Hyperventilation

I'm sitting on my bed watching TV and eating breakfast the other day when I hear the familiar sound of INKY hyperventilating on the window sill. Not again! I can't get any peace and quiet in this house. I know what's up and I know I have to act fast! I look out the window expecting to see a raccoon in the yard...but this time it's an actual CAT! I haven't seen another cat in the yard for a very long time. So, I run outside in my jammies with my water bottle squirting and yelling to scare the cat out of the yard before INKY goes into total MADmode and starts spraying and otherwise completely freaking out.
I managed to calm INKY down right away (luckily he didn't have time to get too agitated) and immediately put on my "To Do" list: buy scarecrow.
Sorry I have no picture today. I though you might be sick of seeing my Stinky Inky.

Attax!

Yes, Inky is having a nap attack here, but just the night before he made a terrifying attack on poor little Scooter! The screaming (from all 3 of us) went on for what seemed like an awful long time. Long enough for me to get a couple breath breaks in even! By the time I got out of bed to investigate, all that was left was piles of Scooter fur blowing in the AC breeze (I now wish I had pix of that instead of yet another cute photo of INKY!!). Inky had a couple of tufts of fur in his claws. There were no traces of blood and when I finally found Scooter, several minutes later-chilling on her little structure as if nothing had happened, she didn't appear to have any scratches or bleeding - just some loose pieces of fur falling off her backside.
Just last week I was thinking to myself, "wow, Inky really has calmed down lately! Must be all the wrangling I do plus the Bach Flower Essences added to his water. We even ran out of Bach's but Inky seems fine!" Then...one morning my husband was working from home. We were both in bed - him with laptop me with digital cable and CC decided to come sleep on the bed with us. I think JP and Spike may have been there too. It was one big happy family for a while...
Until INKY decided to snoop around. Normally I would block him so he cannot jump up on the bed with CC there...but for some reason, I let him jump up and...of course...CC hissed and tried to run. I tried to grab her and hold her so she wouldn't run. I was thinking that her running would incite INKY's prey drive and surely make him chase her and that would be BAD! Well, I couldn't get a good grip on the wiggly girl and I ended up inadvertantly holding her down so INKY could attack her. Nice mother I am. There was a scream or two (one from CC, one from me probably) and she ran accross my husband to get the hell out of there! And, I got scratched by INKY.
So, basically, what is happening now is that INKY is having more and more traumatic experiences with the girls again which confirms his opinion that they are no good. Granted, he is causing these interactions....
Just today I heard another scream and found CC hiding under a chair with a piece of fur sticking out of her backside where INKY had, evidently, grabbed her. The violent episodes tend to breed more contention and more violence and fear.
I did buy them more Bach's (Willow and Cherry Plum) and am trying to remember to spray felliway more often. We have 2 felliway plug ins right now too. I'm going to have to be more vigilant with the wrangling for a while to rebuild more positive interactions so they associate good feelings with eachother. And yes, I do a pretty good job of keeping everyones nails trimmed on a regular basis.
I saw Dr. Yao today and he asked how all the kitties are doing. I told him INKY is still kinda crazy. He said we probably wont be able to change that really, even with medication. I reminded him that the meds didn't really work.
I hope and pray the attacks stop!!!

Don't Cross This Line!

CC (left) and INKY separated by FFA flyer. JP watches on in backround.

I haven't posted in a while...mostly because my computer is too slow to get the pictures on here quick enough for me. There has been trouble: like, CC sleeping near one of the litter boxes at night (to guard it? She uses several different litter boxes - they all do! I don't know what this is about), INKY still obsessing over CC, JP and Spike scooting (grrrr!). Well, lately CC has been venturing into the bed. This started when my husband and I were at home for over a week on quarantine because his company sent him to Mexico City during the Swine Flu outbreak. We are all healthy thank you very much! So, Spike (husband) was spending a lot of time lying on the bed with his laptop working from home and CC decided it was safe to stay there with him. Now she wants to hang out on the bed more often, but it really isn't safe for her as JP is the bed monitor and doesn't really like her there and INKY sees it as another chance to try to kill her. Today, I was on the bed doing some work and CC decided to hang out. All was amazingly well at first. JP let her on board and INKY was sleeping, without a care, on the floor nearby. All were aware of eachothers presence but seemed contented. I knew it was too good to be true. When I got up to do the laundry, INKY started to move in. He jumped up on the bed near CC and made a couple of irritated meows. Immediately I took the new yellow flyer from the Florida Flute Association and fashioned this devider. It worked a little bit for a little while. Inky tried scratching past it a couple of times, but overall he only made a couple of slightly irritated meows and let me pet him. I was thinking the more positive experiences the 2 of them have near eachother the better! When I noticed he was getting a little more agitated, I picked up CC and brought her into the other room. Then INKY took over her spot on the bed and I gave him a treat. I hope the lesson learned was not: be obnoxious near CC and she gets removed and I get a treat. Oh no! I hope I didn't do the wrong thing! I hope the message was, stay in control of myself near CC and I get a treat. Anyhow...I am finally liberated of cat wrangling duties for right now: CC is going up to her spiral staircase safety sleeping spot for the afternoon. YAY!
Next adventure: Spike goes down to Kendall for a checkup and tooth cleaning! I need to call the doctor to double check on the fasting situation. Also, he may have a bum issue! Stay tuned...

Today Spike went back to the Kendall Animal clinic for a follow up. He saw Dr. Colker last time. She is our awesome new cat specializing vet. You may be able to see in this photo that Spike had a scraping done on the left side of his face (HIS right side) by his whiskers. It is healing up nicely though. We went back today and saw Dr. Rogoff because he is a dermatology specialist. He, like Dr. Colker, said spike is the best patient! Spike was very sweet and didn't complain or try to escape or anything like that. Both of these vets were shocked that Spike is 14 years old! His heart is beating strong, eyes clear and paws clean and healthy etc. Dr. Rogoff even insisted on checking out Spikes tummy before declaring him healthy. He only weighs 12 lbs now (used to weigh more like 15) which is better for his heart. He eats voraciously and loves to play. I love this kitty witty! I will bring him back in a month to check on the whisker situation and get his teeth cleaned for the first time. I'll probably cry over that one later. I'll have to leave him there all day. I guess I'll spend all day shopping at nearby Kohls while they clean the teeth.
Well, I'm off to nap now before church tonight (Good Friday). Thanks to INKY and my husband, I have not been sleeping much at night.

On the Road Again

JP and I ventured down to Kendall again today to see Dr. Colker. They were every bit as nice today as they were on Tuesday. It wasn't a fluke! JP didn't cry too much in the car this time (though he was hiding behind the bed when he heard the carrier in the other room initially). They promptly escorted us in to what I now realized is a more dog-a-ly-decorated exam room and took a tiny bit of blood from his back leg. He was being such a good boy! His glucose level had dropped from 209 to 107!! Yay! So, Dr. Colker decided not to give him an insulin shot today. I will keep an eye on him over the weekend to see if he is still peeing out of the box and/or drinking a lot of water, etc. Then I will bring him back Tuesday for another blood test. JP was quiet on the way home and settled in pretty quickly. He did not pee on himself, even though I did a classic Cathi move and spaced out on the Turnpike, missing my exit causing me to drive all the way up to Broward County before turning and fighting a bunch of traffic home on Red Road and on 441. There was no problem assimilating back into the clowder. I did a little allogrooming then took a nap with INKY. Dr. Colker doesn't want to call JP's diagnosis DIABETES because really he is not a sick cat. He has healthy skin, eyes, ears, BLADDER!(I won't get into that now) etc. I'm gonna leave it brief today so I can go research WALKING PNEUMONIA...just cuz my lungs are hurting lately.

Dr. Colker Rocks!

JP finally made it to Dr. Colkers today all the way down in Kendall (UGGGGHHHHH!). I got him in the carrier no problem but he did cry most of the way down there (40 min drive or so). I tried to keep my hand in the carrier with him to pet him and calm him down. Thank God he did not pee in there (he has been known to do this in the past. INKY, by the way, got so upset he SPRAYED in my Jeep a couple years ago). When we arrived at Kendall Animal Clinic, Dr. Colker herself greeted us in the waiting room. Helen (working the desk) was very kind and welcoming also. I talked briefly with Dr. Colker, filled out paperwork and only waited a few minutes before being escorted in to an exam room that was fairly comforting considering what they were gonna do in there!! There were lots of pictures and diagrams and chachkies of dogs and cats. Well, Dr. Colker was accompanied by 2 technicians (one of which had been a doctor in Cuba - we've heard this scenario a million times in Miami!). These 2 men were very gentle with my precious kitty and quite efficient too. JP weighs 15 lbs. now but Dr. Colker kept saying, "I can't believe that! It's all muscle". I'm glad she was gentle with my boys self-esteem 'cuz he ain't a little thing. Actually, none of my cats (OK, maybe 1) are fat...they are just really big and heavy. A touch overweight perhaps. Dr. Colker even mentioned this. JP is only slightly more overweight than I am. And I'm pretty much, undermuscle, if you must know.
So.....shall I summarize or keep rambling? I never know.
Dr. Colker spent about an hour and a half with us!! Whaaaaat? She explained EVERYTHING and asked a lot of questions - even about the other 4 cats at home. She did some blood tests (right THERE) and finally got some urine out of JP. We talked about behavior and I suggested she read Pam Johnson-Bennett's books. She was very thorough and personable and patient.
What's the diagnosis? Well, it's not great. JP has a very high glucose count, a urinary tract infection and some noisy breathing. This, combined with his frequent crying and occasional puking could all be related. He had to get a couple shots and some subcutaneous fluids. Also, he got some take home pills which should be no problem with HIM (INKY on the other hand...). I will say, it was the most expensive vet bill I've ever had, but the best vet experience too. The vet tech (I think his name was Jordan) stayed with us the whole time - even when Dr. Colker and the Cuban doctor were running the lab tests. Poor guy got covered in JP fur!
The bottom line is, I love love love this new vet. I'm not happy that she is so far away (and I have to bring JP once a week for the glucose issue) and it wasn't cheap...but, overall I would, so far, highly recommend her. She treats dogs too, but cats are her specialty.
Of course, on the way home, JP managed to pee on himself, so, when we arrived home I ran straight to the bathroom to give him a quick partial bath in the tub with his aromatherapy pet shampoo. He HATED that! He howled like I never heard him howl. In his defense, I didn't do the bath properly. It was kind of on the fly and I let the water run at one point when he was in the tub which I'm sure was terrifying. I tossed all my vet-smelling clothing in the washer and tried some allogrooming with JP, INKY and Spike and gave Spike and INKY treats (JP wont eat them). All in all, it's working out. JP is now resting on the classy Tupperware furniture (mentioned in earlier posts) and Scooter is sleeping on the other office chair nearby. CC is on the top of the spiral staircase (see my facebook page today), INKY is sleeping on his pee-peed zero-gravity chair near us too and the Spikey is sleeping somewhere!
P.S. There seems to be trouble with the link for www.kendallanimalclinic.com I'm sorry if you tried to click it and it didn't work for you either.

Nippy Party!

I am LIVID this AM (Livid Kittens, anyone?). I had an appointment for Spike and JP with a new vet in Kendall (30-45 min drive!!!). I chose her because she is a cat specialist and I had a great chat with her on the phone last summer about feline behavior. I've been having a bad feeling about the appointment all week because, having lived in South Florida for almost 20 years, I know how things work around here. I just knew I'd get the old switch-a-roo! It has happened at my current vet (who is nearby and a very nice person) and at the hairdresser and at the doctors office! You make an appointment with one person and after driving all the way there, they pawn you off on someone else (in my experience, it has usually been someone less qualified). So...as you may know, getting 2 indoor-only kitties into crates on a Saturday AM is a delicate procedure. I got Spike in with minimal difficulty, but, JP figured it out and dissappeared. Really dissappeared! He probably used to work with Sigfried and Roy before I got him. There's poor little Spikey trapped in a cage meowing with Scooter, INKY and CC running about like the people in Cloverfield and JP is NOWHERE to be found. I even checked outside in case he sneaked out the door (which he has never done in his life). So, after my husband and I searched the estate (we sound rich now, dont we?) from east to west...we could not find this cat. It was getting really late and the vet is very far away, so, I said, "forget it, lets just bring Spike! We'll never make it in time". Leadfoot dissagreed. I went to the car, put Spike(cat) in the back seat and shut the door with me in the back seat. I waited for a while and Spike (husband) wasn't coming out, so I called him (thank God for cell phones) to tell him we were leaving. He said he was coming right out. OK...this story is getting LONG. Spike (husband) would tell me it is already too long!! But wait! There's more!! He (spikehusband) came out the front door and seemed to be motioning for me to come inside. I figured he found JP. Unfortunately that is when I discovered I was locked in the car. I recently bought this car from an Ex-Marine who had a small child, and evidently had the childproof lock feature activated on the back doors. I tried to motion to spike that I couldn't get out of the car. You see where this is going. He, more adamantly, motioned for me to come in and I, more adamntly, tried to motion that I was trapped inside. This wasn't working so I called him on his cell phone (again, tgfcp). He just walked up to the car. I was soooooooo angry now that I slammed my palm against the window to prove (in my mind) that I was trapped! He stood outside the door looking at me like I was totally loony. I started screaming and swearing about how I was trapped in the car but I think the only person that could hear me was Spike (cat) who was now COMPLETELY traumatized in the crate in the hot car (Miami) with a loud crazywoman! Finally spikehusband opened the car door and was like, "What? You're trapped in the car? Huh? well, I found JP". It's OK that I'm a musician and I have now hurt my hand. Don't worry about that. So, I run in the house and get JP. (Sparing you details of the hunt here). Now, finally the not-so-happy family is in the car on the way to the vet. I decide to call the vet to let them know we will be late and hope to God they dont make me reschedule (like my hairdresser once did). This is when the vet-worker-woman informs me that Doctor Colker is not in today and I will be seeing some other vet. Ye olde switch-a-roo!! I KNEW IT! (insert cuss words). I did, in fact, cuss and tell Spike (you can figure out which one now) to turn the car around. Now I'm rescheduled for Tues. In case you don't understand how traumatic this is...I'll just tell you that both cats had been howling in the car the whole time. Now I'm wondering if I even want to get involved with these people! Upon arrival home, I tried to do some allogrooming (I'm not explaining that now) and treats. I finally settled on a NIPPY PARTY! Cat nip for everyone! To calm them down.
Epilogue: I tried to get on the computer to vent (blog) and the computer was busted. Then, after fixing it...I hear a strange, but familiar sound...INKY sprayed the zero-gravity chair AGAIN!!!
By the way...in case you didn't know...I had a cat named Spike for years before I met my husband who's name also happens to be Spike. Total coincidence. I did not name a cat after my husband, thank you very much.