The Trials and Tribulations of Living With Our Feline Friends

When we moved into this house we installed "kitty proof latches" on all of the lower kitchen cabinet doors except for the two doors directly under the kitchen sink.  The cats were less inclined to open those doors and having latches on them is a little inconvenient.  It didn't take Zoom long to discover that those doors were vulnerable.  She'd pull them open and crawl over all the cleaning supplies and make her way to the very back of the cabinet to the left of the sink.  I knew she was doing it, but since I only stored seasonal things and candles under there I decided to look the other way and let her enjoy her little hideaway.

Last week we were going out and the cabinet door under the kitchen sink was open.  Reid decided to check on Zoom and that's when he called me,  Way in the back of the cabinet was a huge hole with insulation pulled out.

We frantically started looking for Zoom and the rest of the cats.  We were afraid they might be inside the wall.  I think the hole had been cut and patched by the previous owners and Zoom had managed to pull their patch off.  We had never noticed it way back there and when the painters painted the cabinets the patch was painted too which made it even less noticeable.

All the cats were accounted for and we temporarily barricaded the cabinet doors to keep cats out while we were gone.

When we got home we got to work.  I stuffed the insulation back into the wall and vacuumed up the mess.

It was a tight squeeze getting back there.

Zoom watched with interest from her perch.

If I was any bigger I would have had to hire a handy man to do the patch.  I guess he would have ripped out the shelf in order to get back there, but I managed to squeeze.

The first thing I did was put a screen type thing on the hole.  I've patched holes before so I knew what to do.

Zoom continued to watch with interest.

Then we brought out the can of plaster stuff (my technical term).

And I squeezed back in there and spread the plaster stuff all over the screen.

Finished!  You'll have to take my word for it.  It's kind of hard to see in this picture.

Then with Zoom still watching Reid installed "kitty proof latches" on those last two cabinet doors.

It's official...all the cabinet doors are now secure and cat proof.  Zoom will have to find another place to hang out.

"Z" as in ZOOM for Alphabe-Thursday

Welcome to Alphabe-Thursday.  It's hard to believe we're up to the last letter already.  How time flies!

Fortunately, I have a cat named ZOOM.  I believe I've used her for the letter "Z" in the past, but since I have nothing else prepared I'm going with ZOOM again.

ZOOM is a killer.  Thank goodness!

She came into our lives shortly after Hurricane Ike in 2008.  I was shopping at my favorite resale shop when I was approached by a man in the parking lot.  He was holding a tiny bundle of gray fur and told me he had found her behind the shopping center.  He asked if I would drop her off someplace for him.  I started to walk away and then I looked back and saw how sick she appeared.  I just couldn't walk away, so I took her from him and drove straight to my Veterinarian's office.

She sat on my lap and attempted to play with the seat belt.  Both of her eyes were runny and the one was covered with a white film.  She had a respiratory infection and an infection in both eyes.  She weighed less than a pound.

They thought she might lose the one eye, but slowly both eyes improved.  She ate like she was starving (and she was), and she quickly put on weight.  Her respiratory infection improved, but then she relapsed and had to go back on the antibiotic for a second round.

She still has runny eyes, but they say she must have picked up a cat herpes infection too.  She'll always have the runny eyes, but they're not too bad.

She's become a holy terror.  We joke that normal people never would have kept her.  I have to warn people when they come in the house not to touch her.  She'll come over and roll around on the floor by their feet.  She looks adorable, but watch out!  If anyone tries to pet her she'll attack.  She's a terror.

Fortunately, we're not normal people.  We love ZOOM and she's here to stay.

There's never a dull moment. (She must have mistaken the roll of paper towels for a roll of toilet paper.)

Now please head over to Jenny Matlock..."off on my tangent" for a list of this week's participants.

Hurry back Ms. Jenny!

Thank you for visiting.

Never a dull moment...

We've been home a little over a week and things certainly haven't been dull around here.

I had another cat get sick.  I really don't understand what's going on.  Normally our animals are all quite healthy, but while Reid was away Sophie (our dog) and then Roscoe (one of the cats) came down with urinary track infections.  Since we've been home Zoom (our little terror cat) also developed a urinary track infection and she refuses to eat.  That has meant daily trips to the Veterinarian for feedings and fluids.  She's on antibiotics and obviously feeling much better, but she still won't eat.  I'd be a lot more concerned if she wasn't acting quite normal in every other way.  I did see improvement this morning when she licked a little food off my finger, but that's still not really eating.  So, I'll have to take her for more food and fluids a little later.

Meanwhile, my 19 year old cat has personal problems.  Poor Grace is constipated again and will also be seeing the Veterinarian a little later.

Reid continues to do well.  All of his blood work looks very good and I believe the doctor is pleased with his progress so far.  The big problem is the constant fatigue.  He wants to do more, but then does and becomes exhausted.  He no longer needs the weekly IV, so last Wednesday we celebrated by going to Kenny and Ziggy's for lunch after his appointment at MD Anderson.  It was the first time Reid has eaten in a restaurant since before he entered the hospital on December 15th.  In fact, it was his first venture out in public.  We tried to go at a time when Reid wouldn't be exposed to too many people, but that place always seems to get busy!  Kenny and Ziggy's is located in Houston near The Galleria and is a NY Delicatessen type restaurant.  (My kind of place!)  The servings are huge and we got two more meals out of our leftovers!

Did you see 20/20 last Friday with Robin Roberts?  (The link will take you to hulu.com and the 20/20 broadcast.)  If you did, you should have a good idea of what Reid has been through, only he's been through two stem cell transplants within the last two years.  A stem cell transplant and a bone marrow transplant are basically the same thing.

I've been following Robin's progress closely since she's about three months ahead of Reid in her recovery.  Her transplant was on September 20, 2012 and Reid's was on December 21, 2012.  It was really exciting to see her return to Good Morning America.  Her situation and Reid's were so similar.  Both of them were very fortunate to have a sibling that was a match.  I've read that only 25% of patients have a close relative that matches, but I heard Robin say it's 30%.  Regardless, most people aren't as fortunate as them.  Then Robin lost her mother right before her transplant and we lost Jim right before we learned that Reid had relapsed.  So, there are definite similarities.  I'm thrilled to see Robin doing so well.

We did have a few moments of panic this morning when Reid couldn't find his bottle of Tacro which is the anti-rejection medication.  He hadn't needed it in almost a week because he had a pill box full of all his medications.  It was only when he needed to refill the box that he couldn't locate the bottle. He does carry the bottle down to the hospital on appointment days because he can't take a pill until after the blood draw.  No sense in carrying the whole pill box when the bottle of Tacro fits easily in his pocket.  We knew he had it last Wednesday and finally found it in the car.  What a relief since he can't miss a single dose and it would have meant a trip down there today.

Anyway, things are settling down a little and I've been trying to catch up on lost sleep.  It's not unusual for me to indulge in an afternoon nap.  I have a hundred things I should be doing around here, but right now those naps are a luxury that I'm enjoying.

Alphabe-Thursday...those crazy days of Christmas

I thought I'd jump in here today with an Alphabe-Thursday Christmas break post. We're taking a couple of weeks off from our regularly scheduled alphabet related post and posting a holiday link. To visit other participants head over to Ms. Jenny's blog, Jenny Matlock..."off on my tangent."

My holiday decorations are starting to drive me crazy. I spent the better part of two days trying to get the lights to work on the wreath for our front door. You know how it can drive you crazy when one light goes out and then a bunch of others go off with the burnt out one? Well, I decided to buy one of those Light Keeper Pros. It said on the package that you could fix light sets quickly and easily. I bought mine at Target, but I noticed on Amazon that it got a lot of really good reviews. I enlisted Murphy to help with this project.


I took the wreath down and tried the first thing the directions suggest which is to plug an empty light socket into the Light Keeper Pro and pull the trigger up to 30 times. The set is supposed to light up and the burnt out one will remain off and be obvious. I tried a few different sockets and then decided to try the second method which is to take out the bulbs one by one and test them in the bulb tester located on the top of the Light Keeper Pro. I quickly realized I'd have to mark each one with a Sharpie as I tested it or I'd lose track since the string was wrapped around the wreath randomly. So, I spent two hours testing the unlit bulbs. When I got back to where I had begun I realized that now more lights were out. That's when I gave up!

I'm sure the Light Keeper Pro works great for other people, but for me it was a bust. Please blame the operator and not the Light Keeper Pro. I ended up taking the light string off the wreath and buying a new one. Of course, that was no simple task since most of the stores were now out of white lights. I drove from store to store and finally found some at Walgreens. The wreath is now completely lit and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it stays that way until after Christmas.

Then this morning I was sitting in the den reading the newspaper when I happened to notice the Christmas tree shaking. I know it shakes a little when the cats walk under the tree, but this time it was shaking way too much. That's when I discovered this...





My first instinct was to grab the camera. My second instinct was to grab the cat. I think Zoom was glad when I grabbed her because she was having a hard time trying to figure out how to get out. She kept trying to go to the end of the branch, but the branch kept bending.

I hope everyone has a good holiday. Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah!

To visit more Alphabe-Thursday holiday posts head over to Ms. Jenny's blog.

Tuesday's Show and Tail...Ash and Zoom

Welcome to Tuesday's Show and Tail sponsored by Angela over at West Virginia Treasures.  For a list of this weeks' participants head over to Angela's blog.

This week Ash managed to beat the other cats to the basket.  It's on a table right under a lamp and they all enjoy sunbathing.  To be honest that's why I've left it there.  They take turns.

Meanwhile, Zoom is up to her old tricks...

Never a dull moment.

Tuesdays Show and Tail...Zoom has OCD

Today I'm joining Angela over at West Virginia Treasures for Tuesday's Show and Tail.  Head over to Angela's blog for a list of this week's particpants and information on how you can join in on the fun.

I'm afraid little Zoom might have OCD.

Most morning's we wake up to this:

And if I go somewhere during the day and no one is home she unrolls the paper towels in the kitchen.  I know I have a picture of this somewhere, but I can't find it right now.

She isn't a kitten.  This is a grown cat.

Usually when I'm in the kitchen cooking dinner she comes in and joins me.

I can't even begin to tell you how many times she opens this cabinet.

I close it and she opens it.

Over and over again we play this little game.

A long time ago I kept cat treats in this cabinet, but Zoom kept chewing the lid off the plastic container I kept them in, so I moved them to the pantry.  That hasn't stopped her from continuing to open the cabinet door.

Eventually, she opens the door and comes over and bites my calves.  I guess she wants to make sure that I've noticed she hasn't gotten a cat treat yet.

Of course, once she bites me I give her a cat treat so she'll leave me alone.  I know, I'm reinforcing this behavior, but the bites are a little annoying.

I do have a rubberband that I can hook around the cabinet knobs, but she can still get it open a couple of inches and then it bangs shut.  That goes on and on too, and becomes a little annoying.

Could Zoom have OCD?

She had a difficult start in life.  You can read her story here.  Zoom is a little strange, but I guess understandable.  She is very possesive about food and one of the reasons I have that rubberband for the cabinet doors is because if the dog comes in the kitchen she'll go over and start hitting her.  She doesn't want the dog near the open cabinet that used to hold the cat treats.

There's never a dull moment with Zoom, but we love her anyway.

Now head over to Angela's blog for more information on Tuesday's Show and Tail.

Trouble...

We came home one day and found a pile of paper towels on the kitchen counter. I suspected Zoom was the culprit since she sometimes unrolls the toilet paper, but I wasn't 100% sure since I hadn't caught her in the act. Then a few days later I walked into the kitchen and caught her. I quickly ran for my camera.


Another day I heard Roscoe growling at something in the kitchen. I was busy at the sink and couldn't figure out what had him so upset. He was under the kitchen table so I went over and looked underneath to see if I could see something. As I got up I noticed this bump under the tablecloth. Yes, it was Zoom again.


She hasn't done either thing again, so hopefully she's finished with that mischief.

ALPHABE-THURSDAY - "F" is for Fear

It's time again for Alphabe-Thursday hosted by Jenny over at Jenny Matlock..."off on my tangent." For a list of participants head over to her blog. This week we are doing the letter "F."

I wasn't sure what word I'd use for the letter "F" until I picked up the dog from the dog groomer and brought her home this afternoon. For some strange reason our cat Zoom has a terrible FEAR of the dog when she first comes home from the groomer. It's as if she no longer recognizes her. Her tail will go up and she'll arch her back. Then she stalks the dog from a distance.



She even hid behind the vacuum of all things!



She slowly works her way closer to the dog.



All the cats are a little curious, but Zoom is full of FEAR.



(The last two pictures are kind of dark because the sun was shining in the window. Click on pictures to enlarge.)

One time the dog didn't even see Zoom when she came happily running into the room. Zoom was startled and attacked the dog in FEAR. It was like one of those cartoon fights between the dog and the cat. The two of them went rolling across the floor. Now I try and watch for a while so that doesn't happen again. They're actually very good friends and normally have a good time playing together. Within a few hours things will be back to normal.

According to Dictionary.com the definition for FEAR is a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.

Here are some FEAR quotes that I like:

Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.
John F. Kennedy

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.
Nelson Mandela

In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.
Bill Cosby

We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face... we must do that which we think we cannot.
Eleanor Roosevelt

When even one American - who has done nothing wrong - is forced by fear to shut his mind and close his mouth - then all Americans are in peril.
Harry S. Truman

I have learned over the years that when one's mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.
Rosa Parks

I do not fear computers. I fear the lack of them.
Isaac Asimov

And here are some well known words on FEAR by Franklin D. Roosevelt:




NOTE: On Friday it will be five weeks since our feral cat MaMa ran off in FEAR when we had workmen in the backyard. She had been with us for nine years, but was not tame and had a FEAR of most people. I still miss her very much. It sounds strange, but I was just as close to her as I am to my indoor cats. We've put fliers on 100 doors in the surrounding area, posted signs, and continue to check with animal control every few days. I've had a couple of calls and learned of a few feral cat colonies nearby. I continue to search for her and I'm not about to give up. It makes me very sad.

WHAT I DID THIS WEEKEND

Yes, I know it's January 24, 2010. I actually considered leaving the Christmas stuff up and pretending I was ready early for Christmas this year, but Zoom had been climbing branches and the poor tree was looking pretty pathetic.

Jim took Reid to chemo on Saturday and I stayed home and started to take things down.

When he came home he helped with the disconnect.

And we packed and stacked boxes and containers.

God willing I'll get this stuff all over to the storage shed sometime this week.



Sunday morning Keith left for Austin with his cats. He works for the State of Texas and was here for work on Saturday.

Poor Keith. He probably won't like me telling you this, but his one cat always "poops" or "pees" in her carrier. I think she's trying to tell him she doesn't enjoy traveling.

After Keith got off I drove Reid down to MD Anderson for a shot that he has to get 24 hours after chemo to build up his white blood cells. (No photo...he doesn't consider this a photo op.)


And I'm worrying about our feral cat MaMa. I knew she'd be scared when we had the work done on the house Friday. I'm sure she panicked when she heard the workmen come into the back yard and I haven't seen her since Friday morning when I fed her. The food wasn't touched yesterday which surprised me with all the other neighborhood cats and possums around. This morning the food was eaten, but I don't know if it was her. Until I actually spot her I won't feel comfortable. I just hope she found a safe place nearby to hang out.

This has happened before. When my husband caught and brought her inside for Hurricane Ike she disappeared for a couple of days after he released her. It kept her safe, but she didn't appreciate it one bit. Here's a picture I took of her in 2004. It's not easy to get a picture of her since she tends to run when she see me holding something different in my hand (other than food). She's been with us for almost 9 years and I think she was probably close to a year old when we first spotted her. That's really old for a feral cat.

Please come home MaMa!!

30 Days Of Thanksgiving...

1. I'm thankful that Reid has begun his journey back to good health with his first chemo treatment!!!

2. I'm thankful that tomorrow he'll be coming home from the hospital!

3. I'm thankful that my sister was here this past weekend and was able to celebrate Dad's 91st birthday with him at the nursing home.

4. I'm thankful that the truck started up and we weren't stranded in the hospital parking garage today.

5. I'm always thankful for Zoom, but I wish she wasn't sitting here on the computer desk swatting me with her paw.

30 Days Of Thanksgiving - November 4th

1. I'm thankful for the beautiful weather...low humdity and temperatures in the 70's!

2. I'm thankful for the squirrels that keep my sweet dog entertained for hours in the backyard.

3. I'm thankful for the encouragement I receive from perfect strangers while trying to find medical treatment for our son.

4. I'm thankful for Zoom (our newest kitty)...who celebrated her one year anniversary with us. She's a tiny, feisty cat who's here today because of a strong will to live. We all admire her attitude.

5. I'm thankful for fall and pumpkin milkshakes at Jack In The Box, pumpkin lattes and muffins at Starbucks, and pumpkin pancakes at Ihop. Can you tell I like pumpkin?

ZOOM...POST-OP

I picked Zoom up this morning at the Veterinarian and I think she was happy to see me. Of course, with a cat you never know for sure. A dog would be jumping all over the place, but cats are cool cookies.

I dropped her off yesterday morning to be "fixed"...we definitely don't want to add to the pet overpopulation. The Veterinarian was surprised to find that she was already in heat which means that she's actually older than we originally thought. She's probably around seven months old which would mean that when I originally brought her to the Veterinarian in early October she must have been three months old, but only weighed 13 ounces. Since she was a stray we really don't know her history, but she must have been on her own for a while and managed to eat enough to stay alive. She's very possessive about food and I joke that she would kill a Pit Bull for a morsel of food even if she wasn't hungry. I think she learned at an early age to fight for what she got.

Here's a picture of her taken just a short while ago. As you can see she's resting comfortably. This is what we call her pink sucky bed. She loves this bed and sucks on the sides. It's her pacifier which is probably an indication that she wasn't with her mother long enough. She's happy and content now and that's all that matters.

And as Bob Barker would say, "Spay and neuter your pets."