The cold and flu season

Tis the season for coming down with a cold, and that is no exception for the boys. Tanner had been sneezing for several days and just laying around. He becomes a real snuggle bug when he doesn't feel well...a definite momma's boy! He is doing much better now though...we like to treat with extra canned food, and pump it full of L-Lysine. This seems to help keep things from getting worse. We were lucky with him, just about a week of sneezing and a runny eye, and we were all better. Here he is just sleeping away. Poor Baby!

Smokey on the other hand is battling, what I think is allergies. He has had issues with his eyes swelling and itching for several years now. Typically I can treat him with an antihistamine and he clears up, but lately, nothing seems to be working. We have an appointment with the vet school dermatology department in January. I hope they can test him and find out what the cause of his reactions are, so we can help him. He will be seeing the same doctor as Mojo. She is the best, and has done wonders for Mojo! I wonder if the vet school gives a multiple pet discount? This will make my third cat that goes there...I hope Devon doesn't start to feel left out! :) Here's a picture of Smokey when his eyes are swollen and irritated. He has a bit of colored discharge, so I've started him on a different eye drop...they seem to be helping him some. I'll have to give him some lysine too!

Well, I hope the boys will all start feeling better soon, and that it won't spread to the other cats in the house! Next time I'll introduce you to the cousin cats that live with us too...they belong to my sister...more on them next time.

Decorating for Christmas

We took time on Sunday to start decorating the house for Christmas. We have a ton of decorations so it takes a while to get everything put up. We started with the tree, and of course the boys were big helpers. They enjoyed jumping in the box the tree comes in, and playing with the cords for the lights. We have an artifical tree because Smokey and Mojo are allergic to the real ones. It is one of those pre-lit trees, but it needs more directions to be able to hook all the lights up a bit easier. We finally had to just turn the tree another way, to put the row of unlit branches in the back! We tried everyway possible to get them to work, so we just gave up.

Decorating is the most fun part, so we started unloading box after box of ornaments. We are definitely going to need a second tree next year, maybe even a third! I collect ornaments for each of my boys throughout the year, and Smokey has a ton...I think he has more than I have! Each boy is designated a color, so I look for things that remind me of them, in their color. They also get things that aren't in a particular color, if it means something. For example, Smokey is known as 'The Goose', so when I found a Canadian Goose ornament, I had to get it for him! I'm not sure if I'm mentioned what their colors are before, so here they are...Smokey is purple, Devon is blue, Tanner is green, and Mojo is red.

After a while of decorating the boys were tired...Here's Tanner sleeping in an ornament box...I'm surprised he fit!







Devon loves tissue paper, and enjoys shredding it...he was in hog heaven when we upwrapped all the ornaments, and there was a huge mound of tissue paper in a chair!






Smokey and Mojo spent most of their time sleeping! Where is their Christmas spirit? They thought it was a good day for a nap...Here are the sleeping boys.
At last, the finished product...I think it turned out nicely this year. We'll have to see how many of the ornaments are on the floor when I get home for work today. Typically we just pick them up and place them higher on the tree, so by the time Christmas gets here, the bottom half of the tree is not decorated!

New House

The boys have successfully completed another move this year. This time into their new house! (Picture taken about a week before we moved in) They were a bit freaked out at first because we brought them over before the furniture arrived, so there wasn't anywhere to hide. My sister and I moved them to the master bedroom/bathroom and put some food and water, and the all important litter box out where they would see it and just left them alone. After a while, they were doing better, and each had found a spot to sit. Tanner was behind the toilet. Mojo was in a closet. Smokey stayed in the carrier for the longest time, and Devon found a cat bed in the floor and was camped out snoozing.
Here's Devon after a couple of days. He's found a condo in front of a window and is checking things out!

We've been there for over a week now and everyone seems fine. They are getting back into their routines and that makes for some happy boys! They are also loving all the room and have been quite frisky. They love to run up and down the stairs...it's like it is a race! They also enjoy just running down the halls. I hope Tanner can lose a bit of weight! As you can see by the photo below, Tanner could use it. Here he is on the first day in the house. He has squeezed up under my bed to hide out. He barely fit!


There have been quite a few people in and out during the past week, from delivery people to friends helping us rearrange and unpack, so the boys are getting exposed to lots of voices and activities. Friday night I have about 15 people coming over for a workshop, so I'm curious to see how they will behave. I'm hoping I won't have to put them back in the master suite, but we'll see.

Halloween Spooks and Outings

Anyone that knows Devon, knows that he is a ham. He loves to have his picture taken. He loves to have people talk to him and tell him he is beautiful. He loves to be the center of attention! What better way to 'Ham it up' than to go out trick or treating on Halloween? Dressed as a pig no less! So, that's exactly what we did last night. Devon was excited...he was prancing around looking so proud of the fact that he was going on an outing. I had the stroller packed in the car, along with the costume, and the gifts he was to hand out. I packed him in the carrier, and we were off...my sister and a friend went along too! He rode very well in the car, very quietly resting for the first stop.

The first stop was at his Godmother Carol's house. We got out, unfolded the stroller, put the pig hat on Devon, and tucked him safely in the stroller and made it to the front door. He was sitting up so proud, just looking around. Unfortunately Carol had had to run out and was not there at the moment. Her husband said she'd be back a little later, so we promised to stop by on the way home, and went off. Back to the car to take the costume off Devon, put him back in the carrier in the car, then fold the stroller and put it away.

The next stop was at Teresa's house. She was home! Devon was a bit more reserved at this stop, as Teresa's cats were very curious about him. Personally, I think Cecil was just jealous because Devon's stroller is better than his :) He kept staring at him, and going over to the stroller. Devon was not a happy camper, and was not in a good mood to wear the pig hat and have his picture taken. I was able to get a couple of good shots of Teresa's cats...
This is Cecil admiring Devon's stroller. Cecil also has a stroller and loves to go for rides in it. He is a ham just like Devon...they are two peas in a pod. It's too bad they don't get along better :)






Here is Larry - the Lady Bug! Isn't he the cutest? He wasn't overly thrilled at wearing, but at least we were able to get his picture. Devon could learn something here :)



Devon received some wonderful treats from Aunt Teresa and the boys...kitty treats, a crown toy, a fun string on a stick (brother Tanner will probably take over), catnip mouse, and a noisey ball with feathers. He will get lots of use out of these wonderful gifts!

After we hung out with Teresa and her cats for a while, we went back to Carol's house. She was home this time, and was thrilled to see Devon. He actually let her hold him, and she petted him for a long time in his stroller. He was very good for her, which is rare because he normally likes to hiss at her. (Side note: She would come to the house for visits when he was younger, and she would have to bring treats to bribe him to be nice so she could pet him!) We had a little talk in the car though before we got there, and he was on his best behavior.

Well, that about covers our Halloween outing. I think Devon had a good time...he was ready to eat when we got home though. He is such a fun cat because he is pretty tolerant of the crazy schemes I come up with for him. I'm debating about doing Santa photos again this year with him at PetSmart. I'll keep you posted...