Once Upon A Time

Update

I've not been blogging much since life has been pretty hectic and full. Gee is finally back to normal. He's now a bit on the skinny side, but his appetite has improved. Most importantly is he's walking normally and he's able to move his tail like he used to.

I can't tell you how agonizing it was to feel like there was nothing I could do and that I was going to have to put him down. While I don't have any answers on why he had this problem, it is very fortunate that he got better. And much of that I credit Gee for. He wanted out of the cage and he knew that he needed to get better in order for that to happen. And so he accomplished his goal.

So here's a pic of Gee in his cuddler, happily resting after this whole ordeal:

PS. Gee jumped off my deck this past weekend, so you know he's doing much, much better. LOL.

Poor Gee

Life has been a whirlwind of late. And unfortunately, it has not all been good.

My cat Gee started having hind limb paresis last Wednesday night. Basically he couldn't use his hind legs properly. After a number of tests it is presumed that it is due to a spinal cord injury. But we may never know for certain. I don't have the money to do a CT scan or consider surgery. For now, Gee is confined to a medium dog crate. We can only hope that he will gradually recover.

Up until today, there hadn't been any change in his status. Today, however, he does appear to have some feeling at the base of his tail. And he was able to lift his back leg to clean himself. Small changes, but hopefully indicative that he may be starting to improve.

As it is, Gee has been putting up a fuss from time to time because he really just wants to get out of the cage. I keep telling him he needs to be a ble to walk first, hoping that it will give him the incentive to walk again. I'll try to keep ya posted.....

Gee's surgery

My cat Gee was having issues again these last few weeks. Cystitis Issues. Normally I just try to live through the 2-3 weeks of his squatting and dribbling bloody urine in various corners of the house. These days it only happens once or twice a year, and is generally brought on by stress and allergies.

But unfortunately this time just when I thought he was getting to the end of a bout, he got worse. He became really depressed and was having a rough time with it, not eating much at all. So I took Gee to the vet. And this time, when they took an X-ray, they did find a bladder stone.

That meant Gee needed surgery to ensure the stone wouldn't block him. On Monday Gee had his surgery and I brought him home on Tuesday evening. Then I kept him isolated for a day. Since he's been so happy and upbeat I figured he was ready to be sprung from my room and given free reign of the house.

In fact he just jumped on my desk and rubbed against me, chirping with joy. I'm just thrilled he's feeling much better. It would have sucked if I spent all that money and he still felt bad. ;)

Itchy Cat

Gee has been having dry skin due to the change in weather. Unfortunately, it causes him to itch which in turn causes him to bite himself near his tail. Since he now has a balding area with several small scabs that simply applying cortizone cream wasn't helping, I had pull out the big guns: I had to give him a bath.

I used a cornstarch cat shampoo that is supposed to ease the itching and moisturize his skin, along with a cortizone rinse that also eases itching. I bathed him with this about two days ago, and I can see that he rarely itches anymore. This stuff works like a charm. Gee just doesn't like the part about being wet, LOL. But he's actually a fairly patient cat, so I didn't end up clawed up or bitten. Tabitha wouldn't be quite so patient. ;)

Also, I have been running two humidifiers in the house in order to keep both Gee and myself from drying out much. God, I hate the dryness of winter air. As fast as I slap on lotion, I still have peeling skin around my nose. And my hands feel awful. Uggh.

There's no place like home

On Monday while at my parents, my cat Gee did the one thing cat owners may fear the most. He ran out the door when my Dad opened it. That is he ran away in a neighborhood that he doesn't know. And he didn't come back. For 12 hours.

At first I wasn't worried. I figured he'd appear in an hour or two. I kept calling for him and checking the yard for him.

It wasn't until it was time for me to leave to return to Maryland that I started getting very concerned. What was I to do? Leave without him and hope my parents would be able to bring him into their house? Or stay put and perhaps take a day off from work? What if he still didn't return? What if he ran onto the main road near my house? You get the idea.

I actually packed up to leave, but then when push came to shove, I couldn't bring myself to leave without him. By 10 pm I was so emotionally exhausted, I went to bed. By 10:30, my brother knocked on my door to let me know Gee returned.

It turns out that my brother checked out the window and saw Gee sitting on the front porch waiting to be let in. I had left food there but he wasn't interested in it. When Brian opened the door, Gee rushed at the screen door, and almost busted it in his anxiousness. Brian gently opened the screen door and Gee eventually got the idea he had to come around the screen door.

The prodigal son had made it home. We left Jersey at 6:20 am the next morning and I actually made it to work just fine. Thanks to many people being on vacation, we were able to make the trip down I-95 in the usual 3 hours.

Thankfully I can report that this story ended happily. I had read a bunch of stories of people online who weren't so lucky with their lost cats. Not to mention I lost a cat 10 years ago, when he didn't come home one day. (he was an indoor/outdoor cat)

As much as owning Gee has not always been easy, I'm not willing to lose him. He's my pal who snuggles up with me every night when I go to sleep. He's uniquely Gee, and no other cat could replace him. *sniff*

Outside the Box

Saturday we bought some sticky tiles for the basement and yesterday Brian took the initiative and cut out three feet of carpet along the length of the back of the house.

We decided to get rid of this piece because in the one corner by the litter box Gee would occasionally go outside the box, unfortunately. Also the center part would get wet occasionally from water coming in over the sliding glass doors when we would get rain that beat against the back of the house. It wouldn't come in every time it rains, but even getting wet occasionally is a problem. And we can't seem to find where exactly the water gets in. Mold and cat pee is not a pleasant smelling combo.

Removing the offending piece has already improved the smell of the room. Yay! Brian swept up all the dirt and debris left behind. Now the area is ready for applying the sticky tiles. That will probably be next weekend's project.

Cat Fight

Tabitha and Gee just had the nastiest cat fight, or at least the loudest. Both cats were under Brian's computer chair. I suspect Brian ran over Tab's tail with the wheel of the chair and that set her off on Gee who had the misfortune of being next to her. I had to run down the stairs after them, yelling like a banshee to get them to separate. Poor Gee lost a small clump of fur when Tab got a piece of him.

Kitty Lovin'

Gee has decided to sit on my desk, with his ass up against my mouse and his tail swatting my keyboard. Now he got up and jumped down and went out of the room. For the moment, I no longer have to fear he'll get up and sit on my keyboard, scrolling down the window or closing it.

He's learned that by jumping in front of the computer screen and walking on my keyboard, he gets attention. What a mooch!

UPDATE: He's been up and down half a dozen times. I love him but he's driving me nuts! LOL.

Friday Night Emergency

Yesterday evening I took Tabitha to get her stitches out. (She's had them in for 3 weeks) It looked as though her incision completely healed, except for one spot that had a big scab. But the vet thought it was sufficiently healed to take the stitches out.

Unfortunately he was wrong. By later in the evening a 2 cm hole opened up. I figure Tabitha walking down the stairs must have pulled it too much and opened the wound up. At first I thought it was just the scab bleeding a bit and I put her in my bathroom until the bleeding would stop. Within an hour or so, the bleeding did not stop and had gotten worse. And it looked like the wound had opened.

By 10 pm I was driving to the Emergency Vet Hospital in Rockville with Tabitha in tow. We actually saw a doctor fairly quickly and he confirmed what I feared. The wound had opened and she needed more stitches. I left her there since they couldn't do it right away and I was exhausted. As it was I was afraid I'd fall asleep at the wheel. Once home, it took awhile for me to fall asleep. Then my alarm awoke me at 5:30 am. I was out of the house by 6, found a gas station open at an early hour on a Saturday morning (since my car was on E), and arrived at Emergency Vet by 6:30 to pick her up.

If you are not familiar with Emergency Vets, everything costs you more than it would at the normal vet's office. And having the cat stay there costs $3.50 an hour. As it was she stayed there about 7-8 hours costing me $28. The sum total of the stitches, visit, meds, etc. was over $200. Which isn't as bad as it could be, but it hurts after one has paid in the neighborhood of $500 for the original surgery, meds, supplies, etc.

I'm beginning to think kids are cheaper than pets, as you have health insurance for kids, LOL. Though I guess this shows me yet again that I should consider pet health insurance. *sigh*

Move along, there's nothing to see here

I was sitting up here at my computer when minutes ago I heard this loud high pitched wailing coming from downstairs. My first thought was 'Did Tabitha get out of my room and go after Gee?"

I ran downstairs to the main level of the house. No Gee. The wailing starts again. I run down to the basement and there's Gee wailing at the sliding glass door at a cat who is sitting directly in front of him, staring in the door at Gee. It's the tabby cat I've seen in the neighborhood before, one that Tabitha has hissed at as it ran through my backyard last month.

As I walked up to the glass door, the cat didn't move. I tapped on the glass, but still no dice. Finally the cat decided two against one was not worth it and slowly moved away. Gee was still breathing heavy against the glass, steaming it up.

I've never seen him get so upset. He REALLY didn't like this cat. He's normally not the territorial one. That's Tabitha. Usually he's the happy go lucky cat that doesn't give two shits about other cats coming past. But this one upset him, I guess because it got too close and wouldn't leave.

I've never heard such a loud wailing high pitched yowl. The high pitched part is not surprising since my boy does have a high pitched myip. [He rarely meows, he usually makes a tiny myip sound.] The funny thing is poor Gee couldn't manage to scare the cat away, even with his most hideous wailing. Poor Guy. Mom came and tried to soothe the poor aggitated fellow. That's what Mom's are for. ;)

Of course, I didn't spend long soothing him, before I ran back upstairs to blog this before work, LOL.

Fall Cat update

Tabitha had been having infections in her nether region due to her being overweight which caused her to have a fold of skin where bacteria and/or yeast could hide out in. Antibiotics did clear the infection but each time the infection would return after the 2 weeks of antibiotics was complete. So I was advised to do something more radical--have surgery performed on Tabitha that would correct the anatomical issue.

I debated back and forth, unsure I wanted to put my 10+ year old cat thru surgery. But knowing that this condition had been repeating over the last few years and that at times it made her uncomfortable, not to mention it made her butt smell (cats just love putting their butt in your face), I decided to have the procedure done on her.

She had the surgery done on Thursday. I brought her home Friday evening and have had to keep her separate from Gee. She's not thrilled to be locked in my room and he's not thrilled that he's not allowed in. But we're all surviving in spite of Gee scratching at my door at 3 am.

Today, after seeing that she was having trouble walking in addition to noting she hadn't pooped since I brought her home, I took her to the vet. Maybe I should have waited, but I didn't want to leave her home alone if she wasn't doing well. It was the difficulty walking that had me more concerned. It's always a guessing game with pets. Turns out she pooped at the vet's office. So things are working on that end. ;)

As for the walking funny, the vet (new one at the office) felt it was due to pain, so she prescribed a pain reliever. Tabitha seems to be walking better and her spirits seem up.

But by taking her back to the vet, my bills keep creeping higher. *sigh* Good thing I don't have kids. I'm having enough trouble affording my cats!

This whole episode does shake my confidence in deciding on the surgery. But the jury is still out...if it does bring good results. I'll feel satisfied.

As for Gee, he's doing just fine. He's been real affectionate of late. Simply a sweetheart. Even after the rough time we've had with his cystitis a year ago, I'm still thrilled to have him. He really is a sweetie. :)

Ain't That a Pisser

Well, after much relaxation this weekend, reality came along and bit me on the ass.

First thing I found when I returned home was that Gee was having a bout of cystitis. The first bad bout he's had since before we moved. I think the last real bout he had was in March.

So far, two days of frequent peeing of blood in various corners of the house. Oh Joy! And no sign of letting up.

Then tonight I go to do laundry since I have nothing to wear. Downstairs by the washer I step in a puddle of water. A significant puddle that happens to run from my inside portion of the AC unit. A call to Dad yields the answer that the condensation drain it probably clogged. So that means I get to call the AC guy in the morning. And in the meantime, I get to turn my AC off.

The bad part of this is that water has leaked into the downstairs bathroom and even into the family room, making the carpet wet. Granted I've been planning to replace the carpet. But I'd been hoping to wait until winter. I'll have to see if I'll need to replace it sooner now....in addition to getting the AC/drain fixed. *sigh*

The joys of home and pet ownership, striking at once.....

Awwww.....*sniff*

This morning on the way to work I saw a cat get hit. Or more precisely I saw it get thrown across the road toward the double yellow lines by the car two cars ahead of me. Both the car in front of me and I had to swurve to miss the rolling cat. First I was in shock. But within a minute I decided to make a U-turn and go see if the cat was still alive. I didn't want to leave it there to suffer.

I parked on the shoulder where the road was wider and walked up to where the cat was lying on the double yellow line. I looked at the small longhaired black cat from the shoulder of the road as cars whizzed past it on either side. Finally when there was a lull in traffic on my side I walked over to it to get a better look though I was already fairly certain it was dead. It had a bloody mouth and its eyes were wide open. I'm guessing the impact broke his neck because he didn't seem crushed. As sad as it was to see him killed like that, I'm grateful to know he probably died instantly and wasn't in pain. All I could do was go back to my car and continue on to work.

Our sweet receptionist offered to call animal control for me. From there she was directed to the Maryland State Highway Admin. It seems they are the ones responsible for removing the cat from the road.

Even now all I can think of is some cat owner is missing their cat. On one hand I wish the person had kept their cat indoors. On the other hand I realize it could have escaped the house without the owner's consent.

It makes me think of my cat Eric that disappeared back in 1994. I often wonder if he met such a fate.

*sniff*

Hear Me Roar

Tabitha appeared to be having more cystitis woes in addition to having a yeast infection down in that same vicinity. Poor thing was frequenting the box and licking herself excessively. Additionally her fur has been matting a lot recently. So to the vet she went this morning. After talking with the vet, we decided to give her a lion cut since he wanted to shave her back end to help with the yeast problem (making it easier to apply medicine) and since I wanted the area of her back and sides that has been matting to be shaved. And since he was going to sedate her for the lion cut, he decided the exam could wait until that time, since Tabitha was not a happy camper from the get go. LOL.

Oh, how different she looks, hehehehe....

She had her claws trimmed as well. When I brought her home, Gee had to sniff her up, since I think he wasn't sure who she was. Lucky for him she was still kinda groggy or else she would have whacked him. The funniest thing about her is how much more obvious it is that she needs a tummy tuck. The poor girl has a hanging belly due to having kittens in her younger years before I owned her.

My little lion may never forgive for this, LOL. :)

Kitty Update

I don't think I've given a cat update in awhile. So here goes:

In terms of settling in the new house, I think they were settled in by the second day. They loved it from the start since it has lots of windows, two sets of stairs, and many rooms to choose from to sleep in. And of course their humans and their furnature accompanied them to their new home, so all is well in the land of Cat. Brian and I just pay the mortgage and utilities; they own the place.

[I'll insert some cat pics soon]

In terms of health issues:

Tabitha's yeast issues have not completely cleared up. She still has a stinky butt. Also she's started matting again, despite my attempts to keep her brushed. Otherwise, she's in good health, though pissy when I attempt to work on removing her matts (cutting them out using scissors, since brushing through them is out of the question)

Gee has been doing quite well since about a month before we moved. His cystitis seems to be in check. (See my archives for the saga that started in October. In short, I was dealing with bloody cat urine 3 weeks at a time over the course of 6 months. Typically it lasts 7-10 days in most cats...but not my Gee! LOL.) Threatening him with not being able to come to the new house appears to have helped motivate him to get better (they sure didn't hurt, LOL).

So it has been at least 3 months that he's been red pee free, LOL. As long as I keep giving him the CVS generic of Chlor-Trimetron, half a 4 mg pill twice a day, he stays peeing normal (color, frequency, volume, etc...I know...TMI about cat pee, LOL).

I find that as I try to wean him off, he starts to pee more frequently and starts peeing on the box instead of in it. I've tried it a couple different times. So now I'm convinced he'll just have to stay on it for the duration. Also, this medicine keeps his allergies in check. He has airborne allergies, ya know, tree and grass pollen, ragweed, mold, dust, etc...he's prolly even allergic to Tabitha, LOL.

He's not been tested for specifics, but whenever an allergen is high, the boy itches and itches, poor thing. Now that it has gotten hot and my windows are always shut with the AC on, he does much better and isn't balding by his tail anymore. Luckily, he's fairly easy to pill, though some days he runs down the basement, hoping I'll give up and won't follow. But I usually do, and then he gives in pretty easily, LOL. :)

Took Tabitha to the vet

Took Tabitha to the vet yesterday and everyone there wanted to know how Gee was. I think they are attached to the gray guy. :) Not sure how Tabitha felt about that. Especially since they shaved her rear (she has some sort of yeast infection). I don't think she was a happy kitty at all. LOL. Hopefully it'll clear up and she won't have a stinky rear anymore. Cats just love sticking their butts in everyone's face. Also the vet told her (and me) that she could use to lose a pound or two. The piggy is up to 13 lbs.

Speaking of the gray guy, here he is, myipping. That's my description of his squeaky voice. It's not really a meow, more a high pitched chirp. I told the girls at the vet's office about his little adventure the other week.

Now Gee is gonna jump up here and walk on my keyboard.n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n (that was Gee)

He types n's so well...with spaces in between, lol. Guess that is my first 'guest entry.' LOL.

Gee escaped from the deck

Gee escaped from the deck last night. I went inside for two minutes and in that time he leapt down to the little piece of fence below. Mom and I dashed down to retrieve him, but we had trouble getting him down. Then he leapt/fell onto the woodpile and we were unable to grab him before he darted off. After several near misses (under bushes, cars, etc.), we lost sight of him and were unsure of where he ran to. I called and called for him, but no Gee. Later a neighbor knocked to say he spotted him. And the pursuit began again. And still we were unable to catch the little bastard. He'd stay still until you got close and then he'd run.

After talking to the neighbors for about 15 minutes, I returned to my house and there he was waiting at the front door. (Before I was afraid he'd get lost, now I know he's a quick learner in terms of knowing his surroundings.) Of course, he started to run away as I approached him. So instead of chasing him, I opened the storm door and latched it open enough for the cat to get in. Then I grabbed Tabitha and brought her upstairs so she couldn't join Gee outside. When I returned outside I didn't see him anywhere nearby. But within a minute Brian called out that Gee was in the house acting as if he had done nothing wrong and had never been gone. Just within those two minutes he entered the house. He wanted to come in, he just didn't want to be hauled in by me.

So the escaped 'con cat' (rescued from Lorton Prison) turned himself in. But now he's on indefinte parole and won't ever be left unattended on the deck ever again, LOL. ;)

Gee is giving me lots

Gee is giving me lots of love at the moment, rubbing against my legs as I sit here this morning. You gotta love kitty lovin'! :)

We put another bid on

We put another bid on a townhouse and now we're waiting to hear if our bid has been accepted or not. This can be an axious time as you try to prepare yourself for the inevibility of being outbid, while still hoping that by some chance you actually are the accepted bid. We should hear something today....I hope.

Gee has still been doing his peeing blood thing. How is it I get the one cat who can't seem to get rid of this problem? Every other cat that has iLUTD will have a bout for a week and then it goes away for months. But no Gee has it all the time and if he is lucky every few weeks he has a week or a few days that he pees normally. *sigh* The only good thing I have found is that OxyClean stuff (crystals) is fabulous for getting blood stains off walls and carpet, even after it has dried.

But clearly there is little chance we will be able to bring Gee into our new house. I'm just not sure whether we should place him on a friend's farm or have him euthanized. I'm just not sure what is the more humane thing to do. The poor guy is such a sweetheart and if it weren't for this peeing blood thing (which has been going on since October!), we'd certainly keep him. We love the our slinky gray guy! He has the most sweet temperment. Our vet adores him because he is one of his easiest patients. It frustrates him to no end that we can't find anything to clear up this problem. Antibiotics do nothing. The Cosequin isn't doing the trick. And the Chlor-Trimetron only mildly helps in controlling the frequency he feels he has to pee.

Gee is just a one in thousands kinda case. :(

Snow is coming down tonight.

Snow is coming down tonight. Unfortunately it is unlikely to be enough to cancel work, LOL. Today I finally managed to have a very productive day at work. I think my week from Hell has finally ended. It just sucks when it falls within 2 work weeks, LOL.

Tabitha is doing much better and practically back to normal. Gee has improved, but I can't say for certain that he's finished his bout. So for now he remains with us, but his future remains uncertain. :(

I wish I was inspired enough to write something thoughtful or witty or insightful, but I'm drawing a blank. Then again, this time of year tends to sap away my energy. Anyone got any spare energy to throw my way?

Oh, yeah. GO EAGLES!

Nuff said.

It's time to take down

It's time to take down the Christmas decorations. I just need to get off my ass and do it, LOL.

Cat Update: Gee was having cystitis issues all throughout Christmas week at my parents. *sigh* Nothing like bringing a cat that's peeing blood throughout the house to one's parents. Including on my parents sofa. This week he's still not quite normal, but improved. But now Tabitha has been in and out of the litterbox repeatedly throughout the last couple days. Two pissing kitties, just what I needed!

I'm convinced it's either viral or something environmental. How else do you explain both cats having cystitis problems over the last year? Tabitha hadn't had any problems since her last bout in April. But apparently when I thought about her being ok throughout the last several months last week, I thought it too loud. So far she's diligent about using the box, but I know that can't last if this persists.

*screams*

Tension breaker. What can you expect from someone dealing with cats with peeing issues? ;)

I did take Gee to see the dermatologist who agreed that he likely has airborne allergies. We decided to give him the steroid anti-inflammatory drug for a month to treat his allergies and potentially help with the cystitis. Otherwise Gee will eventually need allergy shots. Not something I'm ready to jump into doing. I would be required to give him the shots myself. Will have to see if I decide to try that route.

How did all of a sudden owning cats become so expensive? I used to have one cat who went to the vet once a year. Now I have two cats that have battled with cystitis, one of which has allergies as well. Not to mention the deworming we went through a few months ago. What the hell?

What a shitty week! Thanksgiving

What a shitty week! Thanksgiving can't come soon enough. Work has continued to be stressful as everything has come to a head. I saw this coming but that didn't make it any easier. :P

The high point of my day was seeing X-rays of my feet, LOL. It appears my feet are in good shape and just need regular massage and orthodics to keep them from cramping. I'm guessing my new sneakers are part of the problem, so I need to look for another new pair. :P

And Gee's hanging in there. He's not completely normal, but better than he had been. A couple days this week he did pee outside his box and the pee was pinkish. But the last two days I have not caught him going outside the box. And he seems a bit more cheerful.

Gee is having more cystitis

Gee is having more cystitis problems. He had been doing much better, but began peeing blood again yesterday. *sigh*

What do you do or say when people indicate that you should cut your losses and give the cat back to the organization you adopted him from? They act like it is an easy decision to make. Granted I'd rather not have shelled out the cash I have this past month, especially since my goal has been to buy a house this year. But he is such a sweet cat. We've grown attached to him. Who is going to adopt him now knowing he has medical issues?

If it were a child instead of a cat, would people still suggest I cut my losses?

God, this sucks....can you cut me a break here?

This has definitely been a trying month for me financially and emotionally. I'd just like something to go my way.

Additionally, I just wish the vet could come up with something beyond testing for this, that, and the other. I need some sort of treatment for Gee to make him feel better and to keep him from peeing blood all over my apartment. I can't keep him locked in the bathroom at all times.

Have you ever felt like

Have you ever felt like you finally extracted yourself from one group of people that are not really your friends to find yourself amid another group who is only interested in you to diss the previous set? I just feel used. I think that's a simpler way to put it. Either that or I'm simply paranoid.

*sigh*

Additionally I feel like a complete fool for bringing Gee back to the vet. This morning I saw blood spots from him and assumed his UTI was back. But when I left him with the vet for the day he neither peed nor bled from anywhere. He acted perfectly normal. I didn't know what to say.

So I feel not only used but I feel like a complete crackpot as well...sheesh. Chalk this one up as a crummy day.

Pissing and Moaning

Yesterday I dealt with my cat Gee's continuing UTI issues. Where Tabitha normally responds to antibiotic treatment, Gee continued to squat and pee blood around my apartment. I tried to keep him isolated to keep his messes to a minimum. But he wasn't exactly cooperative as he kept tearing at my carpet from under the bathroom door and meowing/crying to be let out. When placed on my balcony he would also vocalize his protests in addition to scratching at my screen door. *sigh*

Today he spent the day at the vet and we have opted to let him remain there overnight to ensure he continues responding to the antibiotics and he doesn't become dehydrated again. I must admit it is strange not having him here. But maybe tonight I'll get a full night's sleep as opposed to dealing with his protests at being isolated or letting him run around squatting in all the corners of my apartment and hear him ripping at my carpet. (Does that make sense?....sleep deprivation is my excuse if it does not, lol.)

And otherwise the anxieties here in MD continue to grow as it has been confirmed that the 13-year-old boy is in fact another victim of the sniper. The only thing I'd like to add is I'm quite disappointed with Channel 9 news anchors who started making assumptions about the boy and this case on misinformation and surmisations. At one point they were reporting that the child was shot twice (even though numerous witnesses ALL said they heard one shot), that details of the case did not fit the profile of the sniper (yes early reports suggested the shot came from the woods and that is not consistent with the previous shootings, but who said the guy had to be consistent?), that the caliber of ammo was .22 rather than .233 (which did not match the amount of noise the witnesses heard), AND that simply because the boy had some incident with the bus that resulted in his aunt having to drive the boy to school, that somehow the shooting was more likely to be a result of the confrontation and not 'the sniper.' (hinting that the boy flirted with trouble.)

It was such bad, irresponsible journalism that it made me sick to my stomach as the words were being said. Interestingly enough when I checked the station later, they were backpedaling BIGTIME, as they stressed that classmates indicated the boy was funny and helpful and had lots of friends. And of course within hours the ATF confirmed that the ammo used was .223 caliber. I will be certain to avoid Channel 9 news after this, since they showed such unprofessionalism in reporting anchors' unsubstantiated opinions and incorrect information. Each of the other networks mentioned the .22 caliber remark that someone had made but added that it was not consitent with the amount of naise heard by the witnesses. They did their homework.

After seeing Chief Moose's press conference this afternoon, all I can say is I respect the guy a great deal and feel fortunate that he's the guy in charge here in Mont. Co. You can tell the fact that this sniper has moved to shooting a child has affected Moose greatly and he is ever more committed to getting this guy sooner then later. I suspect Moose is a father himself and this really hit home. And after seeing Chief Wilson speak initially this afternoon, I'm even more thankful we have Moose here in Mont. Co. ;)

My plan for the day

My plan for the day included spending the day on the Chesapeake with a few co-workers on Bill's boat. That plan quickly went down the tubes when Gee started peeing everywhere after going in the litter box at least a dozen times within an hour. This included peeing on the bag I planned to use today. Granted it was not that much urine since he had been in the litterbox a dozen times. But it was a sure sign that something was wrong.

So I called the vet, convinced the young woman who answered (after some persistence) to squeeze us in today, and arrived there shortly after 9am. They took us into the exam room immediately since their next appointment was running late. And sure enough the little bugger has a urinary tract infection. *sigh* I've gone through this a good bit with Tabitha this last year. But this is the first time Gee has had a UTI. So they treated him with fluids, a ketoprofen shot, and sent antibiotics home with me. And amazingly I popped the pill in his mouth with no fuss or muss. He seemed unphased by me opening his mouth and dropping the pill down his throat. And he swallowed it! If I'm extremely lucky he'll take the pills that easy all week. (unlikely, LOL.)

Yes, Gee's allergies are acting

Yes, Gee's allergies are acting up again. The big question is what the hell is he allergic to? The next step is to change his diet to see if a food product is his problem. I'm so not looking forward to that if I need to keep each of my two cats on a different diet.

Pam's memorial service was yesterday. I'm sure her family found great comfort in the fact that so many friends and colleagues attended the service. It was so packed that they had to place more chairs out to get everyone seated. And several of her friends from Tennesee and North Carolina travelled up to Maryland for the service. A few even told their stories of how Pam touched their lives. Each story just reinforced the fact that Pam was such an open, loving, compassionate woman, that was quite giving to all those around her. That she served as a role model to so many. And she enjoyed good food, good times, and good friends. And knowing her love of photographs and pottery, her family placed out a great number of photographs with her and friends and family, and they put out some of her favorite pottery pieces that she had collected. Though Pam is no longer be with us, but her kindness and strength will live on in the hearts and memories of those whose lives she touched.

Took Tabitha and Gee to

Took Tabitha and Gee to the Vet. Tabitha just needed her shots. But Gee has been biting himself near his tail and it has just been getting worse. Since he doesn't have fleas [which he better not] it looks like he's having an allergy which is what I guessed. The question is whether it is pollen related or a food allergy. Obviously the pollen allergy should go away soon. A food allergy could be more tricky.

And the whole who knew what, when, with 9/11, has become an interesting sideshow. The latest story depicts how FBI agents sidestepped their HQ in an effort to get the info about Moussaoui to the CIA. The agents took their job seriously. The beauracracy was the roadblock in this case. Now I'm trying to recall whether it was the FBI or the CIA that Bush, Sr ran before he became VP and later Pres.

On the Weather Channel, I saw a piece with Jeb Bush talking about hurricanes and his state of Florida. I never realized it before, but he's as poor of a speaker as his brother. 'Foot in mouth' disease seems to be a problem for the Bush boys, one I never saw in George or Barbara.

*Yawn*....time to get some Zzzzz.....Ciao. :)

Bizarre thing happened last night.

Bizarre thing happened last night. I went to lay down in my bed when I felt something prick my shoulder. At first I wasn't sure what it was. Then, I heard a buzzing sound near my ear.

After turning on the light, I didn't see anything. Staring at my shoulder in the bathroom mirror, I began to see a bump developing. So I knew something bit or stung me. I heard Gee pouncing on my bed, chasing something, so I peaked my head back in my room. Lo and behold a wasp landed on my pillow at that moment. Then he flew towards me. Grabbing my hairspray I gave him a dousing with it. Best bug spray out there, lol. With his wings stuck together, he couldn't go far and then I proceeded to beat him to death.

The sting wasn't too bad since I had been wearing a very thick, warm nightgown since it was a very cold night. I think he only half stung me because his stinger didn't completely get through the fabric. The wasp got into my apartment last week when the weather was good. I had assumed he died since I hadn't seen him since last week. I assumed wrong. And despite all of Gee's best attempts, he never caught the wasp. (Last week he was up on my dining room table, leaping at the flying critter.) LOL.

Gee is getting braver

Gee is getting braver and coming out from hiding little by little. Tabitha still growls at him but chases him less often. So maybe there is hope for these two cats to get along.

Wow, I haven't posted anything

Wow, I haven't posted anything in the New Year. There are some rather bizarre things going on work. Things I want to post about but can't. Confidentiality and rather personal things [personal scares for coworkers] at work that must remain off-line. But its those events that are mostly on my mind, so there has been little room for anything else. It has me thankful that I'm healthy and alive. However it has left this blog untouched for quite a bit of time. Let's see if I can't remedy that.

I did do something unplanned yesterday. Karen and I went shopping for sneakers and other miscellaneous stuff. We stopped in PetsMart for a few items Karen needed. It happened to be Open House Day and several kitties were there in need of adoption. One in particular caught our eye. He was so loving and sweet and quite a beautiful cat. Karen wanted him, but couldn't take him since she is at her 2 cat limit and will be moving to her new condo within a few months.

After much thought and hanging around his cage, I decided. To hedge my bets, we [his then foster mom and I] agreed that I would foster him for now. Then if everything works out I will officially adopt him. It just depends on how he and Tabitha get along. He was too loving a cat not to take him. And I have been saying that I want a gray cat.

This adorable feline is named Gee [though I may change his name if I can think of anything better]. Gee is a 2 year-old gray and white neutered male who was rescued from Lorton Prison. This prison closed last year and the prisoners were not allowed to bring the cats they were caring for to the new prison. He is so friendly and is a fairly large cat with a tiny high-pitched meow. What an odd combination. Most of the time Gee doesn't say much at all.

Currently he is residing in my brother's room acclimating to his new home. Within a couple days I may let he and Tabitha interact. For now she knows there is a cat somewhere in this apartment that she can't get to. She has been occasionally sticking her paw under the door. But he mostly hides behind my brothers bed.

When he does come out and interact with Brian and I, he keeps shifting position every 30 seconds. I'm tempted to call him Fidget, lol. I'll have to see if he keeps that habit after he gets used to his new home.

I'm sure I'll be posting more about Gee in the next few weeks. :)