Minne, Muphy and Geico

Where have all the animals gone? My house seems to be getting quieter by the day - except when Max is trying to play with Maggie.

Mini aged gracefully and in April of this year, it was time to let her go. It is still hard to talk about  but she had mostly good days until the very end.

Murphy decided there were too many animals in this house with Max and decided to go live with the family that lives behind us. He seemed very happy there and I brought his favorite toys and food. After about 6 months, I noticed he started coming around my house again and was very thin. I started putting food out for him and went to speak with the family to see if there was anything I could help with. Unfortunately they had moved and the house was empty. I continued to try to feed Murphy but one night over the summer, I had a dream of him when he was a young cat and he was there to cuddle with me and tell me good-bye. We have not seen Murphy since so I fear that he has left us.

And finally, Geico passed away last night. She had been lethargic and I noticed she stopped eating. I rushed her to the vet on Saturday with what I thought was an impaction. After the enema, the vet told me that he did not get much out and he feared she had a mass. I left her with him so they could do an ultrasound on her Monday but the stress was probably too much for her. I have her cage by my computer and realized that as I work, I would constantly glance over to her and talk to her. She was such as sweet gecko and I am going to miss her terribly. So will Maggie - she is looking for her now.

We have many changes coming up in our lives and a move to a new city so our remaining three fur babies will have new adventures soon.

Hi Aunt Trish!

So wonderful Aunt Trish (who will kill me for saying Aunt Trish because she is Trish) is thinking about starting a blog. Guess who is will try to help - yes me WIHAH! (Trish, my acronym for Wish I had a Horsey).

 I have been extremely neglectful, August 22 was my last post and quite depressing - blah!

I think Trish needs to start a blog. She is talented and an artist. I am looking at new models  for her display and share with compensation her work. And thanks to Trish, I may actually try to keep up with my animal updates.

SOOOOOOO, we have a change in the cast of characters:

We have a new character (feline of course) named Max. In the summer of 2016, I was in the garage and swore I heard kittens in our detached garage. I looked and the sound stopped. Spoke to hubby about it and he said I was imagining things. Then I noticed a feral black cat that would not leave our yard and faced the mighty Mini. About 5 weeks later, Hubby informed me there is a kitten in our garage (apparently my imagination is quite strong). Then a couple of weeks later another one showed up. We nick named the black feral cat Mama Cat and the kittens "uh-oh". I was able to trap Mama Cat and the two kittens. Unfortunately the orange kitten, which Hubby named Fritz the Cat (much to my dismay) was weak and departed this world in my arms at the vet. Mama Cat and the black kitten were trapped, neutered and released.

Mama cat decided that we sucked rocks and left for good. I don't blame her but I am relieved that she can live her live without the worry of additional babies. I really thought the black kitten would follow suit...

The black kitten, who tore up my arm (long stupid story on my part), decided to stick around and adopt me as his human. Now Max is part of the group. Max is my baby. Max drives everyone nuts. The problem is Murphy decided that Max was too disruptive and started to refuse to come inside.

Murphy spent less and less time in our yard. I got worried but noticed he still looked well fed and suspected he was being taken care of by someone else. That was confirmed when I received a call from a vet who scanned him - his paw was hurt and the people feeding him took him in. I have met the couple, who live in the house right behind us and they are now taking primary care of him. I brought his favorite treats, told them about his preferences and have let them know I still put food out for him The wife mentioned she was curious why he was going to our back yard - so I guess Murph still considers us his "friends".

This is a better arrangement for Murphy. The wife stays home and she seems really attached. Plus they travel and will let me know when they go out of town so I can make sure to keep an eye open for him. The boy is not happy but understands, plus he is going to college in August so Murphy would have been lost without him so this transition may be OK. I confess I was teary eyed when I was there but they are so attached I know he will be well looked after and we are his safety net.

So Max. He is Max or Maxwell Smart or Maxwell Smartie Pants when he gets on my nerves. I am the only one he will let pick up as Mama Cat taught him all humans are evil - I guess I got a pass. Will post a picture of him soon.

So, let's get Trish blogging! She is an intelligent talented person (with better grammar than I have) who needs to be on the blogosphere.

This one's for you 😀

Wow

Wow, just wow. This summer has been brutal. July 6, my son's paternal grandfather passed away. Joe was 94 years old and when his time came, he left quickly, on his own terms, probably cussing us out for making a fuss. Then my mother fell and shattered her wrist July 29 and had surgery on the 30th. Back to the ER August 9 for breating problems. I asked that she be admitted and she started to decline. A CTA with contrast August 11 showed a mass in her esophogas. Then the compression fractures in her spine. August 13 hospice, August 15 gone. Mom was 68. I suddenly realized I have no parents since dad passed in 2005.

Just wow. This summer has been brutal. Sleep sweetly mom.

Rest peacefully, my sweet dog. Endy left us this morning peacefully with me by his head. He has been declining for the last six months and before things got too bad, hubby and I made the decision to let him play without pain. I miss him terribly and feel like my heart will explode. It is hard to image a world without Endy in it.

Maggie update :/

Good news: not cancer.

Maggie is still with us and we are trying to see what we can do to make her feel better. Something is not right but she is at least eating now. They are not sure what was underneath her tongue (I am seriously considering taking her to another vet) but the labs say it is not cancer. The bad news is she still struggles to keep weight on her and keeps on over grooming - I catch her literally pulling tufts of fur out. However she appears to be feeling better since they took whatever they took from her mouth. She may not be with us for a long time but she will is still with us now.

Since Miss Maggie is too good for pictures, Endy is up for his photo session. He promised to be good when he went out in the wet yard; he fibbed.

Have a happy and safe New Year's! 

When is it time to let go?

It looks like Maggie has cancer under her tongue. She has been losing weight but still seemed to be feeling fine so we decided to book a dental appointment for her. She was not really eating the hard food but the soft food so I thought her teeth might be hurting her. I dropped her off yesterday and got a call from the vet at 10:30 am...I knew that was not good. He said he found a lesion the size of a dime under her tongue. I immediately said "REMOVE IT AND BIOPSY IT!". He then had to explain to me that while he would remove as much as he could, he could not get clean margins without removing her tongue so he would take as much as he could. He said there is a slim chance he is wrong and that it is an injury that is healing...right.

Crap.

I asked him to please do so and I would talk to my husband. It took the better part of the day to get a hold of him and he asked me to find out when I picked her up if she was in pain.

According to the vet, she probably is uncomfortable eating hard food but if she is acting normally, then she probably is not in too much pain. I got her home and she was so happy and ate like a maniac - poor Murphy moved too slowly and she ate his wet food. For a kitty that was under sedation, she moved and played like nothing had happened. The the hard conversation and the heated debate that Pat and I are currently having. When should she be put down.

If Pat had his way, he would have done it last night. I nearly took his head off. If he had gone to the vet instead of me, he would have done it. We do not know what type it is, is it aggressive or will this buy her time. I feel her quality of life is still good and so does he. So why is he feeling this way? He says he does not want her to suffer at all. I am not for letting an animal suffer but I cannot understand doing it before the suffering occurs. Yes, she was hurting with the dry food but she can eat soft food so the suffering has been alleviated. If she gains weight and is active, why not let her have the extra time. I just don't understand.

He thinks I am being selfish and I think he is being selfish. We have at least agreed to get the results of the biopsy back and watch her eating and activities for the next week. If she shows she is in pain, I am on board with putting her to sleep. I understand how much he deeply loves Maggie and think that is why he wants to do it now. He is her human and they have a connection that is so incredibly deep.

But I love Maggie too. And I would not let her suffer but I do not want to take any days away from her prematurely.

We are both right and wrong in this situation. So the question of the day is: When is it time to let go?

Still here!

But no pictures of fur babies. I suck.

When I have time, you will see them again - and maybe the boy - yes, the boy MUST be included.

Have Patience!

(and hug your imaginary horse)