Three Days and Counting!

Dear Diary,

I am so excited! In just three days it will be my ten-year anniversay of being rescued from homelessness and imminent death!

On October 24, 1997, meowmy found me emaciated and weak in her front yard. Then meowmy started getting medical care for me. A couple months later I almost died from a reaction and a seizure following an inoculation. Meowmy found out that I have epilepsy. I started taking an anti-seizure drug that was easy on the liver, but it didn't yet have a proven track record in cats. That drug—potassium bromide—made my lungs sick, and I almost died a second time. (Now it is common veterinary knowledge that KBr doesn't work well in many cats.) In the summer of 2001, I started taking phenobarbital twice a day, and I am doing extremely well! I am healthy and happy, and I have been seizure-free for over 6 1/2 years!

Because of all the medical problems I had early in my life, my meowmy never expected to have me at this ripe old age of 10! I am so grateful to be alive, well and loved! On Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2007, my human and feline family and friends will celebrate a wonderful 10 years with me! Purrs to you all!

Sincerely,
Mathis der Meowler

I've Been Tagged!

I’ve been tagged by Phoenix.

Here are the rules:
Each player starts with seven random facts about himself. Write in your diary about the seven random facts and the rules. Then choose seven cats to tag and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment that they have been tagged and to read your diary!

1. My full name is Mathis der Meowler. I am named after the German Renaissance painter, Mathis Neithardt, also known as Matthias Gothart Grünewald. You see, the 20th-century composer, Paul Hindemith, wrote a beautiful symphony called “Mathis der Mahler” (Mathis the Painter). This piece is based on themes from his opera “Mathis der Mahler” in which Matthias Grünewald is the protagonist. Therefore, I am named after Mathis Neithardt!

2. I am definitely a Meowler! I may be a small kitty, but my voice can be deep and loud. Actually, I have a sizeable vocabulary of meowls, yowls, growls (at the vet), moans, groans, mumbles, grumbles, trills, purrs, chirps, quacks and croaks.

3. I announce myself every time I enter a room or jump up onto a piece of furniture. I do this, so I won’t accidentally surprise anyone. As you may already know, I am the world’s biggest (smallest?) wuss-puss. Fortunately, none of the other cats consider me a threat, so as long as I don’t surprise anyone, I’m safe!

4. Meowmy says that, because of me, she now fully understands the etymology of the word “nosey.” It’s true! I am always sticking my nose into other cats’ “business.” Fortunately, I am a no-threat wuss-puss, so I can get away with this behavior.

5. It is very important to me to be close to my meowmy at night. In the warm months, I sleep by her side on top of the bed. But in the winter, when it gets cold at night, she lets me come underneath the blankets where it is nice and warm!

6. I love my little cat pole in the music room. It is basically a small round bed on top of a sisal-wrapped base. Meowmy loves to watch me jump up on this cat pole, because I go around and around in circles trying to find the purr-fect position to sleep.

7. You may already know from my profile that I have epilepsy. I used to have horrible grand mal seizures about once a month. Even though I don’t like going to the vet, I am glad my meowmy loves me so much, that she gets medical care for me. She gives me a small dose of phenobarbital twice a day, and I have been seizure-free for over 6 1/2 years! Hooray! Life is good!

I tag:
Tommy
Zack
Sven
Zane Gray
Belle
Figaro
Kragen