Life goes on

Georgia
Originally uploaded by fbruehl

Georgia has quickly taken over Snoopy's spot. I'd planned on getting rid of the blankets, etc. on that spare bed, but Miss G. has decided that is now her bed. I won't argue now.

The two girls are a bit confused. Snoopy was always the one who decided it was time to eat and they merely followed her lead. So for the past two days they have not really given any indication that it was time to bring out the cat food bowls.

I am thinking it will be pretty easy to retire the canned cat food. Neither of them are extremely fond of it and both seem to eat the dried food pretty well.

Time will tell. I miss Snoopy but I don't miss having to try to figure a way to get her medicine down her. She'd become extremely hard to dose lately and in fact for two or three days I'd just given her the liquid directly into her mouth. She hated that and so did I.

I hope these girls stay nice and healthy for a good long time.

Not a happy ending

I hope we have made the right decision.  The doctor who examined Snoopy this morning did not have a very good prognosis.  Because of the rapid onset and the fact that she was so filled with fluid, the suspicion was cancer.  The poor old girl was so sick that I could not even imagine taking this further.  IF it had been one of my younger cats, I'd have said yes - let's find out and treat it.  But Snoopy at almost 16 has already had her share of health problems-- diabetes, the thyroid disease, and a heart murmer.  I do not think she would have come back from any agressive testing and treatment.

Of course, the doctor can never tell you what to do.  But she said it was not a bad decision.  She said we had taken very good care of the cat over her lifetime, and I do hope and pray that is true.

Rest In Peace, Sweet Snoopy.
08/16/94 - 05/30/10

Now these three are back together again.

Where we started the holiday

Emergency room at Tufts Veterinary Hospital with Snoopy. Waiting now.

Snoopy is not doing well

I did not take this picture today, but she was hiding under the bed this morning. My poor old girl is looking very bad. She is not eating like normal and this morning she refused her food all together.

She is very good at sensing what food has medicine in it now. I am not sure if it is the stronger dose, or the new flavor. Anyway, I had to give her the medicine directly into her mouth this morning. You can believe she hated that. After the medicine and a trip downstairs to the litter box, she ate a bit of food.

I think our days of easily giving her the meds mixed in with wet cat food are over. I hope the full dose of medicine this morning will perk her up a bit. I have a feeling she's been avoiding getting all the medicine down for the past few days.

Damian Aspinall's Extraordinary Gorilla Encounter on Gorilla School

This is so beautiful!

So innocent

Georgia
Originally uploaded by fbruehl

Ha! She is resting up for her next episode of racing through the house like a maniac. She is wild at times. But she entertains herself (and us).

There is something about her lack of depth perception that makes her focus in on anything that shines - she sees reflections in the oddest objects and must attack. This morning she was attacking one of my shoes. When I looked at it, the light was causing a reflection off the shoe and that was all it took for Miss Georgia to think it was something she had to conquer and kill.

She has amazing vision though - she can spot the tiniest insect, and again, she is on a mission to kill.

We have had a pretty good week. Snoopy, however, has become quite picky with her food and it's been a challenge getting her medicine in. We got a new prescription this week. Stronger dosage, so we can give a lesser amount. We also switched from fish flavored to chicken flavored. I hope it works.

Picky eaters!

Georgia on the TJ's grocery bag
Originally uploaded by fbruehl

All of the cats are starting to be so picky about their food.

Today after lunch, we are going to Petland in Natick to see if we can find some Tiki Sardine Cutlets. I think that they ALL like that. Of course, if we do buy some, one of them will surely prove me wrong.

Even Snoopy is getting to be hard to feed. She thinks the other cats are getting better food than she is, even if it is exactly the same. It is very hard to outsmart a cat! But I try.

Always hiding

Georgia loves to hide in all sorts of inaccessible (to me) spaces.  She likes to take advantage of my aging legs and make it hard for me to catch her.

Snoopy Update

Snoopy
Originally uploaded by fbruehl

Miss Snoopy had her blood tests done on Tuesday and we got the report back yesterday. As Don said in his email to me, she aced the test. Her thyroid levels are within the acceptable range, so we won't have to increase her medication.

In other news, all of the cats are having trouble finding out which of the grain free foods they really like (mostly don't like).

If one likes a food, the other two hate it, and vice versa. I am going to continue though because I think diet is very important to their health and welfare.

Kitty Update

We are doing a little feeding experiment and so far the results have been good. Sakaura and Georgia had been throwing up hairballs it seemed daily and a friend of mind recommended that I try feeding them a grain free diet.

We were willing to give it a try so I bought a small supply of cat food and started them on it two weeks ago. We have not had one incident from either of them. I could not believe it would work so quickly.

They have taken to the food pretty well. I am really surprised at my picky eater Sakaura. She has loved almost all of the food offered to her. Georgia is a bit pickier. And poor old Snoopy - she still will eat anything. Just make sure there is a LOT of it.

Snoopy has an appointment on Tuesday to have her blood test to adjust her thyroid medication.  And she and Georgia both are due for rabies shots.  I hate to give Snoopy the shot, but if we ever want to board her again, it will be required.

Girlfriends

They really are friends now.

Of course, Georgia is the "boss".  She is the tiniest cat, but she carries all the weight in this family.

It is amusing though to see Sakaura looking for her and wanting her to play. 

This weekend we started the cats on a new "grain free" diet.  A friend told me that she has two cats who eat no grain and they do not shed nor do they ever cough up hairballs.  I can only dream, but I thought I'd try this.  So far they have taken to the food pretty well, too.

Of course, it's more expen$ive.  But if it works, I'm willing to pay extra.  Sakaura, who is the pickiest eater of them all is doing especially well eating the new food.

Best buddies?

Best buddies?
Originally uploaded by fbruehl
I think they are only sharing the sunshine. Both are huge fans of open doors and windows and sunshine. Neither wants to go outside though. They are perfectly happy enjoying the fresh air from a distance.

It makes me wonder if they have bad memories associated with the outdoors. Both of them came from an animal shelter, so their background is really unknown. All we know is that they both had a litter of kittens at a pretty young age and they and their litters were put into shelters.

They certainly do not think they are shelter cats now - they have arrived and demand to be treated like royalty!

Rainy Day Cat

Rainy Day Cat
Originally uploaded by fbruehl

This is THE most curious cat and she will make herself at home any place she chooses. I came in from work yesterday and put my umbrella down and she immediately made a bed of it.

Georgia and Sakaura have begun to play together and they have been seen bathing each others faces. I don't want them to know that we have seen this, because they would deny it ever happened!

Snoopy continues to be the matriarch. She and Georgia have an unspoken truce. The do nap together though, and Georgia knows enough to leave Snoopy alone. I'm not sure she knows that Snoopy has no claws, but she is very wary around her. I think it's the growl!

Speaking of Snoopy, she just sleeps away most of her time. But you can always depend on her to show up at what she deems the normal meal times. She is usually an hour early, though. The other two cats could care less about eating it seems. Maybe they know she will be the one who forces us to put out the canned cat food. However, both of them like dried food so they snack off and on all day long.

Still the prettiest of them all

Sakaura
Originally uploaded by fbruehl

She is also the only really social cat of the bunch. She sleeps at my feet all night long. And she is rarely far away at other times from either Don or myself.

Today for the first time Sakaura and Georgia actually licked each other. They have gone nose to nose before, usually ending in a hiss. But today they were nose to nose and they started to bathe each other. Strange behavior from these two.

Trying a new tool

I have downloaded Windows Live Writer so I wanted to check it out with this blog.  It appears that it will work fine.  I’ve got it linked to my Flickr gallery, so I am going to post a picture and see how that appears.

I am not sure if I have already posted this one.  I call it “Sleeping on the Job”.

Georgia Lily

The pictures taken with the phone leave a lot to be desired.  But if you look closely you can see a little one-eyed face peering out of the window.  The open windows have surely made the cats much more friendly toward each other.  They all want to be right in the window, but Georgia usually wins that spot.  It is funny how she is the smallest, and the youngest, of these three cats, but she is fearless and she is.the.boss!

She has become so independent.  It is hard to catch her at times.  She does not want to be held or petted.  This is a big change for her, since she was so social when she first came here.

I tried to bring her outside on a leash this morning and she would have none of that!  She is definitely an indoor cat, who just loves to look outdoors.

Loves sunshine

I made a place for fat Sakaura to be able to enjoy some sun and fresh air.  Look who took it over.  Why am I not surprised.  This cat is THE boss of everyone.  But we love her.

Can I Post with my new phone?

I am just trying a post with my new phone.  I took this photo of Georgia Lily innocently napping by Snoopy.

Cat in a Box

Cat in a Box
Originally uploaded by fbruehl

Do all cats love boxes?

I wish Snoopy's eyes would photograph better. They either look like burning flames or bright lights. She has pretty BLUE eyes for real.

The cats continue to "socialize". Snoopy is tolerant of this upstart addition to the family, but she is not really amused. Georgia casually slaps her from time to time - and she does not find that at all funny.

Sakaura and Georgia take turns chasing each other. Sakaura is a poor loser and likes to hiss loudly when she has had enough.

My reference to Georgia as a peacemaker really meant she has caused a truce between the other two cats. Neither of them is really wanting to be her buddy, but she is such a confident little cat that she really could care less. She slaps at both of them equally.

Peace and quiet!

Georgia
Originally uploaded by fbruehl

The cats are getting along so very well these days. There is rarely ever a hiss or growl. They all have their own little quirks, and know where they belong most of the time.

Georgia's become very independent. She's not a cuddly cat by any means. She does make her presence known if we happen to sleep a bit too late for her taste though.

Sakaura sleeps at the foot of our bed. She's the more social of the three cats. Georgia likes to play but once the playing is done, she is off somewhere on her own. Snoopy spends the majority of her time sleeping in her bed, but we could set the clock by her appearances when it is time to eat.

All in all, things are going very well. I think Georgia was our peacemaker.