Woman in the Middle

Hubby does not like to be cold. Before Christmas he mentioned that he would like a throw blanket to use when he is on the couch that was longer than the one he has now. I went looking, and found  that most throw blankets are five feet long. I did manage to find one that is six feet long, and it went under the tree for Hubby. The blanket is made from that really silky soft slightly fuzzy material that science has come up with.  In other words, a delight to touch.

At some point, the blanket made its way from under the tree to the back of the couch. Dax discovered it there and liked to give it a good kneed once in a while. We were not impressed, since the blanket was brand new. What we did not realize was that we were witnessing the very beginnings of a love story.

One night, we were watching TV and, as usual, Hubby was on one end of the couch and Eldest Daughter was on the other end. Dax jumped up to take over the middle cushion on the couch, as is his usual practice when we are watching TV. The new blanket happened to be on the  middle cushion that night, and Dax gave it a few kneeds and then settled down on it. We thought he looked so cute, cuddled up on the blanket. (But then, we think all three of our cats look cute all the time.)

It was that night that Dax went from falling in love to being in love, or should I say IN LOVE, with that blanket! Now, a few weeks later, and that blanket is his! Night before last removed any doubt that may have been lingering in our minds that Dax and that blanket are buddies.

We were watching TV and Hubby was sleepy. Eldest Daughter was visiting Youngest Daughter and Dax was someplace else in the house, so Hubby had the couch all to himself. He took advantage and decided to lay down and stretch out.  The soft blanket was under him. Dax wandered into the room and was a bit out of sorts. He finally lept up on the couch and tried to get comfortable on the 12 or so square inches of the blanket right in front of Hubby’s face. While Hubby liked the fact that Dax was “cuddling”with him, I knew better and told him so. He was keeping Dax from his blanket.

Hubby tries to delude himself sometimes that the cats are just cats, and he didn’t move. Dax jumped down and tried to find another place to settle, but none suited him. Then Eldest Daughter came home. While we were talking to her about her evening, Dax jumped up and laid down on the back of the couch. Hubby then sat up, the better to engage in conversation. We were telling Eldest about  poor Dax’s blanket conundrum, when she reached over and scratched his back. That caused Dax to look back over his shoulder to see who was doing the scratching. When he did, Dax happened to see that the beloved blanket was once again uncovered. I am telling you, his eyes lit up like neon bulbs and he couldn’t get down from the back of the couch fast enough to plop down on the blanket. It was a sight to see, and we all started laughing, not at Dax, but in our delight at witnessing such unmitigated joy.

Needless to say, the blanket is now Dax’s, not Hubby’s, and no one, and I mean no one, is allowed to keep Dax from getting on his blanket. The joy he gets from that blanket is not to be interfered with!

As I was typing this , I snuck over and got this photo. Guess who is laying on HIS blanket?

I don’t take my carmera every time I go to Room 8. The last time was a month ago, but I kept forgetting to post the photos. Here are a few from that visit. I took most of my photos in a room that happens to have quite a few black and white cats. Look closely. Aren’t their intricate color patterns amazing?

Last but not least, it is tough not to just take someone home, when they lay all over your foot!

Absolutely everything we do around here is for the cats. At least they certainly think so! From getting up in the morning to all the things we do before we got to bed, it is all about the cats.

The latest thing we did, just for them, of course, was move the stove. We had an electrical problem in the kitchen last week and the stove had to be pulled partially away from the wall in order to access the outlet behind it. When the time came to push the stove back in it was being stubborn. Hubby had to remove the broiler drawer at the bottom in order to see under the stove and figure out how to coax it back into place. When he removed the drawer, all kinds of cat toys were revealed! He pulled out a little worm toy and several bright fuzzy balls.

Lumos was in cat heaven! Who cares about that basket of toys! These are all favorites, which is why they ended up under the stove. They got played with and played with until …ooops! And there it went, never to be played with again, until we moved the stove, of course.

Lumos has rarely stopped playing since the treasure trove was revealed. He eats, drinks, sleeps and PLAYS and PLAYS and PLAYS. Silly cat! But, happy cat, happy life. So we are all very happy right now, watching Lumos be so happy with his rediscovered toys.

I did my picture taking in the older kitten room on my latest visit to Room 8.  It is both a delightful room, because of all the young frisky cats, and a worrisome room, because as cats stop being adorable little kittens their adoption rate goes down. However, that being said, it isn’t a sad room, because every occupant has a safe place to live, plenty of food, and a paid and volunteer staff to cater to their every need. LOL! Every adorable kitten in this room is fixed, has its shots, and is ready for a new home, FYI.

I set my purse up on a shelf, and everyone ignored it, until I went to get my camera and start taking photos. Then the purse because the thing to explore.

“What is this???”

“Is it a bag?”

“Let me just have a peak inside…”

I am always amazed by the colors of kitty cats’ eyes. They have such a range. This guy has the most amazing amber eyes. I wish I could have gotten a better photo.

Here he is from a little father away, but you can still see those amber eyes!

This is the white kitten who has the pale cream rings on his tail. His name is Ed and I have shown you photos of him before. He was being very frisky, and if I gave him the opportunity he hopped right up on my shoulder or, if I was bending over, my back.    The blurry photo is him trying to figure out how close I was, and if he could hop back up on my shoulder again!

Some of the kitties were lounging around outside, napping in the fresh air.

This gray kitten was all about the love as well. As you can see here, he is REALLY wanting back in my arms for move loving. But, while he was giving me that pleading look, his tail was flicking in the face of another kitten.

What better way to have a little fun than to grab the tail of another kitten, especially if that tail is right in your face. LOL!

“Yes, lady, what do you want?”

“Excuse me, but I am sunbathing and wish to be left alone!”

Finally, one little guy was enjoying getting to rub up against a human.

Back and forth, back and forth….

Every cat has a story and on September 1st I learned dear drooling Joey’s story. First of all, Joey is a girl! I totally need to work on calling “him” a “her” now. Joey was living with an elderly couple. The husband had Alzheimer’s and the family was placing him in a facility. Happily, the wife could go live there as well, and still be with her husband. Unhappily, they couldn’t take their pet cat. They found Room 8, who agreed to take the cat who, they said, was 25 years old. Well, two years later we are very sure Joey was not 25. But this story explains why Joey so dislikes the cattery and so likes to roam the hallways and find a nice office chair to sleep in. It feels more like a home that way. Sigh…..

It was hot at the cattery on the first day of September, because we were still in the middle of our heat wave. The fans were going, however, and I think the cats were more comfortable than the humans. Given how many of the older kittens wanted to pile on Eldest Daughter, I would say they didn’t mind the heat at all, or the heat generated from her and so many cat bodies all piled together.

The little white kitty with the unique ringed tail was my friend today. It started purring the minute I picked it up and it wanted to stay with me always. Double sigh. Such a lovable cutie!

Here are some more photos of the older kittens today.

It was a warm day at Room 8, but the kitties didn’t mind and Eldest Daughter and I didn’t either, except that cat fur tends to stick to you when you are sweaty! Oh well! Nothing a shower can’t cure!

I had a task today – find the new cats, pet them and figure out their personalities so I can write up a little blurb about them for later posting on the Room 8 website. Unfortunately, two of the cats I was supposed to get to know were either skittish or sick, so I couldn’t get those descriptions. However the third one, Anna, was a sweetie and I got to pet and get to know her. All cats have funny quirks (I think the term “quirky” was coined by a cat owner) and hers was to give you several quick bats on the hand if you did something she didn’t like. I was petting her head and back when she laid down on her side. I gave her belly a quick rub but she apparently didn’t like that and my hand got batted. I kept getting the batting routine for about five more tries to pet her (not on the belly), until she decided I had been “punished” enough I guess, and then it was OK to go back to head and back scratches. She didn’t bat me with her claws, so she wasn’t trying to hurt me. She was just letting me know what she did and did not want.

Eldest took a photo of Missy for me to share with you, shaved body and all. Here she is in all her silly glory.

And here is Missy having one of her famous hissy fits at a passing roommate. She is such a tiny thing, but has her hissy fits at all comers!

Today all the regulars were up on my lap in the elderly cat room, other wise known as room 6. But this time one more came over and rubbed my legs and let me bend down and pet her. Pretty Peaches was rubbing away while I petted Sukey, Joey, Socks and Angel.   Eldest took a photo of her for me as well. Isn’t she pretty? She has such striking coloring. 

Peaches was very skittish when she first came to Room 8, even though Manager Gail had been told she was a sweet and loving cat. But, as you can only imagine, it takes some cats awhile to get used to living with lots of over cats and having strange humans come in and out all the time. But Peaches is coming into her own now and we hope she will get a family of her own one of these days.

Right next to the elderly cat room is a room that has been turned over to kittens for the time being. The upper part of the walls between rooms is chicken wife, with a shelf below. An older cat whose name (for reasons unknown to me) is Pork Chop loves to hang out on those shelves, giving him a nice place to stretch out and observe the world of Room 6 from a high perch. While we were in room 6 he went from one side of the room to the other, and laid down over by the kitten room wall. Pork Chop is his own many. HE is happy to lay around and gt one head scratch a day from a passing human. Otherwise, he enjoys ignoring the world around him. But one little guy was so curious about Pork Chop. But, in normal Pork Chop fashion, the kitten was ignored while Pork Chop lounged or did a little cleaning up. Too funny!

You can see the kitten’s head just behind Pork Chop’s back leg. Of course the kitten looked away just as I took the photo.

Pork Chop did a little cleaning while the curious kitten just wanted to play.

Joey in Eldest’s arms. He was meowing to be let out into the rest of the cattery, so she picked him up and that made him happy.

This was the view from my lap. Everyone but Angel had jumped down and this little girl came over. I picked her up, which she didn’t like at all, but it only took a second to deposit her in my lap, and then she was very very happy. I found out her name, and then promptly forgot it. You will have to excuse me, there are a lot of cats at Room 8!

I so enjoy going to visit the cats at Room 8 Memorial Cat Foundation I thought I would start giving updates on what is going on when I visit.

Today Gail, the manager, was in for a minute and she reported that 26 cats and kittens have been adopted out so far in July. Whoo hoo! While that is mostly kittens, as it is kitten season, that number did also represent the adoption of some adult cats as well. Manuel, the chief maintenance person, said he remembers when they only adopted out four cats a month, so he was excited.

On the slightly less good news front, the electric bill for last month was $400. Happily, the cattery got a new roof and new reflective shade cloth for the patios last winter, so it made it possible to add some portable air conditioners and keep the cats and humans a litter cooler in the hot summer months. Otherwise the cats can get stressed out in the heat, I am sure. But that does raise the electric bill!

I am happy to report that all my normal oldsters were there to greet me today. I was afraid dear gray Sukey with the crooked tail might have had to cross the rainbow bridge, but happily she was still there, ready to be petted. As usual, when I sat on the bench, Sukey, Angel, Socks, and Joey (of course) all got up there with me to be petted and loved on. Really, a zen time with all the elderly cats.

This was last week, but it is the same cast of characters as this week. From the left is Socks, Sukey, Angel (in front on my lap) and good old drooling Joey in my arms.

I looked into the other rooms to see the other cats. The funniest thing I saw was Missy, a tiny, long haired ball of gray and white fluff had been shaved to eliminate mats and make her cooler in the warm weather. She looked ridiculous, as you can imagine, with just a fluffy head, feet, and the end of her tail. Missy is quite the character. She really does not like living with other cats. If you are petting her, for example, and another cats gets too close, even if that cat is just strolling by and not trying to horn in on the petting, Missy will start hissing and screeching at the unsuspecting roommate. I am happy to report that Missy did not let her recent haircut stop her from having a hissy fit at the cats around her, for any real or imagined misdeed. 

 In other words , it was just another normal Day at Room 8!

Lumos has something wrong with him again. Poor guy! It started last Friday when he threw up. We realized it had to do with a hair ball. But, call us dense, having dealt with hairballs in the past, we weren’t too worried. By Sunday evening, we were all down on the hairball, however, and decided if he exhibited the kind of throwing up he had been doing again, we would take him to the vet.

However, he appeared to get over the hairball. By yesterday he was eating fine and not throwing up, or at least not throwing up much. The other end was working fine as well, if you know what I mean. But new symptoms appeared. His face and ears turned pink. They are always pink, of course, because he is an orange cat. But they turned bright pink. Not shocking pink, but brighter than normal. The decision was made if the pink didn’t go away by this morning, he was going to the vet. Along with this odd pinkness, he was scratching quite a bit, and grooming his feet a lot. We put flea treatment on him, thinking that might be the problem. (And, I realized later I bought the flea treatment in the first place because of his scratching and foot grooming, so the scratching part of the symptoms may have been coming on for a while. Again, call me slow.)

I checked this morning and Lumos was still pink, so I called the vet and made an appointment. Then he proceeded to throw up his entire breakfast. Sigh. I am sure hoping the vet can sort out these wildly disparate symptoms and figure out what is wrong with poor Lu.  The hairball/throwing up may have nothing to do with the itching and scratching, and foot grooming and pink face.  Who knows. I just hope we can get it all figured out!

“Again, it seems to be mostly about my ears. I know my ears are cute, but I wish they would stop staring at them!”

Update: Lumos had a fever when we went to the doctor. In addition to blood work, I asked for an xray to insure there was no blockage in his intestines. There did not appear to be, I am happy to report. Right now, the doctor believes it may be a food sensitivity causing his problems, but we will know more when the blood tests come back. Cross your fingers it isn’t feline leukemia or FIV. If it is, he would have had to get that in the few weeks he was in the wild before we found him and his brother.

Poor Lumos, our orange cat. He is two years old and has never been sick, not counting the poor state he was in when we found him at four weeks old. Until now that is. On Monday I was bustling about getting things done when the girls told me there was something wrong with his ears. How could that be? He was fine just a few hours before. I thought they were exaggerating, but went over to the couch where he was resting to get a look at him. Oh my! My poor baby!

The poor guy looked like he was channeling Yoda from Star Wars. His ears were both pulled down to the side of his head (how do they even do that?) and he just looked miserable. He kept shaking his head and scratching at both ears. I immediately made arrangements to take him to the vet. When he was examined, his ears were clean but the doctor saw, maybe, just possibly, the beginnings of infections in both ears. I was given drops to put in his ears and I took the poor baby home.

According to the directions, I was to keep the drops in the fridge and put four cold drops into Lumos’ warm little ears twice a day for 10 days.  Oh boy! The girls and I worked together that night to get those drops in his ears. It was a struggle! Of course, the minute we were done with one ear, he shook his head, trying his darndest to spray us all with ear drops. The second ear required a good shake as well, but that time some ear drops went in Eldest Daughter’s eye and they stung. After that experience. Eldest, who is in charge of holding Lumos during the ear drop fun, wears a nice set of safety goggles provided by her Youngest Sister, left over from some science class she took in college.

I am happy to report, as of Wednesday morning, Lumos is feeling much better. He is acting like his normal self again after two miserable days. The drops are still being used of course, as we want to make sure the infection is long gone.

“My cute pink ears are feeling much better, thank you!”

I hope you have a wonderful, relaxing weekend! As you can see from the photos below, my cats are already in relaxation mode. Of course, to them, every day is a weekend, with wait staff, cleaning staff, grooming staff, and all they could want, short of someone placing cat treats in their mouths constantly whenever they are awake.

Big yawn from Nox.

Lumos in his usual belly up napping position.

Blackie totally zonked out in one of his favorite places, the window seat.