Fierce Fighter Day

Mr. Milky: Today is Fierce Fighter Day, sponsored by Whiskers & Purrs, to honor of all those Who Came Before who fought illnesses or other struggles. Since I fought successfully against my recent struggles, Artsy Catsy asked me host Fierce Fighter Day for them.

You may remember when I first found my way to Artsy Catsy, starving and begging for food and medical care ...

But then Artsy Catsy and all my loving new friends from the Cat Blogosphere saw me through infections and surgeries and a stroke and fed me and loved me ... and here I am last night when my Artsy Catsy mom and Jim came out to kittysit me in my new furever home while my new DadStan is out of town ... Hey! Jim! I know I'm getting a little plump, but must we flaunt it?? ...

Ah, yes, snuggles are definitely in order after that disgraceful display ... There were many, many Fierce Fighters who came before at Artsy Catsy, but even though I didn't get to meet them, three of them were extra special ...

Millard was my Artsy Catsy mom's very special siamese girlkitty who lived with her for almost 23 years before she struggled two years with kidney failure and had to be helped to the Bridge in 1999 ...

And Gizmo was a rescued girlkitty who lived with my Artsy Catsy mom for 19 years before she was helped to the Bridge because of cancer in her eye and sinuses, just two weeks after Millard crossed over ...My mom is convinced it was because she missed Millard, because they loved each other so much ...And then there was Hooter, the sweetest tortie girlkitty in the world. Hooter lived with my Artsy Catsy mom for almost 20 years. She struggled with diabetes for 3 years and finally had to be helped to the Bridge in 2002 when it could no longer be controlled ...

Don't you think Hooter looks like KC?

And a special word: all of us Artsy Catsy want to honor Moki today - one of the Fiercest Fighters we've ever known. Remember, for a few more days you can help with Moki's enormous vet bills and maybe win Artsy Catsy's original Crazy Cat Lady jewelry in our Raffle to Help Moki.

Finally, we want to honor all the magnificent kitties and beans in the Cat Blogosphere who do so much to help all the Fierce Fighters win their battles. We love you all so much!!

Raffle for Moki!

Rocky: Phew! Lots of stuff is going on here. First, Callie seems better this morning, so we think your purrs & purrayers are working! The main problem she's having now is with her claws filed down, she keeps falling down when she tries to jump on the furniture. She has to stay separated from the rest of us for a few days, so she's staying in my mom's bedroom. My mom has moved her computer in there and has put chairs beside the desk, the bed, and all the other furniture so Callie can jump up safely. I'll sure be glad when I can go back in there and sleep with my mom, too!

Next, our good friend Moki is still having serious health problems and his vet bills are already more than $700, with more to come. Right now 20% of every purchase you make from Artsy Catsy's Gallery goes to Moki and Criz Cats, but we want to do more to help Moki, so we're raffling one of my mom's hand-beaded Crazy Cat Lady necklaces and earrings. We haven't put these up for sale yet, so if you win this one, you'll be the proud owner of the original Artsy Catsy Crazy Cat Lady!

You can purchase your Crazy Cat Lady raffle tickets at Artsy Catsy Gallery, and 100% of the proceeds will given to Moki.

Next, I'm getting ready to host Carnival of the Cats this Sunday ... ... but I'd like to ask a favor. My human artists are going out of town Sunday to their father's (my Grandpa Bob) 79th. birthday party, and we want to get the Carnival ready Saturday night, so if you could get your Carnival posts to me as early as possible, that would be great! You can submit your posts here.

I want to thank you so much for all your purrs & purrayers for Grandpa Bob since August. He has finished his radiation therapy for prostate cancer and came through it with no difficulties. At the end of this month he has followup tests, but he says he's positive the radiation worked and his tests results will be good, because he feels fine! YAY!

Oh, and here's what else is up: My mom is kittysitting with Mr. Milky the rest of this week while his new DadStan is out of town. She's going out to his new home twice a day to feed him and visit with him, so you'll be hearing lots from Mr. Milky the next few days! Maybe I can get him to help me with Carnival of the Cats!

Troubled Tummy Tuesday

** Scroll down for update **

Callie: If it's not one thing, it's another. First I had to keep going to the vet to get stabbed because I'm so skinny. Now I have to go back to the vet today because I have a problem with ... ((blush ... how humiliating)) my nipple. My mom noticed a lump on my tummy a few days ago and when I finally let her look at it, my nipple was all hard and black. And I guess I've been trying to fix it myself, because last night the skin around it started bleeding. What on earth does an 18-year-old ladycat need with nipples anyway? No, scritches will NOT help. I'm 18 years old, I'm skinny, my nipple is bleeding, I have to put up with Rocky and all these other cats, I have to keep going to the vet ... I'd say I have a right to be grumpy! If it weren't for the fact that I now get special high-calorie kitten food, tuna-flavored senior kitty vitamin treats, digestive enzymes and all the bean food I want ... I'd really be grumpy!

(From Callie's mom: I'm very worried about this, especially that it might be cancer. Has anyone had a similar problem with your cat?)

Update from Callie's mom: By the time we saw the vet, Callie's entire lower tummy had turned bright pink and she has 2 degrees of fever. Dr. Shew thinks she has just scratched her nipple and it's gotten infected. He gave her a shot of antibiotics, filed her claws to nubs so she can't scratch it, and is having me put cortisone cream on it, plus he gave me some Hill's Hypoallergenic Treats for cats with skin conditions. He said I should start seeing improvement after 48 hours, but if it gets any worse I'm to take her back in right away, and if it isn't significantly improved by Monday I'm to take her back in then. In the meantime, I have to keep her isolated from the other cats. But the good news is, Dr. Shew says he's confident it isn't cancer.

Callie also has a few scabby places elsewhere on her body and she's been scratching and licking obsessively. She sometimes has allergy problems this time of year, but Dr. Shew doesn't want to give her steroids 1) because she has a fever; 2) because of her age and 3) because they'll make her retain water and we won't be able to monitor her weight loss or gain.

I'm hoping that if we can get this under control, we might find out that her weight loss is just due to allergies.

Thanks to all of your for your advice and support!

Mancat Monday and Hold the Glasses

Rocky: I ask you, is this any way to treat a mancat? ...

I am a mancat of many talents, but I am NOT an eyeglass holder! After years of such mistreatment, I ordered my human artists to come up with a better way to keep track of their glasses. And I told them to make a bunch of them to put on sale so we could raise some much-needed funds for Moki and Criz. Here's what they did ...

We have unique eyeglass holders that can also be used as badge holders, or just worn as a necklace ...

We have only 13 of these and there may never be any more because the company stopped making these beautiful cat charms we used ... We also have traditional eyeglass holders ... You can see them all at the Artsy Catsy Gallery. They're on sale until Nov. 26, and 20% of all proceeds will be sent to Moki and Criz.

Easy Like Sunday - for Moki

Rocky: It may look like I'm just taking it easy ...But what I'm really doing is focusing, meditating, purring, purraying and sending positive healing thoughts to our dear friend Moki.Moki has a terrible urinary tract infection and he may not recover. We just can't let that happen, so everyone please send all your most heartfelt purrs & purrayers to Moki, Mom Crystal and Orange Boy.
And don't forget, our sale to help both Moki and Criz ends tonight at midnight so you can still get a bargain on Napkin Rings & Wine Glass Charms, Hair Bands and Keychains and help some special kitties, too. But we want to keep helping, so right now 20% of every purchase you make from Artsy Catsy will be sent to Moki and Criz ... and we're putting up some brand new things tomorrow that we think you'll love!

Hello from Mr. Milky

Mr. Milky: Hello there, my friends! I had the most wonderful day yesterday, and I'm having a great one today, too, because I get to see all of you!! Yesterday I was luxuriating in the upstairs of my new home, when I heard my new Dad Stan come home. I went downstairs to greet him ...
... and had a big surprise! Look what he brought me - my Artsy Catsy mom!!!!We hugged and squished and purred and smooched and she oohed and aahed at how wonderful I look! But just as soon as my Dad Stan sat on the couch, I assumed the position - we have our own routine now, you know ... scritches ...

... and more scritches ...

And then I have dinner ... LOTS of dinner! My Artsy Catsy mom was so pleased at how plump and healthy I'm getting.

I have a magnificent new life with Dad Stan. I have a big, beautiful house all to myself with no other pets, with big windows onto the great outdoors where I can watch birds and chipmunks and geese and all kinds of interesting things. I'm told that next Spring I can go out there with them!

But I learned a fine work ethic at Artsy Catsy, so I'm earning my keep in my new home. Dad Stan is a college professor, and every night when he sits down to grade papers, I jump right up on his lap and assist him. Yes, I'm now an academicat!
I love my new life! Dad Stan and his family and friends ADORE me, and I love them, too. But I'll never forget all of you who made it possible for me to have this new life ... so Rocky has given me permission to be a permanent Guest Blogger on his blog, and I promise you'll hear from me again soon!

Callie Update

The results of Callie's thyroid test came back yesterday in the normal range. So all of the blood studies showed Callie to be in excellent health ... but she's continuing to lose weight. I feel like my old baby is just wasting away before my eyes, even though she eats twice as much as my other cats. She has gone from 10 pounds to less than 6 pounds in the last few months.

Dr. Shew thinks the problem is that at her advanced age (18) she's just not absorbing the nutrients from her food and he says the only thing I can do is make sure she's getting high-calorie food and feed her as much as she wants.

I still haven't ruled out that the stress of having Mr. Milky here may have affected her, but that wouldn't explain why she's still losing weight. So I'm looking for advice from all of you who may have experienced something similar with one of your kitties. And maybe you could advise me about high calorie food and some vitamins or supplements I might try with her. Other than maybe being grumpier than usual, Callie seems to feel okay.

Oh, and speaking of Mr. Milky, I'm going to Stan's this afternoon to visit him, so check back tonight or tomorrow for a blog post from our Milky!

~~Mom Sharolyn