new tattoo - of Murray

I guess I really love my kitty, because I got a tattoo of Murray's sweet Siamese face on my calf. It turned out great. Looks just like him. So now I have him with me forever.

the big anniversary

October 16 marked the fourth anniversary of Murray moving in with me. I'm so glad he did. He brings a lot of joy to my life and Iove him dearly.

giving up on leash training

I thought I was making some progress with getting Murray used to the walking jacket. But he's started fighting me when I put it on. And once it's on he just lies there in one spot and won't move till I take the jacket off. Which totally defeats the purpose. So I'm going to return the jacket and leash and give up on the experiment. Oh well, at least he seems happy as an indoor cat, so hopefully he doesn't feel like he is missing out on anything. Meanwhile I have met a great guy online who says he loves cats. A must in a guy! He lives in NY now but is moving here as soon as he sells his house. He is very handsome and well spoken with a great sense of humor. He's lots older than me - 52 - and black, so my folks might freak. But who cares? *grin* About the only thing I don't like us that he wants kids and I don't. But if he is otherwise the perfect person I would make the sacrifice to have kids. I'm sure motherhood would grow on me. But maybe I could talk him into just having cats, if things work out. *smile*

Murray's new toys and contraptions

As I previously blogged, the initial walking jacket I ordered was too small for Murray. But it came with some toys he really likes - tinselly balls he likes to bat around and a fishing ple with a string on the end, which he likes to pounce on and drag around. I ordered the extra large sized walking jacket and it fits him great. I've been trying it on him for a few minutes a day for several days and he seems to be getting more comfortable with it. Another gadget I got him is a fancy drinking fountain that circulates and filters the water. He likes his water fresh and cold so I thought he would like it. And he really does. It was an early birthday present. I celebrate his birthday Oct 16 because that is the anniversary of his moving in with me. It is also National Feral Cat Day which is fitting since he was a stray.

Walking jacket

By the way, the walking jacket I ordered for Murray finally arrived. But it was too small, even though it is supposed to fit up to seventeen pounds and Murray is only about fourteen pounds now. So I sent it back and ordered the extra-large size. Hopefully that will fit him. The problem was with the neck - Murray has a thick neck. Or, rather, he has no neck at all. :-)

New fountain

I bought Murray one of those fancy schmancy cat drinking fountains as an early "birthday" present, and he loves it. Makes it worth the fifty bucks it cost. :-) I've heard that they're good for a cat's health because they filter the water and keep it cold, so bacteria doesn't grow in it as much, and cats tend to drink more water when it's kept circulating and fresh, which is good for them. I figured he would like a fountain because he likes to drink from dripping faucets and stuff. And I'm glad I was right.

The wedding

The "wedding" on the role-playing MeowChat last night was lots of fun. The "bride and groom" exchanged some beautiful, very feline, vows. (Like, the groom promised to always lick behind the bride's ears, and share his patch of sunlight with the bride, etc. Or maybe those were the bride's vows to the groom, I can't remember. :-) ) Murray's role was to ride on the pumpkin coach with the kitten ring bearers to make sure they behaved. But they didn't - they kept "acting up." And other members of the wedding party took it upon themselves to step in and discipline them, which sort of undermined Murray's role as the disciplinarian. But, oh well. It was still a lovely "ceremony." I wish I'd thought ahead of time about giving the couple a "gift" so I could come up with something creative (like, one "cat" gave them a "tuna boat," and another gave "monogrammed bedding"). But, thinking on the fly, I (or, rather, Murray) just gave 'em a "gift certificate" to Sears, where I work. Maybe if I were feeling more creative, or had put more thought into it, I would have given 'em something like a "heart-shaped drinking fountain" or something. Oh well, too late now! :-) I'll keep that in mind for the next "wedding."

 

Speaking of drinking fountains, I think I am going to buy one for Murray. He likes nice, fresh water. Whenever I fill up his water dish, he soon drinks out of it. And when I run the faucet in the bathroom sink, he jumps up there right after I shut it off to lick the water out of the sink. For a while, my bathtub faucet was dripping, and he was jumping in the tub and drinking the dripping water. So all those signs point toward him possibly really liking a drinking fountain. I think I will give it to him as an early birthday present. (I celebrate his birthday in October - on the 16th, which also happens to be National Feral Cat Day - which is the anniversary of his moving in with me... I don't know when his real birthday is, because he was a stray.) If he doesn't like the fountain, I don't know what to give him as a present, since he doesn't like catnip and doesn't care about toys (except for a mouse on a string fishing pole toy). I haven't really gotten him anything the past several years. He hasn't seemed to mind. :-) I guess if he doesn't like the fountain, I will just give him extra treats on his birthday.

 

I want to get him the fountain soon, before I go out of town around the 9th-12th of October, so he will be used to it by then. I think the fountain would last better over that stretch than just a plain water dish, where he would drink out much of the water and/or it would evaporate. And I'm not planning on having anyone come to take care of him during that span, because I'll be home for part of the 9th and coming back on the 12th, so there would only be two days where Murray would be on his own. As long as I leave out plenty of food, and have the fountain, he should be all right. (If he ends up not liking the fountain, I think I will get someone to come out on the 10th or 11th, to check on him, to make sure he has enough water.)

"Wedding" tonight on MeowChat

The MeowChat group I belong to - where chat participants pretend to be their cats - is having a "wedding" tonight between two cats. I'm looking forward to it. Murray has been assigned a place in the wedding - riding on the pumpkin coach with the ring bearers. That was nice of the group to give him a role, especially since he is such a new participant in the chats.

 

The "wedding" is at 6 p.m. my time tonight. I will definitely be there.

 

Yep, kind of sad that that will be the highlight of my Friday night. Oh well. :-) It's still fun. Odd, but fun.

Murray's losing weight - and his hair!

Took Murray to the vet a couple nights ago for his vaccinations and a check-up. (Had to chase him around a bit, 'cause he saw the carrier come out and knew what was coming!) Murray was down another three ounces since late July (and down ten ounces total since 2007). I hope the weight loss is just 'cause I changed his food to a better quality food - I've heard that if you give a cat higher quality food, it will eat less than if you give it junk, because its nutritional needs are met sooner.

 

The vet found a patch of thinning fur on Murray's back. I was really worried, because I guess that can be a symptom of some serious diseases, like hyperthyroidism (but the vet thinks that is unlikely at Murray's age - six or seven). But the vet said not to be too concerned, especially since it's a time of changing seasons (though it doesn't SEEM to be getting any cooler!). So I guess I will just keep an eye on it and hope it doesn't get worse. If it does, I can always have some lab tests run. The vet must be pretty honest, because if he just wanted my money, he would act all worried and tell me I had to have a bunch of expensive tests done, rather than trying to reassure me and say that I shouldn't be concerned.

 

I guess things can't be too bad if Murray is eating, drinking, and using the litter box normally, and he has been very happy and playful. So he isn't acting ill. And he hasn't been licking or scratching the thinning patch at all, and has no underlying skin conditions other than dry skin/dandruff that he's had for a while.

 

So - I will TRY not to worry! :-)

My kitty had a good day yesterday

Murray was very happy to have me home with him ALL DAY yesterday. I was supposed to go to my friend's new house to go swimming, but they couldn't get the pool chemicals right, so I'm going today instead, after working at Sears from 10 to 3. So, yesterday I had nowhere to go and nothing to do (I decided grocery shopping could wait), so Murray got me all to himself all day and night. He loved it. He sure misses me when I'm away, and spends every possible minute by my side when I'm home.

 

Meanwhile, my mom reports that Simba has been feeling spunky lately, even at the ripe old age of 12. She said she appropriated a table that he likes to lie on, so she could do a puzzle on it, and he showed his displeasure by hiding her puzzle pieces when she wasn't looking. One day she was sitting in a chair that Simba sometimes likes to sit on, while she was doing the puzzle, and he leapt up all the way to the top of the chair without her knowing about it, and as soon as she got up, he jumped down to the seat and scared the heck out of her. No arthritis for him, if he's able to jump all the way to the top of that tall chair!