StrangeRanger

Lucky Seven

Last Saturday was Maddie's seventh birthday!  We been in the middle of a big week and did our celebrating a bit late, but we did celebrate.  Maddie got a special helping of her favorite treat:  sliced deli turkey, along with whatever pampering she's desired all week long.  Take a look at the bottom of the post for some video of her going to town on her birthday present.  I now present some favorite pics from the past six years...

It's my Birthday!  Yay me! This is a favorite pic from, I think, the second year she was with us.  Shows off the sweetness of her face.

We've been uncommonly blessed to have this cat living with us.  She is smart, beautiful and loving and is, unless you're another cat, the ideal companion.  She's even starting to leave Ivy alone, which is a big relief to all of us.

I'm still not happy about this other cat business, y'know...   yes dear, we know <sigh>.

It's hard to believe that we've had her for six of her seven years.  It feels like she's always been here.  Maddie has seen us through some of the roughest parts of our adult lives, some of the most wonderful parts of our adult lives, and has contributed to both, though overwhelmingly on the up side of the  equation.

   Of course on the up side!  who would you play bubbles with if I weren't here?!?  You're absolutely right Maddie.

Maddie has curled up with us when we've been monstrously ill, and we've taken care of her through kitty-colds and fevers, wonky cat-knees and over-grown claws.  which reminds us...it's time today for a claw trimming and the monthly preventative flea drops.  Now, where's the cat?

<shhhh...nobody give me away...>

Well, we'll do that later, after we find her.  Anyway, here's a last shot... one of my faves.  I think she looks positively angelic.  It's how I will always think of her.

And now, here are the promised videos...

This next is an only slightly different but longer video. Only recommended for heavy-duty Maddie fans!

Thanks for tuning in! 

Enjoying the rug

As we settle into the fall season (with the usual run of 80-90 degree weather), Ivy settles onto the new dining room rug:

The background music is Pepe Romero playing some Villa-Lobos, and the background thumping is me chopping a mess of garlic for our lovely Ratatouille and Claret dinner.  Ivy supervised and made sure I did everything right.  Thanks to LadyRanger for the video and the picture.

Doesn't she look happy?  She walks over to the rug, sniffs, and then just flops down and twists.  Of course, there's still the scratching issue, but that is calming down a bit. 

Ivy took a couple of swats at maddie the other night.  Truth to tell, Maddie didn't even deserve it;  she was just hopping up into a favorite chair, and Ivy was nearby.  Ivy thought she was under attack and let fly.  No contact, but it took them both a little bit to shake it off.  We soothed them with treats and pats.

Here's a kitty who can't wait for the soothing food.  Quite a determined and vocal little guy:

A friend showed this to me on Politopics, so a big thanks to that Blog!

Good News and Bad News

It's been a cat-issue filled week here at Chez-Ranger.  We took Ivy in for a progress report on Thursday.  Dr G gave her the once-over (general health looks good) and a weigh-in (10 lbs 2 oz, which is quite good) and took some blood for a thyroid check.  Got the call friday morning that Ivy's thyroid functions are a hair over normal.  Dr G is very happy with that since the higher thyroid function seems to keep the kidney disease in check.  Ivy handled it all very well and was a good patient.  We brought her home and gave her a favorite treat:  a spoonful of vanilla ice cream.   Hagen Daz.  She then proceeded to nap away all memory of the unpleasantness:

Dreaming of more ice cream, perhaps?

The bad news of the week is that we humans here at Chez-Ranger suck.  We noticed Maddie limping again, this time on her left front foot.  We checked and, yes, she had overgrown claws again.  I felt terrible that I had let her claws get into this state.  Off to the vet, of course.  We found out that two of her claws had punctured her pads, and that one of the pads was infected.  The doc took care of the claws and gave us an anti-biotic for the infection.  The doc also gave us a gentle rump-chewing for not trimming Maddies claws more regularly.  It looks like we'll be doing that at the close of every month now whether Maddie likes it or not.  As that is also the time I apply the "just to be sure" Advantage flea stuff that Maddie HATES I doubt I'll be too popular.... Anyway, we have to take better care of Maddie and her little white feet.

In non-cat news, our Rose of Sharon plant is really going to town:

   We think it was happier to see the big rains on friday than we were, and we were pretty darn happy!

Ivy comes out of hiding

Ivy spent most of last week being reclusive and unphotogenic (if a cat can ever be unphotogenic...)(true confession time...I was a lazy slob.  I'm sorry).  She's been up and around quite a bit the last few days, and I've taken a few new photos.  Now, I want you to understand that Ivy is far more beautiful than my talent and light conditions can show, so say what you will about my pics, but don't knock the Wee Tuxedo Cat. 

We were blessed with some cooler weather the other day, and had the windows open and the ceiling fan on.  Ivy took advantage of both:

Ahhhh, the great outdoors.  I'm glad I'm not out there anymore.

Here's Ivy relaxing on the living room floor, enjoyingthe ceiling fan breeze on her tummy fur. (Feet For Fiona on Friday!)  You can tell she's mostly recovered from the lion-trim.  Which means we'll probably have to take her back for another soon.  I will say, though, that since she's been on the thyroid meds that she hasn't had the mats come in like she did.

Today brought something new for the tuxie.  We've had the windows open again, and like any cat, Ivy likes to look out.  We found her on the living room couch!  She's never done that before.  As far as we know...

Not a very good pic, I know, but it's proof.  Maddie was not very happy that Ivy expanded her horizons.  GrannyCat has been quietly inserting herself into our household life in new ways, and Maddie has had a hard time adjusting.  We show Maddie our love, and give her special time, and try to reassure her, but she's still annoyed that Ivy is here.  She seems to have given up on the violence, but she still sings her cat-opera at times.  At other times, they snooze happily within feet of each other.  Go figure.  The one place that is, without dispute, Maddies is the bedroom.  Here's a shot of Maddie after helping with bed-making.  The one thing I wish a still photo could pick up is the enormous purr.  I'm glad we still make her happy, even in times of stress...

Once Again Again...

School has started up here, and I've got a FULL classroom.  Of course, I'm not alone.  Everyone on my grade level is sitting at 30 or 31 students (I'm at 31).  They are not bad kids, there's just a lot of them and some are, well, needy.  It's taken a lot of mental and physical energy to get back into the swing of things, so once again again I give you cat pics and a link...

Here's a pic I like to call one of my Music and Cats pics.  I didn't exactly *try* to emulate the wonderful photos at M&C, home of some of the most wonderful photos on the web, but I think it turned out kinda okay.  It's an older pic of Maddie enjoying a box.

Ivy's been doing well, but she's been staying out of the good light, so i don't have any new photos of her.  Sorry, Ivy-fans.  I promise I'll do better next week!

Here is the link I promised, about a very lucky cat.  There's also a video embedded in the page so you can see what the little guy looks like.  Send good thoughts to the cat and the construction worker.