and scratch her, so she quits and leaves me alone.

Well, she's been working on them but there was a few mats on my sides that the comb just goes over but yet you can feel them when you pet me. So, mom tried again a few minutes ago. She got a hold of one of those mats and I attacked mom. I wrapped my body around her arm and I clawed her hand up with my back claws (I don't have front claws anymore for that reason) but I sunk my teeth into mom's forearm and boy did she scream. Now she's bleeding all over the laundry room floor and I guess mom didn't like that. She grabbed me by the back of my head and she held my face down into the floor. I'm growling and hissing and trying to squirm my way out of that choke hold she had me in but she didn't relent. (I'm pretty sure there's a face imprint in the linoleum now too). She took that comb and pulled at those mats on my sides until she got every last one of them. Then she let go of me. It didn't take but maybe a minute but it seemed like forever. On the bright side...my fur is slick and smooth now and it feels so much better!

Note to self...don't piss off mom and definitely don't bite, scratch and draw blood...I don't want my face planted into the floor again anytime soon!

Annual Vet Visit

These years are just flying by! It seems like it was just a few months ago that I had my annual vet visit.

Well, it started off as a good day. Even when mom put the carrier on the floor and opened the door, I was okay with it cuz I just waltzed right in to the carrier.

We get to the vet. Mom had her hands full this time. It was myself, Daisy the dog, Squirt and Princess. Squirt had to get his second set of shots and the rest of us had our annual shots.

Squirt was the first unsuspecting target of their attention. He weighed in at 3.5 pounds...the little porker! They put him back down on the counter after weighing him and he made a bee-line for mom. He tried to hide in between her arm and her side. Poor thing. But he got his shots and was put back in his carrier.

Then Princess was up. She weighed in at 10.1 pounds. Mom distracted her in her carrier while they gave her her shots and then she was done.

Daisy was next. 38.5 pounds. Mom had to rub her belly to keep her from wiggling around while they injected her. Then they cut her nails and she was done.

That leaves me. I weighed in at 14.1 pounds. Mom knows that she has to do the weighing. She takes the carrier to the scale, opens the door and I walk onto the scale and then she points me back to the kennel and I walk back in. Everything after that was a fiasco.

They tried giving me a shot while I was in the carrier. Not going to happen. So mom let me out of the carrier and they had to bring a net to catch me in and a thick towel to put over my head. Then mom had to pat me on the head really hard to distract me so they could stick me with 3 different needles. I was not a happy camper!!! That was the first time I've ever had to be netted but it worked.

Because of how I react, they'll never be able to do an exam on me. So this is the first year they didn't even attempt. So next year I'll have to be sedated before they can touch me. I won't even let mom brush me without growling and attacking her. I won't let her pet me anywhere except for my head and tail without growling.

So hopefully I'm good to go for another year as is the other 3 that went with me today!

Do Bunnies go to the Rainbow Bridge too?

We live outside of town and there's lots of small wildlife in the area (raccoons, possums, bunny rabbits, etc). Well, mom's encountered several rabbits jumping out, zipping & zig zagging across the road in front of her. Well, today was no exception. She saw it on the left hand side of the street and it ran right in front of her. She slammed on her brakes and thought she felt the bump-bump on the passenger side of the vehicle. She stopped and backed up but didn't see the bunny rabbit.

Several blocks away, another rabbit was laying in the road in the opposite lane. It's 4 am and no one is out there, so mom turns around and goes back and removes the rabbit from the road. It was tri-colored like me and it's body was still pliable so it hadn't been there that long. It was probably only run over that first and fatal time. Mom swore that it's eye moved when she picked it up to set it off to the side of the road. Kind of eerie for her.

Well, mom did her running around and just came home. It was still dark out at about 6:15 am but mom slowed down and came to a crawl hoping that the bunny rabbit she thought she might have hit, wasn't anywhere around. No such luck for either of them. A little (fit in the palm of your hand, little) tri-colored rabbit was off to the side of the road (about 4 inches from the road). Mom is pretty upset. She is a true animal lover and the thought of killing an animal makes her sick to her stomach. She knows accidents happen but that doesn't make her feel any better. She just hopes that the bunny rabbit died instantly and didn't suffer. So do bunnies go to the rainbow bridge? God speed little bunny. We are so very sorry!!!

Why is my head always wet?

Mom always wonders why my head is always wet and now she knows why. It's called multi-tasking on my part. You see, mom got us these pretty pink Drinkwell Fountains that I just love to drink out of. Well, I sort of wash my hair at the same time as I'm drinking. Instead of drinking out of the fountain where the water just comes out, I drink from the bottom of the stream. In doing so, the top of the stream of water hits me square on the top of the head and runs off into the water bowl. So, I get to wash my hair while I'm drinking my water. Multi-tasking!!! Mom says it kind of solves 2 mysteries: why my head is always wet and why there's black hair on the bottom of the fountain that she has to clean out all the time. I guess the "cat" is out of the bag now.

Woohoo!!! Daily Diary Pick of the Day Again!!!

Is it Christmas already? I doesn't look like it yet (kind of). But it sure does feel like Christmas because I'm one of Catster's Daily Diary Picks again!!! I was just selected a few days ago for the first time and now I'm selected again! Woohoo! I'll be bouncing around again today in celebration. I am such a happy kitty today! Thank you Catster for selecting me again!!!

It's going to be even a better day because mommie is home today to celebrate with me! She said there's Fancy Feast in my future today because she is extra proud of me. Of course you know she's going to be pulling that camera thingy out of hiding again. Maybe she'll catch me in action this time. You should really see me in action. Mom has this baby gate thing up across her bedroom doorway so that she can keep Hemi and Tabby separated from eachother. Neither one of them will jump the gate. Me...I've mastered the jumping of the gate as well as several of the others. The others that jump normally stand at the bottom of the gate and then jump over it, pushing themselves off of it. Me, I do that sometimes, but lately I've been getting a running start and then sail over the gate not even touching it and then keep on running. When I'm really spunky, I turn around and do it several more times in a row until I run out of steam. When I jump like that, mom always yells "flying kitties!!!". Goofy mom! I think she's just jealous...she can't even get her leg over the gate yet alone her entire body! So I guess we'll just have to see if she can catch me in action!

One of my good friends, KiKi is a diary pick today too! So I have him to celebrate with too. How fun is that?!!! Concats KiKi and all the other diary pick of the day kitties! I'm sure we're going to have a blast today. I hope you all enjoy your day today as well as all my other Catster friends. Thank you again Catster for selecting me as one of your diary picks of the day today! Today is going to be a purrfect day!!!

Daily Diary Pick Today!!!

Oh my catness!!! I thought I was looking at myself in the mirror when I looked at the daily diary picks today! There I was...me...one of the diary picks today! Woohoo! Since I've been feeling better lately, I can actually jump around and play for a little bit from all this excitement about being picked today! Thank you Catster for selecting me as one of the diary picks today! Now I have a reason to jump around without mom looking at me like I've lost my mind! I'm sure most of you have seen that look at some time, right?

Thank you to all my Catster friends that have concatulated me today! I really am a lucky kitty!!! I have such good friends! Thank you again Catster for selecting me today! I have had such a good day! I think I need to take a catnap shortly. I might have over-done the celebrating today. I think mom's lap is calling me! Thank you again for everything! You have made my day absolutely purrfect!!!

Health Update #2

Finally... good news!!! Mom went to talk to the vet today about the urine test results that the other vet tested yesterday. In my earlier diary today, I typed that there was blood in my urine sample yesterday. Well, the vet lady stated that she wasn't concerned about it because all the other bad stuff that was in it the last couple of times was finally gone. She asked mom if I was showing any clinical signs like the last couple of times and mom said no. So, she said that we weren't going to do anything. Woohoo!!!

Mom asked about the Metacam drops. She said to continue them for another couple of months just to be on the safe side. Mom also asked about the crusty stuff that's been accumulating on the side of my mouth. The vet says it's probably protein and she said that it's normal. I secrete it out of my eye ducts too. I guess I'm special that way!

Mom asked about the speed of my fur growing (or not growing in my case). The vet lady said we're like humans...every kitty's fur grows at different rates. Age supposedly plays a factor too. Who knows!

So today was a good day. I didn't have to go to the vet and I don't have to take anything more than the Metacam drops unless something changes. Mom asked about my irregular shaped kidney and the vet lady said that it just might be hereditary. Those x-rays that were taken last time were the first ones ever. We have no idea what shape my kidneys were before. Since the urine sample didn't show anything, the vet lady wasn't concerned. Mom will try to collect a urine sample from me every couple of months just to make sure I'm doing okay. If everything continues to be fine, then next June when I go back for my annual check-up, mom will have the x-rays and ultra sound redone and compare them to this last batch. So, I guess we'll wait and see. Mom doesn't want to torture and stress me out any more than she already has. I think I have to agree with her.

So, you know mom's going to be watching me like a hawk. Some good has come out of all of this...I've gotten extra "mom and me" time and I also get Fancy Feast several times a week. The other furbutts basically have to sit there and watch as I get all of this extra attention. I think they're jealous, although they'd never fess up to it! Whoa is me...NOT!!!

Thank you to all my Catster friends that have been worried about me! It's really nice to know that others care!!! Extra purrs and headbutts to you! Love you!!!

Health Update

Well, it's been about a month since I finished the last of the antibiotics for my kidney infection. Nothing has been done since which could be both good and bad. Upon completion of the antibiotics, the vet told mom to keep an eye on me. Well, she's been keeping two eyes on me (over achiever!!!).

A few days after the antibiotics, mom noticed my front legs shaking when I sit. Mom thought it could be from me not eating because she hadn't seen me eat or drink anything for a few days. So, she broke out the Fancy Feast just for me and I gobbled it right up. She said something to the vet and the vet said that I could be in pain and to resume the daily Metacam drops. Mom watched me before she resumed the drops and she didn't see me shaking but went and started the drops anyway. Well, I'm still getting a daily drop.

The vet told mom to periodically collect a urine sample from me to have it tested because that last one still showed blood (both white and red cells) and bacteria. Now I'm a lady and don't normally take care of business in front of anyone, not even mom. It's very rare when mom sees me in the litterbox. Because of that fact, mom decided to put little dixie cups in each bathroom next to the litterboxes for that "just in case moment". Well, yesterday was that "just in case moment". Mom was cleaning out one of the boxes and I jumped in the other box while she was cleaning. Mom watched my stance to determine which "business" I was going to take care of. As soon as she saw it, I squatted and mom grabbed that little dixie cup and shoved it underneath me. It was a little awkward for both of us, but I decided to "go" anyway. So, mom got her sample and was going to get it tested.

Mom called the vet at lunch time and was informed that there was no one there that day that could perform the test and to just bring it in the next day. Mom didn't like that answer. So, mom called another vet and asked them if she could have them test it and fax the results over to our vet. So that's what she did.

Mom called our vet today and asked them if they received the fax from the other vet. They did. Mom asked the lady that answered the phone if she could look at it and tell mom what it said. She was told that there's no white blood cells, no bacteria or crystals in the sample. There was red blood cells in the sample though. The vet lady doesn't come back for about another 1.5 hours for mom to get a verdict. So, mom's going to stop by to try to talk to the vet lady face to face today. Mom has to take Si and Lucky to the vet tomorrow for scheduled appointments, but she doesn't want to wait until tomorrow for my stuff. So, we'll have to wait and see what the verdict is.

It's been about 2 months since they shaved off my fur on my belly and a spot on my front left paw. Maybe it's me, but my fur is growing back awfully slow. It's hard to tell about my belly fur because I'm such a low rider and the only time mom can see my fur is when I lay on my side. Now my paw on the other hand is quite apparent. There is literally a line of missing fur across my wrist and it doesn't appear to have grown but maybe a millimeter. Mom's concerned. Mom will probably ask the vet about it when she goes in later.

So, there you have it. That's the scoop. I'll update my diary later with whatever mom finds out. Hopefully it won't be anything major. Keep your paws crossed!!!

Those With The Most Toys Wins!!!

Or so we're told! If that's true, we must have won a long time ago. Between us and the mutt, we have several 18 gallon rubbermaid containers filled with toys. We have beds, blankets, tents, cubes, towers and trees throughout the house, 2 jungle gyms, boogie mats and scratchy mats. What more can a kitty ask for? Do we sound spoiled? Mom says there's no such thing! So to prove a point, she bought us another toy and some catnip bubbles.

OMC! The bubbles are so fun. Mom blew us bubbles in the kitchen because it has easy to clean floors and the bubbles don't disappear as soon as they hit the floor. You should have seen Lucky and Hemi after all the bubbles were gone. They rubbed their faces all over the floor because of the catnip residue left behind. Mom said it was so cute.

So the toy that mom got us is called a Ba Da Beam. It's a battery operated laser beam that rotates inside a base that you can set on the floor or table somewhere. The laser beam is reflected from a mirror on the top so you can point it on the floor or on the wall. The beam rotates in a circle for a few seconds and then stops. Then it repeats that pattern over and over again. After 15 minutes, it shuts itself off.

Let me tell you, there were 8 of us trying to get in the action. We love the laser light and mom likes to play with us using the regular laser light, but after a few minutes mom stops because she says her hands hurt from mashing down the button. So she thought she'd try this rotating beam thing.

After a little while though, we were more interested in checking out the base because it makes noise due to being battery operated. In the process, our little faces were right there in the laser beam, so that was a bad thing. So supervision is a must! Mom found out yesterday morning that she can still play with us using this new beam thing. Since it's battery operated and it does all the work, all mom has to do is hold the thing and move it across the floor just like the other one. She doesn't have to mash any buttons and we all go berserk and mom thinks it's the purrfect toy for all involved.

Mom got a good laugh watching us yesterday morning with this new toy. Since the beam rotates in a circular pattern, so did our little heads as we were following the beam. Each and every one of us (to include the mutt) followed the red dot as it circled around so mom knows we all see it. Mom calls this new toy "cheap entertainment". Mom's biggest surprise...me chasing the light more than most of the other furbutts. This morning I actually went head-to-head with Simon in trying to catch the little red light. Mom's hoping that's a good sign that I'm feeling better.

So on that note, I think I might just have to convince mom to turn the beam thing back on. I think mom needs the exercise. What do you think?