Posted by pookzilla on December 15, 2008
So, the acceptance of Tracey by Jack and Cthulhu isn’t going as smoothly as I had hoped. I was excited initially because they interacted with minimal bile through a baby gate but since the gate has come down the situation has deteriorated. At first Tracey would come upstairs and explore. The boys would give her a bit of grief, but nothing serious. Then there was a bad attack – most likely Jack – and since then Tracey has refused to come upstairs. She’ll move between two bedrooms downstairs but that’s about it. She spends most of her day under her favourite chair except for whatever time I spend downstairs with her. There was another bad fight today over lunch (I’m working from home today) that let her really shaken. Jack had her cornered in her favourite room and there was white fur all over the place. I’ve calmed her down (she loves to snuggle under the blanket with me) but I worry about her quality of life. She’s as sweet as they come and she doesn’t have a mean bone in her little body. She doesn’t deserve this.
Posted by pookzilla on November 21, 2008
Let me introduce to you… Tracey! She’s easily the gentlest, most easy going cat I’ve ever met. You can do anything to her and at worst all she’ll do is purr. We still have her sequestered in our back room when we’re not around but we’ve started letting her out when we’re around. The boys aren’t happy with her – they hiss a lot – but she barely pays any attention to them. Hopefully it stays this way!
Posted by pookzilla on November 13, 2008
Well Tracey, the furry addition to our family arrived this evening. The handover went smoother than either of us could have dreamed of. She’s been affectionate with us, she’s eaten, she’s used her box, and she’s even greeted our boys with the barest hint of hissing. She spent an hour snuggled up between us and we even managed to eek some purrs out of her.
I’m already liking her a lot. She looks a LOT like my old girl Pinky. I hadn’t realized it before – my interactions with Tracey up until this point have been infrequent and from a distance. She’s has the same pretty-faced eternal kitten look that Pinky had, only with shorter hair. I actually teared up while sitting with her – the feeling was so familiar.
I’m skirting a thin line. I really don’t want to feel like I’m replacing Abby. She left us so recently… but at the same time, Tracey is a really sweet girl and I can’t help but be drawn to her.
Posted by pookzilla on
The universe, oh it conspires. We have a new addition arriving at our family doorstep today – Tracey. Tracey is an elderly calico kitty without a tail. I’m not sure how her and the boys will get along, but hopefully it wont be too much stress on any of us. From what I understand she’s a very sweet girl, if only a bit neurotic.
The neurosis alone gets her a free pass into our house. 
Posted by pookzilla on September 17, 2008
It’s been another rough week in our household. Our baby girl, Abby, took another bad turn. We’ve been down this path so many times now and there is no mistaking the inevitable destination. After a lot of soul searching and tears we decided to end her pain (and ours) before things got any worse. She was already at the point where she couldn’t walk more than a few steps without falling and she almost never went in her box. She had moments of happiness undoubtedly, but she would mostly just lay around looking miserable. She was never an active cat, but she used to have this spark about her. That spark was gone now, except for the times I was on the floor with her. Giving her a good scritch to the head or back (never lower than that – her arthritis wouldn’t allow it) usually perked her up… but I couldn’t spend all day on the floor.
We decided to ask our vet to come to our house to do the deed and thankfully he agreed. Neither of us wanted our last memories of Abby to be her freaked out and panicking at the vets. By doing it here we should have had a calm, peaceful Abby to remember. By having a date to look to, it also gave us some time to make memorabilia of her. The video camera has been out, snapping short clips of her whenever I catch her in a good spot. On Sunday we made a concrete tile with her paw prints, and also prepared a plaster kit and ink stamp. Given how stressed she got for the concrete, we decided to leave the plaster for after she had passed on – there was no sense making her last few days a string of unpleasant experiences. Instead, we pampered her as best we could while upping her medication dosage to a level that would harm her long term. It perked her up a little bit, but she was still not the same cat we knew and loved…
The downside to this route is that we had almost a week to agonize over our decision. I can’t speak for Lexy, but I would second guess myself every hour or so. Crying usually followed, but after I calmed down I would realize that we were doing the right thing. Keeping her going in this state is selfish. As much as I love her (and boy do I ever love that smelly little butterball) I knew it was time.
So, another member of the family is gone. This year has been so incredibly difficult…
I wrote the above a few days ago knowing that I wouldn’t be able to write it today. She went peacefully, without being scared, in the arms of her people. We miss you already Abby and we love you so very much. Goodbye.
Posted by pookzilla on April 15, 2008
Tonight I was treated to an AWESOME belated birthday gift by the incredibly talented Erika Doyon at Living Colour – a portrait tattoo of my Pretty Princess, Crabby Abby! It turned out absolutely AMAZING. Erika took this photo just before she wrapped me up. It’s going to be sore tomorrow, but boy is it worth it. I couldn’t be happier with the outcome. Endorphins are running out, so I should probably get to bed while I still have the ability to do so.
Eeee!
Posted by pookzilla on February 15, 2008
We brought Abby to the vet today fearing that she may not make the trip home. She had an infection a few weeks back and since then she’s deteriorated. She’s stumbling more than she used to, she’s not as gregarious, and most telling of all: she’s started peeing well outside of her box. The vet gave her a thorough lookover and figures she’s basically healthy with the exception of her arthritis. It’s getting progressively worse, which is why she’s been peeing on the floor – it’s simply too difficult for her to get into the boxes. Armed with this information she’s going on a new pain medication regimen involving morphine, increased MediCam dosage, and a new anti-inflamatory. We also have a new catbox for her upstairs (so she doesn’t have to take the trek down the steps). In addition to this she’ll be be getting a cartilage builder supplement. She now takes more medication than I do. But at least she’s coming home and should be okay for awhile longer. I am starting to feel guilty for prolonging her pain but the vet insists that she’s still okay otherwise. If we can manage the pain we’ll have managed all of her problems. I want to believe he’s right and I will entrust that he is but I can’t help but feel like a selfish asshole for keeping her around. Her and I have bonded to an absurd degree and the idea of losing her keeps me crying like a baby. I know it’ll be sooner rather than later… but it wont be today.
Posted by pookzilla on December 21, 2007
With the help of some family I was able to clear the snow off of the house. This involved soaking my arms up to the elbows in ice cold water in the gutters, but it was done. After coming in and getting my snow clothes off Jack decided to use me as furniture. He’s very warm, so I was happy to oblige.
Posted by pookzilla on December 16, 2007
The boys have the right idea today…
Posted by pookzilla on December 12, 2007
The boys are splayed out on their backs not more than a foot and a half from the fireplace this evening. I swear that given the chance they’d crawl inside and sleep on the logs as they burned.
Unbalanced Cat Household
