A Moment’s Inattention = 2 Months of Suffering

The human had a very challenging end of May. First her car died and required an expensive repair. Then her mother passed away suddenly. Next, Shahja got sick — a UTI and possibly a stone in the urinary tract — which necessitated a trip to the emergency veterinary service. The 2-legged then had to take Shahja to her regular vet for boarding, as she was leaving at 4 am the next day to drive back for her mother’s funeral. She made that grueling 12-hour drive twice in 36 hours. When she picked Shahja up at the vets the day after her return, the poor little guy was groggy from meds and unhappy from having been poked, prodded, scanned, caged, and medicated by strangers for the past 5 days, so she opened his soft-sided carrier’s zipper just wide enough to stick her hand in to pet him on the drive home. Between stress and sleep deprivation, when she got him home, she got out of the vehicle without remembering to fully secure the carrier’s zipper. She got 10 feet from the front door when the little guy saw the opening and barreled out of the carrier. He’s been missing ever since — 58 long and stressful days.

For the first month or so, he mostly stayed nearby and the human occasionally saw him in the yard or on the deck, not that she could get him to come inside. However, for the past few weeks, she hasn’t seen him at all. Fortunately, he and his sister were microchipped when they were spayed/neutered in January, so the monitoring service was able to alert the human last evening that someone had seen him — or a cat that looked like him. A conversation with that person led to second alert this morning that another family had found a tiger kitty and put him in a carrier. The two-legged dashed off to see if it was Shahaja and it was. We are happy to report that he’s now home and recuperating from his summer of adventure. He’s definitely lost weight but otherwise doesn’t look too bad given all the dangers he potentially faced, including heat, pounding rain and wind, fireworks, dogs, coyotes, other cats, cars, and mean humans. It’s a miracle he’s home alive and well. He’s quite the cuddle muffin and has been singing and mixing up a storm.

It will take some time for him to adjust to being indoors again and around other cats. And the other cats seem to not recognize this new cat that is in the house, so Shahja is in one of the bedrooms where he can rest, eat, be hugged and petted, and hopefully get used to being back inside. For all those who prayed for his safe return, thank you! For those who might be considering the option of microchipping, it’s likely the only reason we were able to get him back home.

(c) Copyright 2023, PeggyMalnati. All rights reserved. Images my own.

Oh Human, What have You Done?

(c) Copyright 2022, PeggyMalnati. All rights reserved. Images my own.

Corky has an(other) Adventure

It was Corky’s turn for a dental cleaning. Since the procedure would be done under anesthetic, he wasn’t allowed any food after midnight. That meant he had to be quarantined from the others the night before his procedure. (The angry ankylosaur is hell on wheels when he doesn’t have something to eat that he likes.) The next morning, the evil human scooped him up and placed him in a carrier <<<Stuffed me in a fabric box is more like it!>>> Off they went in the vehicle. <<<Never trust a human!>>>

(c) Copyright 2022, PeggyMalnati. All rights reserved. Images my own.

Corky’s Adventures at the Vet

The bad human hasn’t posted in close to 2 months. That’s because we spent almost a month living a daily plumbing nightmare during a time when the 2-legged’s work schedule was really challenging. Nonetheless, the kitties, per usual, have been doing all sorts of cute things, which the human did record and now just needs to catch up posting about. Case in point, Corky had to go in for a checkup ahead of some dental work. He wasn’t very enthused about being put in a carrier and carted to the clinic, but he was a very good kitty nonetheless.

The first thing the vet tech did after we got him out of the carrier is put him in a curved tray and weigh him. The Corkster decided that he felt pretty comfortable in the tray and wouldn’t get out.

While we waited for the vet to come in, the human covered him up with the towel from his carrier, creating a burrito bear. The nice vet conducted his whole exam while Corky retained his spot in the curved tray of the scale. He even stayed there for his shot.

(c) Copyright 2022, PeggyMalnati. All rights reserved. Images my own.

Corky’s Turn at the Vet

This has been quite the year for big vet bills and frequent visits to places of torture. It was Corky’s turn to go to the vet. He was acting off and the human suspected a UTI. Unfortunately, as has been the case this year, after many expensive tests, nothing showed up. The little guy is acting better now, so whatever was going on hopefully is past and he’s on the mend. Still, he wasn’t a happy camper to be dragged out of the house only to be poked, prodded, and forced to give up samples of bodily fluids. <<<Never trust a human who pretends to be about to pet you!>>>

(c) Copyright 2021, PeggyMalnati. All rights reserved. Images my own.

Recheck

It was time to take Pepe and Mac back to the new vet’s office for a recheck from their recent dental work and the extraction of a (mercifully) benign tumor from Pepe’s tail. The monsters were surprisingly tolerant of being scooped up and placed in their carriers and toted to the vet’s. We arrived a few minutes early, but the office seemed exceptionally busy that day, so we ended up having to sit outside and wait for a room to become available for 30 minutes. Neither cat put up a fuss, which was a miracle in itself. Upon their recheck, the vet was pleased with the progress both kitties had made in healing. <<<Yeah!>>> They were just happy to get home, even if they had to wait another week before they could have dry crunchies again. <<<Crunchies in water are an afront to nature!>>>

(c) Copyright 2021, PeggyMalnati. All rights reserved. Images my own.

But Where are Pepe and Mac?

Yesterday, the evil human removed all food from the food dishes at 11:00 pm. Needless to say, the monsters protested every hour on the hour for the rest of the night. Although the human popped up bright and early, she still didn’t feed the monsters — a real change in the normal schedule. Turns out Pepe and Mac both had dental procedures scheduled this morning and the 2-legged was supposed to have both of them in at 7:30 am for pre-op tests. She managed to capture Pepe and put him in his carrier, but the wiley Smirky One evaded capture. After 15 minutes of coaxing and chasing, the human gave up and figured it was better to get one cat to the vet on time, so she left with a very upset Pepster. The human came home, found Mac’s new hiding spot, and set up a perimeter, then slowly got closer and closer. Finally, after many attempts at crawling under the bed only to have Mac pop out the other side, providence or Mac took pity on the frustrated human and Mac hopped onto the bed, ducked down in a kitty bed, and proceeded to hiss at her tormenter. The human picked her up and put her in the carrier and off they both went.

Before she left, the 2-legged did take pity on Corky and Fireball and put soft food and crunchies down for them. When she got home and came up to check on both boys, she found them cuddled in a kitty bed together enjoying comraderie and the heat of the far-infrared mattress pad (affectionately called the warm-warmy in this house). Clearly, they both wondered what happened to Mac and Pepe, who are going to need a couple of days to chill out after some teeth extractions. These poor kitties have been unfairly paired with the world’s worst human. It will be months before the 2-legged can walk up to either cat and not have them plotting their escape route just in case. On the bright side, the vet staff do courtesy nail trimming while the kitties are under, so at least that’s one thing the human won’t have to tackle for a few months.

(c) Copyright 2021, PeggyMalnati. All rights reserved. Images my own.

Thunderbear has become ThunderRainBear

It’s summer and it’s been terribly hot and humid. That means, thunderstorms have been moving through the area with increased frequency. Caesar, the Thunderbear, is terribly afraid of the sound of thunder as well as the ridiculous amount of fireworks that tend to be set off in this neighborhood between mid-June and early July. Prepandemic, fireworks could last 5-6 hours/night every night for weeks, absolutely terrorizing the Big Guy.

Unfortunately, Caesar now associates the sound of rain with the possibility of thunderstorms, no matter how unlikely the latter are. That means that every time he hears it rain — and it’s been doing that with great frequency and leaving great amounts of water of late — he huddles under the human’s chair and glues himself to her feet and ankles. <<<Why can’t the human make the scary sounds go away?>>>

(c) Copyright 2021, PeggyMalnati. All rights reserved. Images my own.

Evil Struck Twice Yesterday

Just when you think it’s safe to trust your human, she pulls something like this. First, with the promise of a snack, she lured the Merkitty into the downstairs bath, then quickly shut the door, trapping the panicked watery one. Next, the human picked her up and started trimming toenails quickly and efficiently, despite sad little whimpers from Mac. The human made such good progress on the forepaws that she actually trimmed the rear ones as well.  Despite repeated attempts, the human was unable to trick Caesar in a similar way, so his meeting with the clippers occurred later in the day in a totally different room and setting. After a little post-work snuggle, the tricksy human got up, slipped clippers into her pocket and disappeared into another room where she sat and waited for the meows to come in and bump her leg. When the Big Guy appeared and snuggled the human, she picked him up (<<Horrors!>>) and carried him (<<Double horrors!>>) back into the bedroom where she proceeded to clip claws (<<Triple horrors!>>) . She got all toes but one dewclaw on the front paws and then, emboldened, she managed to get 2 claws clipped on one rear paw before Caesar had had enough and really started putting up a struggle. While Mac forgave the human fairly quickly and was back draping herself around the human’s head (<<and hogging most of the pillows>>) before long, Caesar has kept his distance and will not let the human get close. It will be weeks before a human in motion will be able to get close to the Big Guy and even longer before he will let down his guard enough to be picked up again. Still, no blood was drawn among cats or human, and now two of the monsters are set for a couple of months before the process has to be repeated. <<Whew!>> <<Does no one care how much we suffer?>>

 

 

(c) Copyright 2020, PeggyMalnati. All rights reserved. Images my own.

True Evil Stalks the Cats this Week

Well, the evil two-legged had a bit of time on her hands. While she was eating her lunch, Caesar and Mac came down for a visit and the Big C made the mistake of getting too close to the human, who scooped him up in her arms and headed into the bathroom where she shut the door, wrapped the struggling prisoner in a big towel, and pulled out the horrible nail clippers. <<Mind you, the terrible human has never once trimmed too high and hurt the kitties, but you’d think she was in the habit of regularly removing toes instead of a tiny bit of claw the way they fight the process.>> There were some mighty unpleasant sounds that ensued, but before too long, Caesar Tiger Bear emerged intact except for his front claws being a bit shorter. He only held a grudge for about 10 minutes before he was back whacking his body against the human’s leg. Earlier in the week the horrendous human managed to capture the Merkitty and trim her aquatic flipper claws. It took her about 6 hours to forgive the transgression.

 

(c) Copyright 2020, PeggyMalnati. All rights reserved. Image my own.

I’m So Mad, I Won’t Even Look at You

It was time for a vet visit for Caesar. Caesar hates vet visits. The human had corralled him into a new kitty carrier, but that didn’t improve his mood. In fact, after unzipping the front and trying to coax him out onto the exam table, the Big Guy refused to budge. While 2-legged and 4-legged waited for the doctor to come in, the Emperor turned his face away and refused to give up the grumps for his human.

 

(c) Copyright 2019, PeggyMalnati. All rights reserved. Photos my own.

Krang Drives to the Vet

It was time for Krang, the Penta Pack’s new cousin, to go to the vet for a checkup. Fortunately, the young Sphynx is multi-talented and offered to drive.

 

 

(c) Copyright 2019, PeggyMalnati. All rights reserved. Photo courtesy of M. Ray.

Most Evil Cat Torture Device?

Which torture device do you think is most scary?  It’s a close call between the nail clippers and the vacuum.  However, the clippers only come out once a month and only three of the cats have front claws that need to be trimmed.  The vacuum, on the other hand, comes out multiple times a week and causes pandemonium among all the boy kitties.  Yes, you guessed it, Miss Mac is not afraid of the vacuum as long as she’s up high and it stays down on the floor and doesn’t come too near. She just smirks at it. The boys, on the other hand, run for the next floor whenever they even hear the cord rattle and long before the scary motor turns on.

By the way, bells didn’t even make the list this year. That’s got to be progress of a type.

 

 

(c) Copyright 2018, PeggyMalnati. All rights reserved. First photo from Fotolia.com. Other photos my own.

Do You Think this is All An Excuse to Run Away and Play with Dogs?

<<It wouldn’t be the first time that our human disappeared for a day or two and came back smelling like a stinkin’ dog.  Maybe she’s off cheating on us. Sure hope she doesn’t bring one of those wretched creatures home with her. She does that, you know. Any poor abandoned creature will do.>>

 

 

(c) Copyright 2018, PeggyMalnati. All rights reserved. Photos from Fotolia.com.

Our Human is Running Away!

<<She’s been threatening for more than a week to run away from us.  Ha, as if that was even possible! Besides, when the other human visits us, she gives us way more snacks and she plays with us more than our own human does. On the other hand, she doesn’t sleep with us and therefore it’s far harder to mess with her head. Besides, that human smells like dogs all the time.>>

 

 

 

(c) Copyright 2018, PeggyMalnati. All rights reserved. Photos from Fotolia.com.

Tubes

A friend with a business that uses big rolls of fabric asked if the human thought the kitties might like a big cardboard tube to play inside. While Pepe and Corky like paper bags (but never plastic ones) and Mac will occasionally entertain herself in a cardboard box, none of the felines had shown any love for a cute crackly fabric tube the human had bought many years back. Still, why not give it a try, since the cardboard tube could always be recycled. Pepe stuck his head inside both ends but wouldn’t venture further.  Mac also stuck her head in but that was the end of it.

The rest of the cats couldn’t be induced to explore the tube even that much — despite the presence of freeze-dried meat snacks the human tossed in for fun.

Fortunately, while the kitties had no use for the big tube, the human found it was just perfect to hold a bunch of wrapping paper and smaller mailing tubes. Cats…

 

(c) Copyright 2018, PeggyMalnati. All rights reserved. Photos my own.