9 Lives to Live

Friday, July 31, 2009

Relapse


Well, I was feeling great for a few weeks and was much too busy being a kitten to blog, but unfortunately when I received my second vaccination I got all sniffley again.
Burt, on a gut feeling, had blood work drawn and it turns out that I'm anemic. I am now five months old and think I have been through enough, at least I still have plenty of play in me.
Oh, and I almost forgot, my permanent teeth are coming in and my baby teeth are not budging.
Burt says I'm just trying to outdo Mortimer with the vet bills!

Sunday, June 21, 2009

All Better

I am finally feeling better, and have taken up some new hobbies! They include, but are not limited to: climbing the curtains, ambush leg attacks, waking up at 3am, and playing in the litter box. I have included some pictures, enjoy!

Sleepy but not ready to stop playing

Large orange vase exploration

slowly moving to the lower couch

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Olaf's First Post

Can you find me? I know you're saying to yourself, "but Olaf, all five pictures look like you," but take a closer look.


Answer: #4

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Feline Upper Respiratory Infection

Burt here.
The original title for this post was "Holy SH*T," but I don't like to work blue.
Olaf is about 80% recovered and I have to say that a Feline URI is not always just a "kitty cold" as it is so often described. Some cases are more like the Plague, genetically spliced with the Ebola virus and some TB thrown in for good measure. "Kitty cold" sounds cute and brings to mind images of a kitten with a box of Kleenex, sipping hot tea.
Olaf's "cold" was four trips to the vet (plus one house call), three different antibiotics, four days of around the clock force feedings, and five days of SQ fluids. This doesn't include all the injections and pills at the vet's office.
One good thing to come out of this is that I feel totally bonded to this cat, and saving a kitten who probably wouldn't have made it otherwise kinda helps complete the cycle, somehow in the grand scheme, it seems to help make up for the cat that just couldn't be saved.
I have to give special thanks to Dr. Jepson, without her, Olaf defiantly would not have made it. She want above and beyond the call of duty!

"Deaths Door"

"The Nurse's Station"

Warming syringes of food

Kitty IV bag

SQ Administration

Food Administration

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Baby's First SubQ Fluid

Burt here - One week after the loss of Mortimer, we are back at the vet's office due to the worsening of Olaf's upper respiratory infection. I'm starting to feel like the angel of death when it comes to cats, is there a vet that has punch cards?

Broadway Vet's Office

I can't help but feel like I'm trapped in the Simpson's episode I, D'oh-Bot.

Snowball III

Monday, May 25, 2009

Kitten!!!

The house is no longer empty, we have a kitten. We love critters and not having one in the house seemed wrong. I would like to introduce Olaf Köttr.

We found him at the Oregon Human Society. Out of all the kittens there, we of course chose the sickly one. The first day we saw him at the shelter, he smelled horrible. He had fleas, ear mites, possibly worms, and still has an upper respiratory infection. He's our little fuzzy ball of sneezes and mucus.
He's only 12 weeks old, so he's still a little too uncoordinated to blog. The number one priority is learning to properly use the litter box, which is proving to be more difficult that we had hoped, we'll leave it at that to protect little Olaf's dignity.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Picking Up the Pieces

It's not a week yet and we are already planing on going to get a new cat. I have decided to continue the blog (hopefully a new cat will pick it up). That brings up the question, how soon is too soon to get a new cat? Is it disrespectful to even consider it? Ernie is anxious to get another cat in the house, except for a couple of years in college, he's never lived without a cat. However, I tend to linger when it comes to mourning. Mortimer was the first cat I ever had living out on my own, and I don't know if its possible to love a cat that much again. What if I love the new cat more? I'm ready for a new roommate but maybe not a family member, some advice would be welcomed.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Mortimer s Final Post

Mortimer passed today peacefully on his favorite afghan with both of us by his side. He was a unique cat and will be missed dearly. If you wish to honor Mortimer in some way, donations can be made to the Cat Adoption Team in his name. Thank you all so much for your support over the years.
-G&J


Sunday, May 17, 2009

Bad Day

Well, it seems my heart condition (Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy) is finally catching up with me. Today I received the news that I have months to live. I was sick enough that the boys had me in their laps with the IV ready to euthanize, but at the last minute decided against it because the good folks at Dove Lewis were able to bring me back around to almost my normal lovable self by the time they saw me again.
So now I'm on a water pill (Laxixs) and an ACE inhibitor, my Atenolol has been stopped and hopes are this will keep me comfortable during my illness. I am surprised how quickly this happened, this morning I was playing with string and chasing bird shadows, and four hours later I couldn't even stand up.
I have heard the boys planing funeral arrangements, their friend has an orchard in the west hills of Portland which is very peaceful. Personally, I'd would rather be mummified and placed at the foot of the bed.

Friday, April 17, 2009

New Snack

The boys finally got sick of having to drive to the suburbs every three weeks to get my litter, and have now changed brands. I loved my old cat litter but this new one tastes much better. You heard me correctly, this stuff tastes great, I cant stop eating it! But don't worry, its just corn. Burt looked on their website and told me it is perfectly safe. If you are interested its called The Worlds Best Cat Litter.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Dry spell


Winter is over and now so is spring break, which means Burt is back to school come Monday. I will be a lonely kitten when Burt is at numerous study groups, (from which he comes home smelling of cheep gin). At least I still have the love of my mice babies, they are always there for me.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Swedish Modern cat toy part 2

The PDX Ikea no longer sells my favorite cat tube, very sad. I wanted to tack on an addition. "Swedish Modern Cat Toy" is the most popular search that leads to my humble little blog!
What are you guys searching for? Did you find it? Seriously, let me know because what ever it is, I'm sure I need two of them.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

What's up Doc?

I went for my yearly checkup yesterday, and of course the doctor was blown away by what a fine example of cat flesh I am. I didn't like the fact that my temp had to be checked twice due to user error, and of course there was the much hated crate...