Tortitude Tuesday: I Have Three Stars for a Reason

It started out with a trick. I thought that Mom was going to feed me my dinner, but instead she snatched me up and rudely shoved me into the PTU.


It was time for my annual vet visit. I was NOT HAPPY, but I didn't yowl TOO much during the 10-minute car ride. Now Tripper accused me of being "dainty" when I balanced on the birdbath, but I don't think that's an adjective that many people would use to describe me when they see me at the vet's. I have three stars on my file so they know to watch out for me. I think that you get one star for hissing, two stars for growling and maybe scratching, but you get THREE stars only if you bite and DRAW BLOOD. I lived up to my reputation today.


To begin, I cooperated a little so they would let down their guard. The tech lady weighed me, and I will admit that I am getting a little "voluptuous," Tripper's synonym for "porker." I weigh 11 pounds now, and the vet was actually happy about that. She thinks it's good for senior kitties like me to have a little extra rather than be losing weight. I didn't tell her about those Temptations that Mom feeds me now that I've become a blogging cat and learned about such great treats.
Anyway, after I was weighed, they left Mom and me alone in the examining room. Mom got out her camera, but I foiled her shot.


I went under the corner seat. Mom tried to reach for me to put me back on the table, but I was very cross and bit her! She deserved it for putting me through this torture.

The vet lady came in, and I scooted under the examining table in a small cabinet that housed a refrigerator. They tried to take the refrigerator out, but it was too tight. After donning the gauntlets, the young tech tried to pull me out from that space, but I would have nothing of it. I growled and hissed to show my grave displeasure.

Unfortunately, they would not leave me along. She tried another tactic and was able to reach me from the adjoining sink cabinet. I cursed and said all of the words from Skeezix's bad word list, but to no avail.

They plopped me back on the table and I got a shot. At least they didn't dare take my temperature! The vet told Mom that I was probably a good candidate for a vet that makes house calls. Oh, that might be fun. There are lots of places to hide at home!

Here are two shots of the marks on Mom's hand. You can see a total of only three bite marks because I'm missing one of my lower fangs. She says that the wounds still smart. Next time she might don the gauntlets.

So, Tripper, do you still think I'm dainty? For a guy who asked me to join his harem a while back, you sure don't know how to sweet talk a girl. I'd bite you hard if you ever tried to bunny kick me.

~Bathsheba

Man Cat Monday

Men must have their toys.













And naps.

Who's a Geezer?

Being nearly 16, sometimes I'm a little overly sensitive about being a geezer cat. Sure, I can't hunt (and catch and eat) squirrels like I used to in my prime, but retirement is a good life.

Still, I take great pride in some of the things I can do. I still like to drink out of the tall birdbath and that requires some precision leaping. When I jump I have to be very careful to balance along the edge so I do not get my big feet wet.

Here's another angle to show how delicately I can balance.

Life is still good.

~Bathsheba

Flower Friday Time

I told Mom that she could post a "Flower Friday" photo only if one of us appeared in it. Here are the potted impatiens from our front door. Mom had just given them a drink and they wet the sidewalk.

We had hoped to visit friends tonight, but Mom says that she just wants to sleep. Bah! Dad will probably awaken her with a late night call from California. He should have arrived there today.

~Bathsheba

Proverb Meme

I'm honored that the immensely popular cat fashion idol Skeezix tagged me for the proverb meme! The rules are: Make up a proverb!

A proverb is a simple and concrete saying popularly known and repeated, which expresses a truth, based on common sense or the practical experience of mankind. They are often metaphorical. Skeezix's proverb is "A kyoot owtfit a day keeps the Fashun Police away."

Here's mine:

It's no use crying over spilt milk when you can lap it up off the floor.

Now I have to tag some other cats. I will tag a few of those great man cats out there:

Kismet

Cheeto

Jack

Bubbles

~Bathsheba

Wordless Wednesday

Tortie Tuesday

I'm stuck in the house most of the time now, but when I went out on the deck, I had to investigate the grill.

There were some suspicious smells out there.

I didn't see any critters around, but I smelled some! Mom verified for me that Mr. Coon has been coming by lately. She has kept Jake in the house overnight the last few nights, so I can't really fault him for not performing his sentry duty. At least he doesn't sleep on the bed with Mom and me. I like to have Mom all to myself.

~Bathsheba

"Simply a Matter of Economics"

Sometimes the key to stop feeling sorry for yourself is to keep busy. I was stuck inside all day today since there was no more Dad home during the day to let us in and out as we choose.

Mom's Newsweek magazine came in the mail, and I did some reading. There was an interesting "My Turn" article by a guy who spent a lot of money on vet bills for his cat. It reminded me of a story Mom had told me about a cat her family used to have.

Mom was home for the summer from college, and Grandpa (her dad) had rescued a young Siamese kitty from a couple of abusive kids. (I'll tell that story another day.) Anyway, Mom's family had the kitty only a couple of days when one evening he bolted out of the front door right into the path of an oncoming car. He was hit and seriously injured. Grandpa, Mom, and Mom's sister rushed the kitty to the vet. There, Dr. Wright said that it was "simply a matter of economics." Did Grandpa want to spend the money to heal the kitty? Grandpa took one look at the kitty and his two daughters and said, "Yes, of course." The family officially adopted him then and ceased looking for his owner. The sisters named him Marcellus, and Grandpa called him Marcy for short. He had a pin in his hind leg, and his digestive tract always gave him trouble, but he lived another 17 years. Grandpa loved that kitty like no other; he was hooked on that meezer.

When it comes to us beloved kitties, we are not "simply a matter of economics." We are so much more in the lives of our families.

~Bathsheba

Fierce Man Cat Monday

I am sad. Dad stayed an extra day and left early this morning, but now Mom says I have to be strong. I am the big man in the family now.
Here I am demonstrating a ferocious face that should ward off predators and evil spirits.

Thanks for your well wishes.

~Jake

Good News/Bad News

The good news is that WE are not moving. The bad news is that DAD is moving. Away. Back to California. He and Mom will try to maintain a long distance relationship, but we may never see him again. He's been with us for nearly 13 years (almost Jake's entire life), but he never liked Virginia and only moved here because of Mom. She is from Northern Virginia and has never lived outside of Virginia. Packing has been going on for weeks at our house, but the U-Haul truck finally leaves tomorrow morning. I am very sad and will miss Dad a lot, but my pesky brother will be devastated when it finally sinks in.

Jake knows that something is up, of course, but I think that he is oblivious to the truth. He and Dad share a very special relationship, but it's not enough to keep him here. It doesn't help that Jake pees on things, such as this metal percussion stand in this photo.

Now I'm getting sad and sentimental and that's not like me. Let me show you some flowers and butterflies from our jungle garden for Flower Friday:

And here is a little wren egg in a nest they made in a hanging plant on our deck. There are lots of beautiful things out in the world, and we will take solace in Mother Nature.

~Bathsheba

Wordless Wednesday

Five Things Meme

Last week we were tagged by friends DaisyMae Maus, Tara, and Rosie and Cheeto for the Five Things Meme. Here goes:

What were you doing 10 years ago?
J&B: We were mourning the loss of our 19 year old big sister Precious and our grandpa. He used to take care of us when Mom went on vacations.
B: Actually, exactly 10 years ago, I ran away for the first time. I was gone from July 11-23. Mom worried excessively, posted signs, called the shelters, and searched and searched. I never told her where I went. I simply emerged from the woods that Wednesday evening by announcing myself with my little voice.

What were you doing 1 year ago?
J&B: Last year we were just discovering cat blogging. We started reading Kismet and Skeezix and some other kitties. We started our own blog by the end of August.
J: One year ago this month I had to start taking pills with all my meals because I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism.

Five snacks we enjoy:
J: Chicken, salmon, cheese, Bathsheba's food, Temptations and all treats. Am I limited to ONLY FIVE because I could go on and on here.
B: Milk (just a little taste is all Mom gives me), Butter (or margarine), cheddar cheese, Temptations and treats that Mom feeds by hand

Five songs to which you know all the lyrics:
J&B: The only song for which we know all the lyrics is the "Cat Anthem." That's what our grandma calls our purring. We leave the regular singing to Dad.

Five things you would do if you were a millionaire:
J&B: Being a millionaire is not what it used to be many years ago. We have simple tastes (just keep the food coming!) and a comfortable home with an awesome jungle garden so we are satisfied. We could have Mom home more if she did not have to go to "work." We read that some of the other blogging cats would invest in the Temptations company. We think investing would be a good idea. We could then split the income between Mom (so she didn't have to work) and donations to animal charities for years to come.

Five bad habits:
J: 1. Peeing on things in the house. (Very bad). 2. Digging my claws into Mom's arm to make biscuits when she's holding me. 3. Pushing Bathsheba out of the way and taking her food. 4. Scratching on the screen. 5. Peeing on things. (Do you get the idea that that's BAD?)
B: 1. Sometimes giving Mom the bitey when she touches me. (I then later apologize.) 2. Hissing at Mom sometimes. 3. Scratching and making my fur fly (This affects Dad's allergies.) 4. Making a mess of my meals by dropping my food all around the floor. 5. Waking Mom up on weekends. (I don't think this is bad, but she does.)

Five things you like doing:
J: Hanging out on the deck with Dad, chasing bugs, going in the woods, playing fishing pole-type games with my dad, EATING
B: Sleeping on my kitchen chair, sleeping on the bed with Mom (near her, but not generally touching her), playing with the dangling strings that hang from my kitchen chair cushion, getting drinks of water from the bathroom sink faucet, getting treats from Mom.

Five things you would never wear again:
J&B: That awful pink wig!
J: That French artist Halloween costume, the birthday party hat
B: That embarrassing hula girl Halloween costume, the birthday party hat.
We don't like to wear anything but our furs!

Five favorite toys:
Our answers vary depending on the time of the year.
J: 1. Bugs, 2. dangly things that Dad animates for me, 3. catnip toys especially when they're new
B: 4. Chair cushion strings, 5. hockey pucks/aka bottle caps

Since we're late in responding to this meme, most cats have been tagged by now. If you haven't been tagged yet officially, consider yourself tagged by us.

Flower Friday for Mom

We're hopelessly behind in memes and visits to our friends, but we wanted to cheer up Mom by posting for Flower Friday.


Welcome to our back yard jungle.


The phlox (P. paniculata) is in full bloom now, and we have it in white, pink, and various shades of purple. This is a native plant.

Here is a spectacular lily, Lilium orientalis 'Sierra Nevada.' Dad picked these out of a catalog years ago; he liked their California name since he is a native Californian. Mom finds their scent intoxicating.

These are Ruellia, also known as wild petunia. Each flower lasts only a day, but another comes along to take its place. They add a bit of pale purple-blue color to the shade under the big oak trees.

It has been unusually dry this season and Dad has had to water continuously to keep our jungle green and the flowers blooming. The water bill is sky high.

Mom promises to let us blog and visit more in the days ahead. We will have to take her at her word.

~J&B

Wordless Wednesday - Anastasia's Challenge

Tortie's Toy for Tuesday

At nearly 16 years of age, I pride myself on being a dignified lady cat. I've semi-retired from hunting, though I could not resist that hapless vole the other day. While I do like catnip very much, I am not prone to spontaneous bouts of silliness without it. Thus, it was very out of character for me to be caught by the camera playing by myself. I just could not resist those dangly strings hanging from my kitchen chair.

Mom was very quick with the camera, but I had to walk away once she started to gush over my playful kitten ways. At least Jake didn't witness this; I never lower my guard by playing when he is around.

Note the Drinkwell on the floor under the chair in the corner. That was a gift from Santa Claus last Christmas. Mom set it up for me, but I was NOT interested in drinking from it. She eventually put it back in the box because I would not use it. I prefer drinking straight from the bathroom sink where Mom has to give me individual attention by turning on the water. That Drinkwell may continue to sit there because Mom is notorious for procrastinating and letting things pile up. If there's a cat out there who might enjoy a Drinkwell, send us an email at jakeandbathsheba AT yahoo DOT com.

Oh, and BTW, both Jake and I like to drink out of those wide "birdbaths" outside. Sure, birds do get them dirty by splashing around in them, but Dad is scrupulous about keeping them cleaned out. I prefer to drink out of the birdbath that is several feet off the ground where I have to balance on the edge, but Mom has not had her camera ready when I've done that lately.

We're honored that DaisyMae and Tara tagged us for the latest meme, but we have to think a bit about our responses to those questions.

~Bathsheba

UPDATE: We sent the Drinkwell fountain to our friend Kismet. See his post about it here.

Man Cat Monday

Now THIS is a big man cat-sized water dish perfect for me!

~Jake

Sleepy Sunday

Here I am taking a snooze in front of the shed. Dad replaced the old door this weekend. While Mom was painting the door elsewhere, Dad put up this board in front of the doorway to tell me that I was NOT allowed inside. Like a piece of wood would keep ME out! I could have jumped it, but taking a nap where Mom and Dad had to take notice of me was a better choice.

~Jake

We're Rockin!

We both have been nominated as Rockin' Bloggers!




BATHSHEBA





Anastasia, Jasmine, AND Tara all nominated ME! I am SO honored. Thank you all!

So many great girl cats have already been nominated, and all girl cats deserve the designation, especially those who have to put up with brothers! I know that I am duplicating some, but here are mine:

1. My good friend Rosie (though she has a really nice brother, Cheeto)
2. Eclair and Tiramisu who have been offline for a while as they nurse their food lady through a difficult recovery from shoulder surgery.
3. Mrs. B and Madness, who have the nicest brother around--Bubbles, who is my boyfriend cat.
4. Sophie, that wonderful Big Man Cat Kismet's cute little sister.
5. Tazo who has both a cat brother as well as a DOG brother.

~Bathsheba

JAKE



Thank you, Latte, for nominating ME!

I nominate the following rockin' boy cats:

1. Kismet, the founder of Man Cat Mondays.
2. I'm SURE that he's already been nominated, but I'm going to list the one and only Skeezix the Cat.
3. Bubbles, who is a great guy, but for some reason actually LIKES my sister Bathsheba. I think that she should go live with him.
4. William, who lives with his mom and two sisters in New Mexico.
5. My good friend Cheeto, who even has his own racecar!

~Jake

We Are Pleased to Announce . . .

that the famous model and movie starlet Daisy the Curly Cat is the WINNER of our 200th blog post contest! We posted our 200th entry yesterday, and Daisy became the winner at 12:24 p.m. today with her words that registered as our 15th comment. As everyone knows, Daisy is the special friend of Skeezix, she is the founder of the Pink Ladies, she's studying to be a doctor, and she somehow makes time to visit everyone's blogs regularly. Daisy, please send us an email (jakeandbathsheba AT yahoo DOT com) with your choice of animal charity and your mailing address so we can send the prizes: a $50 donation to your animal charity and a $25 gift card to Petsmart.


Congratulations to Daisy and thank you to everyone who visited and commented on our blog!


~J&B

UPDATE:

Daisy has chosen the Winn Feline Foundation as the recipient of her prize. It conducts research dedicated to cats' health. She also asked that the donation be specifically earmarked for the Ricky Fund for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the heart disease that affects her big sister Pixie. We're pleased to give to such a worthy cause. Thank you, Daisy, for bringing this organization to our attention.

Time for Flower Friday Again

Here we go again.

Mom begged us to let her do another post for Flower Friday, so we decided to indulge her--AGAIN.

Here is a daylily that is double or even triple. Another gardener gave these to Mom, but she never learned whether they were a named variety.

Here's another of those doubles for you daylily fans.

Mom really likes her purple coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) and we have a nice patch in the sun.

Uh-oh, Mr. Japanese beetle finds these tasty. Can you see him on the flower in the lower right? Mom picks them off and steps on them.

Then there's good old black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta). It is the state flower for our neighbor Maryland.

A lot of people consider common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) a true weed, but Mom likes the flower and its scent. She's heard that it's toxic to cattle, but it is vital to monarch butterflies--the ones that migrate all the way to Mexico in the fall. She hasn't seen any monarchs yet this year, but she has seen other creatures that it also attracts--bees and other butterflies. This plant also has interesting seed pods after the flowers fade.

We now return you to our regular cat blogging.

~J&B

Bathsheba's Kill and Jake's Trip to the Vet

Hey, Tripper, you called me "old" at the big birthday party yesterday; I'd look up your exact words, but Mom is too cheap to pay Chatzy $9 for the full transcript. Yeah, I know that at nearly 16, I'm getting up there, but while I like my naps and relaxation, I still have tortitude and I have a killer instinct.

After the party, I decided I needed to kill something, so I went outside and this vole made the mistake of crossing my path. I don't think that big ol' Trip will be bunny-kicking ME.

~Bathsheba

And Tripper, that Psycho Cat, called me a WEENIE just because I was drinking plain water at the party. I'd had an upset stomach, and I didn't want to drink anything that might make me barf at the party. My mom taught me some manners--no barfing at other people's houses.

Anyway, I was feeling way better by last night, and I was back to myself again this morning-hungry! I won't admit to foraging in the compost pile the other day, but I must say that the smell of cantaloupe drives me wild. But not like catnip wild! Who says it was that, anyway? It could have been something from a nasty neighbor's house.

Even though I was feeling perfectly well, Mom rudely put me in my PTU tonight and whisked me off to the vet in her car.

You can plainly see that I was not too happy about this trip. Mom apparently made this appointment months ago.

Here I am in the waiting room. This photo looks suspiciously like one from a blog post in January.

And here I am in the examining room being weighed. I gained about an ounce since last January. Mom measures my food so I don't have a chance to gain weight unless I check what's available around the neighborhood.

One of the next things they did was take my blood. I know that Bathsheba and Rocky always take their blood, but I had to donate some of mine. First they poked me in one leg and couldn't get enough--they said I have tiny veins--then they poked me in the other leg and got a big enough sample. I was stoic and didn't cry. I'm glad that Mom petted me the whole time instead of taking pictures.

The tech tried to get a poop sample by sticking this thing up my poop hole, but I said enough was enough and protested that indignity! Instead, they gave Mom a little plastic container for a sample. Good luck! I like to do my business in the privacy of the woods.

The doctor gave me some shots, and I didn't even flinch as Mom stroked my fur. They ran some tests, and the doc said that my thyroid levels are high (6.5 when normal is 1.5-4.5), but that I looked good otherwise. Unlike another vet that we saw before, this one said that the hair loss on my tummy was caused by stress. Mom told him that another vet said that was one of the symptoms of my hyperthyroidism, but this one said no. Sometimes Mom gets so exasperated by all the different vets' conflicting perspectives. This vet wanted to up my medication dosage, but because I had been off my meds or a day and a half, he decided he'd keep it the same and retest me in a month. Ugh--another blood donation coming up. Mom is reluctant to have my dosage increased because I became lethargic when it was upped before. She thinks I nap enough as it is.

I know that this was a lot to read, but I AM a cat and the center of the universe (at least our universe here in this house). Our 200th post contest is ongoing, everyone. Sorry, Skeezix, but July 2 was NOT it. If you manage to wade through this post, then keep those comments coming and you may win yet!

~Jake

Happy 4th of July

Happy Independence Day, everyone!

There will be some spectacular fireworks in Washington, D.C. this evening, but Mom and Dad prefer to stay home. Fireworks may be pretty, but we can't stand all that noise. We think the proper way to celebrate this holiday is with good food (barbeque, anyone?), family, and a nice afternoon nap.

Jake is still under the weather, but he perked up a bit late last night. I got a chance to gobble up HIS leftover food for a change. We hope to go to today's party, but he may try to retreat to a dark corner with DaisyMae.

Don't forget our 200th post contest! Details are here. We encourage you to visit and comment as often as you like, but #14 and #15 must be from different families.

~Bathsheba

Upset Tummy Tuesday

Jake doesn't feel well today. He was rather lethargic this morning and was not interested in breakfast! That's not like him at all. You all know that I don't like my younger brother, but he IS family, and I hate to see any cat sick. Dad thought that Jake might have gone into the compost bin and tried to eat the cantaloupe rinds and maybe that upset his stomach, but we don't know since Jake isn't talking. He seemed a little more interested in dinner, but only ate a few bites before turning away. After Mom and Dad had dinner, Jake barfed in the living room. He's now resting quietly. At least he doesn't bother me when he's like this.

Jake already had an appointment at the vet for a regular checkup and blood work for Thursday evening, so unless he gets much worse, Mom will wait until then to take him to the doctor. I know that Jake really wants to go to Skeezix's big party, but we'll just have to wait and see how he feels tomorrow.

~Bathsheba

ManCat Monday

Though this dark photo doesn't do my stripes justice, I think that I look rather manly here.

Don't forget our 200th post contest! Details are outlined in this post.

~Jake

Sleepy Sunday

Today was a blissfully wonderful day for sleeping on my deck. It was sunny and warm, and the humidity level was low--not bad for July in Virginia!

~Jake

Things were not so blissful for me! I was peacefully sleeping on my kitchen chair cushion while Mom baked a peach pie made from some West Virginia peaches she bought at yesterday's farmers market. After she popped the pie in the oven, she came after ME! She woke me up and put me in the cat TV room. She tried to distract me with my fun squiggle (Thanks, DKM!), but I sensed that something was up.

The next thing I knew, she wrapped a towel around my head and started clipping my claws! I don't know what it is about that towel, but I cannot protest much when it is wrapped around me. As I've said before, I HATE having my claws clipped, but I was really starting to get stuck to things--carpet, bedspread, Mom's bathrobe. I curse and swear loudly when I'm stuck, but I will bite the hand that tries to extricate me, so it's a no win situation for Mom. Don't tell her that I'm glad that she gave me a trim. (You can see some of my lethal claws if you biggify this photo.)

~Bathsheba

Don't forget our 200th post contest! We're looking for the 15th cat (or other visitor) to comment on our 200th post. Visit often, and you may win! See details in yesterday's post.

~J&B