Cuteness ahead:

Meet Calypso!

(photo credit: JustOrb)

She is so tiny. You’d think, however, that she was much bigger if you heard her yelling. All the other cats look huge to me now, even skinny George. <grin>

I’ll have some better pictures later, of course, once we’re all settled in. So far the other brats aren’t too bent out of shape, but that’s probably ’cause we’re keeping them separate for now. There’s been some hissing, and Jake got a displaced thwack from Max (poor dog is bewildered), but so far so good. I’m expecting crankiness, etc., but Fred & George integrated pretty easily and I’m hoping this will go as well.

(photo credit: JustOrb)

orbie‘s husband found this tiny ball of fluff near his office – no sign anywhere of mama or the rest of her littermates. It being “kitten season” (spay or neuter your pets, people!) none of the no-kill shelters or rescues she called have space available. This coincided with our apparent insanity, so we said we’d take her.

So, we picked her up this morning and took her to her first vet appointment. Results are that she’s healthy and pretty strong for her age, so weaning should go well. She’s already drinking her kitten mix from a bowl, so I probably won’t have to mess with bottles. She’s also using the litter box which is a huge relief for me! She’s had her first worming dose, and capstar which (magnets aside) is a true miracle. Seriously, half a pill and 30 minutes later fleas drop dead? Amazing.

[insert break for feeding everyone]

OK, the current cats ate fine (it’s a worry with Max, as he’s prone to bouts of pancreatitis which are heralded by him refusing food) so that’s good. Calypso did well too – round kitten belly! I’m so glad she’s eating from a dish rather than a bottle. Probably sometime next week we’ll start mixing in a smidge of canned kitten food and see how that goes.

She is so tiny! She doesn’t even weigh a pound yet – she’s about ¾ pound right now!

All right, that’s enough kitten blather for now. Let’s see if I can update more often, hmm?

• Reading!
  

  The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose around the alabaster spire known as the White Tower. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning.

  Having read #1 – #11 of Wheel of Time from 9/8 – 10/16, I now have my hands on The Gathering Storm. I’m gonna try to savor this one a bit more…

• I’m a bit… disturbed by my TX Government prof’s extra credit offering: Attend the Tea Party Express II rally downtown. On the one hand, it is political activity, and an example of how citizens can participate¹ – on the other hand, ew. I’m also a tad bemused that he played an entire Fox News segment (which I can’t find right now and it’s driving me crazy) on the arson investigation around Cameron Todd Willingham’s execution; Perry’s dismissal of the whole thing on the grounds that Willingham was a “monster”. Yeah? So? Assuming the evidence shows that he didn’t set the fire, then he didn’t kill his daughters. While he’d never win any humanitarian awards, he’s still not guilty of the specific crime he was executed for. That’s Not Right in my book. </end digression> Anyhow, yeah. Fox News.

• Videogames: Finished Fable II. Five times. Well, I had to play good! And evil! And good turned evil. And evil turned good. And good turned evil turned good. And then there’s the sex change potion…. Now I’m playing Lost Odyssey, the game I told Rob repeatedly that I did not want to play. I’m over 80 hours in now. So now he thinks that I’ll change my mind on Oblivion! But, even though I’ve apparently changed my mind on turn-based games *cough*pokemon*cough* I still say I don’t like first person that much. Still, maybe Fallout 3 will convince me, if I decide to try it. In DS news, I beat Professor Layton & the Diabolical Box, but I still need to finish more of the puzzles. Haven’t played much Pokemon (Diamond/Pearl/Platinum) lately, but ToysRUs is giving away Arceus soon, so I’ll dust it off for that. Still waiting for HeartGold/SoulSilver, but I’m not sure which one I’m going to get. On my “finish dammit” to do list is a couple of the GBA pokemons, but I’m not sure which ones I finished and which ones I didn’t. And by “finish” I do not mean “caught ‘em all” because I am just not that obsessed. (Shut up Rob.) Pearl is closest to completion, and I’m happy with that.

• My husband threw a glass of ice water at me today! Well, ok, he knocked it over on me while we were at the restaurant. And, ok, maybe it was because I asked him to hand me the very thick and heavy copy of the above mentioned WoT book. Still! Ice! Water! ²

• Now you must see an incredibly adorable picture of George, The Sweetest Cat On Earth™!

He was standing on my palm with all four feet, kneading and trying to stand on his head. Aside from leaning against my chest, he was supported solely by my one hand. He was also purring like mad.

¹Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

²No books were harmed during the events described.

Sometime yesterday morning we lost Pandora. We knew it was a matter of time since the suspicion of liver cancer found last November, but it still took us by surprise. She had gone through a few days of not eating much, but had been doing much better. Necropsy showed that there were definitely tumors in her liver, which had hemorrhaged.

Pandora was the last of our pre-relationship cats: Rob got her from a shelter when he was in grad school. She was always a grumpy cat, but when she felt like it she was very affectionate. She will be missed.

Originally published at Jen’s Corner. You can comment here or there.

They must have some massive PR budget, because my cats, at least, are decidedly not graceful.

Proof lies in the tale I’m about to relate.

OK, take a look at this picture. This is an old picture; now there is another bookcase along the wall between the light and dark bookcases. It fits snugly – the corners of the book cases meet, creating a square behind them that is blocked off. Nothing is there, can’t get to it. The plastic containers on top of the bookcase aren’t there any more, but the monkey with the banana is.

So.

Lately the cats have been getting up there and knocking the monkey onto the floor. Almost daily we’ll find him sitting on the floor; once, we found him drug halfway down the stairs.

Today, today was their peak performance. I’m minding my own business, poking around on the computer when I hear a cat crying. Now we can usually tell more or less what the cats vocalizations mean. Playful, mad, hungry, needy – whatever, we can usually tell. Also, each cat has its own distinctive sound; Max is loud and tends to be yowly, George has the tiniest meow but can be heard when he wants to be, Fred is quite talkative, Tasha rarely meows, she mostly chirps and mrrrps. Yes, that’s a word. Really.

So there is this pathetic meow that sounded unfamiliar. It was definitely one of ours, but not of a sort I’ve heard them make. I go looking for the source, and end up in the library. George is agitated, and is snuffling the bookshelf. Fred is perched on the cat tree, looking very interested in the proceedings. The monkey is again on the floor. And then I heard the cat cry again.

Out from between the two bookcases where the corners meet, a grey paw waves pathetically. Tasha had managed to get up on the bookcase, shove the monkey off, and then, graceful creature that she is, either decided to see what was down in that corner, or simply fell off. I don’t know how long she was in there – could have been up to four or five hours, but honestly, I don’t think it was that long. The way the cats were acting, I think it had been a recent adventure.

To get her out, we had to empty one bookcase, so we could move it away from the wall. I’m not sure how we’re going to solve this little problem, either.

Cats.

Originally published at Jen’s Corner. You can comment here or there.

Melatonin dreams are pretty rad, too.

Sleeeeep. Wondrous sleep.

¹Added due to severe pouting. Silly husband, he should know he’s always on the list! <grin>

I hope he never outgrows this.

Originally published at Jen’s Corner. You can comment here or there.

Also, one of the nose pad things on my glasses broke off. I’ll go to the vets on Black Friday, but no way in hell I’ll go to the mall. Maybe I’ll get it fixed after school on Monday.

The good:

Pandora scarfed down the food the vet recommended, asks for scritches, and vocalizes frequently. Hopefully she’ll continue to feel all right.

Our Thanksgiving turkey, though a day late, was wonderful. Marry a man that can cook, mama always told me.

But guess what? We forgot to put out the cranberry sauce again this year. :D

• Tasha has taken off her collar, again. This time, I think she’s hidden it.
• The cable bill gave me a massive paper cut.
• Though mortally wounded (see above point) I got the junk paid and the bills shredded.
• Wait. Reverse that.
• I still need to pick classes for Spring term. Eeep.
• I’m dreading getting our writing assignment for Am Lit.

That is all.

[EDIT: 9:49pm Found it! Tasha's collar, that is. It was on the bottom shelf of a bookcase in the library. Silly cat. Now I'm going to have some ice cream and watch play Sam & Max. ]

She’s had several health issues over the last few years. She was diabetic a few years ago (cats apparently can “get over” diabetes – at any rate, she only needed insulin for a few months) and lately has had bouts with pancreatitis and UTIs. Anyway, to try to find out what’s going on we had her in for an ultrasound today.

There’s a good chance it’s liver cancer – there’s good size nodes in her liver, and some fairly deep where it would be problematic to get them if we went that route.

At this point, we’re just trying to make sure she feels as good as possible – difficult to determine, because she’s always been a cranky, solitary cat. She is eating much better this past couple of weeks, since the vet put her on some anti-nausea meds. She also comes out more often for scritches, or just to lie in a sun spot, which is a definite improvement.

So for now, just watch and see how she does. If she was younger, or had been healthier, we’d probably consider surgery; as it is, the risks of surgery coupled with recovery would lessen what quality of life she has.

Hopefully, she’ll be around for a while longer. Pandora is our last “pre-marriage” cat – sqlrob got her from a shelter when he was in grad school.

This sucks.

Originally published at Jen’s Corner. You can comment here or there.