Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, everyone! In the interest of world peace, we even posed together!


Mom put lights on the dwarf Alberta spruce by the driveway.

This is our tall Christmas tree. If you enlarge the photo, you can see that we have many cat ornaments (and yummy birdies).

Christmas tree water is the best! Maybe that's what Jake needs because he still doesn't have much of an appetite. Mom even tried to feed him baby food, but he didn't like that too much. He is now eating a crunchy natural food called "Life's Abundance." We remain hopeful.

~J&B

Hospital Visit

Hello, it's me, Jake, and I am in the hospital. I have an IV in my leg for fluids. I know that Skeezix would disagree, but I don't think that pink is a good color for this ManCat. Mom came to visit me tonight and that made me so happy that I purred and purred. I am feeling a little better since the staff gave me some fluids and administered meds. I even ate some of the crunchy bits and used the litter box.


I have to stay here overnight? Mom, do you really have to go? I hate being sick. I wanna go home.















Thank you all for your good wishes. They mean a lot.

Friday evening update: I am home and I feel MUCH better! Thank you for your positive thoughts.

I Don't Feel Good

I don't know what's wrong, but I just don't feel like eating. Mom worries because this is SO out of character for me. I haven't been feeling very good for a couple of weeks. None of my foods appeal much to me. I still like Temptations so Mom decided to feed my regular crunchy food to me by hand and I liked that--I just didn't eat very much. Mom also came home to some barf today--undigested, of course.

Mom took me to the vet one evening last week and he couldn't find anything wrong with my vitals. He decided to treat me for gastritis and he gave Mom this awful liquid stuff (Cimetidine) to give me twice a day. I put up a fight so most of the stuff just got on my fur; Mom decided to stop forcing it on me two days ago. She worried because I didn't even clean it off my fur. Well, it tastes icky; why would I want my tongue to wipe it?

Today I did something that I'm sorry about: I bit Mom hard on her index finger. She was on her third try to force the thyroid pill Tapazole down my throat when I let out a cry and then bit her. We both cried. She said that her finger still throbs and it's her mouse clicking finger. She was glad that a document she was supposed to sign today at work had a typo because the finger started bleeding again (under the bandage) and she got blood on the paper.

Anyway, back to me. I have an appointment for my regular blood work for my hyperthyroidism on January 10. I don't know if I'll stand for my medicine any more. I used to let Mom put pill pieces in my Fancy Feast and I would eat them just fine. Then I got tired of FF. I liked the pill pockets for a while and now I like them even better because I've discovered how to eat the yummy treat and leave the pill behind! I used to be cooperative (for a kitty!) when she would put the pill down my throat, but no more Mr. Nice Kitty from me.


Oh, what to do? Mom doesn't know whether she should take me back to the vet tomorrow or just give me love and attention. At least she is taking tomorrow off! I slept close to her on the bed last night and that is something I didn't use to do. (I didn't know what I was missing!) She is nice and warm.

Well, if anyone can give us advice on what I should do or what might be wrong with me, please leave us some comments. It sucks feeling sick.

~Jake

Update from Bathsheba, 12:30 p.m., Dec. 18:

Jake is in the hospital.

Well, of course, Mom took Jake back to the vet. Jake's vitals, like his temperature, were all normal, but he lost a pound of weight. They did blood work and all that was abnormal was some kind of amylase levels. He could have pancreatitis or something worse that begins with a C. He will stay in the hospital for some fluids and medication. The vet will call Mom later today with an update. Even I want my pesky brother to feel better.

We're Still Around!

Hi, Everyone! Yes, we are still around! Mom has been too busy with "things" to help us blog and comment, but we have lurked in the background trying to keep up with some of you.



We were so saddened to hear of the passing of Bonnie Underfoot. Her situation with Victor was similar to mine with Jake.



See this beautiful sink here? Well, we are on a road trip right now. Like last December, we are in North Carolina at Mom's sister's house. Mom is chaperoning her 17 and 18 year old nieces to ensure that this house does not become "party central" while Mom's sister and brother-in-law celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary at their beach house. We have settled in nicely even if our two cousin kitties aren't very welcoming. Hisses all around!


Last week Mom had me pose on the fence just like Jake did last year. I wasn't too happy about being put up there (it's six feet high) so I gave Mom a nice scratch.

No birdies here this year.

I guess I should tell everyone about Jake. He has been VERY SICK. He wasn't eating, was very lethargic, and did quite a bit of spitting up. Mom got very worried, but didn't take him to the vet until Monday, May 19. He had to stay overnight in the hospital for tests and treatment. He had a fever of 104.5. They decided he had an infection and put him on antibiotics. The doctor thought that it might be related to gingivitis because his dental hygiene suffered ever since he started on Fancy Feast so Mom could hide pills for his hyperthyroidism in the wet food. (I will only eat crunchy dry food.) He also was given an IV because he was dehydrated.

Mom brought Jake back home on Tuesday night and had to give him antibiotics in addition to his Tapazole for hyperthyroidism. The doctor also wanted Jake to have some plain yogurt to reestablish to good bacteria in his tummy and he gave Mom some bland prescription canned food. Jake would have none of it! His lack of appetite continued so Mom took him back to the vet on Friday. Another vet in the practice gave Jake a full exam, reviewed the blood test results, and consulted with the first vet. They decided that maybe Jake had a bile buildup that may be caused by a gall stone. They immediately suspended the antibiotic treatment and put Jake on another medication called Ursodiol and added some chicken flavoring and something that would restore the good bacteria like yogurt would. ANYWAY, he is feeling MUCH better and is eating again. Mom is so relieved. Everyone knows that I don't like him, but I would feel very bad if anything happened to him. He is my brother, after all.

We don't think that we will ever get to blog much any more. Mom's love life has taken a turn in her favor and she is also busy with work and activities. (She even took the day off and hiked Old Rag Mountain on Thursday, Daisy!) She prefers that her quality time with us to be sans computer. We miss all our wonderful friends, but will continue to try to check in periodically even if we cannot comment.

Cheers from Wake Forest, NC!

~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