Twofur Tuesday

 Laz was outside.  And Lori didn't feel like going out.  So Lori stayed near Marley... 

Someday, I will see them napping together.  Marley won't mind.  And Lori loves snuggling.  It's just a matter of time...

   -----------------

LORI:  I went to the Vet again yesserday.  Some 2nd Rooster shot.  I was calm, but I did try to hide in TBT's hand while we were left alone.  I loved that the ladies there were so nice to me.  I got SO many compliments and strokies!  They are so friendly at this new place.

Still, I was glad to get back home.  I mean "home is home" after all.  I ran out of the PTU .  But ya know, I waited for TBT to go up the stairs with me.  I just wanted to stay near to him, ya know?

I got special treats.  The real kind (not just kibble).  He had to sneak them to me.  Seriously, he brought the treats out on the deck and put them in a clean bowl  there and then brought them to me quietly.  I had them ALL TO MY OWN!

I guess the Vet trip was worth it...

Mancat Monday

MARLEY:   

Well, OK, I'd rather be on TBT's lap, but I'm breaking his knees.  I am a heavy mancat.  So this ottoman in front of him is a favrite spot.  Its close to him (and I like that), and I get scritchies there, so that is good.  Sometimes he has the wire-brush at hand and I LOVE that.

I have pretty thick fur, so the wire-brushies feel good.  Nocat else here likes that much.  They like the softer Zoom Groom.

Tuxedo Cat Appreciation Day

Since today is for Tuxedo Cats, I went back and found some pictures of LC...

She was still lonely and depressed in January 2009, a month after Skeeter left.

She sat around a lot.

When Spring came though, she began to adjust and enjoy being outside,

Warmer weather was good for napping on the deck.   This may be the day she rolled over while nappin and fell right off the deck.  Eight feet down!  She was fine, but I bet she woke up REAL fast...

 

Caturday Saturday

 Before the 4-cat picture, there were "the 3".  I'm catching up with older pictures today.

Getting 3 was good enough.

It showed how peaceful they are.

A pile of warm laundry didn't hurt staying close, either.  LOL!

Lori is odd.  She can close up smaller than a snail in a tight shell sometimes. And Laz looks bigger than Marley here.  

But Marley varies between 16-18 lbs, Laz is 8.2, and Lori is 8.0.  You sure can't tell that seeing this pic, LOL!

Flashback Friday

What year shall we visit today?  I'll check the photo files...  Wait, I have an idea.  More than one year for a change!  Same week, though.

2009:  Ayla and Iza were generally friendly.  That was good.

2009:  Ayla liked toys then.  Especially soft ones she could carry around.

2010:  And she enjoyed the hidey-hole...

Marley had arrived in 2011...

2012:  Ayla loved sleeping in the laundry hamper...

So it was a good week in several years...

Thankful Thursday

Today we are thankful fer the scratching posts around out cat trees and platforms!  As you can see, we like ta use them a lot.  TBT says "better them than him".

This one is from the old platform stand he made hisself.  So. being the oldest one, it has gotten the most use.  Hardly anything to claw on there.

This is from the older of the 2 bought cat trees.  It is rather poofed and used up.  

Another bottom post is getting worn out...

We are working on a higher one now, but it takes a bit more effort to get at.

So, TBT bought a BIG roll of 3/8th" sisal rope and plans to renew them...  The top pic has sisal rope on a board TBT screwed onto the post.   He says he will take the board off and just wrap sisal around the post.  In the 2nd pic, he will remove the post and wrap in all new.  He thinks the posts in the 3rd and 4th pics can be "shaved" with scissors.  

So we are thankful for the pleasure the old ones gave us, but we cant wait to get at the new stuff!

 

Womancat Wensday

LORI:   We all know thgat us cats live partly in the Land of Spirits.  The Beins dont usally see them, of course, so we protect them by chasin them Sprits away.  Poofing our tails real big helps drive them off.

I chased one off just the other day...

Twofur Tuesday

LORI:  I was nappin...

Then I woke up and yawned...

And considered getting up...

Nah...
 

Mancat Monday

 LAZ:  Sometimes I like ta relax alone.  Well, Lori doesnt actally like this spot much.  I do.  Sometimes there is a sunpuddle.  But even when there isnt, there is the soft cushion.

And I can look out over the deck and watch the skwerls running around in the trees and the birdies at the feeder.

Lori isnt far away though.  She is nappin on the TV chair.

Easy Like Sunday

TBT:   I really had to work at this, but I got all The Mews in a single pictures several times this week!  Trust me, that is an unusual opportunity.

Ayla seems to be getting more confident lately about moving around in the house.  She showed up in the main area twice (but is still very skittish).

I saw she and Laz and Lori sniffing noses once.  I wouldn't have imagined that last month.  The peace is good but it doesn't last.  Laz still "bothers" her "sometimes" and she whaps back (good for her).  But things have been calmer lately.

She seems to like the old large "2 cat bed" I moved to the wall end of the floor near the bed headboard for some reason.  

So, some pictures...

You can just see Ayla over the edge of the bed.  That was rare enough.  If Laz is so much as "in the room", she normally hides.

A slightly better shot of Ayla with the others in the pic... I can only lift the camera so high.

More of seeing Ayla.  I had to move carefully.  She is really loving that bed and I am happy for her.

And I couldn't easily get far away enough to get this level.  And lost Marley's head.  But it shows Ayla "not hiding" while the others are in the bedroom.

I am happy for what pics I can get sometimes!  And sometimes I don't have the camera with me.  I saw Ayla, Laz, and Lori all sniffing noses peacefully a day ago.  No camera.  😞

And yeah, it is Marley's 12th Gotcha Day.  He has been a joy in my life since the first day.  A lady got him for Christmas and discovered she was allergic to cats.  I was guided to him by another blogger.  He was promised to a family that had dogs.  I convinced her I had a better place for him.  When I arrived at her place, she called him downstairs and I sat sat on the floor.  He curled right up on my lap.  That was good enough for her and she gave him to me.

I asked her his name.  "Marley", she said, "but of course, you can change it".  I liked it.  "Marley" he was and "Marley" he remains.  I usually spend days deciding on cats's names, usually from books I've read.  But it just seemed right for him.  He seemed so definitely "Marley" and who was I to change a right name?

Speaking of Gotcha Days, we kind of missed Ayla's 15th one.  Well, there was the New Vet appointment that day with Lori and all of us here were a bit distracted about that.  I mean, even Ayla forgot!

But I realized it a few days later and am mentioning it now.  All The Mews are special to me and I try to recognize all their Special Days.  But sometimes, events cause us to slip.

So Ayla got extra treats yesterday to partially make up for my oversight.  And I rubbed my forehead over hers for good attention (she really loves that).  She isn't much of a brushie-loving cat, but she got some anyway and purred politely. 

15 years with me...    Skeeter and LC each got to 16.5 years.  Some can stay around longer.  But 15 is a lot and I have loved her every day.  OK, the 2 years of failed spays were hard, but  she was still "my beautiful Princess" and we got through it.

And even if she wants to spend her elder days on the high windowsill or under the bed in private, I visit her often to stroke her and hear her purrs and reassure her that she is my favorite (well, they all are, but she understands the way she is special to me).

So here is to Gotcha Days and Birthdays for all The Mews and everycat else out there...  May there always be another Gotcha Day to all.

Caturday Saturday

An example of Laz and Lori being close in size:

 

Flashback Friday

 TBT:  First, I should mention that my post about Lori's visit to the new Vet was posted late yesterday (I've been busy lately) so scroll down and read it.  Or see HERE.  The visit was great!

Now, for Flashback Friday, we looked at this week in 2015...

Marley often nearly passed out on my lap...

Even when joined by Iza.

Marley Toe-Beans.

He was getting a bit big for the catbed...

It was a time when Ayla and Iza could nap close.  Marley's presence helped.

Thankful Thursday

TBT:   Well, it took a couple of days to catch up to the New Vet Visit, but here we are, finally.  In a nutshell, it was wonderful!  OK, that's it...

Just kidding.  The 3 ladies at the front desk were not only helpful and friendly, they were downright cheerful.  As best I understand it, there is a cashier/bill-preparer/recordskeeper and of the other 2 one seems to run the cat-side and the other the dog-side of the waiting room.  Yes, the waiting areas are actually divided (by the front desk) although there is not a complete barrier.

The place is very organized but peaceful and everyone seems happy there.

A technician came out promptly at the appointment time and insisted on carrying the PTU to a waiting room.  When she took Lori out, she just gushed about how beautiful she was and commented on her soft fur.  She reviewed the work they had scheduled and asked a few questions about indoors vs outdoors, eating and drinking habits, activity level, and general health (firm poops, friendliness to other cats, etc).  

A Vet came out after that and discussed giving Lori a specific shot (FHIV? since outside can mean contact other animals.  All The Mews have been getting that one all along, so of course I said yes.  She gave Lori a squirt of alcohol on a thigh (cold&wet&antiseptic) to see the vein better for taking a blood sample.  I never saw my old vet do that.  The sample went right into a gadget (ooh, aren't I technical) to make sure she wasn't already infected and then into a back room for regular blood testing.

The vet was back out within 5 minutes with all the shots.  The technician held Lori.  Not "down", but rather "hugged" for Lori's sense of security.  One in the shoulder, one in each hip.  Lori didn't even twitch.  Modern thin needles are amazing. Then the vet did a regular physical exam.  No problems there.

I asked them to clip her claws, which the tech did immediately (and for free, BTW)!  She also took a careful facial photo, which I discovered they print onto the rabies certificate (a brilliant idea).  Something else I never saw with the old vet.  

During the first part of the exam, the technician said she would love to have a cat like Lori.  I briefly explained about Tonkinese (she wasn't familiar with them) and mentioned the breeder gets $800 per kitten, but they deliberately breed all colors and varieties from Siamese-like to Burmese-like.  

She immediately said she wanted one.  I don't have a working URL for them (some site certification problem last time I looked), but said to just do a search for Tonkinese and that the name was "Wan-Lea".   Well, it's not like there are Tonkinese breeder in every city.  She wrote that down.  I also mentioned I have a cat blog.  She wasn't sure what I meant by that, so I explained about it.  She was quite surprised at the idea and wrote down my blog address.  Either I will have a new visitor, or we may have a new blogger soon.

Then it was back out to the front desk for the bill.  While I was waiting for the bill, I noticed framed pictures of some Professional Vet magazine covers on the wall.  The Main Vet (the Medical Director) has been named among the Top 10 Vets in the Washington DC area 5 times in the 2000s!

I got the bill.  I know from experience that, at the old vet place, the same work would have around $250-300.  The bill was only about $150!  It doesn't really matter to me, but it was a pleasant surprise!

When I was looking for a new Vet last month, I looked up several and found good recommendations comments on this new one.  But today I checked the old one and the new one on Yelp.  I don't like to disparage anyone because I'm sure they all care about pets and try their best.

But my old vet got 2 stars and the new one 4 stars!  And as I read the comments on both, I realized that the newest comments about the old vet were getting worse and the new one's were staying very positive.  And based on my experience with the old vet since last year and my initial experience with the new one, I can see why.  

In November, when Marley had an abscess on his chin, they refused to see him.  They said they were booked for 3 weeks and I should bring him to the emergency clinic in town.  Then they emailed that they were closed for a day "due to unforeseen circumstances".  Then a few weeks later they were closed 4 days for the same reason.  I can't speculate on the reasons, but I got this sudden feeling that the practice was failing.  So, thinking that there might be a bunch of customers suddenly looking for a new vet in the near future, I decided it might be wise to establish a relationship with another practice.

I drive past the old vet (and I should have been saying "previous", since "old" suggests age) frequently and I never see more than 2 cars in the customer spaces (4-6 in the separate employee parking area).  Since they claimed to have 3 vets and been "fully booked" with about 2 customers at a time, I thought that surprising.  So I became a bit worried about possible problems.

Monday's visit to the new place was great from start to finish!  And of course, I forgot to bring my camera.  But Laz is due for a shot in early February (just received that email as I was typing this) and Ayla and Marley due for some shots at the end of February.  I'll try to take some then...

But Lori deserves to have a picture included.  

Werdless Wensday

 

Tuesday Answering Questions Time

We (The Mews and I) love questions in comments on both blogs and by email.  They let us know what we aren't explaining, didn't know of, or didn't think of.  They let us know what you are thinking.  Even better, it gives us something to post about other than showing The Mews napping every day, LOL/MOL!

*  Jackie of Memories of Eric and Flynn asked about Lori's size relative to Laz.  It's tricky and mostly a camera-angle thing.  Laz arrived here at 8.8 lbs at 3.5 years old.  He has dropped to 8.4 over 2+ years.  Mostly because 1) he can run around outside here, 2) he has Lori to run around with inside here, and 3) he is kind of a fussy eater.  

Regarding the last, he wants kibbles.  I think Stinky Goodness is better for him, but sometimes he won't eat any unless I sprinkle some kibbles or freeze-dried chicken on top (and he has taught Lori that bad habit).  Sometimes I tell him "eat or don't".  He usually wins.  I don't know why (because I'm not the hungry one).  But his weight has settled on 8.4 lbs.

Lori arrived at about 4 lbs, 15 months ago.  But she is a regular vacuum-cleaner of an eater.  Well, she was a healthy growing girlcat.  She weighed 8.2 last week.  So she and Laz are about the same weight now.  But weight can be deceiving.  Laz is a lean cat.  He is 1/2 Siamese, and I've never met a fat Siamese.  Lori is a Tonkinese.  And while Tonkies are basically Siamese and Burmese, they are "dense".  No, not stupid; "muscular".  So her weight doesn't quite relate to size like it does with Laz.  

With Laz, weight is size.  With Lori, you can get fooled a bit.  Trying to hold her is like trying to wrassle a boa constrictor.  As much as she loves me, she doesn't like to be picked up.  She and Marley are both "paws on the floor" types.  So with both, imagine a soccer ball of muscle...

But she looks smaller than Laz.   It fools me too sometimes.  I think she curls up tighter than Laz does.  That's my best guess, and I'll stay with it.

* Megan mentioned "Lori doesn't need any toys, Marley - she's got Laz!"  True.  They run around, wrassle, and run more.  They are playmates to the highest degree and the most active pair of cats I've ever had the joy to share space with.  But there is a difference in toys.  The only toy Laz likes is a wand type and the only thing he wants of that is to chew on the string.  OK, he sometimes chews on soft toys like bananas.

Lori will chase any toy.  Like Iza, she loves rattley-mice.  And she will leap at anything I toss over her (she is very bird-reactive).  But springs are her favorites.  They bounce and roll (mousies?).  I usually keep a few in my pockets.  You should see the laser-focussed-eyes when I start to wave one around!  She especially loves it when I toss one down the stairs.  Iza was like that, too.  Both charged wildly down the stairs after them.  Maybe it's a Tonkie thing.

But Megan has the Laz/Lori thing right.  They are each others' toys in a way.  Each will stalk and ambush the other in a way they don't relate to simple toys.  Hallway "stampede of elephants" hardly describes it.  Often, in bed, I will cover my face with a hand because they would be fully-willing to run right across my eyes.  I sometimes wonder how much they understand that each other is "another cat" and not prey or some amazing toy.

But each post should have a picture...

Laz and Lori settling down after a good house-chase...  And, yeah, he sure looks bigger!  

 

New Vet Visit

A while ago, I complained about the current Vet clinic.  In November, I called about Marley having an abscess on his cheek (probably an infected mousie-bite) and they said "We are booked for 3 weeks, go to an emergency place".  Then later, they sent an email that they were closed for a day due to "unforeseen circumstances".  Meaning, I suppose, that they had no Vet available that day.  But they had 3 vets last time I was there.  Then they were closed for almost a full week with the same non-explanation.  

So I decided they probably had a failing practice (I won't even speculate on possible reasons), so I decided to find a new vet before it failed completely and there was a flood of customers looking for a new vet.  I do want to say that when I brought Iza to them for "the final visit",  the main vet there was kind, competent, and understanding.  But maybe the good ones left...

I did a Yelp search in November looking for a good nearby vet and decided the new one seems good.  Today, the same search gives the previous clinic 2 stars and the new one 4 stars.  And the newer comments about the previous vet were worse and those of the new one were better.  So the old one is failing.

The new vet has the records from the old vet.  Lori and I will be visiting the new vet for an afternoon appointment today.  It is just regular annual shots which almost anyone can do properly.  But it will give me an opportunity to see how they manage the place, treat the pets, and handle appointments and records.

The new place charges $92 for a 15 minute late arrival or totally missed appointment.  That's a bit high, but I haven't been late or missed one like that ever, so it is probably not a problem.  Still, I took a test drive to the new place yesterday.  First, to make sure I could find it (I discovered I had passed the place dozens of times, so no problem there).  Second, to measure the time it took.  13 minutes there and 12 minutes back home, so I'll count on 15 minutes driving time and plan to get there 10 minutes early.

The place's website has nice pictures of course.  Whose wouldn't?  But I loved this one...

Separate waiting rooms for dogs and cats?  Cool!  Cats come in in carriers; dogs come in on leashes (usually).  In every other vet place I've ever visited, there were large dogs whom the owners won't control and they sniff at or bark at the cats.  Who become seriously stressed even with my intervention and reassurance.  I LIKE this idea!

I'll post about the experience with the new vet later today or tomorrow...

Easy Like Sunday

LAZ:   It is cold and windy again today, just like yesserday, so we are still mostly inside.  We went out in the morning, but we dint stay out long.  I should have guessed that.  As TBT opened the deck door, he said "See you soon"...  How does he know what its like outside before the door is opened?

At least we got Ayla included today!

 

Caturday Saturday

MARLEY:  It is cold and windy out, so we are staying warm inside today.  Ayla is unner the bed, but she doesnt go out annymore, so it doesnt matter ta her.  

TBT makes sure there are toys on the bed fer Lori.  Laz and I arent much fer toys.  Well, sometimes Laz will  bunnykick and bite the cigar or the banana...

Friday Flashback

 Well lets see what looks good for this week in a past year...

January 2010 looks good.  

Iza was happy...

Ayla was calmly sleeping on the watery bed.

Iza was trying to catch birds on TV.  

Oh dear sweet girl, I miss you...