Merry Christmas!

Sati investigates mom's caramel coffee. "Well, it does smell good." Happy Holidays everyone!

Tasha & Peanut

Tasha discovers her new role as a furry bed for foster kitty Peanut. Peanut is kneading in her fur. Peanut has been eating tons more on her own: Clinicare, wet food, and even dry! She's gained a pound since she came in all malnourished (which isn't as much as she should be gaining as a kitten, but she only started eating well at our house). And, she's beginning to get that kitty bouncy energy. YAY!

Anyone have a kitten/ferret/rabbit cage thing they'd like to donate? I'm going to start fostering kittens officially now (as opposed to the ER Foster Home we currently appear to be). The bathroom is a decent short-term solution, but it is messy and not the best way to go. I've heard that a nice cage with a plastic bottom works wonders...especially since I'll be fostering neo-natal kittens and possibly nursing moms. I went to Petsmart, but they want more than $100 for a decent sized one. Could be lots of shoeboxes for a while!

The Blue Man Group

We got the pleasure of seeing The Blue Man Group in NYC on Saturday. The show was awesome! Everyone should see them. It was funny and very engaging with the audience. Speaking of that, I got pulled into the show for a stunt. I had to pull a lever on a box marked "High Voltage". When I did so, all the lights & sound turned off. One Blue Man came by with a flashlight and Misty pointed me out as the culprit. I turned very red. At least I didn't have to go onstage. Not sure how "funny" the show would be if I'd passed out up there!

Peanut

This is Peanut, the kitten. She hasn't had quite as good luck with being a stray as Midas did (yeah, he has a broken leg - but he gets along pretty well). Peanut doesn't have a tail and, although both eyes are intact, her right eye is usually sealed shut with infection of some sort.

She wasn't eating on her own, so Misty brought her home. So far, so good. She isn't as disruptive to the household (i.e. the other pets) as Midas is, so she's been a bit more welcomed. She LOVES to snuggle against anything, especially if it is furry. She is also eating a little bit of wet food on her own and taking KMR in a bottle. Keep your fingers crossed for her!

PS: Midas is going to the vet today. He gets his cast cut off, re-X-rayed, and then the cast goes back on. Depending on what the vet says, Midas may be off to a "real" foster home where he can learn all about sit & stay & not nibbling toes (we can't be a "real" foster home to dogs b/c Misty & I both work full-time, plus I'm in school...so we don't have time to train anyone).

Midas - foster dog extraordinaire

Meet a very tired foster puppy. It is hard work sniffing all the animals at Casa Jenna & Misty Sue. Not to mention hobbling along on a bum leg (of course, it didn't slow him down nearly as much as we'd thought). It's been about 12 years since I last dealt with a puppy - I am SO completely out of practice!

Sati in the snow

"Uh, mom? I'm not so sure about all this white stuff" - Sati

The picture I wasn't able to get: Sati lifting & shaking her paw after every soft little step.

And yes, that is a harness & leash on her (safety first!).

Awwww

Happy Halloween!

Wolf Park

Misty and I went to Wolf Park in Indiana this past weekend. Shown here is Chetan, a 10-year-old wolf (an omega, poor thing), who took a liking to me. Hopefully, we will get a scanner soon and I can post the much nicer photos from real cameras (vs. my little digital). Among the photos to come is Chetan giving me a wolf greeting kiss!

You call these cats??? Visitors to Misty's work (Vet Hospital). To each his own, I suppose.

Silly Kitty

In case you are wondering, yes, that is Sati hanging out in the shower. She really really likes to play in the tub for some odd reason. She jumps in, chases her tail for a bit, and then just chills. Poor Boulder has made the mistake of walking past while she was in there - the tub is also a great fortress for attacks apparently.

"Hump Day"

I like this picture - it makes it look like Sati is lying on a real wolf...instead of just our blanket. :-]

Meet Sati

This is Sati; her name means "mindfullness/alertness" in Buddhism. She is a gorgeous girl - a brown tabby with orange markings. She's somewhere between 9 months and 1 year old, and had been living with a foster family that had several cats and dogs. I had wanted an "itty bitty" kitten, but realized after Temba that that was perhaps not the best plan for our family. Sati was already dog & cat savy, and big enough to take a swat or two (though we aren't letting her near the dogfood & are keeping her in the cat room with Boulder when we aren't at home).

She was a bit scared at first and hid in any blanket she could find. She also tucked herself in right next to me to sleep (and when I shifted my position, she would to so that she was always back to back). She's already coming out of her shell (we brought her home on Labor Day). She's very curious and is exploring the whole house, but she's also very cautious and jumpy at strange noises. She and the dogs have been getting along great - so far, everyone is just in major sniff-mode. Of course, now I really don't want to be at work...I'm missing out on my little girl's adventures!

Kela

Kela was found at 2 days old. Her mother abandoned the entire litter and only little Kela survived the 1st day. Misty brought her home so we could care for her, thinking maybe Temba had sent her to us as a gift. There were many weird coincidences like he/she, black/white, etc. When looking for a name in Nepali (to honor Temba), we noticed the "yemba" meant "opposite" and "kharmu" meant "white". The name that was picked, "Kela" means "upward". Apparently, it was not meant to be. She got one nice day as part of a loving family - Misty was even off yesterday so she got a lot of time with the little one. And then she was gone.

R.I.P. little Temba

My special, beautiful little Temba. He never fit the simple category of "cat". He wagged his tail like a dog, chirped like a bird, and had a child's smile. He died in my arms last night, as comfortable as I could make him. He loved to be held in my arms, upside down like a baby, swaddled in his blanket with his little purple cow in his paws. He could hear my heartbeat and feel my breathing. His own breathing had grown labored, but he calmed down when he held him like this. We both fell asleep around 1am and, at 1:30am, we both awoke to say our goodbyes. He passed away on his own and I hope he's okay now...cause his momma isn't. Good night, sweet sweet Temba. The sky is appropriately dark and sad today.


This came out a bit more grainy than the original video I made - blame youtube.

Two steps forward and one step back...

Temba took a little step back this weekend. He had been walking and was able to squat to use the litter box on Thursday. Friday came and he couldn't stand up at all. He also seemed a little listless and didn't want to eat at all. Misty is taking him to work tomorrow to get him weighed and see how we're doing. We're hoping he's not hungry b/c we were just giving him too much before so he's still full. But it's been a few days like this so I'm concerned to say the least.

Temba was sitting up and trying to stand in his box this morning. He wasn't standing as nice & straight as before, much more wobbly. He also squealed a bit this AM when I was cleaning him after his feeding. As long as he's trying and comfortable (he likes sleeping in the crux of my arm wrapped in a blanket right now), we're gonna keep trying. I keep telling myself that his earlier rapid "recovery" was unusual and maybe now it will be the slow path upward that we'd expected. Slow is fine by me as long as it IS upward.

Temba can walk!

Don't these two just look adorable (note: we are VERY close by to catch Temba should he start to wobble).
Temba can walk! Only a few steps at a time and he keeps his head pretty low & cocked to one side (probably related to the ruptured eardrum), but he can do it! And, I put him in the litter box last night...he squatted & peed!! Think of all those good muscles that have to be working right in order for that to happen. Our little Kitten Physical Therapy must have worked. I'm SO SO HAPPY today!!!
Oh, and he's eating about 1.5 cans of kitten food with 9Tbsp of Clinicare a day too, which is very good. In fact, he's starting to try to lick/nibble at just wet food w/o Clinicare.

Sleepy Temba

Awww...look at my cutie! He's been wagging his tail in his sleep now too. And, when I went to get him up this morning, he was sitting up ALL BY HIMSELF, turning his head this way and that way to figure out what was going on. YAY!

Temba's "Get Well Soon" pictures

This is Temba's night-box. You may be able to see how the paper ream crate that we use to cart him around in fits in this bigger box, with room for pads on the side (in case he rolls). You can also see his box has been decorated; the pictures are from our neighbor's awesome kids. Temba thinks they look quite fetching here!

Also, I got a surprise yesterday - his feeding tube came out early. He did lose a little weight since the last time he was weighed, but I think it is b/c he was filling up on water when we flushed the feeding tube. He seems hungry enough now.

Temba sits up

Yes, he is a bit wobbly, but he is sitting up all by himself here (Misty's hands are there to catch him when he tires out). Go Temba! Go Temba!

Temba Weekend Update

I'll have to wait until Monday to post a new picture (stupid slow dial-up...shouldn't complain; at least I have something now). Temba has been trying to hold his head up & I have a photo of it. Sitting up is still a bit of a challenge, but he can hold his head up for about 30 seconds when I call his name (this is also good b/c it means he can HEAR me calling his name). YAY!

His feeding tube is coming out on Tuesday. We've only been flushing the tube with water anyway, so the vets said we could take it out. Maybe not filling up on that water will increase his appetite - he's not quite eating as much on his own as they'd like, but he is eating a fair amount & has gained 1 whole pound since he was in the ER over a week ago (2.4lbs now!).

My Little Firecracker

Temba is getting more than half his food sans feeding tube now. Great for him, but more work for us (have to mix food + formula, then dribble it into his mouth - takes like 30mins where before you just shove it in the feeding tube in about 2). I love that this is what I can complain about now. :-]

He is definately opening his one eye more and the "bad" eye is starting to creep open a little too. It turns out that it looks white b/c he's been keeping his inner eyelid shut (they have 2 eyelids), so there is a slight chance that that eye will be okay. Oh, and he got really peeved at the vet (who was checking strength & all so he was moving his little paws around) and actually HISSED!! Woohoo - there's my little firecracker!

Temba Hugs

Temba loves his little cow and his new blankie (he now has TWO blankies so there is always a clean one - thanks so much Helen!). Temba is also getting love all over the place; he's got a packed room of people in his corner that he and Misty & I all appreciate.

Happy feeding times...and more!

Temba is opening his eyes more (please note that, while we are excited about him opening his eyes, they really stay open for at most 1 minute a few times a day...still good though!). I'm pretty sure last night he looked at Misty and then searched for me too, finally locking eye-to-eyes. It's hard to tell b/c that eye is very dilated, but it is good that he is showing interest in the environment. Misty thinks the other eye is shot (still white and he doesn't open it much, although there doesn't appear to be any damage to it physically). He's stretching a lot more too. All good stuff!

Temba is starting to want to eat on his own. We mixed some kitty pate-style wet food with formula and put some up to his mouth with our finger. The first few times, we had to place it inside his mouth for him, but then he started licking away. He puts his tongue out, reaching for more. He's good for about 1/8 of a teaspoon on his own right now. We tried a bottle at the last two feedings, but he can't suck (likes it fine when we drip it in there though). And, he latched onto my finger when I was feeding him - didn't bite down or suck, but definately put some pressure on there. Seems his swallow reflex is working pretty well now. YAY!!

Temba's New Blankie

A wonderful woman & new friend, Helen, made this soft yellow blankie for Temba so he could stay warm and cozy. It also allows us to swaddle him & keep him on our chests (I think he likes feeling our chests move up & down).

He has stopped convulsing, which means we can pick him up and move his feet a little more (another tip from Helen to stave off muscle atrophy). He opens his good eye about 1-2 times a day and shows purpose in moving his feet - resisting our attempts to move them and stretching them on his own. He did throw up twice Saturday night, but it was only the Clinicare formula. We think maybe it had gotten too old (doesn't last all that long once open), so we got him a new bottle and he seems fine. He has an upper respiratory infection (of course, right?), but he is already on antibiotics so he should be okay.

We allowed Tasha close enough to sniff him & she licked him all over, looking at us as if to ask what had happened. We're still keeping Shelby at bay, even though I'm sure it was just a reflex to something little man did. Boulder is also sniffing at him & looking concerned. I spent most of the weekend on the couch with Temba in my arms. Day by day.
==============================================
NON-TEMBA NEWS:
While sitting on the couch with Temba on Sunday, I noticed something tiny fall from the ceiling. Huh, must have been a bit of fuzzy paint (we have that weird ceiling finish that looks like someone did a very messy job of icing a cake). Then, another piece. Now, I'm waiting for me. Drip, drip, drip. Yep, the ceiling is leaking...only there is no waterbed, sink, or tub above our living room. We call maintenance who is kind enough to come over to solve the problem - the A/C. He fixes it within a few minutes and we're told that the ceiling will dry up & be fine (even though it moves when you push it now).

An amusing anecdote from all that is that our maintenance man brought his kids with him (hey, he still came on a weekend so I'll give him that). Nice enough kids, but very wired - both having different conversations with us at the same time. At one point, the little girl (maybe 11?) asks if Misty is my sister. I say "nope" and leave it at that. But, she persists, "who is she then?" My philosophy on the gay thing is to not bring it up necessarily, but also not to ever lie to hide it. So, I told her that Misty was my wife. Her eyes got a little bigger and she said, "that's weird isn't it? to be 2 girls and married?" I told her, "well, it's a little different, but it does happen." She got a very pensive look, said "yeah, that's true" and then went back to chasing Tasha around.

More Temba news

Sorry, no new pics for today (he's still mostly just lying there so they wouldn't be much different than from the last post anyway).

I got a call from Misty yesterday saying that he had opened one of his eyes a little - very dilated, but he does have the ability to open it. I felt bolstered by that...until I got home. Shortly after I arrived, he had these convulsions which were very scary. Misty said that they aren't seizures, but rather him trying to "right the world" b/c his senses of gravity and space are all out of whack.

Our vets (the ones Misty works with) took a look at him as well. They agreed that he does not appear to be in pain, although I'm not sure how you decide that in animals - he's not crying but he is sleeping most of the time...or at least, he is lying there with his eyes shut a lot. They also got to see the hurt side of his head, which has been the side he likes to lie on. The eye on that side is all white (he opened it during one of those "fits"), though they are hopeful that it will return to normal given time. His eardrum on that side appears ruptured, which explains why there was so much blood without puncture wounds (he'd also had blood come out of his nose). So, maybe my kitty will be half-deaf and half-blind. Oh well, we'll still love him.

Our happy moment (luckily we are getting one of these each day too): after one of his fits last night, I had cupped him in both hands so that he wouldn't keep flipping back and forth. He calmed down and, after a little while, even started PURRING!!! That's my boy!

The really promising moment...

You can see how he looked when he came home in the photo on the left - pretty much lying on his side with his head flopped backward.

This morning, after his 2:30am feeding, Temba apparently repositioned/moved himself (we didn't see him actually move, just woke up to him lying in the position in the pic above right) to where he was lying on top of the hot water bottle. This seems pretty big to us b/c that is definately not just a neurological twitch or an involuntary reaction - this was purposeful!

Temba is home

Temba came home last night. His eyes are still shut & he is pretty non-responsive, but not as vegetative as before. He actually wagged his tail more last night than when I saw him at the vet ER (I think he's glad to be home!). Since he can't move, we set him up with this big pillow-bed box so he's comfy (puppy pads are proving useful again since he can't control his bladder and all that).

He does have a feeding tube, which actually makes feeding him easier than when he was a few days old. We use syringes to attach to the feeding tube (3cc water, then 10cc Clinicare, then 5cc water) and he gets fed every 4 hours (when we 1st got him, it was every 2-3hrs so this is actually a luxury!).

We're obviously keeping the dogs well away from him, although we did let Boulder stay in the room...until he tried to jump into the box with Temba! Just wanted to snuggle, I suppose. Shelby has been acting a bit depressed lately & has chewed a hot spot onto one of her legs. We know she didn't mean it, but I think she still feels like crap.

Temba's progress (or lack of it)

I got to see my little guy last night. It was very hard. He's pretty non-responsive, lying on his side with his head tilted back & eyes shut. The nurse said he prefers to stay that way. If you move him a little, he squirms just a tiny bit & gives a sad wimper. I blew air on his ear & it twitched, but his paws are curled and don't respond much to touch. The vets said he unfortunately hasn't made any new progress since making it through that first night (which was a big deal). They are sending him home with us today with a feeding tube b/c his gag/swallow reflex isn't great & there is nothing more they can do for him that we can't.

The only glimmer of hope is that he started wagging his tail when I was talking to him. The nurse said it could just be neurological, but cats don't wag their tail like Temba does - he grew up hanging around our other dog Tasha & picked up her dog-style tail wag (so it goes back&forth a lot, not the little slow twitch most cats do).The vets said he could improve in 2 days, 2 weeks, 2 months, or never. I guess we're hoping for a miracle.

As long as he's not in pain, I'm not giving up. I think he is in there & just needs a little more time. He's already proven what a fighter he is - nobody thought he would make it when we took him in at a couple days old, but look at how he thrived. Fingers crossed and prayers being said!

Trying to stay calm

I have Temba's favorite toy (right) with me at work. Just trying to stay connected to him, I guess. I got him this little purple cow the day Misty brought him home. At first, it was bigger than he was &, as hoped, he slept on it like a littermate. When he got older, he started carrying it around with him like a security blanket. He will still attack it & play with it, and then carry it to his "den" under our bed.

Needing prayers & vibes for Temba

Last night, around 5pm, Misty was feeding the dogs. Temba had been hiding & wanted to play, so he jumped out at Shelby while she was eating. For the 1st time in her life, she decided to be food aggressive (or, rather to be aggressive period) and she bit him. ON the head. Misty got him to the vet ER as fast as she could & I met her there. They haven't let me see him yet, but claim he is doing better. They hadn't expected him to make it through the night. He has a concussion, lacerations, a possible broken jaw. He was convulsing immediately after it happened & then stopped breathing - Misty had to give mouth-to-mouth. It is still wait-and-see, mainly in regards to possible brain damage since he is so little. But he is a fighter & he's been showing some good improvement in most all areas, except his balance (he can't sit up without falling over backward). He definately needs some prayers & good wishes sent his way.

Please, no lectures. We have been as careful as we thought we needed to be to protect him. We lock him in a room seperate from the dogs (although, now that he is bigger, we've been letting the adult cat w/no front claws, Boulder, stay with him). When he is allowed out with the dogs, we keep a close eye & yell at either him or the dogs to be careful. Neither dog has shown any aggression with Tasha acting almost motherly & Shelby having never even so much as chased a squirrel or rabbitt. It was a freak accident & I just really hope it isn't a fatal one. I don't know if I could handle that. He's my baby.

The vets said I may get to visit (i.e. see him through glass, maybe pet him twice) tonight if they aren't too busy. He needs to know I'm there. I've been with him since before he could open his eyes and he definately responds to me differently than anyone else - he comes when I call, greets me at the front door, allows me to nuzzle him close to my face w/o biting/clawing it like he does with others, etc. I'm mom & a baby needs to know mom is rooting for him.

Please keep us in your thoughts today.

One wall of the Pet Room (yes, we got an extra bedroom for the pets). We built the cat playground on the left by ourselves. It has a tunnel (red), a hanging aluminum foil roll that Temba likes to bat around, and 2 shelves (brown, luxurious faux fur). It is hard to see from this angle, but the top shelf is a half-circle. The bow has 2 bells on it, which Boulder likes to ring to announce he has used the litterbox (apparently, we are the maids).

We still have to add sissal rope around the posts and plan to criss-cross more wood across the 2 posts for the high shelf to make it more stable, but not too bad, eh?

Then, of course, is a normal cat condo and finally, all the way to the right, is Tasha's window setup (bed + pillow).

No need of a caption here: Temba and Boulder 

Hi Blue Eyes! 

Temba is so in love with Tasha - here he is hugging her tail in his sleep 

Happy Friday!

I love this song and it keeps going through my head today...

"Hey man, you don't know what you're missing
You count your curses and forget about your blessings
Don't you think you should learn a little lesson
What are you waiting for?

Hey man, what makes you so special?
Can't seem to find the angels for the devils
Don't you think that if you learned to love a little
You'd live a whole lot more?

Let it Go
Let it Go
This is smaller than you know
No bigger than a pebble lying on a gravel road
Let it Go
Let it Go
Got to leave it all behind you
Give the sun a chance to find you
Let it Go"

-"Let it Go" by Great Big Sea (see my links)

There is another verse to the song, but these are the lines that stick with me. Enjoy the weekend everyone!

Look how much nicer Temba eats now! 

Look at that cute mug - who can resist? Don't know if you can tell in this photo, but Temba is getting a little bit of white fur under his chin. 

We have a bed! A real bed! No more air mattress on the floor...thank you IKEA!!!! 

Adoptathon Success!

Misty and I have been volunteering at the Harford County Humane Society and there was an adoptathon at the local mall this weekend. Misty got paired with a dog to try to get him adopted (walk him around the store, etc.) and I got paired with the cats/kittens (since I'm not allergic). We had some great success - 4 dogs (1 of them the one Misty was showing off), 2 adult cats, and 4 kittens were adopted. Yay for happy homes!!

Temba = Trouble

I have a fun job for this afternoon. Misty and I need a new bed. Actually, we could use A bed, but it will no doubt be another air mattress from Dick's Sporting Goods (which features double-chamber ones for $30 so you are at least at a normal bed height). Sucks to be poor sometimes. 'Course it could be that we spoil the pets too much - I know at least 1 of the dog beds (and there's at least 1 in each room) cost more than our bed. But how can we refuse? They're just so darn cute! ;-]

So, why do we need a new bed (aka air mattress), you ask? Well, Temba has learned to CLIMB and he likes to show off this new skill everywhere. He is also incredibly fast for such a little thing...and he has those little kitty claws. We noticed last night that we were slowly sinking to the ground (bums were touching by this AM). Somehow, he must have snuck in and laid waste to the bed. Claws will be re-trimmed tonight.

I call this Temba's Halloween Pose (look at that arch!) 

This is the most fun yet! 

Sleepy Pals 

TEMBA'S NEW PAD - Temba out-grew the carrier + case of paper thing I'd made for him, so this is his replacement. The box is fairly large and we taped the flaps up so he won't be able to jump out. You can see that the carrier is still attached on the right; we close it so he can't get out at night, but leave it open during the day (he likes to get in when he naps...it's his comfort place with his toy and bed that we've had him laying on since he came). To the far left, you can see a small litter area since he can't yet make it through the night without an accident. He has a few toys to play with and food/water. So far, he seems to like the added room.