The mind of a cat wanting attention

This is our youngest cat, Mystique, wanting attention. She saw me working at the cutting mat and decided it would make a comfortable seat. I petted her and then moved to the sewing machine to work on my quilt. 

She wasn't satisfied with the previous petting and this is how Mystique let me know to give her more attention. She laid on my fabric blocks. I took a break and snuggled with her. 

Dogs and Cameras

The dogs saw me taking a photo of my latest quilt and ran over to get into the picture. I'm pretty sure they don't understand the concept of a camera, but I think they understand that I am paying attention to something that isn't them.

This is actually the final photo, but I placed it first. This is when I gave up to the fact that they were going to be in the photo. The rest are shots as they ran into the frame as I tried to call the dogs away only to have one or both run back to the quilt when I aimed the camera. 

Cat in Box (plastic box)

Our cats love sharing the desk with me while I work, especially Lathandar (pictured above in my stolen organizer). 

Unfortunately, I have been working on a quilt and needed more space than normal. I had to move their shoe box. Needless to say, Lathandar was not happy. 

My solution was to add a bigger box to sit under my storage boxes on the corner of the desk. I cut a cat door in it and Lathandar was happy again. Also, I had my extra work space. 

I decided to add another box with a entrance connected to the first box for added privacy. You can't see Lathandar because he moved into that space and was very happy...until Mystique decided she wanted the boxes and didn't want to share. Lathandar was unhappy again. 

So I have been pondering what to do to fix the new problem. I could move the printer stand to the floor so I could add another box, but there really isn't space beside the desk. I planned to think about this. 

Then Lathandar solved the problem for me. I put one of my plastic organizers on the desk because I planned to use it for organizing. Lathandar had different ideas. *sigh* I surrendered the organizer to him and lost my extra work space. I'll use a something else for organizing, maybe a box. 

Cold weather and warm electric blankets

It is getting cold! We leave our electric blanket on during the day for the cats so they can be warm and cozy. They seem to appreciate it, especially our black cats who are in their teens now. 

I got Mystique in mid yawn. She is all tucked in the bed and on a pillow. 

Here is Vex on top of the quilt, but still feeling the warmth from the electric blanket. 

Cats and boxes

This is Lathandar in the box that I wanted to use for storing the canning jars that came inside the box. I didn't even have the plastic off and he decided he should have it. 

Here is Lathandar, again! I wanted to store some items out of the way and discovered that one of my baking sheets fit nicely over this box and could hold some items on top of it. I liked the idea of recycling this box and using it for storage. Our cat had other ideas. 

Well, I can play at this game, too. I used a shoe box to keep Lathandar off my sewing projects. It is right beside the sewing machine (to the left) because he likes to supervise my creative endeavors. He is all comfortable in his box, even though his position looks painful to me.

I wonder if boxes are made with something special that cats find irresistible. 

Fabric thief

I use bankers boxes to keep my quilt projects in. I kept finding the fabric pulled through the handle of my box. I would push it back in. I suspected a cat, but which one? Then I caught her. 

Mystique used her claws to pull out my fabric. I said, "naughty" with a normal voice, not loud. She immediately stopped and started to bathe herself. I hurt her feelings. So I snuggled with her and distracted her with a cat toy, a mouse on a stretchy string. 

We'll see if she leaves my fabric alone now. 

Our dog buries treasure in our bed

 This is the amazing bunch of items that I had to dig out of from under our covers before getting into bed. There are six doggy biscuits, two balls, a rope toy, and one remote. We are pretty sure it was Padawan who buried the treasures in the bed. *sigh* Life as a fur-baby parent. ;)

A visit from our nieces

 Our nieces came over a while ago and decided the pets needed sunglasses. This is Jedi. He wasn't impressed.

 Here is Padawan. He fought the idea of having the sunglasses until he saw my camera. Then he kept moving and trying to get closer, thus the blurry photo. He really likes his photo taken.

 Mystique wasn't thrilled with having sunglasses on, either, but she endured. The black cats, Lathandar and Vex, took off and the girls couldn't find them.

 This is the result of the nieces' visit. The puppies were all tired out and needed their naps. The cats, all three, went into hiding. Our pets aren't used to the energy of kids. ;)

Our pets rule the house.

 This is what happens when my husband leaves his gym bag on the couch. Mystique turns it into a bed. 

 We have to use plastic containers to keep the dry kibble because our cats rip open the bag if we don't. Here is Vex helping himself. 

 We bought a large pet stroller after our dogs got attacked by a bigger dog when we went for a walk. I used cable ties to strap the little battery operated fans to keep the dogs cool. We got the larger stroller so the dogs could snuggle together.

 Our cat, Lathandar is the guard cat at our house. He likes to watch over everything and especially likes to sit on the desk while I sew. I placed a shoe box on the desk to encourage him to sit in a specific spot. He loves it and got comfortable. You can't see his head because he is twisted up. I am not sure how he finds that comfortable, but he does. 

 Mystique decided to investigate the box on the desk. She also fell asleep, but as you can see, she is a bit more wary of the box than Lathandar had been. 

 I made a pet quilt to donate to the pet shelter. Jedi decided he wanted it and claimed it. We gave it to him and tucked it into the kennel where he likes to snuggle.

 Here is the quilt. I took a photo outside on the sidewalk. It is easier that way so I don't have to move the pets off the quilts as I try to photograph them. With the pet quilt, I decided to use the "independent" blocks. Some people call them "orphan" blocks. I will use my independent blocks to make the pet quilts. 

Our dogs are making progress.

This is such a milestone for our puppies. A few years ago, they were attacked by a big dog during a walk. Since then, they have developed a fear of other dogs, any dogs, even tiny Yorkies. If they are not inside the fence, they run to me for protection. This is the first time they really play with another dog, Zeus. He lives across the street. Of course, he is on the outside of the fence, but that is okay. They are making progress. Padawan is the more active one and you can hear him barking. Jedi joins back in. They were playing a while before I got my camera, so I only caught the end of their play.

Catitude!

I just had to add the photos of our cats getting comfortable where they shouldn't. 

Yes, cats love boxes. I placed this box on a chair to fill with other boxes and recyclables. I left for only a second. I was surprised to see Lathandar sitting in it when I got back. So I let him stay. I'm sure he will bet bored soon...I hope. So far, he is staying. I might need a different box for recycling. 

I guess Mystique had no other place to get comfortable. She decided to make herself at home as I tried to read my emails. Oh, cats! They make life fun. 

Our sweet dogs

Our dogs are so sweet. They sat in their stroller while I divided garlic bulbs. Then they kept me company as I planted the garlic in my raised bed. Such sweet boys. Their fans need new batteries, so I put those on my shopping list. 

I have to share that this stroller was one of the best purchases that I have made. We can move it anywhere and it is like a portable dog house. It gives them shade in the sun. It is vented so it gives them plenty of air. Most of all, they don't have to lay on the ground if it is damp outside. 

Look who wants to sew!

Yes, our cat, Mystique has the sewing bug. 

If this was one of the black cats, I wouldn't mind and I would turn the machine on because they would lay on the desk and watch. They might lay on the fabric to test its comfort level. Mystique can be too playful at times and I worry that she will swat at the needle. I would hate to hurt her paw. So I shall wait.

Mystique got bored quickly and yowled at me. She can be so bossy. Nope, I didn't give in. She is now asleep in the box. 

Silly pets!

Here is Mystique trying to hide in the empty water bottle box. She did hide better before the flash lighted the darkened kitchen.

Here is Padawan. He has decided that the belt to my husband's robe is his new toy.

Here he is really trying to convince my husband that this belt is really for dogs.

Jedi went to the emergency vet

First let me say that only one dog is injured and needs the collar/funnel. They get jealous so we have to get each the same thing. The one on the left is Padawan. He is fine. The one on the right is Jedi. He is the one who had the wound.

We do not know how Jedi got the injury and today was the first that we noticed it. So we took him in right away to make sure it wasn't anything serious. It is on his front left leg.

Here is the wound. It is some type of puncture wound that isn't very deep. The vet cleaned it out and gave us antibiotics that Jedi will have to take every 12 hours. We expect a full recovery. 

Our black cat is really spotted!

Not sure if you can see it very well, but in the center of the photo, there is a spot that is brownish under the black fur. That is the cat's skin. He has spotted skin.

Lathandar had mats and we were cutting them off and noticed the spots. He has them in various places on his body. So our black cat is really a spotted cat. 

This is a Pringle's Chip that I had to take away from our cat, Mystique. She was enjoying it greatly. She hasn't read the same books that I have that say she is an obligatory carnivore. Crazy chip cat. 

I have seen those photos where the dogs don't get their bigger beds because the cats take it and then the dog is stuck with the cat's smaller beds. This happens at our house, too. Only, we have more than one doggy bed and more than one kitty bed. 

Here is Mystique in the doggy bed. It was empty and she didn't chase any dogs away. The next photo shows you why she is in their bed. (and the bedding needs washed now that the snow is melting.)

Here is Jedi on the cat's mat. It is too small for him and he is using it as a pillow. The dogs, with all their fluffy fur, get hot and the pillows in their beds makes them even hotter. They find the flat kitty mats cooler and more to their liking. 

So don't feel sorry for the dogs, they had two more beds in the room that they were ignoring. 

Lathandar's teeth and eye problems.

In this photo of Lathandar sitting on our printer, you can see that his eyes are dialated.

We finally got our cat, Lathandar (13 years old this upcoming April and currently weighs 11 pounds and 12 ounces) into the vet. There were so many weather related cancellations and rescheduling 

We were concerned about Lathandar's eyes and his teeth. Good news, no sign of cancer in his eyes or his mouth. I was worried and can pretty much deal with anything else.

First, many of his teeth have fallen out and we never realized that he had any teeth problems! He is the cat that sits up high and watches over us, very sweet on his part, but because he is so stoic, we hadn't realized the problems with his teeth. He is not a complainer. He yawned one day and I noticed he was missing teeth. That was the only indication anything was wrong.

The vet explained that he wasn't in any pain and illustrated the point by pushing on some teeth and gums to show us that Lathandar didn't react. The vet, a very nice person, did explain that some cats have roots that reabsorb into the gum and then the teeth get loose and fall out. Since he was not in pain, the vet saw no reason for dental surgery. I was relieved because I was worried about what could go wrong in surgery and possible anesthesia problems. Also, our cats don’t like leaving the house and get very stressed.

I had wonderful internet friend who helped calm my concerns by explaining that some breeds tend to lose their teeth and she had a tortie who lost teeth as well. That is what happened to our little guy. His teeth just fell out and it wasn't an infection or rotten teeth. His gums just reabsorbed. 

Lathandar also had eye problems. His eyes are constantly dilated. I had been told by someone from the net that it was from his teeth causing him pain, but the vet ruled that out. The vet did a special test to look into the cats eyes and saw no problems, meaning healthy capillaries and such. The vet also ruled out glaucoma and cancer (cancer was the one that I was worried about). She explained that it was an iris degenerative problem related to his age. The cat seems to have decent vision and doesn’t miss what is going on around him. He can see things coming at him and even grabbed at the table when they were putting him down. She did give us a pamphlet for a pet ophthalmologist in case we are worried, but said that the cat isn't in pain. *sigh of relief*

They did blood work and took his blood pressure which was great, especially for a stressed cat at the vet. I'm convinced it was because he had his blankie from home, so take your fur babies blanket or favorite toy when going to a stressful event. It may help.

The blood work showed healthy liver, kidneys, and thyroid. Even the white blood cells were fine. So, the vet gave us a clean bill of health and told us that if we were still concerned that they could do another blood test in 6 months to a year from now. 

I am so relieved that our little guy is basically healthy. Yes, his teeth are falling out, but no pain or infection. The lack of infection was determined by the white blood test numbers. His eyes are doing something crazy, but the vet isn't worried and it seems to be an age related thing. We are adding KMR to his diet to make sure he gets some extra calories and nutrients, which we have done various times during our kitties’ lives. They love the KMR so we don't mind giving it to them as a snack.  

The worst part of the vet time was that Lathandar did not like leaving home. He kept meowing in the car, a horrible sounding cry. He was not happy at all. I am so glad we took his cat blankie with us. He laid on it at the vets and they even took it with them when they drew his blood in the back room which is where they looked into his eyes. 

I, of course, was nervous and worried. As soon as they took him from me, my stomach started hurting. All better now and life is again happy for Lathandar in his comfortable home. Thank goodness for patient vets who indulge us nervous parents by explaining so much and answering our questions. 

Time my for our cat, Mystique

This is a rare site of Mystique posing for the camera. She isn't the most cooperative of cats. She is, rather uncooperative and destructive. She no longer has that belled collar that is in this photo. We don't know where it went. She often breaks things that she isn't supposed to. 

For example, today, she chewed through my headset that we bought yesterday. She is such a naughty kitty. Yes, all seems to be forgotten when she comes up for hugs. *sigh*  I just can't stay angry with that little face...but that doesn't mean that I am not hiding my new headset.

Our dogs love the snow

 The first snow fall of the year caused our dogs to remember how much they loved the snow. Here is Jedi covered in snow after having rolled around in it. 

Here is Padawan after having played a bit in the snow as well. He usually has snow all over his snout. 

Good thing both dogs have all that fur. They are in need of a hair cut. I don't think they will be so inclined to roll around in the snow after that.