The Fly Swatter

     I guess everyone knows what a good mice catchers cats are.  It's a known fact that they catch mice!  They may play with them or they may not.  Whether they eat them or not, it does not matter.
Mice have a funny way of finding their way into our homes.  They find an opening somewhere.  But they are goners as soon as my cats sense their presence.
     What amuses me about my indoor cats, however, is how they manage to take care of flies.  They have replaced my fly swatter.  Once these cats catch sight of a fly, they run from window to window in hot pursuit.  Across the room they chase the pesky insect.  They run and jump until there is a fly no more.  They eat it!
     Who says cats are not useful pets?  My cats solve both the mouse problem AND the fly problem.  I'd say they earn their keep.

Where do Strays Hang Out?

     I ran into a lady one day who asked me about feeding strays.  She then told me that she didn't have strays in her neighborhood.  I kind of laughed and said, "Put some food out and find out if that is really true."
     At times I have seen many strays in my neighborhood and at other times, we go months without seeing any. Where do strays hang out?
     The answer to that is probably very simple.  They hang out where they are apt to find food.  They can't simply go to a grocery store to find food.  They depend on handouts from humans and their instinct to catch their own prey.
     Since I have fed strays before, I tend to look for them when I am out.  Driving into a car wash one day, stray cats scattered.  Where did they go?  They went down by a dumpster where some kind person had placed bowls filled with something for them to eat.  How many little faces were peeking out!
     Further down the road, a restaurant that had one driving by it where one saw the backside of it, I saw a mother cat and her kittens.  I could see containers placed out by the dumpster with what looked like dry cat food inside.
     I often hear, "Don't feed strays."  But why?  They are out there.  And they need us.

Stan Lee-5 Weeks After Surgery

     This is my update from last month.  After I got Stan Lee home from the vet, he was very happy to be home.  But quickly I discovered that it was not going to be easy to take care of him.  It wasn't really difficult to water down his wet food and warm it up for him.  I did not have to syringe feed him, but I did have to hold the plate up to his mouth at first for him to lap it up.  I fed him about 4-5 times a day to make sure he was getting enough nutrition.  I gave him his medication twice daily.  He slept a lot.  He liked lying on a heating pad.  He walked around a little when he was awake and he was able to use the litter box.  The hard part was just seeing how pitiful he was.  There were many times that I thought to myself, "Why did we ok the surgery?  His personality is never going to be the same."
     I discovered a large knot on the back of his skull. I began to fear brain damage. I was constantly worrying over him because even when he improved physically, it seemed like he would never be quite himself again.  He has always been an extremely affectionate cat toward me, but he wasn't any more.  After that initial moment of joy when he got home, we didn't get much attention from him.  The only thing that made him act happy was seeing our dog come into the room.  The dog would walk in and Stan Lee would stand up and PURR.  Then he would go over to the dog and rub himself against him.  His progress seemed slow but it was always progress.  He began to move around more and go find the water bowl to drink out of. At about 4 1/2 weeks post-surgery, he began jumping back to his usual position of daytime napping on the top bunk bed that belongs to my oldest son.

     Finally, at exactly 5 weeks after the initial hit by the car, he came to me purring loudly and rubbing his face into mine.  He was finally, FINALLY acting like the old Stan Lee. He still eats wet food, but I no longer water it down for him.  I caught him eating dry dog food so I offered him some dry cat food.  He turned his nose up at it, and he still happily munches on the big size dry dog food chunks every so often. He sure is going to look funny. His jaw is tilted and a bottom tooth sticks up.  The matching bottom fang tooth that's supposed to be on the other side is gone--probably got knocked out at the car impact.  But he looks beautiful to me.  I know, 5 weeks doesn't seem like a long time.  It was and it wasn't all at the same time.  The vet staff says they can't believe he survived.  He will remain an indoor cat for us.  He still has the wire in his jaw, but I will be taking him back to the vet a week from tomorrow to check on it.  They had said 6-8 weeks total time to have the wire in place.  We will see. In the meantime, he will probably be in my lap.

(This was written by my daughter, Karen.) 

Stan Lee

     Here it is the last day of May and I am just now writing this month's blog post.  I am already a procrastinator by nature, but I usually manage to post a cat story at least a week before the month ends.  I probably would have stayed true to my nature if something hadn't come up to delay me longer.  Stan Lee, my newest cat that I got a year ago as a kitten, was hit by a car on Saturday, May 20th.  He is still alive, but he has a lot more healing to do.
     My Stan has been a wild man from the start.  A very affectionate wild man.  He loves dogs and people.  He loves our next door neighbor's cat.  He is quite the killer.  He likes devouring squirrels, chipmunks, mice, and moles  (ewwww).  He is a character and I love him dearly.  We all do.  However, Stan has no fear of the road.  He has been a ticking time bomb.  It was inevitable that he would be hit.  Yet, I did nothing.  Nothing except chase him from the road when I saw him there.  I didn't keep him trapped indoors like I should have.  And now he is forever changed.
     He wasn't as hurt as he could have been.  We took him immediately to the vet.  After x-rays, they could see that the only injury was a broken jaw.  I knew the jaw was broken and I was prepared to have him put down if he had internal injuries or additional broken bones.  What was I to do since it was only the jaw?  My husband and I agreed to the surgery to wire his jaw.
     Stan stayed with the vet for over a week.  They wanted to keep him another day, but I told them yesterday that I was ready to take over his care.  I was worrying that he needed us, his family, in order to really rest and heal best. He is on a watered down wet-food diet and pain medication.  He was VERY happy to be home.  He wants to cuddle everyone and not be left alone.  I am hoping he continues to heal and we don't have any trouble keeping him as an indoor cat from here on out.
     This is the part of being a pet owner that stinks!  When they are hurt, or when they die, it is unbearable.  I feel horribly guilty about allowing Stan Lee outside.  I feel horribly guilty about subjecting my children to this continuous heartache.  We have lost so many pets over the years.  The last two died from cancer/old age.  The one before that was due to liver failure after being exposed to a poison.  It is very sad.  I will hopefully write again next month about how Stan Lee has bounced back. And then I can write more lighthearted and fun posts about his adventures.

(This was written by my daughter, Karen.)

Happy Easter!

Have a Happy Easter from the My Life With Cats blog family!  This is one of my daughter Teresa's cats.

A Million Dollars

     I came from a family of eight children.  My mother told of how area neighbors who were childless offered to take and raise one of her children as their own.  But this was something my mother never considered.  We were a farm family and always had food on the table.  Besides being a farm family, my parents also ran a country grocery store.  And so, we were well provided for.  In case the rumor got around that Mother was approached, she quoted her most famous line, "I wouldn't take a million dollars for any one of my children."  This was funny as if anyone was really going to offer it.  In the 50's and 60's there didn't appear to be that kind of money floating around.  But it still leaves in my mind what is the value of human life?
     Although my children are all grown now, I find myself using that similar quote, but not on children.  I use it on my cat, My-a Moo.  I never thought I could ever love an animal as much as I do her.  As she cuddles up in my arms, even making her head under my chin frequently, I find myself stroking her soft hair and repeating my mother's words.  "My-a Moo, I wouldn't take a million dollars for you."  Like say, who is going to make me that kind of offer?  But to me, it doesn't matter, for I would not take anything for her.  I feel that is actually what I am saying.  This, I feel, was what my Mother was saying about the neighbors wanting one of her children.  In a sense, this cat has become a child to me.  I really do love My-a Moo Cat.
     To many pet owners, I wonder what price they would put on the life of their cat?  Love is a strong feeling, and to some, their quote may go even higher than mine of a million dollars.  We do love our cats.

The Last Cat Standing

     I gave her the name Shady.  Across the street from my house to a neighbor, she ran.  Slowly I began to know this cat was a female.  I patted her at times and even began to rub and pick her up frequently.  But still she was a stray getting food at two houses.  She was the last stray I fed.  I had taken some strays in, but others outside simply disappeared.  Perhaps they had met their demise by humans, other animals, or merely traffic.  My street had become very heavily travelled.  I just knew in time Shady would be hit and killed.  She never watched for cars as she ran without even looking. 
     Finally one day, just before Thanksgiving, 2015, my son opened the door and Shady came inside.  I think Shady never looked back to what she had left outside.  Five cats, once strays, were already living inside.  But now they were house cats.  They seemed to accept Shady without much bickering.  With a nice warm place now to curl up in and fresh food and water, Shady seemed to have no trouble accepting her new life.  Sometimes, I'd catch her in the window looking out, but never a time did she head to the door when open to escape.  She seemed quite content.  I felt good that we had rescued a cat whose life expectancy was two to five years outside.  I figured Shady to be around two to three years old.  But I would find out I was wrong.
     It was about one year to the day that Shady began getting sick.  There was loss of appetite.  There was constant drooling at the mouth.  She had an odor about her that made it obvious that a lot was going on inside her.  I called our vet to have them look at her.  Even though she had been with us only a year, I began to love Shady as much as any other cat living inside with us.  I was prepared to make her better and worry not about the cost.  But one test for feline leukemia had them coming back with a diagnosis that I did not want to hear.  There would be no saving Shady.  She was dying.  She had everything in the world a cat could have wrong with her.  They seemed to be amazed at how long she had lived.  They figured her age must be past ten.
     A long life outside for Shady had me wondering how she had survived so long?  But now the end had come.  Did we indeed add to her life by bringing her inside?  I like to think so.  She was evidently a strong willed cat who fought survival to the end.  There's no telling what she experienced in her lifetime.  She did round off her last year of life knowing the love that a human could give. 
     I loved that little black cat I called Shady.  I will never ever forget her!