Mr. Black: Rest In Peace

Mr. Black (the cat)
2001 to February 28, 2019
Rest in Peace

Mr. Black was 18 years old. I was lucky to have him as my cat for the last 12 of those 18 years. He's been an indoor cat for six years; before that, he was an outdoor cat on a large property where we rented a cottage. He would sleep in the garage at night.

He liked people and wanted to be around them. When I would have a visitor, Mr. Black would come into the living room to say hello and politely "request" to sit on their lap.

I took a final photo of him at 4:00 am this morning as he sat in front of the electric heater (looks like a woodstove) that is in the upstairs loft bedroom. We had a routine when the weather was chilly --- just before going to bed, I would turn on the heater and he would sit in front of it, warming up his old bones. This morning, he was restless and in some discomfort, so I turned it on for him one last time, before we went to the pet emergency room.

The other two photos are from 2009/2010. I hope to get back to that property to sprinkle some of Mr. Black's ashes. That was his home for 12 years --- he lived there from 2001 to 2007 with his previous owner, Barbara, and lived there with me from 2007 to 2013. We then moved to a tiny studio, and then to this small house in 2014.

February 28, 2019 at 4:00 am. Warming up in front of the electric heater.

2009

2010

I'm now almost 18 years old and still kickin'. Good appetite, good litter box habits, and playful. I have some minor "senility" issues (staring at the wall ["where am I?"]) and complaining about absolutely everything and absolutely nothing. My complaining consists of loud, goat-bleating "meowing" on a seemingly endless loop until I am jolted back to reality by the Lady shaking a spray water bottle at me or telling me to "BE QUIET, PLEASE!"

I enjoy sitting in my garden window, or snoozing in various beds/spots that I have in the upstairs loft. In the evenings, I like sitting on the Lady's lap (especially when she is using the electric warming throw --- oh, my...that is so cozy). I have an endless supply of kibble, plus three times a day I get some delicious wet food in a special "Circle Cat" bowl.

Merry Christmas!

Hello Again; It's Me.

It has been quite awhile since I stopped by to say hello. I am fifteen years old now, and am still hanging in there. I still eat my prescription food (for my "thickened intestinal wall" issue that was diagnosed two years ago), and am now exhibiting symptoms of chronic renal failure. I feel pretty good, though. My appetite is excellent, I still have lots of energy, and play with my toys. My favorite "activity" is hanging out and/or dozing on my bed in the "garden window".

You lookin' at me? Are YOU lookin' at ME??

It is especially cozy there when it is chilly outside and the sun warms me up. I can also watch birds, squirrels, and Mookie (the homeless cat that showed up last Spring and who the lady brought in to be neutered and get a rabies shot). He has a heated Dogloo in our shed and is spoiled now with good food and lots of attention. He can't come inside because I would put the bitey on him (and he, me).

Mookie. Aka: Moquito, Quito, Scampi

I hope you all are doing fine. Maybe I can convince my secretary (the lady) to post more often, but I doubt it. Once she loses interest in something----fuhgedaboutit. Well, miracles have been known to happen---evidenced by this post. Cheers!

Black Cat Appreciation Day (or something like that)

Today is "Black Cat Appreciation Day". I think. I can never really be sure of anything because I get my information second-hand, from the lady, who is, as I've said many times, useless.

Here are a couple of recent photos of me. One from yesterday: I'm up in a little alcove, spying on the lady. One from about five months ago--me, licking my chops. I'm doing pretty well for 14 1/2 years old with some medical issues. I haven't had any problems since February 2014. I eat a Prescription kibble ("Metabolic"), and I have a tablespoon or two of canned Fancy Feast (only "Classic" varieties). We hope you are all doing well.

Happy New Year

We wanted to wish all our friends a Happy New Year. There was no partying for me, so no "lampshade on the head", but the lady thought putting this feather toy on my head was very funny. Yeah, very funny.

Did Ya Miss Me?

Yes, it has been a long time. A lot has happened, including a move four hours away, into our own place. We are buying, not renting, so hopefully, we will be here forever. I have a "garden window" upstairs so that I can take a nap in the sun and it is also a nice vantage point for watching squirrels.

Then at the top of the stairs, there is a small alcove where I can watch what is going on downstairs. Nothing ever happens down there, but still...

We are at the 4,500 foot level, so we will get some snow in the winter. I'll be happy to watch that from inside, where I will be nice and cozy. We have some work to do on this place, starting with getting a stove (!), but I think I will like it because it is bigger than our Cambria studio and I really like going up and down the stairs.

Z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z

Sorry I haven't posted for a while. As you can see, I've been quite busy.

Feather Mouse

The lady calls any toy with feathers on it a "feather mouse." I have no idea why.

Here I am, playing with a "feather mouse." I'll call it that just to humor her.

I'm Still Kickin'

I'm supposedly the boss of the lady, but she posts for me when she feels like it. Which is rarely. Her latest excuse(s)? Had to have Windows 7 installed because Microsoft no longer supported Windows XP. She has not re-loaded Photoshop Elements, or the digital camera software. Yeah, right. She always has some whiny "explanation" about why things are not done. She finally uploaded this photo, even though she used some funky free photo thing to crop it.

Anyhow, I am doing very well. Have not had any medical issues in a few months now. I hope all of you are fine. Maybe I can prompt (scratch) her into visiting my online feline friends.

Making Biscuits

Although this kneading is called, "making biscuits," I've always thought of it as making cinnamon buns. If you want to make tender biscuits, you just barely mix the wet and dry ingredients. If you kneaded the dough, it would make tough biscuits. Since cinnamon buns use a yeast dough, you really do need to knead (ha). Being a cat, I am an expert on most things.

Birds of a Feather

The lady has a friend who gives her a stack of catalogs and magazines every couple of weeks. She was sitting in her chair, putting them in various piles. She glanced down and noticed my interest in a particular magazine.

Cat and Mouse: It Has Been a Long Two Weeks

Not a happy camper.

I've been forced to take medicine for the past two weeks. Today (just a few minutes ago) was the last dose.  It was some liquid called, "Orbax," and I had to have 1.5 ml put in my mouth via a syringe twice a day.  I lost a lot of trust in the lady, I can tell you that.  It got so that if she even got up from her chair, I went and hid under the bed. If she looked at me, I ran away. She had to be very, very sneaky. I was the mouse in this little game, and I'm sorry to say that I got caught. Every day. For fourteen days.

She said she felt sorry for having to grab me, and I know that she was speaking the truth.  Which is why I didn't bite her. Oh, I definitely would try to either run or wiggle away, but if she had a firm grip on me (okay, she sort of sat on me....[oh, the humiliation]) I would let her open my mouth (okay, I would clench my teeth as hard as I could, but she knew some sort of trick to open my mouth without hurting me), and then she gave me that medicine. It wasn't bad tasting, but I don't like being held down against my will. It was scary.  She did praise me afterward ("You are SUCH a good boy, Mr. Black! I'm SO proud of you!")...I'm not some baby, but, I still appreciated the kind words.  I did glare at her a lot (see photo above).  And, I ignored her when she tried to talk to me.

I'm ignoring you. Get it?!

I am feeling much better. My urine output is normal. That "other" output is normal.  I like my new food.  So, things are looking up for me! No more medicine, la la la la la.

The V-Monologues

V, in this case, being "Veterinary."

I was betrayed. Again. The lady wins back my trust and then she pulls the "Fancy Feast in the Carrier" scam again. And, again, I fall for it.

A few months ago she took me to vet because I was having...er..."anal gland" problems. I had to have one of them "expressed." I won't go into details; I'll just leave it to your imagination. Since then, the lady puts a warm compress in that "area" if I seem to be having problems. That worked pretty well until a few days ago when I started having problems again and then the lady saw some blood in my urine so she brought me immediately to the vet's office. I cannot be handled in any way shape or form by any veterinary personnel because I get too scared, so they have to put a plastic bag around my carrier and "gas" me until I fall asleep. When I was asleep, they took x-rays of my abdomen, drew blood (they shaved my neck!!) for a health profile, a complete blood count, and a thyroid test. They did a urinalysis.

Turns out that I have some "thickening" of my intestinal wall which is causing problems. This can make my poops "not so good", which then causes the anal glands not to work properly. I may have what is called "Inflammatory Bowel Disease" (not to be confused with "Irritable Bowel Syndrome.") A cascade of other problems can be caused by this. Also, my urinalysis showed I have some sort of infection, so I have to take liquid antibiotics (oh, the lady will have a few tales to tell about that). Also, my diet has been too "rich" (so much for that expensive, grain-free food the lady bought for me). I'm now on a special "metabolic diet."

I am considered an "elderly" cat. The lady does not know my exact age. She knows when she first met me in late 2001, I was a full grown cat. So, that makes me at least thirteen years old. The lady says she is going to write to the person who was my caretaker way back in 2001 (the lady has only been my "lady" since 2007) to see if she can find out exactly how old I am.

Anyway, I am doing fine except for the fact that I am acting very afraid of the lady because she has forced me to take medicine twice already. The first time, I didn't know what was going on when she touched my head. Then, she tilted it back, opened my mouth and squirted some stuff in it. I ran and hid under the bed for three hours. Then, yesterday, when she touched my head I tried to squirm away, but she was able to get the medicine in. I may have to put the bitey on her if she tries again. I know she feels bad and she keeps telling me that it is for my own good and will help make me feel better. All I know is that I get very frightened and my instinct is to "fight" (and then, "flight.")

Please keep me in your thoughts and purrs.

Below are some photos of me trying to get the disgusting "vet" smell off of my handsome self.

You can see where they shaved my neck. Barbarians!

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful that the lady plays with cat toys for my entertainment.

A note from the lady: both yesterday and today, the uploaded photos have a grainy, "sandy" sort of look to them. The photos appear just fine (except for the blurriness, which is my fault) in Photoshop Elements, but after uploading to Blogger, it looks like Mr. Black has rolled in dirt!

Wordless Wednesday

Because I'm Worth It

The lady went shopping on Monday.

Me:  $47.00 (includes new stainless steel dish)

The lady:  $1.00

Adventures in Cat-sitting

The lady has been cat-sitting for friends and acquaintances off and on for years. Everything has always gone very smoothly until Christmas week. This is the story as she told it to me. No names have been changed to protect the guilty. And, I'm going to give away the ending and say that Sly is safe and sound.

Sly is a small, fluffy tuxedo cat who is very sweet and playful.

Mr. Innocent

He used to be an indoor-outdoor cat, but is now an indoor cat only. He is allowed some brief time on a third story deck to look out and relax in the sun.

One day it was unseasonably warm and the small 1/2 bath where Sly's litter-box is kept was very stuffy, so the lady opened the very small bathroom window about four inches for ventilation. It is up very high and is an unusual window that lifts up and locks in place. When the lady left that evening, she checked all the sliding doors as usual, but...she forgot all about that little bathroom window.

When she returned the next morning, she couldn't find Sly. She searched the whole house and he was nowhere to be found. When she checked the 1/2 bath for a second time, she looked up and saw that the screen was missing from the small bathroom window. She knew immediately that Sly had gotten out.

The lady went outside and looked down the hill to the backyard. There, at the very bottom of the mostly unfenced yard, was Sly. He was sitting there, looking at a deer. The lady walked towards him and when she got close, he dashed behind the neighbor's fence and ran along it, away from her. She started talking in that voice that cats seem to like. "Sly, are you hungry?" Would you like some breakfast?" He crawled under the fence toward the lady, she picked him up and walked back into the house.

The lady told Sly's human what happened. Sly's human was very understanding (whew) and said that Sly was "a handful." Later that week when she came home from her trip, Sly ran out the door and had to be coaxed back in after he ran across the street. Sly's human said that he will be put in a room with the door closed before she opens the front door again!

"I don't know nuttin' about no jailbreak."

Sadie Found a Home

On December 21, we posted about Sadie, the cat who needed a new home. Well, thanks to the work of Sparkle the Cat (with some help from her personal assistant Janiss), a loving home was found for her with a friend of Janiss'. Sadie has been with her new family for a week and is settling in.

Thank you Janiss, for finding this sweet kitty a great forever home.

Sleepy-time Joe

"Sleepy-time Joe" is one of the many silly nicknames that the lady has come up with to describe me and my activities. She says she doesn't think about them; they "just happen." I'm guessing there is a part of her brain (and, based on her deficits in most other areas, a very large part) that is devoted solely to generating cat-related gibberish.

This is my favorite spot in the afternoon. The sun is low in the sky and comes through the window at just the right angle.

Please Help Sadie Find a Home (Updated)

December 30, 2013. Update: Sparkle the Designer Cat and her human, Janiss, found a wonderful forever home for Sadie the cat. Sadie is now at her new home and is settling in. Thank you Janiss!

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The lady and I saw this in our Facebook Feed and wanted to share it with as many people as possible. This kitty needs a new home right away! She lives in the San Francisco area right now. Please share this information! Thanks!

This is the information provided on the Facebook posting, plus her photo:

"URGENT: Please share! San Francisco, CA - Owner is moving on Jan 10 & must re-home SADIE. Spayed, 5-yr old healthy, medium hair, & up to date on vaccines. Friendly, playful, lap cat who will follow you around & greet you at the door each day. She's an indoor cat who loves to watch birds from the safety of her balcony. Please contact JEFF at 415-310-8676, or jeffreyschram@gmail.com. He has only 2 wks to find her a home so PLEASE SHARE this posting!!"