Coming back

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Wow, it has been a really long time since I used this blog. Between Cheezland and, intermittently, Facebook, it’s been easier to just share kitty news elsewhere.

But since Cory-Bear just had a not-yet-confirmed diagnosis of cancer, which means that there’s an invisible clock ticking and we have no idea how long it will take for it to run down… I imagine there are going to be lots of updates. And honestly, posting everything in two different places is going to at best be annoying, and if things get hectic, might not be possible. This way, anyone interested in following how Cory’s doing can just subscribe, or drop by here now and then, or wait for me to share links to new posts (probably will do, but can’t promise). I’ll look at the settings and see what I can do to make things as convenient as possible for Facebook peeps and Cheezland peeps (many of which are Cheezpeeps anyway!). This is where we started, posting Cory’s story as often as possible. For however long we still have, I thought we’d come back here. I’ll toss in pics and links to YouTube vids and any updates.

Cory, dreaming, May 2018

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Trick’s belly, gratuitously

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Just because. :-) He loves lying like this. Please ignore the floor that’s in need of sweeping, he’s not far from the litterbox and housework is perpetually touch-and-go here…

Click for 800×600 versions of pics.

Trick-Belly-2015Apr2

Trick-Belly-2015Apr1

If I fitz…

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I don’t even know where this little white box came from. Boxes can live in this apartment for months, if the cats claim them, until we can’t remember what on earth they were originally from. But, recently, it’s been taken over as Cory’s fave sleepy spot… even though it’s, er, a bit of a tight fit. There’s a much larger box right beside/behind the white one, but it’s less interesting than it used to be (it was a previous fave spot). There are Avon boxes everywhere, which are a perfect kitty size. But somehow, it’s the little white one. I had to reinforce it with clear packing tape, because the corners were ripping badly.

These are from three different days (click for 800×600 versions of pics):

CoryWhitebox1-2015Mar

CoryWhitebox2-2015Apr

CoryWhitebox3-2015Apr

The others, probably inevitably, had to try too. At least it gave me some interesting comparison shots. Freya quite likes it, when she can get it without a bearcat in it.

Freya:

FreyaWhitebox1-2015Mar

FreyaWhitebox2-2015Mar

Trick’s less keen on it. He likes the bigger boxes.

TrickWhitebox1-2015Mar

TrickWhitebox2-2015Mar

Added on the 15th: one more pic, from yesterday. Oh, and he’s back in it again…

CoryWhitebox4-2015Apr

Trick and the Dental Surgery Saga

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Okay, so… shortly before Catmus, I took all three cats in for overdue vaccinations (it had been about 4 years) – mainly rabies, which is required by law annually here, but I did go along with a FVRCP booster even though I’m unconvinced that it’s necessary after initial shots and there ARE risks. Partly because we’re hoping it will help with Cory’s calicivirus attacks. I probably won’t get Trick vaccinated any more, though. But anyway…

The vet, of course, gave them a check-up. Verified that Trick’s odd lumps are harmless fatty lipomas. Noted that the odd little horny growth on Freya’s left forepaw finger-pad is probably harmless and can be removed easily at some point when she’s anaesthetised for something else. And looked at teeth. Her evaluation: Trick, one tooth resorbing, the nerve exposed; Cory, in dire need of cleaning for gingivitis; Freya, okay for now but eventually needs a cleaning.

Argh. Cat dental stuff is about the most expensive I can think of, short of emergencies.

So, using mainly the money I’ve been squirrelling away intending to get Cory’s teeth cleaned pro-actively, we came up with the money to get Trick to the vet. That was last Monday. This means, the night before, no food after 9pm, and no water after 7am. Lemmetellya, our kids were not impressed. Sleep was in short supply. Trick was so unthrilled that I thought he was going to trash Cory’s soft carrier, so we had to put him in the old small hard one, and not easily, I might add.

Get to the vet, and find out an oxygen valve isn’t working. Can’t do surgery safely. Do I want to leave him and hope that it’s easily fixed when the service peeps come, or take him home and reschedule? Dreading the idea of another night of fasting, I left him there for a bit. As it turns out, it was a major repair and all surgeries were cancelled. At least his blood work got done… Anyway, rebooked for a week’s time. (I called this a saga for a reason.) Continue reading

Random pic of Trick’s tummy

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Just because. :-) Under a 60-watt bulb, on crinkly wrapping-tissue paper, with a honeysuckle-catnip toy down by his hip… this was how Trick spent Catmus Eve.

TrickCatmusEve2014

And just as a bonus, Trick in a box in a box, a few days before…

TrickBoxes20141208

 

Warm kitties!

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A couple of fairly random pics I just took…

Cory in a box, with a dryer-warm blanket over him

Freya on the dryer-warm laundry, and Trick in a box under a 60-watt light.

Freya loves that leopard thing. It’s a piece of decent-quality fleece the size of a blanket that I picked up for a couple of dollars at a local thrift store, in among the leftover fabrics. She sleeps on it at every opportunity, and when she isn’t, Cory is… although it isn’t quite such good camo for Cory!

Trick Vs The Tail

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Wow, I got so busy with writing projects and kitty toys and computer problems and Cheezland and with my new major project for SNKI (you can see it here: http://snkitails.wordpress.com/ ) that I haven’t had a chance to get back to finishing the repair work on THIS blog. (My Categories are no longer nested, I see, among other things. *sigh* )

However, for your amusement, here’s my insane Trick and his arch-enemy: his own tail.

Trick’s greatest foe, for the ten years or so he’s been living with us, has always been that black snakey thing. It follows him everywhere, always stalking him. Now and then, he gets annoyed at it and tries to show it who’s boss.

We’ve been trying to get video evidence of the great battle for a long time, but always, either couldn’t get to the camera in time, or he noticed us and stopped, or the camera battery was dead… always something. However, last night, luck was with me! I missed Round One, but was alerted by the rather distinctive thumps against the wall and caught part of Round Two and all of Round Three. Yes, I’m back a bit from the action, but any closer and he’d have been distracted by my presence and stopped, so… deal with it.

I think this confirms that Trick is bonkers. But man, he’s fun to have around!

Back to Normal

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The purrkids are definitely relieved to have Kama out of here so life can return to its normal patterns. Freya happily reclaimed her spot last night beside Jackie on the futon, in Jackie’s room which was off-limits while Kama was here. Trick’s aggression is fading, and most of the gushifuds from supper and breakfast disappeared like it should. And teh Cory-Bear, well… apparently I exist for the sake of, every time he yells, dropping everything and going to him to pick him up and cuddle him. A tad inconvenient when I’m working on cat toys, since it means a lot of extra hand sanitizer before I touch yarn or tools again, but how can I say no? Thunderous purring, cheek-rubs, and concussion-inducing hedbonks make the inconvenience trivial. :-)

Happy in Mom’s arms and over Mom’s shoulder.

Whatcha doing with that camera?

And Jackie got video of him being cuddly, too. This isn’t actually Cory at his MOST demonstrative and acrobatic… but it is cute. :-)

Try to ignore the mess in the background. Somehow the more we try to declutter, the worse things get…

For a few years, after a lifetime with long hair, I started cutting it to about jaw-length every spring and letting it grow the rest of the year. I wasn’t allowed to cut it this past spring, and it’s looking unlikely that I will be next spring, since Cory’s decided he likes to burrow into it, hide under it, cheek-rub and/or chew on any hair tie I have in, and generally make it very clear that he likes it long.

‘Bye, Kama!

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Kama’s off to his foster home as of a couple of hours ago. Well, it’s a foster home now. Whether it will stay a “foster” home, I’m not so sure – he’s such an easy cat to love! ;-) He’s going to be happy there, whether it’s forever or for now.

Earlier today, well, he had his vet visit. Apparently he has a heat murmur (II out of VI in severity), but that’s not so bad, really. Overall, doing surprisingly well after his ordeal, and nearly ten pounds despite being underweight! Treated for fleas and worms, got his shots, and getting fixed can be looked at in a week or so once he’s had more time to recover and settle in.

Then he came back here for a few hours, to wait for his trip to his foster home. While I was in with him, we were playing, and at one point, while he was chasing a long prysma-toy, he decided he needed a break and sprawled where he was… but he had one paw over the body of the toy, and any time I tried to twitch it away, he recaptured it. :-)

MY toy!!!

A little later, he was on the couch with me (Jackie’s futon, folded into couch-shape) and climbed onto my lap by invitation (ie, I patted my leg while my legs were crossed). He stayed there for over 90 minutes, sleeping so soundly that at one point he was dream-twitching. He had his head pillowed on my left forearm for part of it, and slipped into the space between it and my body for part of it but kept his paws wrapped around my arm. I didn’t have the heart to move him! I don’t believe he knew that he was going to be leaving, or that it was good-bye, but I do feel very much like it was a thank-you.

What I could see when I looked down:
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