StrangeRanger

In Praise of Famous Cats

I'd like to note a passing today.  Never Fear!  Ivy is still in the land of the 7.5 pound living felines.  Doing nicely to all appearances as well.  The cat I'd like to remember is Socks, the Clinton's White House Cat. 

Fond of the Clintons or not, let's have a moment of silence for one of the two most recent inhabitant of the White House possessed of common sense, dignity and grace. The other being El Indio, the Bush's cat.  We need more cats near the seat of power, bringing their quiet wisdom, lively intellects, and sense of propriety to those most in need of good counsel.

Okay.  So, it doesnt' seem to have rubbed off on any of the human inhabitants of the White House any more than Maddie and Ivy's sterling qualities have rubbed off on clueless me...oh well...

And what about our own cats?  Ivy is doing well and seems to be holding steady at a slim 7.5 pounds.  Maddie has had goopy eye and we've been having to put drops in.  Maddie endures it with minimal complaint (and no bloodshed, which I really appreciate)(since it'd be my blood) and enjoys her treats aftewards.  Her eye seems to be back to normal and this eve is her last drop dose.  Here she is, left eye slightly a-squint, enjoying some sun on the back of her couch (the one place Ivy has not managed to bogart).

  The White House?  Does it have sun as nice as my house?  I think not.  I'll stay here, thank you.

We're always glad you're here, Maddie.  Do stay.

The day after...

Hello.  Ranger is suffering from an excess of Valentine's Day and is feeling terribly, terribly lame.  Thus:  a short and sorry post.

Ivy continues her tuxedo-ness as if she never scared the poo out of us.  Still interested in food, sun puddles and head-pats.  She even seems to be up to 7.5 pounds.  Hooray!

Maddie continues to be lively, happy, and beautiful: 

  Don't you think?

Earlight

I have a confession to make:  I love to see sunlight shining through a cat's ear.

  It just makes me happy.  Weird, huh? 

Anyway:  we've had a not bad week.  Ivy's holding steady at 7 pounds and seems to be enjoying life.  She's currently camped out on the blanket stack, enjoying the sunshine.  We had "the Talk" with Dr G.  The current thinking about our scarey moment last week is that Ivy was doing the butt-drag.  Coupled with the usual weakness in her back legs, it produced the "unable to walk" look that so alarmed LadyRanger.  It may be there was an impacted anal gland or two.  Rare in cats, but possible.  Since Ivy is still a bright and interested cat, though much given to napping in front of the fire,

  we've put off any decisions about the ultimate vet visit.  Thank God.  We're waiting for the traumatic incident, or Ivy simply  making it clear that it's time.  We'll enjoy her company for as long as we can.  Many Thanks to those who've expressed their sympathy, and who have given us such good advice.  ChezRanger is happier because of you.

Maddie has been reminding me that there is another cat around, who is certainly deserving of more publicity.  I've promised her that I'll get some more Maddie pics up next week.  Until then we'll soothe her with multiple petting sessions. 

Finally, enjoy some more tuxedo earlight:

Scarey, Scarey Moment

We had quite a scarey moment involving Ivy the other day.  I was at school and LadyRanger was here.  Ivy visited the Litterbox, which sits right next to the computer upon which LadyRanger was working.  Nothing unusual to begin with, but then Ivy stumbled about 5 feet from the box.  Ivy was alternately walking a step or two, then dragging her back legs, which seemed to not work.  Poor cat was leaving skidmarks across the floor and was nonchalantly trying to get to the kitchen for a water-bowl raid, pausing only to throw up in the hall.  LadyRanger immediately alerted the vet she was incoming, scooped Ivy up, ensconced her in her carrier and defied traffic regulations for the short trip to the office.  Ivy was seen at once.  (note:  Ivy is a favorite at the vets' office since she's shown such courage since being found 2 1/2 years ago.  That and she's a pretty gentle patient)  When Dr G. took Ivy out of the carrier to see how bad the back legs were acting, Ivy simply toddled around the office with a perfectly normal (for her) stride, giving off an aire of wondering what the fuss was all about.

No cause was discovered, no impairment was noticed, no discomfort or disconsolation was witnessed.  Dr G. said that Ivy had good circulation in both legs, so it wasn't a blood clot.  She also ruled out this being caused by any of Ivy's other conditions.

Bizarre.

We really don't know what to make of this episode.  Was it just a spasm or other temporary issue?  (I mean, who here hasn't had a bathroom trip you were lucky to walk away from?)(Ick!) Or is it all a piece of the general deterioration of old-age?  Is this just another step on the final downward spiral?  LadyRanger and Dr G. spent some time talking about end-of-life issues for Ivy.  We've got another appointment scheduled for tuesday to discuss this again.  We are now in that terrible position that I suppose we all have to face:  when do we make the decision for Ivy?

Oh for God's sake...I'm staying in here 'til you get this out of your system... 

We don't want her to experience fear or pain near the end, but we *certainly* don't want to (almost literally) pull the trigger too early.  We'd love some advice from anyone who has it to offer.

The interesting? confusing? reassuring? thing about all this is that she doesn't seem to have lost any capability to enjoy life.  Once home from the vet, she immediately did what Dr G told LadyRanger to *not* let her do:  get up on the bed by herself:

 

What?

Ivy had a nap on the bed too, and kept getting up and down on her own with no sign of discomfort or futher impairment.  Go figure.

  Even did the favorite "Cat Leaning into the Sunlight" thing:

  In short, Ivy seems to be every bit her usual self.  Dr G. didn't want Ivy jumping around on her own, simply because she was afraid Ivy would hurt herself.  Our experience over the past three days is that you simply can't stop Ivy.  Certainly can't stop her from napping in the sun:

  or being extremely cute when she does so:

 Anyways, thanks to LadyRanger for pics 2-4.  And thank you for stopping by.  If you have any words of wisdom for us, let us know.  We'd appreciate any purrs and prayers.  We are a bit scared, but Ivy keeps giving us courage.