Chase the Hungry

We've been silent while the Woman finished up her summer class.  She's done.  Whoopie!

I have been eating eating eating eating and eating.  Thank you Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers!  It is sooooooo good, all I want to do is eat wet food.  So I've been gaining my weight back pretty quickly and I'm going in for a blood test and check up this week so I will be sure to let you all know how that goes.

In other news, Rufus is F.A.T.   The Woman needs to get on that.

Old School photobook thought we'd share

Click here to view this photo book larger

Rock Star

I mean, you all KNOW I'm a rock star, but the Woman and the Vet specialist are shocked and amazed that I am eating so well.  My lab results came back as 100% hepatic lipidosis.  I've already gained weight back (you can feel my bones less) and I'm encouraged to eat eat eat eat eat.  Which I love.  So for now, I'm hanging in there and being spoiled rotten and they are going to put me on a liver antioxidant and as long as I keep eating all should be fine.

A really great link about hepatic lipidosis.  The Woman has a friend (who is a vet in another state) who sent this to her.

GREAT NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Since there were so many loving purrs for me to eat.................I STARTED TO EAT ON MY OWN!!!!!!!!!!  No feeding tube!!!!  I love you all so much from the bottom of my heart (and the Woman too).  You all make us cry with your love and support.  We are sorry we can't get around to thank everyone personally, but know that each and every comment was lovingly read and cherished.

Even before the appetite stimulant I started to eat on my own.  Then I kept on rolling to the point where the specialist VET said I should go home.  She said I would start eating when I heard her voice and called me a "social eater" which is funny since I'm not at home.  She told the Woman and Awesome Man to spoil me rotten and pet me while I ate.

I yelled and screamed on the car ride home (in a new car!!) and looked right at the Woman and told her how horrible it was.  When I got home I got out bright and alert and went around to all of the liter boxes and left some extremely LARGE and voluminous poos.  I don't like to poo at the vet.  Then I got to have dinner served in the sleeping room with the Awesome Man petting me and I got to sleep in there too.  In the morning I got breakfast in bed again while the Woman pet me.  I purred and chowed down.  She cried, it was pathetic.

So as of now I'm home and doing great!  I even ate a lot of treats and played.  Now we're just waiting on the liver biopsy results and thyroid test.  But all in all I'm really doing well and I'm so happy to be home.

Feline Hepatic Lipidosis (Fatty Liver Syndrome)

The verdict is in and I've got exactly what the Woman was scared I have.  She is currently blaming herself for not getting me to the vet sooner, the Awesome Man for telling her he didn't think i was getting thin, and the stupid VET who on her last night at the practice didn't happen to think (from my very evident blood test results) there was much of a problem and "suggested" an ultrasound.  But, we have to move forward and stop the blame game right?  We seem to have caught it early and I've been hanging out with the techs at the hospital so I'm hanging.

My vet specialist is super smart and super nice and for once she was happy the Woman was educated in what was going on and what she is going to expect.  We don't have the details yet, and they are trying an appetite stimulant tonight, but this means I'm likely going to have a feeding tube inserted.  The humans will have to feed me 4x a day and it could be a few weeks, it could be up to a few months, I just have to decide when I want to eat again.  The humans are encouraged that I was eating yesterday but just haven't eaten since I've been at the vet. 

The cause is unknown.  They do know I don't have cancer (YEAH!!!) and the rest of my insides were good looking.  The humans really suspect it is Rufus.  Rufus has attached himself to the Tall Man even more than Kaze is attached to the Woman.  Rufus thinks the Awesome Man is his mother.  So we don't think we can kick him out of the house and I very well may have just gotten depressed and I'll get over it.  All of this is unknown and just guessing. 

So thank you all for your continued purrs, it helps us all so much knowing we aren't alone. 

Chase Face

Hi all!  Perfect time for a long awaited update right?  You all I'm sure want to hear about the Orinch Menis (he is SUCH a MENIS) or the meezers, or how handsome I am.  Unfortunately I can't give you what you want.  I'm sick.  Very sick.  I've lost 3 lbs. in the past few weeks, I'm lethargic, throwing up bile, and have had dire-rear. 

Last Wednesday the Woman (who I can't hate because she does keep pretty good tabs on me even though she's NEVER here anymore) notice I'm really skinny.  Well, she noticed even a week before that but the Awesome Man told her I'm fine.  Anyhow, she took me to the vet and we both disliked the vet we saw AND it was her last day in the practice....but they kept me overnight and gave me fluids and ran my blood and made sure I was eating.  They discharged me the next day without seeing anything really wrong (aparently...but I'll get to that).  The big-cheese vet man said if I wasn't better in a couple of days to get an ultrasound. 

We live next to, arguably, the best Vet School in the country: University of Pennsylvania.  All of our vets actually went there too.  They have 24/7 care and the Woman and Awesome man have been really busy so they planned on going tonight.  So the Woman calls and gets a rude lady who says they don't have any radioligists around and they can't do an ultrasound.  She calls the other hospital (that she despises from the Latte kitten fiasco) and they were friendly but also said no dice on the radiologist, they could admit me and have the radioligist appointment on WENDESDAY.  No dice.  She calls the local 24/7 clinic and they tell her about North Star which just opened about a month ago.  She called, and they said no problem on the ultrasound just bring me in. 

There were a couple of real woofie emergencies ahead of me that made the Woman cry seeing them so we waited a bit but not too long.  The vet man was really nice and was concerned with my blood results.  Oh yeah, knowing I'd be going to a specialist the Woman had asked the regular vet to send her my records.  It was a silly PITA because she PAID for them, she should get them and last we checked there were no HIPPA requirements for cats.  Anyhow, they were faxed along to her which made the most sense since we ended up at a completely different vet hospital than we thought.  My liver values are 3x the high range.  When she looked at that she got P.I.S.S.E.D.  that the vets hadn't pushed her as more of an emergency. 

So, where we stand is I'm in Central NJ getting fluids and awaiting the morning where the internist vet will be in and give me an ultrasound.  There are lots and lots of options of what is going wrong with me so we aren't freaking out yet.  I am just not myself, I feel really sleepy and uncomfortable and have very little interest in eating or drinking.  I weigh meezer weight 10 lbs.  Me!!  10 lbs!!  Things are not good with me and I can't wait to feel better.  Everyone's purrs from Facebook have been so wonderful and they remind the Woman that I'm not just her cat, I belong to all of my friends here, I have such a wonderful extended family even though we don't blog much anymore.  We love you all!

Finally, all of this is made so much less stressful to my humans because of my pet insurance.  We've said it all along, but this is the first time we've really needed it in 3 years of having it.  Pet Plan is such a blessing.  My bill is already $2,600 and all but $200 of that is covered under my policy; up to $8,000 (and I only have "bronze" coverage Kaze has gold for $12,000) per year.  Please everyone, have your humans consider insurance!!  It is only a couple hundred a year per cat.  The Awesome Man did the math and it would ake 250 months of payments to get to the point where it would be cheaper to have just paid for it yourself.  The hospital lady said only 10% of animals who come in have insurance, I hope I can inspire even just one of my friends to be covered.

Thank you all for the purrs and keep them coming!

Oringe Menice!!!

I am the ORinch meenisss, aka Rufus.  If you can believe it there are no recent pictures of me.  The other cats say you should be able to believe it since you all know how lazy the hooman woman is.  The Tall Man keeps telling her the world needs to hear about me and she needs to teach me to blog but she keeps sighing and falling asleep.  Something about working 2 jobs and going to school at night.  I don't know what any of that is, I just know I rarely see her.

So you all know I weaseled my way into the house right?  They call me "Rufus the Dufus" but I'm smart, really I am!  I knew to attach myself to the Tall Man and that would mean I wasn't going anywhere.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE my Tall Man.  His neck is juicy and tender and lickable.   He hugs really tight too!  My favorite thing to do is to nurse on his neck and purr (even louder than Kaze!).

I'm having trouble understanding this word, so I'm hoping you other cats can help me out.  "NO"?!  Sometimes it is "Rufus NO!"  I really don't get it?  I mean, it is when I scratch my clawrs on the carpet, or the sofa, or when I mowl at the door.  Worst is when I look at the screen door (I've bolted outside it is fun!!!!).  Sometimes it is followed by a squirt of water!  I'm smart though, I've found if I get out of range of the water squirt it can't get me :).

I'm officially a 'charachter' and my antics get me quite laughed at.  I've taught Latte some pouncing tricks from my days living on the street and he practices them on Kaze.  Kaze is a little witch, huh?  She won't let me near the Food Woman.  She's very possessive and sensitive BUT she's fun target practice.  She thinks there is a "safe zone" around the Woman....hahah NO.  I don't respect this word called "boundaries".  I play rough, and I play hard, but it is fun!  Hey, I'm the baby and I want to play play play!!

Chase taught me to get on top of the cabinets to hide from the hoomans to freak them out.  That's fun.  Latte likes to play tag with me, and I've even licked him once!  Kaze is learning to tolerate me as long as I stay away from "her" woman.

The Woman is sad and frustrated because I won't lick and nuzzle and love her like I do the Tall Man.  She says all of the animals end up loving him more even though she brought us all in, feeds us, and scoops our poop.  So last night I nursed on her fingers for her.  She seemed to like that. 

As a baby kitten I must have been taken from my mama-cat really young because I seriously full on nurse on fingers.  I create a suction with my front teeth on the finger pad of the human and I knead on his shoulder at the same time.  Oh, and PURR.  I'm a really loud purrer.  I'm a really loud talker too!  I "Mowl".  I chirp and coo and make loud noises all of the time.  They say I talk more than Kaze!!!! 

So we'll have to get some more pictures of me but I'm certainly loving my family!!

Pictures!

Mostly Rufus, but there is Kaze looking at Rufus, and Chase the day of his teeth being pulled.  We are shameful there are no Latte pics (And Chey will probably not be too thrilled).  We'll work on it.

And I thought meezers were crazy....

Chase:

1.  Yes she took pictures.  No she hasn't taken them off the camera yet.

2.  My teeth hurt and the Woman ran out of wet food so now I'm starving to death.  She tried to tempt me with crunchy food soaked in water.  Not buying it.  Latte however thought it was the best thing since the bag of Temptations he hunted down and ate the entire contents of (this was last week).

3.  Orange Meniss.  I'm not one to listen to meezers but Sammy & Miles are really smart and I have to hand it to them....Rufus IS an orange meniss.  I mean he's cool and stuff, we hang next to each other and he jumps really high on stuff and knocks things off which I used to do when I was younger.  However, this thing BOUNCES OFF THE WALLS.  I'm quite serious.  He starts with his trill of a meow.....BOLTS out from behind a couch, leaps and pushes off of a wall, meows again, and BOLTS up the stairs.  He's brain crazy psycho.  There is a short circuit or something in there.  The Awesome Man thought he was being attacked.

4.  Kaze has been the most curious about Rufus but still if she's startled by him she'll hiss.  She's the only one hissing though, he just ignores her.  Latte has started to play with him, they will play bat-bat paws and a little bit of tag.  He's in the house full time and everyone is coexisting really really well.  The Woman just wants to see us playing more and hoping to see snuggling soon.  Rufus really wants to play and wants us to be his friend.

5.  Cat nip.  We've never known a cat to go so nipped out as Rufus.  Druggie.

Orange Cat is staying & Chase looses teeth

Kaze Reports:

Rufus is staying in our house.  He's apparently the biggest teddy bear cat ever and really cute and blah blah blah.  I am very interested in him BUT he's big so that scares me.  We all get closer to each other and turn our backs and do lots of blinking but I still hiss if he scares me.  Last night I was snuggling with the Lap Lady under her scarf and Rufus jumped up to snuggle and didn't know I was there.  I flipped out and we both took off in different directions.  Today he's spending the morning in the house with me and Latte with no human supervision.....we'll see how this goes.  He spent an hour while the Lap Lady was taking Chase to the vet and it is really cold out on the front porch so she wanted him to stay inside.  Latte is terrified of him but is getting more used to having him around.  He really is Rufus the Dufus though he just does so many weird silly things that make us all laugh.

Chase is at the vet this morning having his teeth cleaned.  He hasn't had a dental done in 9 years (he didn't need one) and they just called the LL and he has to have 2 teeth pulled :(.  They are going to do x-rays to make sure the other teeths are OK but it makes everyone sad he has to loose some teeths.  I guess this really hit home that he is a senior kitty now.  He doesn't act like it at all, and even Latte & I are 5 years old- we aren't kittens anymore.  Rufus is now the baby at 1 1/2 years old.  Time really flies.

Where the Orange goes to the vet

Rufus:
I've been getting really comfy with my new front porch home!  I can sit right behind the people's heads (through a window) and coo-scream at them when I get lonely and want attention.  They're pretty big suckers....I'm a people cat since I just don't know I can trust those other creatures in the house yet.  The big one looks a lot like the local tom-cat and that long-skinny one?  What IS that exactly??

I was really good for the Office Lady to put me in the carrier.  We went out to this big moving machine and I was good but askeered.  I was shaking in fear!!  The OL pet me and told me it was OK and I love her so I settled down.  I vaguely remembered trips like this in the past but it has been a long time.

So we went inside and eventually went to a room where she took me out of the carrier.  I just wanted to curl up and didn't know what was going on.  The first thing they did was verfiy I am indeed a boy and I do not have boy-bits.  So I was definately someone's cat since they neutered me.  Then they took my temperature which was no biggie.  They kept telling me how very good and sweet I am. 

I made the vet lady's day because I ate treats from her hand.  I like treats.  I don't know what the big deal is eating it from a person's hand but apprently most cats don't at the vet.  I should have known it was a bribe because they put 2 shots in me and then she stole my blood!!  Can you believe she stole my blood????  And then she swabbed my ears.  NEXT (as if this wasn't enough) I got dewormer pills shoved down my throat.  At least they gave me a big bowl of wet food after that.  That was nommy.  Mmmmmmm

While we were waiting for results I decided I wanted to jump up on the scale/table.  I like high places- they make me feel safe.  The OL had to get a chair to get me down hehehe.  Next came an ear cleaning (I have a lot of yeast and bacteria in my ears, but no mites).  Then my blood results came back that I'm negative to everything (which apparently is a good thing?).  Then the OL suggested scanning me for a microchip (which I didn't have).  And finally......the worst part.........CLIPPY CLAWS.

I had put up with a lot really nicely.  There was no way they were taking my clawrs without a fight!  I screamed and yowled and faught back for this part.  It was over pretty quickly though. 

The OL dropped me back at home on my porch and went right to lawschool.  The Office Guy came home and let me into the house since I'm disease free.  I did not like that....there are 3 cats in there and they are EVIL and trying to KILL me.  When the OL came home she tried again but this time she (the smart one) just opened the door and let me come in on my own terms.  That lanky one with big ears......she's CRAZY.  Like BAT crazy.  She runs at me and purrs!  Like, just runs at me like she knows me???!!  She must have brain problems.  Luckily the OL has caught her from just terrifying the poo out of me. 

The big one seems pretty laid back, if I hiss at him he backs away.  The little one that is brown is terrified of me.  I don't know why?  The humans have been petting him to make him feel special.  We'll see where all of this goes.....

Front Porch Cat

It was raining and freezing cold this morning so when the Office Woman came out to meet me I was in my house curled up but very wet.  She picked me up and we went right inside where she had the Tall Man help get me in the carrier.  I started purring when I was put in the carrier!  Then the Office Lady waked me back to her house and put me on the Front Porch.  It smelled funny and stuff but I wasn't scared because I'm very brave.

She got me a litter box and foods and water (I was very hungry!).  Then she pet me a lot and I liked that but she said she had to get back to the office so she left me. 

We have a couple of people interested in being my mom but whoever wants me is going to have to be super duper special because I don't think these people want to part with me.  I have my vet check set for Thursday afternoon to get dewormed/deearmited/blood tests/etc.  I don't think I'm going to like that but oh well aparently I have to have it done if I ever want my own family since everyone who wants me already has kitties.

Office Cat Needs a full time mom

Hi everyone!  You remember me, right?  I'm Office Cat (I don't respond to my "name").  Office Lady is my favorite animal and I wait for her every morning to feed me and give me love.  She has been really sad this week because she says she loves me so much that she needs to find me a forever mom.  Someone that can take me inside and I can snuggle and knead and drool and nuzzle as much as I want to.  I don't know what this means because all I want to do is come in the office and be with her but she says this is for the best. 

So if anyone is looking for a golden-nuget-of-love please remember me!  I purr all of the time and I make little cooing noises when I meow.  I am really friendly and would get along with other animals, you would never know I'm a "stray".  The Office Lady thinks my family moved away without me because I'm neutered and I must be pretty young as that was my first winter outside and it was hard. Now that spring is here I'm hanging around the office full time.

Oh for statistics sake:  I am about a 1 or 2 years old, neutered, and about 9 lbs.  I have a pink nose (with black speckles- my lips are speckly too!) and pink paw pads which are apparently "ADORABLE".  I have white & black whiskers too!  I have golden eyes that match my orange fur.  I am in South Jersey, about 10 minutes from Philadelphia.

Meezer Meets Horse

 They tried to take me to the barn.....and I told them no.

 They wouldn't dare risk Chase's good will....

But Latte....oh poor little Latte.....

First they brought out the harness, then they brought out the carrier.  I was a little perturbed to be riding in the big metal machine but Meowmy was holding me and I sat in her lap and looked outside a lot.  It was OK.  It was a dark rainy night and I didn't know what was going on but I'm a good kitty and took it all in stride.  

Eventually the car stopped and Meowmy wrapped me in her coat and we went in the rain until we got to a big door.  Inside the door smelled familiar, like when Meowmy comes home from the barn.  We walked into the dark and turned some lights on and it was very weird but I was safe in Meowmy's coat.

Then I saw her.....it was my GIANT sister Snap.  She was very horselike and she snuffed my head.  I snuffed her back because I recognized her smell from Meowmy's riding clothes.  I was a brave meezer and I let her nuzzle me and she was really very nice.  She likes kitties but I had never seen such a big animal before!  I was askeered......VERY askeered.

 Meowmy made me ride her.  See how nice Snappy is being?  Even though I wanted to dig my clawrs into her back she listened to Meowmy to be a good horses (see her ears?) and she let me sit on her.  I appropriately gave laser meezer eyes.

 This is her snuffing me and me snuffing her.  Her nostril is the size of my head!!!!!!  Thankfully Meowmy kept me safe in her coat.  So safe that when Snap shook her head..........I peed all over Meowmy.  I couldn't help it!  That big head scared me and while I was being really big and tough, I had to pee really bad.  Meowmy did not get mad at me at all (even though I really let it out....she was soaking wet).  We said goodbye to Snappy and I got to ride in the carrier on the way home.

After my very exciting journey Meowmy said I could blog about it so I'm sitting her in her lap and purring happily.  I was an askeery trip but certainly one none of us will ever forget.  Meowmy was so happy her babies knew each other and aside from the peeing incident, all went really well.  I'm still her big brave meezer man.  

Long time no blog.

Update brought to you by Chase:

Yeah yeah pictures.......we are going to start charging the Woman for her lack of photography.  The camera is out.....she's just not snapping.

It's snowing!!
Or....it could just be Latte's dander.  Little meezer-rat is so flaky it makes me rather gaggy to look at him.  He's always all up in my schiz, rubbing under my chin, lying on top of me, getting under paw.  He is so annoying!  He's also tenatious and doesn't give up until I hiss at him. 

I think we're all hard of hearing from poo-bottom-princess-rat-face.  Aka Kaze.
I have to hand it to her, she does NOT give up.  Ever.  Trash.Trash.Plastic.Thing.Receipt.PLAY.PLAY.!!!!!!!  I'm totally exhausted from dealing with her.  She had that horrible long bout of poo leaking after they changed that room around.  That was so disgusting.  Now she spends her time either in the heat box, lying under the study blanket with the woman, or lying on top of me.  It is winter, it is cold- I get it.  But really?  BOTH meezers can be kind of lung crushing.

Mr. Perfect
Of course I am perfect.  And I do not snore.  I certainly don't grunt-snore so loudly the humans pause the TV and laugh hysterically at me.  Nope.  In good news the sun spots are more frequent so I can get a nice fur-tan.  The Woman sucks, as per usual, but I do take pitty on her now and then.  The Awesome Man still fends me off from violent snuggle-rubs.  I LOVE to get him hairy....it gets under his skin and makes me laugh.  And tail poof. 

We hope all are well in the Cat Blogosphere!!  We shall attempt some photos soon.  The Woman has Evidence/UCC/Family Mediation this semester and interview and such mixed in.  She's wishing she never went down this silly law school path but she has to finish it now!

New Year...new room?

First of all thanks to everyone's birthday wishes for Kaze!  We are going to let her tell this story because she had her usual Kaze-niption about the situation.  (Side note, the Lap Lady deleted ALL of her 2010 pictures...brilliant, huh?  Luckily the Tall Man recovered a lot of them.)

Just as I was getting used to having my Lap Lady around all of the time after work she packed that rolling bag and went out the door again and came home smelling like The Law.  This made me rather depressed because we were getting some serious couch/blanket snuggle afternoons and I was really loving it.  Especially since I didn't have to share her lap with the law books. 

One day the Tall Man came up with a wild idea that they should take the Cat Room (he called it a guest room?) and make it into an office for the Lap Lady.  I have no idea why since the Lap Lady can just sit on the couch with us on top of her with the TV going for the Tall Man....but aparently that is not condusive to learning? 

So the humans removed the mattress/boxspring and removed all of the furniture and locked us cats out of the room.  This was terrifying for me because this is MY room....it has always been my room.  We had spent a lot of time tearing off the fabric from the bottom of the boxspring and I hid my plastic things in there and also myself when the Purple Menace was making noise.  Still, I handled the paint smells fine, and even was OK with them tearing up the carpet that I have marked with my poo spots over the past 4 years. 

However, then the Lap Lady started to paint the trim work.  And I noticed the door was off of the hinges.  So I yelled at her to see what she was up to.  You know what happened???  My voice came back to me and yelled even louder!  So I had to keep yelling.  And yelling.  And yelling.  The Tall Man finally came up to see what was wrong.  I was so upset, it gave me liquipoos that night (very stanky). 

I helped the humans move the sleeper couch up the stairs by running underneath it and taking rides as it surfed up the stairs.  They were cranky though, not sure why.  Something about it only eeking by.  The couch is great though because now I have my Lap Lady snuggle time back!  I have to share with law books again but at least it is quiet and I can tempt her into napping. 

Then today a new prize arrived!!!  It is a  tall custom designed scratching  post and built to my specifications.  I don't like sisal but the boys do so the bottom is sisal and the top is carpet for my petal paws.  I lept at it (like a lemur aparently) and Latte shimmied up to the top.  It is really beautiful and fun!!!  It is modular so it fit in a normal box and assembled really nicely.  Our new friends at Cats Love Us picked out the perfect carpet and he was just the BEST guy ever.  We HIGHLY recommend these posts and the best part is....they are reasonably priced!  You know how scratching posts are usually ridiculously over priced?  These are totally fair and worth every penny.



Man Cat Update:
I'm handsome and very happy.  I find extreme joy in rubbing on the Awesome Man, especially when he doesn't want hair on him.  Also, I've decided there is no point in fighting Kaze's snuggles.  She's pretty snuggly and seriously fun to chase so I've decided she's OK.