Fall Is In The Air

Smokey modeling the new cold weather shrug.

Summer has come and gone and fall is finally in the air. The temperatures have dropped and long sleeves are finally appropriate again. While seasons aren't the same in FL as they are else where, its differently clear that changes are in the air. Smokey is getting in his fluffy coat, which comes in handy with the breezy weather. It seems the cold front blew in with the passing of hurricane Sandy, which now is heading north, and I wish everyone up that way the best safety. Make sure you keep your pets indoors, and leave plenty of food and water for them if you have to leave your home. For some safety tips click here. Let's also not forget that Halloween is also coming up on Wed, which is also a time to remember to keep your pets, especially anyone with black cats, safe! Here are some safety tips from the ASPCA.

While I've been busy working on cleaning out the house with my mom, Smokey has also been busy. Its not hard to find him hard at work... sleeping. He's got it all covered, anything that can be slept on, he will be on it. Be it a couch, chair, bed, person... His favorite place is in the middle of everything. But what cat doesn't like to lend a hand by laying in the middle of whatever you happen to be working on? His best talent with sleeping is his ability to look as cute as he possibly can. Which makes work even harder to get done with an adorable cat in front of you, rolling about and purring.

In my time away from cleaning, I've been trying to get some drawing in. Sadly to say I have only completed one Smokey inspired drawing, which is totally weak. Its meant to be a a cover all picture. You know, for any accession. Its not much, but its something. I'm also trying to work on a Chanukah card to send out to my Jewish friends this holiday season. As well as finally finishing the Thanksgiving Card I started so long ago. Not sure that it will happen, but I can hope, right? I still have several weeks.

Until then, Happy Halloween everyone!

Mr. Picky Pants

We are now in mid August, almost to September, I'm not sure who is eating up all of my time. Perhaps its Smokey, since, he's being so picky and not eating anything else. Except the occasional juice from his canned food ( we waste way too much ) and some dry food after picking out what he dislikes. Which is actually quite amusing to watch.

Smokey fished his initial regiment of steroids for his throat and was doing much better, but it was obvious that as soon as they wore off, he reverted to lack of vocalization and appetite. After spending with his vet, Dr. Michael, she decided that it was best to keep him on the half a pill daily, indefinably. Which, in Smokey's case, really just sucks. While we were using Greenie Pill Pockets©, those only worked for so long. Smokey quickly caught on what happened to be in these tasty treats. Now we're on a manual, shove the pill down his throat method.

Smokey riding shotgun home from the vet

Its scary having him on the steroids due to his diabetes. He just went into the vet to have his blood monitored (he'll have to go once a month as long as he's on the meds). When he saw Dr. Sigmund on Friday, he has put on 2lbs. Which normally wouldn't be too big of a deal, but the weight could lead to the diabetes again. Now he's back on his strict low cal, etc diet (which he hates). I'm sure we'll all make it through it though.

Guess he didn't like my driving

My mom and I are planning a trip to TN, possibly, and we'd be taking Smokey up with us. It might be fun for him, besides the new surroundings, my uncle currently has 3 kittens at his home. Its been a long time since he's been around other cats. We'll see how it goes, I'm hoping to bring one of them home with us, maybe. I think Smokey might enjoy a playmate.

These are the three kittens at my uncle's place. Sadly, the 4th kitten disappeared (lots of racoons and coyotes about), and just recently their mother, Pickles, went missing as well. So my uncle has taken them in and now has three new cats. I'm still not sure their genders, but love the little black kitten. I haven't had a black kitten since my cat Lollipop left. And the stripe twins look a lot like Smokey's sister, Dusty. But we'll see what happens, or if we even visit. I'm sure my uncle could use some help with 3 little kittens.

Vet Visit

Finally took Smokey to the specialty vet on Thursday to get him checked out. I was nervous taking him because I was sure he'd need to be sedated for them to get a good look in his throat. And that's always scarey no matter what the reasons. Especially with his heart condition and his diabetes, it put him at a higher risk of something happening. But once I was there, the staff was so nice. I knew he would be in good hands.
We did choose to leave him there over night so that by the morning he would at least feel a little more comfortable being there and wouldn't have to go through another car ride. Even knowing they'd be taking good care of him, it was still hard to say goodbye, knowing he wouldn't be sleeping with me that night.

The next day they did the 'evaluation' on him. Good news is, his heart is still doing just fine and he's still down 5-6lbs since last summer. When they did the scope of his throat they did find some abnormalities. I think the doctor described it as 'cobble stone' like in nature, but it was symmetrical on both sides. Which she said strongly suggested that it probably isn't anything life threatening, like Lymphoma. Though there is still a slim chance it could be. Since she wasn't sure of its 'origin' they did a biopsy and sent it to the lab for testing. They just sent it out today, so we won't know for a few days what it could be. However, there is a chance he may not be able to meow anymore. :(
We picked him up around 5PM Friday, and needless to say he was very excited to be going home. Even if he did get the 'royal sweet' for his stay. He is bigger than the average cat you know.

He's been home a few days now, and I think is still recuperating. Friday when we got him home, he was surprisingly chatting and active. Looking back it may have been due to the pain medicine they gave him to help after the 'exam'. Likely its not completely pleasant for him to try and meow. My suspicions come from the fact that since Friday he has hardly made a peep. It makes me worry a bit since before we took him he was talking a little, and now... nothing. He's also been quite sluggish, sort of. He spends 90% of his time sleeping on the chair in my living-room. Otherwise he's eating (good sign) and going outside for a little air. I'm hoping things get back to normal soon, and he's perky again. I'm also hoping his results come back negative of anything ... bad, and that maybe this is something we can treat.

 My advice for anyone who's cat suddenly stops meowing, get them to a vet ASAP. Its best to make sure its nothing serious as quickly as possible, so you avoid the worry. Or so that it can be treated before turning into something that you would need to worry about.

A Loss For Meows

Its been two months since I've had a chance to get an update on here. Was busy with work and have recently started a psychology course. However now I've got a little more free time due to the loss of my job. While I'm POed at my boss, I'm really glad that I'll never have to see her again. Worst person to work for. A total bully, likes to mentally abuse the people around her.

Anyway, over the past week I have also been taking care of my little Smokey (he's down to 19.4lbs!). As of last Thursday he has suddenly lost his 'meow'. All weekend was painful watching him open his little mouth to say 'hello' but nothing would come out. So like any mother, I Googled to try and discover what might be the cause of his problem. Of course this is not often a wise idea as I worried like crazy after doing so. All I got were 'take them to the vet ASAP!' and all these terrible things that could be the cause of his issue. So yesterday when I took him to the vet, I was thoroughly re-leaved when she told me that it seemed he just had an irritated 'sore' throat.

Who knew cats were able to get sore throats and lose their voices just like we can? Of course Google didn't tell me this. So now he is taking antacids and some other medications for the next week. The sad part is she said it may be 2-3 weeks before he starts to get his meow back. This is sad for him before he can't tell me what he wants. Its also bad for me as its made him much more silent and sneaky. He just pops up at my feet and has managed to startle me more than once. Quite as a mouse he is.

But it also means he'll complain less when I put him in silly hats!

Chuck Uping

Smokey and I have been in real creative moods lately. I'm not sure what's spurring me on, but for him I think its his new cat toys. I kept hearing about how great they are on "My Cat From Hell", and Smokey kept begging me to get one, so I finally broke down. Now he has 3! Though I think the one I bought him most recently at HomeGoods (they have amazing pet products for great prices!), is probably his favorite. Its amazing what giving them a little predator stimulation can do. I know he hunts rats at night, but I guess even during his 18hr nap time, he likes to play a little too.

He got to adventure last week when I brought him into work with me.He just came for half day this time. Of course he was thrilled about the elevator ride, he's never gone up one on a leash before. So many new sights and smells. Once he got to the office, he settled in at my feet for a nice long nap, sort of. All the patients wanted to see him, especially this little girl when she heard there was a kitty in the office. He's just a big old tease though and would duck under the desk whenever someone wanted to pat him, then pop back out the minute they stepped back and start purring. So obnoxious!

I've actually had several people ask me lately if I do any pet photography. While I never went to school for photography, I did take some classes in HS and have always had a passion for. That mixed with my love of animals... I love taking Smokey's picture, he's a great model, as well can Tessa be should the mood strike her and she doesn't want to be sitting on you instead. I've turned all of my pets into glamor models at some point.

To fully answer this question, yes, I do pet photography. I am working on a small portfolio of some of my work, but for those interested, you can see some of my adorable pets here. Or.. you know, closely related pets of friends and family.

Panda

Scout

Smokey

Leia

Tessa

Peter

Smokey and I have also joined up to help a close friend of ours, Cindy Waggoner, with her new non-profit organization John R Hamil Animal Wellness Foundation Inc. They are located in Blount County, TN. 

"Our "main" goal is to subsidize spay/neuter/vaccinations for the pets of qualifying low income families in Blount Co TN. We are also branching out in humane education as we have had several children bitten by dogs so we are currently raising funds to purchase dog bite prevention dvds for elementary school teachers here in Blount Co."

We've offered to help out in any way we can, including helping with a 'logo' so people remember them, making collars, or evening going up to help out. Anyone interested in finding out more about them you can contact Cindy via her facebook.