Busy Cats

Both Santino and Rudy are mesmerized by their own mirror image. I'm usually talking to them about how pretty they are, but this time remembered to grab the camera. Can you tell how many cats are in the photo?

Cats on the Couch

How often is "often enough" to make notes on daily life? There cannot be a concrete answer to that. I think that being present for one's life means paying constant attention, something which I find rather difficult. The camera forces me to focus...haha, in more ways than one. Think about it...How much do you really SEE? How much control do you have over your focus?

Of course, my thoughts don't have much to do with this blog.....I'm just a crazy cat lady and love looking at my cats. It's just that I see things in my photos to which I gave no attention whatsoever before. One of these observations is "OMG, that couch is RED! Who would have the guts (or be crazy enough) to buy a RED couch?

All Is Well

I never tire of watching the sweetness that is two cats curled up together.

Rudy allows both Issey and Santino to groom him a bit, but he will not lie down next to them. Sophie is happy to accommodate any of the princes, but my two Virginia cats prefer each other. Sometimes, I get the feeling that a "programming" took place, and it was close to same for both. From the day Issey came to us, he and Santino knew each other. Of course, they probably believe the other looks "right", unlike the red cat and the black and white one. :-)

Instinctual Behavior

I think if a big cat watched a domestic one shove a mouse effigy under the refrigerator, he would not understand that "hunt" has taken on different meaning. I wonder about the whole thing myself....After all, the refrigerator, being very heavy, never moves....and the mouse never runs back out. My cats are ever hopeful, though, watching the fridge as if it were a T.V.

My Feline Toddler

I discovered Issey in the guest bath where he had pulled down the shower curtain. (It was his second time to do this.) He looked rather pleased with himself, though he cowered in the corner as I began picking up the mess.

It's been a rough week. I put that in the past tense, feeling hopeful that his week of making trouble is over. Today he did finally allow me to get some good work done on a collage. After half a dozen jumps onto my art table and being placed in an adjacent chair, he stayed there and watched me work.

The week has included his finding and unwrapping my cough drops , ruining three collage starts, and requiring me to make a second 56 mile round trip to the art store for more paper. It isn't that I wasn't paying attention. He is FAST and he loves all art materials. I have had regrets about removing the French doors of my studio, but I know that locking him out of where I work would cause bigger problems.

I thought about his diet, but there were no changes there, and I contemplated a vet visit to see if there was a physical reason for his behavior....when....this morning, I got my sweet kitty back. He snuggled in my lap and purred and purred.....and then allowed me to work! We are back to normal.

The Kids

Nothing has changed here that much. Rudy still throws up. Issey still decides where he wants to sit, and never mind who might have been there first. Santino has become very sociable, flirting with anyone who happens to come over. He and Issey kind of fawned over the Cat Nanny when she came over to collect her well earned pay check...my reaction a combination of delight and a shred of jealousy. And Sophie....she's just happy to be here. So am I.

Visit to the Vet

I've been thinking that maybe "Tiny Tim", the name bestowed on Issey by his former Mom, was a good fit after all. He looks tall, but very thin...like a runway model, which, of course, is exactly like he is supposed to look. But, he and the rest of the kids all look like they have lost weight, I worried.

Well, Issey and I have just returned from the vet and my "tiny" kitty weighed in a a little over 10 pounds!!! Another lesson in perception! :-)

I've put off this vet visit. On the last visit, I was thoroughly scared by the dire diagnosis of stomatitis, and though after a round of antibiotics all symptoms disappeared, I was a bit leery of what other bad (though false) news I would get. But, Issey's eye seemed worse, maybe because the cat nanny had not cleaned it daily, and it was time to have it looked at.

First, I asked about Issey's gums......PERFECT, I was told. Soooo, no stomatitis?, I said gently. hoping to put him on notice about issuing a dire warning about the eye. Manipulative, aren't I?
Maybe.

The runny eye is either due to allergies or herpes.....but, he added, since herpes was highly contagious and the other cats showed no symptoms it could not be that. However, IF it were that, a steroid injection for allergies, would make herpes worse. He decided on a small dosage of steroids, saying that if there's a big improvement, it is definitely allergies and when the shot wears off, I can treat it with pediatric something-or-another. Yes, I forgot! I forgot because I think it's kind of neurotic to pill a cat who is feeling fine. I also forgot what we do if it's herpes, because...I've decided...it ISN'T. Mekuna metata.