This Cat is Ready To Travel!

....as long as nobody tries to take her bed away.

July and August, Random Cat Photos

This pile of cushions is not enough! I can still feel the pea!

Must. Be. Cleaner.

Admire my beautiful clean paw.

....CATNIP. Catnip and scratchy toy!

Stop. Oi. Hey. Look at me. Up here! STOP LOOKING AT THE PUZZLE.
Right, that's it.

Mwahaha. I shall now wriggle and scatter these pieces everywhere!

  

...you. Fetch me another cushion.

Basic Tips for Caring For A Cat With Arthritis

If your cat is getting old (or even if it isn't), then sooner or later you may notice that it starts limping, has trouble climbing steps, avoids jumping down from anywhere, and gets upset if picked up or handled roughly. Possibly upset in a 'suddenly turn around and take a couple of fingers off' way.

Arthritis gets a LOT worse in the cold. My cat Moss started limping in winter, every winter, from around six or seven years old (she is now over thirteen). It got gradually worse, and finally was making her very unhappy - and very difficult to brush, because her joints were so painful. And then summer rolled around, and suddenly she was tearing all over the house and playing happily again.

The cat asleep next to the oil heater.
She makes a great footwarmer.

1. Warmth. Arthritis gets a lot worse in the cold. Give your cat somewhere warm to spend most of the time. I posted about the cat bed I was given before, which was great. Sadly, it was ancient and has since died, but it's now cold enough to light the fire and run heaters around the house, so she spends a lot of time trying to merge with those.

2. Glucosamine tablets can be fed daily in food (it's also used to treat arthritis in humans). It can be a bit pricey though - and it's a long way to a pet store from where I live, so - while I do see improvements - tip 3 takes up the slack.

3. Fish oils. The omega 3 fatty acids in cold water fish (e.g. salmon and tuna) help with arthritis. I share a can of tuna with her once or twice a week (we get half each - works out well, as I'm only cooking for myself!), and I saw a huge improvement once I started doing this.

You can't cure arthritis in your cat, but you can make the symptoms go away. This last winter I've been treating her with the tips above - and nothing else, and she's been happy and bouncy all through (occasional limping moments and she hates going out into the cold, but otherwise very well off).

13th May ; I Love Boxes

Especially boxes full of puzzle pieces. That my owner keeps trying to steal. Then we get to play a game!

12th May: Bliss

The couches were less than optimally furry. I am putting in some hard hours correcting that.

10th May; Studying Haaaaaaaard

So very hard.

May 9th; Wise Kitty Cogitates

8th May: All the best beds are made from jigsaw pieces

Whenever I see my owner sitting at a table doing a puzzle, I purr loudly, then jump up and headbutt them in the face. I then flop over and wriggle until the pieces have been broken up into the most comfortable position. And then I get up and drink my owner's tea from the cup they left out for me.

7th May; Napping Amid Clutter

The best place to sleep is on papers, next to a rug, under a pile of books. With an owner within three metres (otherwise I have to get up and follow them).

May 6th; This Phone Call is SO Boring

Phonecalls are so tiring, and yet so cuddly. And any minute now, the cord will move and I will kill it.

The Flying Cat Blog: The Top Five Things A Cat Owner Should Have

The Flying Cat Blog: The Top Five Things A Cat Owner Should Have: "Partly through semi-expensive trial and error, partly through the forbearance of my ex-pet shop worker flatmate, I've collected a variety of..."

Snuggly Warm

I can't be bothered co-operating with interesting photos right now. I have a warm place to sleep, at last, and I'm melting all the nasty cold weather out of my bones.

I may never leave this spot again, and I think I shall require my owner to bring me my food on a tray.

Moss has a new place to sleep - an old cat bed heating mat from a friend. As she suffers rather badly from arthritis in the cold, and... well, is a cat, I predict that she won't leave it for the rest of winter. It certainly has suddenly become her favourite place to sleep - she hasn't left it since I introduced her to it earlier this afternoon!


  It also serves double duty as a footwarmer for me, if I put it under the desk! (With the cat on top, of course). I should put something on top of it, but it'll have to withstand cat fur. Currently it's tough plastic, with a network of wires through it - but doesn't get too hot to touch. 


I think I'll look into buying her a heated cat bed - she normally refuses to sleep in anything I actually buy for her for longer than two weeks, abandoning it forever after that. This is a problem, because I really don't need an extra coating of fur on my pillow.

21st March, Many Photos...

My terrible owner has been neglecting my adoring fans - all this time they were taking photos of me, but neglecting to upload them. When I discovered this, I forced them to rectify this tragic situation immediately by purring loudly and smearing loose fur on their pillow.

Here I am, preparing to sneak up the bed and launch an attack on the pillow... as soon as my owner looks away, of course.

Here I am carrying out one of my regular carpet quality checks - I make sure to lie down in every part of the house to check comfort levels!

I have beautiful whiskers. I also enjoy a nice cup of tea - especially right before my owner goes to take a sip, and finds my head in the way. This cup is now empty - I like this one, because I can get my head all the way to the bottom.

Here I was fiendishly attacked by the brush! I tried to resist by rubbing my loose fur against my owner's clothes, but succumbed eventually, purring and flopping to the ground...

Defeated. But at least I am safe, surrounded by my favourite toys - the brush, the scratchy headrest with moving ball and fluff on a stick, and the owner. 

Mar 8th, Office Kitty Has Finished With Paperwork

I helped my owner with the paperwork, ate a lot of crisps off the floor, purred, and then after this exhausting workday, took a quick two hour power nap on the chair.

March 6th, Creepy Backlighting

Alll who live in this house do so with my permission. Owner! Get down here and feed me - or see your ehternet cable mysteriously shredded...

March 5th, Snuggly Rug Love

My love for the soft fluffy rug knows no bounds. Oh happy days.

4th Mar - Sleep Attack

Today I hid from the rain and slept a lot. I have rediscovered the fluffy rug and this makes me happy.

3rd March, Artist Cat Guards Easel

I like my owner's easel. It keeps them in one place so I can snuggle them.

2nd March, Ready To Write!

Well, I'm back! Standards have been very slack on this blog and in this flat! I've finished sleeping on every surface and have knocked over everything my owner piled onto various walkways in my absence (the table, the chest of drawers - that kind of thing), and been fed. And now I'm all ready to start writing... or at least to hold some pens!

OOC: Return of the Cat

My cat is back with me, and will be making an appearance again on this blog. She is fit and healthy and happy, and (I suspect) has been thoroughly spoilt by my parents.

What was wrong? I don't know, but it could have been some kind of poison she ingested recently, or poison eaten long ago, then stored in the fat cells - to re-emerge when she lost too much weight (she's fatter now!)
More worryingly, it could be some long term illness or degradation. I may never know what the problem was, but for now she seems very well.

And still determined to knock off everything on every surface of my room, before settling down at night.

19th Feb. No Photos Today

Or possibly for the next few days, or longer. I had to rush my cat to the vets (well, the emergency after hours clinic) this afternoon. I walked into the flat about 5, put the shopping down, and fed her, and then she was shaking and falling over, and her legs were spasming. She was very much an unhappy cat.

It's neurological, but it could be anything from rat poison to kidney failure to a brain tumour. And the tests to start with (not including specialist brain imaging which it might come to) would be over $1000. So for now, I'm hoping not.

Anyway, kitty is recuperating at my parent's house for now. We'll see if she's okay in the morning.

18th Feb, Paperwork Is For Sleeping On

I like to walk up behind my owner and flop all over their paperwork, and snuggle it into a nest and push it onto the floor.

This makes me sleep better.

17th Feb, No More Photos Please!

Today, my cruel and evil owner put flea stuff on me. So I spent the next fifteen minutes dashing under the bed and jumping into boxes to hide.

At last, I gave up and collapsed, only to be picked up and waved at the little talking video man on the laptop screen who tried to attract my attention. I was not impressed, and collapsed on the desk, and tried to block out the world...

16th Feb, Filing

I occasionally check my owner's filing system, to make sure they've still got enough money to feed me. In the process, I always take the long way around the room and knock over as much as possible.

15th Feb, A Nice Cup of Tea

My owner kindly lays on lukewarm cups of tea for when I suddenly decide to come sit on the desk next to them. I still haven't persuaded them to let me lie on the computer while they work, so instead I drown my sorrows in cold caffeine.

14th Feb, I Love Environmentalism

If my owner didn't save all the shopping bags to recycle, I wouldn't have a comfy place to sleep!

13th Feb, Cosy Sleeping Place

After a hard day lying in the sun and repeatedly waking my owner up to be fed, I went and found my cosy spot in the bushes. I took great delight in not moving when called, and purring loudly, so my owner had to track me down in the dark.

12th Feb, I Have A Zazzle Mouse

My owner finally returned, to feed me and stroke me and carry me around. And they gave me a mouse to play with - see?

Long Tailed Field Mouse by Flynn_the_Cat
Create your own promotional keychain on zazzle

Hiatus

My pathetic owner has developed a lung coughing disease and been kidnapped by their family. As such, they are not around to take pictures of me. Or stroke me. Or worship me. Or feed me.

6th Feb, The Rare Box Hermit Cat

Like hermit crabs, the rare Box Cat moves into abandoned cardboard boxes, only to leave them and move on to a larger box when they grow.