Floofy Friday

Don't worry friends, I haven't shrunk. Mom wanted to show another baby pic... or two.

We are busy getting ready for Dad's favorite holiday on Saturday, Halloween. Dad will carve his special Cyclops Pumpkin (it's got one big eye and it's a neighborhood institution). Mom will make the traditional dinner of Worms in Blood Sauce (not really it's just spaghetti).

Dad will wear his traditional costume of "Middle-Aged Dude Who's Way Too Excited to be Carving a Squash and Opening the Door for Candy Grubbers." Mom will wear her traditional costume "Middle-Aged Lady With No Makeup in Her Nightie Who Lurks in the Dark Living Room." I will wear my costume "Darling Cat Who Hides Under the Bed."

My Sass-O-Meter is still rising but not yet to full. Your kindness and support has meant the world to us. Have a great weekend everyone.

Pill Popping

Hey Friends of Fin (or FOFs),

Mom Meg here ::shakes off furry voice:: I wanted to thank everyone who stopped by and gave us advice on how to get a pill down a kitty throat, and information and experiences with hyperthyroidism. We really appreciate all your kind words and well wishes. It's so nice to know so many love our girl almost as much as we do. I know Finny will be on the road to wellville very soon. The Sass-O-Meter is still low but there are signs of returning sass.

I am happy to report that Pill Pockets seem to be a hit so far, so paws crossed (er, fingers) that she will keep liking them. There are options for a cream that goes in the ears (less reliable dosing, but will work if she swears off pills) and a Radioactive treatment, but first we are trying the medications.

I am giving food and snuggles on demand, so I am busy. I guess Fin wants me to turn off the computer for the night, as she somehow turned off my cursor and I can no longer scroll. Gee I hope it turns on again when I reboot? Maybe she's afraid I might like talking like a human... Nah.

Meg

VET

Well friends it has been one of the worst days ever. I was kicking back enjoying my nap when suddenly I was scooped by Dad and shoved into the Carrier (PTU - Prisoner Transport Unit). I think we can all agree that no good ever comes from the carrier.

Dad took me to a new VET so I thought maybe it would not involve the usual treatments, but I was wrong. Mom had recently noticed that my Sass-O-Meter was down again and that I have been a bit on and off lately. So when I had some gastric distress over the weekend, coupled with some weight loss she conspired with Dad on a plan to remove me from my happy home.

I don't think I can even go into the horror that was my visit. Sure the new VET was very nice and the gave me a little gas to keep me calm but really, I Never! I am still a bit groggy now.

Turns out I have Hyperthyroidism. It's pretty common in older cats and it's very treatable the VET said. Unfortunately I need to take a pill twice a day and although they are small, I will search and refuse that pill out of any treat they try to hide it in. My mission is clear!

Mom Meg Edit: If anycat or human has a kitty with this issue or any ideas on how to sneak in a pill or two a day please let me know.

Fall is Coming... and Going

Can you guess my Halloween Costume?

Yes, it is my same costume from last year. I also thought it might be fun to re-visit my Frisky Fall post from last year as Fall is expected to arrive this week and depart immediately after. We are all pretty excited about it and anticipate it might arrive and depart on Wednesday. Fall is Mom's favorite season so she may not be commenting on too many blogs this week so she can soak up the season while it lasts. Winter is expected on Thursday as we drop from 80's to 60's.

Fall means my fountain gets shut down for the season. I may feel frisky in the fall but the fish sure don't. Don't worry though, I don't have koi breath, they'll be back soon enough. For now they are safely tucked in the fish tank, where I can keep an even closer eye on them.

Fall lasts for only about five hours here in the desert - when we wake up in the morning it's summer, in the afternoon we all gather by our TVs to watch the one tree (held in a secret location) change colors, and by the end of the day it's winter.

Floofy Friday

So last Floofy Friday we posted this picture.

Mom thought it lacked a certain something (what with the fabric wrinkles and the distracting upper-right corner), although she had to agree the subject matter looks great no matter what. One of our friends Amy suggested Mom use a free online service called Picnik to edit my pictures. As "Her Cheapness" is a big fan of anything free, she gave it a try and she really loves it. Here is the re-do with the tool called Zoom Focus (or a name something like that, she also likes Fancy Focus).

Please enjoy... again. Have a great weekend friends!

Wordless Wednesday

Just Chillin

Dear Mom & Dad

Dear Mom and Dad,

I think it's time we had a talk about a disturbing trend here at Casa De Housecat. I've let it go for a while, but I feel it's gone too far now.

I have noticed that sometimes, in the middle of the night, I hear... certain noises. At first I wasn't even sure what I was hearing, as you two tried to be stealth-like, but then I realized I could no longer ignore the facts.

I know you play with my toys at night.

I know you think I'm asleep, and I won't hear you, but I can hear the tinkle bell of The Ball from anywhere in the house. I was afraid it was attacking you, and I gave it a hardy whap back into it's living room lair to protect you (the irony!). Now, I think it might have been your doing all along. Still I was willing to let it all go. Live and let play, I said.

Till I heard the soft tinkle of my Beloved, My Mousey.

Oh and your yelling out things like "Mother Fuff! Fin! Stop your leaving your Hoover Dam toys in the middle of the doorway!" does nothing to hide the truth of the matter. I think we can all agree that this is unacceptable.

Finny Da Floof

On Alert!

Well it was an exciting weekend here at Casa De Housecat. On Saturday evening, when Mom went out on the porch after dark, I followed her out. She thought I came right back inside with her, but I didn't! I was roaming the edge of the yard, snacking on the plant I'm not allowed near when under snoopervision, when she found me out. The excitement of a night hunt was thrilling friends!

The second wave of thrills came at precisely 5am Sunday morning. I was sleeping in my sink, and Mom and Dad were tucked in their bed when a horrible cry of a cat came loud and clear. Mom flew out of bed with a speed I no longer thought was possible. She spotted me in the sink, but when the noise came again we both had only one thought -

"Mittens!" Mom yelled and raced down the hall for the back door where we assumed the yelling was coming from. She turned on the lights and ran out on to the porch. There she stood, in battle stance, waiting...

What exactly she thought she could do - in her nightie and bare feet in a sea of desert rocks, and what she thought she could see - without her glasses in the dark, we may never know. Really, unless Mittens ran onto the porch and requested an early morning snuggle, she was likely outmatched, but then never underestimate a cat mom! Mom made the rounds and found nothing, and again when the sun came up around 7am, still nothing. I suspect it was an argument between Mittens and the rude Siamese who lives down the street.

The last bit of excitement came when Mom and I were enjoying a little porch time after her rounds when we heard what sounded like a large parrot imitating the chickens who live behind us. An exotic Tweet nearby? I wonder if he is caged or perhaps an escaped convict? I wonder if he does yelling cat impersonations?

Floofy Friday

Well it's a free-for-all over here! I've had to spend the last three days as a nursecat. Mom has been down with the flu for three days and now that she is feeling better she wants to post Floofy Friday but it's only Thursday (not that this stops her, you know how she loves to bend the space-time continuum and post the day prior!).

Now on with the show...

See how concerned I look here.

It's been rough here friends. Dad was out of town, so Mom and I had to fend for ourselves. I was left alone with sneezy and wheezy. It was hard to get a decent nap, what with all the moaning. There were times friends, when my mealtime was delayed for almost an hour! I did find that a gentle pat on her face with my paw, repeatedly, did the trick. Thank Cod that's over now.

Now, here is the funny part... Mom is nearly blind without her glasses which are missing! You see in her stupor, she placed them on the edge of the nightstand, and some cat innocently knocked them off while tending to the invalid. She is too blind to see where they fell. Oh my, I slay myself. I better go whap them out from under the bed or she may not be able to open my cat food can correctly.

Have a great weekend friends. Keep your humans safe, and make sure they take good care of themselves - so they can take good care of you. I really do love her and I never forget how lucky we all are to have found each other.

Wordless Wednesday

Squeal if you must! Yes I was a little floofster from the very start. Mom says I had to grow into my markings. Hm, guess this isn't Wordless.

PS Mom is feeling flu-ish so this post may have to tied you over till Friday.

Oh Baby

Mom was getting the pictures ready for my book (no, still waiting to hear from the publisher, but we're hopeful) when she discovered these baby pictures of me.

Mom loves this one, she says it seems optimistic.

Here I am with my favorite string toy, I still love to play with it.

Mom thinks I was about three months in these. There are a few others which she may trot out too. Please enjoy.

Mittens Alert!

Yesterday Mom and I were hanging on the porch in the early morning, I like to get her up around 5, when suddenly Mom started acting a little funny. I had been making my way across the sharp pointy rocks to the far edge of the yard, when Mom called out and requested I make my way back to the porch. Naturally I ignored her request. Turns out she saw this on the other side of the yard...

Mittens was watching over the scene with caution.

So there I was innocently sniffing a plant at the edge of the yard when Mittens panthered down the wall towards my location... Mom had no shoes on but was ready to fly across the yard.

I was directly below Mittens when this shot was taken! I looked up and got all hissy and let out angry meows, but Mittens just cruised by without any fanfare. Later in the evening Mom and Dad were out there again and Mittens was hanging out in the same spot. Mittens cried for Dad to come and pet... and he went! Mom then joined in the action and they realized Mittens is a boy, or so they think, it was dark. Mom mentioned how muscular Mittens was, and again mentioned the multi-paw toes which is how mittens got his name.. I don't care for this turn of events.

I have allowed Mittens full front yard access for some time, even allowed my unwanted dry food to be given to Mittens when he looks hungry... but my backyard! And My Parents! I just don't know about this.

Floofy Friday

Gotta get my ruff looking it's best for Floofy Friday.

Yeah, that's better. Gotta wet my tongue...

Whew, ready for business again.

Wait, is that the Pawparrazzi coming?

Thank Cod the Pawparrazzi didn't catch any of that.

Have a great weekend, and Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends.

Miniature

Mom: Fin, look what arrived for your Dad from Endless Whimsy.

Mom: Look how sweet this little cat is! I sent in a picture and the talented human Renovia captured all the details. The white paws, the tabby cuffs and the tabby M above the eyes, even the dark cape across the shoulders and down the back. Isn't it darling?

Fin: Oh Mom it's really great... but when are you going to order one of me?

Mom: What? Don't you recognize the cat?

Fin: Of course I do! It's Mirror-Cat. I'd recognize that cat anywhere.


Just kidding friends I know Mirror-Cat is really me. I mean that cat is adorable, who else would it be?

Tocks & Toes Tuesday

It's October which means it's also time to show your Tocks for Tock-Tober to honor my friend Derby!

Bonus shot of toes with tabby cuffs and toe-floof!

Enjoy!

My Sas-O-Meter is steadily climbing, thanks for your purrs.

Mortified Monday

Even kittens know that the number one rule of Hairball is Location, Location, Location. For a housecat that means only one thing, Carpet. Nothing helps expulsion like being able to dig your claws into padding.

Imagine my horror the other day when I felt that familiar feeling coming over me while I was on the bathroom tile. I let out my warning meows and was headed for the soft fields of taupe heaven when suddenly I could no longer hold back. I managed to make it to the fluffy bathroom rug thank cod, but the actual output landed on easy to clean tile (not even in the grout). I hang my head in embarrassment.

Mom request here, my sweet girl seems to be feeling a bit poorly since the expulsion this morning, so maybe just a purr or two will fill her Sass-O-Meter back up to full.

Mom Update: Purrs are definitely helping. Sass-O-Meter is filling up. Thanks!

Floofy Friday

Well thank goodness it's Friday! Floofy Friday too! TGIFF

Well the camera cord was found. {Wink}

Now on to the other problem, Mom had a very easy to use photo edit package, then she got all fancy and bought Photo Shop Elements (never loaded it cause she was a chicken). Mom's laptop broke recently and she had to get a new one. Well on the new laptop all she has is PHE, and she is fairly clueless. She cropped me, she firmed up my edges, but how does she take the wrinkles out (of the fabric - I don't have any - even as a senior kitizen)? How does she selectively color my world?

In the meantime have a great weekend friends, and thanks for taking the time out of your day to come by and visit. Your showing up here means the world to us.

Thankful Thursday

Well I thought I take this Thursday to show my gratitude, and answer some recent questions.

• The bug that starred in yesterday's post was what Dad calls a "Water Bug" and Mom calls a "Crawler" but I wouldn't look on the Internet with those terms as I doubt either are correct. It was as big as a small toy mouse. {Mom Shudders} Mom has not been able to go the bathroom in the dark without turning on the light since. She doesn't hold the same fascination with bugs, but she is very thankful they only show up rarely.
• The gnats that plagued the house for months have finally been sent packing. Turns out they were hanging out in houseplant in the kitchen, and once Dad spotted them in there, and took it outside it was all done! Gnat Free At Last!
  
• A year ago Dad had Gamma Knife (Non-Invasive) brain surgery to fix Trigeminal Neuralgia (a very painful condition in his face) and other than a really horrible episode in the spring it has been successful in managing his pain. We are more thankful than we could ever express that Dad is okay!!! {could exclamation point for pages}
  
• We're thankful that Mom's Frecklectomies were all fine. The one on her flank (the one she whined the most about) had some abnormal cells and will have to be checked again in six months. I have long thought she has plenty of abnormal cells, if you know what I mean.
• The cord to download photos from the Pawparrazzi is missing {Wink} and it has really hampered the flow of photos. What Mom? Yes I understand this is Thankful Thursday. {Wink Again}.

What are you thankful for friends?