Life sucks ...

I'm glad he is getting on well its nice to know that they can beat it sometimes, Dusty is now back with us & is next to his brother on the bookshelf in my bedroom, along with three dogs & another two cats to keep him company!
 
You know what this thread is missing?

Piccys!
I will dig some out over the next few days & bore you all with some!
 
I have so enjoyed reading about all the cats, and dogs. Kri has had some real characters, and Trips little friend sounds enchanting.

I agree with Red, animal friends seem to come along when we need them. Many of mine were 'found'

And yes, we do need piccies. If only I could figure out how to load some, must pay more attention to technical stuff.

Would love to see Dougal stuck in his between chair hole! :<3:
 
All I could see were his hind feet resting on the back of the chair, little (?) pink pads, sweeet. The rest of him was at full stretch down the length of the chair and he was just resting on his front paws with no room to turn or clamber backwards up the chair-back.

He has the most enormous paws I have ever seen on a cat but can be amazingly gentle. Earlier this evening I was eating a toffee and he bounced up on to my lap to see what I was pulling faces for. Then he got a whiff of something rather nice so kept patting and nuzzling my mouth and face - "Go on, gimme a taste!"

Eventually I gave in and bit a tiny bit off. He started to chew it and oh, the faces.

Then his teeth got stuck together and after a lot of face-pulling and jaw-wrenching effort, he finally managed to open his mouth. Then he opened his mouth really wide and proceeded to pick his teeth with one of his claws. That great big mop-head foot in his dainty little mouth ... why is there never a camera handy?
 
So funny! :lol:

We had a little cat bought for my 4 year old Godson who grew up with the kids. He ate kiddie food, cakes, ice cream, pizza, pasta, cheese straws .... and peanut butter sandwiches. We always knew when he had been given a bit because he would come into the room murmuring, mouth stuck together and paw at it.

He had about one brain cell and could never get himself out of toruble so I would have to open mouth, stick finger in and free peanut butter from roof of mouth. And he was a devil, although helping him he would scratch and bite. He was a pedigree, runt of litter and fussy eater. Vet said just let him eat whatever he wanted, at least he ate something.
 
Cats' tastes are funny, aren't they? The majority of dogs will eat whatever is flung at them in one or two gulps, but a cat will sniff at something new, raise an eyebrow and look enquiringly at you saying "... and this is ...?"

Tilly and Dougal both like peanut butter, preferably smooth. Like the Marmite fingers, 3 dips. Tilly is a chocoholic. I keep a packet of buttons for her and no matter how quietly I undo the bag, she sees the colour of the packet and starts "tarting" to let me know that I am "... the best cat-mother in all the world and I love you, really I do and that chocolate is lovely. Yum yum. Push off now, I'm trying to sleep."

Dougal had a pizza crust the other night. He was ecstatic. Took him right back to his bin-rading days!

He has a technique, too. He stands on one end of the crust first so that it stands up then eats the crunchy cheese to the middle, then the soft bready bit, then he puts the other paw on the other end of the crust and works his way to the middle, then he will crunch on the outside of the crust. It was wonderful to watch.

He was so happy afterwards and purred so hard that he was shaking. Well, I call it purring, but he never learned to do it properly. It's just a purr on the out-breath, but none on the in-breath. He puffs away quite happily, with his little flanks working like a bellows. When he is really purring hard there is a definite whistle on the in-breath.

Should have called him Billy!
 
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Well, I've seen it all now.

I made a stew on Sunday and both cats had a small helping each after pestering like crazy for a taste. Two nice clean plates.

Finished the stew last night and gave them a small saucerful each for begging so cutely. Dougal finished his off last night. Tilly ate half and left some for later.

This morning she still hadn't eaten her stew and the meat and carrots looked a bit dry and crusty because she had licked all the juice off last night. I was just about to remove the saucer when she charged across the room, lay down next to the remnants of the stew - and rolled in it.

Luckily it was all dry, but the smell of it obviously did something for her, because she proceeded to press the sides of her face and then the top of her head into it as well before tucking in and eating the lot.

Straaaange cat.
 
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Ha ha! :<3: Love 'em, crazy things .....

Don't you just hate it when they lick the juice off? Mine are real culprits and then they waste the food and live on gravy. I cheat by taking what they leave, mashing it up again and adding a bit of water. It's hard work being a cat keeper!

Tidy up in prgress today. So, picked up a wool blanket from the sofa and found inside it the remains of a large spider. Obviously brought home to snack on while watching tv. :lol:
 
Grotty things!

Amazing how a cat can spot a spider from the other side of the room, even though the spider is camouflaged by the pattern on the carpet. Dougal is a real horror for spider crunching, even when he's had a good meal.

He has been a bit distressed for the past few days as he really doesn't like Whiskas, but that is all the local Tesco has been stocking for the last few months. He stands between my feet and looks up at me with big, worried eyes, begging for something more palatable.

I bought all sorts of things to get him to eat - chicken in sweet chili sauce did the trick last Tuesday then, on Friday, Tesco started to stock his favourite Felix meals, so he's eating properly again at last.

I really must brush up on my mind-reading skills.
 
Omigod - you've reminded me! Spider crunching! I'd forgotten all about those awful habits - especially distressing as I like spiders, and always tried to get to them before the feline arachnophiles! Don't know if the taste is good, or they like the sensation of having killed something, no matter what, and eaten it. They drew a hasty line at some stinkbugs one day, though. (This was in Saudi.) The bug secretes a type of oil which it extrudes through its body plates, and which stinks appallingly. A very thick, cloying smell. The cats bogged off presto-presto, leaving me to remove the bug safely outside, while the stink hung around the house for ages.

Red, is Dougal not an Iams cat? Mine eventually decided (and bear in mind they were once feral, living off filthy scraps, mice and, presumably, spiders) that nothing but Iams would do, thank you very much. Nothing worse than the nouveau riche, I say!
 
He has 2 bowls of different flavoured Hills diet biscuits, one bowl of Felix and one bowl of chicken in sweet chili sauce! Doubtless he will be after the cottage pie tonight as well. Strong flavours appeal to him, presumably from his dustbin days.

Glad to say he is eating the Felix and asking for more as he has got quite scraggy.

As you say, "nothing worse than the nouveau riche" the starveling stray who would scoff the lot and wash the dish has become quite demanding in his likes and dislikes!

To be honest though, I don't care what he eats, so long as he does. If I have to take a course in Cordon Bleu to get him to eat regularly I will. (I can just hear my ex saying "She wouldn't do that for me!" I would have, of course, but the cat is a much nicer person Darling. :lol:)
 
Haven't seen Dougal all day as he has been cooped up because of rain since Wednesday.

There is a hard lump in the angle of his jaw near where the tumour came up.

He seems happy enough in himself and has bags of energy (enough to pick a fight this morning).

I'm trying not to worry.
 
Let's hope that's just a bit of scarring where things are mending over, Redhead. He's such a scrapper that even if it's the worst, I can see him knocking that into six, too.
 
Oh no - hope the swelling is just his glands. Keeping everything crossed for him. xxx

You know they say 9 out of 10 cats prefer Whiskers? Well ..... we have 3 and none of them will touch it. So Dougal is not alone.

Spiders ..... grrrr. I like them too, just not too near me. Kri made me laugh with her story of stinkbugs. :blink:

When I brought Issy home ahe was about 8 weeks, teeny thing. A huge house spider was running up and down inside a big brown paper roll in our attic, where the PC was and where I was typing away. Suddenly the teeny fur bundle tore up attic stairs, threw herself at the paper roll and grabbed poor dancing spider. As Issy flew through the air the two big cats were trundling along beneath her, going that bit slower. Spider had NO chance. :lol:
 
:lol: Poor spidey!

Thanks, both.

The swelling has gone down this morning, but the poor little ragbag is getting quite bald - even though chemo isn't supposed to have that effect on cats. He has a big pink patch just under each ear, another just over his shoulder. His belly is beginning to fuzz over a little bit, but still looks quite pink, whilst his lovely fluffy breeches have totally gone, leaving two pink and rather skinny drumsticks!

It seems to be all the downy under-fur that is going, the tougher upper layer is still there but will come out if pulled. I'm just hoping that it is an excessive moult otherwise I'm going to have to learn to knit fluffy catsuits (moghair, of course) for the winter!
 
Just tell him that Rexes are so in, Redhead, and that's he's totally in vogue. He might well want some little knitted catsuits - I'm not sure that pun doesn't get you an overnight in the cells!
 
I'd already beaten you to it, Kri! :lol:

He's bouncing around on the lawn at the moment, pouncing on leaves and bits of greenery that move in the wind.

He is so full of joy and love that I feel quite privileged to have been the cause of it by doing something so simple as giving him a home.

I still cannot understand why everyone else around me could chase him away and throw things at him when, even dirty and scruffy, he was a beautiful cat.
 
My black stray Bags was just like this. I cried the first time he jumped up and played with a leaf on the floor. He had endured such an awful life that it meant at last he was a normal cat again and not a scaredy cat. He used to come to the door of our flat and look in. Just look in. It made me so sad, like he was watching our two cats being loved and fed. I knew altho he growled and hissed and ran away he did not want to. And one day he stopped all that and purred instead when I touched him.

You'll never regret giving Dougal a home and whatever time you have with him will always be precious to you, and you know it is to him.

Poor little baldy! :p My old vet has a Rex and he has knitted sweators for winter. So funny ....

My wild grey stripey Morpheus is really spooky at the moment. I think he is beginning to wonder what being tame would be like. He stares with these big soulful eyes when one of the other 2 are on the bed or the sofa with us. And he comes in the room with us all the time now, is sitting in a chair staring at me right now. I'm not sure what next step is really, as he jumps if you touch him. I think he is trying to do 'join up' with us!
 
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We've got a hell of a storm blowing here, wind really getting up. Usually I have trouble getting the gang to come in before nightfall. Not today!

Opened back door and got knocked over by 3 scred cats, tore upstairs and under bed. So funny. All curled up now in various places about the cottage zzzzz.
 
They are so funny when that happens. All afternoon they'll have been swaggering round the garden, full of themselves. You call to them and they ignore you, hunching a shoulder and pretending to be deaf. "We are cats. We are wild and independent beings. We need no one. We rely on our own skills in hunting and judging the weather. Hang on. Was that a clap of thunder? Muuuuuuuummmmmm!"

They know where they are comfortable ... and safe. Mum will look after us.

Morpheus probably is trying to join-up, Isi. He may well surprise you one day.

Just got back from a visit to my sister-in-law who has a real menagerie now - 3 kids, 5 cats, 3 guinea pigs and new arrival, a pretty little 3yo whippet x bedlington called Bonny.

After 6 months of keeping the G-pigs in a cage, Millie had a bright idea and got the kids and my brother to board up all the gaps under the fences, right around the garden. She then took the wire off the hutch and put the hutch outside with the door propped half open. The G-pigs run wild now and are as happy as anything - and she hasn't had to cut the grass since. They graze where they want (love lavender!) and have shelter when it's cold or raining.

I was worried about cats, but the neighbourhood cats are no problem, more intrigued than threatening. They just sit on the fence and watch in amazement at these funny creatures that whizz round the garden whistling and chirruping.
 
I'm pretty sure she does, Walsy. The kids would be devastated.

I'm really puzzled about Dougal's hair-loss as all the veterinary sites and my own vet all say that cats don't lose their hair through chemo. Apparently the texture of the fur may change and the cat might lose its whiskers, but they aren't supposed to go bald because the dosage is not as big (proportionately) as those given to humans.

The tougher fur on his back and legs is still there - but can be pulled out with a sharp tug and, oddly enough, doesn't come out at the roots but seems to break off in a straight line, as if snipped just above the skin level.

He still looks gorgeous when sitting or curled up because all the back and lower leg fur is intact, but when he stands up he looks a proper little ragbag - just think of Top Cat's mates popping up out of dustbins and you'll get some idea of how he looks. Bald neck, bald upper hind legs and belly, with great tufts of fur still on his hocks and face cheeks.

I'm totally baffled, but he's happy so it doesn't really matter, though I think he will start to feel the cold soon.
 
Guinea pig idea is great! And what a way to get the lawn cut too .... :lol:

Poor Dougal. Did you ask your vet about the fur loss? I've not heard of this either. My stray Bags lost a lot of his, but we never knew why exactly. It grew back. He did not have cancer, they tested for everything, did not diagnose and we only found out when he died what it was, which was a bad heart. He had heart murmurs, would meow and get scared, go under bed. I think the fur came out due to the stress. But Dougal does not sound stressed!

It's funny, but of course a bit of a worry as he could seriously get ill out this winter. I'll ask my holistic guru vet if he knows any reason and let you know.

Cats are all back to normal today, out at daybreak doing their big game hunter routines, posing all over the garden. Our cottage is very teeny weeny and I keep a lot of shoes etc in boxes under the bed. Morpheus likes to sleep there, on top of one of the boxes as he is not brave enough to come on the bed with us but likes to be in the room. I tidied them up this week while hoovering. So, last night he spent about an hour under there pushing and shoving until he toppled them all over and got his own box back flat. :<3: Husband was not amused, he has to leave the house at 5.30 for work and cat was still re-arranging at midnight.

I'm going to put his old cat bed under the bed and then maybe he will sleep in that, it used to live by the rayburn in the old cottage and he really misses that.
 
Well, that was quick, guru vet says give him wheatgrass!

She has no idea why fur would be falling out, but might be due to meds, even though it is rare. His immune system may be more stressed than most pets would be.

There is one other unlikely thing too, sometimes people and cats suffer hair loss from flax oil, but apparently this rights itself and you grow shiny new fur/hair. It is rare though. If this was the case it would mean that the dose you are giving might be too high for him, but hard to tell. She advises to keep an eye on it, and if fur doe snot begin to grow stubble undercoat again as weather gets colder, then cut down a bit and see if that makes any difference.

Anyway, she recommends wheatgrass to improve fur and vitality. She gives it to old cats to help stiffness, and dogs. If you look on google there are videos of cats eating it, and you can buy kits. I think I've seen them at pet shops. I don't know if Dougal would eat this. I might try mine on some too ....

It makes the system less acid, balances the ph. I used to take it, made smoothies. You can get the powder which you could mix in his food, but it is more fun for them to 'hunt' the actual grass and you would not want to put him off his Felix. I think I should take it again too. Funny how we have these 'health' spurts and then forget all about it. I'm sure I have some ancient vitamins in the cupboard. :p

She said just check with your vet first to make sure they agree it would not interfere with treatment, but shouldn't.

http://www.amazon.com/Dog-Cat-Wheatgrass-Growing-Kit/dp/B000E7ZJWS

cats eating it - but being fed! I thought the whole idea was they fed from the tray ....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOmn2l1O73c

Oh - I like this one better - look at the last video, Buster is great! :<3:

http://catgrass.org/cat-grass-videos/cats-eating-wheat-grass-videos
 
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