Kitty Accounting!

Most of you know that we're cat people. Most are rescued off the street and are important in our lives. I think they joy they give us way offsets the expense and effort to give them a good home. With YellowCat's recent passing, and as his cremated remains return home, I thought it was a good time not only to review our loved ones that have recently passed, but re-introduce you to the rest.

Of course, the down side of pet ownership is that eventually they will die. I'll admit that I've buried a few in the back yard, but there may be ordinances against that sort of disposal. So generally we've been cremating them, as you can see by the collection of cremains from the last 10+ years. I'm thinking that as work progresses on the back yard observatory, I'll eventually cast the ashes into a cement step at the entrance...


The Current Population:  We've currently got 8 cats living in the house.  While we know that keeping them indoors is the safest situation, a couple decades ago I built a "cat proof" fence that does a reasonable job of keeping them restricted to the house and back yard. Of the eight, only 3 of the recently-turned ferals that are still pretty athletic can get over the fence. As it is, they all go over a 9 foot wall at the back gate, and I've never figured out how to prevent that. So the current strategy is we're slowly fattening them up so they are unable to escape!

Of course, they think the purpose of the house is to please them and they are truly the heads of the household.  Case in point are the black cats at left - two cats and there is no room on the queen-sized futon to sit... By the way, the two black cats are our most recent addition - Squeakers in on the left and Henry on the right (I think - or the reverse!).

Squeakers!

Henry!

The Boys:  For the first time in memory, we've got an equal number of male and female cats. We always used to have an excess of boys, but with the recent passing of males, we're now 4:4 male and female. Of course, all are spayed and neutered, so there isn't much interest in pairing up - in fact, the females are all pretty much anti-social, both with other cats and humans, and just want to be left alone except at mealtime. The males are the friendlier ones, mostly...

I used to kid bloggin' buddy Ken when he would post his cats' pictures and not know which cat was which. And they didn't really look similar! We've got a bigger problem in that of the 4 boys, 3 are fully black and while we could tell them apart when they first arrived, as they tame down and put on a couple pounds, they are mostly identical! At left is the friendliest cat and second newest (and the first to go over the wall!), Squeakers (his meow is more of a squeak). Compared to Henry at right, he has a longer body, is a pound or so larger, and has slightly coarser hair... Henry is our latest arrival, likely too the youngest and has an amazingly soft coat along his spine. He is enjoying the regular meals, though I still find him missing from the yard at breakfast time. He comes running when I call, though, so he doesn't wander far - he does love his Fancy Feast...

Hootie!

Sugar Pants!

Rounding out our black cats is Hootie 2, who we've shortened to Hootie after the previous Hootie died 18 months ago. Like Henry and Squeaks, he and Hootie were virtually identical, though their mannerisms were different. I don't actually have a record when he showed up, though the vet records would reveal it. He is pretty shy, eats by himself, and prefers to be alone, but occasionally surprises us by joining us on the couch and is a real love-bug! He spends nights out in the garage, where we've got a warming blanket plugged in for him to be comfortable on cold winter nights. He is a little larger than Squeaks and Henry, and also has a notch out of his right ear, as seen in the photo at left...

Sugar Pants may be our oldest boy - arriving about 12 years ago. At the time I had a student renting out the spare bedroom and we couldn't think of a name, and finally the day he went in for his neuter job, she suggested "Sugar Pants", which was embarrassing when they called out his name as I picked him up at the shelter after he was done! He is also a "sprayster" and is most-likely to mark his territory. It is a good thing he is so cute and friendly, as cleaning up after him isn't fun. And the more he marks, the more the other boys are prompted to do the same...

Hannah!

Mia!

The Girls:  Of the girls, Hannah is the oldest at 16. She called to me as a kitten up a tree in Washington, Iowa while I was biking across Iowa on RAGBRAI! The tiny kitten spent the night camping with us, and the folks whose house we stayed at kept her till we drove thru the next day on the return drive to Tucson. She is truly the queen cat, and doesn't allow anyone to bother her - a simple growl will keep most away... She has recently taken to sleeping on the rocking chair on a folded-up blanket...

Our second-oldest cat, though she very much resembles a kitten is Mia. She showed up at the Mirror Lab on campus as school let out in May 2004. We figure she was living with students in the dorm under the football stadium and was "set free" when school was out. She is just about our owliest cat - DOES NOT get along with any of the others, though she will accept people. As a result, she gets her own bedroom to stay in which she will share with humans when we get company staying over. She is very petite and still very athletic for her 12+ years. If she would just learn to play with others...

Lucy!

Annie!

Like Hannah from Iowa, Annie is from Wisconsin! Before we were a couple, Melinda went to a shelter in Stevens Point, WI after seeing a photo of her on Petfinder! A momma's girl, she was slow to warm up to me, but now after a decade (and me as her primary food source now), she likes me, she really likes me! Shown at left, she just had her summer haircut about 6 or 7 weeks ago. She has longish thick hair that mats up over the winter, so we spring for a groomer to clip her down pretty severely. After a few years of this, while she initially hated it, really likes how she feels after her fur is clipped so tolerates the haircut pretty well.

And finally we've got Lucy! At the time 4.5 years ago we weren't looking for a cat, but after all that our vet has done for us (30% shelter discount!), when she calls asking if we can "foster" a kitten, you've gotta do her that favor! After some health issues, she had adopted it from a shelter, but her adult cats were beating up on her, so she called on us. She has had some issues - a head-tilt and perhaps some brain damage from her earlier health issues, and sometimes "forgetting" which side of the litter box to use (sometimes NOT the inside!). But she is so cute that we put up with her. She is our most kitten-like, though she is a little meatloaf-shaped! Fortunately, after discovering the cat doors to the back yard, the litter box issues were moved outside where they were less of an issue.

Well there you have it - all have their own personalities and traits. Some have little problems and issues, but we love them all and do our best to keep them in good health. We still put food out front for the ferals in the neighborhood, but I don't see many. I think Squeaks and Henry are sneaking out eating what we put out. Old habits die hard, I guess!

Another Hard Goodbye!

When we returned from our recent trip to the Midwest, we were shocked at YellowCat's appearance - he had lost weight and was lethargic. With his FIV+ status we took him in to the vet and they put him on IVs and did a battery of tests. He had a bad tooth, but nothing extraordinary - didn't eat on his own there either - they were syringe feeding him there for the 4 days he spent there. We considered putting him down then, but decided to return him to friendlier confines for a while, so took him home...

YellowCat came to us 6 years ago - a feral cat that showed up at the food bowl out front - always with a worried look on his face - as shown at left. While shy, he showed promise and we took him to the vet to get neutered and tested before exposing him to our other cats. The bad news is that he was FIV+. He could infect our other cats if they got in fights, so it was important to prevent that. He seemed pretty docile though, and we developed the crate method of introducing new cats to the others. Set up a dog crate in the middle of the living room - a little cat house where the newcomer can live while being exposed to the other cats. We've done this with all our new cats, and except for another FIV+ cat Spitz last year, has always worked well. At right, YellowCat gets a respite from the crate while the other cats are out of the room.

He was a quiet boy, but a great cat. There were some trust issues when he was in the crate, but after getting used to life in the Kitty Resort, for the longest time he wouldn't even go into the back yard! He often joined us on the couch looking for attention, but only in his low-key way, never begging for it, but close enough to accept donations.

Getting back to the narrative, at home he seemed to improve. He ate food regularly, but he declined slowly again. Another trip to the vet and they gave him some fluids, shrugging their shoulders what his diagnosis might be. We had scheduled a dental surgery for today, but alas, he couldn't keep his appointment... He stopped eating last Friday and I started syringe feeding him. That went ok, but he continued to slide - picked up a strange limp, his hips splaying out occasionally. Finally last night he lost control of his hips and it was time to call the emergency vet to see about those final arrangements we'd been considering all along. Of course, all this happened about Midnight, but he is finally at peace. His 6 years spent with us were great ones - certainly he wouldn't have lasted long with his FIV status on the street, so glad we helped out with that. But it is so hard to say goodbye to a friend and always will be.

Cats, Trumped!

Trump our Lucy - the donor!

Ever since Donald Trump has been in the news, seemingly forever, his coiffed comb-over has been the butt of jokes and comments. Take the classic Letterman bit "Trump or Monkey" that got laughs for years. Well, recently, with his running for POTUS (President Of The United States), derision has returned in full force. And while we've been doing this for years (really - WE invented it!), "Trumping your cat" has been all the rage the last few months!

Well, midway through our Winter season, our youngest cat, Lucy, needed some severe combing, so got out a handful of fur, so she was our donor kitty this time. "Collect, shape, place - and now document" is our new mantra! So at left is Lucy, Trumped! Pretty good, she tolerated it better than I expected, and the shade, of course, matches pretty well. There was an extra curl or two in the hairpiece, which was reworked for other volunteers...

Sugar Pants - not quite natural...

Squeeky - our winner!

Sit still very long in our house, and one-by-one, they all come by for attention! So with our lil' hairpiece set aside, we patiently waited. Next up was our "pretty boy" Sugar Pants, who also tolerated it well and doesn't look too uncomfortable with the rug. While the shape is good in this case, the contrasting color just doesn't do it for me.

It wasn't too many minutes later and our newest adapted feral, Squeeky (or Squeeks, Mr. Squeeker - you get the idea) came by and got in the fun for the first time. Ladies and gentlemen - I think we have our winner! Not only did he wear it well, but he had a bit of attitude and did a great job!

As the opportunity presents themselves, you might see more of this - they don't hate us for it, so it makes their owners smile, so why not?

A Sad Day...

It was about 3 months ago we brought a skinny, dirty, mat-covered feral cat we called Spitz to the Vet to see how bad of shape he really was in. His big problem was dental - she ended up pulling most of his teeth, and he was also FIV+, so would have to be isolated from our other cats till he was used to everyone - no fighting allowed! As per our usual routine, he lived in a dog crate in our living room where he could get used to everyone, and everyone could get used to him as well. At most, I think the longest anyone stayed in the cage was 3 weeks...

Well, he must not have gotten the memo, as it didn't go as planned. At first it was fine - he adapted to the cage ok, where there was a soft bed, food and liter box. When everyone was scarce, we'd close off the back bedroom and give him the run of the house and did fine - he bonded with us, sat with us and watch TV, even play with us as we chased him around the living room and hide-and-seek around the island in the kitchen. But as we added a cat to the mix, his mood would change and would stalk them, culminating in a fight. While one or two stood up to him and he would relent, the others feared him and would run, triggering a more vicious attack. The vet gave us a script for phenobarbital to "chillax" him, but it had little effect. When it was just us, he was great, but we couldn't trust him with any of the other cats without screaming - even with the drugs and frequent use of a squirt bottle. After 3 months of this, we decided it wasn't fair to continue having him spend 18 hours a day in a cage, nor have our others in fear that he was out and about, and locking them out of the living room where there dry food was waiting...

So we called our vet a few days ago and she called the shelter she works with - Hope Animal Shelter. They didn't have space, but by today she had found a foster home for Spitz where he will be an only cat, and hopefully serve as a bridge to an only-cat household where he'll be happy and peaceful. But even so, it was so sad to say goodbye to him, and sign away ownership to Hope. At least I know he will have a better life than what he had on the street just a few months ago.  If any of you out there need a great cat for your only-cat household, you can likely contact Hope and ask about adaption...

Updates On Recent Postings

Often after posting on the blog, new images come to light, or I think of a slightly new topic to add. Case in point is the recent post on the praying mantis from a few weeks ago. Four nights after the mantis pair arrived, one returned and seemed very content to pose for me. I took the opportunity to shoot him through the security door - how he appears from inside the house at left (illuminated by the porch light). After mounting the macro lens, I went to take a few close-ups at the limit of what the lens can do without auxiliary optics or extension tubes. At right is what I came up with, using the on-camera flash of course, since it was pitch dark outside. This is at full camera resolution, so reveals the finest details that can be seen without too much effort. Not bad for a hand-held shot!

Next up (chronologically on the blog, post about the total lunar eclipse we had on the 27th of September. The eclipse happened early on a Sunday evening, right after sunset, so couldn't have been easier to observe! It happened early enough that I wasn't quite set up to take images, so didn't really get started till nearly mid-eclipse when it was deepest in the Earth's shadow. Telescopic views look so strange with the full moon surrounded by a multitude of stars! Under a normal full moon, all but the brightest stars are washed out, yet, shown here at left in a 10 second exposure with the TEC 140 are lots of stars adjacent to the moon. In some ways it resembles the "old moon in the young moon's arms" when the moon is a skinny crescent. The earth lit side unilluminated directly by sunlight is faint enough not to overwhelm adjacent stars. Of course, the color cast of the eclipsed moon picks up the sunset colors that leak around the edge of the Earth...
anyway) was the

And speaking of color casts, it has recently been recognized that shortly before second contact and just after third, you can sometimes see a blue or turquoise cast to the edge of the moon, caused by sunlight passing through the Earth's ozone layer, which scatters out the red wavelengths... The shot at right was a 1.3 second exposure taken after 3rd contact - the hard edge of the Earth's shadow is overexposed at lower right.

Finally, I recently posted about a pair of possible identical twin cats we've been feeding out front. After disappearing for a couple weeks, Spatz has decided he likes us and has been hanging out for daily feeding again. He is a fixture on the front porch, looking like an Art Institute lion parked adjacent to our front door to greet us and make sure he doesn't miss any feedings. After feeding him for at least a year, he is big and healthy, needing a neutering soon... Meanwhile, his possible twin brother Spitz is living in a dog crate in our living room, trying to socialize with our existing herd. He had nearly all of his teeth pulled a couple weeks ago, but seems to have recovered well. He is about the friendliest cat to us, but not so much with the other cats... At right he is hiding under the futon at the vet's office. Note the astronomy bed sheets! Also I had managed to put my phone's camera in B&W mode, which doesn't make much difference in shooting a "tuxedo" cat, but makes for a drabber background... Sptiz is going back to the vet in a couple weeks for another checkup, if Spatz is still hanging around, he'll get to go for a ride too!

Seeing Double!

As cat owners, we feel badly for the feral cats that show up at our door in bad shape. We've certainly had some beat-up specimens show up looking for a handout - how can you say no? Most all of our "inside" cats were walk-ups, starting out as ferals in the past. Case in point is one of the ferals, Spats (though I spell it with a "Z"), so named because of his tuxedo pattern with white feet. He has been a semi-regular for a long time, perhaps over a year, and now looks pretty healthy and is now about the friendliest cat I've ever seen. For some time he has greeted my arrival from work by walking up to me and collapsing at my feet, forcing me to either trip over him or stop to pet him...

But interestingly, about 5 or 6 weeks ago, I'd step outside the house and he would run away from me like he had never seen me before! After a few instances of that I realized it was a different cat with identical markings. Unfortunately, this one was in bad shape, skin and bones, just covered with mats of dirty fur, with clumps of mud and poop hanging off his tail. But occasionally, Spatz and the new one would be there at the same time and the resemblance was amazing. I've never heard of identical twins of the feline persuasion, but this was what appeared to be going on. So we called the new beat-up one Spitz to go with Spatz... After a few weeks of feeding, he allowed me to pet him, first as he was eating, then as a prelude to food, finally, whenever I wanted. He had a full-body mat along his back that was doing the same thing that Donald Trump's hair does in a breeze - sticking up in the front. Well, I grabbed it and jerked him up off the ground a few times and got this full-length pelt a good 14" long off of him! It was quite amazing, particularly when he didn't run and hide - for another week I was cleaning him up a little each session, clumps of fur still decorating the front of our house. He was obviously enjoying how much better it felt with the mats gone.

A couple weeks ago, another feral we'd been feeding off-and-on for a couple years, Big Tuna, showed up dead on our doorstep one morning. He had been doing poorly in recent weeks, but I was careful to look out for him and make sure he got food whenever he came by... It made me feel guilty we'd never had him to the vet for some TLC. So I made a pledge to get Spitz in to get looked at. That was last week, and yesterday he was back at the vet to get nearly all his teeth pulled. That was one of his issues, why he didn't clean up his fur as his mouth hurt so much. He is already working on his coat... Telling this story at work, pictures were requested, so at left are a couple shots Melinda took of me holding Spitz with her iPhone. He is still a little rough around the edges, but as much as he eats, he'll bulk up pretty fast. He has a chronic tongue sticking out, and his nose appears to have an infected mosquito bite, according to the vet. And oh yea - he is FIV+, so precautions will be taken not to infect the other cats, but with most of his teeth missing, bites won't be too big an issue. He is already living in the cage in the living room for the other cats to get used to him... And as for Spatz - he was outside tonight, so picked him up and brought him in for a comparison picture. Compared to Spitz he is a sleek, muscular athlete, and also needs a neuter job. BTW, Spitz was already neutered, with his ear clipped - there are some organizations that trap strays, neuter and release, and the clipped ear indicates this was done. Anyway, the Spatz picture is at right.

So assuming all goes well with Spitz, Spatz is next on the list to get a trip to the vet, checked out, neutered and moved inside. It will be nice to get to the point where we're not putting food out for the ferals, but there seems to be an endless supply...

MISSING!

With our nice weather lately, the cats who normally don't crowd around us in bed are staying out in the yard more and more.  And even Lucy, our youngest, who normally joins the sleep-in at some point, has been staying out late.  But never to miss a meal, she wasn't to be found this morning, so the search has officially begun.  I found a hole in the back yard fence, but it was well-hidden and hard to get to, so not sure if that is where she got out.  She isn't exactly svelte, so she can't get over the "cat proof" fence like our newer athletic ferals, so it is still a mystery where she might have gone.  Melinda had the incredible shot of her at left, and I used it to make a few fliers to post at the cul de sac's mailbox, and a few other places around the neighborhood. 

We've lost other cats without a trace - years ago Hopper disappeared, and just a couple years ago Atticus similarly vanished.  Given the ferals come and go for years indicate is isn't particularly a dangerous neighborhood.  We've had hawks eyeing the backyard from a nearby utility pole, but no evidence of a snatch of that sort.  We've just hoping that Lucy, who hasn't been far from the safety of the yard, is just lost and looking for her way home.  I've been going out every couple hours, talking to the neighbors and looking for hiding places, now searching for glowing eyes at night with a flashlight.  Fingers crossed she'll turn up!

UPDATE:  Lucy was waiting at the back door to the yard this morning!  Forensic analysis showed she pulled down my blockage of the hole in the back fence to get back in, as it is now covered with orange fur.  A more permanent repair of the hole coming later today after medical stuff.  We're glad the lil' delinquent is back home!

Easy To Please!

Some of you might not know that we have cats - 8 of them... Most are getting a little older, we've lost 2 recently that were over 15 years old. Some of the newer ferals that are slowly moving in are likely younger, but coming off the street, they are not as playful as carefree kittens you often see. Still, we are reminded of how easily pleased some of our cats are - even the older ones.

Melinda's birthday was a few weeks ago, and she got something in the mail, in a smallish box. I didn't think much of it, but left it out and sure enough, in an hour it was full of cat! And this is Hannah at left, our current oldest at 15 years old! Another day later and Mia at 11 years old was found in it. So far those are the only two expressing interest in it, let alone climb in.... Christmas Day is really fun, as bags and ribbons are involved too!

Our couple-year-old microwave inexplicably died over the weekend, so I ran off to get another this afternoon. BIG BOX, and Mia watched carefully as we opened and emptied it, waiting patiently for her turn. Of course, this one had a little hand hold too and it didn't take but a poke of my finger to get her wound up, sticking her own paw through to "get me" back.

I guess we're not pet owners that invest in toys. Other than the loose ink pens that Lucy chases under the furniture, these are mostly deprived of excitement. They do get to run in the back yard safely, so they get that entertainment, including the occasional bird, lizard and bunny. It is reassuring somehow that a simple box can keep them entertained too...

Saying Goodbye...

The last 28 days we've lost 2 of our cats, both of them to old age and kidney failure. We provide a good home to a slowly-changing population - regular meals exchanged for a little affection. Most all are strays who somehow know we live at the end of our cul-de-sac. We don't have to go looking for cats - they come looking for us!

Pixel was a young adult who walked up to our house 20 (!) years ago, trading his freedom for a ready food source and home. He didn't get along with the other cats that well, but tolerated us, mostly living in isolation in the garage and "cat proofed" back yard where they are free to roam, safe from cars and predators. Mostly he was just "there", we saw him daily at mealtime, but he spent most of his time on his own. A few years back during one of his regular checkups at the vet, he was down a pound, so they did some bloodwork - kidney issues and high blood pressure, meaning pills and occasionally we'd give him sub-cutaneous fluid, which would make him even less available to us as he would hide from that sort of attention.

One of our summer trips to the Midwest, we took him with us on the plane rather than leave his pills and special care to the cat sitter, and boy, did he bloom! Without the other cats around, he would follow us from room to room, and was more of a trip hazard than anything else. If we were watching TV, he was beside us on the couch.  Until I learned the techniques of "defensive sleeping", with my arms in front of my face, he would sleep 3" in front of me, reaching out with his paw to touch my face every 30 seconds. In other words, he was transformed into the most affectionate cat ever! In Illinois he wasn't allowed outside, but the "new" Pixel was content to hang out with us and gaze upon the lush green of our yard through the safety of our windows, as shown at right.

We had high hopes for his return to Tucson, but alas, with the other cats, we again rarely saw him as he moved back out to the garage. But he didn't forget about us, occasionally sleeping with us again, and in recent years would bless us with his presence again in the living room, letting the newer cats know he was in charge. But in recent months, his appetite slowed, became pickier, was harder to sneak him his pills in the soft treats we used. The weight loss continued till he was a mere shadow of his former athletic self. We brought him in a couple weeks ago and the vet put him on IV fluids for 6 days, his appetite rebounding a little. But at home he refused even the Fancy Feast, surviving on a jar of baby food turkey per day with his meds crushed and hidden within. You could see it was time for that final trip to the vet, and blood tests confirmed the backslide. It was so hard when in a time of clarity he made eye contact with me as if to ask - "we going home soon?" I had no answer for him - not this time...

Hootie appeared a few years after Pixel. Hootie, actually a perversion of Houdini, seemed to be able to come and go over my "cat-proof" fence at will, and generally wake us early in the mornings in our kitchen eating the dry cat food uninvited. I surprised him one morning by closing his escape route, catching this wildcat in midair in my arms wrapped in a towel to bring him to the vet for the required checkup before exposing him to the rest of our group. Once he discovered the canned food and sheltered way of living, he was done with the street, and showed his gratitude to us every day of his life. I swear he thought he was a dog - he was on you as soon as you sat on the couch convinced your lap was his personal space and by the way, you need to pet me now! Off your lap he was an "invisible" cat - almost never saw him eat or drink, but his muscular build kept me from worrying about him. He seemed to nearly live in the litter boxes, though, seemingly a dozen or more times a day, and occasionally had poops that were so stinky they would rouse you out of a sound sleep! Many a time I'd need to get up at 3am to do litter box chores thanks to Hootie...

This went on for a decade and a half without change and suddenly a few weeks ago he didn't bug you for attention, was content to sleep alone, a big change in his behavior. We immediately made a vet appointment - this last month with me fresh out of the hospital. It was when I was tying my shoes that (I now know that) I re-broke 2 ribs and was in agony, we took him to the vet with niece Kathy assisting. A delay at the vet's and it was decided Melinda would pick me up and take me to the ER, while Kathy stayed with Hootie. Little did we know that the vet would declare him deathly ill and we decided to have him put to sleep too. I'm sorry I missed it and also that we had to press Kathy into service to being with him at the end...

Both of our buddies had good long lives, but you always hope they will be with you forever. They are family to us, sharing our homes, our hearts, wanting little, giving so much. Even with our eight cats remaining, we've got holes in our hearts that will take time to refill. Meanwhile there is a shy Persian/tabby mix out front that looks like it needs a friend. There always seems a constant supply of hole-fillers showing up out front...

Latest Cat Toy...

Our cats are an endless stream of entertainment for us, even better than TV sometimes!  And they love showing off, especially when they are proud of their achievements.  Just the other day Hannah came in making some weird sounds, sort of a "HHmmmHH", trying to get our attention.  Well, she had a pretty good-sized lizard in her mouth, about 18cm long.  She put it down, the lizard took off with about 3 cats and 2 adults in pursuit!  Now normally lizards sort of "spin their wheels" on the kitchen linoleum, going full speed but pretty much running in place, but this one actually made some headway.  After getting close a couple times, I finally caught him before he got behind the computer desk, to be lost forever...  He seemed to be in pretty good health, and before releasing him in front of the house, where the cat density is lower, Melinda got the camera out for some closeups.  Don't you just love the little lizard claws?

This fellow had seen better days, but survived to tell the tale of his close escape.  Most lizards can shed part of their tail, the wriggling segment sometimes distracting the attacker long enough to escape.  This fellow's had lost his tail at some point in the past and it was in the process of regenerating when Hannah found him.  He also had some toes on one of his hind feet gnawed off.  Don't know if Hannah is responsible for that or not.  Both these defects are seen at left.

I didn't have much luck doing a search on the Interweb identifying her, but I did notice that amateur astronomer friend Sam Rua had a large number of reptile images on my Google search, so I e-mailed him with the above pictures.  Ten minutes later (!) came the reply - Tiger Whiptail, Aspidoscelis tigris!  That's why Hannah was so proud - caught a tiger!  She tired quickly of having her photo taken, so I released her in our front planter and a split second later was gone, but not forgotten!  Meanwhile, the cats sit and watch the back yard fence for any wildlife brave enough to enter through the cracks...

Back Yard Visitor...

Despite the yard full of owl snacks (ie, our beloved kitties), both owl and cats seemed pretty low key about our backyard stalker.  We got back into town last night, quickly jumped back into our routine here.  After a quickie Valentine's dinner before Melinda headed back to work, I returned home to spot our visitor.  I've seen a few great-horned owls in town, there used to be some resident pairs living under the stadium, but I've not seen them in our neighborhood lately.  As long as they feed on the pigeons in the front yard, and leave the cats alone, I'll be happy!  Photo was taken with Canon XSi, 70-200 lens @200mm w/1.4 extender, monopod with on-camera flash.  After a few out-of-focus shots (difficult with dim sky background and flash/autofocus didn't work with extender), I got this one and he flew off a few seconds later.  Perhaps he's a little camera shy, or more likely, put off by the flash...

A Couple Beautiful Blondes!

With the year winding down, I was looking for blog topics and they were right in front of me - kitties!  And it seems appropriate because we've had Lucy now for exactly a year!  She came to us as a kitten from our vet.  Seems she wasn't getting along with her adult cats, so asked us if we would take her.  At left is a picture of her then - sitting forlornly in her dog crate as everyone got used to having her around.  We blogged about her then, and likely a time or two since.

She has always been a bit of a problem child - litterbox issues (6" away is close enough for her!), and while she wants to play with the other cats, they often don't take to her jumping on them kindly!  But she has the most beautiful eyes - sort of a copper glow with a hint of greenish central part.  And her head tilt, from what we suspect is a little brain damage, makes her so cute you can't stay mad at her long.  And with all the food here she has puffed out enormously!  She isn't a little kitten any more!  I happened to get these current photos of her from the top of the sofa as something outside caught her eye.  She was distracted enough that I could zoom in for some closeups of her beautiful eyes...

 

A few minutes later Lucy ran off, and was replaced by YellowCat.  He is a former feral, who has been living in the house now 2.5 years.  He lived out in front of the house for some time eating the food we supply there.  He always has such a worried look on his face - look at the old photo of him at left - always with the frown.  You still see it occasionally, but he is a real glutton for attention and more often than not he'll join you on the couch to watch TV with you.  We wrote a classic blog post back then about introducing an FIV+ feline (kitty Aids, which YellowCat has) into the household.  It seems a week doesn't pass when someone finds that post from a google search, often leaving comments. 

 

I couldn't decide which of the two head shots I liked best, so include both.  He is the nicest cat - will start head-butting you if you are not paying enough attention to him, or if he wants more after you've stopped.  And he has the prettiest grey-green eyes...  And after his successful integration into our household (read the link above) he is just the friendliest cat (though still looks worried sometimes) and seems to get along with everybody.  What more could you ask?!

A Final Update On Our Scruffy

I have been trying to find the right words, all day, for this post.  I'm not sure I have yet to find them.  One of the really cool things about having a blog is that it's an archived journal that can be read and enjoyed for unlimited time in the future.  It's great for jogging our memories of "which Grand Canyon Star Party??", or "When was that trip to San Diego??".  Today, however, it was a very bittersweet trip of reviewing our dear Scruffy's life with us.

We have written blog posts about Scruffy from when we first brought him in from the outside, a pitiful feral in even more pitiful shape.  You can click on the category of Kitties in the library, in the right side bar of this page.  Our first mention of Scruffy goes back to April 22, 2009 - though we had been feeding him for a full year before that date.  Originally Scruffy was quite robust, imposing, and a little scary (to be honest).  He was a huge cat that was more than capable of providing for himself.  Sometime during that year of feeding him he fell on hard times, however.  After not being around for a month or so, he showed up, a shadow of his former self - matted coat, emaciated, scared, and in dire need of help.

Dean managed to capture him, bring him in, and our Scruffy adventure began.  Trips to Vet (Dr. D at Bernard Veterinary Hospital) resulted in neutering and shaving to get rid of the mats (the first of several haircuts he had), dental work to extract the roots of broken off upper canines (probably why he was so emaciated - no longer able to catch meaty food), x-rays, and lab work.  All of which revealed Scruffy was FIV + (similar to HIV in humans).  We committed to giving him a good home, integrated him into our tribe of cats, and gave him as much food as he wanted - and he wanted a lot!  He would, sometimes, eat 3-4 bowls of wet cat food a day!  Needless to say, he gained weight - though his health problems were not over.  He was found to have spinal stenosis from an old injury, requiring pain medication every other day to let him move with less pain; he also went blind within about 6 months of coming indoors (likely a complication of the FIV) and developed high blood pressure and glaucoma.

Through the wonders of medicine Scruff's blood pressure was somewhat controlled, however his glaucoma never responded well to treatment and this past June he had surgery to remove the affected eye.  His Ophthalmologist, Dr. Ruben Merideth - a renown physician in Veterinary Ophthalmology, runs a couple of clinics in Tucson (as well as throughout the United States) and we were fortunate to have him handling Scruffy's eyes.  Dr. Merideth commented, every time he saw Scruffy, "You know, I read his chart and think 'this poor cat is a train wreck!', and then I walk in the room and see him and he's a handsome guy!  He's healthy other than his awful health problems, but he seems healthy and happy!"

So, between Scruffy's times of ill health (recurrent respiratory infections, eye infections, dehydration) he really did have some good times!  We took him on vacation to the Midwest with us last summer - 2011 (his first time to fly in a plane, stay in a motel, and walk in grass!) and he was a 'natural' at traveling.  While in Illinois we took him to Iowa with us for our niece's wedding, enabling him to win the hearts of his Illinois AND Iowa family!

He has always been a "Daddy's Boy", snuggling with Dean on the couch while watching/listening to TV - though I will admit, he seemed to have a fondness for me as well.  During our vacation last summer he managed to find his way into our bed and became a fixture, even when Dean was off to RAGBRAI.  Scruffy loved to cuddle, but would let you know when he was 'done' (usually a low rumbling growl, or a straight from "The Bride of Frankenstein" hissss).  In the picture on the right Scruffy is laying across Dean's chest and abdomen (he was really a huge cat!)

Scruffy was pretty laid back about the rest of the cats.  He tolerated them well, but let them know when they were bothering him a bit too much.  Our newest kitty, Lucy, really liked Scruffy a lot.  She would play with his tail, snuggle up next to him on the couch to nap, and was recently observed washing his face for him!  He didn't seem to mind the attention from her, except when she would bite his tail, of course.  I think he recognized that she's a playful youngster and showed great tolerance for her.  In the picture at left she is snuggled up in front of him, on the couch - showing that she's grown a huge amount since we've gotten her!

It has seemed that no matter what obstacles popped up, we were able to get Scruff through the crisis and he would bounce back better than ever.  Even with the FIV looming on the horizon, he was doing well - begging for barbeque and steak a week ago, waiting for me to fix his breakfast or dinner, toddling around the house as he has for the past few years.  All of that changed a week ago.  Once again, Scruffy seemed to have a "cold" and his appetite was just not what it had been.  When all else failed he would always eat turkey baby food, but this time he wasn't even interested in that.  We have syringe fed him before, so that was the next step - along with taking him to see Dr. D this past Monday.  She was glad to hear we were getting food into him, but thought he warranted some further testing.  His lab work revealed that the FIV was finally taking over, he was severely anemic, and he was not going to get better this time.  He spent one night at the hospital and then came home to us, "on Hospice Care" (as Dr. D put it).  We continued to Nurse him through the rest of the week, though his condition continued to rapidly deteriorate and he was no longer able to walk by Friday.

I have posted about the difficulty of making the "final decision" as a pet owner, before, when Lance was dying.  Last evening Dean and I decided that for Scruffy's comfort, and peace, we would take him to the Vet today.  I stayed awake with him most of the night, and I think Scruffy liked having someone close by - and the TV on - all night.  This noon, we took Scruffy to the Vet's office and cuddled him as he drifted off to join his brothers - Lance, Marley, and Atticus.

The couch seems very empty without him.  Making dinners for the cats this evening meant that there was too much food.  Doling out pills was too easy.  How did we get so attached to a scruffy, scrawny, feral that looked like he had been run over?  How could we not?