Health Check ~ Smokey

Posted on March 23, 2014March 23, 2014 by Dusty Roads

It’s hard to believe that my Mr. Cranky Pants aka Smokey is 17 years old. The average age for a house cat is 13. Of course as you get older things stop working like they did when you were a kitten.

And so it is with Mr. Smokeymon. I always said he was like a little laid back Jamaican “mon”. He was always so calm and purrfectly friendly but as we know, with age comes “Crankiness” and Smokey has shown himself to be a bit more short tempered than in his younger days. Hisses are more common toward his roomies but he still likes me, his human. In fact he has become very possessive of me.

He is the cat that has to be in the same room at all times. He has begun to get a little senile and when he finds himself separated loud yowls disturb the peace until I can either get to him or get his attention. Then they stop immediately and turn to loud , rumbling purrs.

His annual check-up rolled around this week. He’s lost weight. At one time he was a rolly poly 13.5 lbs. but over the last couple of years he’s steadily lost weight (Wish I could say the same for me) until he’s now down to 10 lbs. 10 oz. Even so he can still make the other 2 cats in the house “toe the line”.

Because of the weight loss and our past scare with possible renal failure we ran blood panels. On the renal side he’s stable, very little change there. The vet also checked his thyroid, all the numbers were within normal range. Finally they took his blood pressure and found that to be fine too. For a very senior cat he is doing well.

(Meanwhile I was in sticker shock at the size of the vet bill!)

Even so the doctor suggested we follow him closely now with follow ups every 3 – 6 months, also switching to a senior diet.

With luck and my wallet,my creaky old pussy cat will be around for a number of years to come.

Ready to Roll

Posted on March 10, 2014March 10, 2014 by Dusty Roads

For almost 6 years the pet carriage has been the sole property of Rocky. After Smokey tried it out once or twice he never went back but for Rocky it’s a daily visit. Rocky hates going outside for a walk but he likes to ride around the house or out on the deck.

Because I have 2 escape artists cats I react to quiet like the mother of a 2 year old. I get nervous. What are they into to be so quiet? It can’t be good! So periodically I find myself doing Kitty Head Counts to make sure I haven’t lost one.

Imagine my surprise when Buddy turned up in the pet carriage! Looks like Rocky is going to have some competition for carriage time. I wonder if Buddy would be more willing to go for rides outside? The weather is starting to hint at spring. Maybe I’ll give it a try.

Catitude

Posted on March 7, 2014March 7, 2014 by Dusty Roads

When someone is not a “cat” person it’s hard to make them believe that cats have facial expressions and experience emotions. To avoid “sibling rivalry” or jealousy I try to give each of my cats plenty of attention. Now that I work from home you’d think that would be easy. (Not!) I almost think it’s worse.

Let me give you an example. It was a peaceful morning. I was cleaning out my email inbox and the cats all seemed to be snoozing in various places. I got up to get a cup of tea and spotted Buddy on the big green cat tree. Usually he sleeps on my bed in the morning. I paused on my way into the kitchen to give him a pat and tell him it was nice to see him in the living room with the rest of us.

At that point I got the feeling of being watched. Yup, Rocky who had been snoozing under the heat lamp was glaring at me. If looks could kill I’d have been cat food.

I left Buddy and went over to offer a pat to Rocky who eagerly accepted my attention but that aroused Smokey who was sleeping on the cat tree above Rocky. His little paw snaked out to tap me on the shoulder. Ok, a few minutes of attention there…no harm, no foul.

I returned to the kitchen and picked up my tea. Back at the computer I had company. Rocky wasn’t done with his demands for attention. (What had I started?)

More petting and cuddling and Rocky hopped down. I thought he was satisfied and was going back to his sunlamp to sleep but I was wrong. He started circling the base of the big cat tree where Buddy was relaxing. He was fixated on Buddy. I knew any second now he was going to start the assault right up the side of the tree.

Time to intervene. More Petting all around. My quick run to the kitchen had disrupted my routine for 45 minutes and Rocky was still going. He’s annoyed and jealous and letting me know it. Every time I turn my back he gets into something. That’s his way of demanding attention.I guess I’ll just have to wait him out like a child having a tantrum.

So tell me again how cats don’t have emotions???

Photo of the Week – 8

Posted on February 26, 2014February 26, 2014 by Dusty Roads

The week 8 tallies are in. The Photo of the Week with the most hits, likes, shares and/or comments is Rocky’s Portrait with a total of 27 points.

To order prints click here: http://dustyroadsphotos.zenfolio.com/p161572686/h4b5eb96#h4b5eb96

Buddy’s Annual Physical

Posted on February 13, 2014February 13, 2014 by Dusty Roads | 2 Comments

Can it really be a year since Buddy came to stay with me?

Must be. Vet records don’t lie. So out came the carrier and to my surprise , in went Buddy. No coaxing, no teasing no stuffing. He just walked right in. We are off to a great start!

Carrier goes into the car. During the short drive to the vet I only heard one soft mew. I could see Buddy’s face pressed against the slats facing me but he didn’t seem agitated.

The wait in the office was short and wonder of wonders, the vet tech we had was Diane, our pet sitter so someone Buddy knew well. It just keeps getting better and better.

I opened the carrier door and Mr. Bud strolled out like he owned the place. Very confident. Unfortunately that didn’t last long. As soon as Diane started to clip his nails he turned into “Hell Cat”! I’ve seen Buddy in a bad mood but never anything like that! I told Diane to forget about a nail trim. No point in upsetting him or getting her scratched or bit because he was trying both. She then managed to get him onto the cat scale, basically a glorified baby scale. 16+ lbs. not quite 17. He’s a big boy!

We set Buddy loose and let him roam the exam room to calm down. Diane went to get the Vet who soon arrived with another technician in tow. Buddy seemed to be on his good behavior at first but then scooted under the exam table and wouldn’t come out. I volunteered to sacrifice myself to get him and sacrifice I did. Blood flew and it wasn’t the cat’s. I’d have been a good candidate for Jackson Galaxy’s My Cat From Hell, a show on animal planet. So much for being a “Cat Whisperer”.

They wrapped Buddy in a towel and the tech had on leather gloves that went to her elbows for protection.

They let me wash off my blood in the sink but there were no bandages so I watched from the sidelines with paper towels on my scratches.

As expected I was told to put Buddy on a diet (Fat Chance pun intended) and we laughed about how hard it is to lose weight. Buddy got his rabies shot and distemper drops and was pronounced healthy and whole. (More than I can say for me)

I was embarrassed. In all my years of owning cats I have never had one misbehave so badly. Diane told me not to worry about it. After all, I found Buddy and who knows how much handling he had before I rescued him.

Back home Buddy headed to the food bowls first (A Stress eater?) then to me. He sniffed my arm, now covered with Band-Aids and gave me a series of kitty kisses. I guess I’ve been forgiven. The sweet cat that I know was back and that devilish one was long gone… at least for another year.