Cat napping

End of day one of recovery from his surgery... my poor little guy!  The vets didn't want him to eat anything yesterday due to the anesthesia, but he hadn't eaten anything since 8pm Monday.  I finally broke down and gave him a little food late last night, then heard him yowling early this morning and gave him some more.  I have meds to give him twice a day for a few days, so I crushed one of the pills in a little food this morning and he wolfed it down without blinking, then I gave him a larger portion... gone in no time!  So he has been sleeping and eating most of today... still not allowed outside yet, but we'll see how it goes.  I just want to be sure he doesn't do anything to rupture the stitches!  All in all, he has been a real champ about this!  More to come...

The deed is done!

For those of you who were following my blog last summer, you might recall that I decided to take in a stray cat... something I don't normally do.  But he was skin and bones, and I just couldn't see him wasting away, so against my better judgement I began to put out dry food and water on the deck.  Eventually, I was able to start coaxing him inside with some wet food, and was successful in being able to shelter him inside through the winter.  One thing I have had in mind was to get him in to the vets to have him altered, and today was the day!

I got this shot of him this morning, before the trip to the vet's.  I think he knew something was going on, when he discovered I hadn't put any food out for him.  I tried to put him in a small pet carrier, but he was too tall, so I had to drag out the giant sized one.  He was not a happy camper in that carrier!  Didn't speak to me all the way to and from the vet's office!  But he got through the surgery alright.  Now I need to keep him inside for 2-3 days (yeah, right!), no food until tomorrow... poor little guy, he's not that big!  Missing a whole day of meals could take off some weight he can't afford to lose!  But I guess that is so he won't get sick, following the anesthesia.  Anyway, he's back talking to me again, and right now he's looking for a way to get outside.  My other two boys have been banished to the patio room for awhile to give Shrekkie a chance to recuperate.  One thing I refused was the collar they usually put on animals to keep them from licking the surgery... there is no way this little guy would tolerate that!    Oh, yeah, and I get to feed him medicine twice a day for 5 days... sigh!  Guess we'll get through this somehow!

Shrekkie

I'm a sucker for cats... have been all my life! At one time I had 7 in the house... had to scale back a bit! Right now we have 2 boys... Bubba and Double, and they do a good job of keeping the mouse population down. But we also have a vagrant - a sweetie left behind by neighbors a few years ago who moved down to Phoenix and left this little guy in the care of some other neighbors. Apparently, either they dropped the ball or he decided to go it alone. At any rate, I would see him from time to time crossing the property, and you could tell he was used to people because he would talk to me when he passed by. But I noticed awhile back that he was looking skinny and not in very good shape, so I finally gave in and started putting kibble next to the water dish on the deck I keep filled for my cats and the birds. Shrekkie and I have been making friends recently! He lets me pet him and seems quite happy to see me when I come out on the deck to visit, and he is looking much healthier now that he is getting regular meals! Now I just need to figure out what to do to protect his food source this winter when it snows... anyway, I got a picture of him through the window this morning:

This is not my best effort picture-wise, but will have to do until I can get another chance!

Laid-back Cat

This is Bubba, in his favorite sleeping pose... totally laid-back, completely at home, knowing he is safe and loved. Any doubt about why we brought him home from the shelter almost three years ago? He's my sweet-pea!

A sad day

I took my little black kitty, Tink Tink, in to the vets today to have some work done on her teeth, and her little heart stopped while she was under anesthesia. They tried to revive her, but nothing worked. Later, the vet did an autopsy and found she had cancer in her liver and lungs, so it wasn't the tooth decay that caused the problem. She had not been eating well, had been lethargic, and lost weight before I got her in to be checked. The picture above was taken not too long ago, but she was thin and weak by the time I got her to the vets.

We adopted Tink from a neighbor around 1999 or 2000, and she quickly stole my heart. I have had a number of cats over the years, and a few that have been special favorites. Tink was a small female who loved to be held, purred loudly, and occasionally talked insessantly, but I loved her in spite of her chattiness! She was a one-person cat... mine... and detested all other felines. In spite of her small size, she totally intimidated Bubba, my 4 year old male, who is almost twice her size. Tink had a scream that would stand the hair up on your neck, and loved to hide and pounce on Bubba when he walked by. I still have Bubba and Double, our other male, and I love them dearly. But there is a giant bruise on my heart where Tink lived... my one consolation is that she is pain free, and somewhere up in heaven, she's chasing mice and thoroughly enjoying herself. I'll see you again some day, Tiny girl!