I. P. Freely!

Woooooo-hoo! Good news, everycat! We are all finished with the sub-q fluids and the pills! I am back to my normal spunky self and you would never guess the scare I recently gave Mom by looking at me ... except for the little shaved patches on my front leg and my booty.

Mom is still feeding me special food and keeping a close eye on me, of course. She and I are both so grateful for all your purrs!

I am SO glad I don't have to get a big needle stuck into me every day anymore! I am smarter than I look, by the way, and I am now pretty much convinced that Mom is going to do something awful to me if I go into the kitchen. Because for the past couple weeks, that happened on a daily basis. Mom would call me for lunch or a snack ("Skeeeeeeeeter! Lunchtime! Come let Mommy do something unpleasant to you!") and then pick me up (bad enough all by itself!), put me in the cat bed on the kitchen table (of course our house has a cat bed on the kitchen table, doesn't yours??), stick a big needle into me (Mom is pretty good at doing this as quickly and painlessly as possible, and I am very brave! I never cried or anything!), and make me hold still while fluid went under my skin! Even though I did get to eat while she was doing this (I love to eat so much that if I am hungry enough I will eat during just about anything -- crafty Mommy!) Now I will not voluntarily enter the kitchen unless Mom leaves the kitchen first (crafty me)!

Mom is sure that in a few days I will learn to trust her again (I still like cuddling and petting and playing with my toys with Mom, I just don't come when she calls me), and in the meantime, she isn't taking my suspiciousness personally. She says that I was a perfect angel during all the icky fluid treatments (well, except for that one where I got away, and she doesn't blame me for that, either) and she is SO glad I am her little guy and that I am healthy again even though my vet bills mean that Christmas is pretty much canceled at our house. But it will be like Who-ville on the morning after the Grinch's plundering -- even without presents, we will be very very happy just being together and loving each other.

Skeeter out! Smell ya later!

Abracadabra!

I have amazing transmogrifying powers! I did not even know I possessed these powers until today! Mom was giving me my sub-q fluids and WHAM-O! I turned myself into a bar of soap and magically squirted out of Mom's clutches! Faster than you can say "WHA --?" I had jumped off the table and Mom left holding a needle that was spraying my fluids into thin air! Ha ha! Then, before Mom's human eyes could even detect the shape-shift, I turned back into a cat! It was so awesome! Game on, Mom!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

The turkey is in the oven and it smells REALLY GOOD! It is so good to be home!

It is very quiet here, and Mom is keeping a close eye on me. When I pee she goes bananas telling me what an awesome boy I am. And it turns out that my special new food is scrumptious! Jubilee agrees with me, too. Yum!

This morning was the first of ten days of Mom giving me sub-q fluids. It was not fun but I have to say that both Mom and I did well. I know that Mom does not like to stick me with a big needle and hold me down while not-so-warm fluid pumps under my skin. She knows that I do not like having it done. With that mutual understanding, we sort of just wordlessly agreed to get it over with as quickly and easily as possible. Afterwards Mom said I am the best boy ever and petted me a lot! Nine days to go ....

I hope everycat has a pawsome Thanksgiving! Purrs, hugs, and love from Jubilee, me, and Mom to you and yours!

Hooray!

You can call me I. P. Freely, ha ha! I peed on my own this morning, so I got to come home from the hospital! Hooray! Home in time to help Mom cook Thanksgiving dinner! (Eating counts as helping, right?) Mom says having me home is what she is most thankful for this year.

I am walking a little funny and I have a colorful bandage around my front leg where my IV was hooked up. Mom is NOT looking forward to giving me daily subcutaneous fluids for the next 10 days but she is SO happy I am feeling better. I also have pills (yuck) and special food (we'll see) to help keep my urinary tract healthy.

Thanks everycat for all your healing purrs! Please keep purring for me and keep your paws crossed that I do not get blocked again!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Good news!

Guess what everycat! My catheter is out! I am not quite out of the woods yet, but the vet says that if I can pee on my own tonight then I get to go home tomorrow! Keep your paws crossed!

Without the heavy sedatives, being in the hospital is not much fun. There are too many new people and animals and unfamiliar noises and strange scary smells. I spent most of today curled up in my cage, hiding my face in a corner. The techs thought I was being grumpy, but really I am just embarrassed about my dorky-looking e-collar ... well, okay, maybe I was feeling shy and uncomfortable and a little scared.

But then Mom came to visit me! That cheered me up a lot! She could tell I was feeling much better. When she kissed the top of my head, I answered her with a head-butt to let her know I was glad to see her. Instead of just lying on Mom's lap in a dope-fiend fog, I was alert and wanted to explore the visiting room. My legs are still a little shaky, but it was fun to watch Mom following me with my pee-bag and trying to keep the tubing from getting tangled around the furniture! Ha ha!

The vet removed my catheter just a little while after Mom left. That was no fun but boy am I glad that thing is out! Now it's up to me to pee on my own so that I can go home in time for Thanksgiving dinner.

Then of course there will be after-care to make sure I don't get blocked again. Mom will have to give me subcutaneous fluids, for one thing -- that will probably be as tough on Mom as on me. And I will have to eat special food and Mom will have to give me medicine (yuck). I am sure I will be asking for advice in the forums on all this!

Thanks for all the pawsome purr-power, and keep it coming!

A visit from Mom!

Mom came to visit me in the hospital yesterday and, although I was pretty out of it, I was very happy to see her.

A nice vet tech wrapped me carefully in a towel and carried me and my urine bag (and about a mile of tubing connecting the bag to my catheter) into an exam room, and settled me gently on Mom's lap for some quiet visiting time. I have on a stiff e-collar (that's "e" as in Elizabethan, not electric, MOL!) so I can't chew on my boy-parts or pull my catheter out. So embarrassing, not to mention uncomfortable! Mom said I looked very handsome in it, but I think maybe she was just being nice. And the tech told Mom that everyone at the vet's thinks I am just the cutest sweetest thing, which of course is true!

Along with the pain medication, the vet is keeping me sedated while the catheter is in. I am awake, but I feel very weird and slow and floaty, like I am underwater. I recognized my Mom, of course, but she could tell I was seriously doped up! Ordinarily I do not like to be held -- I like to cuddle up right next to you, but not be on your lap. But when the tech put me on Mom's lap, all wrapped in my towel, I did not move or complain. Mom kissed me and held me and sang to me, and told me how much she and Jubilee love and miss me, and promised me that I will be all better soon. That made me feel really good!

I hope Mom will come visit me again today! I wonder when I will be able to go home???

In the hospital!

Yesterday I was cleaning myself and I noticed that my boy-parts hurt. Mom noticed too, and so did Jubilee, because I made a loud noise, and I am usually very quiet. So Mom started watching me very carefully to see what I would do. Usually I pee and poop after meals, but I did not pee last night after my dinner, and I didn't have much appetite either. Then Mom noticed that my boy-parts were really bothering me -- I was just lying on the couch, but I was holding my leg up funny like it hurt to put any weight on my genital area, and I was straining like I was trying to pee. Mom gently felt my tummy and it hurt!

Mom knew that a urinary tract blockage is nothing to mess around with. She called ahead to the vet (fortunately my regular vet is open 24-7 for emergencies because this was at nine pm on a Sunday), called a cab, wrestled me into my carrier, and off we went.

The vet examined me and told Mom I would have to stay at the vet to see if I was actually blocked or if I just had a urinary tract infection. Mom missed me so much last night, and Jubilee did too! This morning the vet called to tell Mom I had not peed on my own and would have to be catheterized, which means I will have to be in the hospital for several days.

I am happy that Mom is so observant and caught the situation before it got life-threatening, but I am very lonely and scared! I sure could use any purrs you can send my way --- so can my mom!

My sister was COTD!

Hey cats,

My sister Jubilee was Cat of the Day yesterday! Can you believe it???? I am so happy for her ... and yet, she already thinks she is princess of the whole world, so I am a little worried how this will affect her! :D

Mom says not to worry, it won't go to Jubilee's head and maybe someday I'll get to be COTD too. My paws are crossed!

Skeeter out!

CLICKER FETCH -- The Coolest Game Ever!

I taught Mom a new game! It’s so much fun! It involves two of my favorite things: playing with toys and getting treats! (Three things, if you count getting attention from Mom.) Here’s how you play!

First, get a small, soft toy that you can easily carry in your mouth. Play with it; let Mom see you batting it around for awhile. Then pick up the toy in your mouth and bring it to her. She will hold her hand under your chin and say, “Drop it.” When you drop the toy into her hand, she will click the clicker and give you a treat! Then she will say, “Get it!” and toss the toy for you. You run and chase it and play with it as long as you want, until you feel like getting another treat, then bring the toy back to Mom. When she says “Drop it,” you drop the toy, and you get a click and a treat, then Mom throws the toy again! What a fun game! If your humans don’t have a clicker, you can play without it -- the main thing is the treats!!! You should get your human to try it!

Mom likes to play this game with me while she is giving Jubilee a separate clicker lesson, because chasing the toy keeps me occupied long enough for Jubilee to work on her own tricks without throwing a diva snit, ha ha! It’s also a good game for when Mom is eating something I’d like to share, because it distracts me from begging without Mom having to use the Bad Cat Bottle. And I get a little piece of Mom’s food as my treat!

My Mom actually keeps clickers and bags of Greenies stashed around the house for impromptu games. (On her desk in the office, in her nightstand drawer, on the end table in the living room...) But Mom’s own food is always a better treat than a Greenie! During our “official” clicker classes, Jubilee and I both get turkey as treats, because that’s Jubilee’s favorite, and sometimes I get cheese, because that’s my favorite (Jubilee will only eat some kinds of cheese, and then only sometimes).

Jubilee is good at targeting, and good at verbal cues like “sit” and “stand,” but she is too much of a princess (in my opinion) to enjoy doing circusy-type stuff like jumping through hoops. Jubilee sees the whole clicker thing as an economic exchange, and so, for example, if she wants a treat she will jump onto a stool and stand on her hind legs, but if she doesn’t think the reward is sufficient, she will not do the trick. Me, I just love to play ... AND I love to get treats! I will jump through a hoop to chase a cat dancer or to get a piece of cheese; either way it’s fun! Mom tries to teach to our individual strengths, so with Jubilee she does subtle things with combinations of hand signals and voice cues, like she’ll put her hand on her knee and say, “Jubilee, can we talk?” at which Jubilee puts her paw on top of Mom’s hand. Mom calls that one “The Oprah.” (Mom finds it really amusing; I’m not sure why.)

I have only been playing clicker games for a couple of months, and Mom hasn’t been quite as rigorous with me as she was with Jubilee in the beginning (which if you ask me is Jubilee’s fault for taking half of Mom’s attention). I am still learning “sit” and “down.” Mom is also trying to teach me “shake hands,” but I’m still not sure of the difference between politely touching Mom’s hand with my paw and grabbing wildly at her hand with both paws like a lion bringing down a gazelle! My attention span is like a ferret on Red Bull, so I need frequent reinforcement of basics like targeting. And I have tons of kitten energy, so I love jumping over things and running back and forth. Lately, Mom has been trying to think of new games to teach me that will channel my energy and help me develop my focus and coordination.

Well, the other day Mom happened to visit the Cat Fanciers’ Association Website (no particular reason; it’s about cats, so Mom has it bookmarked) and noticed a link to something called Feline Agility Competition. It’s all about clicker training, so naturally Mom was interested! Here’s the link: http://agility.cfa.org/index.html

Mom also found the website of another group that does cat agility competitions, International Cat Agility Tournaments (ICAT): http://www.catagility.org/index.html

Anyway, Mom isn’t planning on entering me in any contests (not until one of these events is held in the Bay Area, anyway, ha ha) but she got lots of great ideas from the pictures of the agility courses and is now planning to make me my very own! I’ll keep you updated on how it goes!

Smell ya later!

Tagged!

Hi cats!

I got tagged by my friends Molly, Felix, and Bitsy! And Jubilee got tagged by Baby Girl, Athena, and Pixel! Jubilee decided to sit this round out, so I am playing for both of us!

You know the rules: When you get tagged, you post in your Diary (1) The Rules of the Game (just copy and paste these if you like), and (2) Seven Pawsome Facts About Yourself. (3) Then choose 7 kitties to tag, and list the names of the 7 kitties you are tagging. Don’t forget to purr them a pawmail informing them that they have been tagged and notifying them to read your Diary, or, send them a fun Rosette announcing that they've been tagged!

Seven Skeeteriffic Facts!
1) I am a bratty little brother! I love to annoy Jubilee! For example, she likes to sit on the windowsill in Mom's office, behind the curtain, so that her silhouette is visible. I sit on the table in front of the window and paw at her silhouette until she swats at me -- one time she got so mad she caught her claws in the fabric and pulled the whole curtain down! Ha ha!

2) I love lots of human foods, and one of my favorites is cheese!!! Any kind of cheese! So far I have tried mozzarella, Muenster, blue, Brie, feta, Gruyere, Gouda, and several varieties of cheddar -- all delicious!

3) I don't meow. I chirp! Mom says I sound like a cross between a bird and a Tivo.

4) I love, love, love to play with toys! My favorites are small, fuzzy ones that I can carry in my mouth. Jubilee and I have a toybox upstairs, and another one downstairs -- the toys start out in the upstairs toybox, I pull them out and chase them or carry them downstairs, where they get lost under the couch. Mom finds them and puts them in the downstairs toybox. When most of the toys have migrated downstairs, Mom takes them upstairs, and the circle begins again. Mom calls it The Toy Cycle.

5) I am an artist! While I was at the shelter, I made a painting for a charity auction. My painting didn't get sold, so it stayed on display at the shelter, and when Mom adopted me the shelter staff thought she might like to have it, so they gave it to Mom. My painting is now proudly on display in the living room!

6) I love people! I always want to be where the people are, and I am a HUGE cuddlebug. Mom worries that she or Dad will smush me some night, because I like to sleep nestled right in between them and I sometimes get lost in the comforter.

7) I am learning clicker games! Jubilee gets very impatient during her own lessons, because I get too excited to remember to wait my turn and I jump all around. So Mom is incorporating "Stay" and "Down" into my training. But if I take up too much of Mom's attention, Jubilee starts standing on her hind legs to try to get Mom to notice her, and sometimes she even gives a distinctly frustrated, annoyed meow and huffs away in a snit!

Now I am off to tag these 7 cats:
Tibby
Princesse Citron
Giotto
Busby
Laurie
Ele'
Diogi
(If I tag you and you don't want to participate, I won't be offended!)

Smell ya later, everycat!