Cat supervisors or guards, you decide.

I thought that I had posted the last blog before Christmas, but then I woke up to this sight. Lathandar was guarding or supervising the cooking of the turkey.

We have a dinner to go to tonight and I wanted to make turkey for sandwiches. I started the turkey breast in the slow cooker last night so it would be ready for everything today and I wouldn't feel rushed.

My husband got out of bed and saw Lathandar right beside the crock pot. Of course, we had to take a picture. Yes, he will get to sample some as soon as it is cool enough. 

Here, I thought the cats were only interested in supervisor my sewing crafts. It seems that Lathandar is interested in supervising my cooking as well.

Happy Holiday from the Fur Babies!

It has been such a long time since I made a post on the Precious Pet Palace. I started this as an on-line scrap book and journal of sorts about their lives. So I need to do better. That is one of my resolutions for the next year.  

We do want to wish you Merry Christmas and Season's Greetings for any holiday that you celebrate with your loved ones!

Here is a photo of Lathandar testing the fabric and batting of my quilt projects. The jar beside him is filled with catnip. He reminded me a couple of times that he wanted the contents of the jar. So I moved him to the floor so he could have all the fun that he wanted with the catnip. 

This is Vex enjoying the one of the drawer beds that we made up for the dogs. Vex doesn't seem to understand that something might not be his. The dogs aren't brave enough to claim their bed back which is funny because Vex is very nice to the canines in the house.

On the first really cold day, Padawan acted a bit under the weather. I was worried and microwaved a towel (only 1 minute) and wrapped it around him. He loved it. Soon, he was back to his old self, so he must have felt too cold. 

He was out only 15 minutes, but that was more than enough to affect him. We also gave a warm towel to his brother, even though Jedi seemed to be okay. Each dog is able to keep track of his brother getting something that he doesn't have and will get jealous. 

This is Jedi in a warmed towel. This photo was taken a few weeks later than the one of Padawan. (above) It is amazing how habits can be started in our house. This particular day, the dogs went out and played in the snow. They came in and gave me those eyes that say they wanted something. I offered a biscuit, a water, and for them to go outside again. None were the right answer. We played a lovely game of "Guess What the Dogs' Want." 

I finally thought of the warmed towel and really hoped that wasn't the answer because I didn't relish the idea of all the extra laundry of the towels for each time that they go outside. I picked up a towel from the bathroom and knew that was what they wanted because their tails started to wag and they couldn't stand still. So I warmed a couple of towels in the microwave and tucked the puppies in to warm up. 

Mystique started a new game with me. She hides among the chaos of my sewing projects and then jumps out and bats at my hands. She doesn't hurt me, but often I am busy concentrating on my projects that I don't notice her hiding. So she scares the daylights out of me. Mystique is very patient because she will go back into hiding and seems to know when I am no longer aware of her presence. Then she pounces scaring me all over again. Well, it certainly gets the blood pumping and seems to make her happy. 

Hope everyone had a great year! 

Catnip

This is Lathandar enjoying his catnip time. Approximately, 1/2 to 2/3 of the cats are affected by catnip. In our house, all three of our cats like catnip as do our two dogs. 

The dogs do not have the same reactions as the cats, but they like to eat it anyway. They might find it relaxing or the catnip may help their stomachs as do other mint plants. The dogs may just want it because the cats do. We are not sure.

I have read that catnip repels mosquitoes and other bugs, so we plan to plant a few around the house next spring. I also read that spiders do not like mint. Catnip is the in the mint family. Just in case that isn't enough, we will plant some peppermint as well. 

 Catnip has been used in herbal medicine as a relaxant. After our cats roll around in their catnip, run through the house, and play hard, they also find time to relax. Lathandar doesn't play as hard as he used to, but he still ends up relaxing just the same. They are so precious when they sleep. 

Cats and spooky eyes

Is it me, or do you think our cats are getting ready for Halloween? Talk about scary eyes. 

Mystique, the naughty cat!

Okay, I need to explain a little background. I don't like using the drying racks for dishes because of hard water build up and that they get icky after a while. So, I place a large towel on the counter and allow the dishes to dry. Then I put them a way.

Well, our cats are not allowed on the counter. They know this. I walked into the kitchen to see Mystique sleeping on my drying towel! So after I took the photo, I put her on the floor, changed the towel, and rewashed the few dishes she has slept on. Naughty cat! 

Treats for our fur-babies

Like any concerned parent, I want to make sure our babies eat foods that are pretty much healthy. Yes, we do buy pre-made treats at the store. We also dehydrate boiled chicken to give them a high protein treat. 

The photo above shows Vex eating his favorite treat, kibble from a jar. It is the same kibble that is in their gravity bowls, but once it is placed into a jar, it somehow turns into something special. All the pets seem to have decided kibble in a jar is wonderful.

Here is Mystique pushing her way past Vex to get to some of that special treat. They make me laugh a lot. :)

Our Pet Family Photo!

No pets were harmed in the process of taking this photo. The same cannot be said for my husband who held the fur-babies.

Puppy Tea

Our dogs ask for everything we eat or drink. We don't want to give them coffee or certain teas. So, we created "puppy tea". 

What is puppy tea? Just a little warm water with a touch of honey. I will also use a bit of cat nip as that can help with tummy upset. 

So our dogs, when they ask (beg) will get puppy tea which is slightly warm and has a bit of a different flavor than plain water. 

If you notice, the dogs need to have their tea in a glass or mug. If we put it in a bowl, they will pout. So we let them have people cups to drink from. It makes them happy. 

Our cat, Mystique hiding from the camera

She really does not like the camera! So here is the typical pose that Mystique gives me when I have the camera. I'm not sure how to get a better pose from her, but I will keep trying.

Update on Jedi & how to make it easier for a dog to take his medicine

Jedi is improving. We are still limiting his activity ensuring that he gets plenty of rest, but we can tell he feels so much better.

His brother, Padawan, was getting jealous. He got treats when Jedi did (that was where we hid the pills). So we gave Padawan a heat pack for his back when we put one on Jedi and that seems to have solved the problem. Padawan is happy again.

I had some emails asking me how we got our dog to take his medicine. So let me share...

The store was out of Pill Pockets by Greenies. (Normally $8.49 to $9.49 for 7.9 oz) So we substituted. We purchased Blue Bits ($5.99 for 4 oz) They are soft and can be squeezed around the pills. We had to break the pills, but we were instructed to do that anyway. 

After we got home, I realized that we had some treats called Catty Shack that we purchased at a big box store (about $1.50 for 4 oz). Yes, they are cat treats, but our dogs love them. They are also soft and can be squeezed to shape around the pills. 

This is the Catty Shack information and by what I can tell, it was made in Ohio. 

Here is the information on the Blue Bits. As far as I can tell, this too was made in the U.S.A.

I couldn't get this photo to come out very well because it kept bending, but the address is in Connecticut. 

So that is how we got Jedi to take his medicine. :)

Our dog, Jedi, has back problems

Our poor puppy has back problems, a possible bulging disk. Jedi is lying in his bed with a pillow and quilt. He has a cold pack wrapped around his back and soon it will be exchanged for a heat pack.

Last night, I thought that I had stepped on him because he yelped. I don't have feeling in one foot so I could have and not realized it. Later, I hugged him at bed time and he yelped again. Both times, he was trembling in his hind quarters. 

This morning, he stayed in the bedroom instead of coming out to be with me in the living room. I waited an hour and he hadn't moved. I picked him up and brought him to the front room and, in the process, discovered that his back legs were again shaking.

We took him to the emergency animal hospital immediately. 

They suspected a bulging disk from his symptoms. He did not show signs of neurological damage, but if he gets worse, we are to bring him back immediately. 

They gave him muscle relaxants and anti-inflammatory medicine. Then we then picked up pumpkin puree to help prevent constipation. We also tried to find pill pockets. The store didn't have them so we got some soft treats that I could hide the pills in. It worked great. 

By the time we got home, Jedi felt a lot better. He finally went potty. He was still moving slowly and we are going to keep him crated to help him rest, but we are already happy with his progress. 

The photo above shows Jedi wearing a hot/cold pad to help his back. The vet tech told us that we could use it to help his healing. Five minutes of each (cold and hot) and we can do that four times a day. 

To help prevent injury from jumping off our bed, we are going to take the bed frame apart and just put the mattress on the floor with no box springs. Hopefully, the height of the mattress alone won't bother his back when he gets on and off our bed.

Cats' ideas of sewing

I wanted to share our cats' ideas of "helping" me when I sew.

This is Mystique. She actually pulled her cat mat over to cover my project and my portable ironing pad.  

This is Lathandar. He feels obliged to test the comfort of anything that I make.  

Here is Lathandar after he saw me put a pillow into this pet quilt. I had made it like a sham so it could hold a pillow for more comfort. After I put the pillow away, I came back into the room to discover that he had scooted into the opening. 

Our pets often make me laugh.

Interesting morning

Here are our pets enjoy the new quilt on our bed. The cat, Mystique, is bathing herself as the dogs go crazy. Jedi is the dog rolling around and Padawan is the dog sniffing the quilt. 

The dogs wanted a lot of attention this morning. As I got dressed, they grabbed my ... intimate apparel and ran around the house as I, mobility impaired, tried to catch them. 

My husband tells me this kind of behavior is my fault since I use old socks as play toys for the dogs to tug. They just haven't learned that some of my clothes are not for playing.

After I got my clothing item back from the dogs and finished dressing, I took them to the front door to let them out. Well, it was raining and our dogs are afraid of that magical water that drops from the sky. So this meant that I had to go with them or they would suffer with an uncomfortable bladder. Of course, I went outside to protect them from the magical drops of water thus getting wet with them. 

Now, the three of us are drying off. I am reading my emails and they are eating their doggy biscuits. Ah, life with fur-babies.  :)

Out of the crock pot and into the scrap box

Our cat, Lathandar finally got out of the crock pot so I moved it into the cupboard. Later, I left my sewing to get more tea. I came back to find Lathandar in my scrap box. *sigh*

Those are the scraps for the pet shelter quilts, which I am working on. So, being the parent who is wrapped around each of the fur-babies paws, I reached in carefully to pull out scraps as I tried not to disturb Lathandar's comfort. 

Old Drawers as Beds

The dogs love to lay under the desk as work on my laptop or sewing. I always felt bad that they were on such a hard surface, so I used an old drawer and turned it into a bed for them. There is a pillow and a pet mat in it to make it comfortable. I can pull it out by the drawer handle to sweep under the desk so that should help. I got the idea from Pinterest. 

For those who want to know: Jedi is in the back and he has the curlier hair. He also has a cute under bite. Padawan is in the front and he has darker tips on his ears and the tip of his tail. He is the one who always wants to be babied. 

Here is Mystique, the grumpy cat. She decided that she wanted the bed. As a grumpy cat, she often scares the dogs and they left once she came around. The dogs got the bed back later, though. 

The other drawers will be used in closets and storage areas to help hold items so they can be easily removed. 

Our Pets are Crazy

This is Lathandar sleeping in my electric crock pot! The table is currently a mess as my project is cleaning out some storage cupboards and closets. The craziest part of this is that he is in a room with 5 pet mats that he could have slept on. 

Our pets are crazy!

Cat claims quilt

I finished the quilt and our cat, Mystique, claimed it. She hates the flash, but her wink is cute. 

The quilt needs washed, but she can use it until it gets into the laundry.

Another comfort tester

I took a break from hand sewing my binding onto my quilt to get a cup of tea. Look what I found when I got back. Our dog, Padawan, was on the quilt with his biscuit. 

The biscuit meant he was planning on staying in that spot for quite a while. I had to ruin his plans of a nap on the quilt, but I did move him to the couch where he curled up and fell asleep. So it wasn't too much of a hassle for the poor doggy.

I am guessing he decided to test the comfort of the quilt. I'm sure it is a lesson he learned from the cats. 

Padawan being playful

Well, our babies do need to play. Today, Padawan brought me his sock, which used to be my sock, but got demoted to a toy since it got holes in it. We played tug and he had quite a bit of fun. 

I have been spending a lot of time in my sewing room, which the dogs are not allowed in, so they have been missing me. Funny since they can see me the whole time. Even if I wasn't in the room, they wouldn't be right on my lap, but since they are not allowed in, they feel lonely. 

I'll have to have a bit more play time with the dogs today and any day that I am in the sewing room.

My sewing buddy

I have plenty of space in my sewing room when it is clean. I have an "L" shaped desk that I sew on. I have a 10 foot office table on the other side so that I have a "U" shaped work area. So, normally, I have plenty of room. Then I get into sewing a project and my space shrinks to a couple of feet. Usually, the area around the sewing machine is clear for me to work. Well, not this day and even my sewing buddy, Lathandar, decided to squeeze in. 

So I decided that he must feel neglected and I gave him attention. He stayed in that spot while I petted him and gave him treats for nearly 20 minutes. Then he, like most cats, decided that he wanted a different spot to lay on. So he moved just enough so I could once again get to my fabrics. Of course, as I sewed, the fabric began to cover him as he had moved behind the sewing machine, but he didn't seem to mind. 

My husband said that he wished that I would give him the same kind of attention that I do the pets. Well, if he crawled up onto my desk and looked all precious and adorable, I probably would. Instead, I walk into the room to give him a tea and he is playing some gory video game. Who wants to stick around to see that? Yuck. 

Mischievous Cats

This is Lathandar. He is one of the two black cats that we have. This is a younger photo. His black fur shines so much that it appears gray or silver in the camera flash. He is now older and his fur is getting a red-brown tinge to it. He is still beautiful, just getting older. This photo was taken after he had rolled in some catnip and you can see it in his fur. Lathandar is the cat that guards the house. He prowls around the house making sure everything is fine. Then he sits up on a high perch to watch over everything.

This is Vex. This is a photo of when he was much younger as well. His black fur reflects silver in the camera flash just like his brother's fur did. Vex often has a grumpy look on his face. Yet, he is the cuddly cat. He loves being babied and pampered. He quite expects it. He is also a thief and will take things that don't belong to him. I have not found his secret stash, yet. I hope to recover my favorite make up brush when I do. It was so plush and soft. I had to take it from him several times. He figured out how to open the cabinet where my cosmetics were stored and took it away, never to be seen again. 

I wanted to share a story of Lathandar and Vex when they were under a year old. We used to have our bedroom in the basement. Then we moved it upstairs. The cats shared our room in the basement. After we moved upstairs, we left the basement door open for them to play and roam. 

My husband and I had many things in the basement including some toys for the nieces and nephew. One of the toys was a stuffed dog. It was as big as the cats back then, maybe bigger.

We woke up one morning to see the stuffed dog sitting perfectly positioned in our bedroom door so that he was looking in on us. He wasn't tipped over and wasn't angled strangely. It made me jump a little to see it there.

We didn't think of those scary movies where dolls come to life. Our thoughts were, "How did the cats get that big stuffed dog up here and how did they position it so nicely in the doorway?" 

My husband took the stuffed toy back down stairs, but it found its way upstairs again. So we finally decided the cats must want it badly so we let them keep it upstairs and play with it until it fell apart. 

Cats certainly can be mischievous little things. It is part of their charm. 

Cats and hair mats

This is Lathandar. He loves to help me sew. Unfortunately, he tends to want to be in the center of things, as you can see. What you cannot see in the photo is that there is a nice comfortable cat bed a couple of inches to the back and right. Yet, he chooses to lay right on top of my work. Got to love them. Who else would show such devotion to get right in the middle of one's work space? 

The poor thing is going through a bad hair phase right now as is his brother, Vex. Both black cats are getting hair mats. I clip them giving them little bald patches. I need to up my combing of their fur. 

Cats and hairballs

This is Vex watching over our niece as she slept. The pets are quite attentive to the children guests that we have and are very protective. 

We have always managed to have medium to long hair cats, not that we try to do so. It is just a coincidence. Well, any cat can have hairballs. I can't say if our cats have more than normal. I haven't really searched for any information on that.

Last night, it turned out that Vex didn't feel well. He jumped onto the headboard and began to cough up a fur ball. (Sorry for being so indelicate.) It was a slow moving day for me and he was right above my head. I tried to move and my husband tried to catch what the cat was offering. (How is that for true love?)

Unfortunately, some did get in my hair...and on the bed, the pillow, and the headboard. We cleaned it and washed up. Yuck. We held Vex to make sure he was okay. He seemed upset or maybe he just didn't feel good yet. 

We have had company over when one of the black cats have come up to us to offer a fur ball. Our guests ask if it upsets us that they come to us and do it. 

Honestly, it doesn't bother me. Psychologically, we have developed a relationship with the black cats that they know they can come to us when they need comfort. We cannot take the credit alone. They are secure enough that they feel safe reaching out to us at such times.

Before she found us, our youngest cat, Mystique, was badly treated. She will hide if anything frightens or upsets her. We try to make her feel safe, but she learned early on that humans are not the nicest creatures on the planet. So for her, she doesn't feel comfortable reaching out to us.

In the future, when something like a hairball incident occurs with your fur babies and they wish for you to share in the experience (such as leaving it in a shoe or where you will step on it) think of it as they feel comfortable enough to let you know that they were not feeling the best. It won't make clean up any funner, but at least it might keep your stress level lower. 

Both dogs are now groomed, done at PetSmart!

Please don't pay attention to the dying plants. I really do try to keep them alive. 

Both dogs are now groomed. Padawan is in front with the black collar and his little ear doesn't even bother him. They are ready for the summer heat now.

Last week, the groomer at PetSmart nicked Padawan's ear. He was matted because I fell behind on his brushing. So we didn't blame the groomer or PetSmart. They took him to the vet where we met them. PetSmart paid for the vet bill. So there was nothing coming out of our pocket. They did want to wait a week so the bath didn't pop open the glue sealing the nick.

Yesterday, they finished the groom. Then they didn't charge us. It was free. That was more than we expected. We were quite ready to pay, but PetSmart gave us the grooming service for free. That was much appreciated. 

Kudos to PetSmart! We are more than satisfied with their services.

Grooming accident

Jedi is the one whose fur got fully cut. Padawan is the other one who looks like he is ill or got sent through a wheat shredder. This happened last Thursday. 

Padawan got his ear nicked at the groomers. They took him to the vet and we met them there. At the groomers, the dogs kept whining to get back to me. I was so stressed that my husband took me to the Target in the same shopping center so I wouldn't hear the dogs crying. The groomers said the dogs quit as soon as I left. Do they know how to wrap me around their paws or what?

When we arrived at the vet's office, we saw Padawan who had a pressure bandage wrapped around his head and looked like those old black and white movies where someone has a tooth ache. He didn't seem to be in pain and didn't react when the vet touched his ear. 

The vet used surgical glue and sealed the cut. The groomer couldn't finish the cut because they have a policy of not grooming injured or bleeding animals. So he goes back later to get fully cut.

So far this week, whenever I rub Padawan's ears, he doesn't react or act as though his one ear hurts. He is healing fine and there is no sign of infection. We look forward to having him fully groomed. 

The dog attack on our dogs.

This post is about the dog attack that occurred with our dogs a few years ago. If you are easily upset, please don’t read further because I show photos of the bruises.

This is Jedi. He was the one who got the worse part of the attack. His brother, Padawan, had jumped up on my walker and escaped any bites or mouthing that would have caused bruising.

This was the first bruise that I noticed within minutes of getting back home. Because it was on his abdomen, I was worried about possible internal injuries. So we took our dogs to the veterinarian’s office.

The vet found this bruise and trimmed the fur so he could see it better. It is the teeth marks of the attacking dog. I didn't put in all the photos of the bruises. They pretty much look like the one above. 

This was another bruise the vet found. I was surprised how many more bruises appeared during the next couple of days, but I didn’t have the heart to take more photos.

Jedi was walked slower and appeared stiff which the vet explained would happen. The vet explained what we could give him for pain as well.

This is Padawan, Jedi’s brother. He did not have any bruises, but the vet gave him an exam just to be safe. Look at that face. He felt left out because his photo wasn't taken. There was no need to trim his fur at the vet’s. 

We took pity on him and made him feel better by taking his photo. He actually put his nose under the measuring tape, so we knew that he wanted his photo taken with it like his brother.

We thought that we were finished and everything was fine, but he sat up so we could get a photo of his belly. He even wanted the measuring tape again. So we obliged. He was lucky and had not been bitten or mouthed by the attacking dog.

The dog that attacked us was found to be a “potentially dangerous dog.” The owners were fined and also had to do some extra things to ensure public safety, such as muzzle the dog when going out of their yard.

After a few months, that dog wasn’t around and we don’t know what happened to him. We don’t blame that dog. The owners should have done more to keep him secured.

Mystique

This is Mystique. She was found in the neighborhood on November 2nd of 2007. She appears to be a Main Coon or a Main Coon mix. 

We tried to place her in a no-kill shelter, but they were full and we did not want to take her to the county animal control center because they have to put down an animal after a certain time if it doesn't get adopted. 

So we kept her separated for a day from our other babies until we could get her in to see out vet. He gave her an all clear on any communicable diseases so we brought her home and officially adopted her. 

Mystique had a tough life before us. We thought she was two months old because of her size. The vet explained that her teeth showed that she was six months old. She was underweight and undersized. 

The cartilage of her left ear was broken. (You can see it in the photo.) The tip of her tail was also broken and has a permanent kink in it. She has discoloration in the pupils of her eyes which could be damage caused by blunt trauma. She also has slight tremors occasionally which may indicate a neurological disorder which may be related to the blunt force trauma. I say "may" because the vet cannot determine without tests, some which are invasive.  

Mystique is spoiled now and, like the rest of the pets, gets whatever she wants. She doesn't communicate as well as the other babies. The others have various ways of telling us if they want a treat, a snuggle, or outside (puppies). Probably because she had trouble the first six months or so of her life, but we are doing everything to help her forget those times. 

Here she is on the kitty's bunk beds making herself quite at home.

Our Dogs

Our puppies are brothers from the same litter. Their mom was a 10 pound Toy Fox Terrier, wire-haired. Their dad was an 8 pound Maltese. Our dogs are now 24 and 26 pounds. They grew! This is one of their first photos. They were such small puppies. That is a kitchen chair behind them and one of the legs of the table.

Their names are Padawan and Jedi. My husband is a Star Wars fan. A padawan learner is a person studying in the force, a power in the Star Wars world. A jedi is a master of the force.

Padawan is on the left. He has straighter, slightly darker fur and dark ear tips. He is our big baby. He loves attention and isn’t happy unless he is on someone’s lap or pressed up against someone. Jedi has curlier, lighter fur and an under bite. He is the quieter one of the two. He is the watchful serious one who wants to make sure everyone is alright.

Both of them love car rides, even if they are riding in the car from the front of the house to the garage. They are always happy to jump in the car.

Vex & Lathandar

Everyone has trouble telling our black cats apart. Vex is on the left. Lathandar is on the right. 

We used to give them them different colored collars. Vex had a red one, but he was adept at losing it. We still don't know where he has hidden them. Yes, he removed many from his neck. Lathandar had blue collars, but we think Vex helped him to lose a few of them as well. 

Vex is our little rogue. He tends to take things that aren't his. Vex is able to hide things well. I lost my favorite make-up brush over eleven years ago from out of the medicine cabinet. Haven't seen it since. He had been interested in it and I had caught him with it a couple of times. I'm sure he is the one who is responsible for its disappearance. 

Lathandar is our protective cat. He will walk around the house as if on guard duty. He often perches up high so he can see the rooms better. He watches over his domain ensuring that life is safe. Such a sweetie to look out for us like that.