Thanks Paul

I see your "Kahncat" and raise you this:

I'm back...with cats

As you may have noticed I've been gone, as some might say.

I'm back, at least for today, just to say "hey" and "how are ya?". I think the main reason I've been absent has been a lack of enthusiasm for getting on my computer plus an increased work load. It's the busy season for me right now. Also, I have two amazing little kittens to take care of right now and anyone who has kittens in their house knows just how much attention these little guys need. Just in case you were wondering, here's a piccie:


That's Sydney with the markings and Oliver hiding in the back and they are not as innocent as they look. And just so my other cat doesn't feel neglected here he is, yawning:

Or yelling a war-cry. I forget which one now.

A few thoughts for today and a video

I love space stuff and am always intrigued when we manage to do crazy things in space, like live there for months, do crazy experiments in Zero-G and let monkey's fly the spacecraft (ok, I may have made that last one up/seen it on the remake of Planet of the Apes). That's why this picture is super cool:


Now tell me this: Why is it man can take a picture of a friggin Asteroid with a camera that was "within 3,162 kilometers of the asteroid while moving at a speed of 15 meters per second" but I can't manage to take a non-fuzzy picture of my cat, Cooper, moving at 0 meters per second from a distance of 12 inches away:

Speaking of cats, I saw this great picture of a couple of kittens (available for adoption at the Putnam County Animal Rescue shelter). Keep in mind, it should only be a picture of the kitten on the left...excellent "Photobomb":



And as promised a video. It's band called "The Mystery Jets" with a song called "Two doors down". It's tremendously 80's!



Oh and it's nothing like this:

Bad news comes in threes: Part 1

I've never really been one to believe that bad things happen in threes. Typically if something bad happens it's likely to lead to several lesser bad things whether it's the car accident and subsequent repair bills and health costs or simply misplacing your keys when you are in a hurry. However, last week was pretty rough and it was due to three key factors.


Number one, as some of you may know is that we had to put Barnaby to sleep. It was one of the toughest days of my life. He was a very sick cat who had several serious health problems such as rapidly declining kidneys, hyperthyroidism, prone to urinary infections, permanent upper respiratory infection, arthritis and anemic but he was also the sweetest cat I'd ever met. He was 16 1/2 years old but still had the face and attitude of a kitten. He loved being around people, especially meeting strangers and service people who would come to the house and he loved sitting on a warm lap, or sleeping on my warm head at night. He rarely meowed and just had a silent, comforting, loving presence.

I remember a couple of months after moving to the states my grandparents died within a week of each other. Another tough time for me and Barnaby also sensed that. He would come and sit on my lap for hours or just sit next to me on the sofa and then follow me around the house when I moved. He was the opposite of the stereotypical aloof and unloving cat that we see on tv and that I'd always experienced with other outdoor cats (we kept Barnaby inside, and his brother Cooper).

He was far from typical in many ways. Apart from not meowing (which made it extra cute when he did) and loving strangers he didn't like catnip or really have an interest in seafood. Instead he preferred vanilla ice cream (Cold Stone's Sweet Cream was his favourite), milkshakes, sour cream, whipped cream..basically anything white and creamy. He even like Wendy's Chili and would prefer ice cold bottled water to anything he had in his water bowl (but of course we gave him all these things in extreme moderation!). He would occasionally be interested in store bought cat food but was more likely to be found playing in a cardboard box or chewing on a piece of material cord (we had one tied up just for him in his toy basket), or attacking a crinkly water bottle label or sticky tape. As he was so sweet it always brought a smile to our faces to see him get fired up when he was in the mood to play with his toys.

His health had rapidly declined in the space of about 8 months really. He had given us a couple of scares as he lost his appetite and a lot of weight. His arthritis and kidneys made him develop a limp and he gradually became less interested in playing with his toys as actively as he used to. He would still make the trip downstairs to greet us when we got home though or upstairs to get a snack several times a day. As his kidney function declined we ended up giving him Sub-cutaneous fluids on a daily basis. He was also taking three different meds and a supplement which involved squirting the liquid down his throat three times a day (which seemed to be a game for him and challenge to avoid bleeding for me).

As we knew he was very sick we had worried about how we would finally know when he was no longer had quality of life. It was so difficult because he would have a bad day followed by a number of good days where he would play, snuggle, be ornery, snack and roll around on the floor in front of the space heater. We hoped that when the day came we would know.

Well, we woke up Sunday May 30th at 9am and he was in the bed having a seizure next to us. He had had a seizure (his first ever) on Wednesday night that last about 30 seconds and he came around and recovered. In fact he had had a really good week, snacking on his dry food, eating his yogurt (to replace his good bacteria from the antibiotics), spending time with us instead of sleeping etc.. That Sunday, however, his seizure lasted for maybe a minute and then he seemed to shake it off for a short while before the next one came. Unfortunately the next one never ended, it just fluctuated in severity.

We gave him a while to try and wait for the seizure to end but nothing was helping. We put him in the carrier and rushed him to the emergency vet in South Charleston where they told us it was him time. They were able to subdue him but that was just a temporary measure and we had to say goodbye.

The house has seemed a lot emptier over the last few weeks. It really feels like a big presence is missing, especially when we lay down for nap or in the evenings when we would snuggle on my lap or by my feet (and the heater!). Barnaby really was a blessing for both of us and we will miss him dearly.

Thankfully(!), two other bad things happened that week to take our minds of our "Boo Boo" so stay tuned for Part 2. I'm sure I will post more about Barnaby in the next few days and I'll get a few more pictures and even video going when I feel more like it.

Friday silliness

Blogging is a funny old game. Sometimes I'll think up posts during the week and then dismiss them when I actually get the time to get here and post it. Other times I have 3 or 4 ideas when I'm at my computer and want to post them all at once, and on other occasions I'll just switch my blog brain off and forget about it for days at a time wondering why the heck I ever blogged in the first place.

It's Friday today and I find myself wanting to post two stupid things and one more thoughtful piece but I know that posting three at a time will empty the pool of blog posts in my head and they'll be nothing but a tumbleweed blowing about this webpage for a while.

So, I'll try and pace myself and just post a video of a cat today.

Vote for Cooper!

This is one of my cats, Cooper. I liked this photo because the basket was just sitting there before it went upstairs and he just decided to jump in and then look at me. He probably wanted a free-ride upstairs. Vote for Cooper please!

Vote for Cooper!

Cat Profile - Cooper and Barnaby

I am lucky enough to live with two great cats, Cooper and Barnaby. I have wanted to get something on here about them and immortalize them in the annuls of the blogsphere, so as an introduction here are their profiles:

Name: Cooper
Nicknames: Cooper-pooper, Pooper, Poop, Coop, Coo-poop, Grey cat, Coopooperus Maximus.
Age: 15
Breed: Domestic Long hair.
Appearance: Grey with a white belly and pink nose.
Favourite food: Tuna, any kind of soft food, meat. cheese powder commonly found on snacks like cheetos.
Likes: Catnip, rubbing his face on walls, cabinets, people, fighting, his cat mat (aka boogie mat), sleeping in corners, meowing, having his belly rubbed for hours, sleeping under a blanket, chasing a laser pen, sleeping in weird places, attention.
Dislikes: Going outside, going to the vet, getting wet, getting picked up or "scooped".

Name: Barnaby
Nicknames: Boo Boo Barnaby, Boo Boo, Tiny face, Stripey face, Baby face kitten, Stripey cat, Stripey, Barnibus, Barnibus Arrelius.
Age: 15
Breed: Domestic Short hair
Appearance: Stripey brown ish. White spots on his paws and his a big white spot on his chest. Orange nose. Frequently snotty.
Favorite food: Ice cream, Wendy's Chilli, soft food.
Likes: Getting picked up, strangers, sitting in the window, sunbathing, fan heaters, snuggling, getting brushed, hairball paste, chasing a laser pen, having his chin rubbed, having his face stroked, climbing into laundry baskets, chewing on shoelaces, being watched while he eats, bottled water, hairclips.
Dislikes: Getting wet, having the tip of his tail poked.

I am sure I have left things out that Ms. Allclick will remind me of and I'll come back and update this. Maybe even with some new pictures.