New Kitty: Georgie

You may have noticed there have been no new beads this week and my shop is very bare. It's because I was speed dating with cats at two shelters. It was successful and now I'm in love.

I met Georgie at the Humane Society on Wednesday night. They were waiving adoption fees for cats over one year for the month of June so I took the opportunity to get a free cat. Right off the bat, he sat on my lap for five minutes. He didn't even know me, so I knew I had found the lap cat I was looking for.

I went back on Thursday and signed the adoption papers and picked him up Friday at 6 pm, after he'd been neutered. They also removed a toenail that was injured when he arrived at the shelter (he was a stray but clearly he's been around people at some point in the past.)

I got him home and he investigated the room I had set up for him. After about 20 minutes he jumped on my lap and I petted him until he went to sleep. I moved him to the couch and went to make dinner. After a few hours I peeked in on him and he was still in the same spot which struck me as odd.

I went in to see him and he was very warm and lethargic. I had to pick him up and jostle him to wake him. He was also breathing too fast so I bundled him up and we went off to the emergency vet at 10:30 pm. Turned out he had a fever of 105.9 degrees. I was happy I had brought him in...if it went much higher, it could have been very bad.

They did blood work and his white cell count was a little off but nothing to indicate a serious infection. They surmised that the stress of the days in the shelter, plus the surgery that day may have weakened his immune system temporarily. They kept him overnight and gave him IV fluids (you can see part of his shaved arm in the photo.) His temperature was down to 100.9 this morning and he was lively, and eating and drinking. When I picked him up after lunch, five different employees told me what a sweet cat he is. They would have kept him if I'd let them.

We took a nap when we got home and he seems good as new. Now I need to start cranking out some beads -- my "free" cat ended up costing $500!

Mokie: 1995-2011

My poor little Mokie man had to go to the great beyond Thursday morning. His medicine wasn't helping and he was clearly not happy anymore.
He used to curl up on my lap while I worked on the computer or sit high up on the cabinet while I made beads, and he snuggled with me every night at bedtime. He was a great friend for 15 years and will be very much missed.

"From high upon my perch I see all!"

"What? I didn't do anything, honest."

Centerfold from "Playcat"

Modeling with the new shower curtain

 Enjoying the aroma of the overgrown honeysuckle.

Mokie in the Wilds and weekend beads

My good boy Mokie is coming to the end of his nine lives due to intestinal cancer and failing kidneys. He's been slowly losing weight for the last few years but it didn't slow him down or cause any trouble. The weight loss accelerated recently and he's a skinny old man now, only half his former weight. Medication has eliminated his daily vomiting but the steroids don't seem be helping him gain weight, even though they have increased his appetite. He's always been an indoor cat but the weather was so nice today that I took him out into the yard to get some sunshine and inspect the flora. After a while he decided to rest under an evergreen shrub.

I stuck around the house this weekend to make sure he was okay and made beads. Surprise, surprise!

 

 

Looks can be deceiving: Kam and Mokie

A sweet photo that does not depict actual reality.

Cici's Rebuttal

I owe an apology to Rob's cat Cici. He reports:

"Cici was a little upset after reading your blog today, as you can see from the attached picture. She's been working diligently on her online degree, and is a little worried that one of her professors will read your comments."

Kitties: Cici and the Remote

Rob's Cici is not the smartest cat in the world...perhaps she watches too much TV when he's not home!
(However, please note how nicely she color-blocked herself. She must be a fan of Project Runway!)

Is this not the cutest kitten?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fazen/17200735/in/set-454195/