CatHouse Chat

Farewell, Princess Pixel. Godspeed.

This past Wednesday, 16December, I noticed that Pixel seemed to be having a bit of difficulty breathing. It was late in the evening, so I brought her in to the vet the next afternoon (yesterday) to see what was going on.

Initially, the veterinarian thought it might be asthma, but Pixel was pretty stressed, so the doc wanted to keep her overnight to get blood samples and make sure the cortisone shot helped her lungs. Later that evening, though, I got a call... The doc said there was fluid around our Pixel-purr's lungs, and that she'd drawn off almost half a pint. 

Something else was wrong...

This morning, I got another call from the vet, saying that she earnestly recommended that I take Pixel down to the emergency vet in Greensboro, NC, for more testing. Pixel rested in my lap, getting lots of strokes and skritchies, almost all the way down - a 90 minute drive.

Unfortunately, Pix's breathing continued to worsen, and when the new sonogram and x-rays were taken, the doc found a large mass in her chest, along with serious irregularities on her lungs.

Oh, what a hard decision! The doc said that even with a good reaction to aggressive chemo (suspected lymphoma cancer), Pixel only had maybe another six months. She was only about 5 years old; I feel like I'd just done this with her older brother, Romeo, when he died at 19. I did not want to have to do this again - especially so SOON!

But today, at about 11am ET, Practically Perfect Princess Pixel of the Prodigious Purr went across the Rainbow Bridge to join her brother Romeo. I told her how very much we all loved her and that she had to tell him he was supposed to take good care of her until we could join them.

And then I held her and loved her as she went across...

Bye, bye, Picklepurr. I love you. I miss you already.

UPDATE:

• She had the most actively expressive tail I've ever seen on a cat
• She loved to carry on long, involved conversations with her people
• She had the cutest unique way of lap-lap-lap-sip-sip-sipping water
• She knew when she wanted your skritchies, and when she didn't
• She loved to play "come away closer," and you never knew if she'd allow you to pet her
• She had the most awesome, satisfied and smug kitty "I am SO happy that my humans are properly worshipful" smile I've ever seen on a cat

(submitted to the Friday Ark at the Modulator)

Oh, this has GOT to be the LOLcat of the Month!

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Lady Pickle-Purr, ruler of all laps!

Pixel loves to claim her rightful place on a lap for her morning skritchies!

Her favorite perch

Yes, Smudge loves to *ahem* climb the mountain and sit on top.... Sorry for the image quality: the only camera I had at hand was my laptop's digicam, and Smudgie is notorious for arranging herself in the most adorable, photographic pose... And then racing off in panic when you bring out a camera! I don't think it's the camera - I think she just likes to tease me! ;-)

Oh, HAI! This is NOT a "cat-free zone"!

Just sayin'....

"A Day Without CATS"?! Balderdash!!!!

How can one possibly go even an hour without these cuddly, adorable incarnations of snuggly slyness and insouciant evil? NOT POSSIBLE!

But, some deluded people are trying, due to this absurdly misguided website... 

I say NO!

And, thanks to Cute Overload (who can't really say she's doing a day without cats, since her post hit my RSS feed at - HAH! - 34 minutes past midnight!), I have this awesome example of why cats rule the world!!!

I Can Has Giggles?

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via icanhascheezburger.com

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Pixel has decided to supervize the painting today...

Meet little 'Dipstick'

We found him in the garage shop. When they're done (Update 2.0 - "they" being my friends who run the garage, and "done" meaning "done changing the oil in my Explorer" LOL), I'll take him to the vet and see if they can find him a good home...

UPDATE! Well, I found out that little Dipstick is actually a "she." I tried dropping her at the vet, but they really couldn't take her, so she went to the Danville Humane Society. It practically broke my heart, leaving her there! I know that since she's young, cute, and apparently healthy, she'll be adopted fairly quickly, but...

*sigh*

I was crying a bit when I left her. *sniff*

Oh, I think I got too much sun today!

The pool was so beautiful, and my hubby had a free afternoon....

 

The air was warm, but not HOT; the skies were blue with nary a cloud; the chores were done; and my allergies had calmed down after their regular morning tantrum...

We'd even walked the cats:

 

Smudgie seemed to enjoy her little tour of our garden -

 

But Pixel was not a happy camper! She hissed in displeasure several times; although she explored a little bit, she came running when I called (!!) and was very happy to return to the comfort of the house thankyouverymuch!

 

But, with all the fun and excitement (hey, and I even seem to have overcome my great uneasiness with diving into the pool!), the Kat has gotten quite... red. I've slathered on three generous coats of aloe, but I'm getting some mild heat-chills, and my skin is already warning me that tomorrow won't be too fun.

*sigh*

And just yesterday I was tease-scolding the daughter of a dear friend about using plenty of sunscreen! Somehow, "pot, meet kettle" seems appropriate! [headdesk] I'm glad it's supposed to be cloudy this week; I'm helping out with some munchkins at a horse camp, so I need to be functional! The weather is supposed to be a bit stormy, so I may luck out and be able to stay inside - but you'd better believe I'm gonna have some SPF100 with me, LOL!

Oh, and here's a picture of me in the pool:

 

See? I don't melt in water! ;-)

Farewell to my beloved Furr-Nephew, Casey

I just got notice that Casey, the First Cat of our friends Court and Jen, just passed away this morning. Casey was a wonderful cat, and he lived a long life (I think he was 20) surrounded by his devoted and loving humans. He loved to bring presents from the bedroom down to the living room, and he would talk about them all the way down the stairs so you would be prepared for the wonderful treasure he was going to show you. He was also a wonderful ambassador of snuggles and skritchies, and very gracious in permitting everyone to show him adoration.

His passing was quiet and dignified, just like him. He was snuggled in bed, sleeping with his best friend, Court, and slipped away early this morning. I am so glad that he was at home instead of at the vet's! I'm sure he had a wonderful vet, but I also know that the office can be a strange and frightening place; dieing in your own bed, slipping away gently and among friends is surely a better way to leave.

I very much wanted to go down to Metairie before he passed to offer him my own love and snuggles, but he has now gone across the Rainbow Bridge and is with my own darling Romeo, awaiting the arrival of their humans. I'll have to wait until I, too, am called Home to give him his skritchies.

God bless, Casey. We'll miss you dearly!

Here's something to get you through Monday.... Cat yodeling!

Your morning LOLcat...

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... and it was VERY good!

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Only ICHC... can make me laugh and yet have something perfect for a Sunday!

Cute kittipurrs snuggled on a quilt enjoying the morning sun

Note: To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime® 6.5 or higher is required.

Just sayin'...

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So.

START CATERING!!!!! *snicker*

OK, this is too good NOT to post!

(I looooooooove ICHC - I wish they'd let us have it at work [pout])

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I can haz coffee?

Um, or... Maybe not... LOL!

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Dave Barry's Year in Review... and cute kittens

Yep. This is a good way to spend New Year's Day - reading Dave Barry. Some highlights:

• Abroad, Fidel Castro steps down after 49 years as president of Cuba, explaining that he wants to spend more time decomposing. In selecting his successor, the Cuban national assembly, after conducting an exhaustive nationwide search, selects Fidel's brother, Raul, who narrowly edges out Dennis Kucinich.
• In sports, the undefeated New England Patriots lose the Super Bowl to the New York Giants in a stunning upset that confounds the experts, not to mention Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which had $38 billion on the Pats to win.
• In environmental news, Earth Hour is observed on March 29, when cities around the world display their commitment to conserving energy by turning out their lights for one hour. When the lights come back on, Detroit is missing.
• the International Atomic Energy Agency releases a report stating that Iran is actively developing nuclear warheads. In response, Iran issues a statement asserting that (1) it absolutely is not developing nuclear warheads, and (2) these are peaceful warheads. The United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia and China convene an emergency meeting, during which they manage, in heated negotiations, to talk France out of surrendering.
• Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac invest $17 billion in an Herbalife franchise.
• Speaking of vegetables, the big scare in June comes from the Food and Drug Administration, which announces that tomatoes are killing people. A wave of fear grips the nation as supermarket shoppers stampede from the produce section, causing several fatal shopping-cart mishaps. At the height of the panic, with the tomato industry reeling, the FDA declares that, oops, the killer might not be tomatoes, but some other vegetable, possibly jalapeño peppers, but nobody knows for sure. Eventually everyone calms down, but not before a bank in Cleveland is held up by a man wielding only a stalk of asparagus.
• Speaking of trouble, the economic news continues to worsen with the discovery that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have sent $87 billion to a Nigerian businessman with a compelling e-mail story.
• Also troubling is the news from Iran, which test-fires some long-range missiles, although Iranian President Whackjob Lunatic insists that Iran intends to use these missiles "for stump removal."

... Oh forget it - just go read the whole thing; it's hilarious!

And now for more hilarity, I present to you... KITTENS AND COKE!!!!!

(Kittipurrs to Bayou Renaissance Man)

Ah, a day is not wasted when you can combine politics, cats, cuteness and laughter...

Inhabited by a cat!

Now that my lap is free, Princess Pixel insists that she claim her rightful place: on someone's lap, receiving properly worshipful skritchies. Nevertheless, it won't last long: she's getting HAIR all over my laptop and cellphone!

Well, if one MUST be sick

This is the way to do it: tucked in bed with some cozy quilts, and with a snuggly kittipurr...

Nevertheless, being sick is the pits, especially when you wake up at 3am for... unpleasant reasons. And, I've had the chills off and on all day, and since my Beloved was working, I couldn't call him in and insist on warm cuddles [pout].

Well, hopefully I'll get some good, healing sleep tonight, and be mostly OK by the evening tomorrow...

And I'm sure Smudge and Pixel will be happy to keep their MomKat company!

Your morning kittipurr

Now that's a looooooong kitty!

I'm testing out my new cell phone - the LG Voyager fromVerizon. So far, I'm very impressed! Let's see how TPad likes it, though. Here's a picture of an impressed (NOT!) Pixel...

Oh, NOOOOES! Monorail cat... DERAILS!!!

News at 11!!!!!!

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Noooooo!

Smudgie doesn't want to go to the vet; she'd rather snuggle with a cozy quilt in the cradle... But, she's got some sort of allergy that's making her chew/scratch her neck to pieces (can't see in the picture), and I can tell she's not a happy kittipurr.

So, pretty-white-kitty, we're going to see the Doctor.

Nnnnoooooooooo!

CLASSIC!!!

The BSOD monster still lurks, waiting to devour the next sacrifice:

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Two of Smudge's favorite perches

On a quilt-

And on Dad-cat's lap... um, lapTOP!!!!

Who ya gonna call?

ZOMG!!! This is tooooooo funny! I love I Can Has Cheezburger so much... If y'all don't read it regularly, you are missing out on a wonderful laugh - actually, several - every day....

And, for those of you who don't get it (!!!!), check out Ghostbusters, OK? ;-)

She's her mother's daughter for sure...

Curled up on a quilt with a book and a cat - oh, yeah, she's got my genes, that's for sure!

*sigh* Life must be soooo hard for her! LOL

BTW, that's a whole cloth quilt I did on a peach sateen about seven years ago. I had a lot of fun doing it (probably ought to do another), although the "blank canvas" was occasionally a bit intimidating. Hm. I have more sateen fabric; I could make up a simple Amish-style quilt top and do another quilt focus on quilting technique [ponder, ponder, ponder]...

Basement cat and his minions

You remember basement cat, right?

I Can Has Cheesburger

Well, here are his minions:

I Can Has Cheezburger

and

I Can Has Cheezburger

ICHC has the BEST lolcat funnies!

Halp!!!

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Oh, I LOVE I Can Has Cheezburger!!!!

Kitti-purr spoilage alert!

Pixel loves her morning skritchies - unfortunately, the cellphone camera cannot capture her wriggles of cat-ecstacy or her conversation as she tells me how much she enjoys that rub behind her ears or that stroke along her back... ;-)

(And I hope TPad and Verizon start playing together properly soon; I'm tired of posting the pic from my phone and then having to re-edit in the TPad interface to add text... *sigh*)

Now for something fun and cuddly...

... 'cause after the snark I've been posting this morning, I need a break! So, here are three LOLcats from ICanHasCheezburger which made me go

"Awwwwww...."

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"**giggle!!**"

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.. and "OOOoooooOOOO!"

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I guess I'm feeling all Basement Cat today.... ;-)

Purr-fectly catty

Don't you think? ;-)


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After all, it *IS* Firday, right?

 Thus, therefore, and so, we must catblog!

It's not something I've been doing regularly recently, which is a shame, since I have such wonderful, snuggly purrs... So, here's something to make up for it:

Submitted, of course, to the Modulator at this week's Friday Ark... And to the Carnival of Cats, which will be hosted this week (Sunday) by Artsy Catsy...

Time for exercise, little kitties!

Thanks to Cute Overload, we see yet another hilarious kitty video:

Oh, dear Lord, forbid!!!

Heh...

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Dying of a cute-overdose...

Oh, GAH!

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Ded. D.E.D. of a cute overdose... THUD!

Engineers explain cats...

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! I love it!

Kittipurrs to the wonderful, craZY people over at Cute Overload...

Quality control: the CAT Scan

The Pixel-purr takes her turn at snuggle testing PaPa's birthday quilt. The Darling Munchkin has already had her go (and left a couple food stains, which came OUT, thank God - and Shaklee), so now it's final testing will need to be done by Smudgie...

Where IS Smudge?



Oh, that's right - she prefers the fire.... ;-)

Make sure you go enjoy this week's Friday Ark over at the Modulator!

No peeking!

Hey! No peeking!

LOLcats RULE!

I'm going to have to keep this one - I just KNOW there'll be times when it will be a perfect commentary on various events...

*snicker*

Enter the ICHC online Poker Cats Contest!

I know it's not really proper, but...

I have totally fallen in love with the LOLCat Bible Translation Project! It reminds me a little of the copy of the New Testament I have which was translated into Hawaiian pidgin (yeah, really), although it is much more light-hearted, of course.

Here's a sample from the LOLCat Bible - The Ten Commandments

1 Then Ceiling Cat spoked all them werds:

2 I iz Ceiling Cat An I iz Top Cat, An I broughted u out of hawt lend wit no cheezbrgrs for hard werk at all

3 No can has other ceiling cat!! U gotz other Ceiling Cat, I shoot yous wit mah lazer eyes.

4 If u try be Ceiling Cat of any of mai creayshunz up in floaty skai, down in erth or in watr or I shoot yous wit mah lazer eyes.5 If u think faek Ceiling Cat iz Ceiling Cat, I mek u ded An ur children ded An ur children-children ded, for being stupid.6 If not I wuv u An all ur childrenz-childrenz-childrenz!

7 U sez Ceiling Cat bad, I shoot yous wit mah lazer eyes, for I dun liek it. Srsly.

8 Remembur caturday An keep holy .9 U werk 6 dais An finish werk, K? 10 Caturday, u no werk. U An all ur peepz go wrship me. 11 I maded heavenz An erth An see An the stuff that does teh funney hoppey stuffz in An on it - so I make it holy cuz I no werk.

12 Bez u good to papa An mama so u has long lief.

13 U no mek peepz ded!

14 U no mek sexxes wit other gurlz or menz than ur wief (so no awsum treesum alowed!).

15 U no tek stuffs for free if not getz for free.

16 U no tell bad stuff about ur neibor.

17 U no wantz neibor stuff! No wief, no gurlz, no menz, no animulz, NO BUKKITZ! NOT YOURS.

Yes... Monstrous liberties with the text... But "Ceiling Cat" certainly cuts to the chase!

FRIDAY CATBLOGGING!!! (It's been far too long...)

It has, indeed, been too long... But Pixel (the bi-colored furrpurr) and Smudge (the pitty-white-kitty) were all snuggled up together cozy and warm today. They haven't been interested in snuggling with each other recently, so I had to take the shots.

Thus, for your viewing pleasure, and hot off the digital camera, here are the Precious Purrs, Reigning Monarchs of the CatHouse!

Smudgie, paranoid purr that she is, just HAD to keep her eye on me... But I love seeing comfy-cozy, curled-up, cuddle kitties on a quilt in cold climates!

Submitted to the Friday Ark over at the Modulator's, as well as to the Carnival of the Cats (hosted this week by When Cats Attack! I've also found that, during my long hiatus from CatBlogging, two new cat-worshiping round-ups have joined the fray: the Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos (this week at the Bad Kitty Festival Home), and Weekend CatBlogging (an eminently sensible title!) which will be at A Byootaful Life.

And now for something completely different...

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I'm sorry... I just HAD to!!!

The CatHouse loves ICANHASCHEEZBURGER!

Channeling Aladdin - Aladdin, are you there?

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Because the New Year must be celebrated with CATS!

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But, since it's New Year's, I'm sure we'll be doing plenty of this (except not invisible...):

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Well, what can I say? It *IS* Monday, after all...

So, let me drink my coffee in peace while I take the Munchkin (gosh, she's getting a little old for that - I'll have to think of a new nickname *sob*) to school...

Technorati Tags: lolcats, ICANHASCHEEZBURGER, cats

It's CATURDAY!!!

My cats never do this. Never! Nuh-uh.

OK, so I lie...

Well, where do you think I got it? Cute Overload, of course!

Sad that it's Monday? Here's something fun...

I went over to Neatorama because of a link from the Evangelical Outpost's weekly 33 Things list, and the post for this little video was just begging me to click on it!

Technorati Tags: Neatorama, mean kitty song