(Almost) Wordless Wednesday - Bella

Bella is a silly girl.

Maggie is Home! :) (updated 08/23/10 @ 10:06PM)

Great news! We're happy to report that after a 2 1/2 day stay at the v-e-t ... Maggie is home!

Her appetite isn't exactly back to normal, but she did begin eating at the V-E-T's office earlier today (from yummy selections that included tuna and chicken). She even ate (a little) of her regular cat food. She is still on an appetite stimulator, but her doctors are hoping we'll be able to wean her off as the days progress. Even though we'll have to monitor her eating habits and behavior closely this weekend, all of us are over the moon to have our girl home where she belongs. :)

It seems like we're getting there, but we're definitely not "out of the woods" just yet. Until we are, we hope you'll please keep purring and purraying for Maggie to get back to tip-top form. :)

Purrs, headbonks and great thanks to you all,

Kevin, Tracey, Sammy, Moosey and Maggie :)

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UPDATE 08/23/10 @ 7:35AM

Maggie seems to be doing well, and her appetite steadily improved over the weekend -- even after we weaned her off the appetite stimulant. She still isn’t eating with the same gusto as before, but she IS cleaning her bowl pretty well. Oh, and she hasn’t thrown up, and she’s going to the bathroom regularly (knock on wood).

For the most part, she’s been acting normally, though she seems to lack some of her normal feistiness. When she is feeling up to it, we’ll have some good old-fashioned playtime. In the meantime, however, our girl has been enjoying lots of petting, brushing and snuggling.

We will be speaking to the V-E-T today to find out what our next steps are. FYI -- they seem to think this was NOT related to Maggie’s hyperthyroid meds, but we are a little nervous since she got sick so soon after she started taking them. We’ll be sure to ask again when we speak to the V-E-T.

All in all, things are looking really good. Thank you all for your purrs and prayers, and for your continued friendship!

Love,

Kevin, Tracey, Sammy, Moosey and Maggie

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*** UPDATE 08/23/10 @ 10:06PM ***

Maggie is laying here next to me, purring and looking sweet as I type this update. I spoke this afternoon with the V-E-T, who was pleased to hear that our good girl is recovering nicely. She continues to eat well, and we are starting to see flashes of her normal behavior. Once she’s pretty much back to normal, the V-E-T says we’ll try her on the Methimazole (for hyperthyroidism) again, but that we will take it slow – and at a smaller dose. As we said before, they do not think this was Methimazole-related, but they would rather err on the side of caution. And for that, we are glad! :)

Thanks, purrs and nosetaps to you all,

Maggie and her family

Please Purr and Pray for Maggie (updated 08/19 @ 9:51pm)

Please purr and pray for our own beautiful and silly tabby cat Maggie (that's her on the bottom left of our blog header), one of the three kitties who own us people at Animal Shelter Volunteer Life (i.e. she is NOT a PAWS shelter cat).

Poor Maggie is pretty sick ... she's been throwing up quite a bit and not eating for the last three days (which is totally out of character for our girl, who is normally a member of the "clean bowl club"). She has to stay over at the vet hospital tonight, and her doctors -- please purr and pray for them, too -- are hard at work to figure out what's ailing her. Tracey and I (and her kitty brothers Sammy and Moose) love Maggie so much, and are worried sick to see her this way. :(

- Maggie's dad Kevin (aka "meowmeowmans")

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*** UPDATE 08/19/10 10:30 AM ***

Thank you all for your positive thoughts, purrs and prayers ... please keep them coming. Your friendship and messages are great sources of encouragement and comfort to us, and we are truly grateful. :)

This morning, we received an encouraging update from the vet, who said that Maggie did fine with the IV drip … did not throw up all day yesterday or overnight … ate (a little) wet food … pooped and peed ... and does NOT have any obstructions in her digestive tract. Her test results are showing mostly good things … no parasites in her stool sample, liver values are okay, and she is negative for pancreatitis. Her CBC *does* show some mild changes, and according to the vet, this is where they sometimes see problems from thyroid meds (Maggie recently started taking methimazole for hyperthyroidism). The vet will be speaking with a consultant today about this. And if Maggie’s eating does not improve, the vet is going to give her an intravenous Valium, which should help her appetite.

We will get another update later today, and are hopeful that we can bring her home. We will keep you posted with any updates. Thanks again. :)

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*** UPDATE 08/19/10 @ 9:51 PM ***

Please keep purring and praying. The vet felt it was best if Maggie remained there for at least one more night. At this point, the biggest concern is that she still isn’t showing a lot of interest in food. Not even when her mom (Tracey) showed up after work with some tuna and chicken! They’ve given her another appetite stimulant, and the hope is that she’ll eat overnight, when the hustle and bustle of the vet hospital has subsided for the day. We certainly hope she gets her appetite back soon, because not eating can lead to a whole lot of other secondary health issues. And there is even talk of a temporary feeding tube if this continues ... we don’t want that to happen. What we DO want is to have Maggie all better and back at home where she belongs. We miss her dearly.

Thank you, everyone.

Kevin and Tracey, and Maggie’s brofurs Sammy and Moosey

Wow! We Won an Award :)

Holy cat! Our friends at Furbaby Chat! have given us the pawsome Versatile Blogger Award. Thank you Sharky, ET, Duchess and Lauren for being our friends, and for choosing us for this honor. We've said it before, but it bears repeating ... we love sharing about all of our kitty friends at PAWS, so we're extremely flattered whenever animals and their humans derive enjoyment from the stories and images here on our blog. :)

According to the rules that accompany the award, we're supposed to share seven things about ourselves. But since this is a blog about the cats at PAWS, we hope it's okay if we share about seven of them instead! And in case you're wondering, all these kitties are still looking for their forever homes.

1. Gadget is one of the smartest cats we know. He has a great memory, so we can never use the same trick twice to get him back into his cage.

2. Susie loves living in the volunteer lounge. As you can see, this also means there is one less locker available for us to use. ;)

3. Gizmo is a gentle giant. His roommates and volunteers alike love this big, sweet orange boy.

4. Keesa’s favorite activity is licking volunteers’ hands. Remember to rotate your hand, or you’ll have a red spot from her sandpapery tongue.

5. Beautiful Augusta is the queen of the “silent” meow. She is a great jumper, too ... she can leap up onto things with the greatest of ease.

6. Oliver really likes dogs. In fact, he helps the PAWS staff test woofies to make sure they can safely live in a home with cats.

7. Babe is a total sweetheart. She loves people and cats alike.

The rules also state that we have to pass along the award to 15 blogging friends. How can we choose just 15, when we have so many friends with amazing blogs? Talk about difficult. In any case, here's our list, but know that it could've easily been twice as long! Please check out these blogs when you have a chance. You'll be happy you did.

Adventures of Admiral Hestorb

Alley Cats and Angels of North Carolina

Brian's Home

Cat's Cats

Cats of Wildcat Woods

Daisy the Curly Cat (Harley, too!)

House of Cats

Jacqueline's Cat House

Jan's Funny Farm

Margs Pets

Scratch My Belly

Sundays at the Shelter

The Cat's Meow!

The Monkeys

The Whiskeratti

And finally, we're supposed to notify the award recipients, so off we go!

Have a great weekend, everyone. :)

PAWS Contest: Best Cat to Watch TV With

It's PAWS kitty contest time again! This month's CATegory is "Best Cat to Watch TV With." :)

There are actually quite a few PAWS kitties who show some interest with the what goes on inside "the box with the moving pictures," which made it difficult to whittle the list down to just three finalists. But by selecting the cats who are TRUE TV ADDICTS, we were able to do it. So without further adieu, here are your finalists:

Bootz: this master of floof and whiskers -- and avid watcher of "Cat TV" -- has made tremendous strides since coming to PAWS. Though he's still a little wary of strangers, he'll plop right down on the couch next to people he knows for snuggles and pets. Here he is demonstrating the proper technique for whapping a bird on TV...

Sheila is another cat who has come out of her shell with the love and care she's received from the volunteers and staff at PAWS. She's even learned that it's possible for multiple kitties to live together in relative harmony in one of the shelter's "open" rooms. Throughout it all, one thing's been clear ... this girl lives for watching (and interacting with the) TV. And as seen in the her screen capture (below, right), she isn't afraid to take on a bird that appears to be bigger than her!

Sasha and Reeses: TV-watching is just one of the things these relative newcomers enjoy. Besides stalking birds and squirrels on the television screen, they also show great affinity for their volunteer friends offering pets, laps, belly rubs and toys.

It's always tough picking a winner, but the judges were swayed by Sheila's unbridled enthusiasm and the fact that she has her own workout video. So the winner of "Best Cat to Watch TV With" is Sheila!

ConCATulations, Sheila! And kudos to the other finalists, too. You are ALL stars to us, and we're working hard to find your PURRfect forever homes (with televisions, of course!). :)

Finally Friday

Whew! It's been one of those weeks. As you can see, our pal Mercedes is getting a head start on one of the activities we have planned for the weekend. :)


Have a great weekend, everyone!

Until We Cross Rainbow Bridge Together

This week the volunteers and staff at PAWS grieve the heartbreaking losses of two very special kitties, Minnie and Kiki.

Minnie, our diminutive "cow-kitty," came to Paws in April 2009 and entered into a foster home this past May, when she was quickly entering the final stages of renal failure. During her time in foster, our sweet girl "... got to sleep in sunbeams - she had her bed in the window to see the sunrise, a spot on the bed for the afternoon sun and a perch to look out the window at sunset. She got to feel a breeze on her face and watch the birds, squirrels and chipmunks in the yard. And she was loved very much." (as quoted by Matt, her kind-hearted foster parent)

You all celebrated with us when -- in our most recent post -- we shared the happiest of stories regarding the adoption of our dear, sweet Bengal kitty, Kiki, who landed himself a wonderful, loving, and palatial home. How extremely shocked and saddened we were when his adoptive family informed us that Kiki succumbed to old age. We can't help but think back to the picture of him lounging in his courtyard, next to a book, saying, "what a life he had toward the end."

Kevin and I want to thank you, Matt, for opening your heart and home to Minnie, even though you knew her time on this earth was limited. Your strength and compassion are greatly admired and appreciated. Though our hearts broke to hear of Minnie's passing, we are so glad to know she had the opportunity to once again enjoy life outside of a shelter and in a loving home.

We would also like to thank Kiki's adopted family for loving him so much and so well, even though he was a senior cat. You are indeed very special, and we wish there were more people like you.

To our dearest kitty friends Minnie and Kiki, you will both continue to have a special place in our hearts, until the day we are reunited and walk together over Rainbow Bridge. In the meantime, please tell Bitsy, Graphite, Lady Madonna, Pharaoh, and all the other kitties that we've loved and lost that we say "hi" and that we'll never forget them, and that we look forward to that very special day...

XXOO,

Tracey & Kevin

Kiki's Wonderful Weekend Tale

We recently heard from the family that adopted Kiki, the talkative and lovable 13-year old Bengal cat we wrote about back in April. It looks and sounds to us like our pal Kiki is living the good life. We've included below the message and picture we received from his forever family. Don't you just love a happy ending? :)

Kiki bonded to me before the end of the first day; so we bailed on the crating for a week, and all of that. He loved his nice new bed and never looked back. I ended up getting horribly sick the very day we got him and spent the first night in the ER, and when I came home he was my constant companion, sitting with me outdoors in the garden with our bulldog. He and Samantha (the other cat) took about a week, and now they're quite friendly, certainly no hissing or anything like that, but the love affair is between me and Kiki and Kiki and Norman the Bulldog. They spend HOURS in our enclosed garden, whenever I'm not home. Our children LOVE him, and he is fabulous with them. He has been the topic of every school project and picture. In the morning I let him out from downstairs and he leaves Samantha alone and joins the hustle bustle. I have a tea, he enjoys one slice of organic chicken meat that I'm making for lunch boxes, then we go room to room and wake up the kids. He LOVES a good cuddle, so several times a day that has to happen. But I think he loves the action of our house, and I think he REALLY loves the very safe and secure garden environment with all the flowers, trees and birds (without any of the danger). So, I've fallen in love with a 13 year old cat, he's heaven. He's the most intelligent, sweet natured animal I've ever met. We're trying to give him the life of a king! Thank you so much, it was a great match-up. Hope all is well! – Liz A.

Have a great weekend! :)

Pepper the Queen!

GREAT NEWS!

Pepper is the co-winner of the "Best Picture" category in Petfinder's first ever "Whiskers Awards" photo contest!

Thank you to our blogging friends, blog followers, family and friends who so faithfully voted for this spicy senior. We were very moved by your willingness to vote daily, and to help get the word out. Pepper's victory wouldn't have been possible without you.

We hope her win will bring her more attention from potential adopters (and hopefully a forever home).

In case you're wondering, Queen Pepper is handling her new status as a world-famous cat with great aplomb. We asked her how she can be so cool about all of this, and her reply was something to the effect of, "...well, I've always KNOWN I was the Queen."

PAWS will also be receiving 20 cool “Hide, Perch & Go” boxes, which are designed to give cats control over their environment, reduce stress and help them adapt to their new surroundings, and a five-tier cat tower donated by Kuranda USA.

Thanks again for your friendship and support. We appreciate you! :)

- Tracey (aka "PAWSVolunteer"), Kevin (aka "meowmeowmans"), and all the kitties of PAWS

PAWS Contest: Best Lap Cat

The CATegory for this month's PAWS Contest is "Best Lap Cat." And the nominees are (drum roll please...):

Gadget (1st picture) - This five year old Einstein of a kitty is multi-talented. As a matter of fact, he won "best cat to have a conversation with" in our first PAWS Contest. Kevin and I have discovered that Gadget meows like it's going out of style until people give him some undivided attention. Once they do, he's quiet as a mouse. (: And we recently discovered that he likes a good lap, too! Oh how we love that boy!

Sweetheart (2nd picture) - Our dear Sweetheart may be hearing- and sight-challenged, but she somehow always manages to find a lap in her room! As soon as we sit on the floor, she's climbing right up onto our laps to stake her claim. And she'll stay there all day if given the chance. Kevin and I are hoping that an older person looking for a quiet lap cat will discover Sweetheart. Now THAT would be a perfect match.

Claire (3rd picture) - I proudly refer to Claire as my "butterball of love." And while she may be a chubby girl, she is quite energetic when it comes to luring a volunteer into her room to get in some some good lap time! Once this sweet kitty gets onto a lap, she positions herself so that she's resting her front limbs across the person's chest. (:

While all three of these kitties give good lap, we have to say that the winner of "Best Lap Cat" goes to (drum roll please) ... SWEETHEART! This girl simply won't leave a lap for anything. She won't leave a lap for food (sorry Claire). She won't leave a lap to go exploring (sorry Gadget). It's almost as though sitting in a lap is Sweetheart's calling. And for that, we offer her our heartiest congratulations!

To Sweetheart, Gadget and Claire. Your perfect adopters are out there just waiting to discover how special each of you is. We love you all!

Many thanks to everyone who voted for Pepper (and helped get the word out about voting) in the Petfinder "Whiskers" Awards contest. The winners will be announced June 30th. Stay tuned! :)