another goodbye

2020 is the year that keeps on giving, isn't it?  We've lost our third kitty this year:  Oscar.

We got Oscar in 2005 at a local adoption event, which was run by New Leash on Life. Apparently his owner had passed away and the family didn't want her two cats. They dropped Oscar and his sibling off at a local rescue without any paperwork or even telling the rescue the cats' names. Given there was no paperwork, we believe he was around three to four years old at the time. I was looking at Prince, who was in a long cage with a bunch of kittens. Prince was six months old and the kittens were just a few months old. He was on one side of the cage, trying to stay away from the kittens. So we decided to get him. Then Bob spotted this cute black and white kitty who was in a cage by himself with  a name tag that read, "Help! Get me out of here!" The poor guy had no name on his cage unlike all the other cats and kittens.  Bob felt sorry for him, so we came home with two cats that day.

We called him Mr. No Name for a while and then eventually settled on "Oscar." He was lovable from the start and we discovered he was a hugger. He liked to be held near our shoulders so he could wrap his paws around our necks and hug us. He was great with the other cats--very tolerant and let them cuddle with him. Eventually most of them seemed to think of him as Dad or even Grandpa in more recent years. 

Even though Oscar was young when we adopted him, he'd already lost most of his teeth. And since there was no paperwork, we have no idea what happened. Although he had virtually no teeth, he wouldn't touch wet food and almost no form of human food, not even tuna fish. The only human food he would touch is ham (lunch meat), which we eventually stopped giving to him. He also had pica, which is a compulsive eating disorder in which people or animals eat nonfood items. He favored plastic bags and wrapping mostly, but also tissues and napkins, which meant we had to make sure anything plastic was thrown away and any tissue boxes were turned over at night. If we didn't, I'd come downstairs in the morning to find half-eaten tissues. He even ate a check once! I had to tell my friend to send me the money she owed via PayPal because my cat ate half the check. 

Oscar has two accomplishments:  he was featured in a banking industry calendar back in 2012, which featured pictures of clients' pets; and that same picture (posted at the beginning of this blog post) I took of him won second place in a photo contest. The prize was a mug with his photo on it, which I still use. 

A couple years ago Oscar was diagnosed with a large mass in his bladder. We were told they could remove it, but it would mean losing more than half his bladder. At his age then, which was about 15 or 16, we decided that would be too invasive and we just left it alone. The vet told us it may or may not be cancer, but if we notice he's coughing a lot and starting to decline, then it's most likely cancer. Surprisingly that never happened and he lived a couple more years with no issues. 

Over the last few months we started to notice Oscar was losing weight, which is pretty normal for a cat that's about 18 or 19 years old. Then a couple weeks ago we noticed the weight loss had accelerated and he was basically just a skeleton with fur--very matted fur, as he'd stopped grooming maybe a year ago and brushing wasn't always enough. We knew it was almost time. I then started noticing he wasn't really eating, but was still drinking, jumping, and playing a bit. But he was also behaving strangely, as though he was going senile. For example, he would stay in the bathroom most of the day--a room he never ventured into--or howl very loudly for no reason. A few times I turned on the shower not knowing he was in there. When I went to get into the shower, he was in there drinking the water and was soaking wet. It seemed like he either didn't know the water was hitting him or just didn't care anymore. I had to physically remove him from the shower. Last Thursday afternoon he started sleeping a lot more and Emily snuggled with him all day. Friday he was in his bed all day and didn't come out for food, water or the litter box. He also started sounding a little congested. By Friday night, it was clear it was time to bring him in to be euthanized:  Bob picked him up and he just laid there and seemed very lost, like he didn't know what was going on. His eye was glued shut by gunk, too. We struggled for a couple hours, trying to decide if we should take him to the 24 hour vet hospital or if we should wait until the following day to see if he would pass in his sleep or if not, we could bring him to our own vet. We decided it would be cruel to wait until Saturday so we called the vet hospital and brought him in. 

Thinking back, I'm pretty sure Oscar was the cat we've owned for the longest--15 years. He had a very long life and he was a great cat. I'm so glad Bob convinced me we should get a second cat that day at the adoption event. (Although, it's not as though I needed much convincing.) I'm going to miss his hugs and the fact that all the cats seemed to think of him as Grandpa. I guess he was a comforting presence to them, especially Emily--she is really missing him I think, as she's decided I'm now the one to cuddle with.  I won't, however, miss having to hide the plastic bags and tissues! So hopefully Oscar is now with all the other kitties we've said goodbye to over the years. We'll miss him, and so will Emily.

a hello and two goodbyes

I started this post a while back. It took me so long to get back to it, we now have had two goodbyes.

First, the "hello."

We have a new kitty, and his name is Caesar. He's another kitty from the Stratford Cat Project. We got him in December, just a few days before Christmas, and he was about seven months old at the time. As you can see, he's a cute Tuxedo kitty. He seems small; however, I admit most of my cats are quite large. Not necessarily fat, just big. 

What can I say about Caesar? He's a little quirky. He likes to chirp. He's been known to watch TV. He gets startled easily. Although he knows us and has been here for six months, he tends to run when he thinks we're walking too close to him. He'll be eating dry food and if we walk into the kitchen, he takes off, usually dropping dry food on his way out. Maybe he's afraid of feet? He likes the bathroom sink for some reason. At first he liked playing with the running water, but now he seems to like stretching in the sink. Kitty yoga fan maybe? Kind of weird, but that's what he likes. When I feed the cats, I line up the dishes on the entertainment center (they get fed in the family room because I have 12 cats and the kitchen is too small--OLD house). As I open the cans and put the food in the dishes, he stands partly on the cat tree and partly on the entertainment center and licks the empty cans. Sometimes he gets up on the entertainment center and sneaks around the back so he can start eating from the dishes. He can't seem to wait long enough for me to put the dishes on the floor. 

And now for the "goodbyes."

I always hate having to write these posts, since I usually cry the whole time. In both cases, these were kitties that we wanted to "save."

Tigger

Our first goodbye was Tigger. Tigger showed up on our doorstep somewhere around April 15, which was about a month after my second back surgery. At that point I was up very early everyday, usually around 4 am or earlier--it was definitely still dark outside. Well, he showed up one morning, crying for food and acting as though he lived here. Me being the soft heart I am when it comes to cats, I decided to feed him. He scarfed the food down like he hadn't eaten in weeks. He was so skinny and was dirty, too. He looked as though he'd been outside for awhile. He was very friendly, though. He purred like crazy and wanted so much attention. Once he has his fill, he left. He then showed up the next day for the same routine. He didn't come back again until around May 15 and it was the same routine. This time he was skinnier, if that was even possible, and had obvious mouth pain. Bob and I both said we should put him in the spare bedroom and then bring him to the vet the next day. 

We took him to the vet and he was there for more than a week. They calculated his age to be 12-15 years old. It turns out he had many health issues:  double ear infection; hyperthyroidism, which is why he was so skinny; kidney disease; and congestion that wasn't improving. The mouth issue was thought to be either an abscess or possibly a tumor. In order to inspect it, they would need to put him under anesthesia; however, because of the other health issues he was too weak to do that. Another option was a needle biopsy, but no matter what it turned out to be, it was in a hard-to-access area, which meant he would go through a lot of physical trauma in order to fix it. I didn't want to put a senior, very sick kitty through that when it was likely he might not even survive surgery. And if it turned out to be a tumor, we would lose him anyway. 

We made the decision to put him down. Thankfully we were allowed to be there for it. We both cried a lot. I cried probably more than if he'd been my cat his whole life, probably because I was convinced I could save him, and he came at a time when I needed something to focus on while recovering from surgery during a pandemic. And I think what made it worse was that he clearly recognized us when we walked into the back office where they had him in isolation. He perked right up and started prancing around. We spent some time with him and then we helped him over the Rainbow Bridge. 

We have his ashes and will bury him in our garden. I think he came to us because he knew he would get the help he needed, even though it came in the form of euthanasia. He needed his suffering to end, one way or another. By coming to us, he didn't die suffering and alone. 

Tessa

Last year Tessa came to us with her brother, Toby, from the Stratford Cat Project. They had been adopted out of the Project as kittens; however, they were returned last year in a semi-feral state:  very aggressive, fearful, and unsocialized. Given their state, they weren't adoptable again. The choice was to euthanize them or to make them "barn cats." Me being me, I volunteered us to be their caregivers--we do have a barn, after all! 

We were lent a couple large dog cages and we set them up in the barn with their cat carriers, food, water, litter and blankets. We covered them with moving blankets to keep in some warmth (it was starting to get chilly at night) and also to make them feel more secure. We spent the next several weeks feeding them and cleaning their litter.  Very, very carefully, I might add. Any time we got our hands too close, we got a hiss and a growl, and usually a swipe of the paws. I began using a stick to pull the empty food and water bowls out of the cage, as well as pulling out the litter box. After a few weeks we let them out of the cages. We put out food and water in the barn, and Bob built some cat shelters so they'd have someplace warm to sleep. Eventually we moved the food dishes to the patio. 

We saw Toby only twice after we let them out of the cages; however, Tessa came around to eat everyday. We often saw her sleeping in the barn window or hanging out under the bushes. She seemed content. We were never able to approach her; however, we eventually were able to get within about eight feet of her before she would retreat. 

A couple weeks ago someone knocked on my door. He told me a cat had been hit by a car.  He described it and asked if it belonged to me. Based on the description, I was nearly 100% sure it was Tessa. It was. When I went outside she was across the street on the side of the road, still alive and clearly in a lot of pain. She was panting from the pain and was bleeding from the mouth. The man's friend was there, as was another friend of theirs. They had wrapped her in a blanket.  I ran in to call the vet; however, the doctor wasn't in yet so I had to take her to the emergency hospital. The man who wrapped her in the blanket helped me get her into a carrier and then into the car. She was scared and in pain, so she would occasionally hiss and try to bite us. 

Within minutes of arriving at the emergency vet, they called me to tell me euthanasia was the best option, as she had numerous fractures that would require extensive and multiple surgeries. In addition, she was having difficulty breathing. I gave the OK to put her down. Although I wanted to be there with her for it, the doctor said I wasn't allowed in the ICU and if I wanted to be there, they would need to remove her from the oxygen in order to bring her into an exam room. I didn't want her to suffer anymore, so I waited in the exam room while they euthanized her. They then brought her in when they were done so I could say goodbye. I decided to have her cremated and her ashes will be buried in the garden, too.

The man who knocked on my door that morning came back later in the day to check in and see how Tessa was. I was so touched by that, as not many people would do that these days, nor would they have even stopped to look for the owner of a cat that was hit by a car. And it wasn't just one person--it was THREE. And it turns out they live in my neighborhood, too.

Although I'm glad Tessa was cared for the last year of her life and we were the ones to do it, I really struggle with the fact that she was hit by a car and we had her for less than a year; I no longer let my own cats out because it happened to one of my previous cats many years ago. On the other hand, she wasn't adoptable anymore and she spent the last year enjoying the sun, being fed everyday, and chasing chipmunks.

Lou and Roscoe

We gained one, Roscoe, and lost one, Lou.

Lou came to us from someone who worked at the deli, which was downstairs from my former employer. She was moving and couldn't take him, so we did. I think that was somewhere around 2008. I'm not sure how old he was at the time, though I think he was maybe three years old. He was likely around 15 years old when he disappeared last month.

Lou was an indoor/outdoor cat.  He could be quite the grouchy asshole if we didn't let him out, so we continued to allow him to go outside even though all my other cats are indoor-only. He generally stayed in the yard. He would walk around the perimeter, sometimes sit in the driveway or the yard and watch cars go by, or just hang out on the patio chairs.

He was a tough bastard. When we first moved to our new house five years ago, he tangled with something that de-gloved his tail. What that means is that whatever animal attacked him stripped the fur from his tail. It was quite disgusting and he had to have half his tail amputated. It didn't stop him, though. He continued to go outside and do his thing, often bringing us "prizes." Mostly dead, but some alive:  mice (mostly dead, sometimes alive), chipmunks (alive), and a bird once or twice. He would sit outside and do his "I brought your something, mom!" meow and I knew to check and make sure it was dead before I opened the door. (I neglected to do that recently, and this is what happened.)

I left for work one morning last month and for some reason I decided to go over and pet him. I though to myself, "Let me pet him just in case I don't see him again."  And I didn't. He didn't come home that night after being let out for his usual afternoon stroll. My hope is that he simply went somewhere to die since he was getting old. He never went much beyond the grass behind the garage, which is well away from the property line, so this is more likely; however, it's possible an animal got him.

Even though he could be a jerk, I'll miss him. He became a marshmallow the last few months. He was getting old and I think that's why he softened up a bit. He wanted to be pet more often. He purred more. Made more biscuits. And even though he could be quite embarrassing when he sat outside and howled to come in--he sounded like he was yelling "Hello" and it ECHOED through the neighborhood--I'll miss it. I was actually quite funny, though embarrassing.  I like to think he's crossed the Rainbow Bridge and that my other long-gone kitties have accepted him, even though they were the frequent recipients of a growl or swat from him for no good reason!

On to the new kitty, Roscoe.  Strangely, Lou disappeared about three days after we got Roscoe. I doubt it's connected, but it's strange nonetheless.

Roscoe came from the Stratford Cat Project.  Another "special" kitty. (For some reason, Karin loves to give me the "special" ones!) He's a little over a year old; has a harelip; an eye issue, which just means I need to keep it clean everyday; and what appears to be a neurological issue. His neurological issue consists of his head moving from side to side when he's focusing on something, going down the stairs in a zig zag pattern, and, once in a great while, kind of tipping to one side as though he's lost his balance for a moment. None of these things stop him, though. He's playful, talkative, and seems to get along with the others. He hisses at Leia for some reason, but that's about it. I'm finding that the other cats don't attack, growl, or hiss at him the way they do at some of the others (par for the course in a multi-cat household). I think they sense that he isn't aggressive and that he's got some issues.

Roscoe seems to love the ripple rug I bought last year. None of the other cats care about it, but he loves it. He likes to dive through the holes while he's playing with a toy. He also likes when I toss the fleece blanket on him. He wrestles with it and tries to drag it away, chirping the whole time--I often end up in a tug-of-war game with him.


I also need to comment on his tail. His tail is fluffy and fabulous; I can't resist touching it every time he walks by. He knows it, too, because he tries to side-step me. Sometimes I can get him in time and sometimes I can't.

Overall, he's a little weird (see the picture of him eating), but we love him. He's a good cat and hopefully he's enjoying his new home.

to catch a chipmunk

I'm trying to get better about posting here; however, I don't have much motivation lately.  I figured I would tell a funny story--something that happened this week--and make it easy on myself.

Anyone who knows me knows that I have a lot of cats. Like, A LOT--11 at the moment. Yes, 11. Double digits. Having 11 cats means my house is sometimes a circus. The cats chase each other, play together (usually), sometimes fight, crowd us out in bed and hog the covers, step on my boob, cry for their dinner two hours early, and do various other cat things. (One of my favorites is when they sit and stare at the ceiling for no apparent reason. I know they probably hear a critter in the attic; however, my house was built in 1735 so I tend to wonder if they're seeing a ghost. Freaks me out.)  Sometimes they leave me all-natural, homemade "gifts" that I sometimes don't see until I've stepped in them, which is always fun. And occasionally the one indoor/outdoor cat I have, Lou (above), brings me outside "gifts." These "gifts" are typically dead mice, dead birds, and once a dead chipmunk. Key word here is "dead." He leaves them on the door step to show me what a good hunter he is and how proud he is of his kill.

Earlier this week I was getting ready for work–getting ready to step into the shower, actually–and Lou was crying to come in the house. He was using his weird cry, which means, “Ma! I caught this cute, fuzzy animal and killed it for you! Come look!!” When I hear that cry, I know to check and make sure it’s dead and laying on the patio, and not in his mouth and alive. That was followed by normal cries, so I didn’t check like I usually do. Well, I let him in and he’s got a live chipmunk in his mouth. He trotted in like he’s all that and a bag of chips. The other cats were VERY interested. 

(Now, before I go on, keep in mind that I was just getting into the shower, which means I was naked. Seeing what was about to happen, I panicked for a second and then threw on a sweatshirt and underwear. For some reason, I couldn't find my pajama pants.)

Lou proceeds to drop the chipmunk on the floor in front of me. It promptly plays dead for a few seconds while the others look on--chipmunks are smart like that. Then it gets up and runs around the house, starting with the living room.  So there’s a chipmunk running around with no less than six cats chasing it. Bailey (above) catches it and runs off in another direction and the others follow. Bailey drops the chipmunk in the den and they all race to get it, but Bailey is too fast--there's no way he's giving up his prize. So Bailey gets it again and runs into the family room. Luckily the family room has a door and  I thought to close it so at least the situation is contained in one room. I then had to figure out how to get the chipmunk out of the house without getting bit (those things have jaws like a vise and very sharp teeth!). It then occurred to me to throw a towel over him and the chipmunk.  So I grabbed a bath towel and flung it over Bailey, who still has the chipmunk by the tail, then picked them both up and brought them outside on the back stair. (Yes, in nothing but a sweatshirt and underwear. Luckily it was the back stairs and the neighbors aren't too close.) Since Bailey is an indoor-only cat I couldn’t just put him outside. He wouldn’t let go of the chipmunk, so I did the only thing I could think of--I shook him until he dropped the chipmunk…and then the chipmunk grabbed on to the towel! Rather than put the towel on the ground like a normal person would have, I started shaking the towel until it let go and ran away. I tossed Bailey back in the house and I got on with taking a shower.

Took me just a few minutes to contain the situation. I got on with my shower and got to work on time. :)

Wondering what other live "gifts" I've received from various cats over the years, and which made it into the house?  Mice, birds, and a live snake. Yes, a snake! And now a live chipmunk. I'm not sure what was more fun, though:  the live bird that flew around the house while multiple cats chased it, jumped in the windows, trashing the blinds and knocking stuff over, eventually catching it and giving it a bath (nope, they didn't kill it!), or this chipmunk.

Best ever dead "gift"? A dead catfish from the pond behind my old house. It was delivered to my front door and was sitting on the Welcome mat.

Catsbury Park's Second Annual Cat Convention

Two crazy cat ladies. It runs in the family!

I recently went to the second annual Catsbury Park Cat Convention, which was held in Asbury Park, NJ and run by Catsbury Park Cat Cafe.

When I saw the advertisement last year I wasn't all that sure I wanted to go again.  I went to the first one they held last year and while I enjoyed it, it was absolutely packed and I think some things could have been done better. But it was their first convention and I don't think they expected the huge turnout they got. Ultimately I decided to go since it's was only $40.00 for both days and the proceeds go to charity.

The weather was warmer this time; however, it was very windy out by the water (the Asbury Park Convention Hall is on the boardwalk).  Unfortunately there was a fire at the Dunes Boardwalk Cafe while we were there. It started right before we arrived at the convention hall and burned all day. It was extinguished for a short time, but the high winds caused it to reignite. It was actually still smoldering the next morning. The Dunes is about a half mile or so away, but the air was pretty smokey both days. Luckily we didn't have to evacuate.

When we arrived on Friday we visited the Catsbury Park Cat Cafe on Friday afternoon. It's a vegan cafe. One side is the cafe and the other is the cat lounge where you can hang out with the cats, play with them, feed them treats, or eat your own vegan treats.  All the kitties are up for adoption. Last year I went on Saturday night after the convention and it was SO, so busy and the cats were either sleeping, hiding or cranky. This time they were mostly all awake, happy and ready to play. The added bonus was that my cousin and I were practically the only ones there so we got to hog the kitties.

Here's one of the Cafe residents. This was a playful Tuxedo kitty.
Actually, several of the cats were Tuxedos, some with white whiskers!

We then headed over to the convention hall for early wrist-banding and then off to dinner at the Americana Diner (great diner!). I’m so glad they did early wrist-banding this year. Last year was the first convention they held and I think the huge turnout was really unexpected and the lines were very long (it was actually at legal capacity a half hour after opening last year), so they wanted to streamline this year.

We decided to use Uber for the convention Saturday morning so we wouldn’t have to get there super early in order to get good parking. Knowing that it’s not a huge convention, and that there isn’t much on the boardwalk to do this time of year, I didn’t want to be hanging around for over two hours before the presentation at noon I wanted to attend. It worked out well. We got there around 11:30 am, the Uber was half price so it only cost about $5.00 (cheaper than parking!), and we didn't have to deal with parking. It was awesome being able to walk right in and not have to wait in line. We walked around the convention floor for a bit, then headed over to the Paramount Theater to see “From Stray to Space: How Klaus became an Astrocat,” which was presented by Klaus’s dad, Mick. I was hoping Klaus would be there like he was last year, but he was hanging out at the hotel; he’s now 19 and Mick didn’t want to stress him out. (If you want to check out their Facebook page, click here:  https://www.facebook.com/TheKlausCat/. There are also some super cute videos here: You tube) I really enjoyed the presentation. Mick talked a lot about Oskar (now deceased) and Klaus's lives, as well as their efforts in helping bring books and resources to blind children. I teared up when he talked about Oskar's passing, which happened last year two months before the last convention.

The next presentation I wanted to see–Hannah Shaw, the Kitten Lady–wasn’t until 5:00 pm so we had quite a bit of time to kill. We shopped the convention hall, went up to the adoption lounge to look at the kitties (no, I didn’t adopt one!!), had appetizers at the Robinson Ale House, and shopped around the little mall that houses the convention hall. I ALMOST got a tattoo (Neptune Tattoo was there), but I chickened out at the last minute. I’ve never wanted a tattoo or even cared for them, but they had some really minimalist designs and I was thinking I’d be OK with one on my ankle or maybe my shoulder. (Plus I’m a crazy cat lady so why not advertise it and be proud of it?) I was thinking of this one below, but just a black outline with no coloring. Maybe next time!

I really enjoyed Hannah Shaw’s presentation, "All Things Kitten and Community Cats."  She showed some really cute videos of her neonatal kittens, a TNR (trap-neuter-return) project she worked on, as well as some other videos. She talked a lot about neonatal kittens and community cats (ferals) and how they’re the most at-risk cat population and how people can help. Lots of useful information. (Here's a link to her website, which has links to her different social media pages: http://www.kittenlady.org/follow.)

Sunday we did two celebrity cat meet and greets: Lil Bub, and Stache and Teddy (yes, I’m a geek and a crazy cat lady!). Most of the meet and greets were held at the Asbury Hotel. We made sure to get there at least 30-45 minutes before the meet and greets started since lines form early. I also wanted to try and get towards the front of the line so the cats wouldn't be cranky or tired. We got right into see Stache and Teddy due to the way they divided up the waiting area. We just happened to be on the side where people weren’t waiting and they told the Stache and Teddy attendees to wait there. Lil Bub, on the other hand, we waited about an hour, maybe a little more, since it started at the same time as Stache and Teddy, which meant we were nearly at the end of the line. But it was worth it. She’s adorable! Tiny and so mellow. (There was a young woman in front of us and she was saying that she was so excited to meet Lil Bub that she felt like she was going to faint! Mike, Lil Bub's owner, told her to calm herself since Bub was starting to pick up on her excitement. The woman ahead of her was talking about how she balled her eyes out last year when she met Bub for the first time, and that they had to tell her to calm down and get hold of herself before approaching Bub. I mean, I love cats and wanted to meet Bub, but I don’t put it quite on the same level as meeting Def Leppard. Although it was close!)

Me and Lil Bub.

Me with Bub and her "dude", Mike, as he's called. LOL

Me with Teddy (left) and Stache (right). Unfortunately I didn't get to sit with them this year.

Teddy and Stache. They're so cute, soft and well-behaved!

Before heading home I made my obligatory trip to Wegman’s to get some goodies (there’s no Wegman’s in my state so I go when I’m near one) and then we were on the road.

It was a good convention. I was so happy it wasn’t jam-packed like last year; however, there was the fire at the Dunes Boardwalk Cafe a half mile away, so perhaps the combo of the smokey air and the fact that the huge turnout last year soured some people (and that people didn’t actually read the website last year to know that it’s not a cat SHOW, it’s a CONVENTION) is what kept attendance down a bit. There were lots of great vendors. I got some artwork, cat toys, a door stop, and Lil Bub leggings and a mug (courtesy of my cousin). Got some yummy vegan treats, too. My only complaint this time around is that they seemed to go the opposite direction in terms of the presentations they had this year. Last year they had lots of them on both days, with generally two or three running concurrently. This year it seemed there weren’t many at all on Saturday, which is when most people attend the convention. Most were on Sunday when people would typically head home, as well as all the meet and greets being on Sunday, too. Although they added I think one or two on Saturday because Sunday sold out. And since the convention hall isn’t huge, and neither is the mall outside, it was hard to fill four hours in between the two presentations.

Here are some of the goodies I grabbed. I forgot to take pics of the cat toys and they're already scattered around the house. I got two catnip kickers and four wool mice. They didn't seem to have the free tote bags this time around; however, we didn't get there at opening time so they may have had them and run out by the time we got there.

Artwork is by Leeza Hernandez, http://www.leezaworks.com/

Artwork is by Leeza Hernandez, http://www.leezaworks.com/

My handmade door stop. Purple, of course!

I haven't decided if I'll put this on my desk at work or keep it at home.

My cousin got these for me. Crazy, aren't they?? This isn't me! It's from Lil Bub's online store. I actually had to send them back and get a bigger size since they run small. The store rep was very friendly and accommodating. I didn't even have to send the leggings or receipt back before they sent out a replacement pair! They just took my word for it! I also got a Lil Bub tea mug, but it's at work already.

my latest tag sale finds

Twice a year the Stratford Cat Project, a cat rescue with which I volunteer and where most of my kitties have come from, holds a huge tag sale.  Proceeds go towards helping pay for medicals costs, supplies, etc.

I typically stop by later in the day to help pack up and transport boxes back to the storage unit. Before doing so, I walk around to see what kinds of things I can buy. Typically I'm looking for cat-related items (surprised??), such as pictures and statues.  The statues I use as garden ornaments and grave markers for kitties that have crossed the Rainbow Bridge. I also like to put the statues on the landings outside my front, side and back doors--people need to know a crazy cat lady lives here. I also look for other decorative items that might be somewhat of an antique, but those are few and far between. I also grab books to put in my spare bedrooms for when people stay over. I don't know if they read them or not, but I'm prepared!

Our last tag sale was in September and these are the items I came home with. I haven't found spots for everything yet, but I'm working on it. The house is in a bit of disarray at the moment between laying down the new flooring, putting up the remaining curtains that I bought months ago, and cleaning up in general.

This one reminds me of my mom's cat, Missy. She was a tuxedo cat and kind of a crabby diva, but we loved her. I'm thinking I might re-frame this one, since I'm not thrilled with the frame itself.

This would probably look nice across from the front door, but I haven't decided yet.

This one is my favorite and it's pretty big, although you can't tell in this picture. But below you can see it in it's chosen spot.  I got the desk at the local antique store for a really good price. It's late 18th century/early 19th century. The primitive bowl on top is from the same store, and I got that for less than $10.00. Got the wooden spoons there, too. (I LOVE wooden spoons!)

life lately

Time for another update on life since I couldn't come up with anything interesting to post about.  I lasted posted a life update in July.

Cats

Leia had to go to the vet this week. She started showing signs of a urinary tract infection:  frequent litter box usage, only peeing a little each time, taking a long time in the box, licking. I brought her in and it turns out it's not a UTI. They think it's stress-related, but took a urine culture just in case. She has to have prescription food for awhile and we'll see how that goes. They're a little concerned because the original sample, the one they tested for infection, shows that her urine is a bit diluted. I'm hoping they don't say she has kidney disease. They gave her subcutaneous fluids and sent her home with pain medication. She stayed in the bedroom for awhile so I could monitor her litter box usage (with 11 cats, it's difficult to know who's doing what and when). She seems to be doing fine now. I haven't yet received the results of the culture, so I'm hoping nothing else comes up.

Car

Someone hit the back of my car in a parking lot and took off. I've had the car for less than a year, so I'm pretty annoyed. There goes my deductible! Since the paint is damaged, I had to fix it so it doesn't rust or get worse.  I don't understand why people do things like that. I'm guessing they know they won't get caught and are counting on the fact that it won't be noticed right away. And they're probably uninsured, unlicensed, or both. Anyway, it's fixed now. I guess the one bright spot is that the body shop washed my car, completely detailed the inside, and inflated my tires, which were a little low.

House

We're currently in the middle of putting down a vinyl plank floor in the family room. It wasn't planned. We just decided that since we had gotten rid of the couch and hadn't yet replaced it, why don't we tear up the (very) disgusting carpet and put down either laminate or vinyl?  So we ripped it up and, yes, it was really gross. I mean, I've got 11 cats and it's also a high-traffic area of the house. Bob has been working on laying the new floor down this week, but we'll probably spend part of the weekend finishing it up.

The hard part is working around the hatch in the floor, which is for the well. Yes, our well is under the family room. Our house was built in 1735 and the well was outside at that point. At some point in the early 1900s (we think), the family room was added. Rather than connect to the city water, the home owner decided to build an enclosure around the well and put a hatch in the floor so it can be accessed. Brilliant...not! Sure, it's cool to look at, but it's going to be REALLY expensive when the time comes to replace the well pump.

Here's the hatch in the floor.

And here's the well. Pretty amazing, isn't it? It's hard to believe this was dug almost 300 years ago with hand tools, and it's perfectly round. You can see how far down the water is. 

Back Pain

Last time I updated I mentioned that I wasn't doing anything else for awhile since I'd reached the limit of epidural cortisone shots I could have  in nine months. Now that summer is over, I've scheduled an appointment to see about getting them again. Even though they didn't last more than three weeks each time previously, it was still a great help when it came to sleeping.

Sleeping seems to be the biggest problem for me, mainly because, well, I need to sleep. When I'm sore from sitting (and sitting is the thing that causes most of the pain), I can just get up from my desk, the couch, whatever and walk around for awhile. I can't do that when I'm sleeping. I mean I could, but then it would take me awhile to fall back asleep and I'll end up more tired the next day. My standard practice at the moment is to take half a Tylenol PM and either one or two regular Tylenol at bedtime. I substitute half a Percocet for the Tylenol PM if I really need it, but I try not to do that since I sometimes feel hungover the next day. I'm getting really tired of taking pain medication every single night, so I'm thinking it's time to do the shots again, even if I only get limited relief. I'm also worried about my liver with all the acetaminophen, even though I take about half the daily maximum dosage. 

I'm trying to put off surgery until I get to the point where the pain stops me from doing certain things, like working out. I'm not at that point yet, though that could happen in the next year or two. 

Work

I mentioned in my last "life lately" post that my company was acquired. I've since learned that my job will end towards the end of February, so that means another job search. I'm actually not upset that I didn't get an offer from the acquiring company; I know many people that have worked there, and there's a reason they left.

It's a little too early to start searching, but I look everyday just to see what's out there...and there's not much. I'm thinking I may want to change industries, as I've been in the same one for 22 years, but that could mean a pay cut that I really can't afford right now. Lots of people have been telling me to "think outside the box" and that sounds good right about now. I'm someone who needs change, so going into another industry could be the shot of excitement I need, career-wise. It's scary, but exciting at the same time to think I could be doing something quite different this time next year.

life lately

Figured it's time for an update-type post, since it's been a while. (Actually it's been awhile since my last post, in general.)

Books

I had a different post planned for this; however, I'm writing it up separately, as it's turning out to be much longer than I had originally planned. Here's the teaser:  I recently met my favorite authors!

What I'll write here instead is that I've recently discovered Good Reads. Yes, I know, it's been around for a long time, but I just recently discovered the value in it:  I can actually keep track of the books I've read. I know, that's not exactly groundbreaking, but it's so useful!  I've read so many books over the years that I'm at a point where I can't remember if I've read a book or not. Quite often lately I've downloaded a book, only to discover I've already read it (my memory sucks, so I don't always realize I've read something just by the synopsis).

I use several methods for getting books: 

• Kindle app for Android:  I've abandoned hard-copy books forever, and I read exclusively on my phone. This is my app of choice for reading. Although I buy books from Amazon sometimes, I always check the library and Kindle Unlimited first; books aren't cheap! 
• Kindle Unlimited:  It's $9.99 a month and you can read as many books as you like. I'll admit this isn't my favorite option since most of the authors I like don't have titles here; however, I've found that it's a great way to discover new authors and it only costs me the monthly fee. If I decide I don't like a book I've downloaded, I just "return" it and find something else.
• Overdrive:  This is an app for my phone, which allows me to borrow ebooks from any libraries for which I have a library card. I can usually find a lot of the books I want to read, but it's definitely hit or miss, just like Kindle Unlimited.

I'd joined Good Reads a couple years ago, but really didn't do anything with it. I'd added some friends and see emails coming in from time to time, telling me that Jane recommended I read this book, or John has finished reading that book. I just took a quick glance at the emails and deleted them. Recently, however, I discovered that I could mark all the books I've read as "read," tag books I want to read, and keep track of my reading progress on current books. What's nice, too, are the book recommendation from friends--I've found a few gems this way.

Over the last several weeks I've made an effort to add all the books I've read, which wasn't easy since some I'd read through Overdrive, some through the Kindle app, and some in hard-copy format (I was the geek that carried around The Stand by Stephen King, which was 1,200+ pages and hardcover, during my junior year of high school...in addition to all my books and notebooks). The ones on Kindle were easy, since I could check my order history, or they'd somehow been linked to Good Reads--not sure what magic made that possible. Overdrive wasn't that difficult, either, since I could check my history there, too. But remembering all the hard-copies I've read was tough. In the end my list of "read" books is at 109 right now, but I'm sure I missed some.

Here's a screen shot of my "read" page.

As for what I'm reading, I'm currently reading The Fallen by David Baldacci. It's part of the Memory Man series. The protagonist is a man, Amos Decker, who played pro football, but took a major hit to the head during his first pro game. It resulted in two conditions:  Synesthesia (linking objects with sensory perception, such as seeing the number 4 as the color brown) and hypertymesia (basically, a perfect autobiographical memory). I'm about halfway through and I'm enjoying it. (This author was a recommendation from my late brother--he had great taste in books!)

I've also a number of books to my "want to read" list. Thanks to some suggestions from a blog I read, the list is growing. I've added a bunch of pandemic/apocalypse-type books, which is my current obsession. I also like genres like thriller, murder mystery, horror (along the lines of Stephen King), suspense, books with a small sci-fi or paranormal element (although not full-on sci-fi or paranormal), FBI/CIA/Secret Service thrillers, and other similar genres. I like the classics, too. I'm not really a fan of non-fiction, as I really like to just get lost in a book:  I don't analyze it--I just read it. Romance, fantasy and sci-fi aren't much to my taste, either.

If anyone has recommendations for me, please comment below. (Bonus points for books that take place in the 1800s or earlier! Extra bonus points if there are more than 800 pages--I love a huge book!)

Here's a shot of my "want to read" list.

Cats

Four of my kitties are at the vet today for their annual checkup and vaccinations. Lucky for me it's the youngest ones (Marty, Leia, Arlo and Emily), which means the bill shouldn't be big due to unexpected issues. Most of my cats are older, so more often than not I'm told that something is off in their blood work, or someone is losing weight, or has some other issue. Dental issues are the most common, and those can be really expensive. I'm hoping this visit will be relatively inexpensive and uneventful. I'm bringing all four of them at once and "parking" them for the day. My vet calls it "cat parking" and that just means I drop them in the morning and they get seen at some point during the day, then I pick them up at night. Luckily it's been uneventful this year with the cats.

Marty

Leia

Emily

Arlo

As you can see. Emily and Arlo are siblings and look like twins. The only way to tell them apart is Arlo has some white on his belly and Emily's tail is bent at the tip--not really something you can tell when they're running around, so I often confuse them.

Back Pain

Well, it is what it is. I had my last round of cortisone injections a couple months ago and it took about three weeks for them to wear off. I have the option of going towards the end of summer, but I'm going to wait and see how I feel. For the amount of money it costs (after insurance) and the amount of time they last, it's not worth it right now. I'm managing, just like I have been for almost a year now. I take a half a Percocet at night when I really need something more than acetaminophen. I feel the worst when I'm sitting, but I just try to get up more often. I feel best when I'm working out, which is a good thing. If I couldn't work out I'd likely regain a lot of weight. There are some exercises I can't/shouldn't do, but I still get a really good workout.

Nutrition and Working Out

I'm doing...OK...with my nutrition. I wish I was doing better, but I'm trying. I've started logging my food again, which is really important. I will show it to my trainer each week, which will make me stay on track. I really don't want to show him a journal that lists a bunch of junk food!

My trainer seems to be upping my workouts lately. The last two weeks he's introduced new exercises, which has made my workouts more tiring. But that's a good thing! He added some squats with a dumbbell press (two 10lb dumbbells), lunging while holding a 10lb dumbbell over my head (that was a load of fun...), and a couple other things. I like it, though, because it reinvigorates me--I get tired of the same routine.

Work

UGH. I wish I had something good to say here. Actually, I wish I wasn't even including it here, but it's part of "life lately." I found out recently that my company is being acquired, and I'm not happy about it at all. I've been there for almost four years and I'm happy there.  The culture is great:  fairly relaxed (for a bank), business casual dress, no slackers, great work/life balance, and lots of extracurricular activities. My boss leaves me alone to do my work and treats me like an adult. I can pretty much come and go as I please, and have the option to work from home if I need to for whatever reason. Benefits are great. I have an awesome team that just magically does what they're supposed to do and does it right. We also have a gym, which is only two doors down from my office. This is what I'll probably miss the most, actually. I typically get to work by 7:30 am, I eat my lunch at my desk, disappear into the gym around 4 pm, and then go home when I'm done. I find that having the gym right there is what keeps me consistently working out. It's really going to be tough losing that.

That week was tough and sad. I was thrown into a state of uncertainty, which I really have a hard time with. I actually like a lot of change, as that's what keeps things fresh and challenging, and it's how you grow and learn. What I don't like is not knowing what's going to happen next. Everything is up in the air at the moment. I have no idea yet as to whether I'll get a job offer from the new bank. If I do, it's very likely that job will be almost an hour away since that's where their operations center is.  I've done that commute and I truly don't want to do it again. It's very possible I won't get an offer, though, which means another job search. If I don't get an offer, will I get a good severance package? I'll also need to figure out what I want to do. Do I want to go for the same job I have now? Something similar, but somewhat different? What are my deal-breakers and must-haves? I'm hoping we know something soon, as being in limbo really sucks.

Well, there you have it. This is what's been going on lately. Happy 4th of July, everyone!

This is not one of my cats. I found this online at
http://fortheloveofcatsfl.com.

my first cat convention

View from the Asbury Park boardwalk. A cloudy day, but still a nice view.

So. I went to the Catsbury Park Cat Convention. A cat convention. Yes, a cat convention! I never thought I'd write these words, but here I am, having lived the dream just a couple weeks ago. Am I officially in crazy cat lady territory? No, I don't think so. I'm over 40 with 11 cats...but I'm married! 😸

To be clear, this was not a cat show. A cat show is where they display different breeds and they compete within each category, such as Best in Breed. No, this was a convention. Basically, it was everything "cat":  multiple vendors selling toys, beds, food, etc. for the kitties, and any kind of cat-themed merchandise you can think of for the cat lovers; food for the humans (this was strictly vegan food, as the convention is run by Catsbury Park Cat Cafe and they sell vegan snacks); meet and greets with celebrity cats; discussions with advocates; cat-themed games, such as bingo; a cat costume contest; cat adoptions; and Q&As with the owners of the celebrity cats.  One could even get a cat-themed tattoo. Oh, and the cat-themed music that played the whole time...I don't know quite what to say about that other than "pussy" was used quite a lot, and I'm thinking it didn't always refer to a cat. (Here's one such example:  The Pussy Cat Song.)

I went both days. That wasn't the plan, but we had decided to check out the parking situation and having seen it, decided we should stick around since we got a great parking space. Saturday was absolutely packed with wall to wall people, which is actually a good thing since the proceeds went to charity. We got there about a half hour before opening and should've gotten in line, but we didn't. Once we did, it took us about 20 minutes to get in and they ran out of the free tote bags by around 11:30 am. We got in around 11:45 and we could barely move. We really couldn't get to any vendor booths so we went across to the Paramount Theater and saw the Q&A with Nala. Nala was adorable and so well-behaved. I wish my own cats would behave so well! When we were exiting the convention floor to go to the theater, the guard said they were at legal capacity and couldn't let anyone back in unless they again waited in line, so we decided to leave and go back Sunday. We didn't want to go back in anyway, because it was too hard to move around. The experience soured me a bit, but I figured it would likely be better Sunday since many people came for one day only.

Sunday we got there early and since we had the wristband for both days, we waited until the doors opened and got right in. Got our free tote bags, too. I was able to grab all the goodies I wanted to buy and actually look around. The food smelled amazing, but we didn't get anything. I really wanted to try the vegan food, because it smelled amazing, but I decided to just wait awhile to eat. We saw the talk with Oskar the Blind Cat's owner, which was really well-done and very interesting. Touching, too. Oskar had suddenly passed away in February; however, his owner brought Oskar's brother, Klaus.  Klaus was so cute, and also well-behaved. We did a meet and greet with Teddy and Dexter, two Oriental shorthair cats, and that went smoothly. We were within the first 15 people to go in, so I'm glad we decided to show up early. Teddy and Dexter were very friendly. Yes, they are long and lanky, and many people think they're not the most attractive cats, but they really have personality. And those ears!


Here are some pictures.

Klaus, brother of the late Oskar the Blind Cat. He's so cute and well-behaved.

This is me with Teddy and Dexter, and their mom. They're Oriental Short-hairs. Very long and lanky, but so soft and very friendly. And yes, I'm wearing cat ears...

My free tote bag, which was filled with cat-themed goodies.

One of the gifts in my tote bag.

I just have to say a few words about PussWeek. It's marketed as "written by cats, for cats," and it's hysterical! The articles give cats advice on how to be a scary cat, there are interviews with some celebrity cats, and even some quizzes, such as, "Is your human a witch?" It was quite entertaining.

These are the gifts from both bags combined. My husband went with me, so we each got a bag.
We got two issues of PussWeek, catnip, earrings, and grain-free treats.

The Meow magnet I bought and the other I won from one of the booths.

I bought myself a Lil' Bub tumbler, which I now use for the gym. It's a little inspirational, don't you think?

I got a free magnet at the Teddy & Dexter meet & greet. Teddy is on the far left and Dexter is the black one.
Yes, their ears are huge, but I think they're adorable!

I bought this at the Leeza Hernandez Illustrations booth. She does great work.
I got this because I have two black kitties.

I got this from the Only Maine Coons Rescue booth. It's a mat that has catnip inside. My cats love it. I only wish I'd bought a few more, because at least four cats piled on top of it as soon as I got it out of the bag and onto the couch.

This was Catsbury Park's first event and I'm guessing they underestimated how many people would show up, whether it was advanced ticket sales or walk-ins. I think the convention floor was a bit small for the turnout, which is why it was overcrowded Saturday. As for the content, there were some people that complained (on the event's Facebook page) there weren't any cats to see.  I'm confused as to why people thought there would be cats on the convention floor. It's not a cat show. It's a convention, which is different. Also, the website clearly says "live adoptions" (which were done behind the stage area where it was quieter) and anyone with cats likely knows it's not a good idea to put cats on display in a crowded room. It also clearly stated that meet and greets were paid events. There were also some free presentations, some of which featured the celebrity cats.  Some people also complained that they spent a lot of money and it wasn't worth it.  It was only $20.00, which I thought was very reasonable.  Since I went both days I paid about $38.00.  I feel like my money was well-spent and it went to a good cause.

Saturday night we went over to the Catsbury Park Cat Cafe.  Reservations are required and are limited to 30 minutes inside the cat room. I made mine online several weeks before the convention. The cost was $11.00 per person ($9.00 during the week). It's a cafe on one side and a cat room on the other, and it's divided by glass so people in the cafe can see the cats and vice versa. The cafe sells vegan treats, as well as coffee and such. I got some vegan peanut brittle (delicious!) and brought it into the cat room with me. When I made the reservation I wasn't thinking about the fact that at the time we were going--7 pm--the cats would likely be all tuckered out from having more visitors than usual due to the convention.  I was only thinking about allowing myself enough time to go to the convention, get back to the hotel for a bit and then drive over there. Sure enough, the kitties were all sleeping for the most part. That's OK. We still got to see them and pet a few of them, and also see the cafe itself.

I'm hoping next year they will have it at a different venue so there's more room to move around. I thought it went really well, though, for their first time around. All in all, we had a great weekend.