INTRODUCTION: May we all assume that if you are reading this, that you are a fellow feline FANATIC? GOOD!!! Now that we have taken care of the ONLY "REQUIREMENT"... Perhaps now would be a good time to warn you that I get somewhat 'detailed' at times when I'm talking about REAL life with two felines. So, if you have no stomach for talk of feline 'powder rooms', or what lots of cats do as it pertains to hairballs, perhaps you will not want to read EVERYTHING I have to say. I really have no need to have a fancy site with all the 'bells and whistles'. Mainly, I just like to share my love of felines and my thoughts about them. For reference purposes only, I numbered paragraphs so that it will make it easier to go back to where you left off the last time. More recently, I've decided to put a date with these entries instead, to help you know where you may have left off.
Right now I've got to attend to 'his majesty', Bradford, a 13 year old bob-tailed Siamese/Manx, who, even now as I'm typing this, is over here letting me know that he MUST be fed. Purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrring all the while. I will be back from time to time, updating those of you who might be interested, in the goings-on of two felines who might as well be babies for all the love and attention they DESERVEDLY receive.
BOJA (pronounced bows - ya; B = Bundle, O = Of, J = Joy and A = our last name) is a blue point American Bob Tail kitten born on July 28, 1997 (I don't know exactly how old Brad is because when he came into my life in April, 1987, he was already two years old). Even though they are years apart in age and BOJA was 'sprung' on Bradford in his 'old age', I'd have to say that they get along pretty well. Once, just recently, I spotted them in their 'privy' AT THE SAME TIME!!! Now, I figure that makes them pretty much know everything they ever wanted to know about each other. Of course this reminds me of the cute cartoon I saw where the feline is with her human in the 'powder room', and the caption goes something like this: "Believe me!!! after 7 years of this, I've seen EVERYTHING". Since BOJA likes to take in EVERYTHING around her, I'm sure glad she cannot get on here and sell her story to the rags.
2.) Brad has had a LOT of medical attention over his years and I think he must be now on his tenth life. He has had what I call a hairballectomy, at LEAST two bouts with urinary stones (for which for the past several years, he's been on Hill's prescription diet c/d and more recently because of his kidney readings, k/d too), TWO RADIOACTIVE IODINE injections AFTER which he had already been on Tapazole for over 2 years for his hyperthyroid - when he came away from his 2nd injection of the RADIOACTIVE IODINE, he was HYPOthyroid. So, now he is on Soloxine twice per day. Oh, and I almost forgot to say that he has this 'habit' 5-10 times per week (not that I've actually ever counted, mind you) that my wife calls 'ralphing' which I call upchucking. The important thing to remember here is, (aside from Brad's medical condition, of course) ALWAYS remember to WEAR YOUR HOUSE SLIPPERS when walking in the dark. It IS ok to smile here. I'm 'used to the extra work' - not having the JOY of a human baby spitting up all over the place.
TUNE IN soon for the next installment of "As the stomach churns".
3.) Speaking of things 'churning', Brad has been going through a period lately of 'gracing the floor with a part of himself' much too often. Even though he may be with us for X number of more years, I try not to think about just how much I will fall apart when 'the day' comes for his final shot. I think it will be even harder than I expect. He has been a BIG part of my life now for so long, I don't like to think of how life will be without him. He 'links' my life to my Mom (d. '90; that is, my Mom met him and had been around him some) and I wonder if THAT will then play a part in any fothcoming loss of mine. Especially since I keep telling myself that I have YET to properly grieve for the loss of my Mother. Oh, to be sure, I expect that most TRUE feline lovers have gone or will go through this. I suppose it is natural for us (being male) to think that we are unique to these feelings. Wonder if there is or if I could start a FLA (Feline Lovers Anonymous) patterned after the famous AA for alcoholics? A haven for men and/or women who feel like the rest of the world SIMPLY DOES NOT UNDERSTAND their DEEP feelings for their loved ones.
4.) OK. I'm going to try again. Just a while ago, I had typed in about three paragraphs in here when I lost my ISP connection FOR THE SECOND TIME tonight. I'm simply going to have to do these offline then upload them. I don't think I can be as funny as I was already since that kinda takes the wind out of one's sail.
5.) As this web page is a work in progress, so is my learning on how this works. Evidently, because I was using my Netscape browser which is in a 'NetLaunch' program that not only opens whatever programs that are in it such as Netscape, it also closes them when you close your connection to your ISP (this I already knew). Upshot of it is, you lose whatever you have not saved when that happens. Of course this IE browser is not in 'NetLaunch' so when I just tested it and manually disconnected after having typed the paragraph right above this one, I did not loose it and was able to save and it was uploaded to this page. Of course you all KNEW all that, right? If I ever get back to that CUTE story I was all-but finished with, it will have to be later because I don't feel like typing it all in again right now.
6.) While I was in the middle of explaining all of that to you, I heard a kitchen door being 'rattled'. Evidently some of his 'grandfather' (my Dad was a teacher) has rubbed off on Brad. I assume that he was training BOJA how to get in where the food is kept. Right away I headed for the scene of the crime and Brad was just coming OUT of the kitchen AT A BRISK PACE; BOJA was within easy eyeballing of the whole scene. As soon as school was let out, I had a stern talk with the 'teacher' in question and soon he was purring. Of course I am very sorry that I felt it necessary to 'bring Brad up on charges' right in front of BOJA as I believe the rule is to NOT belittle the ELDER statesman in front of the young whipper snapper. But in this case, I felt it needed to be pointed out to Miss BOJA that such teachings from the rouge teacher would NOT be tolerated - at least not while I'm awake. Since I'M the top cat, they will have to play when this cat is away. Play that involves 'breaking the rules' that is.
I feel a need to let you stretch your lips and smile once again.
7.) And to think that all of THAT was not EVEN the 'cute' story that I had typed but lost. Oh well, we can just pretend that this is like one of those soap operas that I don't watch but did get into 'The Young and the Restless' once years ago. Time for a cup of coffee?
8.) Back to the 'cute' story. First, Brad, after emptying his stomach (YES!!!!, on the carpet too) a while ago, has been after me to fill it again (his stomach, not the carpet).
9.) BOJA's pet taxi is left open all the time (of course not when she is being transported OR when she is in there 'for a time-out period') and she and Brad take 'turns' sleeping inside. This time I heard a noise like BOJA was knocking something against the taxi. Knowing that Brad was inside sleeping, I told her to leave him alone. She went away only to return in about 1 1/2 minutes. I raised the squirt gun and she PROMPTLY went INSIDE. I went over to see for myself and sure enough, they were BOTH in there. I could not help but laugh. Suppose this hurt Brad's feelings because shortly he left and I'm assuming that the REAL winner here was BOJA: she got her taxi back.
10.) Subject: the "LitterMaid" electronic cat litter system. Now it MAY be beneficial for some to hear the following, HOPEFULLY BEFORE you spend the $200 plus to acquire one. I'm not saying that you should not buy one, but I thought it might be useful for you to have some information from one who has tried it, still has it but is using the 'old-fashioned' hooded kind instead. Since we bought ours, the manufacturer has come out with an improvement or two. I found that I was CONSTANTLY having to monitor the unit because too much litter would get over to one side (no doubt because Brad was trying to do his job and 'cover it up'), and when too much litter etc. gets to one side, the 'rake'/'comb' cannot fully return to it's reset position. This then means that it is going through it's cycle every so often and in order to stop that, one has to manually attend to the unit. In my opinion, this works out to be more work than the 'old-fashioned' unit that we are using now.
11.) If that were NOT ENOUGH, I found that I had to put the clumping litter up along an area that was not designed to have litter because, evidently, Brad urinated too high up on one side and it leaked through somehow and got onto the floor - which is a thing I would think would go without saying is NOT GOOD.
12.) Another thing I found CUMBERSOME, which I think they may have addressed now, I found it VERY AWKWARD to dump the litter when it became necessary to completely change the clumping litter, as sometimes one may wish to do. I understand that they now have a tray that goes in the unit that can be removed for dumping. Eventually, I probably will 'give it a go' again, but until we get that tray (if we do), I tend to prefer the one we are using.
13.) Next topic should be the 'water fountain' that was in use with Brad but has not been put back in operation since Miss BOJA has arrived. She is A REAL LOVER of water and I'm thinking that PERHAPS when she is older, she MAY be less inclined to play in it. Not sure where she learned this, most likely her mom, but she has this cute habit of testing the water with her paw before she drinks. This was a new one on me as I've NEVER seen Bradford do that.
14.) Some time ago, we acquired a 'water fountain' that recycles water through a charcoal filter and is suppose to filter out some impurities and keep the water fresher for your feline(s). All in all, it does a fairly good job. I found that there was a need for a 'pre-filter' if you will, at the bottom of the intake tube. And even then, it seemed it would not be too long before I would have to clean it up a bit. Not long before we shut it down for a vacation, the thin nylon that I was using as the pre-filter got sucked up into the intake tube and it seemed to work even better that way in that it was like the Energizer battery - it kept on pumping and pumping. In any case, I figure to give this little unit another try after BOJA is older. I fully expect however, that BOJA will NEVER be 'old enough' to NOT want to play in water. I wonder if she is perhaps part Turkish Van. If there are any feline lovers out there who know for sure, please let me know if I've got this wrong about the Turkish Van LOVING to play in water.
The next topic I plan to discuss is about a device that is designed to keep your loved ones out of, say, the kitchen. *pulls sleeve up to laugh into*
I'm typing these in advanced HTML (with no spell check of course), and as such am constantly going back re-reading my input and I keep finding typos or misspelled words. Grrrrrrrrrr
15.) There is a unit on our kitchen wall that I need to unplug and save electricity. I think they call it a 'Cat Scat' or 'Cat Scram'. The theory is that it emits such a high frequency which is not detectable to humans but is such that it is suppose to cause felines to NOT WANT TO BE around it. It has a motion sensor and only goes on when it detects motion. Perhaps good in THEORY, but in real life, this unit seems to have NO effect on either Brad or BOJA. I HAD thought that perhaps the reason it did not work with Brad might have been that he is older and perhaps his hearing is not too good. But, with BOJA being less than a year old, come now, how many do we need to test it on?
Time to put some more lip balm on so you can stretch those lips of yours for another smile. Just think of these reminders to smile like they are the 'laugh cards' that the TV studios put up when the live audience is suppose to laugh. Don't split a lip now.
16.) Perhaps we should take a moment now to allow our 'sponsors' have a word. If you have not already done so, now would be a good time to click on the link on the main page that is called 'What a difference you made in my life'. I think this would be an appropriate theme song for this web site as Bradford and now BOJA have made a VERY big impact in my life. Oh, I would be remiss if I did not mention my wife here too, not as a secondary measure, but so that you know that she is VERY important to me too. It is just that this page is dedicated to felines and I don't want to make my wife uncomfortable with singing her praises. One of my sisters (she and her husband have four felines - one of which is BOJA's mom) and I marvel at how we became such feline fanatics having grown up in a home where a four-legged creature would hardly EVER set foot in the home.
17.) Am wondering just how many folks are ACTUALLY reading this. It might be nice to know in the form of anyone who has read to this point to send me an email saying, yes, I've read this far, and then indicated through which paragraph number or date you have read. Thank you for your support.
Tuesday, April 28, 1998
This may be a good time to relate a story or two about BOJA. It might help for you to know that we live in "bush Alaska" and as such, virtually the only way in or out of here is by plane. The first time she came home from Oregon, I waited and waited for her to arrive with the rest of my luggage. No BOJA. It need not be stated here, but OF COURSE I WILL, that I was very upset and worried. I went to see the personnel at the ticket counter and they commenced with 'the search'. After what seemed an eternity, they found her. She had been placed with luggage that was to go to the next stop for the plane.
If that was not bad enough, the last time we came home, I had to do some extra searching and wound up finding BOJA in another building adjacent to the terminal. For reasons that I MAY go into later, we don't have a car here. We usually either walk (lots of places we need to go to such as the PO, bank and store are within easy walking distance) or take a cab. So, this time, not ONLY am I not getting BOJA in a timely fashion, we find that because GTE evidently was losing money or not making money in the old airline terminal with their pay phone, they not only did not put one in the new terminal, they have no plans to do so. Luckily, a co-worker of my wife's was there so we did not have to bother the busy ticket counter personnel for calling a cab for us. Must be time for a cell phone.
Wednesday, April 29, 1998
This is NOT an attempt to get off on a religious discussion. I just wonder if anyone who reads this can help me with a little perspective on that part of the Bible where Paul says: "...this one thing I do...". In this frenzied world we live in, it seems that if one is not doing MORE than one thing at a time, one is simply not getting enough done. Take the computer for instance. I feel like I'm not getting NEARLY enough accomplished UNLESS I have at LEAST three windows open at the same time. Windows in the sense of two browsers and ICQ or three browsers or two browsers and another application such as Eudora Light.
Speaking of getting things done, I'd better leave this for awhile so that I can do the chore ALL feline lovers just LOVE: the cat litter detail. Perhaps I'll give the ole electronic one another go. Don't you just hate that when you spend good money on something that is SUPPOSE to make your life easier, only to wish you never spent that money in the first place? Brad is just now talking to me and I'm SURE he is letting me know that he not only MUST have more food, but the litter is in need of attention.
Now, if I could only get him to type here for me while I attend to his needs. Lip balm time again?
Here is something I found interesting about felines, at least BOJA. They (housing workers, not Brad and BOJA) have been painting in our multi-plex unit and to try to keep the smell out of our unit, I put a towel down at the base of our door. Of course BOJA thought that was WONDERFUL to play with and kept moving it away from the door. I put vinegar on it in an attempt to discourage her from going near it. Evidently vinegar is NOT a repulsive agent for felines - at least not BOJA. I think I read something about felines not liking the scent of mothballs??? I think BOJA INVENTED the word INCORRIGIBLE! Oh for a spell checker about now as that word just does not look right. So, now the paint smell seems to reek of vinegar.
OK. OK. I've put off the litter detail about as long as I can, I'm really going for a while now.
Thursday, April 30, 1998
Today was a good day for me at least whether Bradford knew it or not. I received a phone call from his vet and she said that he can be cut back to 1/2 pill of Soloxine ONCE in the morning instead of the twice daily dose he has been on. The hope here is that eventually he can go without the Soloxine, which is suppose to boost his thyroid level after he became HYPOthyroid following his second injection of Radioiodine 131. Now, if we could just find that perfect solution that would keep him from 'gracing the carpet' with stuff that HAD been in his stomach (like he just got finished doing - no doubt by way of thanking me for the good news), we could ALL be happy campers. Lip balm anyone?
Friday, May 1, 1998
It had 'rolled around' up there in my noodle for some time now and I had to go back to see if I've told you about Bradford's name. Discovery has proven me negligent. Bradford came into my life from another family in 1987. At that time he was named Brat. I did not like that name so I decided on a sound-alike name of Brad. Oh, to be sure, with the Siamese in him, he may seem at times to BE a brat as he is quite vocal. So, Brat became Brad or Bradford and I call him lots of variations of those two names such as: Bradee, Bradfordski, Bradaaaaa, Bradlebrain and I think I've heard my wife call him Bradoolee. Then of course there are the times when they (BOJA too) are just the knotheads we LOVE them for. No matter WHAT he is called, he IS the son I never had and is, to put it mildly, VERY SPECIAL to me.
Saturday, May 2, 1998
After getting up from sleeping a little while ago, I was feeding his royal highness Bradford, putting his special prescription canned food in his stainless steel bowl (recommended - perhaps someday, when things are too slow, we can go into this) and I could hear him purring. I had not quite finished when I heard what was a 'half-cough' from him. So, I asked him if he was coughing. In what seemed like an immediate reply to my query, he raised his paw to pull my hand away in an apparent attempt for him to commence eating. You see, usually, if he goes into one of his coughing spells (which seems to be on a daily basis), he gets some hairball medicine after which he must wait at least a half-hour for any food as one is suppose to give the medicine between meals. If he goes for too long between feedings, I can almost place money on him finding some piece of floor that is 'suitable' for his you know what? I may be 'used to it', but it NEVER seems to get any easier to take. I'm writing this part as a post script. Somewhere probably between 30 - 45 minutes after I fed him this past time, poor Bradford had to 'do it' again. I forgot I was going to take a couple of Anacin.
Not to switch subjects in mid-stream here, but I was informed by my wife, who was recently out on a business trip, that there is NOW a phone in our airport terminal. But, it is NOT of GTE's doing. So, evidently, weary travelers will now be able to call a cab when they return home from what I like to call the 'real world'. Thank you GTE - for NOTHING. Oh, I should not be TOO hasty here, as, if it were not for GTE providing local phone service, I suppose that even THAT phone would not work. It is just TOO bad there is not competition for local telephone service. I say no more (on this subject AND at this time - you didn't think I was done for good on everything did you?) OK, NOW, you can reach for the lip balm.
Sunday, May 3, 1998
I just had to get in here and relate a short story that had me laughing about BOJA. I had just fed her and was sitting here in the computer chair near where she was eating and I was drinking from one of those bottles that used to have bottled water in it that I use to drink most of my water from. I blew into the bottle and evidently that registered as a sound she had not heard before because she QUICKLY looked up from eating to see what was going on. I let her go back to her plate of food and blew again. This repeated several times and seemed to be a competition between if she could see what was going on and my attempt to look like NOTHING was going on. Then, the last time, she looked SO quickly that the piece of dry food that was in her mouth fell out and onto the plate. Later, she did eat that same piece of food. I've noticed that she is SUCH a careful eater. I saw her eat a piece and a small part of it fell to the plate and before going on to other full pieces, she ate that tiny piece first. 'Kids' do the darndest things sometimes!!! Your choice this time on the lip balm - NOT that it is not ALWAYS your choice.
Speaking of double negatives, I just saw a joke where it said don't never use no double negatives. Does that mean if you make it a triple, you are A ok?
Thursday, May 7, 1998
If there was something to write about every day, Brad and BOJA would rate their own show, but in the real world where we live entries here will likely be more of a sporadic manner.
Poor Bradford did provide a bit of an interesting event not more than half an hour ago however. He had just eaten and decided to see what was outside. Instead of leaving the way he should have (probably because the curtains were closed), he tried to exit the window ledge via the right side. He slipped down between the lowboy (just in CASE someone does not know what this is, it is a kinda low cupboard with two drawers on top and two swinging doors below) and the wall with virtually no way for him to get out. I pulled him out of there and shortly gave him some love to help soothe his wounded feline pride. As you may have noticed in the pic links, BOJA is the real window lover. You would think SHE owns them. Speaking of Miss prissy BOJA, in what seems be a rare occurrence these days, she is in her pet taxi. Seems like Brad is usually in there. Could say I'm sorry that I could not think of any way to cause you to need to whip out the lip balm this time.
Friday, May 8, 1998
I'm back. For what SEEMED like several days, I could not link to this page from my start page. Upgrades are good - when they work, but in the interim, things get a bit tough. I trust that no one REALLY missed me while I could not update this page. I hope some of you like the new addition to the top of my start page: the little 'Felix' guy.
Saturday, May 9, 1998
The pieces are NOW starting to fall into place. By that I mean I've FINALLY figured out how to save this file to my hard disk (D Drive) as a kind of back-up in case all is lost at Geocities. I would assume that most of you reading this already know how this is done. If there are any out there who don't and would like to know, please give me a holler and I will try to help you.
The time that BOJA and Brad spend in BOJA's pet taxi is not kept track of by me, but I would say that of the time they do spend in there that Brad has about a 80% share to BOJA's 20%. I've given it some thought and I've decided that the main reason Brad likes to be in there is not so much because it's so comfortable (even though there is a sheet-blanket and a towel in there to lie on); rather, I think it started because BOJA commenced taking his spot on the couch. And, I think one very good reason he likes it - Miss Prissy BOJA has a harder time attacking him while he is so secluded. As much as I'd PREFER to ramble on here, I've GOT to 'sign off' and get to that chore that ALL 100% indoor feline lovers just LIVE for. I'm sure I need say no more, right? It's ANOTHER optional lip balm moment.
Sunday, May 10, 1998
Today's "update" will likely be the three gifs that I added - two to the main page and one at the top of this page, and the music for this page. You see, I'm not ALWAYS full of hot air.
Monday, May 11, 1998
If I am gone for some time in the near future, don't be alarmed as I MAY be having trouble with my ISP. I won't bore you with the details, but suffice it to say that I would not at all be surprised to find that I'm without ISP service in the near future. I live in such a remote area that I'm pretty much dependent upon ONE ISP. As far as I've been able to determine, it would be rather cost-prohibitive for me to have ANY other service than the one I now have. Look on the bright side: you just MIGHT get a break from my 'blatherings' after all. Sorry, at this rate, I can't afford to give out anymore free lip balm as I'll have to use the funds to acquire a back-up ISP service.
Tuesday, May 12, 1998
Had not planned on writing anything for today. The situation with our ISP has NOT changed that I can perceive. I'm trying to prepare myself for the time that could be coming. My hope is that it does not come because I've found staying in contact with my web friends to be quite important to me. It is interesting in that I've come to look on the information I get from the web for my brain and heart to be akin to the food that I eat for my physical sustenance.
Thursday, May 14, 1998
No, I did not skip the 13th because of any perceived bad luck. I went into the USAF on Friday the 13th, so I don't hold much with that bad luck thing. I just hope this is NOT going to be an on-going complaint section as my ISP situation is STILL unacceptable. Brad just started talking to me, so I must attend to his majesty.
Saturday, May 16, 1998
The following is some information that I've virtually 'sat on' since talking to Brad's vet a few days ago. As you know, I've talked about Brad's coughing. It now seems that he may be doing so for a VERY chilling reason in addition to or besides hairballs. Congestive heart failure has been mentioned. It seems that if the heart is not pumping as it should, fluid or whatever backs up in his lungs. He has an appointment on June 1st that was initially set to check to see if he can come off of Soloxine for his HYPOthyriod. Now, the vet will be checking him out for this potential heart condition. She said I can bring him in before the 1st if needed.
I think the reason I've 'sat on this news' must be because I hardly want to face up to such a startling fact. Oh I think she mentioned something about this once, but I probably did not think too much about it at the time. Now, with Brad sometimes 'spitting up' when he coughs I've found this news to be rather disturbing. I suppose it could be said that writing about this may be beneficial for me, but I feel like closing this out now since thinking about this is heading me down the road toward being depressed.
Sunday, May 17, 1998
Oh, the 'JOY' of technology that DOES NOT WORK. Email is great. I love it. That is, of course, when I can get AND send it. I used to say it (yahoo.com email) was the best email of the free ones like Hotmail and mailexcite etc. Now, I can go other places on the web but I CANNOT get to my mail at yahoo. I have a hard time being mad at my ISP in a case like this. I'm kinda thinking like Dennis Miller here: "I don't want to get off on a rant here, but..." Perhaps I should use some of the 'inside joke' lib balm now to keep my lips from cracking as I FROWN.
All good things come to those who wait I've heard it said. I was FINALLY able to get in and get caught up on my mail.
BOJA is evidently trying to 'dethrone the king. Many times when I adjust the window, she rushes to the scene as if she JUST MIGHT MISS something if she is not there. Since this time I was closing it some as it was getting a bit cool in the living room, she decided that there was nothing of interest there and she was just standing there on the lowboy. I picked her up and held her for a bit before putting her down on the couch. A little while later I saw her about half way in her pet taxi. I wondered what she was doing. Turns out that Brad was in there. She commenced getting herself all the way in to the back of the thing (I thought she HAD to be on TOP of him) and evidently Brad thought it too crowded because, after 'snapping' at her at least once, he came out and she stayed in.
If you have not stocked up on lip balm, I SUPPOSE I can spare one for you.
Monday, May 18, 1998
Very strange things have been going on lately. For a while this morning, I could not edit this page but I could page three. I thought perhaps Geo had a rule that put a cap on how large one page could be.
Here is a very cute joke a friend of mine sent to me via email.
One day a cat dies of natural causes and goes to heaven. There he meets the Lord Himself. The Lord says to the cat "you lived a good life and if there is any way I can make your stay in Heaven more comfortable, please let me know." The cat thinks for a moment and says "Lord, all my life I have lived with a poor family and had to sleep on a hard wooden floor." The Lord stops the cat and says "say no more" and a wonderful fluffy pillow appears.
A few days later, 6 mice are killed in a tragic farming accident and go to heaven. Again there is the Lord there to greet them with the same offer. The mice answer "All our lives we have been chased. We have had to run from cats, dogs and even women with brooms. Running, running, running; we're tired of running. Do you think we could have roller skates so we don't have to run anymore? The Lord says "say no more" and fits each mouse with beautiful new roller skates.
About a week later the Lord stops by to see the cat and finds him snoozing on the pillow. The Lord gently wakes the cat and asks him "how are things since you are here?" The cat stretches and yawns and replies "It's wonderful here. Better than I could have ever expected. And those 'Meals on Wheels' you've been sending by are theeeeeeeee best!!!"
Tuesday, May 19, 1998
Anyone have anything they want to rag on? I could suggest MORE than one item, but I don't want to mess up that nice new needle that is skipping and bouncing all over this broken record. Speaking of records, I still have my records from the '70's. Perhaps I should break my own rule and listen to some old 8-Track tapes. As long as they did not break, perhaps that would cheer me up. Would NOT fix my ISP problem, but I could smile anyway.
Wednesday, May 20, 1998
Looks like at least Geo is up. Evidently, lots of communication was knocked out last night or today. Sure hope this gets updated. I have said for some time now that technology is WONDERFUL - WHEN it works like it was designed to.
Friday, May 22, 1998
Well, how are YOU today/tonight? Time to come out of a self-imposed slump. My CATtitude lately has been rather lack-luster. I feel somewhat better but not on top of the world. I wonder if felines have mood swings? *passes out as much lip balm as readers want*
Like these shorter 'daily' blurbs?
Wednesday, May 27, 1998
I tried and tried for MANY hours to convert and upload a wav file of "Stray Cat Strut" to my main page, but, alas, I've come to the conclusion that in order for visitors to listen to it, they would need a plugin called TrueVoice that came with Eudora Light, the email program. If ANYONE reading this knows where I can get a good copy of this song on wav, PLEASE give me a holler.
Friday, May 29, 1998
I just weighed Brad and BOJA. Brad tips it at a tad over twelve pounds and BOJA at nine. As you may recall, BOJA will be one year old July 28th. Wonder what an appropriate gift would be for a female feline of one year?
Sunday, May 31, 1998
The pic above was taken while we were on vacation in Northern California. BOJA is on the bed with her front paws tucked under her. There were a couple of things in the background such as a portion of the TV that I did not like, so I used the "Paint Shop Pro 5" {PSP} that I'm testing to "erase" everything but her. Pretty slick, don't ya think? Also, several shots were too dark, and with PSP, I was able to fix that too.
Monday, June 1, 1998
Brad came back from being poked in his neck AND his leg - I SAW the evidence. Sometimes they have a hard time finding the vein in his neck. Then he was walking around here trying to bite off the band-aid that was actually a cotton ball and it looked like scotch tape.
Have not gotten the FINAL word, but it looks like Bradford will be going onto some type of medication for his heart condition. The vet said he does have some fluid in his lungs. *reaches for a kleenex* And I have to try to get his weight down some as he was weighed at 12 pounds, 8 1/2 ounces!!! Looks like he might be going onto YET ANOTHER KIND of food for THIS!!!
AND THE MERRY-GO-ROUND keeps a turnin'.
I didn't see ANYONE try to "sneak" their lip balm out, did I? Good. I'm not wearing black yet, but it could happen at any moment, according to the vet. *sits down and shuts up*
Tuesday, June 2, 1998
Tonight was virtually dead. I have not talked to ANYONE via ICQ. I think I get the picture. Evidently people don't know how to talk to a man who is worried about losing the "son he never had". I think I understand, but I don't have to like it. I'm thinking of going on an email "strike". Not that hardly anyone would care. Sometimes, like RIGHT NOW, it makes me feel like I'm yelling into an empty well with no one for DOZENS OF MILES around but me to hear.
I don't have one, but you can pretend that there is a VERY SAD pic here to show you how I feel.
Finally, one of my VERY UNDERSTANDING buds has come on in ICQ. Then the bud was gone. Going back to bed. Will someone pour that last bucket of sand around my head please - I'll just wait for the tide to come in now....
Slept for several hours and now have a few emails, so I feel SOME better. I just need to keep in mind that SOME people just don't have the time like I seem to for all of this.
Wednesday, June 3, 1998
This is still the night of June 2nd for me. What a difference a night makes. Last night {even though the entry is under June 2, I do a lot of my computer work at night, so that night started out as June 1st} I did not have ONE person to chat with in ICQ. Tonight, I had a HARD time catching up with my email because I had four {4} people at one time, all at the same time chatting with me in ICQ. Go figure.
Monday, June 8, 1998
Just got off the phone with Brad's Vet. His thyroid level is such that I'm to keep him at his current medication level. That MAY be good news to some, but I was hopeful that he would be able to get off of the Soloxine.
The Doc was going to hold off on the heart medication until she heard from me that his coughing had increased significantly. This was THE reason I was calling her {and of course to get the results of his last thyroid blood test}, to tell her that he is coughing MUCH more often now. I DON'T have a count, but I estimated that he coughs 6 - 8 times a day - I meant per 24 hours.
Some may think I'm being morose, but how is a Dad to feel when the Son he never had in the form of a beloved feline not only has to STAY on medication there was a supposed hope he might be able to get OFF of; not only that, but he has to be on heart medication now for his congestive heart condition.
Possibly MORE on all of this tonight.
Tuesday, June 9, 1998
Probably just as well that I did not rant and rave here last night. Part of the reason very well could have been that I lost ISP service - TOTALLY - between 2-3 am last night. Could not even SIGN ON to the service.
Too discouraged to continue now.
Wednesday, June 10, 1998
My wife came home with news from Brad's Vet. It seems that she consulted with the cardiologist and Brad will be going on some antibiotic medicine AND some medicine for worms. She did NOT say heartworms. My wife thought that dogs got that. In any case, it looks like Brad, instead of getting OFF of Soloxine for his HYPOthyroid, will NOW be on THREE {3} separate medications. I'm simply too discouraged to continue talking about this now.
Thursday, June 11, 1998
Here is the low-down on Brad's medication for now. Besides getting 1/2 tablet of 2 mg. of Soloxine in the mornings, he will be on these:
Antibiotic Baytril 22.7 mg., 1/4 pill every 12 hours for 10 days.
Deworming Droncit - 1 BIG pill, to be given on 6/12.
Deworming Strongid - 2 syringes, one I've already administered to him and the 2nd on 6/21.
Of course he is ALREADY on special Hill's Prescription Diet c/d and k/d feline food because of his urinary and kidney problems. I'm beginning to think Brad should have a book written about him with all the medical things he has been through. I hope somewhere there is a good record of all that he has been through so that other felines will benefit from his ordeals.
Just got back from the Vet with Bradford. He is to be given a 100 mg. tablet of Theophylline every night now in ADDITION to all the aforementioned medication. The Vet took X-rays of him and is sending them to the cardiologist for him to look at. She mentioned something about bronchitis. Of course he did not cough ONCE while there she said.
I would think you SHOULD have a VERY GOOD reason for sneaking any lip balm out now.
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