Here Kitty Kitty

Tomorrow would be 17 years that Alix was with us. I miss her a lot, but I am surrounded by my other loving feline friends. I haven't talked about them or shown any photos in a while. Elliot has been a bit under the weather. He has a skin condition that causes him to develop a rash. A quick Cortizone shot at the Vet usually clears it up in about 48 hours. Last night was the first night in over a week that he didn't spend hours howling and scratching at the windows to get back outside. It seems that laying in the cool grass eased the itching a bit. He went so far as to "remove" the window screen from the living-room window on Tuesday in order to get outside. Luckily it was during the day and we fixed it right away. Lucky also that the weather has been rather cool for July and I can close the glass windows down over the screens in the living-room at night. The itching made him so restless and frantic that he has lost weight. I feed him his usual dry cat food and also some from the cans, which he has previously refused to eat until this week. He gets his daily allowance of cheese too. He loves bits of American cheese so much that we call him "Lactose Cat".

The kittens, Roy and Carmella, are really growing into full-size cats so quickly. They are still so funny to watch as the wrestle and play all day. Carmella was a bit "above the weather" last week when it was very hot. I searched for her for quite a while before I found her napping spot.

Coal and Sammy are still the best of friends. It is hard to believe that Sammy is 13 years. He is still so playful and energetic. It saddens me to think he has FIV (Feline version of HIV) but he shows no outward signs and the Vet says he could go on to a very long and normal lifespan.

Our "barn cat" Mocha comes out at sunset every night to be with us. She is still very afraid of Coal and Elliot and is relieved when I put them in for the night at 9pm. Sammy stays outside with her most nights.

The neighbor's cat, Twinsy, spends 90% of his time at our house which is fine with me. I had a black and white cat growing up at my mom and dads. I miss my old Sybil and Twinsy is now the resident black and white cat to fill that void.

And I certainly can't forget my loyal friend and exercise companion, Bud. Here's his version of "Where's Waldo" in the poison ivy vines!

As we relax over this long weekend and enjoy the Fourth of July fireworks, remember our pet friends and the fact they they often do not enjoy the fireworks as much as we do. Please be kind and keep them indoors or far away from the noise and sparks.