Conference misery::feline

   Well, the Burrage Ave. menagerie is holding on...........

   Cuddles, our deaf siamese-looking rescue kitty,  went back to the vet 
   last night to have her stitches removed - we are now BACK to where all 
   animals in the house are neutered/spayed !!!!!

   Roscoe, our silky terrier pup, is getting better at using his hind leg
   again - any of you reading the Canine notesfile will remember he had
   to have surgery to separate his femur from the hip bone as there wasn't
   enough blood getting to the tip of the femur and it was deteriorating -
   it's taking a long time to rebuild the muscles to hold him up in place
   of the bone, but getting there !!!!!!!!!!! 

   On a sad note, it looks like we're (actually Ginny is) going to have to
   put Neely, her 16+ year old Burmese, down this week - she's been doing
   a lot more vomiting, looks like she's in a LOT of pain when she tries
   to move/lie down, and generally not doing well.........Ginny also noticed
   a bad lump on the top/back of her head ............ not an easy decision
   to make but Ginny doesn't want to see her/have her go suffering any more
   than she already is................

   All others in the house (4 more cats, 4 other dogs, one 9-yr old boy &
   two adults) are doing ok............I just hope the new year gets better
   than it's started !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

   Debbi

    Boy am I glad Feline is back up!  Happy New Year everyone.
    
    The kids are all fine.  Lizette has a gorgeous winter coat yet still
    likes to crawl under the covers with us.  She's accepting Devin pretty
    well now.  Misty still growls or hisses when she feels Devin is too
    close, or taking her rightful place near me.  Devin is full of energy
    and curiosity and love.  Marnie is his usual adorable self.  
    
    Steffi

    
    The cold and snow seem to have brought out the "starving furry masses"
    in my neighborhood.  Now I have cats begging at the door!  (not
    including the regulars, which always have been around, even going into 
    the barn after the dry food)
    
    The latest is a huge (huge by body/fur, but underneath skin & bones) Tortie
    long hair, who threw caution to the winds and sucked up to me bigtime.
    Does the leg rubbing bit, and thinks getting canned catfood is equiv to 
    gourmet eating!
    Next in line is a white with gray patches medium hair, who sneaks food
    and runs when caught.  
    Third is a white with small black spots, that has been spotted (8 only
    by hubby, sneaking food on the porch.
    
    All these cats have homes, but are certainly not getting cared for, to
    say the least....)8
    
    So, that's 5.5 of my own, plus the neighborhood 6-8, plus these new
    faces...Sheesh!!!
    
    L-

    Definitely time to catch up!

    My brood is doing very well, FINALLY!  First ringworm, then roundworm.

    Unfortunately we had to make the decision to declaw the kids.  We were
    really going to try to let them go natural, BUT... with the 2 older
    girls being declawed, it was very hard.  

    Hotrail and Chessie both consistently sharpen their "paws" on
    everything, including us.  The kids saw this and thought it was OK for
    them to do it too.  Too hell with the furniture, you should have seen
    out legs.  YOWCH.

    The kids came through the surgery with flying colors.  As a matter of
    fact, they now fly around the house much faster and definitely more
    gracefully.  With the claws they were constantly snagging on the
    carpets, even when we trimmed the nail way back.  I was afraid they
    would break a leg with some of the tumbles they took.  They climb the
    ceiling high cat pole, like there is no tomorrow, and now don't flinch
    when they are attacking each other.  I think they are happy brats.. um,
    I mean cats.

    Chessie still wants nothing to do with them, unless it's on her terms. 
    She hisses and growls at the drop of a hat, but also chases them around
    the house (until they turn to chase her, then she is bent out of
    shape).  

    Hotrail plays with them all the time, and for the first time last night
    she cleaned Doodlebug.  Not for long, mind you, but a couple swipes with
    her tongue across the top of her head.  Then she swatted her and told
    her to go away.

    Boomer is a love bug.  He sleeps either siamese-twined to my side, or
    on top of my head, licking my hair.  Nothing like waking up with cat
    slobber in your hair, yes sir!  All you have to do is say his name and
    he starts to purr.  He's about 8 lbs. now, and probably won't gain much
    more than a lb or 2.  He has finally caught up with his feet and
    ears.  His cry is hysterical.  He ends every noise he makes with an
    upturned note, like he is always questioning you.  And he trills all
    the time, even when he is purring... again, in a question.

    Doodlebug is the brat of the family.  She refuses to leave my daughter
    alone.  If Sarah is in the bathroom, Doodlebug is up in her lap.  She
    is still teeny tiny, at just about 6 lbs.  And so full of P&V, she
    can't even stand herself.  She rarely talks, but when she does its more
    of a mousy squeak.

    Via, my little shy girl, is a real love.  She walks over to you, with
    her tail swishing back and forth, and collapses her hind end on top of
    you.  She also purrs at the drop of a hat, and SMILES while she is
    doing it.  She is just over 8 lbs. and still hasn't grown into her feet
    and ears yet.  If she ever does, she is going to be saddleable.  She
    loves to have you pick her up and fold her into a little tiny ball and
    rock her.  We have yet to hear her cry (except once when she was being
    bathed during our ringworm days)... she just doesn't cry.  BUT, she
    does trill, ALL THE TIME!!!  When she purrs, when she sleeps, when she
    wants to play, when she is looking for someone, when she eats.. trill,
    trill, trill, trill, trill.

    All 3 kids love the dog.  He still whines when they take over his bed,
    but we have been making him either get them off himself, or he has to
    share and sleep with them.  He usually opts for sleeping with them or
    on the floor beside his bed.  DUMB DOG!  Boomer and Doodlebug also like
    to hold him down and clean his face.  Poor Casey just doesn't know what
    to do with them.

    Our Christmas tree was up a whole week before it had any ornaments on
    it.  I waited for the novelty of sleeping in it wore off.  They were
    real good about not playing with the ornaments, but the packages were
    fair game.  Especially the big ones they could jump on and off of.  My
    son had a heck of a time opening one of his, there was so much tape
    repairing the paper vs. claws damage.

    They still get on the tables and counters, we are still working with
    them on that.  The older girls wander out of the kitchen with that look
    of, "Uh oh, someone's gonna get it", on their faces.  So we know someone
    is up where they don't belong.  Out come the spray bottles... and they
    still wait until they are absolutely soaked before they get down.  They
    just like water, I guess.

    We seem like a completely happy household, most times, now.  The kids
    are 7 1/2 months old, and so much fun!

    M-L

    PS  thanks again Sandy!!!!!!!!!!

    Meow. A happy New Year all around.
    
    Smokey has some problems with her left-side paws, they were bleeding
    (first the front, then the rear). The front paw healed in a week. I
    thought she was just wounded and as I had the vet date it was already
    away. Then the left rear started, so I took her to the vet. The doc
    said it was a chemical burn, and it turned out that the cleaning
    substance named 'Domestos' was the reason. Even people can get heavily
    burnt by, and you have to rinse it THOROUGHLY. There were some spurious
    rests on the bath tub, where she sits to drink from the tap. So it could
    get into her sensitive paws. Vet prescribed Chlorocyde, once daily -
    and told me to keep her at least 15 minutes NOT to lick it off the paw.
    Well, have you ever tried this? A week went by, each evening a
    tournament to play with her so intensively that she does not lick for
    quarter an hour... (the vet suggested to put stockings on her! Of
    course I did not even try this...). Anyway, the paws both look good,
    the rear shows some lighter color yet, but seems fully healed. But the
    each-evening-tournament was kept. Now my paws are bleeding - from her
    scratches! :)  So we are up and running, together with my mother's two.
    Conclusion: be careful with household chemicals even after rinsing them
    away, the rest can be enough to harm you or kitty.
    
    Nat & Smokey_the_one_with_NO_stockings!

    Happy New Year Everyone!
    
    I too am glad that the Feline notes is back up and running....   For me
    it was lonely out here not know how everyone is doing.   
    
    Shilo is doing WELL!  The house is full of laughter now with him..  It
    has been 19 years since we have had a kitten in the house.  Boy did we
    forget a lot of the things that they do/get into.  
    
    We only seem to have one problem with Shilo and that is that he loves
    sitting on the bird cage and completely disrupting the poor bird (his
    name is pee wee).  When we catch him on top of it he just sits there as
    if to say, "Bagged again".  Other than that all is going well in our
    house hold........
    
    *joyce
    

    Happy New Year!
    
    Spunky has been cooped up in the house for weeks now and has a very bad
    case of cabin fever.  We let him out in the addition and the front
    porch and show him how cold it is and how much snow is on the ground,
    but he just doesn't believe it.  He's convinced he's been sentened to
    life in prison, and by golly everybody is gonna PAY.  Poor boy has been
    getting the short end of the stick in the attention department too
    given that my dog has had three surgeries in 6 weeks and has  needed
    constant supervision and care.  
    
    So, just to liven things up a bit, Spunk decided he'd start losing body
    parts.  I woke up last weekend to see Spunk strutting around the kitty
    box minus the last two inches of his tail!  Yikes!!!  He had had some
    sort of injury to the tail months ago, and the hair never grew back
    around a small section, and the vet had said that it might never, but I
    never expected the tail to FALL OFF!  A quick panic call to the vet to
    ask what we should do, and he wasn't too worried, because he's acting
    just fine and there's no bleeding, oozing, or anything else.  He goes
    in for a visit Friday just to make sure though.  I'm slowly starting to
    get used to his new look.  After making sure Spunky was okay, my next
    concern was 'Where IS it???'; I could just imagine Spunk showing up
    with his tail piece in his mouth some day during a party just to freak
    people out.  That's his style.  (I did find it eventually)
    
    SO now we've taken to calling him Stumpy!
    
    Dana and Stump - err- Spunky

    Hi everyone, and Happy New Year!  My crew is fine; always in trouble
    but I love them anyway.  Herbie and Taja (but especially Herbie) have
    become TV addicts.  A friend of mine gave me a copy of the "Video
    Catnip" tape which features lots of birds and other assorted critters
    cats would love to eat for lunch.  Well, they love it (Kelsey isn't so
    easily fooled since he used to have outdoor privileges and has seen the
    real things.), and have taken to watching TV all the time now.  Herbie
    loves the news (guess he wants to be a well-informed kitty) and the
    weather maps when they start showing the weather patterns via moving
    pictures.  He'll watch almost anything and sits right up in front of
    the TV.  Next thing ya know the vet will tell me he needs glasses!
    It is really hysterical to see him watching TV.
    
    Aside from that, things have been business as usual.  Glad to see
    Feline back on line!!
    
    -Roberta
    

    
    Several remarks about cats trilling and chirping remind me to mention
    the hilarious Jingle Cats (Meowy Christmas) CD.  I finally gave up
    trying to find it locally and ordered one from the 800 number someone
    so kindly posted in this conference.  Anyway, the first tune, Silent
    Night, features the most wonderful trilling meow by an incredibly
    enthusiastic cat; it's right at the "*sleep* in heavenly peace, sleep
    in heavenly peace" at the end of each verse.  Nobody I've played this
    for has managed to contain their smile and outright laughter at this.
    
    Very highly recommended, and the CD comes with information on how to
    join the Jingle Cats Fan Club and get a Jingle Cats Tee Shirt.
    
    And, speaking of tee shirts, I got myself a terrific Happy Cat Face tee
    shirt from Crazy Shirts (a Hawaii based tee shirt company) for
    Christmas.  There's a big tortie face on the front, and a big paw print
    on the back.
    
    len.
    

    Talking about T-shirts...I got the best T-shirt for Christmas from
    Pam Gladding.  It was a T-shirt she just couldn't pass up!!!
    
    It is very colorful T-shirt with a kitty with a missing ear and
    splashes of paint on the front...and it says VAN GOGH'S KITTY!!!    
    
    Pam also brought me back a Van Gogh Post Card from Holland which I have
    hung in Van Gogh's room!!!!                            
    
    Sandy

    I have a new midnight visitor. A black and white male is coming through
    the catflap and eating everything it can lay its paws on. Huw has seen
    him rummaging through the dustbins before now, so I think he's a stray.
    Again, Jimmy and Rosie don't seem to mind as long as he stays clear of
    them. I've been putting down an extra bowl of food at night, but I
    haven't seen more than a glimpse of him. 
    
    Jim gave the funniest example of How Not To Catch A Birdie over the
    Christmas period. He just gets too excited, you understand, and blows
    it completely. 
    We were in the kitchen, by the window and I was cuddling him, when
    suddenly he went stiff and his eyes became intent. He had seen a BIRD
    in the lilac bush in the garden.
    He leapt from my arms, through the cat-flap (leaving it swinging madly)
    and launched himself at the bird. Unfortunately he forgot about the
    lilac bush, nearly impaled himself on the branches and GOT STUCK! Half
    a minute of frantic squirming followed during which he turned a
    complete somersault and then he was free.
    
    The bird, of course, had long gone...
    
    Jim marched back through the catflap with as much dignity as he could
    manage and shot me one of those "I MEANT to do that - I was in complete
    control of the situation" looks. Who said that cats were
    expressionless? 

    Well, you know you're a bona-fide feliner when you're in Amsterdam
    looking at Van Gogh's "Sunflowers", and the only thing on your
    mind is...
    
    	"wonder if I can find a souvenir for Sandy's cat???"
    
    	;-)   ;-)

    Well we all survived the 9 day vacation.  Chief did not come home
    one night and the next morning one of the kitty sitter(s) saw him and
    all was fine. Before I left I had put a box and pillow in the garage
    for him just in case. Some days he was left inside.  People think
    I am nuts for having 2 cat sitters and 4 pages on instructions for
    1 cat!!! It would easier if he was an indoor cat...but oh well. I
    only called in twice. 
    
    Anyway the night we came home I was real worried. He would make all
    those wierd sounds like when I put him in the car. (i call them 
    vet noises).  I thought something might be wrong, but he was eating
    and moving fine.  The next day we let him in and out all day and
    gave him lots of attention. He meowed a bunch, but not as bad.  by
    the 3rd night he was back to normal..  He has been almost perfect
    since, coming home right on time.
   

    re.9
    (Know it's not the right place, move if needed please)
    The CD you all speak about - I cannot specify it exactly. Of course I
    cannot buy it in Hungary, but there are possibilities to order it. I
    needed the EXACT description of the CD as Title, Author (or editor), or
    publisher's name and part number or the kind... Perhaps if I have an
    exact knowledge WHICH CD it is, I can order it. Can anyone help?
    
    Nat

    I have the info for the cassette here in my office, if this helps!
    
    The Jingle Cats - Meowy Christmas
    CH4-12264
    arrangd and adapted by Mike Spalla
    
    Jingle Cts Music
    PO Box 47
    Hollywood, CA 90078
    
    
    
    My cats go crazy with this.  The twitch their ears, shoot their
    whiskers almost straight out in front of their faces, their eyes get
    huge (can't even see color any more)... and they stalk invisible beings
    making cat noises.  BUT, let the dogs bark, as they do in a couple
    songs, and Via is out of the room like a shot.  
    
    Silly furfaces!
    
    M-L

    
    I played the CD for the cats again last night.  It starts with some
    guitar strumming, and precocious little Rocky knew what was coming
    immediately - "it's that darn cat voice trick again".  This time Robin
    ran into the room behind the speakers, and Blueberry jumped up to sniff
    at the speakers and try to peer through the grille cloth.  Merlin of
    course couldn't be bothered.  Rocky got up from his normal relaxed sprawl
    but seemed committed to not being tricked into reacting further.
    
    len.
    

    well, just before Christmas Jimmycat became diabetic and his colestoral
    was thu the roof. He spent two weeks in the hospital being stablized on
    insulin and came home on Christmas eve. I had to learn to give him
    shots (he gets two a day), and he is doing real well. In fact, he know
    that he must get his shot before he eats, and even if there is food in
    the plate he doesn't touch it until I've given it to him. After having
    lost 3 cats in the last two years, I'm just glad that I am able to do
    somthing to keep Jim around (though at 15 yrs old, I don't know how
    much longer).
    
    Unfortunatly, I have spent so much time and attention on Jim, I
    sorted of ignored the fact that Panther was getting fact and his twin
    sister Eirene was loosing weight. She is a bit dehydrated, and the
    vet has taught me how to give her fluids; She was doing well, but has a
    very sensitive little tummy (prone to throwing up), and everytime she
    seems to be doing real good, she dehydrates herself throwing up.  I'm
    thinking of giving her smaller meals but more frequently.
    
    Finally, I adopted a 13 year old tiger named now named Zoe. She is
    doing real well.
    
    Other than that, The FIRM is just fine!
    Deb

    RE: -1
    
    Well, we found out what the problem was with Eirene. I found a bump
    on her upper lip; Turns out she has a broken bicuspid which is infected
    and (of course there is an and) she cut inside her mouth on the
    broken tooth, which caused an abcess. A couple of hours after she went
    on the penicillian she was her old self, but she still has a way to go.
    The vet says that he thinks he can fill the tooth rather than pull it,
    but in either case I have to fatten her up and keep her on penicillian.
    
    Deb