Checkup!

I really need to post here more often. Sorry about that. Mommy doesn't let me use her computer much.

I went to the vet today. Didn't want to, especially as it's raining outside, but Mommy forced me into a cat carrier and took me over. Hiss! Grandma and Grandpa got home just in time from taking Sugar to the emergency vet; she's staying overnight to be monitored since she's really sick and not eating. I definitely didn't want to be taken out of my cozy, warm house after hearing that!

Luckily, though, the visit went well and Mommy brought me right back home after the visit. I had blood work done. I got weighed-- I haven't put on any weight since last year, which is good (Mommy needs to give me more treats!). I got my rabies and my distemper shots and I'm doing fine afterward. I was let out of my carrier and immediately went over to the food dishes. Where's that nummy moist food?

The vet did tell me I have some tarter buildup on my teeth that needs to be taken care of with a vet cleaning. And Mommy might start me on heartworm medicine.

But I'm still one of the healthiest cats in the house, though that's not hard. And I'm glad that's over and done with for one more year. I'll post again soon!

Getting Better!

It might be too early to tell, but I think I'm getting better! Mommy took me to the vet on Wednesday afternoon; that was not fun. I tried hiding in the corner of the cat carrier. My head was hidden so I have no idea how that vet saw me! But he and Mommy kept me out of the safety of the carrier and the bed inside it in order to look me all over.

The vet took my temperature- oh, I didn't like that AT ALL- and he touched me all over. He weighed me and turned off all the lights to shine some light on me. He took some fur samples and put some ointment on me. After all that, he still wasn't sure what was wrong with me!

He told Mommy it probably isn't ringworm but it might be an allergy I've developed to something I stand on a lot. It might be a skin condition or an infection or a fungus.

Now I have to take pills twice a day at 8:30 in the morning and at night. After I take a pill, Mommy gives me my favorite moist food- Fancy Feast chicken. Mmmmm! Almost worth taking that icky pill just for that. Mommy says I'll get an ulcer if I don't eat something right after taking the pill, but the food is so good I'd eat it for any reason. Then, after I'm almost done eating, Mommy puts ointment on all the sores on my feet. I REALLY don't like it- it tastes bitter and makes me twitch. I can feel it on there and I try to jump and run away from it, but it stays on my feet no matter what I do. I then demand more food.

After a few days of this treatment, my feet look a little better. I don't know which treatment is helping- maybe both- but I'm starting to get better. I haven't dripped blood on my blanket so that's definitely a good sign.

Owies

There are a few little owie patches on the bottoms of my feet. They bleed occasionally and I lick them repeatedly. Mom doesn't know how they got there. They look like hot spots but we don't have fleas in the house and never have. I also have a bunch of little scabs on my head- these are war wounds sustained in play with other cats. I always win, mind you, but sometimes we fight rough.

Last night, Mommy held me and Grandma put something on the raw parts of my feet. I was a very good boy and didn't move or struggle or even flinch. To be honest, it felt kind of good and soothing. If they don't get better, Mommy's going to take me to the vet this week, so I hope they get better soon!

While I was up on the counter being so good, Mommy treated me to a special brushing. There's this blue comb that removes dead hair and I absolutely LOVE to be brushed with it. I like stretching out on my side, going all long, so Mommy can brush every bit of me. It feels sooo good and when she's done, my coat is the softest ever!

My life... up to this moment

Mommy doesn't know who I belonged to before she found me in her apartment building, crying for a warm, dry home, but possibly I belonged to a college student who moved away during the summer and couldn't take me along. I was 6-7 months old when I had my first vet appointment, since I still had a few baby teeth. I loved the vet in those days... before they fixed me. After that day, I didn't like going to the vet so much.

I'm a pretty friendly cat, though I've VERY nervous around men- especially men with big shoes who might step on me.

I lived with Mommy in her apartment in Blacksburg. She calls me a Hokie cat... but the VT mascot is clearly a bird so I'm not thrilled with that. Anyway, it was a small apartment but I liked it there. I had my own scratching post, a climbing tree, two windows I could jump up onto to look outside, and a lot of comfy couches and beds to sleep on.

However, I was an only cat and got bored easily. During the first week I lived with Mommy, I showed her I knew how to play fetch, so lots of times when I was bored I'd find Mommy and paw at her until she threw Mousey for me. I'd turn somersaults and jump anywhere to find Mousey and prance back to Mommy with it hanging from my mouth. I also liked playing on my climbing tree, chasing the laser pointer (Mommy was careful never to shine it near/in my eyes), and playing with other toys like the ball in the green circle track and the ribbon at the end of the pole (I think Mommy liked that a lot because she could work on the computer and type with one hand while waving the wand around with her other hand).

During school vacations like Thanksgiving, Winter Break, and Spring Break, we'd drive to my grandma & grandpa's house in Northern Virginia. That was a big shock because they had 3 cats (Benji, Angel, and Butterscotch) and a dog (Simon). Benji is by far the friendliest and we soon became playmates. Butterscotch is passive and lets me boss him around. And Angel is a female... I try to stay out of her way. I don't like the dog AT ALL but he stays locked behind gates all day and I can play in the rest of the house. I loved visiting there because every night at 10pm Grandma served moist food! Of course, because I LOVE LOVE LOVE moist food, I'd scarf it down and try to eat the other cats' food. I got really anxious about it, so Mommy and Grandma decided I should be fed in bathroom. Then they let me out so I could clean the other cats' plates when they were done.

I liked living alone with Mommy, because she played with me a lot. Every time she came home I'd run to greet her and get petted. But I was lonely, too.

After college, Mommy moved back home and I went with her, naturally. It took a little while to fit into the social order in my new home. And then a fifth cat showed up- Sugar (also a female, and deaf as well). Just when things started to settle down for us, Grandma & Grandpa got a new house and we all moved!

I really like my new home, though. Mommy lives in the basement, and most of the time I have that to myself, if I want it. But most nights I sleep and play upstairs with the other cats and join Mommy in bed in the mornings to snuggle. The room has a BIG glass window looking outside. I can watch squirrels and birds all day if I want. Over the summer some robins made a nest RIGHT outside my window and I got to watch the little chicks being born and fed all day until they grew up and flew away! Best of all is that the new house has a closed-in screen porch upstairs. I was scared to go out on it for about a year, especially since the dog is in that area in the daytime.

But, lately, my routine has changed. Instead of being free fed all day with dry food, I get special moist food all day long because Benji is diabetic and needs a high protein/no cab diet. Since I LOVE moist food, I love the arrangement, but now we have to ask every time we're hungry. I don't so much ask as demand and squeak anxiously in fear of being forgotten when the other cats are being fed; I've learned not to kick them away from their food dishes while they eat, though. And I've also learned that I can be in the kitchen or family room sometimes and the dog won't eat me. Still, I prefer when the dog isn't around so after he goes to bed at night, I race right out onto the porch and sit there, listening to the outdoor sounds and smelling the outdoor smells.

I have a wonderful life and even though Mommy works all day, she always makes time to pet me and play with me a little every day. Except now I have other cats to play with, as well, and a whole house full of toys and neat spots to sleep.