"Not Me Monday"

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

This is my first attempt at a "Not me! Monday" post so here goes...

On Friday, I did not make a yummy, high calorie dessert for my crop, because I am on Weight Watchers, and do not have enough points for such things. I then did not proceed to make it unhealthier by adding chocolate chips to the thing. I don't even have those in my house! While this dessert, that I did not make, was cooling on the stove, I did not catch Tanner licking the top of it. He is a perfect angel, and does not get on the counters. I did not proceed to serve this cat licked dessert to all my friends that night because I did not have to time to make something else. That would be gross!

That feels better to have that off my chest because I most certainly DID NOT tell the guests that Tanner had previously licked their desserts. I might not have any friends left at all! At least my cats still love me :) Doesn't Tanner look innocent? NOT!

Devon - Look at me

Devon is a definite middle child. He's the odd one in the family. He doesn't play much, but he is learning. He's moody. He refuses to squat in the litter box, so has been named the "Dancing Fool" around our house. He loves to rub his face on a bread bag, and will whimper if you don't give him enough attention when he wants it. But in spite of all his quirkiness, Devon is a love bug! Here's a short clip of Devon loving on a pillow. He's kneading his paws, and although the video doesn't pick it up, he's purring up a storm! Enjoy.

Bird Watching

Tanner is an avid bird watcher. He loves when they fly in and land in the yard. The pigeons are his favorite because they are so dramatic and big! I caught him one day in the chair watching the birds out the window...this was the craziest pose! Tanner is a nut.

Another crazy thing Tanner does is lay in the floor of the upstairs bedroom and act like he is looking out the window. I don't think he can see anything, unless the birds are flying by, so I'm not real sure what he thinks he is seeing!

He also likes when the pigeons are on the roof...you can hear them dancing around up there from inside the house. It drives him crazy!

Video testing

I'm trying to figure out how long of a video I can post here, so bear with me as I experiment. This first video is of Mojo. He's out in the yard playing/rolling in the grass. Because of his severe allergies he was not allowed to go outdoors, and we could not open the windows. At the time of this video, the allergies were the least of our concerns. His tumor was enormous, and his life was coming to an end. He was feeling good during this time due to some steroids. Enjoy our boy!

More video to come...

April Birthdays

Tanner and Smokey both have birthdays in April. Tanner turned 7 years old last week on the 7th, and Smokey is 13 today.

Tanner got a new toy and peacock feather to play with. We also had some celebration canned food. Since Tanner is on a diet he did not have any sweets this year.

Smokey will celebrate tonight with a new catnip toy and some yummy canned food. His favorite flavor is Chicken and Liver so that is what we will serve up to the gang.

More posts are coming soon...stay tuned!

Fly High Superman

Mojo Bauman Canipe

199? - Feb. 25, 2009

Our beloved Mojo passed over the rainbow bridge on February 25, 2009 at 9am after a courageous 7 month battle with fibrosarcoma. He was surrounded by his family and it was a very peaceful passing.

Mojo was the sweetest cat ever and was so tolerant and patient of any procedure you needed to do to him.

Many thanks to everyone for your support of our family and Mojo over these past months...you'll never know just how much you have meant to us.

Mojo will always be a part of our lives and we will never forget him.

Fly High Superman! You will be missed!

Mojo Improving

Well, it's been a couple of weeks since last posting photos of Mojo's flair, and I have to say that he has come a long way. We are all pleased with the results from the various medications he is currently taking. Here is a photo, taken July 2, 2008.
Mojo's current Medication schedule looks like this...

• 35mg Cyclosporine daily (10mg in the am and 25mg in the pm)
• 1/2 Zenequin daily (antibiotic)
• 1/2 Antihistamine daily or as needed
• 1cc allergy serum every two weeks

After a couple more weeks on his meds this is what he looks like...big improvement! It may be that he will be able to come off of at least one of his meds this week. Keeping fingers crossed for him! GO MOJO!!!

Our next course of action, after speaking with his vet this morning is to continue with the antibiotics until they are all gone. This should be another week or so. Then we will go one more week with just the regular dose of the cyclosporine. Then the following week we will cut down to just 25mg of cyclosporine daily, and after a week at that level, I'll call the vet again.

Next on our list will be tackling the cause of the diarrhea, or at least trying to determine the least amount of medications needed to keep it away. Right now, since we aren't having any diarrhea problems, I guess our course of action will be to reduce meds until we cause it, and then give a touch more to stop it again. I don't know this for sure, but this would be what I would try.

Mojo goes to see his regular vet for his annual visit on Thursday...I'm hoping we will see a little bit of weight gain for him. Mojo is due for his rabies and FVRCP vaccines. Tanner is going along for the ride, so he can get weighed too. He is trying to lose weight because he is a fat boy! At his last weigh-in he had lost an ounce! This was an exciting time for Tanner. I hope to see another few ounces on Thursday. It has been two weeks since our last weigh-in. GO TANNER!!!

Mojo Flairs Again

That title doesn't have the same ring as Mojo rides again, but none the less, that's where we are...Mojo's allergies are having a time this year. We have been working with him since he came to live with me 3 years ago. The first year was a struggle as he was in terrible shape, both due to his allergy problems (yet undiagnosed) and his ear polyp (finally removed) and his weight problem (way too skinny). By the end of the first year with me, and before we adopted him, we knew what his allergies were, the ear polyp was removed, and he had gained a bit of weight. Things were looking promising. To recap, Mojo is allergic to the following things:

• Dust mites**
• two types of molds**
• Pines**
• Red Cedar**
• White Hickory**
• Red Maple**
• Elms
• Eastern Cottonwood**
• Bermuda Grass**
• Kentucky Blue Grass**
• Meadow Fescue grass**
• Johnson grass**
• Red Top grass
• Perennial Rye grass
• Sweet Vernal grass
• Cocklebur
• Yellow dock
• Lambs Quarters
• Rough Pigweed
• Red/Sheep Sorrel
• Russian Thistle
• Fleas
• Cockroaches
• Mosquitos

** Means that we included this in his serum. These were the things that we felt he would come into contact with the most in our immediate area. Fleas, cockroaches, and mosquitos can not be included in the serum. Mojo is an indoor only cat, so exposure to these items is minimized.

Basically, you name it, Mojo's allergic! Luckily we are not allergic to any foods, so he can eat whatever he wants!

The second year I had him, was the first year he was on the allergy shots. In a couple of months, he was on the maintenance plan, which is 1cc every two weeks, of his specialized serum. He was doing well, and we were seeing fewer and fewer flair ups and itching episodes. We were thrilled! We continued this way for another year, and again we saw no flair ups during Spring or Fall, which is when most of his stuff blooms. By that winter, which was 2007, we decided to try going to every 3 weeks on the shots. He did beautifully! Things were going well for Mojo, except for a diarrhea problem, until late Spring 2008, when he flaired big time. His mouth is back to itching and bleeding, but at least we were able to catch it early before it got to the point that it was when we started this whole journey.

This is Mojo's mouth on June 18, 2008. It is healing some, and doesn't look to terrible, but there are some erosions on the skin that are full of bacteria, and it itches like the dickens.

We are working to fix this problem by:

1. Adding soft paws to his feet
2. He gets 35mg of Cyclosporine every day
3. He gets 1 antihistamine tablet daily
4. He has received two antibiotic injections
5. He now takes 1/2 tablet of Zenequin daily
6. Wipe mouth down with damp cool cloth when he finishes eating

The mouth is taking it's own sweet time to heal, but the diarrhea that we've been battling for the last 6 months cleared up in about three days of starting the cyclosporine, and getting the antibiotic injection. We aren't sure which one worked, but something did. My thought would lean toward the cyclosporine, since he normally can't tolerate antibiotics.

I know this isn't the most pleasant of posts, but it's written here more so I don't forget. We are trying to determing the next best course of action to take. Right now, I am to send in new photos of his mouth every week to his dermatologist, and she will evaluate what is working and what is not. I hope we can see some resolution soon, as Mojo is such a good cat, and this itching is driving him crazy!

Here's the photo from this week, taken June 25, 2008. This is the day we were given the Zenequin to start.

Mojo is such a tolerant cat, and a love bug. I hope that we can find the right combinations of drugs to help him through this flair. And I hope that we can learn enough this time to prevent it in the future!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SMOKEY

Today is Smokey's 12th birthday! I am not able to be with him today, but wanted to wish him a Happy Birthday anyway. I hope his aunt, my sister, will give him his favorite canned food tonight, and also some snuggles. I have picked up a couple of gifts for him already while I am here in Washington DC for a conference. I know he will like them!! I can't wait to get home and see him on Wednesday night, and all his brothers too.

I'll get pictures later in the week of the birthday boy...until then...have a great day Smokey!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TANNER

Today is Tanner's 6th birthday! I can't believe he is this old, as it seems like only a short time ago that he was a scrawny baby being bottle fed. He was only 13 days old when we got him, and he weighed about 7oz. Now he is 6 years old and weighs, I'm ashamed to say, almost 18lbs! He is a big boy, and loves to eat.

I'll take some new photos of him tonight during his birthday celebration, but here are a couple until then. We will be having some special canned food tonight, and lots of play time. Don't tell him but his gift from his brothers is a pack of mice that make noise! He loves to shove these under the stove and fridge. He should be a happy boy!

This is Tanner when he was about 6 weeks old. What a cutie!

More of Tanner tomorrow...until then...

Holiday's Remembered

Well, it's a New Year, and time to look back on the last few months of 2007 and ask yourself, "Where did the time go?" It seems that once a year hits September, that it starts moving faster and faster. The Holidays all blur together, and you can't enjoy one without worrying about the next one coming up. So let's take time to reflect...

Halloween was very low key at our house this year. Partly because I had to work, so I wasn't even home! The boys didn't dress up, but here is a picture of Larry the Ladybug rom last year.
I need to work on getting a good shot of Devon in his Pig in a Blanket costume, and Mojo in his Super Cat cape. Maybe that will be a New year's resolution...wait, there I go skipping Thanksgiving and Christmas again! See the holidays are flying by...

Thanksgiving was short but filled with great food and fun with family. Mom makes the best turkey and dressing of anyone I know. We had turkey, ham, and all the fixin's...it was delicious! The only thing that would make it better is if the boys could have been there. Since I went to my parents house, which is about 4 hours away, I didn't take the boys with me. They don't mind riding in the car so much, well except Mojo, but they are really stressed out and nervous at new places. They enjoyed the holiday more by staying at our house alone. I hurried back on Friday to be with them. I gave them some turkey flavored canned food, and they were happy as clams.

Christmas brought its own set of challenges and stresses. I decided that I would wrap a tree in lights in the front yard. I was going to get white, but at the after Christmas sales last year, they only had green left. So I bought 1500 green lights and was all set. I ended up only using 500 lights, but the tree turned out great I thought. I ran out of time, but next Christmas, I'll start earlier and decorate 3 of the trees in the yard!


The boys loved the decorations, and enjoyed sleeping under the Christmas trees. That's right, we put up two trees this year in the house! We were quite festive. They are both pre-lit, and very pretty. I need to work on taking photos of them with the flash off, but for now these photos will work. They show off the ornaments, which are the best part of the tree anyway!



This is the tree in the living room. Mojo enjoys sleeing under this one. We can see this one while watching tv, or eating. This is where we put our tree in 2006, our first Christmas in this house, but felt the neighbors were missing out because they couldn't see our beautiful tree. So, we bought the second one after Christmas for a great price. It's amazing how low the price for decorations drops after the holidays.

This tree is in the study, at the front of the house, so you can see it when you drive up. It is slightly smaller, but still a nice tree. Pirate and Devon tried to climb this one, but it kept on standing. I don't think anyone knocked any ornaments off this year, which is quite an accomplishment!

Again, my sister and I travelled home for Christmas. Tanner usually goes with me, but this year I left him behind because we had a special visitor going home with us. Sasha is a Tortoise we were pet sitting and since she likes to stay nice and warm, we decided to just take her with us. She traveled fine, and enjoyed walking in front of the heat vents in the bathroom. This is Sasha on Christmas morning about to enjoy her buffet of salad greens, banana pieces, and some red grapes. She looks excited doesn't she?

We actually didn't let the cats around her, so I don't know how they would react.

Two more photos before I close out this post. I realize I haven't put any photos of the boys in this post, but they weren't around at the holidays. I'll close with a picture of my parents Christmas tree, and the one at my Granny's house.

This is mom and dad's tree.

And this is me standing beside Granny's tree. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!

Happy Birthday Mojo

Mojo turned 11 years old on October 22nd. He has lived with me for almost 3 years now, and is a very sweet boy. He tries to get along with everyone, although he loves to pick on Tanner! I think it is a black and white cat thing, as Pirate also likes to pick on Tanner. Maybe Tanner is just a sissy boy, who knows, but I've digressed...this post is about Mojo.

Mojo goes through phases of favorite foods. When he first came to live with us, he couldn't get enough beef, especially beef fat! He loved the drippings from the pan when you made browned beef. He loved stew meat with gravy. He loved a Wendy's burger. He didn't mind Chinese beef and broccoli either, just hold the broccoli. But one day, beef wasn't appealing to him anymore. We were stunned. Mojo had always swarmed the kitchen when beef was around. Was he sick? Was he hurt somewhere? Was he full? No, he was just tired of beef. So we started looking around for a new favorite food for Mojo, and finally one day we found it....SARDINES!

Mojo loves sardines. He had a special plate of them for his birthday this year, but I am starting to see signs that we are moving away from sardines. He has loved them now for about a year, so I guess he has a right to be tired of them. Keep in mind that he only gets them about once or twice a month, but I guess that is enough. I'm going to try some more varieties of canned meat for him, as we have a couple of special days coming up. Maybe canned chicken will be the new beef, sardines, favorite. I'll keep you posted on the search. Does your cat have a favorite food?


I believe Mojo had a nice birthday this year, even if the sardines had lost some of their appeal. We played with his favorite string, the red one. He is a frisky kitten and loves to try and grab his string. His other gift was mealworms for the birds outside. He enjoys watching them, along with the other cats, and so we feed them for entertainment. The weather here has finally cooled off a bit so we can order the worms and not feel bad about them riding in a hot truck. I know they are going to be eaten, but they don't need to suffer before their time. I have issues, but that's ok. Again, this post is about Mojo, so back to the birthday boy!

Mojo in human years would be about 60, depending on which website you choose to believe. He is showing some signs of age, but all in all, considering what he has gone through in life, he is doing fantastic! He is living the high life now, and loving every minute of it! I'm glad he is part of my family. Happy Birthday Mojo!

Happy Birthday Devon and Sophie!

I'm a bit late with this post, but better late than never, I suppose. Sophie celebrated her 6th birthday on September 10th, and Devon celebrated his 6th birthday on the 14th. It is hard to believe that we have had them for 6 years!


For Sophie's birthday, we went to the Wild Bird Unlimited store and picked up a bird feeder and some seed for her. She loves to chatter at the birds and watch them throughout the day. This new feeder will bring her pleasure all year. For her birthday dinner, we had steamed asparagus. This is her favorite human food, and she ate several stalks of it! I'll post pictures later...
For Devon's birthday, he also got a new bird feeder and a branch for the pole system. The finches love his feeder and there is always someone out there eating. The cats all love the birds! Devon's big thrill in life, besides laying on the oven, is licking butter from the County Crock tub, so for his birthday dinner, we had baked potatoes. He licked the butter and ate some shredded cheese. He was a happy boy!

Devon and Sophie, along with the other cats all got a new catnip toy as well. They love the felt mice, and will just wash and wash on them until they are soaking wet. Everyone went to bed high that night...pure kitty bliss.

Pictures of the actual birthdays will be posted at a later time.

Summer Update...Waiting for Fall

Since our last post a lot has happened with the boys...they are crazier than ever!

Devon is anxiously waiting for cooler weather so we can go for rides in the stroller again. It is simply too hot right now for him, or anyone to be outside. He enjoys laying in the middle of the floor and cooling his belly under the ceiling fan. He's a touch dramatic at times :)










Mojo's arm has finally healed! GO MOJO!! It only took about a month, but we were all glad when it was back to normal. Here is his arm about half-way through the healing process. Here is the arm completely healed, just needing a bit of hair to grow back. He was so proud of himself, and enjoyed his sardines.

















Mojo had to go back to the vet school to have his eyes examined. He went in for his regular vet check-up, and she was concerned that he might have a melanoma on his eye. Luckily, it was just a spot where the iris has attached to the cornea, so nothing to worry about, just to keep an eye on. We were all thankful for that news, and Mojo got some more sardines.








Smokey is doing well on his allergy shots, and has only had a couple of small flair ups this summer. We are all pleased with his progress. Smokey's latest crazy habit is opening the closet doors. In some of the bedrooms, we have bi-fold doors, and they are no match for the Goose. He has been opening drawers (and pulling things out) since he was a kitten. He used to love to try and open the bathroom cabinets, but couldn't quite master that, so they would just slam shut during the night. I would wrap a hand towel around the post in the middle, so they wouldn't make noise. Now we've moved on to closets. At least he hasn't figured out how to work the door knobs yet!

Smokey went in for his regular vet check-up and got a clean bill of health, except for his teeth. We'll need to get those cleaned this year, along with a senior blood panel. (If anyone would like to hire Smokey to open their closets, he charges $25 per opening, more if he needs to pull something out!)









Tanner has been going well this summer too. He is a playing fool, and loves to jump around on the bed for his string! He is loving life right now because he is getting lots of canned food to help him lose weight. He is eating ProPlan Turkey and Rice Weight Management formula twice a day. We tried the Hills DM formula but no one would touch it! The ProPlan has a very high protein content, which is what Tanner needs. He seems to be extra sensitive to the carbs in the dry food. Maybe this will help him trim down a bit. He is over 17 lbs now! His vet has taken to calling him Mr. Wide Bottom! Otherwise he is going great.


The boys did great with their pet sitter while my sister and I were on vacation. Everyone came down to eat and get love and played with most every day. It took Tanner until two days before we came home to decide this lady might be ok, and he should let her pet him. It takes him a while to trust, but luckily we didn't have to worry about his medicine while we were gone, so that was a relief for all of us!

Everyone needed lots of love when we got home, but Tanner was the funniest. During the night when he would wake up, and see that I was still there, he would just purr and purr. I could hear him from across the room! He was very clingy and needy too. He followed me around all the time, and just talked up a storm. They were all happy to have us home, and we were glad to be back home too!







Well, that about wraps up our summer...hopefully updates will be more frequent this fall, since Devon and Mojo have birthdays coming up. Until then...stay Crazy!

Mojo's Medical News

Mojo has always been the most challenging of my boys as far as medical issues. He started off sick and thin when we got him. We've worked through lots of different treatment regimes with him, and he has drastically improved in the two years we've had him. We brought him home from the facility in February 2005. April he had his teeth cleaned, and was referred to the vet school for an ear polyp. In May he had ear surgery to remove the polyp. The sore on his face remained, so we worked for 7 more months to get that cleared. We did a food trial, eating only Venison and Green Pea food. He was also on a multitude of medicines, raning from the simple, like a Pepcid for indigestion, to immune-suppressants for severe allergy problems. He was also on steriods and antihistamines. Finally in December he was clear and able to be tested for allergies. He is allergic to EVERYTHING! In January 2006, we started the immunotherapy, or allergy shots. He responded beautifully, and has been off all medicines, with the exception of an antihistamine every now and then for over a year!

Fast forward to April 2007. Mojo is doing great...we're still giving the allergy shots every two weeks, and he handles them like a real trooper. He can eat anything that he wants. He weighs close to 10.5 pounds. Life is good for Mojo. Overnight his world changes. A HUGE abcess pops up on his chin. He goes to the vet school for an emergency check-up, where more biopsies are taken. He is sent home on antibiotics for a monthand pain meds for a week. Mojo does not tolerate antibiotics well. He became quite sick again, lost a good bit of weight and just felt miserable. We treated the nausea with Pepcid and this would work for a couple of days, then we just had to increase the dose. We made it through and Mojo went in to see the dentist and his favorite dermatologist to see what the problem was, and to try and figure out what caused the abcess. Mojo spends the day there and gets lots of x-rays. It is decided that his teeth need to come out because they are rotten and decaying. After about 4 hours of surgery Mojo is able to come home with three canine teeth only! He is on pain meds, and you guessed it, more antibiotics! He started out sick from the anesthesia, then sick from the antibiotics, then sick from the pain meds. We had to resort to giving fluids and an injectable form of pepcid to help him through. Slowly he started feeling better and eating better and looking better.

We saw a small sore on him arm after surgery, but figured it was just from the IV. Well, Mojo kept messing with it, and washing it, and chewing at it, so it became a huge sore on his arm! I took him in to be seen, and yep, he was given more antibiotics, and some ointment for his arm. After two doses of the antibiotic he was sick as a dog again. We stopped them, and spoke with another vet for a different treatment option. We have been working with her for over a week now, and the sore is looking better. It may take another couple of weeks for it to heal completely, but at least we are seeing improvements, and Mojo is not sick. I won't say Mojo is thrilled with his new treatment option, but he is tolerating it pretty well.

Here is a picture of the sore. The scab is actually bad for healing at this point. The point of his treatment is to soften the scab, so the skin realizes there is a sore there, so it will heal it like it is supposed to.

We start with a layer of BioDerm, or fake skin! This stuff is extremely sticky, but it works like a charm.

Next, we get wrapped. The store didn't have any red wrap, which is Mojo's color, but he is doing ok with the teal!

Next, he gets taped at both ends of the wrap, so it doesn't slip down his arm.

Lastly, we get the e-collar on, and he is not happy. He doesn't think he can eat, drink, or walk properly with this collar on. We take it off several times a day for him to eat, but you have to watch him like a hawk, because he can have the bandage off in a matter of seconds!

We hope that two to three more dressing changes and we will be able to stop, but we'll see. I know Mojo will be a happy camper once this is all over.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SMOKEY!!

Happy 11th Birthday Goose...I know this is a bit late, his birthday was April 14th, but I did want to write something about him. Smokey is the first cat that I got as an adult. It seems like fate that brought me to him. In 1996, I was about to graduate from college. My sister and I were going to move into an apartment together, and we were both going to get a kitten. It was exciting times! We both started out wanting boys, simply because their surgery would be cheaper. Color didn't really matter, just a nice personality. A friend in our parents hometown had a cat that had just given birth, and we could come and pick from her litter. We drove home, and there were two adorable long haired girls that were just perfect! So much for our cheaper surgery theory! So we took pictures, and started thinking about names, and buying toys and beds and all kinds of neat things for them. We were ready. Our parents went and picked them up on a Friday night, because they were coming down to help us move on Saturday, and they would bring the kittens with them. They arrived, and we got all the moving done, and played with the kittens, and I noticed my kitten, Tigger (she was a brown tabby) wasn't standing well, and didn't act like she felt good. I showed mom and we decided to take her to the emergency vet because it just didn't look right. It took a while to find one, but we finally arrived and the took her back to be examined, and she died while she was back there. I had only known her for a few hours, but I was heart-broken. I hated that she had made the long journey to my place when she wasn't feeling good. It was either a virus, or a vaccine reaction, so we had to keep an eye on Dasha in case it was contagious.

On Sunday, I graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill, but didn't have a new kitten to go home to. My sister picked up a paper for me, and I started looking in the classifieds for kittens. There were quite a few to choose from, so I started calling around. My friend and I went visiting kittens the next day, and most of the ones we found were no longer little kittens at all! It was disappointing. I called another lady that night, and she said she had 2 kittens left, but had 3 people coming out to visit, to not come by, but call the next day and see if she had any left. I called the next morning and she still had 2 kittens! After work, my sister and I drove down to look at the kittens, and I was hoping they would be small enough to fit in with Dasha. There was a little white kitten, and a small greyish black one with some stripes on it. They were living on a screened porch with a bunch of adult cats that kept growling at them. I felt bad having to choose, but I chose the one with the stripes because he was the smallest of the two. He could fit in my hand, and he laid in my hand the whole way home and slept. I chose the name Smokey because he had black and grey and white on him...the colors of smoke.

Smokey as a baby. He was about the size of a Beanie Baby!

Smokey was a nervous kitten, but he loved to play and jump! He and Dasha became instant friends. They played together a lot.

It was fun at night just to watch Smokey and Dasha. They were very entertaining!

As Smokey grew he loved to lay in a comfy spot with his stuffed animals. He was still a nervous boy, but had started laying on me, if I laid on the bed to read. He had multiple favorite spots around the house, one being a towel on the bathroom counter! If we had guests over, they rarely saw Smokey. His safe zone was my bedroom, under the bed, or in the closet. He loves a closet!

Smokey's bad habits would include opening my dresser drawers and pulling clothes out! He loves my pajama drawer, which is the bottom one. He can open the bottom two drawers. The best time to do this is of course in the middle of the night!

Another bad habit when we lived at the apartment, was trying to open the bathroom cabinets, but not succeeding and letting them slam closed again. This too was most fun during the night. I got smart though, and started leaving a hand towel wrapped around the post in between the two doors! He could play all he wanted, but it didn't make noise.

Smokey was my only boy until Devon came to live with us in 2001. Smokey was 5 at the time, and I think having those 5 years alone with him has helped him to thrive. He is now a very trusting boy. He loves to lay on my lap, regardless of where I am in the house. He still loves to lay on the towel on the bathroom counter, and a comfy blanket on the bed. He is spoiled, but he's my boy!

I still hate that Tigger died, but I'm glad that I was able to find Smokey and give him a life that he deserves. Happy Birthday again Smokey...you're my special Goose!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TANNER!!

Tanner's birthday was April 7th. My baby boy is now 5 years old! It is hard to believe that he is that old...it seems like only yesterday that he arrived at the house...

Tanner was 13 days old, and weighed 7 ounces, when he came to us with his sister Riley, and they were a fussy group! They didn't like the taste of the formula we were feeding (KMR) because they were used to a surrogate mom's milk. She was doing an ok job with them, but she had kittens of her own that were much larger and older than Tanner and Riley, so they weren't getting what they needed, and were not gaining weight. They were a bit weak and dehydrated when they came to me, but with the help of a friend who rushed over after a frantic "Get over here and bring a heating pad!" phone call, we got them eating. It took almost all weekend for Tanner to want to nurse on his bottle. Riley understood a bit earlier. He finally caught on, and we knew the drill. Tanner liked the short squatty nipple on the bottle, and Riley preferred the long skinny one. As long as they had the right nipple, they would eat fine!




This is Tanner after almost 6 weeks at our house! What a cutie!

Tanner and I went through a lot together. He developed ringworm and we spent months treating that. Once he was ready to go to adoptathons, I wasn't ready to let him go. It took some convincing, but I was finally able to adopt him!

When he was almost two, he was diagnosed with his heart condition, Hypertrophic Obtrusive Cardiomyopathy. He is handling the daily medications like a trooper.

In the last year, Tanner has become a real snuggle bug. He sleeps with me everynight now. He lays at my feet and stretches out...he takes up most of the bed, but I'll not complain. It's just nice to have him in there! He has also gotten so he will sit beside me on the couch some nights.

His favorite pasttime is definitely playing! He loves for me to sit in the floor and play with him. He likes to do flips over my feet while trying to "get" a toy!

He talks a lot more now that he used to, and he enjoys talking to and waving to his birds outside. Some nights he'll put on a show for them and dance around on the rug in front of the doors!

Tanner is a happy boy that loves life! I hope he'll be around for a long time to come...Happy Birthday Tanner!

Smokey and the Vet School, part 2

Smokey finally made it to the vet school for his allergy testing. His appointment in February was cancelled because the doctor's flight was delayed. We went this past Wednesday. He was not too happy about having to fast overnight or the car ride over to Raleigh. He loves to talk in the car, so I enjoyed hearing him because he doesn't talk at home a whole lot. He has a very high squeaky voice...it's like it never changed from when he was a kitten.

Once we made it to the vet school, and I got him checked in, Dr. Murphy came out to get him pretty quickly. We chatted for a bit, and off they went. When Kim picked him up later that afternoon, Dr. Murphy commented on how loving Smokey was, and how he just wanted to be held! He is a snuggle bug and loves getting hugs.

Smokey got a mild sedative to help him hold still while he was being tested. He got his side shaved, and they marked on his with what looks like a Sharpie where the test pricks were going to go. Here he is just a few minutes after being home...he was starving! You can see the black marks very prominently, and also some sores where the testing was done.

Smokey was so happy to be home...he's been quite talkative, which is unlike him. He loves to play and is a frisky kitten! It takes him an office visit to make him truly appreciate his good life at home.

We found out that he is allergic to 12 things.

• Dust Mites


• Eastern Oak Mix (trees)


• White Hickory


• Red Maple


• Elm Mix


• Johnson Grass


• Orchard Grass


• Yellow Dock (weed)


• Rough Pigweed


• Giant Ragweed


• Fleas


• Cockroaches

Since the serum for the immuno-therapy can have up to 14 items in it, we were all set, and his serum will include all things (except fleas). The serum should be here in a couple of weeks, and we'll get started. Once I know the schedule for the shots, I'll post them here. I will be doing the shots at home. I feel comfortable with that, since I've already gone through this process with Mojo. Mojo is currently on a once every two week schedule, which is nice. I'm hoping to get the boys on the same day, once Smokey gets to the maintenance phase.

After a few days, the black dots were fading on Smokey's side. The shaved area is so warm and soft...I just love rubbing it! I told Smokey we may just have to keep him shaved...he wasn't too happy about that.

Spring is in the Air

Spring is in the air, here in the south and that means two things...

1) Fun Stroller Rides

and

2) Allergies!

We'll start with the fun stuff...Stroller rides! I took Devon out this Sunday for a walk around the block. Now that I'm off the crutches from breaking my fibula in February, I thought a walk would be nice. Plus, did I mention that it was in the 70's here? So I grabbed Devon and we were off. It's been a while since we have used the stroller, so he started out talking a bit frantically. Once we crossed the street, he settled down. He loves to talk while he is out...I secretely think he wants to see if folks will come out and look at him! I forgot to take my camera out with me, but here is a picture of him from last fall in the stroller. Next time we go out, I'll take the camera along...Devon is a bit hard to see here, but he is sitting and looking proud!

Spring also means allergies, and poor Smokey is starting to flair up a bit. His eyes are a bit swollen, so I've started the eye ointment again to see if that will help. He goes next week to be tested for allergies, so I hope we can pin point the culprits and get the immuno-therapy started soon! I'll try to grab a new photo of Smokey tonight...he is a bit camera shy!

Did I mention that it was in the 70's on Sunday? It was a glorious day here...the sky was blue, Carolina Blue, I might add. I took advantage of the day, and when I got back from my walk with Devon, I grabbed a book and a chair, threw on some shorts and headed outside! I sat in the sun with my bare feet in the grass and read for a couple of hours...it was a fantastic way to spend a Sunday afternoon. It's supposed to get into the 80's by mid-week...Spring is definitely right around the corner...

More Snow Pictures

Since it is in the 60's here, and spring should be just around the corner, I thought it would be nice to reflect on the few snow days we had this year. Here in the South, we were once again cheated from any substantial snow amounts. Flurries are pretty and fun to watch, but you don't get out of work long enough! In 2000, we had a large snowfall...over 20 inches. We were out of work, and stuck at home for a week...it was great! My tip to you all is to not watch Food Network when you can't get to the grocery store. In either 2001 or 2002, we had a nice ice storm and we were out of work for almost a week then too. It wasn't quite as fun because we didn't have any power. It is amazing what all you can cook on a grill though. Luckily we had gas logs in the fireplace, so we could keep the downstairs fairly warm. The cats enjoyed sitting on blankets in front of the fireplace! For the last several years, we only received a few snow showers. I suppose that is better than nothing at all...maybe next year, we'll get a big one! Until then, here are some pictures of Snow in the South.

The cats love watching the snow fall, and also all the birds eating and flying around! This is Sophie and Tanner...