Mancat Monday

October started with a heat wave, or at least not cool fall weather like we would want.  We actually broke two records on the 3rd...daily temp record, and hottest day of the year!  We skirted with 100 during the summer but never broke it...we were all fine with that, but October said, Hold my Pumpkin Spice Latte!

Ridiculous!  Thankfully, by Saturday we were in the 70's...a very nice change!

We opened the windows on Saturday and did some much needed cleaning...Oliver LOVES bleach and was super excited the floors were mopped!

Here is a quick video of him rolling on the floor...

Here it is on YouTube

Later, we put together the two Halloween houses I found.  One was from the PetSmart and the other from Target, in case your family needs them :)  Oliver is a big helper.

I decided to do some reinforcing with extra tape to help the houses hold up to rough play and chewing!

Rusty was the first one in the house from PetSmart...it only has one door...don't get trapped!

Oliver helping with the second house...

Harrison checking out the other one...This one has two doors and some windows.  There is a scratcher on the inside, and on top.

Flynn is a big goof and loved having the rugs in the den while the kitchen floor was being mopped.  He also is infatuated with the vacuum cord.  He was having the best time!

Rusty and Oliver checking things out and enjoying the windows being open.

We are not sure if the boys have realized Lenny is staying, or if the fresh air just made everyone extra frisky, but George, Flynn and Oliver were bullying Lenny on Saturday.  We broke out our Jackson Galaxy sprays and the feliway wipes to try and calm everyone down.  Over the weekend things settled down, but there are still moments when someone will look at Lenny too long, or chase him.  This morning we ordered Bully Remedy (we were out), Safe Space, and Changing Times to see if those will help everyone get back to normal and being nice. 

Oliver went to the vet on Thursday for a recheck and his chin is looking better.  The vet prescribed two more weeks of antibiotics and then another recheck.  We were also told to wash his chin daily with the chlorhexadine wipes I ordered.

I don't have a picture of Pirate, but he has started on B-12 injections.  His value was super low.  This week he GAINED two ounces!  We are hoping that is all he needs to perk up some and gain more weight.  Thanks for the continued purrs for him.

Tuesday Travels - Juneau

Our second Port was the capital of Juneau.  The day started out misty with a slight drizzle, but we were hopeful it would clear up later.  We had until 1:30 before our whale watching cruise, so we spent the morning walking around the town and shopping.

There were bald eagles hanging around, on structures, light posts, etc.  They were hard to photograph with my phone because they were some distance away.  The guides always told us to look for the "golf balls" in the trees...those would be the eagle head.

Day grew weary of shopping so mom threatened to drop him here.

He changed his attitude and was able to continue on with us :)

Our first stop on the whale watching was Orca Point Lodge for a salmon bake lunch...

These weird worms/caterpillars/insects were everywhere! 

After lunch, we were back on the boat and heading out to find whales.  We were looking for Orcas and the Humpback.  This is a humpback here.

A blow hole shot.  We learned that this was not water, but was in fact snot.  

Now there are two whales...one in front and the one behind is where the puff of snot is..

Here are both going for a dive...

Tail shot... 

This whale is named Flame.  She has a baby named Bunsen.  She gave us quite a show.  Auntie took a nice video you can watch below.

Click here to watch on YouTube

These photos are grainy because we were not super close to the whale...

Each tail is unique, like a fingerprint, so that is how you can tell the whales apart. 

Our last stop was Mendenhall Glacier.

There was a trail to the glacier and visitor center, so we decided to take that route..

Sockeye salmon in the river...

A count of what has been through the area so far...

Another bald eagle...

The glacier...

Well, there you have it.  Next weeks post, we will stop in Skagway...

Mancat Monday

Here's to another fun week with all the mancats...

Lenny and Rusty watching a rabbit in the yard...

Rusty loves a basket!  It doesn't matter where it is, he has to get in and lay down!

Oliver is making progress with accepting Lenny and forgiving me for messing with his chin all the time.  My view during Friday naptime.

On the other side of me was Lenny...they both did great in the same bed

Lenny had his first taste of tuna and LOVED it!

Cousin Pirate could use some purrs.  He has been losing quite a bit of weight, and the vet is trying to figure out why.  He had an ultrasound looking for cancer or digestive issues, but the views came back normal.  His blood work looks good, but we are wondering if the thyroid issues are masking the severity of the kidney disease.  We are waiting on results of some more blood work to see if there is an absorption issue.  Pirate is 16, so it could simple be age, but he can't keep losing weight at the rate he is going.  In January is weighed 11 pounds.  Now he is 7.13 pounds.  

Purrs for:

~Weight Gain

~For the vet to figure out what is wrong

~For us to find some food he likes, so he eats better (he is on appetite stimulants which are helping)

Flynn and the others have destroyed a couple of catnip toys...they love rolling in the dried remains.  Have fun Flynn!  I can vacuum another day :)

Oliver hanging out with me while I'm scrapbooking.  He is slow to accept change, but he is getting there. His chin is looking 100 times better.  Last night, I only saw a little bit of white stuff come out when I combed him.  He has another week of antibiotics before we get rechecked.  I almost imagine he will need another couple of weeks because there are still quite a few knots and bumps on his chin.  They aren't as painful for him now, I suppose because they aren't as deep as before.  Oliver is doing a great job at taking his pill every morning.  It's been a tough month for him, but his life is improving, and we are finding a new normal with Lenny around.

Well, that's all we have for this week.  Remember to stop by tomorrow to read about our stop in Juneau.

Tuesday Travels - Ketchikan

After a full day of sailing, it was time to stop in Ketchikan...our first taste of Alaska.

View of the town from the ship.  Reminded me of a Christmas village..I loved all the colors which contrasted with the dreary grey and rainy day we were having. 

Looking to the left of the ship...the main town is off to the right of the ship, but this Souvenir store had great prices! 

We were scheduled for two excursions on this day...the first was a Duck Tour, which went all around town and then out into the water. 

Dad sat near a window on the other side of the Duck Boat.  We learned a lot about the history of Ketchikan on this tour. 

After our tour, we had a couple of hours to explore part of the town before our next tour.  We walked up to the main part of town to get pictures of the famous signs...

This town is in a rain forest and is dependent on the rain.  Many homes have cisterns that collect the rain and they use it as their water in the home.  Ketchikan receives an average of 12.5 feet of rain a year! 

Cute restaurant...wonder if you can franchise it like you can Burger King?

Many homes are built on hills and have steep stairways going to them.  The stairs are considered as streets, and the mail is delivered to the houses, and the stairs are kept free of snow and ice.

Our second tour was a walk through a rain forest, then visit a sawmill, the raptor center and then back to the ship.  We saw many unique and beautiful flowers... 

Trees with really tall roots...yes, it is still raining!

Lumber was the main industry for many years.  This tree shows a notch where a springboard would have been placed so the lumberjack could climb higher to cut the tree down.

A banana slug...supposedly if you lick it, your mouth will go numb...we didn't test this theory!

A bear cave...

The salmon were running in the river, and the birds were excited. 

A Bald Eagle at the Raptor center...

Kily, a Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk.  They have tried to release him back into the wild, but he is naughty and kept begging humans for food because he had imprinted already.  He is now a permanent member of the center. 

Once our tours were over, and the ship was ready to leave port, we headed to Arts & Crafts for card making!  The ship has a lot of fun activities for you all the time.

Next week, Juneau...