WomanCat Wednesday

Ode to Callie
Artsy Catsy's 18-year-old grande dame matriarch

When I am an old womancat
I shall sleep in a tie-dyed bed

And tell Fracas and Rocky where to go
When they don't suit me. And I shall spend my pension on Temptations and tuna
And see Chey as our first woman president.

I shall lie down for beauty sleep whenever I'm tired
Which is 20 hours a day
And gobble up yogurt whenever I want.

And I shall indulge in youthful night crazies
And go outside whenever I please
And pee on the flowers in other people's gardens
And learn how to spit and hiss

When I am an old womancat in a tie-dyed bed.

Mancat Massage Monday

Um ... hey there human artist, aren't you forgetting something? It's Mancat Massage Monday and I'm still waiting here on my purr pad with your backscratcher -- I mean, my massager -- with a commanding look in my eyes ... Finally! Ah, yes, chin scritches first ...

... then head scritches ...
... then a facial massage with the rollers ...

Very good. Now I think I can finally relax. I do love my scratcher/massager!
I hope all you mancats are getting your Monday massage, too!

Good News!

I haven't been online for almost 4 days, since my mom has been out of town with our friend Jim for his surgery. I'm behind on all our work, but I'm taking a break to tell you about Jim and to say "YAY!! Churchill is home from the vet and he's going to be fine!!"

It's good news all around ... because Jim's surgery went well and he didn't have a bone tumor in his foot after all! It was gout, and there was a big mass of uric acid crystals that only looked like a tumor on his x-rays and MRI. The surgeon removed the mass and some of the bone that had been eroded by the crystals, but it was a much simpler surgery than we expected, and Jim is going to be fine after a short time on crutches with a throbbing foot. But I'm still trying to figure out why he didn't bring those crystals home to me so I could make some Artsy Catsy charms with them!

He stayed with us for three days, and I've been helping him recover. Like good mancats & manbeans, Jim & I have been lounging in the recliner with the remote control while mom fusses over us and brings us treats. And we've been making mom laugh. She's been so stressed out she keeps eating chocolate cookies. When Jim wanted one today, she had eaten them all ... so we asked her if she had started a new national initiative: "No Chocolate Left Behind!"

Okay, now I have to go check out everything I've missed on the Cat Blogosphere the last few days. I hope you all have good news, too!

Troubled Tuesday

We're all worried today. My mom keeps hugging us and whispering in our ears that everything will be okay, but I know she's worried, too.We're worried about our friend Churchill. He had very complicated surgery 3 days ago to repair his badly broken leg, and will need a second surgery in 6 weeks to remove the pins. But today he started peeing blood and is now back in the vet hospital. They don't know yet what is wrong, so Churchill needs urgent purrs and purrayers from all of us in the cat blogosphere. Please get better, Church!We want to thank everyone who bid in our auction to help with Churchill's vet bills. Your generosity and big hearts have raised $220 for us to send to Churchill! Lots of other kitties are having fundraisers to help Churchill, too -- if you'd like to help, you can find out how on the Cat Blogosphere and on Churchill's blog.

We're also worried about our dear friend Jim, who also has a bone problem. Tomorrow our mom is taking him to a major orthopedic hospital in Indianapolis to have surgery on his foot. He'll be in surgery for at least two hours to have the bone growth removed, a biopsy performed, and the space left in the bone filled with bone cement, then he'll be on crutches for a few weeks. We hope you'll join us in purring and purraying that Jim's surgery goes well and the biopsy will bring good news.

We just want all our friends' bones to get better!

Manx Mancat Monday

Oscar: I'm the Artsy Catsy maintenance Manx. But more importantly, I'm a mancat. So I never close the lid!

Photo Hunters

The theme for this week's Photo Hunt is ... "FREE".

This is Callie 18 years ago when she was rescued and set FREE from a sad life as a feral kitty born in a garage ...

And here she is today, FREE to do whatever she wants, even to spend the weekend doing Sudoku puzzles ... This is me 8 years ago when I was set FREE at one day old from the woods after a raccoon sent my feral momcat and siblings over the Bridge ...
And here I am today, FREE to do whatever I want, including spending the entire weekend lounging in my Millie bed!

Finally Friday

Rocky: I'm so ashamed of myself and I'm so glad it's finally Friday. I've been so busy that I let yesterday go by without wishing all my wonderful friends a Happy Valentine's Day :-( Please know that I was wishing it to you in my heart, even if you didn't hear from me because I was so busy purring on Jim's foot and purring on my mom's neck to let you know. Mom's MRI report showed her neck has bone spurs and bulging disks and nerve compression and lots of bad stuff. To try to avoid surgery she has to get a bunch of injections and go through intensive physical therapy. I hope you'll keep helping me purr for her, and for Jim's surgery Wednesday ....

Even though I've been a lousy friend, my best friend Lilly Lu sent me a wonderful Valentine's Day package! I was so excited about the catnip heart and mouse ball and Natural Temptations that my foot started twitching and I couldn't decide what to play with first!

But that red catnip heart quickly won me over!

I love it, I love it, I love it! Thank you so much, my sweet Lilly Lu!

Cat Jewelry Auction for Churchill

Our new friend Churchill, the abandoned kitty with a broken leg, is having surgery today. The surgery is very complex and expensive. It was recommended that Churchill be "put down" but, fortunately, his new parents, Michael and Rhiannon, had already fallen in love with him, so that was not an option. One look at this handsome guy, and you'll fall in love, too!

We're charmed by Churchill and his loving new family, so we're auctioning some Artsy Catsy kitty charms to help pay his vet bills. 100% of the auction proceeds will go to Churchill - we'll pay the postage.

So that we can get the funds to Churchill's family quickly, the auction will run for three days only - today through midnight Friday. To bid on an item, just leave a comment with your bid and the item number. We'll contact all winners on Saturday.

# N-1 Necklace with gold Laurel Burch cat charm

# N-2 Necklace with silver "Cats Meow" charm #N-3 Necklace with silver picture frame charm
(We'll add a photo for you, if you like.)

#B-4 Bookmark with gold cat charm

#P-5 Gold & silver cats pin
(Not handmade, but we love it!)Thank you so much for helping us help Churchill!

Toe Healing Tuesday

Dr. Rocky: You'll remember that my mom took our dear friend Jim to a bone oncologist yesterday at a major orthopedic hospital 2 hours away from us. Since he's the only bone oncologist in Indiana, while they were away I earned my M.D. (Mancat Doctor) degree online so that I can provide a second opinion. First, I performed a thorough examination ... Ah yes ... I concur with the bone oncologist. This does not appear to be a tumor. That is the good news. It may be a bone infection. It may be something else. Or it may, in fact, be a tumor, even though it does not appear to be. To arrive at a definitive diagnosis, surgery must be done next Wednesday in order to perform a biopsy, and to remove the affected bone and fill in the area with bone cement.

However, I, the renowned Dr. Rocky, have an additional remedy that the bone oncologist missed. Medical research has proven that cats purr at 25-130 Hertz per second, the same frequency that stimulates bone healing and growth, decreases swelling and joint pain, and increases the production of the body's natural anti-inflammatory compounds. Therefore, I prescribe constant purring on Jim's foot, beginning right now and continuing through his 2+ weeks on crutches after surgery ...Very good. Just see my receptionist Callie on your way out and she'll give you further instructions. That will be $23,428.95 for an office call -- we accept cash, checks, credit cards or Temptations. However, since today is your birthday, Jim, and scheduling surgery is not a very pleasing birthday gift, this first visit is free. Happy Birthday, Jim!

Okay, next patient ... oh no, it's my mom! She has a sore throat and fever. I need some purring assistance here, stat! Would all certified cat healers please teleport over here to my clinic and help me give my mom CPR (Cat Purring Resuscitation)!

Saturday Ocicat-urday

Oh, look at this gorgeous brother & sister from the Rescue Farm

who need a loving furever home!

Sawyer (left) and Nani (right) are stunning 1 ½ year old purebred Ocicats who were given up when their owner couldn't properly care for them. Sawyer is a neutered male; Nani is a spayed female and they're both front declawed. Sawyer is a "Hot Chocolate" Ocicat and Nani (below) is "Cool Chocolate."

Sawyer and Nani love each other so much they snuggle and cuddle all the time, so they simply can't be separated. If you, or someone you know, would love to give a furever home to these spotty bundles of sweetness, email Jodi at the Rescue Farm. Their combined adoption fee is $300.

If we didn't have such a houseful, Sawyer and Nani would be snuggling with us right now!!

...............................

About the Ocicat:

An Ocicat may look wild, but its temperament is anything but ferocious - it has a sweet, mild purrsonality. It is a lot like a dog in that it is absolutely devoted to its people. The Ocicat is not a demanding, clinging-vine type, but is confident as well as dedicated to its owners. Most Ocicats are also quite extroverted around strangers, not at all bashful about checking out the possibilities for a few playmates or a lap to curl up on when visitors come to call.

Ocicats are quite bright, very outgoing and easily trained. They are often considered to have the spirit of a dog - in a cat's body. Most can easily be trained to fetch, walk on a leash and harness, come when called, speak, sit, lie down on command and a large array of other dog-related tricks. Some even take readily to the water.

Because of their adaptability, they are a joy to work with and easily get used to traveling. Their sociable nature makes them a good choice for a household already blessed with other cats or dogs. They are not prone to any particular health problem and their broad genetic background gives them vigor and vitality.

Finally Friday

Rocky: As you know, our cat labor union (the AFT-CIH: Associated Felines Training Completely Incompetent Humans) recently staged a strike. I'm pleased to announce that after hissing all grievances then engaging in collective bargaining for Temptations and chin scritches, we reached a resolution. Now it's Finally Friday and we have a weekend of work planned to make up for lost time.

We have customer orders to fill, so my weekend will be spent snoopervising the production of cell phone charms, bookmarks and a couple of brand new products soon to be launched - eyeglass holders and crazy cat lady necklaces and pins ...
Also, Finally Friday is a perfect time for forgiveness. I have completely forgiven my mom for her excessive absenteeism since I learned that the reason for it is that our dear friend Jim has a medical problem and she has been helping him with doctor appointments and tests. He had been treated for gout, which didn't help, and now an MRI shows that he has some kind of bone tumor in his foot. It might be what is called a "giant cell tumor" which can be very serious and can metastasize to the lungs whether or not it's malignant, which hasn't yet been determined.

Jim has been part of my mom's life for almost 30 years; he's like a human dad to me and I'm very worried about him. Here is with with me and my mom on her birthday in November.

With my full support, my mom is going out of town with Jim again on Monday to a major orthopedic center. The doctors here are saying that, at the very least, he will be facing a biopsy and major foot surgery to remove bone and, if possible, replace it with cadaver bone. In the meantime, Jim is in a lot of pain. He loves kitties, so any purrs you can send to him will be warmly received and will work wonders. Also, if any of your humans have had experience with any condition that at first seemed like gout but turned out to be a tumor or something else, we could sure use your advice.

13 Things That Are Not Happening

Rocky: My human artist got back from her bead buying trip, was home for ONE night, then she left again last night and just now got back home. To protest her excessive absenteeism, we're on strike. Not a thing is happening, and here are 13 of those things ...

1) We are not using this cheap litter she brought home. The box will not be opened as long as I'm sitting on it.

2) Furthermore, we are not painting this chipped, woodwork, no matter how ugly it is.

3) We are not putting away all these beads she bought on her so-called bead buying trip ...

4) We are not cleaning up her messy desk ...5) We are not cleaning up the mess on the front porch after the storms blew everything all over the place ...6) She is not cleaning all the hair off our pad on the back of the recliner, so we are not sleeping on it until she does ...
7) Furthermore, she has not cleaned the hair off our window perch, so we are not sleeping on it either ...

8) She is not opening the door to the catfood cabinet, so I will not stop staring at it until she does ... 9) She still has not opened the food door, so Lucy will not stop staring at it either ...
10) We are not working on this hole in the wall in the room that we are not remodeling ... 11) We are not watering these plants ... 12) Fracas is totally fed up, so he is not getting off his pillow ... 13) And I have HAD IT! So I am NOT getting out of my comfy, cozy beautiful tie-dyed new Millie bed that I won in Tyler's contest no matter what does not happen!! (It makes me look tiny, do you not think?)

Wordless Wednesday

Ticked Off Tuesday

I am seriously ticked off. My human artist went out of town Saturday on a bead buying trip and four days later she still isn't home! I've gone four days with no chin scritcher, no bed buddy, no toy tosser ... this is totally unacceptable!


But that's not the worst of it. Just look at what she's staying with at her friend Terry's house. She's supposed to be shopping for beads. I ask you, do these look like BEADS?

This is NOT a bead! This is Stinky - yes, that's his name. Well, I suppose he could pass as a giant 21-pound pendant. She even let Stinky sample her avocado salad. Beads do NOT eat avocados ...And these are NOT beads. These are Miss Hissy (left) and Taz (right). Taz was almost one of my staff members when my mom rescued him when he was a kitten, but she found him a furrever home with her friend Terry ... Here are Stinky and Taz with another NON-bead, Rhoda Sue, who was also almost a member of my staff when my mom rescued her as a kitten. Just look at the eyes of these NOT-beads! They're trying to hypnotize my human artist into staying with them, robbing me of my lawful mom rights. I WILL NOT HAVE IT!!