Seamus again

I've been visiting my cat Seamus every day, twice most days.  I miss him.  He is at the vets because he has some serious medical problems ie congestive heart failure and diabetes. He is a sweet, mellow, gentle little kitty and loves being petted and massaged and chin scratched.  If you rub too briskly all he dose is bump your hand with his mouth.  He's just so sweet, and now I have to leave my home to see him and hold him.  It is breaking my heart and I cry every time I leave there.  All I keep thinking is how do parents with seriously sick children cope with the worry, sadness, the separation, and scheduling visits.  It's all so sad and complicated.  When I get home I give some extra attention to the other feline residents.  I no longer take their presence for granted.  My mother liked cats to some extent, but never wanted to be bothered with caring for them, When we did have some I did most of the feeding and litter box cleaning because I thought it was important and I wanted to be sure they were happy and clean etc. And I'm still that way.

We never had a good place for the litter box in those days, but here I keep them in the basement and clean them several times a day.  That's the part that many people don't think about when they are considering a pet.  Who will walk the dog, clean up after the cats, feed them when the mom isn't home and for little kids teaching them to be gentle so they avoid serious scratches.  It's a tall order that most people either over think or don't think about at all.  Got to be a happy medium there some how.  At this time in my life I do it all.  I live alone with my feline roomies so I am responsible for everything  cleaning up after them, remembering to feed them, sleeping with them, and taking them to the doctor.  They don't complain too much about that, but they don't like the ride in the car.
Seamus is doing well now, allows me to give him his meds without a fight or scratches and bites.  He's a really mellow little guy and great company too - when he's awake.   His meds consist of giving him an injection and some pills.  He's very good about it.  But I still feel sad doing it.  I also get a little hyper because I'm afraid I'll forget something  or he'll bleed or it'll hurt him.  I'm a whimp when it comes to my kitties.  I love them and I spoil them.  I kiss them, I invite them to sleep on my bed, and they seem to like that.  I'm a little neurotic about the whole pet parent thing.  But there is nothing like dozing off to the sound of a cat purring as he lies in the crook of an arm. However waking up to loud meows is not quite as pleasant.  Fortunately they don't do that much if at all.
I truly believe that life is better with pets, any pets that one enjoys will work.

my cats

Until recently I have had 3 cats with whom I share my home, and they are sweet and all very different.Then about 3-4 weeks ago a little long-haired tuxedo cat befriended me. He'd been living on the streets for about a year and half. My neighbor had been feeding him since May of 2012. She believes he was just dropped off because he was so young, but also so friendly that it was unlikely that he was wild. Then this year about a month ago he showed up in my back yard, and of course I made friends with him. He began showing up everyday and I of course fed him. I slowly introduced him to my cats and they seemed to just ignore each other. With that I decided to try to get him to the vet for shots and neutering. That took some planning, but he wouldn't cooperate. Then he showed up one morning, and I called the vet and the tech said they'd squeeze him in. He's almost all set needing only one more visit for follow-up shots. He's very affectionate, playful, cuddly, and jumps in my lap. He's also a bit unpredictable scratching me a few times on my face, and he howls during the evening - wanting to go outside. I am afraid if he goes out something will happen to him or he won't come back or he'll he'll pick up fleas (not likely in the winter, though)or get hit by a car, or chased by a mean dog (although we only have one cat chasing dog that I know of, but really, isn't one enough?) My vet said that even coyotes have been killing cats in some areas, and that terrified me too. So he's becoming an indoor only cat, but he's not thrilled with that life style at all. I have to run around with strings and balls to play with him and thereby distract him from thoughts of the outdoors at night. I guess I shouldn't complain. The exercise is probably good for me, but it's also tiring. I just hope I don't find
 anymore cats.  I can't aford anymore, for sure, and with the possibility of a move to FL in the future and
the prospect of moving 1500 miles with 4 cats, I'd really can't take any more cats into my home.  As it
it is, I don't know how I will get them to FL.  Flying has one set of problems and limitations and driving
has another.  What to do?  I have lost sleep over this problem and still have no definite plan.

Demanding kitties

I have a cat, named Seamus who reminds me of a mildly demanding 2 year old. He is a reddish tabby cat, with bull's eyes on his sides and a white belly. He's about 10 years old.  I think he hates my computer, or he's jealous  years of it. Every time  I open my laptop and sit in a comfy chair with the computer on my lap (where else would I put a lap top?), he starts.  He rubs against my legs first, then he sits and stairs at me for a bit, then he stands on his hind legs and pokes me and peeks around the screen of the computer.  If I continue to ignore him because I'm deep in reading or shopping, he then stands on his hind legs and grabs the screen from the back, but I get crazy then,  afraid that he'll poke a hole in the soft screen.  So of course I close it or leave it open by put it down on a small table.  As soon as my hands are free what does he do?  He walks out of the room.  As soon as I go back to the computer he comes back, and it starts again. Sometimes he stays in the room and just stares at me.  "Please talk to me, take me outside, feed me something (his bowl of dry food is almost in front of him).  I'm lonely!!!!"  But again as soon as I put the computer down he walks away.  Sometimes I do take him out (he's not allowed out alone - none of my cats are), but he's never ready to come back inside when I am.  If he weren't the cutest, sweetest and most gentle cat I know (well my other 2 cats are right up there with him), I wouldn't let him get away with stuff, but he is, and he does.  He also likes to sit in my lap which is good for my blood pressure I think.  Unlike a baby, I can't seem to get him to go down for a nap when I'm on the computer.  But he is company and playful, and he rules me with a heavy paw.  I have more cats to write about and will get to that in the next few weeks - or not.  Enjoy the nice weather.

Waking up

If you have trouble getting up in the morning and your alarm clock doesn't do the trick as you push the pause button several times, I have a suggestion.  Get some cats.  I have always had cats in my life, and from sleeping on my head, shoulder or stomach to loud meowing they have interfered with my sleep way too much.  But they do make good little alarm clocks at times, especially when they are hungry.  Howling from another room works well as I worry that something is wrong, but after many false alarms I then learned to just call them or whistle and turn over and get back to sleeping. That works for a short time.At other times I  think that they just want to make sure I'm not dead.  They hop on the bed and put their little noses into my face and sniff me sometimes (not all at the same time of course; they take turns and shifts). I think maybe they think I'm dead, or they're saying good morning, get up now!  Real time doesn't exist for them only the time when they want something.  I am of course a willing slave most of the time, but even I have my limits.  When I don't get enough sleep I can't concentrate on reading, remember what I'm supposed to be doing or find things. Even watching TV is hard to master when I'm sleep deprived. So I'm learning techniques for decreasing their interruptions (closing the door not being one of them) such as grabbing whoever disturbs me and holding him under the covers and subjecting him to kisses and hugs (they all hate that).  Getting up and falling asleep on the couch and leave them in the bed until they find me, then traipsing back to bed and hiding under the covers while they walk on my body or do the kneading thing. I know that people who aren't owned by cats or dogs or any other creatures (children too) don't understand what I'm talking about and would never put up with that nonsense, but (and it is a big but) for the ones who are owned by their pets they totally understand. 

After the sleep disturbances comes the alarm subject, and with cats there is one thing that will get me out of bed in a single heartbeat - the early warning sound of a cat throwing up (a hairball usually)on new carpeting just outside my bedroom.  I'm up and out of bed faster than a lightening flash.  Why you ask.  Because the sooner you get it cleaned the more likely you are to get it all and not have a stain left.  Some things we do for love and some things just because we have to.  This is in the have to category. It happened this morning and none of the kitties will own up to committing the offence either.  Because there are 2 white cats one with very long hair and one short haired, and a medium haired ginger colored cat I can sometimes figure out who goes in the "dog house", but for some reason this morning there wasn't much hair to clue me in.  So I woke up early, cleaned up the spot, and got on with my day. But of course I had to share this story with an appreciative audience (I hope).  Now go kiss your pets.