Taking care of my brofur

Woooo, boy ... I have been very busy helping mom take care of my brofur DustytheDogcat. He's a big boy (close to twice my size) and he needs my help getting around, getting in and out of the litter box and his bed, and negotiating the stairs. Mom is pretty strict; she has the baby gate up to keep Dusty from going up the stairs on his own. She is afraid he will fall and hurt himself more. That's the last thing he needs right now.

Instead of dealing with crutches, I lay or sit near Dusty. When I hear him try to get up, I run over and offer my shoulder for extra support. I think he appreciates my help.

I am not supposed to have ice cream or potato chips because of my tummy problems, yet I love them just as much as Dusty does. So when mom isn't looking, Dusty sneaks me a couple of bites of chips and a lick or two of his sweet vanilla ice cream. Mmmm, mmmmm. They sure are good! Thank you, Dusty!

Purr for my brofur please?

My brofur DustytheDogcat is having cancer surgery on Wednesday 20 May 09; between 12-3 p.m. This is Dusty's third bout with cancer, but this time it's a completely different type of cancer. Five years ago, Dusty beat squamous cell carcinoma (twice). I love my brofur so very much; he is my best furiend and protector too. I hope he'll be able to beat this new cancer too! I don't know what I would do without him by my side.

Thank you for your purrs for my brofur DustytheDogcat.

Purrs and headbumps,
Rocky

What was that?!

I was perched at the window in my meat-loafing position, just minding my own business, sniffing the cool afternoon air and listening to sounds of children playing and cars driving by and all of a sudden it happened! A birdie flew by the window and I saw it. I tracked it from left to right, and not because it was flapping its wings. It was soaring straight past my window, like a rocket. I saw it! I saw it! And meowmy is my witness, as she was standing at the window with me.

I hadn't seen a birdie since my anesthesia accident. I was so happy. I turned to meowmy and said "Meow! Meow! Meowmy! Meow." "Did you see that, meowmy? I saw a bird!" Then the birdie flew back and perched on the roof above and sang a pretty song. I looked up at the singing bird and joined it in song. Mew, mew, chirp-chirp.

Meowmy and I celebrated my continuing little vision miracle with more hugs and purrs and kisses on top of my head. Meowmy said that the bird was heaven-sent, a little gift from Grandmama to let me know she was fine and happy and watching over us. Thank you Grandmama! You made my day a purrfect one!

My cat-tastic life!

I can see! I can see! The vet confirmed it ... I just went to the vet for my medication checkup and blood work and the vet said that the prednisone he's been making me take to help control my IBD is helping my eyesight improve. My eyeballs have always worked (the vision center of the cerebral cortex was damaged). And the vet determined that my optic nerves have been slightly inflamed since my anesthesia accident, which compounded my vision problem. Thanks to the prednisone, I can definitely see light and the outline of objects. I was cruising all over the vet's exam room checking out all the stuff I couldn't see before, and my vet had a hard time catching me! I am so happy, now I don't crash into DustytheDogcat as much. That means I can go back to zooming around the house. And I will have even more fun than ever before with meatball madness!

The vet also said that I look and act just like a 4 year old kitty (which made him very happy), and not like some crotchety old cat. And my blood work confirms it, too! My little toes are all tingly about that! I am itching to dance! My vet said I need to enjoy and have fun, but not to overdo it.

And no, prednisone is not a fountain of youth for any cat -- it can be dangerous if not carefully monitored by a vet, by lotsa blood work on a regular basis, and by my meowmy on a daily basis. But for me, it's a tiny little miracle that I need to enjoy while I can ... and my meowmy and me are so happy about it! Hey meowmy ... let's crack open a can of tuna and celebrate! MMMMmmmm. I am licking my chops already!

------------- A note from Rocky's mom --------------
Rocky is still vision-impaired and considered blind. Rocky only sees changes in light (he is visually aware of image changes on the television again, well, actually the flat screen that he's never seen before) and outlines of shapes, objects, and the 50 steps in our house. Although he is cataract-free (many older cats develop cataracts), Rocky's vision improvement is expected to be temporary; he will return to near-complete blindness in the future due to the damage to the vision center of his brain and the inflammation of the optic nerves will most likely return ... because he cannot stay on prednisone forever. I monitor him daily for water consumption, urine output, food intake, and any spike or drop in glucose (long-term prednisone use can cause diabetes, and we want to try to avoid that).

So all you wonderful Catster oldsters and youngsters, please do not run to your vets and demand prednisone. It is a steroid designed for medical needs only; it can affect you badly if not used under a vet's prescribed care. It is not a miracle medication; but for Rocky, this medication has provided a temporary miracle. Meanwhile, Rocky is enjoying his bit of renewed vision while he can. Our vet was more than amazed at Rock's unexpected improvement in vision. We're esctati-cat!

Meowmy has new pictures of me

But she can't get her silly camera phone to cough 'em up.

Tu-na, tu-na, tu-na, tu-na!

I am the luckiest cat in the world. I ain't a'sposed to have tu-na cuz it upsets my tummy sometimes, but ... meowmy opened a can of the smelly stuff and whoo-wheee! It was a-calling me. Funny how tu-na makes my eyesight a little better. I zoomed my way to the kitchen in a NY minute! Blink, blink -- I poured on my spechule charme, and meowmy gave me some tasty tu-na. Oh, I was in heaven! Gimme tu-na any day; makes giving up catnip very easy!

Funny, my brofur DustytheDogcat hates tu-na. Silly Dogcat gags and then tries to bury it with the kitchen rug. It's a funny sight to see. Now how can any respectable cat gag and try to bury such tasty tu-na?!

Meowmy? Can I have more tu-na?

A Little Irish Inspiration

Getting myself in the groove for the wearin' and o'sharin' o'da green by listening to this little clip by Andre Rieu and The Dubliners:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5H50j4DHXk

Sl áinte! (pron. "slawn-cha," which means "good health" in Gaelic.)
Sláinte chugat! (Good Health to you!)

Tigers and...dolphins, oh my. INDEED!

I found a great little photo essay in the LA Times online this morning: (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2009/03/your-morn ing--2.html), and I just had to share the story with all my Catster pals! Take 5 seconds to check out these new friends. Awwwwwe! Very paw-some!

I really, really love those twangy-thingies!

Do you know we have lots of them in our cat-townhouse? On all three floors too! Oh, this is great. I can get Meowmy's attention while she busy on the computer. And I an easily wake up daddy an hour before he really has to wake up in the morning. What a great way to get special attention, just for little 'ol me!

I just don't understand why Meowmy and Daddy aren't as excited as I am about the twangy-thingies. I heard Daddy saying something about taking them off the wall.

Oh, Daddy, don't take the twangy-thingies off the wall! I really need them to help me find my way. (blink, blink ... aren't I cute? blink, blink ... I love you!)

(Yes, Littlest Rocky, we love you too.)

I love those twangy-thingies on the walls

I might be blind, but I sure do know how to entertain myself when meowmy is busy (or is it more like getting her attention? hehehe). Our cat-condo has these twangy-thingies mounted onto the wall area behind the doors. I can't see them, but I found some the other night, well, more like at 3 a.m.! They're great toys for a blind guy like me. They make great musical instruments too. Twaaaaang. Twaaaaang. Twaaaaang. Meowmy, isn't this fun? Blink. Blink. See how cute I am playing with these twangy-thingies? They always stay on the wall and don't ever roll under the couch! Woo hoo!

Hey DustytheDogcat ... you need to wake up in the middle of the night and try out these new toys. They're easy to find, lots of fun, and they seem to make meowmy get up and come find me too! C'mon Dusty, let's play!