working it out

Oliver has been spending a lot of supervised inside time lately each night. He'll come inside and hangout for a few hours each night (as my schedule allows). The time ends each night with me carrying him to the secured back porch, where he spends the night with Pierre, safe and sound. He makes his displeasure known about being put out, he would rather stay right where he is, inside.

Every morning we have a routine. I open up the back porch to let him back outside, he'll pop through the cat door move around to the steps and have a scratch on the entry steps. He then begins his systematic patrol of his territory boundaries, marking where necessary and pausing for a long drink of water (apparently he believes the water on the back porch must be poisoned!)

Saturday morning he made a bold statement. I went to the back porch to let him free as normal, but he didn't dart out his cat door as usual. Instead he went for the back door, he wanted to come inside with me. I picked him up and carried him inside. I held him for a bit and then carried him to the front porch, where I put him on the front porch shelf window where he could again go explore his yard. He got down and did a quick running sniff of the open door and then went to the front door to be let inside. He's made the choice to forgo his yard for the inside kitty life. I cannot ignore this decision.

Saturday he spent nearly all day inside (with exception for when I popped out for some errands).

 

He did mostly great! I realized I needed to back off and let Theo and him work it out, which is scary, cuz it could mean a tussle. They are figuring it out.

All was well until evening when Oliver went exploring, backed his bum up against he wall and sprayed. Sigh. Here it is Sunday now, and he's back inside, under supervision. He did the same this thing morning when I opened up the backporch, he made a mad dash toward the back door, this time, I let him come inside on his own power. He walked right by Theo and Nahum who greeted him at the door. I'm very pleased that the other cats are accepting him being inside fairly well, and Oliver doesn't seem stressed by their presence. Now to figure out how to get him to stop spraying! There is nothing more I would love than having Oliver (and then of course Pierre) as an inside only kitty.

 Oliver, laying next to me as I write this post.

wordless wednesday

choices

It's hard to believe that some cats have to make do with just one box. One box.

One???

That's not how we roll here. Nahum likes options.

It's all about options.

Kitchen floor space is overrated.

all well here

Remember us?! We've been mysteriously absent from kittyblogosphere lately. I haven't been spending much time on the computer - which has been lovely but also means fewer opportunities to show up here!

We are all well!

 
I took a day trip up to Vancouver, BC last weekend to visit some friends. I was just walking along the sidewalk where this kitty was hanging out. I bent down to say hello and he promptly jumped in my lap!

 

Name tag read Pippin. I love the fluffy black and white, reminds me of Max!

The only bit of news is Oliver. Also last weekend, on Sunday I noticed him walking through the yard with a big abscess draining on his back side. I took him over to emergency vet to get him cleaned up and start antibiotic. I can only guess he was fighting another neighborhood kitty. Oliver!

He was a trooper! He let the vet do what they needed to do, talking to them the entire time. All this trouble, he needed some reward with some inside time. You can see where they shaved him to clean the wound. I'm happy to say it's healing well.

Oliver!

Marvin spent some time at work with me this past week. I'm grateful his asthma is responding fairly well to his medication.

 Rose is still Rose.

And Willow - oh my. 

 

This girl captures my heart like no other. 

Mr. Fluff is still fluffy. And purry. And lovey. 

Some progress on the Oliver inside kitty transition project. Theo's not a big fan of Oliver, but he's slowly learning to tolerate him more.

I hope you all are well! 

Happy weekend!!

new year dream

 

My dream is that Oliver becomes a full time inside kitty.

 

May this be the year my dream comes true!

Christmas

It's Christmas!!!

Santa Paws was kind to us, giving us some lovely gifts.

Oliver and Pierre no longer need to worry about frozen water (ok, maybe it's me that does the worrying!) We don't have a lot of below freezing temperatures but it does freeze for a few weeks a year. Kitties always need access to water in liquid form, which can be hard to come by when it's frozen.

Auntie Lisa gifted the kitties with this puzzle box - it's been a huge hit!

Oliver's the Christmas Kitty this year, an honor he takes seriously. To celebrate, he's been getting lots of inside time. The inside kitties are starting to get used to having him inside, with the exception of Theo, who doesn't like the idea. Theo's still unhappy that Oliver took over his back porch (five years ago!) Oliver behaves like a perfect gentle-kitty, it's Theo I don't trust! Maximum supervision is required to make sure Theo doesn't do any funny business.

Merry Christmas to you all!

it's good to be wrong

I have a way of making up stories in my head, stories that are not always accurate. The nature of these stories tends toward doom and gloom! Well, Marvin has had a big sore in his left ear and a smaller one in the right ear for a few months. I've taken him to the vet a few times now to get him looked over.

The first time the vet wanted me to use an anti-bacterial ointment. I tried it for a few days but gave up fighting him with it. A few weeks later, the sores looked no different. The vet said I should really commit to using it for a week, so I doubled up my efforts.

Much to Marvin's displeasure, I applied the ointment everyday for a week. Over the next week, I watched as the big sore was quickly overtaken by what appeared to be a large growth. When I looked again a few days later, I was shocked at how fast it was growing, I grew very concerned.

I feared the growth must be cancerous, the speed it was growing was alarming. I did a quick internet search and learned that most ear-based growths in cats are often cancerous. I learned that one of the common symptoms is vestibular in nature, problems with balance and the like. Marvin's very unsteady on his feet, quick to loose his balance. My heart sank.

I took him back to the vet this past Saturday for the vet to look over the growth. I was fully expecting to hear it was cancer. After a thorough examination, I learned the growth was not a growth at all, it is actually a large scab! A sign of healing. Yahoo!! Marvin's on the mend!