Managing a house of 12 cats

Hazel

Bear & ASh

Rollie

Tanner (Top) Peaches (Inside carrier)

Dobby

Vera

Jasper

Roughy

Smokey

Clara

Life with 12 cats - how do I manage it and what does Gene say (my amazing husband)?

I have come to terms with a few things after becoming the crazy cat lady - thankfully I got married so I don't fully fill the crazy cat lady definition!

I will spend a fortune on vet bills, cat food, litter, toys, and who knows what else for my super spoiled 12 cats. In the last 4 years we have single handedly spent more than $8,000 in vet bills, specialist, overnight stays, annual visits, sick appointments and dental work. You'll be reading about some of those over night stays in the coming blogs.

Laundry - you think laundry is never ending with kids? Try laundry with 12 cats, 2 who prefer to do their business right next to the litter box - not in it. Hello reusable puppy pads! I do at least one load of them a day. This is in addition to the throw away puppy pads that we use for the super fancy litter box. (Thanks Clara and Rollie!) Let's not forget all the beds, heating pad covers, couch & chair covers. They get done on a weekly basis, and I never seem to get it all done!

Nice, comfy, stylish furniture. Yep - we have the super old school couch and matching rocker. Wooden frame with the country print on the cushions. After many trials and tribulations over the best way to manage the cat hair/dander on the furniture - we found sheets to be the answer. A full size sheet fits the couch and actually stays on when we sit on the couch! Twin sheets work nicely on the chairs, folded and tucked in just the right way.

There will always be an upset stomach, and never at a convenient time. Running late for work - there's a little puke pile. Walking bare foot or just in socks - hello slimly little bile. No matter what, every time I have to decipher - who was it, is it just a hairball, they ate a piece of something they shouldn't have, does this mean a trip to the vet?

Poop scooping....so much litter scooping. With a grand total of 9 litter boxes, it's a daily thing. Forget trying to do it every other day, cats have perfected the true meaning of spite. Not scooping gives them the right to pick any other place in the house to do their business.

I know, you're dying to know what does the amazing husband say about all these cats? Let's call it a love/hate relationship. He loves them as much as he hates them. Ask him, he will straight up tell you he hates them. Deep down, he does love them, well at least most of them. The hate runs stronger for some because of the horrific behavior. If I try to bring in another pet, I'll be the one without a roof over my head. Normally I would disregard that - but he's been pretty strict lately. He also doesn't keep it a secret how much of a pain they can be in every way possible - always a puke pile, always litter where it shouldn't be...(how the hell do they get litter in the fully made bed?!?!?), we just bought food/litter, how long is this medicine being given...the list goes on!

He feels strongly that they create a ton of work & extra expenses. There's no way I can deny that. They are work, they are expensive. But most days they make up for it. You might wonder how they make up for it? They are completely unbiased, non judging, don't talk back and love unconditionally. Not to mention, they sense when you are sick, feeling down or just need some love with no strings attached.

Till our tails cross again,

Mel

Double Trouble at the Vet

As you can imagine, vet visits with cats can be tricky. They know as soon as the carrier comes out - someone's going somewhere and not to a fun place. Fortunately our vets office is amazing and makes the entire visit easy. They know the personality of each of my cats and how best to handle them. Dobby is mostly good at the vets office. If you thought only humans got car sick, you're wrong. Dobby is a pro at getting car sick. Literally 2 minutes in and she's emptied her stomach, made a mess of the carrier and stepped in her mess. Fortunately she usually does that only on the way to the vet. What fun....apologies to the Dr. & vet techs. Much like at home she has to explore everything as if it's her domain. Dobby is nicer about letting them know what she doesn't like. She will try to walk away, back away or duck her head, to avoid whatever you might be trying to do to her. Now we add in Roughy who is full of attitude and not afraid to let you know what he thinks whether by speaking cat or dolling out the swats and bites as he sees fit. He treats all humans the same, doesn't matter if you're the Dr., his favorite human, or just someone giving him some love. I'll touch more on this later, but these two are the best of buds and the worst of buds on any given day. Roughy has what I call a red flag (they call it a note) on his chart. It says "Minutes" and it literally means they have a few mere minutes to do his exam, bloodwork, shots, etc. We go in armed to the vet by giving him some gabapentin which is a staple in my cat basket! (this time he ALMOST got anti-diarrhea instead). We give him the meds mixed in with some wet food - usually works great. This time - not so much so he only got a lick of the meds - not gonna be super helpful! So I was only slightly surprised when they both decided to sit nicely and wait for the Dr., I could only hope that this would be the start of a very good vet visit. It was a good visit mostly - so what more could I do but laugh when low and behold....Roughy had enough and actually swatted the Dr.. enter face palm here... like seriously...she was practically done with the exam and shots. 30 seconds more and we would have gotten a gold star! The upside to seeing the same vet for 10+ years, she's used to his bad behavior, and was prepared for when he takes aim. Dobby followed up and was the perfect angel for her exam. She just had to walk all over the computer, stick her head in the trash container and prance around - making sure all was up to par! She was also glutenous and ate all of the squeeze up treat that was for both of them! At home she's not allowed to have a whole squeeze up - it gets shared among them all. As far as vet visits go this was business as usual. Right on down to the bill over $200 for 2 cats to be up to date on shots. One of my goals for this year - take one cat a month to the vet. 12 cats, 12 months - easy peasy!

Till Our Tails Cross Again,

Mel

Rainbow Bridge Crossing

While my goal is to have a new blog post hit the internet once a week (I felt that would be a reasonable and easily maintainable goal) - life happens. Thus, I wanted to get a second blog done this week.

I have this wonderful couple Dana and Lisa that I pet sit for, the proud parents of the Geriatric crew that I JUST wrote about. Not only are their fur kids amazing, they are amazing humans. I'm not saying that just because they are clients (and could potentially be reading this..)but because they are truly amazing.

It takes a strong person or sometimes a strong couple to have not one, or two but THREE senior pets needing medications, extra vet visits, a higher level of care on the day to day. I strive every day to give my pets the best of the best - whether its treats, food, healthcare, play time, cuddles - they get it. It's draining when you have a sick pet, or one that needs more than just the daily food, water, exercise and play. I've been there and done that (and still do that). So to find other humans who do just as much, care as much, and spend all of their hard earned money on their pets makes me want to keep them in my life. Because pets are absolutely defenseless and rely on us humans to take the best care of them. Generally speaking pet people are better people than non-pet people in my world.

When we bring home a pet the last thing on our mind is when they get older and the care needed changes, routines change, the unexpected happens. We all know, we are never quite ready for life's curveballs - and the pet curveballs are no different. They hurt more - in a way I truly can't explain. Our beloved pets cannot tell us what hurts, how badly, when it started, why they don't feel good, what makes it better, if the medication is helping, why they don't want to eat. We have to be a sleuth to figure it out, try a million and one things to see if there's a change for better or worse.

When I first started pet sitting for the Geriatric boys, it was Marley and Max, occasionally Lucas until he made the move from NJ to PA to his new home. The three of them, with their lovely personalities and needs. Marley - always in his crate on his big comfy bed, Lucas on the couch, and Max laying between the couch and the wall - no way Lucas was getting around him without getting barked or snipped at. Lucas would always stand up, shake his head and look around when he heard my voice.

For my last overnight with them (yes the one I just wrote about) Lucas' parents had just told me he one foot/toe was slightly swollen and irritated. They had been to a specialist and thought it might be bone cancer. Whenever I hear Cancer, it just kills me. My immediate thought was poor guy, hopefully he still has a long long life ahead of him. It sure didn't seem to bother him one bit.

Getting a text this weekend, "give me a call when you have a chance" I thought oh maybe they need a last minute drop in for a meal, or last minute plans have them going out of town and want me to come stay with the boys. Trust me, I would have been there in a heartbeat. There are days when I think, it's not about the money - I am filling a piece of my life with dogs that I have been forbidden to bring home. All of these dogs get treated as if they are my own. What Dana said when I called, crumpled me.

Lucas, the cutest most adorable dog passed peacefully in his sleep Friday night. I cried. Absolutely cried as if it was my dog. I am so glad he passed peacefully in the middle of the night, on the couch with his absolute favorite human Dana. She told me he had been eating and drinking less and less that week and had a vet appointment scheduled for Saturday morning. As sad as it is that he crossed the rainbow bridge, he was fortunate enough to do it peacefully at home.

While I have no words of comfort for his humans, just know all of our hearts are broken., you aren't alone in the grieving. Some days will be hard, some easy, there will be tears, under it all remember the good days. It will get easier over time.

My upcoming overnight visit with the boys will not be the same minus Lucas. Lukey Loo as I called him will be greatly missed.

Till our Tails cross again,

Mel