Getting old means you get pampered.

Hey everyone! Paisan here. I am now a very proud 15 years old. Mom relocated me to a comfy cat apartment. (aka dog kennel). Its so cool. I have MY OWN food and water bowls, bed(s) and litter box. The maid service is awesome, and I love the room service. I have full view of everything that goes on, and a couple of times a day, mom takes my old self out of the apartment and snuggles with me. I was getting beat up by Whiskers so mom put me in a safe place where I could be alone. I always wanted my own room and now I have one. I am very happy with this situation. I can relax and have no worries. All is good.

My Kansas City cousin Smokey.

I was thinking about my cousin, Smokey. He lived in Kansas City. It was pretty awesome where he lived. Lots of trees and free space to play in. All the kids knew him. He was much loved and he was crazy about snow. It's like the cold never bothered him. But he sure did love cuddling. I like it right here in warm and sunny California.

But, the reason I wanted to write about Smokey is because he is at the bridge way too soon. Can I tell you his story? It is not a happy ending. I am sorry, but I feel it is a story that must be heard.

Smokey's human had been noticing that his neighbor's pets-mostly cats had been turning up missing. The neighbors started investigating, and they found out that the corner house had cat hater humans. They set out lots of traps at night to catch all the cats. Then, they would turn them in to animal control.

How stupid.

One night, Smokey-who happened to be a pretty savvy dude got into a tussle with another neighborhood cat. Unwittingly, Smokey ran into the trap. The other cat who was chasing him also made it inside the trap. They were both in the trap, fighting. Smokey did not win. The other cat eventually died too.

Smokey's human was furious. He called the police and animal control. He reported the people with the traps. The police cited them for animal cruelty and the animal control took all the traps, broke them up and threw them inside the truck. They took all the traps away from these people.

They bought more traps.

Smokey's human worked nights. One night, on the way to work, he saw the traps set out again. He called the police. The traps were taken away and the people were told if they trapped one more animal, even if it was a squirrel, they would go to jail.

Guess they did not want to go to jail. They did not set out any more traps. There are not many neighborhood cats left. What those people did was wrong. These cats were not strays. They lived in a neighborhood where it was ok to run the street. Its a quiet neighborhood.

Animal cruelty is bad. Smokey should not have died the horrible way that he did. He is now a handsome angel and no one can ever hurt him again.

Looking back on my almost 15 years......

No, don't panic! I am not going anywhere....I just wanted to reflect on some things in my life. After all, I have been on this earth for 15 years. I came into this world to a mama who would soon abandon me. Meowmie said that my fur mama did not leave me on purrpose. Meowmie found hungry little me when I was 3 weeks old. She took me to the vet the same day she found me. The vet said to take me back to my mama. Meowmie said that Paisan does not have a fur mama. I was too little for shots. Meowmie bought me some baby food and I went to my new home. I have lived all of my life with Meowmie. My first fur-brother was Buddy. He was 8 years older than me. He taught me cool stuff. Then, meowmie started to rescue other cats. My closest friend was Chasie...she just went to the bridge not too long ago. I have seen so many kittens born, grow up and find new homes. I love kittens. Well, I am quite a bit older now, but I love to play with Bella. She is the only cat I will play with. Meowmie trained me to walk on a leash when I was a kitten because I thought I was a dog. (Meowmie had 2 small dogs, and I thought I was one of them). She would take me for walks with the dogs. I have lived a crazy life and would not trade any of it. I have been pampered, loved, and treated like a king. My life is pawsome!

Photos of ME

Meowmie took a whole bunch of photos of me. Why they are not up on my page is anyone's guess. Hmmph.

Bella

One small word can hardly describle this small orange and white force to be reckoned with. Mom says even I act like a kitten around her. Bella will smack, slap, bite, pop me in the face, trip me, until I agree to play. She does this to Whiskers, Raven, and Eva too. Her and Sasha are at odds...mom thinks Sasha is jealous, and spends alot of time with her to make up for the time she spends chasing Bella. Mom said that I was just like Bella when I was a kitten, beating up my big brother Buddy all the time. Buddy was orange and white like Bella. Maybe I just like orange and white.

Keiko was my little buddy. I miss him.

You know, they say with age comes wisdom. Phooey. I have been around this place for 14 years. I have seen mommy rescue many kittens, and they always are ok. Same with Keiko. She got him on a Saturday nite.(he was found in the middle of a busy street by a neighbor) She took him to the vet first thing monday morning. She got there before they opened and waited in line. The vet gave Keiko a thourough exam. He listened to his heart, his lungs. Checked his teeth, his eyes, temperature. The vet said he seemed a little under weight.(11 oz) and had an upper respiratory infection. He was given meds for his eyes and antibiotics for the lungs to clear up. He had to breathe thru his mouth because he was so congested. Mommy watched him like a hawk. At the first visit, they could not get his left eye open, because of the gooey stuff from the infection. Mommy kept cleaning his face with a warm cotton ball, putting the medicine in and cleaning with a new warm cotton ball. By the end of the week, his eye was open and the vet checked him again. Heart still ok, lungs clearing up, and he had vision in both eyes. Mommy was so happy she almost cried. She spent all her time with Keiko trying to make him feel better. He bonded with me. That was fine. He slept alot anyway. But, he was funny to watch. And man, could he eat!!!!! He was just learning to use the litter box. Mommy and us big cats would show him what to do. Exactly two weeks from the day mommy got Keiko, he came from the kitchen, running kinda funny. Since Bella loved to play with him, mommy just thought they played too rough and put Keiko in his carrier with a little water and food, so he could rest. At first mommy thought he strained a muscle or something. He went to sleep in the carrier, like normal. Mommy kept checking on him. We all watched. We could not tell mommy that we knew something was wrong. About 3 hours after she put him in the carrier, she went to check on him. He had died. He was still warm. Mommy could not believe this. she put a mirror up to his face to see if he was breathing. He was not. Mommy still did not believe it. She put him carefully back into his carrier. She came back an hour later, and he was in rigor. Mommy started to cry. We could not comfort her. She picked up his little stiff body. She kissed the top of his head. By now it was really late at night. Since we were have an air conditioner in the big room, mommy put him in the carrier, wrapped him in plastic like the vet said. she still did not belive he was gone. she could not bring herself to cover his little face....just in case. But the plastic was to keep any bugs off him. The next morning, mommy went to the store and came back with all this stuff. A box, paint, and then I realized that she was making a box for Keiko, so he could rest in peace. She painted the box, painted his name on it. She glued kitty cat fabric on the inside so it would be soft. She picked up Keiko. Since she did not cover his face, and he was out of rigor she closed his little eyelids. He had been breathing thru his mouth. His little baby teeth were showing. She gently closed his mouth. She made him look like he was just sleeping. She put him in his special box. Then, she glued the box closed and put more glue around the openings. She did not want bugs to get him. She put his favorite toys in the box with him...a catnip toy, a little animal toy he loves, and 3 small pieces of his kitten food. In case he got hungry on his journey. Mom had a hole dug in the garden, so Keiko could be right by the front door. After Keiko was laid to rest, mom put a small white angel and a solar malibu light to mark where he was. Mom sits on the porch and looks where Keiko is buried every day. 5 weeks old and never had a chance, even with seeing the vet twice a week, medication and all the love in the world. Keiko was just a small angel that was sent to us for a short time, but we all fell in love with him and that is something we will always cherish. Wow that was a lot for a cat like me to type. I am going to take a nap now. Rest in peace, Baby Keiko. We will always love you.

So what if all I want to do is sleep?

I happen to like sleep. Alot. Mom made a special place for me next to the bathtub in the bathroom. She folded up a really soft towel an put it between the tub and the sink. And you cant see me when you walk by. So when Bella goes bouncing thru the hallway, she cat see me. She likes to jump on my back, put her little arms around my neck and bite my cheeks or my ears. I only let her get away with this kind of stuff because she is a baby. But, she is pretty funny too. She does not actually "meow" but she makes funny noises when she runs or is about to attack one of us. The only cat she does not bother is Sasha. She loves Chasie. They are always together. But, she still finds plenty of time to come find me and bug me too.

Paisan

There are only two good things about being sick.

First, you get babied. Second, you get premium canned food that tastes yummy and vitamin thingys that tastes good too. I will be sleeping in the corner. Dont bug me til its time to eat. I am an Olde Furt and I can say what I want. I eats, I sleeps and thats it. Purrrfect life!

Not feeling so hot today!

I have been sticking close to mom. Normally, no cats allowed in computer room. She is making an exception for me. She gave me a towel to lie on. I feel tired. Mom is babying me. I like that part. I can tell by her face she is worried about me. I am just taking things one day at a time. Purrrrs, Paisan

Sigh....

Hi friends. I am feeling my age lately. I just turned 14 in cat years. Thats like 72 in human years. I am ok, just have a sore on my mouth. I have pawsome friends trying to help me. Meowmie cant figure out what happened. She tries to look without touching my face. I eat soft food now, in the bathroom with Bella. She bonded with me. She thinks Chasie is her mama. She is so small, she tries to wrap her little kitten arms around our necks and take us for rides. We are cats, not ponies. Tonite, I tried to get away from her because she loves to bite feet. I jumped into the tub, she followed me. I pushed her down with my paw on her face. She got squirmy, so I let her go. She jumped on my back. I threw her off and started slapping her in the head. I have no idea what she was thinking, but I am pretty sure she was plotting her next move. I am too old for this. Purrs, Paisan