HouseOfPurrfection

Cats love cardboard boxes, so we try and have a couple for them to play in all the time. Thankfully we’re able to provide the boxes quite often because Mom works in a warehouse, and she’s got access to boxes whenever she wants. A few times a week she’ll bring home products we need and pack them in the boxes.

Usually there’ll only be two or three boxes in the living room, but as you can see by the pictures, the boxes are piling up. This is because the cats have been incredibly good about not marking on them. Yep, Bruce will usually start things off by marking on one of the boxes, and if we don’t catch it in time, the other boys will follow suit, thinking it’s perfectly fine to do what Bruce does.

Perhaps since the weather’s been relatively nice the past few days and Bruce has been able to go outside in the enclosure, he hasn’t been so ready to spray on the easy targets. Therefore, we haven’t had to throw out the boxes just yet.

Omar was kind enough to show how to best use the boxes; claiming one for a hiding spot is perfect in a multi-cat household.

Our vet clinic called with the results of Tiny Pea’s urinalysis results; she doesn’t have a urinary tract infection. I’m both happy and surprised. Therefore, she could have a couple other medical conditions that account for the blood in her urine: kidney stones or a condition known as Interstitial Cystitis where the lining of the bladder becomes inflamed and can turn ulcerous.

Our vet suggested that I get x-rays for Pea to look for kidney stones and run another urinalysis to specifically test for Interstitial Cystitis. So, I’m currently saving up for these two tests. For the time being Pea is doing very well. She’s taking the same medication as Juga, Dasuquin, and there isn’t as much blood in her urine as before.

As I understand it, cats with Interstitial Cystitis have periodic flare ups. I haven’t seen blood in Juga’s urine for quite some time, thankfully. So, hopefully, Tiny Pea will find relief with this medication. Since Pea is doing so well, I don’t feel there is a rush to get the two tests. I say that with my fingers crossed, of course, because Juga has been healthy for several years.

Juga is also on a special dry food that’s specifically formulated for bladder health. Tiny Pea would also benefit from this food, so I’ll be offering it to her as well. This would be another way to help keep her well.

We finally got some sunshine! It was wonderful. With nearly two weeks of rain and consistently cloudy days behind us, Mom and I are breathing a bit easier. This past weekend we got a much needed break from the dismal attitudes of the cats and enjoyed some beautiful sunshine. Therefore, the lighting in the house was perfect, and I got down to photographing my pretty cats once again. The HOP had been full of frustrated tension during the recent storms, and the cats were easily aggravated, constantly picking on each other, and bored to the point of getting into trouble because they just wanted something to do. We were all, human and feline alike, going stir crazy.

But, there’s nothing like a little sunshine to put us all into a great mood. Even though it’s still chilly during the day, the sun makes the days lovely. However, we’re scheduled to get more storms this week, so I hope the cats soak up all the sunshine they can before we’re all once again stuck inside the HOP. So, soak up the beauty of my beauties because I don’t know when I’ll get a chance to take more pictures of the cats.

1.    The influence of a cat is as quiet and imperceptible on the human heart as the falling of snowflakes on the meadows.

2.    Judicious flattery is almost one of the necessities of existence with cats.

3.    To withhold praise where it is due is dishonest, and in the case of a cat, dangerous.

4.    There is something in loving the independent cat, in tender care for them, which bestows upon the soul the most enriching of its experience.

5.    I owe my cats much gratitude for the dark hours their presence has brightened.

With the endless rain and conveyor belt of storms we’ve been getting, I haven’t been able to get really good pictures of the cats. The lighting is awfully dim in the house, and the cats don’t want to go outside in the enclosure, except for Bruce of course. Since they mostly nap when the weather’s dismal, I haven’t had many opportunities to take pictures. And, let’s face it, flash lighting isn’t even flattering for felines.

Yes, this paparazzi of cats is just itching for opportunity.

Mars is the biggest male cat in the HOP, so getting comfortable in any of the cat trees has been difficult for him. Of course, being a cat, he can roll his body into a surprisingly small space, but he loves to stretch out when he sleeps. The latest carpeted cat tree we’ve brought in the house has the largest space on top, and it has proven to be the most coveted spot in which to nap.

It doesn’t take much for Mars to get this spot, even if another cat is occupying it at the time. All he has to do is give them a look by tilting his head sideways and arching his back slightly and they flee, giving up the spot without any rebuttal.

However, Mars also has a leg or two dangling from this spacious bed since his legs are extraordinarily long.

Tiny Pea is doing very well. Our vet called and gave me the stellar results of the blood panel; her kidney and liver functions are perfect. The test results showed no abnormalities, so there’s only the urinary tract infection to worry about now. Tuesday the vet clinic should have the results of the cultures taken from the urine sample and know which icky bugs she’s got.

It’s a great relief knowing that Pea’s not suffering from anything other than a UTI and with a bit of medicine well be fine. Now, for your viewing pleasure, here are a couple of pictures of the tiniest cat in the HOP. Unfortunately they’re not up to my usual standard. We’ve gotten nothing but rain for nearly two weeks. So, the cats do nothing but snuggle in the dim light coming in from outside. And, the poor cats are dreading that flash.

For the past week and a half one of the cats has been marking outside of the litter boxes. This could be a sign of ill health, so I was on high alert to find out which cat was eliminating outside of them. The cat had urinated in a couple of places: various rugs and on the kitchen counter next to the sink. The first time I noticed it, the urine didn’t look right; it was a dark orange-ish color, which indicated that there was blood in the urine and that the cat was suffering from a urinary tract infection. I then fervently tried to catch the mystery cat in the act, but to no avail. Besides Bruce, the cats try to hide naughty behavior.

Several usual suspects came to mind: Tiny Pea, Pishogue, Toby, and Bruce. There are so many cats to choose from. Oh, yes, sad but true in a multi-cat household. And, my first choice was first on my list. I took a gamble, because narrowing down a sick cat out of many through the process of elimination could prove to be quite a costly venture, and decided to take Tiny Pea to the vet clinic first.

To help me decide definitively which cat to take in I called our vet clinic Wednesday morning and asked if there were any other symptoms to watch for besides bloody urine in the case of a UTI. There weren’t. Tiny Pea hadn’t been showing sighs of feeling unwell, so I had nothing to go on but a little bit of character profiling and a prayer.

An hour or so after I dropped her off at the clinic, I got a call that made both me and my bank account sigh with relief; it was Pea. She had a lot of blood in her urine. I felt so bad for her but was relieved that I had guessed correctly. Our vet found lots of nasty bacteria floating around in the sample they got from her and suggested sending out a culture to identify exactly which bug we needed to fight.

She was also given an exam, and I was told that she had lost almost a pound since her last exam, which was several years ago. She now weighs 7.5 lbs. She is tiny. Even before the weight loss, she was still the smallest cat in the HOP. Despite that, she’s a cat the rest of the cats don’t want to antagonize. She comes from a proud line of grumpy kitties. Reina, her mother, was known for her butt-kicking attitude.

Tiny Pea also drinks a lot of water. It isn’t an excessive amount, but enough that’s made me take notice. Therefore, I decided to have a blood panel done to see if there’s something more accounting for the weight loss and indulgent drinking. Fingers crossed against anything else besides a UTI. Within a day or two, tests should reveal exactly which bug she’s got and then the proper medicine can be prescribed. For now, I’m starting her on Dasuquin once a day. Juga also takes this medicine since she’s prone to UTI’s as well.

I’m so relieved that the healing can begin. Not knowing which cat was suffering was making me feel ill. One of my cats needed medical attention, and I wanted nothing more than to help it. I just can’t rest unless all my cats are healthy.

Mystery solved.

The cats are certainly thankful for the cat beds they received this past Christmas since they haven’t had any desire to spend time out in the enclosure, except for Bruce. It’s been the perfect way of riding out the torrential, battering storms crashing through California at the moment. They’ve made nap time more comfortable and desirable, creating individual sleeping areas that the cats can snuggle into for hours, or in the case of these storms, perhaps for weeks.

Not only have the cat beds made the cats comfortable, but in this multi-cat household they’ve granted each cat personal space in which they can habitually sleep. Cats love routine, and sleeping in the same place fits into this lifestyle very nicely.

California is currently under a torrential deluge, and where I live in Northern California, that’s putting it mildly. But, despite the unfriendly outdoor conditions, Bruce still insists on being outside in the enclosure. He doesn’t necessarily do anything while he’s out there. He simply loves to sit and be by himself. And, besides the bathroom, that’s the only place a cat in the HOP can be all alone.

When it’s cold outside, Bruce won’t go very far from the kitchen window. It looks as if he wants back inside since he sits there staring into the house, but when we open the window, he doesn’t move. Therefore, we have to check on him several times, opening the window to see if he wants back inside. Of course, we’ve forgotten to check on him, so once we remember and open the window, he’s more than ready.

At the beginning of winter, we decided to shorten the enclosure and cover more of the front of it with a tarp we put over the top. We also put on a new tarp last year, and both are paying off tremendously. The winds can blow and blow, but they won’t be able to blow that house down!