Down On The Farm - Feral Friday & Cal Update

Meet Rusty, Beta and Mama Tortie!

These purrty kitties are the first kitties TNR'ed by the cat project in which our lady volunteers. About 3 years ago they were living at a plant slated for demolition and had to be relocated. They now live on a 44,000 acre farm! Mama Tortie is the only one who will allow the lady to pet her, but the others will get pretty close as the lady puts the foods in the bowls.

The farm is about 20 miles away from our house on the creek. The road to the grain silos, where the kitties are, is a 4 mile long dirt stretch. Our lady enjoys taking this trip alone sometimes, so she can crank up the tunes and sing. She can't carry a tune in a bucket, but it's ok cause there's no one around who might hear her and tell her to stuff a sock in it!

We had to show off the lady's cool new bracelet. She was inspired by Daisy to purchase one from the I'm Tired site. For every $10.00 bracelet you buy, I'm Tired donates $5.00 to the cause you choose, she chose animal cruelty. She loves that the bracelet is made out of recycled tires and metals - so fashionable and eco friendly!

This photo is for Elin in Malaysia!

This is Cal in November with the American flag flapping in the breeze behind him. This is one of the lady's favorite pictures.

We all really appreciate all the kind words, purrs, and prayers for Cal. We do believe they are working! The lady has taken him outside to walk around 2 days in a row and it really helps to lift his spirit. He's a different cat when he is roaming the yard with the lady. He is eating very well at the moment, better than he has in months! He ate 2 pouches of Whiskas and 1 1/2 cans of Friskies yesterday. His appetite is wonderful....... is it the medication, the b12 injection, the purrs, the sunshine and fresh air? Whatever it is we hope it continues to work! We are still awaiting the results of the malabsorption profile, we will post the results as soon as we hear from the vet. Thanks again!

Sitting, Waiting, Wishing - Update on Cal

***Update on Cal***

Cal was dropped off at the vet this morning for a couple of tests. The first test was an x-ray and the second was a maldigestion profile. When the lady and man walked into the exam room at 4:00 this afternoon, Dr. D's face pretty much said it all. The first words out of the lady's mouth were, "you do not look happy!" Indeed Dr. D was not happy. Cal has dropped another pound and is down to around 8lbs - not good. Then Dr. D turned the lights out and the light box on to highlight his x-rays. His x-rays showed lots of activity going on in his intestines, lots of air. Then she pointed out a troubling area, which could either be really angry intestines or a neoplasm of lymph tissue - cancer.

The results from the maldigestion profile will take 3-5 looooong days. This test will show if Cal has exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (maldigestion syndrome). This can sometimes coincide with IBD and can cause the runny stools and weight loss. We are actually holding out hope that this test is positive because it is relatively easy to treat, well, easier than cancer.

During his stay at the vet, Cal was given fluids and a B12 injection. The lady and man purchased Greenie's Pill Pockets to make administering medication easier. Cal's pred has been bumped up to 2 pills 2x/day along with metronidazole 1x/day and mirtazapine every three days. Cal is a pain to pill and nearly takes the servants fingers off. They have to take turns being the piller because it can get kinda painful, not to mention frustrating, when he spits the pill out repeatedly. The pill pockets are working wonders so far!

Dr's orders for Cal (while we wait) are to make him eat, eat, eat, whatever he wants, to hopefully gain some weight back.

As always, we appreciate all the purrs and prayers, please keep them coming!

Fix You - Happy Spay Day!

Happy Spay Day!!! Maggie May is entered in the Spay Day USA photo contest at HSUS!

You can vote for her here and help raise money for spay/neuter! Voting costs a minimum of $5 for 5 votes. It's for a great cause!

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We will update Cal as soon as we have some information from his vet appointment today. Thanks so much for the purrs and purrayers! Sorry the comments section of our blog was on the fritz yesterday. Hopefully it has all been sorted out now.

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Blogger seems to be having some issues again today. We are unable to comment on many of our friends blogs. :(

Rainy Days and Mondays - Awards and Cal Update

Awards Monday! Thanks, Chancy, Jake, Babe & Ernie's Voice!!!!!

Thanks, Goma + Sachie!!!!

Thanks so much for our awards! We appreciate them very much!

Maggie May - Best Use of Catnip Feature

Maggie May would like to thank Fin for hosting the Acatemy Awards and for her golden statue! Congratulations to all those who participated and won. Everyone is a winner!!

Maggie May has posted a new video over on her personal blog today, so stop by if you'd like.

***Update on Cal***

Well guys, Cal isn't doing as well as we would like. He is eating, which is great, but his litter box issues have not gotten any better. Cal is going in tomorrow for radiographs, if they don't show any obvious masses, the next step is a exocrine pancreatic insufficiency profile. The lady is feeling pretty down and helpless, so if we don't visit as much as usual, this is why. We're all trying to think positive. Please purr for Cal.

Maggie May - Acatemy Awards Entry

Here is our entry for Fin's Acatemy Awards!

This movie is a classic and first debuted on Maggie May's personal blog in January.

This was Maggie May's first experience with nip and the screened-in porch on an unseasonably warm January day.

Enjoy!

You've Got A Friend - Friends Friday & CC Update

Time for Friends Friday!!!

Today we are introducing another friend of ours from the great state of Texas. Her name is EmmyLou and she has been blogging since May 2008. Emmy goes on camping and hiking adventures with her family in the great outdoors!Her interest include birds, chipmunks, squirrels, mice, and hiking! She sounds like an awful lot of fun and she looks so very much like our Rambler!

We hope everyone will stop by Emmy's and say hello!

***A Note From CC***

Well, I had a good time with the fish. Unfortunately, too much fun for him, may he rest in peace. My new mom would like to know where to get another laser light for me, she washed mine in one of the kids pockets....silly mom!
Well, i'll keep in touch!

XOXO,
CC

We just signed up for Miz Allie Cat Swap N Tails!!

Simple Man(cat)

Goodbye, sweet Misty.

Won't Get Fooled Again

Cal is a complex individual, with a complex disease, IBD. His appetite waxes and wanes, his stools are normal one day, "Cal pies" the next, likes a food one week, the next week not so much, etc.

See the picture above? This was last Tuesday. Now, last Tuesday the lady brought home this bag of food she had special ordered at the cat food store. It has duck, limited ingredients, and great reviews. As soon as she snipped a hole in the top, Cal jumped in head first. This made the lady very happy because he would no longer eat the food he was once so fond of. Well, Cal really loved this new food.....for all of 3 days.

See what happens with Cal is this......

Cal loves a food and then will just stop eating it altogether. So the lady will go to the cat food store, get a couple of cans of a different food, bring it home and Cal just loves it. The lady hits the internet and orders a case, you know, cause it's cheaper than the cat food store. The lady gets an email confirmation that the food is on it's way.......then BAM! Just like clockwork --Cal refuses to eat the food, wouldn't touch it with a ten foot tail, he's just not that into it! Now, the lady is all too aware that switching foods in an IBD cat is not a good thing, but it's like the vet told her.......Cal has to eat.

The lady never learns, Cal has fooled her more times than she can count. I mean, just look at our stash of foods. Looks like we're stockpiling for the apocalypse! She can't help it though, seeing Cal have interest in food, sends her running to the internet to find the best deal and/or coupons for whichever food he is into that week. This week just so happens to be Chick-hen Soup dry kitten food...........why not! Since there are seven of us and the lady feeds two feral colonies, this food will be put to good use. She keeps it on hand for a while to re-introduce the food to Cal to see if he will give it another try.

We want to give a big thank you to The Cat Street Boyz for this pawsome award! You guys rock!

We are gonna pass it along to:

JB's Small World, Piggy and Grover and Perfectly Parker!

Purple Haze - Nip Naner Movie

We musta been the last kitties in the blogosphere to get a cat nip naner! Finally, the lady bought us one. She had to order some stinky goodness from an online store, and in order to use a $5.00 off coupon, her total had to be $30.00 or more. This lady is all about coupons and saving a buck! She adds the foods to the cart and the total was $24.99, off by -$5.01 --oh, so close! So what does she do? She adds a $5.99 cat nip naner to the cart. Now, we may not be the sharpest pencils in the box, but that didn't make too much sense to us. She spends $5.99 so she could save $5.00?!?! She rationalized it by saying it was like getting the naner for free. Anything to use that coupon :rolls eyes:

Whatever, we got a nip naner! Here's a video of us enjoying nip naner bliss.

Hey! Someone call Jeff VanVonderen over at A&E, Maya's in need of a nip intervention!

Happy Valentine's Day !!

My Friends - Friends Friday and Award

This is our first participation in Kiddo's Friends Friday!

This week we spotlight new friends over at Noir's Nook. They have a big fur family like us! Cat bloggers Noir, Earl Gray, Perry, Mommy, Peyton, and Uncle Maxx live in Texas with their girl, Tommy. They have been blogging since December 28, 2008.

~Noir~
I'm handsome. I will sit and stare at you, until you either play fetch, pet me, or give me pizza. Like a comfy lap, plus a window to watch birds and the world go by.

We think everyone should stop by Noir's Nook and and say hi!

The very lovely and sweet, Siena and Chilli , passed this friendly award on to us, Thanks gals! We are blessed to have you as friends!

We would like to pass this award on to some new friends we've met on the blogosphere:

Noir's Nook, Elin, Emmy and Family, and Mr. Tuck's Neighborhood.

***Thanks to all for the purrs for our Pop***

Earth Angel - Purrs Needed

This was supposed to be wordless wednesday, but we have an update on Pop!

***Update on Pop***

We're afraid more purrs are need for Pop. He has started having severe muscle spasms in his foot which cause lots of pain. He is still unable to apply any pressure or walk on the infected foot. Today was supposed to be his last day of the IV antibiotics. However, since there was no improvement and it actually seems worse, they have put him on Rifampin which is used to treat tuberculosis and meningitis. They also added Bactrim, which is just another antibiotic. They are hoping to get a referral to a specialist very soon.

Keep those purrs coming!

Why's Everybody Always Picking On Me?

Dixie, Dixie, Dixie.........our sweet, clueless woofie!
You sure are special......... in more ways than one!

Dixie never did warm up to her new bed from last week, but we sure did! The servants decided to get her a different bed over the weekend -- to keep her off of ours.

When we're done breaking it in, we'll let her have it!

***A note from CC***

Just wanted to give ya'll an update. I'm adjusting very well and have found the kid's pet fishies! The fishies have a cave to hide in, so I can't get to them! I absolutely love the laser light ya'll sent and will pant so hard from running around trying to catch it. I'm such a good cat. Trust that I'm in a good home and my new family will take good care of me! Oh and the kids are still in love with me.

XOXO,

CC

Don't Come Around Here No More - Movie Monday

The introoder kitty, Spunky, paid us a visit on Saturday night. You know Spunky with permanent crazy tail! He hasn't been around much lately, which is good! We guess since its been so cold, his servants have probably been keeping him in the house. Well it seems, now that it will start warming up, he will probably be back more often. We don't like that!

And who put the food out on the porch for him!!! Looks like the lady servant is gonna need a stern talking to, we'll give her a warming this time........

Love Reign O'er Me - Awards

We were given this very loving award by Junior and Orion and The Monkeys, Samson and Delilah and The Misdaventures of Me!Thanks guys, we feel so loved!

"LOVE YA" award winner... These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.

We are going to pass the love on to.........

Cory, Siena and Chilli, Little Cat Feet, Cliff and Olivia, Laila and Minchie, Mommy's Little Fat Boy, 8GR8CATS, and Noir.

Junior and Orion and Cliff and Olivia gave us the great Proximade Award. Since we already received that one, we won't pass it on again. Thanks again Junior and Orion!!!

Just Got Paid

Just got paid today, got me a pocket full of..........mice!

We are all so happy the weekend is here! It is supposed to warm up and the forecast for Sunday is 70 degrees! We are hoping to hang out on the back porch and catch some rays.

We think the fresh air will be good for Cal. At his weigh-in on Monday he had lost a few ounces. He had some bloods stolen and the results showed a slightly elevated wbc count and slight anemia, his thyroid, kidneys, etc. were normal. He continues to be on prednisilone daily is eating very well (about 4 times a day) and acting normal. His stools go from normal one day to mushy "cal pies" the next. We may go forward with another test next week which will show if he has malabsorption syndrome which sometimes coincides with IBD. Please continue to purr for Cal!

Our Pop is on the road to recovery, although driving our Nana crazy :) She can't quite understand how a man (who is supposed to be layed up all day and off his foot!) can get a house so messy while she is at work. A few more weeks of antibiotics and he should be good to go! Our Nana has her appointment with the internist next week to see about effectively treating her Hashimotos.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Drink The Water - Movie Monday

This movie is all about water!


Our new water fountain arrived on Friday. This is the second one we've had, the first one was about 6 years ago, so most of us never used one before. Maya has spent many a hour behind the fountain trying to find out the inner workings. He spilled so much water on the floor, by the end of the night the lady had to put a towel down. Maggie May is one of the few who actually drank from the fountain, but then she tried to cover it with the towel. Maizy Grace stuck her paws in and that's about it. Then there's Cal.........Cal is old school, he still insists on drinking from the kitchen sink. Go figure!
We hope you enjoy our feature presentation!