A Pleasant Surprise!

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I received a pleasant surprise yesterday when I went to check the mail! Inside there was a package from Chewy....the online pet store. I thought to myself...I haven't ordered anything from them for a while now. What could they be sending me? When I opened it up there was this!! It is a 6" x 6" hand painted portrait of Beau!

I made my account a few years or so back and they ask you for your pets name and a photo. So I filled everything out and attached this photo. It was the only one I could find at the time that showed his whole body. So I attached it and didn't think anything else about it.

This is how it is listed....but he does now weigh less than 8lbs. I had to start buying food for him online when I could no longer find his favorite. And I bought a lot!

His girl Bella died in 2013 at 12 years old. So he has been an only cat and is loving it. Here is a pic of them back in the day!

She was very sweet and loved him..that's why his name is Beau!

Now that Beau is an old man he is very set in his ways. Only eats Chicken or Turkey..no tuna please! But he is starting to fail. Last year, in March, we had to take him to get his teeth cleaned and he had to have teeth pulled. He did not recover well. Come to find out that he was in liver failure. We had medicines to give him 2 and 3 times a day but it made him feel worse. He would have a good day and a bad day. The good seemed to be be more than the bad so I kept giving him the meds. By the first of August it was decided that we would stop all the medicine and put him in Kitty Hospice at home. That made all the difference! 

He was back to his old self. 

But now he is getting slower and I know my time with him is limited. SO getting that package was such a gift! The artist was able to capture his likeness... 

I just wish I could have found a better picture of him!

Whaattt???

There is a disturbance in the force..... Beau has decided to take his nap this afternoon in the bottom of the perch! Sweet Mama got this for him and Bella two years ago. Both have sat on the top but no one EVER cared about the bottom cave underneath. Until Now!!!

I guess it was the noise of a neighbor cutting the grass today or the stress of the minor home repair work we had done this week. Or maybe it's the full moon...I don't know. But Beau decided this was his new nap place...today.

Who know if he will be there tomorrow afternoon.

I'll let you know!

Change of Season?

The days are getting a little cooler...sort of! It starts out chilly and then ended pretty warm. It has been in 80's in the afternoons. I have been waiting to change out my clothes from summer to winter...I guess that will have to wait. Good thing I have some Halloween t-shirts!

Beau, no matter the weather, can always find a patch of sun. Hope your Sunday has been a relaxing as his!

The Love is Back!!

As many of you know, the love has been missing around here... After Beau was put on Prozac for his peeing problem, things got a little dicey around here. Names were called, feelings were hurt, and the fur flied... But Sunday a miracle happened!! I was working on a large order all day and I while I wasn't looking Bella shared the favorite chair with Beau. They stayed like this for an hour or so.

Beau has slowly been coming back to his old self...every now and then he would give Bell a little kiss. Earlier in the afternoon I noticed this dove sitting in the birdbath in the front yard. A sign of peace.

Also on Sunday afternoon Bellas g0t a new toy from my Brother-in-law Kojac. It is a plastic ring with a ball, that lights up, in a track that rings a scratching mat, sprinkled with catnip! (notice the ball in the top leftside of the ring!) Oh Happy Day! She LOVES it!! Beau is not quite sure... He tends to just sit on it.


So, for now, life is good!

Sad Beau

I took Beau back to the vet today. He seemed to be losing weight and I was afraid he might be diabetic from his meds. He is still taking the Prozac for his marking problem and it makes him so sad. He doesn't want to play or eat...he just lays around all day. He used to be a very energetic boy with a big mouth. Now he hardly says a thing...Bella even shares the blankie with him but that doesn't really cheer him up.

Sweet Mama wants him taken off the Prozac....she wants our sweet kitty back. She found, in a cat magazine, an article about Cyproheptadine which someone put their cat on and it worked! She thought it might work for Beau. So we are trying it with the Prozac...the vet said that it was an antihistamine but it wouldn't hurt to try it. So we will see... If this doesn't work Sweet Mama said we will just have to go back to cleaning up pee.

In the meantime...he is just holding on....

Remembering Dora

Dora was put to sleep yesterday. She was the 13 year old cat of my sister's family. Adopted by Red and my niece Precious as a early birthday present, Precious named her Dora because she was so Adorable. Dora was a little thing. She never weight more that 6 or 7 pounds. But her attitude was enormous! She thought she was going to be an "only" pet but my brother-in-law was a police officer(retired) who loves dogs. There were family dogs, drug dogs and even a fancy k-9 attack dog..but Dora stood her ground and put every dog in its place. Not to mention small children and a few vets. This was HER house and she was Queen...and if you forgot she was quick to let everyone know. Outwit...outlast...outplay..she was the Ultimate Survivor. Some might have called her hateful, evil, mean, and frightening, but she also was a lover in her own way. I kept her for a month one summer when her family went to Italy. It took her a few weeks to warm up to me but by the time Red's family got back she was sitting in my lap. Although when I later came over to visit she hissed. But she always rememberd me when I took care of her during the other family trips. She was basically a one person cat...Red's. In the last year she became very ill and spent a lot of time at the vet's. Sadly the time had come yesterday...she was down to 4 pounds and confused. The vet had told us that she would never get any better but maybe meds could help. They didn't.
We will love and miss her... for she was one-of-a-kind feline.
♥RIP Dora♥

Beau Update

Here is the latest update on Beau! When I took him to the vet Friday before last I was told that he needed to have his teeth cleaned. He has Gingivitis and because of the plaque one of his teeth was loose and probably needed to be pulled! Bella had to have her teeth cleaned a few years back and she did fine so I figured it was good for Beau to have his done too. I took him early Tuesday morning and left him for the day. He had 4 days of Prozac...

When I picked him up I had to meet with the vet to discussed his treatment. He had to have 2 teeth pulled because the roots had degraded and he has antibiotics he has to take twice a day but no Prozac for now! He was acting strangely in his carrier while we were at the vet...kinda bobbin and ducking, like a prizefighter. After arriving home, I took him out of the carrier and his back end would not work. He just pulled himself forward with his front paws. Not really over the anesthesia!

He hid under the bed all evening and night not eating or drinking. That lasted through the next day. When he walked around the house he was limping...sad. They gave him a shot in his leg to put him too sleep..but because of the Prozac he had to have a little more so that meant 2 shots!

Wednesday he seemed to be a little better. I let him out on the screen porch with Bella in the evening and next thing I know....I was breaking up a cat fight! He had turned on Bell, who have flattened herself on the floor.

Now keep in mind they are best friends! They sleep together, eat together, play and just hang out all day. This was very upsetting to Bella and me! So I separated everybody and put him in my room...where he promptly got under the bed! When I woke up the next morning, Thursday, he was standing by the back door ready to go out on the porch again! He still was not eating or drinking...that I could tell. But by Friday morning he seemed to be even better and decided to have a snack! Now he is just slightly limping.


So as you can see, it has been very busy around here! Every day he is getting better and better...it is just taking a while! Hopefully he will be cured by Monday! Maybe then he will have forgotten about peeing on everything and will not need the Prozac!

Hoping this one works!!

Took Beau to the vet today! He had to have his checkup and get his shots. While he was there we discussed the issues he has been having... By the way, did I tell you I am sooo tired?

He has been waking me up for a week or more now at 4:30 or 4:45 ....every single day! He will pee on something at that time of day so I try to hold him off until 6:30 or 7:00. That means trying to sleep with the light on...which does not work! It does calm him down for a while but not too long. So I get up and get to work. Good thing my "office" is in the kitchen! I cut out aprons and surf the web, trying to be quiet as to not wake up Sweet Mama. But most of the time, she is up by 7:30.

So the vet and I discussed meds for him. and he has been prescribed Prozac!!! Yay!! I am hoping that this is the magic pill for him and it will end the spraying! I am so tired of cleaning up pee by dawn's early light. Tonight I am giving him his first pill...Hopefully I can sleep until 8. That would make for a great day!! Please, please work! I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

The Baby has Issues

This is Beau...the Baby! He is 5 (or 6 or so). He showed up on my front porch in 2004. Bella (she was 2 at the time) said she LOVED him and we must keep him. So we asked around and no one claimed him so we kept him. Then he had a few little operations and is here to stay! Very sweet! Loves Bella! Is a lap cat! Very playful! Chatty! Needy! Has issues!!

He has been fixed but he sprays...lots of cats in the neighborhood. Bella likes to make new friends but he is a bit jealous... I have taken him to the vet and put him on some kind of medicine but it does not work...just makes him dopey. I don't want to drug him but the meds that he was given put him in a coma and wears off just in time for dawn and the peeing begins again! I read here online that vets now recommend Prozac...anybody heard about that?

He is so loving and sweet ...just has this one problem. I can't keep covering every piece of furniture in tinfoil...Any suggestions?

Best Friends!

I though I had seen it all but this is what I found when I went out on the porch this afternoon! We were SHARING! This does happen but not very often! It is the first time it has happened with the new perch! Usually the perch belong to the one who gets there first but not today! Just wanted to share with you this big event!!

Giveaway!

I meant to post this earlier in the week, so please forgive me! I am in a giveaway that ends July 13! That is next Monday! Just go to www.babymakinmachine.com to enter!


She is celebrating 400 followers on her blog and is giving away a lot of stuff! I am listed on Day One...last Monday's blog post! I am giving away a BBQ Style of your choice! Just go to my shop and pick out the one you like and comment on her blog! It is that easy! On that day there are 3 other items to be given away too...all to the same winner! What a deal! Check it out!

This week has been a little hectic and all...being that it was Sweet Mama's first full week of radiation. It got better every day, so that is a good thing! The other problem I have been having is that Beau is waking me up every morning around 3 to 4 am. It is driving me crazy! He has never done it be for now and he is now 6 yrs old! I get up and feed him...just to keep him quiet. He has a big mouth and can be very loud! I don't want him to wake up Sweet Mama! Most days he gets back in the bed and goes back to sleep...me too! But this morning that just didn't happen! I am so tired! I am trying to poke him and wake him up all afternoon...Anybody got any great ideas?

I can not lock him up or out of my room. That just makes him cry louder! If it was winter it would be different. He doesn't like to be cold. But I can't afford to turn down the ac to icy! He is a very sweet cat and very loving! But he is wearing me out!

A Better Day

After a whirlwind day yesterday, of expected and unexpected doctor's appointments, Sweet Mama, Red and I made it back home. The ride from Atlanta was nice and easy. The doctors were very positive and Sweet Mama was feeling much better by the time we got home. Much better ending to a day that started a little rough. Sweet Mama has had a time recovering from the anesthesia. It didn't help that she had 2 surgeries in less than 3 weeks! Hopefully every day will be a little better than the last!

We have been spending more and more time on the back porch now that Skippy and I cleaned and vacuumed. Red's family (minus Kojak) came over and visited last night. And this evening Skippy and Red came back! Beau has taken a liking to the recliner, especially at naptime. Well , Skippy plopped down while Beau was trying to nap. Both would not give an inch! The result was this! Beau was slowly sliding down the recliner as Skippy would lean back. His face got closer and closer to the edge!

Until finally he gave up and left! Not in an angry or mad way...just like "OK I'm tired of this...yawn...hmm.. this other chair looks nice and comfy!" A relaxing and quiet day for healing!

Sweet Mama's Follow-up Appointment

Sweet Mama's follow-up appointment is tomorrow at Emory. We see the Surgeon and the Prosthodontist. She is having the packing removed so hopefully she will be feeling a little better! She still has not had any pain, just itching of her bad eye. If that goes away she will be a lot happier. She can't rub it because she has still has stitches below the eye. It also gets a little goopy now and then (that's just the healing process). These little annoyances are a bit trying to her but will soon work themselves out! We will know more tomorrow...It's just going to be a long day!!

Beau woke up this a.m. at 5:03...only because Bella threw up a hairball in the hall at 4:30. I tell you, if it is not one it is the other!! He stayed up until 7ish then came back and got it the bed and stayed there until 9:30! I had to get up at 8!! It is just not fair!! Yawn....Who knows what the morning will bring... I plan on sleeping through the night! I hope he heard me...

The Baby and The Crack Of Dawn

This is the face of the Crack Of Dawn!! Today we awoke at 5:30!! And by the time it was 6:45 he was back in the bed ready for his nap! I tell you he is wearing me out! When Sweet Mama got up around 8..the baby was fast asleep. It is driving me crazy! I wish he could at least sleep until 7:30...I would be so happy.

Now his deal is...he likes to get up and go outside on the screened-in porch...Early! Just to check out the perimeter! He is my cat security guard making sure we have no intruders of the feline kind! Then he comes back in and tells me he is hungry by beating on the side of my bed. So I get up and walk...in the dark to the kitchen and stand by his bowl. Beau then say ...Oh!! There's my breakfast! Thanks...yummy!! I then go back to bed. All the time hoping that we are not waking up Sweet Mama...Beau also has quite a loud mouth and can be quite chatty in the morning!! I know I am enabling him, but it is the only way to keep him quiet! I wish I knew a better way!

It rained again this afternoon...more like a monsoon! So I decided to try a nap again...hoping no one would call..Thankfully they didn't! Only one crack of thunder woke me...and the baby! He came back to my room (from the porch) got in the bed and fell out! We had a nice 2 1/2 hour nap! Much better day! Now if only he could sleep all night!

I need some advice! Big time!!

These are my children. Bella, the orange Maine Coon, is 5 1/2 years old. I got her from the Humane Society when she was 1 year old...someone had returned her! She is so sweet, loves everything and everyone! Beau, on the left, is a Balinese (I think?!) and I think he is 4. He showed up almost a year after I got Bell. It was a stormy day and the power was out when I got home. There he was, on my front porch, meowing (or should I say, hollering)! Bella was in the front window looking at him and winking! She told me he was sooo cute and she LOVED HIM and that we HAD to keep him!!! I wasn't so sure... So I asked around and no one would claim him. Long story short, he had a pellet in his leg where someone had shot him. He is a little mouthy, talks all the time, where as Bella chirps. So he stayed..got a little operation and picked out his room!

So we all moved up here when Sweet Mama got sick the first time. They both became best friends very quickly.


Bella has taken up with Sweet Mama...everytime she sits in her recliner to watch TV, Bella has to sit with her. She also will sleep on Sweet Mama's bed at night! Sweet Mama loves it!

Beau, meanwhile, is my baby. Follows me everywhere, wants to sit in my lap all the time! It is sometimes hard to write these posts because he is in my lap...helping! He is very loving and so sweet...but wants a lot of attention.



Now my problem is this... He is waking up every morning between 5 & 5:30 wanting me to get up too. I usually get up, go to the kitchen and stand by the food bowls (where Beau say "Oh, there's my food!!! I forgot..."). If I don't get up, he beats on the side on my bed like is is playing a conga drum! And if that does not work, he goes to my bookcase (which I have booby trapped) and pees on a barrier I have put up! So now I get up, go to the back door and let him out on the screened-in porch. This will usually hold him for a half an hour or so, then he comes back in...if I am still in the bed, he beats again. It doesn't matter if Sweet Mama is awake and in the kitchen..he says hello to her and keeps on walking back to my room, hollering all the way. This goes on until I get up... Then he has to take a nap...he is exhausted...waking me up is a hard job...but somebody has to do it.



Now with Sweet Mama having to go back in the hospital and having a long recovery period, how am I going to keep him from waking her up? He cannot be kenneled, he hates it!! Talk about hollering..he would wake up the whole neighborhood! Plus I think he got fixed too young, but who knew his age at the time?!

I know I created a monster ...but just look this baby...gotta love him! He can be so sweet...

Any advice or tips would be appreciated!!

Please leave a comment!!