~ more icky, harmful pet foods ~

Dear Diary,

What are we going to do about these uncertain pet food companies? Who are our parents supposed to trust?

Grammy’s two kitties became very ill recently after being fed Iams - Indoor Hairball Formula. Grammy had them on Natural Balance and they were doing very well, but the feed store here in our town that carries this food is very unreliable. You never know if they are going to have the food or not when you go there. After several times of not being able to buy her kitty’s food when she needed it, grammy switched them to the grocery store bought Iams because of the reliability of them having it in stock.

After a hefty vet bill for grammy and the Iams food being determined to be the source, meomy went everywhere in search of a kitty food that grammy could feed her kitties. Meomy ended up buying Diamond - Indoor Formula cat food because it had basic and good ingredients. Grammy slowly switched her kitties over to it and they have been doing wonderful and thankfully have been regaining their health. That was until yesterday!!

Grammy purchased another bag of the Diamond and put some down for her kitties yesterday morning. Later she noticed that they hadn’t touched it. She tried to offer it to them and she said that they both acted repulsed by it! This morning grammy raced down to the feed store to buy a different bag of it. When she arrived back home, both of her famished kitties practically attacked her for the new bag of food and gobbled it right down! Grammy compared the two bags of food. The kernels in the bad bag were a lot darker color than the good bag. Also she said the bad bag had an off odor to it! OMC! What if her kitties would have eaten it, who knows what is wrong with it! Meomy wishes that there was some place that she could have it tested for free. That and the bad bag of Felidae that made Aunti P’s kitties so ill.

We want parents who feed this kitty food to know that the good bag has an expiration date of June 2010. The bad bag has an expiration date of September o4, 2010. Meomy is off in search once again for a new kitty food for Grammy’s kitties because now we don‘t trust the Diamond. *sighs, will this ever end?* She wants to find a basic food that has simple ingredients like a meat-based protein, low carbs, no by-products, no grain, no corn, and no harmful preservatives like ethoquin, BHT, or BHA. Is there one out there that can be trusted and that somebody in our town can carry? Humph!

Grumbling Ooh oohs & Aah aahs,
Hugs & Luvs,
Lil’ Muppet

~ My Mousie has been found! ~

Dear Diary,

Meomy found my mousie!!! Hurray! The poor little guy had attempted to go pillow climbing on the sofa in the family room and had slipped inbetween two pillows! Except for being squished & flattened losing a bit of weight, he seems to be just fine! Thank you everyfur for all of the encouraging words and mousie gifts that you left in my room! *big hugs* Although meomy and I had held out some hope that he would be found, we still had horrible visions of him being buried alive out at that icky land fill.

I’ve been finally snapping out of my anesthesia hangover, as mom calls it. I was up and played a bit yesterday and today I was up a lot longer and played even more. Meomy received the copy of my MRI and CT Scan in the mail and drove them out to my doc when she was at the clinic yesterday. They didn’t have time to review them on my doc’s lunch hour as they had planned. A human brought in her two kitties that she said had the sniffles. My doc was horrified at the condition these poor little guys were in! Sniffles? They were almost both knocking on the Bridge’s door! She spent so much time trying to save them that she had to work through her lunch hour to catch up with the rest of the kitties in the waiting room. Anyways, my doc took the discs home with her and will call meomy when she comes up with a plan for treatment for me.

Meomy has not had much time to try and catch up with her thank yous for the tremendous show of support for me. We do hope that everyfur understands and we know a lot don‘t expect a personal thank you. Meomy just likes to do it that way but for now we are still on our putt putt mopeds. *pouts* We did find that there was another speed buggy place out here, but they want an insane amount of ‘gas money’ to run their speed buggies. Meomy is going to seriously inquire about getting us a ‘cable car’ to zoom around Catsterland in.

Purrin’ & Praying for all of the ill kitties and doggies. And also for those who have sadly had to say goodbye to their furbabies. *comforting hugs*

Ooh ooh, Aah aah!
Luvs & Purrs,
Lil' Muppet

Missing: Muppet's Mousie!

Dear Diary,

I’m just beside myself! My best buddy mousie has gone MIA! I know I haven’t been the most fun furiend to hang out with lately because I’ve mostly been sleeping off the anesthesia for the past week, but where could my mousie have gone? Meomy has helped me look everywhere today with no luck. *pouts* The last time he was seen he was sitting by the ‘puter monitor helping meomy play a game of spider solitaire. *Muppet trots over to the ‘puter monitor and peeks over the edge of the desk to see if he sky dived into the waste basket again. She notices that the waste basket is empty and gasps wondering if he was carried out with the trash!! She scampers over to the window just in time to see the garbage truck pull up!*

Oh no, Diary! This cannot happen again! Remember when my favorite piece of sisal rope disappeared never to be found? Meomy told me that it must have fallen in the waste basket and was taken by the big garbage truck to the land fill! I don’t know why they fill land with sisal ropes and for goodness sakes I hope they don’t also fill land with cute mousies. *wipes a tear*

I must ask meomy to quickly make up some lost posters. Lost: Muppet’s Mousie - 3 inches tall - brown & tan markings - has only one whisker - if spotted please notify Muppet asap - she misses him a lot.

Meomy and I are off to search the entire house again.

Worried Ooh oohs & Aah aahs,
Hugs & Luvs,
Lil’ Muppet

~ Roads to a Miracle ~

Dear Diary,

Meomy and I are finally home and resting up from our road trip. I now understand that a ‘road trip’ means lots and lots of different scenery for lots and lots of hours. Meomy and my doc said that I was a doll the entire way there and back. I guess some kitties do not like to travel, but it was an adventure for me. After I got over the fact that my doc was in the same vehicle as meomy and I, which I found quite odd to say the least, I spent lots of time checking everything out through the windows.

I loved our little houses that we got to stay in. We had a different one every night and I spent lots of time checking each one out. I really liked the last one the best because there were plenty of things to climb up and around on. I seemed to somehow keep meomy up with me every night, which she wasn’t too fond of, but this was all new to me. The first night I was so excited to have a place where I had meomy all to myself that I just had to celebrate. I used her neck as a slide and kept sliding over it one way and then the other. I did this for hours until the wee hours of the morning and had a blast! The next night I got to meet Lisa, Freckle and Minxy’s cool mom, and after she left and meomy came to bed I kept freaking her out all night because I would wake up screaming. She didn’t know if I was having nightmares or what, and a few times I had her so scared for me that she almost went next door and woke up my doc. I did this on and off all night long, actually I was having nightmares about my upcoming tests that were being done the next morning. I thought I was done at UC Davis, but heard Lisa, my doc and meomy discussing my next appointments for the following day! Then the last night I kept meomy up by having non-stop meowing fits. Again she could not figure out what was wrong and hoped that it didn’t have anything to do with the anesthesia from that day. But at 5 am I went in the litter box and showed her that I was constipated! “Ouch meomy, it hurts to poo!”

UC Davis was ok. I really liked all of the sweet staff and docs there. I don’t remember having the CT Scan or the MRIs, but I do remember how well I was treated. They were able to determine the most likely cause to my pain source and it seems to be scar tissue. I have a small amount in or next to my right osteobulla, and a larger amount in or next to my left osteobulla. My left osteobulla itself is also larger than it is supposed to be. So now meomy and my doc need to decide the next step to take. In people they simply go in and remove the scar tissue and or bone spurs that are causing pain after a surgery. This is probably what will be decided for me and will be my next and hopefully very last trip to a surgeon. I can’t wait to finally be pain free!

I want every fur to know that all of our prayers so far have been answered!! We prayed for UC Davis to be able to locate my pain problem and we also prayed that the problem would be fixable. I’m so happy to report that I do not have a brain tumor…. Hurray!!!! And also that the fluid did not show up this time and appears to be gone!! Hurray! We now know what the pain problem is and it is fixable!! I do believe that this little Muppet has had the Miracle that all have prayed so hard for! Meomy and I cannot think of a way to thank everyone enough for purrin’ and praying and helping this to happen. *grateful hugs and luvs*

With this happy news, we were very sad to hear the heartbreaking news today about my fellow flock mate, Truman. He fell ill over the weekend and his family helped him to cross to the Bridge on Monday. *tears* I wish we could have known that sweet Truman had a brain tumor because we could have prayed for a Miracle for him also. Unfortunately he showed no signs of one until it was too late. We are purrin’ hard for his sweet family whose hearts are hurting so. They saved him from his icky life at Flock and gave him a comfy home. He crossed with lots of love and a full belly, but my sweet friend Truman….. we just wish that they’d had more time with precious you! You will be missed by so many! ~ Fly free and in peace beautiful boy ~

Diary, can you believe that I was a DDP while I was gone! Kitties knew that I was away from Catsterland for awhile, and those little sweethearts still took the time to stop by my room and leave mail and gifties with ConCats in them!! Thank you all so much for that and also for all of my other great birthday and well wishes gifts and messages! They were so pawsome to come home to and I adore each and every one of them!! Thanks!!!

Ooh ooh, aah aah
One Lil’Grateful Muppet
XOXO
“Faith is not knowing that ‘God can‘, Faith is knowing that ‘God will‘.”
(don’t know who wrote that quote, but meomy repeats it to me a lot lately)

~ Thanks to all for your kindness, purrs and prayers!! ~

Dear Diary,

We are truly overwhelmed with everyone’s well wishes and birthday wishes for me! Thank you all so, so very much!

Meomy forgot to call MINXY‘s mom today and tell her that we will be staying at Motel 6 #280 off of the I-80, Mace Blvd exit, Davis/Sacremento area. And also that tomorrow, Sunday, might be a better day to meet up. Minxy’s family so kindly offered for us to stay with them, but our chauffer, my doc, was afraid to travel too far away from the driving directions she was given. And we don’t blame her because meomy knows all too well what it’s like to get lost on road trips. *sighs for meomy - giggles* Minxy’s mom is going to come to our motel and meet with us!! Hurray! We can’t wait and appreciate her so much for traveling a bit to reach us. Hopefully this motel room is much closer to her than the original one that we were going to stay at that was right next to UC Davis. Meomy is going to call her after 5 pm tomorrow.

Wally sent a very pretty birthday pic he made for me. *hugs* Sausage & Meatball sent a very pretty and yummy cake *hugs* and some other furs have sent very nice pics also. *hugs* It’s late and meomy simply cannot get them all posted. We want every fur to know that we adore every one of them and if the circumstances were different that they would all be hung up in my room tomorrow.

Meomy and I came across some very nice diary entries for me that kitties had written. *purrs & more purrs* We are tired and don’t want to start naming names in fear that we will miss some kitties. *huge thanks to all who mentioned me* But there is one that I just must give special thanks to and it’s my sweet beau Greystone! He surprised me with the best birthday ever! This took time and thought to plan and his momcat hung up a few pics in his room. One pic of both of us and one of me in my para-sailing suit next to my new convertible car he bought for me. We hope if any fur would like to read his diary entry and see the pics, that they would please knock on my sweet Grey’s door to his room HERE. Thank you Greystone! I luv you and will miss you tons!

Meomy just said it’s time to catch some zzz’s as the alarm is going to go off in about 4 1/2 hours. *yikes* I just purr that every kitty knows how blessed I feel to have them in my life! The Power of their Paws in Prayer is what’s going to save me. I just know it! Sending out group hugs and huge special thanks to them all!!

G-Nite for now and for a few days Diary,
Ooh ooh, Ahh aah!
Lil’ Muppet
XOXO
*sending extra special prayers to Hazel Lucy & her wonderful Mom*

Happy Birthdays, Weddings, & Thank Yous

Dear Diary,

Oh my meowness do we feel silly! *puts paw to forehead covering her eyes* Can we ever get this right? I just wished SISSEL a Happy 6th Birthday! Pretty Sissel is not turning 6, she’s only turning 5. *blushes and is thankful that it wasn‘t in a forever star. -giggles-* Last year we wished Smudge and Sissel a Happy Birthday when it wasn’t even Smudge’s birthday, just Sissel‘s! Mol! *giggles*

So I now would like to get it right and shout out “Happy 5th Birthday, Sissel!” *big hugs and cheers* And thank you for celebrating our birthdays together. SISSEL, KIRA and Muppet. Three kitties who almost didn’t make it to see their birthdays this year on May 31st but here we all are! Hurray!

I would also like to say ‘CONGRATULATIONS!!!’ to GIMME and PHOEBE on their marriage! What a purrfect and lovely couple they make! *purrs* I was very happy to be their kittymaid of honor and Phoebe made sure that I caught her pretty bouquet. *thinks about Greystone & blushes* I wish them forever years of happiness and love!

Thank you to all for the overwhelming p-mails, comments and gifts with kind notes and purrs in support of my upcoming trip to UC Davis! They are all so much appreciated and I can’t tell you how thankful I am. Thanks also for my sweet birthday wishes and nice gifts!! We will have plenty of sunshine, yummy cakes, cupcakes, fun balloons, shiny jewels and party hats to last us for the entire trip there and back! *giggles* We even received a cute mousie to take with us! *purrs*

Ooh ooh, aah, aah!
Hugs and Loves,
Lil’ Muppet
*California Dreamin’ for a miracle*

~ Cheers, Tears, and OMC am I Mad! ~

Dear Diary,

We are so happy to see TONY sitting in the Home Room reining as this weeks Cat of the Week! That’s my beau Grey’s handsome and sweet brother and we luv his family so much! Congratulations Tony!!

My mousie and I have been busy packing our bags. Meomy says that I’m bringing more stuff than she is! *giggles* She told me that one of my early birthday presents was going to be a pretty new harness with a leash that I could use on our road trip. I wasn’t sure what those were, but unfortunately I found out today!! *hisses & pouts* Meomy loaded me up in my cat carrier, which is my princess bed and H.L. blankie, and we went for a drive. I jabbered and checked things out through the windows the entire way. Then Ooh ooh aah! I could not believe my eyes when we pulled up to Dr. Suzanne’s office! What? Did meomy turn into a trickster?! The vet’s office, I worried and wondered what were they going to do to me today? Meomy had the backseat folded down in her car and I ran across it and hid in the trunk!

We went in and I was not happy at all. People tried to tell me how cute I was in my carrier/bed, and I just buried my head and wanted to go home. Meomy stated that we were there for the harness and leash that she had previously phoned about. Just when I was wondering what kind of icky procedures a ’harness and leash’ were, out came Deb and started strapping something on me. Ooh! No! Not around my neck, Deb! Aah! No! Not around my belly either! Get this contraption off of me!! Then they wanted to see if I could walk comfortably in it. Walk in it? I was not going to move one muscle while this thing was assaulting me! And that’s exactly what I did, I rode like a statue in my carrier/bed all of the way back home. I did not make one ‘ooh’ or one ‘aah’ and meomy swears that I didn’t even blink once. I am still not speaking to her!! What kind of a birthday present was that? *humph*

My Auntie K is driving us to meet up with my doc early Sunday morning so we can start our 9 hour journey through California. My MRI is scheduled for Monday, June 1st, at 8:45 a.m. LUCY is going to kindly be meowin’ out my updates in the Muppet’s Bucket Group for me until we return. *hugs of thanks* We don’t know how long we will be gone as it depends upon what the MRI shows. I hope everybody knows how much their prayers are truly appreciated. May the MRI show what is wrong with my head and may it be fixable.
Meomy has had to up my pain meds again since my last diary entry and she is very concerned for me.

I want to meow that little cutie KIRA also has a birthday coming up on May 31st. Happy 1st Birthday Kira! Glad you came through your surgeries well and that you are celebrating your first birthday as a healthy, pain-free girl! We luv you cutie!

We are very sorry for the loss of Paisan’s fur-sister EMMA and for the other families who have had kitties depart for the Bridge. ~ Special Purrs & Prayers of Comfort~

G’Nite for now,
Lil’ Muppet
xoxo

~ DDP thanks & packing my bags for CA ~

Dear Diary,

Wow! I am a DDP today!! Thank you so much for all of the kind concats, p-mails and gifties! They sure make a kitty feel loved! *big hugs* And concats to all of the other kitties who also received an honor today! *cheers and purrs*

I heard meomy making arrangements for her, my mousie and I to fly on a plane to Arizona. Meomy was going to make sure that we had a window seat because I love looking out the windows when we are traveling in her car. She thought I might get a kick out of seeing the clouds up close. LUCY & her mom had generously offered not only to pick us up at the airport, but also to let us stay at their home and escort us to have my MRI done in Phoenix. *huge grateful hugs* But then my doc said that since we are not sure what exactly is going on with my head, that it was not a good idea for me to fly on a plane. *Pouts! I really wanted to meet LUCY and her family!*

My doc then offered to personally drive meomy, my mousie and myself to UC Davis in California to have the MRI! Wow! That is so kind of her and we didn’t know what to say other than, “OK & thanks!!” It’s going to be a long road trip to CA, but I’ve done very well on my trips back and forth to icky Las Vegas. As long as I am up front with meomy and not stuck in a carrier where I can‘t see out the windows, I don‘t seem to mind traveling. I love to look out the windows and shout out my monkey tunes at all of the new things I see.

Meomy’s going to call UC Davis and set my appointment up for hopefully June 1st. If it is set for June 1st, then we will be on the road early Sunday morning, my birthday. Meomy says not to worry, we can celebrate my birthday a day early. *purrs*

My mousie and I must start packing our bags. Ooh ooh, this is going to be an adventure! California here we come. *dreams that her and her mousie will be ‘discovered’ and finally get to star in a movie - Mol -giggles -* We will not have access to a ‘puter, so meomy will keep in touch with some Catsters by phone so they can put updates in the Muppet’s Bucket Group for anybody who’s interested.

Group hugs for all of the Muppetheads, Catsters, & Dogsters who have been purrin’ for me! Prayers that this will finally bring a clear diagnosis as to what is still causing me to have continued chronic pain, and that it can be resolved.

We also continue to purr and pray for all of the ill kitties and doggies. And also for those who are grieving over a loss. ALABAMA! We’re purrin’ for you pretty girl! We hope the dermatologist can help resolve your painful rodent ulcer issues. HARRY, we're purrin' extra hard for you & your family sweet boy. * Muppet wipes a tear and gives Harry and his family gentle hugs for the loss of their special furmate, ZACH. *

Ooh ooh, Aah aah!
Grateful Luvs and Purrs,
Lil’ Muppet

~ Sampson & meomy's red face! -giggles -*

Dear Diary,

Meomy and I are just beside ourselves! Meomy tries to keep a clean house and she is just paranoid about our house smelling because there are now seven of us furry kids living with her. And also Gucci and Hulk have been visiting here for the past three weeks. Us girl kitties have spotless manners, and so do the boys most of the time. But now and then Sampson will feel that his King status is threatened and he’ll decide that he has to mark his scent on the kingdom wall. Something that meomy simply cannot tolerate and she lets Sampson know it! She gives him mental visions of the outside stray sleeping in his cozy bed and him sleeping in the outdoor igloo! *giggles* But those baby blues always melt meomy’s heart and she forgives him. *sucker*

Meomy had a lot of running around to do on Monday. She planned on gathering up Gucci and Hulk’s things Monday evening, as they were being picked up by their mom first thing the following morning. Meomy and I watched some TV, and it got later and later. Finally her and I decided it was time to go to bed and that we could do this stuff in the morning.

Seven a.m. came and went, the alarm must of fit right into meomy’s dream because she repeatedly got up with her eyes closed, hit the snooze button and fell back into bed. Eight thirty a.m. meomy shot up out of bed! That was the time Gucci’s mom was to arrive! She shot down the hallway and glanced out just in time to see her pull up in the driveway!! Barely awake, barely dressed and with me on her heels, she raced and threw on some clothes, raced back and opened the front door. Gucci’s mom and her friend could see that meomy had just woke up, so they said that they would quickly gather up their things and be gone. They loaded the boys up in the hallway. Hulk quickly went into his carrier, and Gucci took some effort. Meomy kept getting a strong whiff of piss while they were doing this!

After they left, meomy put her contacts in and went back down the hallway and discovered that our bedroom door, the spare bedroom door and sissy C’s door all had smelly yellow lines running down them! OMC was she in shock and in embarrassment! What the ladies must have thought of her and her house! They probably were gagging! Meomy quickly went to get some paper towels and cleaner and on the way stepped in something! It was half of a pile of up-chuck with a hairball! Where was the other half? On the bottom of one of the ladies shoes was all we could assume! Mol! I’m just a giggling away and hearing a whole new list of vocabulary words that I don’t think a lady-kit can repeat, and meomy’s face is turning redder and redder and has a look of horror on it! Then as she was hobbling out into the kitchen to clean her foot off, she glanced in the dining room and there just as plain as day were not one, but two big splatters of up-chucks and one with a hairball!! As she made her way into the kitchen, there right in front of the fridge on the rug was another nice dark brown up-chuck and a bit of a hair ball! Right where Gucci’s mom had come to hug and thank meomy for taking care of her furkids!

When meomy finally calmed down and Sampson came out from hiding, I asked him why he did all that. He simply stated that this is his kingdom and he did not want Gucci’s mom to ever bring those two rivals back over here again! He giggled and said that he believes she won’t and hopes that she spreads the word to others!

Meomy still has a red face and there have been no further incidents of messes in our house. *giggles*

I know that meomy put my birthday page up a bit early, *blushes* and I thank those that have already left kind early birthday wishes and gifts! I’m going to be three, we‘re just too excited! And meomy is still working on having my second MRI done. She should have some news soon about when it will be. Thanks for all of the continued purrs and prayers! *Big hugs of appreciation*

Ooh ooh, ahh ahh!
Luvs and Purrs,
Lil’ Muppet

~ Remembering May 31st ~

Dear Diary,

Meomy kind of decorated my room a little early this year for my birthday! She’s very excited that I am going to be turning three years old! And since my good buddy Sissel will be turning 5 on May 31st, we decided to celebrate our birthdays together by combining our top banners! Hurray!

May 31st has a lot of mixed memories for meomy. Tears of happiness that so many of us kitties survived the Flock nightmare and that we now know love, the comfort of a home to call our own, yummy nutritious food and fresh water. May 31st, the day meomy first discovered me, her little monkey, out there and now with endless thanks to the kindness of Catsterland and others, I’m going to be celebrating my 3rd birthday! Hurray! Meomy says that over the past two years I have brought so much love and laughter into her life and she is so thankful for every second of it.

But then there’s also meomy’s sad tears for May 31st, the day meomy received a pleading phone call that the president of Flock had apparently left and could meomy please drive immediately out to the sanctuary to help. She was told that us kitties had obviously been starved and many of us were being found deceased and in critical condition. In less than an hour meomy witnessed the most horrific thing she’s ever seen in her life. And it didn’t end there as she and a few others lived and breathed the horror for the next six weeks straight trying to save as many of us kitties as they possibly could. Helplessly, hopelessly and heartbreakingly aware as day after day, and night after night suffering kitties all over the compound could no longer hold on and the new president of Flock was not asking for any help and was even turning it away.

Meomy says that Flock broke her heart, but she says that I help to make it whole again. :) So happy, happy cheers for my upcoming third birthday, and silent tears of remembrance for my fellow Flock-mates who are resting peacefully at the Bridge. They will never be forgotten.

Ooh ooh, Ahh aah!
Hugs and Luvs,
Lil’ Muppet
*Still praying that one day there will be Justice for Flock*