Six Toes has a new interest which keeps him purring. It's not attention or pets or tuna fish. Lately he's been a little lover-boy, always seeking my attention. While I'm used to him curling up in my lap when I sit down to sew, he's never been a constant companion. It frankly baffled me...the constant chirping, curling around my computer and head whenever I'm trying to work, following me everywhere (even the bathroom!). It wasn't until I noticed how excited he got whenever I went to the fridge that I figured out what it is.
Every once in a while I buy string-cheese to snack on. When I have a piece I generally toss a few crumbs to Buddha who loves it and my other kitty Kali. At some point, Six Toes must have gotten a taste (probably stole it from his brother Buddha if I know him) and wanted some for himself!
So I waited one evening until Buddha and Kali were fast asleep and went to the fridge, Six Toes following me as usual. Once I got the cheese out and he could see what it was, he started dancing and mewing because he was so excited. I sat down on the couch and he immediately was in my lap, letting me know he was here and wanted to share in my bounty. So I pulled off a nice hunk and threw it down. He wolfed it down like piece of tender fish! Quickly he was back so I threw down another. Again he was on it in a flash, gorging himself.
At that point, somehow brother Buddha had awakened and came to see what all the fuss was about. Seeing the cheese, he cried for some. I threw him a piece which he grabbed and began to eat.
Six Toes wasn't having that and tried to take it from him. There was a bit of growling...their territorial "It's mine, leave me alone!" posturing. Six Toes then came up in my lap and literally STOLE the remaining cheese in my hand, only to run off with it! That cad!
Who knew that string-cheese could inspire love,devotion and thievery?
Six Toes
What's Up?
Monday, June 27, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Six Toes Checks Out
It looks like Six Toes is ok. The vet can find nothing wrong with him. The speculation is that he had a slight ear infection from his kitty cold and that may have affected his sense of balance for a moment. He seemed pretty chipper yesterday, tearing around the house and playing with his pal Bully. Fed him some turkey this morning and I thought he was going to have a big one hopping up and down in his eagerness to get to the plate!
Just a quick discussion on what a kitty cold is. It's an upper respiratory infection. Cats with a kitty cold sneeze, cough, have runny noses and eyes, drool and can have a fever. From experience, I've learned that the best thing you can do for them is keep them quiet, wipe their eyes and nose clean with a damp cloth, and if they have a lot of problems with congestion to run a vaporizer in the room they're recovering in. Watch your cat closely to ensure they keep eating and drinking. If they start to have trouble breathing, make sure you get them to a vet, as kitty colds can become more serious and may require a stay at the animal hospital.
Six Toes' brother Buddha is also on the mend from the kitty cold. I think he was actually sicker than Six Toes. He coughed and sneezed a lot and sat pretty still for a day or two. Right now he's taking a snooze in my papasan chair...he loves his comforts.
Six Toes is also sacked out for his morning nap on top of my folded fresh laundry. How do cats sense when you've just cleaned something in order to seek it out and lie on it? The cad!
Just a quick discussion on what a kitty cold is. It's an upper respiratory infection. Cats with a kitty cold sneeze, cough, have runny noses and eyes, drool and can have a fever. From experience, I've learned that the best thing you can do for them is keep them quiet, wipe their eyes and nose clean with a damp cloth, and if they have a lot of problems with congestion to run a vaporizer in the room they're recovering in. Watch your cat closely to ensure they keep eating and drinking. If they start to have trouble breathing, make sure you get them to a vet, as kitty colds can become more serious and may require a stay at the animal hospital.
Six Toes' brother Buddha is also on the mend from the kitty cold. I think he was actually sicker than Six Toes. He coughed and sneezed a lot and sat pretty still for a day or two. Right now he's taking a snooze in my papasan chair...he loves his comforts.
Six Toes is also sacked out for his morning nap on top of my folded fresh laundry. How do cats sense when you've just cleaned something in order to seek it out and lie on it? The cad!
Friday, June 10, 2011
Six Toes Flops Over...A Trip To The ER?
Last night was scary. Really scary. Over the past couple of days Six Toes has been battling a little kitty cold. You know, sneezing, watery eyes, the occasional cough. Other than that he seemed normal, eating and drinking as usual. But last night something happened.
Six Toes was on a chair in the living room where he loves to take naps. He got up, stretched himself and proceeded to jump down to the floor. Once on the floor, he tripped over a shoe...and suddenly, his whole back end just fell over. He looked kind of out of it and with his front feet walked forward a few steps, dragging his backside over the floor which was entirely motionless. Then he started to slump down. I hurriedly picked him up and felt his heart beating. Worried, I started to call his name to see if he'd respond. In my arms he seemed ok, so I put him back on the floor. He walked away entirely normal...like nothing happened. I spent the entire evening watching him like a hawk. I'm still worried about it. I wonder if I should have took my guy to the animal ER a few communities away. I can't explain what I saw. Was it a stroke? A ear infection of some kind? A flutter of his heart? I just don't know.
I'm going to take him to the vet on Monday. Just keep praying for him till then that it was just a fluke of some kind and he suffered no lasting damage...after all, he won't be one years old until July. We love Six Toes dearly and want him to have a long life of fun and happiness.
I love Six Toes!
Six Toes was on a chair in the living room where he loves to take naps. He got up, stretched himself and proceeded to jump down to the floor. Once on the floor, he tripped over a shoe...and suddenly, his whole back end just fell over. He looked kind of out of it and with his front feet walked forward a few steps, dragging his backside over the floor which was entirely motionless. Then he started to slump down. I hurriedly picked him up and felt his heart beating. Worried, I started to call his name to see if he'd respond. In my arms he seemed ok, so I put him back on the floor. He walked away entirely normal...like nothing happened. I spent the entire evening watching him like a hawk. I'm still worried about it. I wonder if I should have took my guy to the animal ER a few communities away. I can't explain what I saw. Was it a stroke? A ear infection of some kind? A flutter of his heart? I just don't know.
I'm going to take him to the vet on Monday. Just keep praying for him till then that it was just a fluke of some kind and he suffered no lasting damage...after all, he won't be one years old until July. We love Six Toes dearly and want him to have a long life of fun and happiness.
I love Six Toes!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Smokin Hot Six Toes
Well, here in Michigan we didn't transition gracefully from winter to summer...so consequently, we've got temps in the 90's. Poor Six Toes! He and his brother Buddha have thick, short fur that keeps them warm and they've been suffering through this hot spell. I give them ice cubes to play with (they LOVE that!) and get them wet when it's clear they're getting too warm (not too happy about that) to try to help them cope with the heat. And of course with the heat, bug season is in full swing, so they have a terrific time at night hunting spiders, ants, beetles, june bugs, moths...whatever makes it into the house is instantly pursued, killed and sometimes eaten by my gang of ruthless cat hunters!
Buddha has taught his brother how to steal food recently. Buddha is the most feral of all my cats and hasn't gotten over hunting for food and hiding it. He loves bagels and the other morning I got one. As I was reading the paper, I took a bite and set it down beside me. When I looked up, the entire full-sized bagel was GONE and whom do you think had it in their jaws? Buddha! I managed to get it away from him despite his growls of ownership and proceeded to wash it off. When I set it on the paper towel to dry, who do you think climbed up on the counter and stole it for his bro? Six Toes! What a group of rascals.
It's predicted the weather's going to cool off soon and I hope my babies can hold out that long. I made a place for them to sleep in the cool basement...if I can just convince them to stay down there during the day, that might help a bit more. Looks like it's going to be a scorcher for smokin hot Six Toes and Buddha this summer!
Buddha has taught his brother how to steal food recently. Buddha is the most feral of all my cats and hasn't gotten over hunting for food and hiding it. He loves bagels and the other morning I got one. As I was reading the paper, I took a bite and set it down beside me. When I looked up, the entire full-sized bagel was GONE and whom do you think had it in their jaws? Buddha! I managed to get it away from him despite his growls of ownership and proceeded to wash it off. When I set it on the paper towel to dry, who do you think climbed up on the counter and stole it for his bro? Six Toes! What a group of rascals.
It's predicted the weather's going to cool off soon and I hope my babies can hold out that long. I made a place for them to sleep in the cool basement...if I can just convince them to stay down there during the day, that might help a bit more. Looks like it's going to be a scorcher for smokin hot Six Toes and Buddha this summer!
Monday, May 30, 2011
Six Toes Learns to Walk With a Leash...
Wow. I didn't realize it had been so long since I last made an entry! But that's spring for you: home projects, work and cleanup just seem to take over. Now that summer's here, I can sit down and relax with the blog.
Before I get to Six Toes learning to walk on a leash, I need to talk about his best friend, Bully. Bully is a large brown dog of mixed boxer, ridgeback and gosh knows how many other breeds. He weighs a lot, near 80 pounds if I had to guess. He and Six Toes have been best buds since Six Toes came to stay with us. If Bully goes outside, Six Toes sits anxiously at the door, crying his eyes out. If you open the door, Six Toes shoots outside just because Bully's out there! He can't stand to be without him. So after a month or so of warm weather escape attempts to be with his friend, we decided the best thing would be to train Six Toes to walk outside.
The first thing we did is got him a little five-point harness. These are usually reserved for small dogs, but we needed Six Toes to get used to it. Anyhow, we put it on him and he spent about two hours trying to get out of it...he's never even worn a collar as long as he's been with us. After that he seemed to settle down. A day later we hooked a leash on the harness and took him outside with us the same time we took Bully outside for his walk. We stuck to the yard because we knew Six Toes doesn't know a lot about the outdoors. He spent considerable time attempting to chase bugs and birds. Cars scared him so much he stood up like a squirrel behind Bully. Everything was of interest to him...the grass, the air, the sun, the leaves, the ponds of water. We walked him outdoors for about 15 minutes and put him back. Each day when it's not raining we let him go outside with Bully once a day and it's helped Six Toes be more content when Bully's gone. The first thing he does when he goes outside is to greet Bully, bopping his head on his belly or chest or nose if he can reach it. They really love each other. Bully sometimes licks Six Toes, but he doesn't really like it...it's just too big and sloppy of a swipe!
Next week we're going to try taking Six Toes on a longer walk around the block with his buddy. I'm not sure how it will pan out, but we'll see how he does. Just pray there's no huge cat-hating dogs on the path!
Before I get to Six Toes learning to walk on a leash, I need to talk about his best friend, Bully. Bully is a large brown dog of mixed boxer, ridgeback and gosh knows how many other breeds. He weighs a lot, near 80 pounds if I had to guess. He and Six Toes have been best buds since Six Toes came to stay with us. If Bully goes outside, Six Toes sits anxiously at the door, crying his eyes out. If you open the door, Six Toes shoots outside just because Bully's out there! He can't stand to be without him. So after a month or so of warm weather escape attempts to be with his friend, we decided the best thing would be to train Six Toes to walk outside.
The first thing we did is got him a little five-point harness. These are usually reserved for small dogs, but we needed Six Toes to get used to it. Anyhow, we put it on him and he spent about two hours trying to get out of it...he's never even worn a collar as long as he's been with us. After that he seemed to settle down. A day later we hooked a leash on the harness and took him outside with us the same time we took Bully outside for his walk. We stuck to the yard because we knew Six Toes doesn't know a lot about the outdoors. He spent considerable time attempting to chase bugs and birds. Cars scared him so much he stood up like a squirrel behind Bully. Everything was of interest to him...the grass, the air, the sun, the leaves, the ponds of water. We walked him outdoors for about 15 minutes and put him back. Each day when it's not raining we let him go outside with Bully once a day and it's helped Six Toes be more content when Bully's gone. The first thing he does when he goes outside is to greet Bully, bopping his head on his belly or chest or nose if he can reach it. They really love each other. Bully sometimes licks Six Toes, but he doesn't really like it...it's just too big and sloppy of a swipe!
Next week we're going to try taking Six Toes on a longer walk around the block with his buddy. I'm not sure how it will pan out, but we'll see how he does. Just pray there's no huge cat-hating dogs on the path!
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
New Pics of My Guy....
It occurred to me that I haven't posted any new pictures of Six Toes for quite a while now. He's grown a lot and gotten tall and lanky. Here's a few pics:
As you can see, he's got quite the Barbie fetish....it tires him out!
As you can see, he's got quite the Barbie fetish....it tires him out!
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