Gigi reads the blog

Svetlana 1988-2007

Our dear sweet Svetlana had left us. At 18 years of age and having known her for half of those years I can honestly say she had a good life. It was sudden and I'm glad she wasn't in pain for long. We took her to the vet yesterday and we knew it was her time. She was ready to let go and went very quickly. db and I were both with her until the end. We miss her and will celebrate her life.
When I first started the blog I wrote a little profile of our cats here's the link for Svetlana's profile

back from the vet

Our little Prima is recovering fine. She had two extractions (although the vet said that the teeth were falling out). She was quite wired last night, and had trouble eating, but she's herself. She's quite tired today after that ordeal. I've given her wet food but she wants her crunchies! So I've added water to them to try and help, but she's not keen on that either. D's going to pick up some new wet food on the way home. Maybe that will entice her.
Mostly she wants to sleep now which is good. The vet is amazing and so kind. She gave me all the details of Prima's behaviour and the surgery so I feel like she was well cared for. We're all relieved to have her home and doing so well.

Have you see this cat?

This is Ruggles. Ruggles of Red Gap as I sometimes call him. My sis sent this photo. I'm not sure if he's cleaning or licking his chops or what? I wonder...

He's one of the cast of characters that makes up the gang now living in Montreal. I miss them all. Sometimes I feel like the family has been split up. Even though our three girls here didn't really mix with my sister's crew when we shared the house, D, Sis and I saw all the kitties all the time. We looked after each others cats while away or just to help each other out through those stressful vet visits.

Ruggles has certainly blossomed into his own. He was so fearful of the other cats when he arrived and sis kept him in the guest room for a while where Ruggles was quite happy getting special attention. We use to call it the "Ruggles Reading Room" because there was a bookcase and whenever I went in to spend time with Ruggie he would be played with and fed and fussed over, but eventually I'd pull a book off the shelf and start reading while Ruggie and I lounged on the bed. Sis did the same thing.

Now Ruggles mixes with the others like an equal. Rupert still chases him since his role as the "baby" was disrupted when Ruggles moved in, but overall it's pretty good.

***
Primavera (Suprima as we also call her since she thinks she's top cat here) is at the vet today. She's got some dental work to be done. Her gums at the back are quite red and puffy and the vet says she made need one and possibly two extractions. Poor Prima. Anywho...I'll pick her up later today with the rental car. She seemed to really enjoy the car ride this morning which was quite the opposite reaction I expected. She panicked on the plane when we flew out here and did circles in her Sherpa bag. D. was with her so that was good, but she didn't make that trip well. Understandably so. In the car though she settled down in her Sherpa bag and looked towards the windshield, catching birds flying by and was quite fascinated when I turned on the windshield wipers to clear away the morning dew.

Hopefully all will go well with the surgery.

Happy Belated Birthday Gigi!

We didn't forget her birthday but I did forget to post a happy birthday to her on the blog. We decided on April 1st to be her day because her full name is Gigi Buffon. She's definitely a clown and prankster. We love her and celebrate her everyday. Happy Birthday Buffon!

Supreemavera

This was going to be a picture of the Freya pattern I've knitted but a friend always seems to turn up on my lap, keeping me in one place and slowing down my typing at the same time. I took several pictures of Primavera, but this one caught her off guard and I managed to get one of us with her looking at the "camera". I am wearing the sweater I knit not that it really matters in this picture.

The Senior

This innocent looking creature is 18 and a half years old. If you've been reading in the past, you'll know that this is our dear sweet Svetlana. She is a strong old girl. She made it across the country with us on the plane. She's on two kinds of medicine, one for her kidneys and one for her thyroid. She has been chased by many cats over the years when D. had roommates with other cats. These roommates came and went and so did their cats. Svetlana has outlived them all. A year ago we realized she had lost her hearing (which isn't always easy to notice when cats can be so aloof) and the poor old girl will sometimes jump if you don't let her her know you're coming up beside her (my favorite indicators are waving my hand before her to get her attention or tapping my foot on the floor or surface she is lying on).

The important thing to remember is that she is a strong old girl. Over the last couple of months, she's been howling like a deaf siamese in the middle of the night. It's a blood-curdling bellow that she musters up with all of her strength and it is relentless. Nothing seems to stop it. We've tried ignoring it, getting up and sitting with her, feeding her, getting her water, fluffing up a nice fleecey blanket. Nothing works! So, I'm now accepting that our dear sweet Sveetie is senile. She's a senile senior and I just have to let her howl. She does stop when I sit with her and watch her pace the room, pause, look around and then begin to pace again. However, I can't really spend my nights up watching the cat (who's crazy then? the one with no sleep), but I will have to get up with her. There are people living upstairs with a small child who must be having nightmares with howling cats. Oh well, she'll talk about it in therapy in later years I'm sure.

So, farewell cozy sleep filled nights. Welcome to Svetlana's senior days.

p.s. photo courtesy of red jane

Cat & Christmas Photos

Stop the Insanity!






Snowflake cookies courtesy of the LV Snowflake Mold.