A sick cat.

Last night, Artemis was acting really weird -- she couldn't close her mouth, she couldn't keep her tongue inside of her mouth; she was drooling and shaking. It was odd. Usually when the cats do weird things I freak out immediately and Sean tells me "they're cats!" and that they're fine. But last night, we just sort of knew that things weren't fine and that we should have her seen. After a call to the animal ER, who told us that without seeing her they couldn't even begin to guess what was wrong, we fought to get her in the cat carrier, got all bundled in jackets and blankets, got into the car -- in the negative degree weather and went to the Animal Hospital. It's only about 11 minutes away from our house, which is pretty convenient -- but I really hope it's not some place that we frequent. We left the house at about 8:30 and got home at midnight. In between that time, we saw three different families who had to leave their pet at the hospital for further testing, and one family whose pet didn't make it. It was horrible. In our specific situation, the vets told us that she has many infections in her mouth/gums and that most, if not all, of her teeth will have to be pulled out. She also has a heart murmur. They offered to have X-rays of her mouth done at the hospital -- we opted to wait for a daytime vet as midnight was approaching. They sent her home with antibiotics and pain medicine. Poor baby. So today, I took her to a new vet (since we just moved). She was thrilled, as you can imagine. Two outings within 24 hours of each other. She ran around the exam room, crouched in between chairs, attempted to hide inside the sink, walked across the vet's computer keyboard (she was clearly feeling uncomfortable but comfortable at the same time). She ended up climbing into my jacket while I was wearing it. We were there for about an hour and by the time we got home her leg was wrapped in purple tape from where they took her blood and her face was all wet from crying. Little does she know that on Feb. 10th, she will be having her teeth extracted. I didn't know that cats (indoor cats) don't need most of their teeth (they only need their canines and a few of their molars are "helpful") so it's supposedly a common surgery but necessary for this little one. :(

My cat's depressed and I think it's contagious.

I took Apollo to the vet today for her annual wellness visit which I still claim I wasn't aware cats required. I sort of just thought, indoor cats at least, took care of themselves and would never cost me anything other than the cost of food and possibly toys. Well, we're two years into these annual wellness visits and the money is adding up. Oh, the vet says I need something? I buy it. Sean assures me it's not true and that cats do, in fact, take care of themselves and that his cats growing up (he had many) just did their own thing, never got sick, didn't get their shots and still lived long, happy and healthy lives. So tell me why, oh why, do my two cats suddenly have gingivitis and require $40 medication that looks a lot like garlic powder? Why do they need a certain kind of immune vitamins? Why do they need immune vitamins? Why do they only eat certain dry food and put their nose up at food in a different shape? ...Ridiculous.

See, before today I thought it was... ridiculous. But now? After tonight's wellness visit -- I realized that was nothing. The vet casually asked "so, how's she doing?" and I had one of those panic attacks that I imagine parents of children in my class have, when I ask them questions about their child. I started with "...good." And then continued with "well, you know..." and suddenly I went into this whole long tangent about how I think she's sad. Imagine that? A sad cat? Don't they just sleep all day anyway? How can you even tell? But Apollo was very lively when we got her. She was outgoing and spunky. She did love sleeping and definitely had "her spots". She followed me around the house, and slept in our bed and relaxed on the couch. She loved her food, drank her water, played with her toys, never scratched our furniture -- she was the perfect cat. In April, we thought she needed a playmate: enter Artemis. I've tried to play off their relationship as "getting to know each other" or by saying they're just different cats and need to make adjustments. I act like they're best friends and have visions of them taking naps together and grooming each other while I'm away. The truth is Apollo can't stand Artemis and their relationship is just getting worse. Apollo ignores Artemis, stays away from her, refuses to go on any furniture Artemis has been on, no longer sleeps with us, won't eat her food if Artemis so much as breathes on it. Seriously; it's dramatic.

Do you know what the vet said to me after what was verbally probably an even longer version of what I've typed above? "She's depressed". And then he continued "she loved you so much and now she has to share you. She's anxious... and probably a little mad". Oh god. Do you know what the remedy is for a depressed cat?

A $47 (+ tax) product that is supposed to "diffuse" the situation. You plug it into the wall, it sort of looks like a febreeze air freshener, and it gives off a scent of pheromones to felines. Supposedly, in a month they'll love each other, appreciate each other and want to be around each other. And I thought dental medication and vitamins were strange. Regardless, I hope it works, because as much as I pretend I'm complaining I feel so sad that she's so sad and I'm a little nervous as to what "the next step" of improving their relationship will cost our wallet... 

6 tips for introducing cats.

One of those posts about our cats. 

On April 16th, we brought Artemis home from the animal shelter. She was scared, starving and depressed. They think she was beaten, she was definitely neglected and her eyes had that empty look the animals in the ASPCA commercials have. You know... the look. It's so sad.

We were a little nervous about bringing home someone new because of Apollo. We weren't sure how she was going to react after being the only pet for one whole year. But I did all the researching I could about introducing two cats and Google promised me it would be okay especially because they are both female, both young enough, and because Artemis was smaller in size compared to Apollo.

I read and reread all the advice and this is the process we took for inviting Artemis (Artie) into our home without Apollo feeling like she was being bumped to the curb.

1. Prepare the environment. Before we brought her home, we set up a space in our place that would be her "area" for as long as this whole process would take. Some websites said introducing cats takes a long time (like 5-6 weeks) others just said they sort of threw the cats together and made it work. We chose not to go that route, but maybe that would work for you. In our second bedroom, we set up a bed, her food and water and a litter box.

2. Upon arrival, stick to your normal routine. When I brought her home, I immediately brought the cage in that room, set it down, opened the cage door and left the room closing the door behind me. This part is really hard to do, by the way. But websites promised it was the way to do it claiming the new cat would feel more comfortable in the room alone. And the existing cat needs to feel like nothing has changed. So I left, washed my hands, and greeted Apollo like nothing ever happened. She was oblivious.

3. Visit quickly and quietly. I stayed out of the room for a whole hour and it was torturous. But I paid attention to Apollo, made dinner and waited for Sean to get home. Once he came home from work, we went in together, closing the door behind us. To our surprise -- Google was right and she was moving around on her own, although she stopped and hid right when we walked in the room. This sort of thing happened for a while. Each time we would go in we would see her run across the room and hide. For three days, we went on like this. Quietly sneaking away from Apollo to visit with Artie. We whispered in the room with her and tried to play with her and get her to eat (neither of which we were very successful with).

The first night, I broke the rules and asked Sean to sleep in that room with her (I'm sure that's why she favors him more!) so that she wouldn't be lonely. After climbing into bed, she crawled under the covers with him and stayed there the whole night. But as for the day time routine, we stuck to it and visited minimally.

4. Wait out the hissing. Meanwhile, Apollo started to catch on. I'm sure she could probably smell Artie, but she wasn't so sure what was happening. She started stalking the doorway, and sniffing, and making strange sounds that weren't necessarily hissing but they weren't the friendliest of sounds either.

Once Apollo calmed down around the doorway, five days after bringing Artie home, we opened the door. Google told me about steps in between but they weren't practical for us. So we opened the door to see what happened. And oddly enough -- nothing. Apollo never crossed the threshold and Artie didn't dare come out of the second bedroom. On the third day of this, Apollo walked in.

5. Let them explore and don't interfere. Apollo was curious about Artie. And tried to follow her around, sniffing her when she got a chance. At times, it got a little intense and it took everything in me not to scream and become dramatic. Sean assured me they were animals and it was all normal. But some sounds... were just awful. Slowly but surely they started getting closer in proximity to one another. Of course, Apollo continually keeping the higher ground to assert her dominance. Again... it was all normal and to be expected and it was all what Google told me.

6. Give it time. By day 10, I was nervous. Artie still hadn't left the second bedroom. She wasn't exploring, she was still scared and looking very skinny -- she was barely eating. On a whim, we cracked open a can of wet food and put it down... and that was the turning point. She ate like she hadn't eaten in her whole life (which maybe she hadn't). The shelter didn't tell us what they had been feeding her and we just bought her similar food to Apollo's. But once we figured out her food habits, she changed as a kitten. I read somewhere that once your basic needs are taken care of (food, water, shelter) you're more apt to be comfortable and confident. I'm pretty sure that's what happened. 

By day 14, she still hadn't left that one room. She had all she needed in there (necessities as well as comfort items and two huge windows) but I really wanted a lap cat -- someone to watch TV with. We tried everything... moving her food just outside the room so she had to leave to eat (it didn't work), we threw her toys outside the room so she would run and forget it was a different room (it didn't work), we tried to coax her out... everything. We even picked her up and brought her out of the room (PS.. not a good idea) but she just ran right back.

On day 18, completely on her own, she walked out of the room. All by herself. And she hasn't looked back.

:)

I think my heart is growing.

I know that this whole post may sound crazy.
Like really crazy.
And if you're not an animal person, then it won't make sense.
And if you're not a cat person, then you'll probably be like:
"stop talking about your cat".
Fair enough.
But this is my warning: this entire post consists of me acting like my cat is my child.
Mmmkay?



But if you are an animal person, or a cat person, or a person who just understands
the idea of sharing your house with something so innocent, and little.
Something who relies on you for not only food and shelter, but for comfort and companionship.
Then maybe you'll slightly understand where I'm coming from.

I was never a cat person.
They scared me. So unpredictable with their crazy eyes and their intelligence.

When it was time for us to get our own place,
Sean begged me to say it was okay for his cats from his parent's house to come with us.
And eventually begged for just one to come with us.
And unfortunately had to deal with neither coming with us.

I was just not interested in taking care of an animal.
I'm allergic to them, and while I liked the idea of having a pet to cuddle with,
everything else that comes with having a pet turned me away from them.

Fast forward three years -- to when Sean asked again to get a cat.
And again, I said "no" and I was so sure of myself...
until I saw her in pictures,
and until I held her in my arms,
and until we named her Apollo.



Because once I did that, I fell for her.
And for the idea of having cats as pets.

They're not that scary after all.

Sure, you don't want to put your face too close to her belly,
or dangle things in front of her face,
or move too quickly or in the dark,
but honestly, who would like all those things?
It's not her fault she has cat-like reflexes.
Because... she is a cat.

But for 11 months, I've been loving her.
And taking care of her.
And having conversations with Sean about how I don't remember us not having her.
And it just seems like she's always been in the picture.



And while I fell for her, and the idea of cats as pets, I couldn't imagine getting another cat too.
Because I can't understand how people share their love and attention among more than one animal.
It just didn't make sense to me.

But for the past few weeks, something has changed.
I thought I wouldn't have enough love and attention to give to another cat.
But I've come to realize that's not true.

I think that my heart will just grow.
I won't be taking any love away from Apollo 
to give to a new kitten,
but rather expanding my heart to give the same amount of everything to both.



And I think that must happen when parents become parents for the second time.
Your heart just grows bigger.

And it's looking like our hearts will be growing bigger around 2PM tomorrow afternoon.
I'll let you know how it all turns out...

Vacation.

We've had quite the vacation. Sean was off for a week, although he had to go in today. And I'm off until January 7th. What's that? You're jealous? I get that a lot.

I think Apollo is getting used to us being home. She's getting flashbacks of our summer together, I'm sure.

She's getting quite used to sleeping in until 9AM:

Waking up and having hot chocolate:

Helping with chores and putting away new gifts:

Taking a morning nap during ABC Family's 11AM showing of Gilmore Girls:

Around lunch time remembering the Christmas tree exists:

In the middle of the afternoon, finding a quiet place to take an afternoon nap. Preferably in a pile of my new clothes:

Helping with making some Christmas treats:

 Waiting for us to feed her dinner and becoming impatient thus turning into someone mischievous:

Playing with her new toys... for hours and hours after dinner:

And then waiting for us to bring her to bed.

...All to start it over the next day.

:)

Oh, Apollo.

Hey ladies and gents,

It's me, Apollo.

Hang on, let me peel my eyes open...

Okay, great. 

I took some time off from napping to guest post today. 

My mama and my papi are so nice to me, but they haven't formally introduced all of my amazing attributes on this here blog. I don't know why because they are always taking pictures of me and I'm a little surprised that this blog hasn't turned into a cat blog. The lady of the house has definitely turned into a cat lady. What can I say? I'm cute.

There are tons of reasons why I win over the hearts of anyone who meets me. Here's a few:

Constant Company:

I'm constant positive company. I love to follow my parents around wherever they go. It's the best. And I like to be first, so sometimes I have to cut them off and run in between their legs so I arrive at our destination before them. Sometimes they trip and they almost step on me and I have to give them "the look". It's the only time they call me "Apollo". Generally, they call me "Bubbie" or "The Bubbster". I know they're talking to me but I pretend not to hear. 

Napping Partner:

I'm a wonderful napping partner. I'm always ready to curl up on the couch with a fleece blanket and a warm body. I like the TV volume to be below 10 or else the commercials wake me up. Also, it's great when the people of the house stay still while I'm sleeping on top of them or else I have to re-position and get re-comfortable.

Laundry Initiator:

Sometimes the lady of the house slacks on the laundry. To remind her that laundry falls within her household duties I like to pull down the dish towels in an effort to spark the need to start the washing machine. She loves when I do this and she loves to chase me around the kitchen. She's so silly when she tries to catch me and she can't. I'm very quick. And strong. I like to play tug-of-war with the dish towels. She doesn't always have a smile on her face during this game but I know she loves it. Actually, now that I think about about it, I'm really good at all household chores... and I specifically love doing the dishes and climbing into the dishwasher!

Road Tripper:

I'm so great in the car. I love road trips and I love looking out the windows. My parents refuse to crack the windows even just a little because they tell me I'll try to escape. It may be true but it's just because I'm so curious. My mom keeps asking me if I "know what happened to the cat who was curious?" I don't.

Game Changer:

I'm the most amazing game player. I don't know why my parents insist on playing two person games like cards, or board games. That's an action shot of me trying to get in on their game of chess. For some reason they cleaned up after I played my move...

Jumper:

I'm the best jumper and I love to climb up high. For instance, the other night my mama looked over and I had jumped on the counter, onto the fridge, up on top of the cabinets. I got into some serious trouble and now they've "attempted" to block it off and we've apparently purchased a spray bottle [which I'm a little scared of!]. No worries though, I'm always scheming and I'm already working on a way to get around that bin. 

Alarm Clock:

I'm such a great alarm clock. I know exactly when it's time for breakfast and I do not like to miss the most important meal of the day. In fact, I know exactly when it's time to eat... every meal. And I like to meow and swat my parents as the time nears. Just in case. Actually, right before all my meals is when I like to climb on the counters, the tables, and on top of the cable box. It gets their full attention and we like to run around a few extra minutes right before I eat. That must be why I'm burning so many calories and only weigh 2.11 lbs. Oh yeah, I'm teeny!

That's my post for the day. I don't have that long of an attention span and after peeling my eyes open to guest post I'm going to need a really long nap to make up for my time... working!

See you soon!

Apollo :)

We picked up Apollo on Saturday afternoon. Sean's friend's cat had kittens (6!) and Apollo was one of them. She's adjusting just fine. She sleeps a lot but likes to wake up at 5AM. 

Having never owned a cat, I have to say that I'm [still] a little nervous. 

They don't show affection quite like dogs. And they don't greet you at the door like a dog.

In fact, she's not even phased by us walking in the door after the entire day at all. She doesn't move.

But I enjoy not having to worry about her occupying her time [even though I still do!] when we're not home. And I don't have to worry about her having "accidents" because apparently they are born knowing how to use a litter box. Oh, and there's no barking.

She's gentle, quiet and sweet. 

I love her.

Oh, and she's 2 pounds. Two. Pounds. 

A new addition.

As of today, we have a new addition to our family.

Meet Apollo:

The three of us are getting along just fine and I must admit I'm really smitten by her already.

I think we'll be great friends.