3 Things

So I mention I'll be posting more in 2011, and it's already February, and I know the two people reading this blog are probably throwing up their hands and going "huh?".

The thought of posting has crossed my mind every single day. What I have to say was holding me back. I'm trying not to let it anymore.

So, to not air my full drama to the Internet, I will try to condense this as much as I can:

1) For those of you that love the kitties, I have to sadly report that Izumi passed on Christmas Day 2010. She was suddenly sick and not improving. Further testing showed she had Leukemia (not Feline though) and the prognosis was very poor even with chemo. I didn't want her to suffer anymore and made the choice to help her be at peace. She was a sweet cat, and I miss her. Unfortunately, other life changes really prevented me from being able to mourn her loss or give you an update.

2) I have been in counseling for the past 2 years. Most of you already knew that. What you didn't know is that while I started going for other reasons, it ultimately became focused on childhood abuse. That has impacted every choice I've made in life. Because of it, I've always felt emotionally fragile and not good enough for anyone. I spent 2 years having to face it, and now I am a stronger person for it. My family knows about it now, so I'm OK with sharing it here. Anyone who has been through this, know that it does impact your life even if you live in denial that it does. Please find some counseling or other type of support...it's scary and it's hard, but you are worth more than you think you are and you can do it.

3) I am currently going through (another) divorce. All I'm going to say is this is not what I wanted, but was his choice. Through therapy, I grew up from that scared little girl and now am able to stand on my own two feet. I'm not a "fragile flower" anymore. Sadly, he has not grown up and has decided he wants something different in life. After going through a month of this, I've realized I deserve better than this and I agree it is time for him to go. It's sad, it hurts, and it's hard, but I know now it's necessary for me. I have hope and I know I will heal. And that's all I really have to say about it.

There is a lot more to both points, but for the sake of people involved and who may be reading this blog, I will refrain from providing any "dirty details." One thing I've learned is that it's OK to talk about stuff, but you've got to have some tact when you do it.

But I've posted both of these because I feel like I need to, that's it's just another step in the process of healing. I also know that there are people struggling with issue #2 and terrified to say anything because of the guilt & shame involved in having that happen to you (actually, that could apply to #3 as well). I want you to know you are not alone, and that you CAN start to heal from it.

I would like to talk more about both points, but I'm not quite sure how I plan to do that yet. Password-protected entries, perhaps, or another blog entirely. Rest assured, however, that the kittehs and this site won't go anywhere.

And hopefully, after letting this out, I can really start the ball rolling with posts, cat-related and otherwise.

Rest in peace, sweet Izumi

Carnival of the Cats #335

Update: I know there are so many unwanted wonderful kitties out there, but this one in particular really speaks to me. I know it would break my heart if I were in this situation.
If you know of anyone in the Western Pennsylvania area (or beyond) that could give this poor little guy a home, please help!

A Home For Boo

Scamper: We has a sad. Momma's not feeling well, and she's been laying on the couch all weekend, too sick to play with us.

Pepper: I thought I'd help her fold clothes, but then realized the clothes were better beds than folded up in a drawer!

That's just what I need, cat-fur covered clothes, but what's new around here? Let's get the carnival started!

This should come as no surprise, but Cuthbert the cat reports that scientists have learned that animals are more intelligent than humans give them credit for. We felines have been telling you this all along!

Humans don't know how to make a bed, so Miles assists his human with making the bed, then pauses for a power nap and to admire his hard work.

The Kitten gives us further proof that humans are incapable of making beds without a cat's assistance. How could you possibly sleep without our lovely furs all over the bed?

Luna proves that black cats are an elegant complement to any shade, or they can stand alone as the ultimate masterpiece.

Felix: What a great idea, Pepper! I'll help Momma clean off her dirty desk. Well, I'll at least rid it of these fun little hair ties!

Kal-el: And I'll help break down the boxes with my big fuzzy butt. See? I've already started!

While the cats are busy, um "helping", let's continue with the carnival!

Oh my! Before Elvira could make it in for her, ahem, "procedure", she was stricken with urges that confused her and we're sure annoyed Nikita. But everything was "fixed" (ba dum dum) and Elvira is feeling a lot better now!

Nikita and Elvira also want to say thank you for their care package and tell everyone about BlogPaws 2010 West!

Nicky shows off his amazing blue eyes for the camera, and we learn he is not a fan of the bathing. As fellow felines, we completely understand, and good luck to your human with your future bathing endeavors!

Still recovering from surgery, but Maddie is doing well & is active enough to sneak off for unauthorized walks around the house. Get well soon Maddie!

Bagheera & Maggie: Whew, we're pooped! Momma does a lot around here, and now it's our turn for a nap!

Izumi: But first...Momma, hop to it & get us our dinner! We know you're sick, but opening cans is the one thing we can't do!

Oh, all right!

Before I gather up the gang for dinner, I want to say thanks for letting us host the carnival!

Next week's carnival is hosted by none other than the regal Nikita and lovely Elvira.

Carnival of the Cats #314

Oreo: "Hello and welcome to Carnival of the Cats! We're happy to be posting. Momma had minor surgery a few weeks ago and is finally well enough to help us post."


Bagheera: "Our cat tree hasn't been looking so great lately. We love playing and scratching on it, but it is starting to fall apart. Momma finally decided it was time to get us a new one."


Izumi: "We've been waiting, and the box finally arrived! I've inspected the pieces...hurry, let's put it together!"

Before we start putting it together, let's get the carnival started!

Over at AllanThinks, Callie inspects the camera lens and manages to get a closeup photo.

Munchkin finds a lovely sunny spot and settles in for some feline baking time at This, That, & The Other Thing.

Hakuna rings in Fuzzy Friday with those big baby blues at Blog d'Elisson.

At CatSynth, resident model Luna shows off her lovely green eyes & poses as she takes in a lovely day outside.

We're happy to hear from Mog that Ritzi's home and on the mend. At Mind of Mog, Meowza celebrates by showing us some fuzzy tummy.


Felix: "Wow, look at all these parts! This looks complicated."


Sidonia: "Cool, my very own house! I think we'll let Momma & Daddy put this together, and we'll just snoopervise!"

Just another benefit of having thumbs, I suppose. Let's wrap up the carnival while we finish putting the new tree together.

Meowza shows off some more tummy over at his blog, iMeowza. You can never have enough fuzzy kitty tummy!

At Life from a Cat's Perspective, the cats are showing off their cuddling skills with their humans and fellow felines. Cats are expert cuddlers, y'know.

Nikita Cat's fur is ruffled over stolen play equipment at a local high school, and he convinces his Daddy to donate & help out. Nikita's right...humans should get to play Fetch & Catch just like kitties do!

Elms in the Yard has some lovely feline photos posted, including a cat posing with a lion status, a napping cat at a restaurant, and her Ladyship snoozing on a bookshelf.

At StrangeRanger, Miss Maddie enjoys some lovely sunlight as she supervises her humans' work in the garden. How could our humans ever get anything done without us?


Felix & Sidonia: "Yay, it's done! Look at these cool platforms!"


Bagheera & Tiger: "Lots of new places to lay, and some new little houses to nap in!"


Scamper: "And lots of new scratching posts. This is awesome, Momma! Thanks!"

We're going to fight over our new cat tree now, so it's time to say goodbye. Thanks so much for letting us host the carnival! Next week's carnival is at One Cats Nip.

310th Carnival of the Cats

Izumi: "Doh! Momma forgot we were hosting the carnival. AGAIN."


Maggie: "What's that Izumi? Carnival? Oh boy! I can put off my nap for this!"

So we don't have to wait any longer, let's go ahead and get started, shall we?

We're dedicating this carnival to Kate, who has went on to the Rainbow Bridge. Rest in peace, sweet Kate.

Hakuna dukes out with Honey Bunny for equal blog space over at Blog d'Elisson. Two parts cute equals lots of photo opportunities!

Nikita's Birthday will be here soon, and his daddy gives Nikita the first of many awesome gifts to celebrate.

Also at Meowsings of an Opinionated Pussycat, Nikita takes issue with the essay "House Rules for Pets" from the United Pet Care website.

Not only do we have the Winter Olympics, but check out some of the Animal Olympic Events over at Cokie the Cat's site.

Speaking of Animal Olympic Events, Samantha and Clementine go for the gold in the highly skilled competitive napping event.

Competitive napping is a big deal to kitties and the right position is key. Check out Mrs. Othello in a classic yet effective nap curl pose.


Kal-el: "I'm in training for the next Olympics. I call this "Log o' Kitty". It's a very risky manuever, but I'll win the gold for sure."

Right...you get any bigger and it's going to be "Lard O' Kitty". Let's continue.

Cats are also champion cuddlers. Luna shows off her cuddly side with her blue fish over at CatSynth.

Humans are so picky about their hair and who styles it. Thanks to Gizmo, we see that felines are just as picky about grooming.

Maddie enjoys a snooze in the sun (and apparently enjoys sitting on the porch watching snow fall) over at StrangeRanger.

Ritzi finally finds a peaceful place away from Meowza in a spot that's typically reserved for human quiet time.

Meowza is distracted from Ritzi from the tons of tummy rubs he's been getting lately. Of course, we're not surprised...who can resist that tummy?

Cats should be no surprise at When Cats Attack...but dogs too? Maggie provides commentary on the Westminster Dog Show, and Lupin is introduced.

A happy Meowza rolls in the dirt to celebrate Valentine's Day (or any day, for that matter) and sends sandpaper kisses to his Valentine Sally.


All: "Hello LADEE. We've done our part in hosting, now it's your turn. Pay up."

Uh oh, since the herd is circling in the kitchen, I suppose that means it's time for dinner. It's time for us to say goodbye.

Thanks for letting us host! Next week's carnival is at Sniffie and the Florida Furkids.

Kitteh Updates - Is 12 a herd?

Wow, two weeks in a row posting. I'm on a roll!

I thought I'd give you an update on the kittehs. We are still holding at 12 total. Here's a few of them milling around the kitchen, waiting for their dinners.



Felix is doing well. He still prefers his favorite hobbies of sleeping and eating. He has a rare allergy to some type of mite that you typically find on animals (that they usually don't react to) which is causing him to overgroom above his eyes and the backs of his front legs. We're treating it with Advantage Multi once a month to keep down the mite levels & 1/2 tablet of Chlorpheniramine twice a day to keep down the itchies.


Here's Felix, not joining the other kitties (Bagheera, Maggie, and oddly enough, Pepper) in their pile of snuggle.

Tiger is having territory issues. I think he is one of the culprits of random markings through the house. He constantly gets into squabbles with Quixote & Kal-el. No health issues these last few months, but he did get a UTI back in November. I've now got them all on Purina One Urinary Tract Health in the hopes that food does the trick & I won't have to go back to the Hill's C/D.

After Miya's passing, Pepper has become our new elderly cat with 20,000 health issues. As of her last checkup, her heart murmur hasn't changed (I think it's a Level 3?) hopefully with the help of atenolol, her thyroid levels look good thanks to her methimazole, and her pinched nerve/back issue only bothers her occasionally & we treat her with Metacam probably once a week for that. But now she also has a potassium deficiency, and we're adding that supplement to her medicine regiment twice a day. She's hanging in there though, and definitely is still a lovebug.


Pepper is not happy about the state of the unmade bed, or the lack of a person in it to snuggle with.

Winry is still bouncy & tiny & cute & compact. She loves to curl up on my chest or in my lap.


Compact kitty. More efficiency for less cat!

Scamper is still floofy. She greatly disapproves of Oreo, the latest addition, and gets into squabbles with him constantly. She's become more affectionate toward me.


Scamper does not approve of cookie cats. Especially cookie cats who steal her sleep spots.

Bagheera is still huge. He isn't as much of a bully, but when he gets bored he goes out of his way to find someone to terrorize.

Sidonia is still quiet & sweet. I try to protect her from some of the other bullies, and she's becoming more lovable.

Quixote is also becoming more affectionate and is beginning to hang out in Spidey's room all the time, which is unusual for the antisocial one. He loves to terrorize Tiger.


Quixote: "I'm innocent! See this innocent face? Pet me and lets forget this whole silly 'terrorize' thing, shall we?"

Izumi is the cat equivalent of Velcro. She will sit in your lap all day and wants to be carried around all day and wants to lay on you every moment you are asleep. You must avoid eye contact when focusing on something else, because if she sees you looking at her or if you touch her, you will not be able to get rid of her for hours.

Maggie is a jealous little baby. He's definitely full grown, but he acts like a big kitten that must be snuggled with and carried at all times. There's nothing like waking up in the middle of the night to him snuffling your nose and trying to snuggle with your FACE.


Maggie: "But Momma, I's so cute. I am just a big kitten...see?"

If Kal-el gets any bigger, he could double as Chewbacca in any new Star Wars films. He is gorgeous and fluffy and very loving, but you have to be careful of the sharp claws, because he knows how to use them. As big of a tomcat as he is, he is TERRIFIED of little clawless Tiger.


Kal: "I hate that little tiger-striped whiny beast."

And finally Oreo, the newest to join the group. He is becoming very affectionate & is very sweet. He does get into quite a few squabbles & bullies around some of the others like Scamper (I think she has a price on his head for stealing her sleep spots) & Sidonia, but for the most part, he's pretty quiet.


Here's Oreo, posing nicely for the camera.

The biggest issues we have these days is random territory marking (even though they are all spayed & neutered) and the occasional squabble needing to be broken up with the help of my new best friend, a spray water bottle.

While they seem like an army at times when they group up, and the constant vet visits & costs stress me out, they are a never ending source of entertainment & love & I wouldn't trade them for the world.

306th Carnival of the Cats

Izumi: Hello fellow felines & welcome to the 306th Carnival of the Cats! Momma is sick, AGAIN, so we're trying to suggest ways to make her feel better. She doesn't need all that silly medicine...she needs good old kitty home remedies!


Izumi: First off, I suggested that she try a little catnip instead of that nasty smelling people medicine. It's natural, and I know it always makes me feel REALLY good.


Izumi: We'll show you a few more suggestions soon. Let's go ahead and get the carnival started!

The cats over at Perfectly Parker are doing their part to protect the stairs in their home. If there is a password, I'm sure it has something to do with "catnip" or "treats."

Poor Cubby is feeling itchy over at This That & The Other Thing, and he could use some advice on taming the itchiness until his family can get him to the vet. Any help would be appreciated!

At CatSynth, Luna curls up for a long snooze during stormy weather, but then wakes up enough to greet the sun back. We thinks that snoozes are the best way to pass the time, well, anytime.

At My Cats and Funny Stories, Arthur tries to get Rosie to wrestle with him, while all Rosie wants to do is to have a good snooze. Brothers can be so annoying sometimes!


Felix: I suggested to Momma that she try sleeping like this and get somebody to rub her belly. That would make her feel better for sure!


Bagheera: Snuggling with someone is always a quick way of feeling better, as long as they don't try to bite you or lick you too much.

I really appreciate all the advice, but something tells me this is not going to help my cough. But let's get back to the carnival & finish it up, shall we?

It's been a busy time over at Mog's house. Ritzi is now a resident, and strikes a pretty pose for the camera over at Mind of Mog. Ritzi was also busy taking over iInfidel and claiming it as her own blog. Welcome Ritzi!

Meowza was eager to have a new kitty friend, and is especially happy that his new kitty roommate is his mom Ritzi. For the moment, though, Ritzi is not quite as happy to see him.

Isis and Wasabi say hello on their guest post at StrangeRanger, where they are fascinated by candlelight. Candlelight plus kitties always makes for a beautiful photo.

At Meowsings of an Opinionated Pussycat, Nikita is happy it is finally drying out after a long week of rain. Also, Nikita's dad manages to capture a photo of a phantom feline...or is it?


Izumi: Doh! Silly Bagheera, I've been trying to snuggle with Momma nonstop since she started feeling sick (and really, even when she was well), and she just won't give in. But I keep trying, and I will make her feel better no matter how much she fights it!

Izumi: We'd like to say thanks for letting us host! Next week's Carnival is at Kashim & Othello and Salome.

Healthy Cats are Overrated

Tiger started sneezing a lot earlier in the week. I gave it a few days, then decided to drop him off at the vet. He was due for vaccinations, and this is the time of year for kitties to develop upper respiratory infections around here.

He didn't have a respiratory infection, but he DID have a urinary tract infection. Which really surprised me. He wasn't straining in the litterbox, he was eating just fine. The only odd thing I noticed was him drinking a LOT of water. So, public service announcement for all the fellow kitty owners out there: if there is any change in the drinking habits of your kitty, it's best to have him or her checked out. It could be a sign of a UTI when no other symptoms are present.


Tiger: The vet lady squeezed me too hard when she picked me up, so she got a big puddled surprise. She wasn't mad though, because I couldn't help it. I didn't feel good at all. I'm on antibiotics now and am feeling a little better.

This was an odd development because Tiger has never had a UTI before. I did switch the cats' dry food from the Hill's C/D to Purina One a few months back for cost reasons (and Miya was the only reason they were all on it). Hopefully it is not the food causing this. If Tiger gets another one, or if another cat pops up with a UTI, it may be back to the C/D food, which was great food (but expensive).

In other vet news, Izumi got her yearly vaccinations today and was pronounced healthy. She does have a slight cough that pops up now and then, but the likely suspect is a mild case of asthma, especially since she has some Siamese in her. There was also some maintenance required on her, um, bottom area, that I won't go into too much detail about. Let's just say she was none too pleased about that.


Izumi: No I am not happy. There was nothing wrong with that area. Why were they messing with it? The cold thermometer thingy was bad enough!

Kal also was checked for sneezing, since he's usually Patient Zero for all upper respiratory infections in this house. He checked out OK, but then he also had some maintenance done with his stinky bottom that involved some shaving...and hissing...and clawing. It wasn't pretty, folks. And he'll have to have this done constantly because his fur is so thick and long.


Kal-el: Apparently my floofy furs, while fun to pet, are not very easy to keep clean. Especially for big kitties like me. I'm not fat, Momma, I'm "fluffy"!

Well, now you're a little bald in some places.

So with sore and shaved behinds, we bid you good day.