More Fuzzy Filler

Fuzzy Filler

Dad Update

Ok.  My dad is out of surgery.  They were able to put pins in his hip without putting him under general anesthesia.  Epidurals are fantastic things.  He was able to stay out of ICU completely and is back on the orthopedic floor.

FH headed back home a couple of hours ago.  I'm going to follow sometime Tuesday morning with the critters.

I should also note that Tempie isn't doing well.  She's lost an eighth of her body mass since we were here to get her teeth done last week.  She was eating normally on her own so we're not quite sure what's going on.  The vet was going to call me today with bloodwork results but he knew what was going on with Dad.  I will hopefully learn something tomorrow.

Goodnight all.  I'm going to go collapse.

Stop the World

I'm ready to get off....

Headed to St. Louis again this weekend for Father's Day and for Tempie to get a recheck.  (More on her later.)

My dad fell and broke a hip last night.  We're still dealing with doctors, the hospital, and figuring out which way to just as far as treatment goes.  (Too many complications to count that make surgery a risk vs. him never walking again.) 

So I'll be back eventually.  Hopefully I'll be home eventually.

If It's Not One Thing...

FH and I are taking Tempie to St. Louis tonight.  She's not eating.  Back soon, I hope.

Castor: Forever Loved- March 29, 1999-May 22, 2011

Where to start?  It's had to describe anything that's been a part of one's life for nearly half of it... even harder when that "thing" was a living being whom you loved.

  Castor was born as one of seven kittens to a mother owned by a couple other college kids in the town my university is located.  He and Pollux were the only two Siamese looking kittens in the entire litter.  We wanted named that wold reflect their twin-like appearance and ran through several, rejecting the most obvious ones like "Cain and Abel," "Romulus and Remus," and "Heckle and Jeckle."  I came up with the idea of Castor and Pollux.

From Wikipedia:

"In the myth the twins shared the same mother but had different fathers which meant that Pollux was immortal and Castor was mortal. When Castor died, Pollux asked Zeus to let him share his own immortality with his twin to keep them together and they were transformed into the Gemini constellation. The pair were regarded as the patrons of sailors, to whom they appeared as St. Elmo's fire."

 It took a while to figure out which was which, but their personalities helped make the distinction.  Spookily enough the mythological Pollux also outlived his brother.  That thought has been haunting me for about a year now...

Castor wasn't the runt of the litter but he was the smaller of the two.  I started referring to him as "my littlest love."  It stuck even when he became the bigger of them.  Even after baby Confetti came into our lives.  He loved playing fetch with paper wads, eating canned pasta (I didn't start him on that), and being outside on walks.  And people.  Being a university student I had friends coming and going almost every day.  Castor loved everyone and just knew they were there to see him.

Saturday morning everything was as normal as it had been for weeks.  Then right as the vet's office closed, Castor took a turn for the worse.  FH and I debated and decided we would wait and see if he was really in pain or if he might be able to wait until Monday morning.  He seemed fine through Saturday evening but Sunday morning was a different story.

He was so tired and couldn't walk on his own any longer.  Thankfully our vet works for the emergency clinic, so they were willing to work with us and our special needs.  FH and I decided (with our vet) months ago that we wanted a necropsy preformed so we'd be better prepared if Pollux starts showing these signs.  Usually the emergency clinic doesn't hold bodies for testing, but after a couple of phone calls the arrangements were made.

Everyone got to say good-bye here at home.  Castor loved on Artie like always.  Pollux has been increasingly upset for the last few days and didn't want to have much to do with his brother.  They did touch noses one last time though.

It was bittersweet letting him go.  Stopping the pain outweighed our own sadness though.  Castor was relaxed the whole time, from the car ride to the end.  In fact I'll swear to my dying day that he looked relieved.

Pollux and Artie are both sad and confused.  I'm hoping Artie can keep Pollux from slipping into a depressed funk.  Tempie hasn't noticed Castor's absence yet but she will eventually.  As for me, I'm stuck between relief that he's not hurting and being totally shattered that my baby's gone.  We've been preparing for this day since before moving to this house last year.  In fact we weren't sure he'd see his 12th birthday, but he fought hard to stay with us.

I believe he's earned the rest.  I know he's basking in the sun at the Rainbow Bridge with Confetti, 'Bert, and their Uncle Meat Loaf.  I'll see them all again eventually.

Good-bye, Castor, my littlest love. I will love you forever. See you at the Rainbow Bridge.

Wow I Can Sign In Again!

Alright so apparently I can log back into the blog.  This is good.

I've been wanting to get on here and say I haven't done a single bit of stitching or worked on any minis since I mailed Kim her package of goodies.

Castor is slowing down more rapidly than before.  His mobility has decreased quite a bit.  He still eats, drinks, uses his box, and asks to go out into the sunshine though.  And it seems he's quite taken with Artan.

 

The vet decided at this point it won't hurt Castor to be around him even though we can't test Artie for FIV and leukemia yet.  In fact it seems to be helping, so he gets unrestricted access.

As for the rest of my time... 

 

Artie is now quite mobile whenever he's not asleep.  We have cordoned off rooms of the house, both upstairs and down, so he can have safe areas to run around in.  Keeping him out of trouble has just become a full-time job!

Pollux is lamenting Artan's recent discovery of pouncing.  FH laughing at him doesn't help matters.

Speaking of FH his grades were finally posted.  He passed with A's in both classes, which means he officially has his master's degree in computer science.  Life is more normal than it was before, even with Artie's addition to the household.

I'm going to try and get more mini time in as Artie gets weaned, but I may not have time for blogging.  So here's hoping whenever I get back I'll have more pictures from both the Panda Nursery and (hopefully) Rose Cuttings!

More Baby Pictures!

We're figuring out our new routine now, so I'm hoping to get back to the Panda Nursery in the morning.  Thanks to Casey I found a gloss sealer that should be safe on the mural paper. I figured a few baby kitten pictures would make for nice filler. ;-)

I don't think I'll be able to post every day for a while, but I'm going to try for M/W/F.  Hopefully I can get plenty of things done when Artie is sleeping! 

News of the Feline Persuasion

I know I said I was going to not blog about Castor's illness anymore, but honestly we didn't think he'd make it this far.

He wasn't looking too well today so FH and I took him to the vet.  Apparently his liver is now involved which is why he's not doing well this week.  An exact quote from today was, "one liver value was so high my machine couldn't read it."  Not good.  The vet gave him a different antibiotic and we're going back in two weeks to check his liver function again.  If it doesn't help then we're going to have to start figuring out what's best for Castor.

As I type this Castor is snoozing on a lawn chair on the sun porch.  A little later I think I'm going to put his harness on his for a stroll around the back gardens.

We ended up coming home with some medicine for me too, which was totally unexpected.

He was found in a woodpile by a very sweet man who is extremely allergic to cats and has a young human baby that needs his love and attention.

The vet says he's approximately three weeks old, around the same age Confetti was when I brought her home.  Right now we're keeping him separated from the big cats, for their own health.  But Pollux is very curious about him and likes to be able to see him.  I make all kinds of sweet talk to the big boys so they know this is an ok thing. 

Currently he does not have a name but we're pondering a few.  He goes back to the vet in two weeks too so we can check him for FIV and leukemia.  The plan is to foster him until he's old enough for a new home.  We'll see how well that works.

***Edit:  His name is Artan, which is Gaelic for "little bear."  He sounds like a bear cub when he cries.

Of Pandas and Stitching

Allusions to Steinbeck aside, I have fun news!

First the mural paper for the Panda Nursery arrived and it looks fabulous!

 I have two sheet and plan on starting at each front corner and wrapping them around to the back.  If for whatever reason the ends do not meet all the way in the back I will hide that fact with a strip of white wood.

The question now is: do I spray the paper like I usually do to protect it from the elements and if so, what should I use?  I don't want to detract from the nice glossy sheen, but I don't want the paper to get easily damaged either.  The stuff I normally use on my regular wallpaper would dull the image too much.  What do you all think?

I also ordered this little book from the same shop.  It had been so long that I'd forgotten about it. 

 On the stitching front, I borrowed "Achoo!" and "Flowerpot Kitty" back from our vets to put them in the Guild's Judged Show last Saturday.  "Achoo!" took the blue ribbon in the commercial counted cross stitch category and one of the three Judge's Choice ribbons!

 

"Flowerpot Kitty" scored fairly well too, but not high enough to tie with the red ribbon winner.  All in all I'm happy about the whole state of affairs.  I just wish I could've gotten "Rose Cuttings" done in time. 

I'm off to do some mini stitching for Kim, the Panda Nursery, and then work on "Rose Cuttings" tonight.  It's going to feel so good having a needle and floss in my hands again.

Peoria Area Stitcher's Guild

It's done.  Now back to normalcy.

http://www.peoriaareastitchersguild.org/

My personal website has been taken done temporarily until I learn the right language to have them both on the same server.  So if anyone looks for Kat's Paw Creations, it will be gone for a while.

I'm going to go finish (finally) another stitched thing for Kim now.  She's been exceedingly patient while I tried to balance the critters, the website, FH, and stitching.  Thanks, Kim.

Oh and FH is done with school.  Grades aren't posted yet.  We'll know Firday if he graduated or not.

BRB

The Guild website should be up and running no later than midnight tonight, my time.  FH takes his last final exam in a few hours.  Life, minis, stitching, and blogging should sort of get back to normal... for a while anyway.

Back soon!

Giveaway Winner!

Happy Easter, everyone!  I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.  The weather is mild here today. I went out and took a few pictures to help make this post prettier.

I want to thank everyone for sharing their pet stories.  I loved reading them all.  It's funny how all the little creatures find ways to entangle themselves in our hearts.  Personally I believe that's what helps us be both human and humane.

A quick word about "Make Mine Chocolate."  This movement is designed to educate people about the drawbacks and sadness associated with giving live bunnies (ducklings and chicks too) as children's Easter gifts.  So many of these animals end up in shelters or dumped once children become bored or the parents do not want to deal with their care.
Many of you know Tempie was one such Easter bunny.  Someone dumped her in the country and luckily for her she hopped into my sister's yard.  Even better that I knew how to care for rabbits and that my parents let me keep her since I was living in their home again. 

'Bert could've become one of those animals had the people at the pet store not warned people away form him "because he (was) mean."  In reality he was so afraid of everything he would attack first in hopes of making people leave him alone.  He was taken from his mother too young, neutered too young, and all the rabbits he arrived with at the store were bought leaving him alone for weeks.  He didn't like the new rabbits when they were plopped into the same territory as him so they had to separate him from the rest.  I saved fate the trouble and brought him home.

I believe no animal should be brought into a home without some thought, planning, and maybe a little research, regardless of species.  Just a little effort on a human's part can lead to one less animal being thrown away.  I know so many of you feel the same way.  Our pets mean the world to us and our members of the family.  Enough with the soap box. 

Now for the fun part!

Since getting Tempie to draw a name last year took hours... yes hours... I had FH give me a hand this year.  It's fitting though since 'Bert was more his bunny anyway.  So with out further ado:

Congratulations, Kim!  I'll be emailing you shortly.

And since this giveaway was dedicated to 'Bert, I thought we should have at least one picture of him.

 

 Thanks again to everyone who participated!

Better Late Than Never-A Giveaway

Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to the blog.  Life's just been hectic.  Since Tempie went and spilled the beans about a giveaway I can't just hold onto things until next year. 

So without further ado, here are the rules for this year's giveaway in honor of "Make Mine Chocolate."  This is the movement that encourages people to give chocolate bunnies instead of live bunnies as Easter gifts.

Remember this guy?

I actually made two of these. 

Whomever wins the giveaway will get one of these and a few other decorative Easter/spring items.  I will try and get pictures of the other goodies tomorrow, but I may keep a couple things a surprise.

In addition to "Make Mine Chocolate" I'm dedicating the giveaway to 'Bert's memory.  The rules are simple:  Leave a comment on this post with a story about a pet you've loved, between now and Saturday.  You do not have to be a follower, but if you are I will add your name to the hat a second time.  On Easter Sunday I'll pull the winner's name and announce the winner.

Good luck!

Still Distracted

Castor here.  Dad got a sad phone call last night.  His uncle was in a fatal motorcycle accident.  This means Mom and Dad are going to be gone all day Sunday for the funeral.  Mom hopes to get some of her toys played with tomorrow but she isn't sure.  She's out right now finding clothes to wear.  I promise she'll be back soon.