Clara

Clara - sister to Jasper. She's not as much of an expense as her brother, she is just as much work though! Little known fact, Clara's full name is Clarabella. Clara comes with her own set of issues, most of them are just things we deal with and work with how she prefers to live. Early on we were told, she won't live past 3 years old. Obviously, she made it well past three as she is now in her teens. She had some neurological issues as a kitten, she still has them but they are less apparent. The obvious part of her neurological issue was her head shake/bob. She used to do it all the time, now it's just when she is overly stressed or confused. Much like Jasper, she has found her place that she will be the least disturbed by any of the other cats.

I love her dearly, of course she loves me just as much! Her favorite way of showing her love is to clean me. She gives the best cat facials, including the ears! I'm never quite ready for the ear to be cleaned - moving my head away just makes her try harder to clean, so I give in and let it happen.

As much as she likes to clean me, she is slacking on her own cleaning. She is constantly shedding, has matted hair around her rear end. The love/hate relationship to being brushed makes it hard for anyone to help her with shedding and clumping but we do our best! Brushing her you need quick reflexes to pull back when she's had her fill.

She is a 1st floor cat these days, rarely making it upstairs for any reason. Her preferred area is downstairs sticking to the living room and dining room, occasionally she will head to the kitchen or sunporch. The back of the couche is her fav place to hang most days, and my book club chair is her second go to spot. Although she will seek me out if I'm actually sitting downstairs and claim my lap if she can get to it before another cat.

Every so often she loses herself and will sit staring at a wall crying. Who knows why she does that, but we just talk to her and she snaps out of it. She's not a fan of litter of any sort, or any type of litter box. She is also very afraid of her own poop. She does her business and then takes off like you lit a firecracker under her bottom. Her wacky issues with the litter boxes have created so much extra work -lots of reusable puppy pads and throw away puppy pads that have to be changed 1-4 times a day.

I am constantly saying to myself, it's a pain, sometimes I hate the amount of time or work I put in for the issues, but ultimately I took her in, my responsibility to her is to not give up on her. She is defenseless, and because she has issues most people would never take her in. She's fortunate to have landed in my house and I'll take the best care of her till her time comes to cross the rainbow bridge. Pets are a lifetime commitment, the only time you should give up on them is when your time has come to cross the rainbow bridge.

Till our Tails cross again,

Mel

Slumber Parties!

Taking a break from the cat introductions. As kids we always had slumber parties. What was the attraction to a slumber party? Staying up all night, painting our nails, playing dress up, eating junk food, watching movies, singing and dancing. Who wouldn't want to have a slumber party?!

This last year as an adult I have had a few adult slumber parties. (Truth: Every year I have a couple of them - hello "Girls Night" with my besties!) At any rate, this year there was a predicted "bad snow storm". I left work, called my girl Angel and said come get snowed in with me! I'll pick you up! She had soup simmering on the stove. No biggie - bring it! We'll finish it at my house. Called my husband next, warm him Angel and her son are coming to get snowed in, I'll be home soon with them. His automatic response: We need snacks, drinks and pizza! (Mind you, it's snowing already, and I do kinda want to get home before the roads get worse) So, we backtrack to get pizza, drinks and snacks.

We arrive to my house loaded down with pizza, soup, snacks and drinks. Anthony brings his guitar and some other stuff to hang with Gene and disappears upstairs. They come down only for food and drink refills. Angel and I chill downstairs watching TV, making soup, cuddling the cats and chilling. Just enjoying being in great company, talking or not.

It literally was the best 24 hours. No plans, no feeling of having to be on point entertaining. It left me wondering, why as we get older do we do away with those special slumber parties? Why does life have to be all work, some fun and none of the great things we loved as kids?

Angel and I have had several more slumber parties (she so graciously does them on a work night, cause my off day is a Friday!) What happens? Well I stop at her house after work, bringing my Crocheting, pjs and drinks. We get dinner, sit and chat, watch tv and go to bed at a reasonable hour. She goes to work and I start my day. It's the best way to hang, we catch up, and we both still have our off days to do whatever else we need to do!

If you haven't done a sleepover since being a kid - DO IT! You're never to old for a sleep over. Keep it simple, make it extravagant, do what feels right! There's no wrong way. Just do what feels right. Lets break the mold of adults can't do sleepovers!

Till our Tails cross again,

Mel

Jasper AKA Bear

Jasper is next up on the introductions. He's quite the cat in so many ways. Absolutely adorable and full of love, and costs us a pretty penny. Just a few years ago he had a brush with death - it nearly killed me in the process. I will write more about that later.

He has a litter sister - Clara, you'll meet her soon enough! He made his grand entrance to my life as a tiny little baby who ultimately would be bottle fed for the first several months. He was found in a roll-off dumpster that was emptied at a recycling center that I worked at in Philly. Knowing that being so small, motherless and needing to be bottle fed his chances of survival at the SPCA were low - so I took him home. This would be my first time bottle feeding kittens. What an experience, one I would do again - but with a better idea of how tedious it is!

He was worth all the trouble and time back then, and is still worth every penny I have spent on him. He loves to be pet, cuddles (especially on your lap) and doles out kisses. He loves the other cats, on his own terms, but mostly prefers to be alone. The other cats tend to stress him out, so then he pees everywhere except for the litter box. We set him up in the oversized bathroom upstairs, installed a screen door so he can see everything and all the other cats when he wants, and then go hide when he wants alone time.

Trust me when I say he truly enjoys his bathroom kingdom. He routinely gets visitors and pets cause it's the bathroom we use the majority of the time. All the things he needs for a happy cat life are filling his room - cat tower, scratcher, bean bag chair, cat bed. We even had to remove the door on the bathroom cabinet cause he went thru a phase of wanting to sleep in the cabinet. Occasionally I'll let him out with the general population, but he has to be closely supervised.

He tends to win over the hearts of all the ladies - especially our friend Babs. She always makes time to hang with him, one time we even ate dinner in the bathroom with him. (true cat lovers!)

He single pawedly is keeping our vet in business. He was diagnosed with diabetes just under 2 years ago. Diabetes is challenging enough on humans - even more so with a cat! Lots of ups and downs with his insulin/food intake - we finally got it pretty well under control. Just had to set him up with a ridiculous feeding schedule and an automatic feeder. (the one time I truly love new technology!) He gets insulin 2 times a day (a bottle of insulin alone is $125, not including the syringes!) Every 4-6 months he gets a Librya installed, its a glucose monitor that we have to scan multiple times a day for 2 weeks to make sure his levels are within a good range. That is upwards of $200. He absolutely loves Mariah (the girl who shaves and installs his monitor).

Jasper is always looking for a new friend, so if you're in the area stop by and give him some kisses!

Till our Tails cross again,

Mel