Sick Sam

Sam is staying overnight at the pet hospital.  I have to pick him up by 7am and take him to his regular vet. 

He hasn't been eating or drinking and just wants to sleep.  That's weird.  No Sam to greet me at the door telling me that he hasn't been fed in at least a week.  No Sam pestering Millie and eating her food after he terrifies her and makes her run away (that's when I don't sit by her while she eats).

Sam didn't say a word when I picked him up and put him in the carrier.  He didn't yell all the way to the hospital and he didn't yell when we got to the exam room.  He yelled when they tried to take his temperature though.

He has a fever but no infection.  His glucose is a little high 425.  His other blood counts are pretty good and nothing struck the vet as too unusual.  He wasn't dehydrated and his bladder was empty so he must have peed before we left.  He did poop on the way over but he's been pooping very little and it wasn't good poop or very much (well, people have good and bad poop too). 

So tonight, he is hooked up to fluids, they will check his blood sugar every 2-3 hours and see how it goes.  Then I pick him up between 7-8am and take him to his regular vet.  They will leave the catheter in case the vet wants to keep him on fluids or liquid meds.  Oh yes, she's giving him antibiotics too.  Gee, I hope he doesn't have to take any that I have to give him.  I don't think he's ever been sick but I guess as long as it is wrapped in food it will be ok.  He usually loves to eat.

Sam = Trouble

Here he is after escaping from the house.  It took Mom about 30 minutes to catch him.  Boy was he in trouble (snicker..)

 Just look at him!  He's in MY spot. He's bad and he knows it!

 Too bad his head didn't get stuck in Mom's cup of eggnog. 

Now look how innocent he is pretending to be.  He's trying to act like he doesn't know why Mom is yelling about her lunch (she left it on the stove to cool down a little bit - doesn't she know better by now?)

And here I am.  Behaving. 

Potential New Kitty Snack - NOOOOOOOO

                                                   

Yesterday, I moved a tree rose that kept falling over regardless of how I tried to stake it.  I planted a tree hibiscus (yea yea yea I do see the problem with that) in it's place but it is taller and the trunk is fatter.  

So I went to move a small plant that didn't look well and the tree rose would look good there.  Only as I pulled the plant out, I discovered some little baby critters.  I think they are bunnies.  I know they are not snakes or birds or rats.  I was so startled that I covered them back up, dug a new hole for the little plant and crammed the tree rose in a pot on the patio.  I was really worried because the kitties were out and Sam had already chased something into the weedy area by the other rose and crepe myrtle.  

I put a clay pot over their home and used other stuff to keep it off the ground.  I left water nearby. And since they weren't up - I disturbed their nap - the kitties and I went inside.

This evening I went to check on them and they were trying to squirm out and they were eating the leaves of other plants nearby.  I refilled the water and put the plastic chair over their temporary home to give them more shade since it is supposed to be hot this week.  Of course, I had already taken a shower and was in my nightie when I did this - I'm sure you are wondering why I'm telling you this?  Well, in order to keep the kitties out of the back yard and trying to snack on the babies, I went out the garage and through the side gate.  I sure hope they grow up and leave before I forget....

The pictures aren't great but I didn't want to disturb them anymore than I already have!

Mom's not happy today.  Her precious iPhone is not behaving to her satisfaction.  Will she squirt it with water like she does me?

She'll feel better if she comes and pets me.  and pets me.  and pets me some more until I purr away all her troubles.

They replaced her old hot freezing iPhone this morning.  And then made her mad because it is staticey because the phone company is upgrading their circuits to be 4 and lots of people are mad.  It will get better when they are done.  I think it is the 4-6 months she has to wait for them to be finished that is making her face all red and the funny words she uses!

Why NOT to Paint with Cats.....

Well, primarily because one cat cannot tolerate being more than 7.5" away from me unless he is running or terrorizing Millie AND he was very upset when I left this morning as he wanted to come along.  Why did he want to come along?  Who knows?  But next time, as long as he gets in the carrier, I'll take him with me. 

I was just touching up a wall that had pictures on it (and it wasn't painted well to begin with).  I didn't even bother changing clothes.

But because I zigged when I should've zagged, I got a smudge of paint on my jeans.  Well, no big deal, I ripped them off and went to the sink and scrubbed and scrubbed and got the paint out.  As I was putting them in the washer, I realized some of the paint I removed from the jeans was now on the sink.  And it had the nerve to transfer to my favorite summer blouse.  Ekkk.   I can't get this out because it had enough time to dry.  They are both the in the washer right now.

And what does this have to do with Sam?  Well, he's the reason I zigged because after making him get down from the ladder with paint (yes, his tail is lightly painted now), he sat at the bottom of the ladder!  Millie just watched from her lounge chair in the library - I could see her snickering. 

sigh....

New Cat and Kittens.... lol

About a week ago, Brenda from Cozy Little House showed us a cat pillow that I fell in love with!  It kept calling out to me that it wanted to come stay with Sam and Millie.  She very graciously allowed her prototype to be adopted.  

 Millie says "Hey Ms. Brenda, the cat and kittens don't try to bug me.  They can stay".  See, Millie is very polite (disclaimer... most of the time).

Sam says "what are you talking about?  I'm going back to sleep".  

Well, Sam, why don't you tell everyone about escaping AGAIN through the front door and down the street.  And you were so unhappy that I caught you that you scratched my arms so bad I thought I was going to have to go to the doctor.  Neosporin to the rescue and no cat scratch fever to report (yes, I've had that before with a friend's cat). 

Ma'am Did You Know You Were Speeding?

 

Well, of course I did.  I was driving in the area on the highway service road after coming off 45 minutes of driving 70 (yes the speed limit was 70).  It takes a few moments to slow down without slamming on the brakes right?   

Well, the funny thing is that with his laser, he caught me before I saw him and slowed down.  He showed me how far away the laser goes accurately (yes, I asked so I know -- no no not for next time either). 

He was very nice.  And of course, my license, insurance and car tag license and VIN were all scanned and the ticket was a very nice l.o.n.g printed out ticket with all kinds of instructions.  Lucky me, there was room for 6 violations but I just got 1.  ONE.  

So after finishing errands (yes, had to get cat food again), I went home and looked up the damage to my checkbook online.  As it turns out, the courthouse in Plano was not far away and they were open until 4:30.  So after printing off the deferred adjudication paperwork, off I went.  Hey, might as well get it over with, right?

Well, not only is the courthouse hard to find, I set off the security scanner.  Boy, did the security people come alive quickly!  And I said ' Oh that can't be good! and they said 'No it isn't'.  So as I turned around and extended my arms I remembered my elbow.  So I asked him (very politely) to check my left elbow near the scar as it is a titanium replacement.   That was it.  That set off the hand-held beeper.  And they told me it was a good thing because otherwise there was all kinds of paperwork to fill out.   Good grief.  I can go through airport security but at Lowe's (at Christmas time) and the Plano Courthouse, I set off the alarms.  

Oh but that isn't the end of the story.  My ticket wasn't in the system yet.  The clerk said sometimes it takes 24 hours before it shows up in their system.  Oh come on now.  If I got stopped 5 minutes after getting my ticket, the next officer would have known and probably would have given me a bunch of tickets (ok well maybe 6 citations on one ticket?).  Now that really made me mad.  It doesn't say that on the ticket, nor does the web site mention that little tiny detail.   Anyway, about the time I was ready to explode, she giggled and said, wait, he's entering them now.  If you wait about 10 minutes, it will transfer from his system to ours.  Well, gee whiz, no brainer, I waited.  

Now I won't bore you with all the funny things I saw while I was waiting.  LOL  but let me say there is plenty of free entertainment.  Anyway, they called me up to the front (and made the people in line mad but hey, I'd been waiting longer, I just wasn't in line (at their request)). 

So now, the ticket is paid, a compliment entered in the Plano PD web site (yes, they actually have a place for compliments!), my checkbook is hurting, and as long as I don't get another ticket in the US, this ticket will disappear into the mighty big data bank.  And, no, even though they say it won't show up, I don't believe that is true.  

Until the next adventure,  enjoy the weather!  

Sam's In Trouble.....Again

The little rascal is escaping again.  The a/c heat people were out yesterday for the bi-annual checkup (it's my nephew's best friend - they grew up together so I've know him since they were both kids).  When they go up into the attic, I fold up the attic stairs so Sam doesn't jump up and try to get in the attic...again.  When he did that several years ago, I panicked as he freaked out and squished his little body back in the small part of the attic near the outside wall.  It took 30 minutes and lots of treats and even me going up there (shudder...sneeze!) and finally being able to grab him as he was howling and scared.  When the guys want to come back down, they let me know and I let the stairs down.  I usually can't herd him into another room and shut the door when there's something going on at the house.  

So as they were leaving and we were chit-chatting about his daughter (she's 2), Sam escapes between my legs and runs like the wind.  He goes down and gets under the truck (why do they do that?  does he think it's like a safe place?).  Anyway, the guys watch him so he doesn't escape farther (there are some mighty big dogs around) while I go get some treats.  When I dash back outside, Sam moved and was now under their van.  Treats worked.  Whew!

Where was Millie during all this disruption?  She was watching from the couch.  In fact, Blake mentioned he'd never seen her before (well, that's because she usually goes and hides). 

So later, I go get the mail, and he escapes again.  Darn it!  He usually never tries to go out the front door.  So I manage to get him - I was afraid if I went to get treats, he would disappear.  He's in sooo much trouble.

And Miss Millie?  Oh yes, she was watching and snickering from the couch again. 

Then this morning I was taking out the garbage and when I was coming back in and while the garage door is almost down, Sam escapes and gets out before the door shuts.  I swear it took forever for the garage door to raise so I could chase him.  Scared as I was, he was just walking under my SUV checking out the world.  I was really afraid the dogs next door (there are always rescue dogs there waiting for their new home and they are my alarm system) would start barking like crazy and Sam would get even more scared.  He and Millie don't like it when the dogs bark and they are safe in the back yard.  

This time, Millie was sound asleep and the noise did not interrupt her morning snooze.

Wiggle Nose

  Hi.  My name is Millie and I am writing today.  Sam thinks he's the special one because he gets a lot of attention but really! He is in TROUBLE all the time. 

Mom has to tackle him for the bloodletting ceremony.  She stabs his ears 3 times a day.  Mom gives him a little snack first but sometimes he escapes anyway.  I'm the good one.  

 When Mom gives me my special food, I eat it.  Course I make her turn the bowl around sometimes so the food is easier to reach and sometimes, I get in some good long pats.  I let her pet my tail when I take a short break from eating.  She sits by me so Sam doesn't come steal my food.  He tries all the time.

Mom laughs when his nose starts wiggling.  He raises his head and turns it until he finds the source of food.  Sometimes, it is Mom's food that he wants.  He loves it when she gets a burger cause he thinks the sack smells good and he thinks he may get a fry (she's picky about her fries so most of the time, she throws them away). 

I allow Mom to walk around the house without following her around like Sam does.  She tripped over him a few times because he wants his food N-O-W.  She's a good mom and doesn't get into too much trouble.  And she lets us go outside sometimes when she works in the back yard.  

It's Sam's fault that I gained weight and now I can't run away from him fast enough all the time.  So Mom hollers at him when he tries to wrestle me to show me he's the boss.  He is wrong...Mom is the boss.

Lazy Days

It's been raining and the cats are stuck inside.  They've indicated (more than once) that going outside might give them a great deal of pleasure...but...it is just too wet.  

Then they complain about wet feet.

So they have to hold their horses for a bit longer!