LostWoods Blog

What was I thinking?!

Last night a couple of the kittens followed me upstairs to bed. So I called for the “babies!” and soon had nearly every kitten and cat in house in our bedroom chasing after teasers. On the floor. On the bed. On the floor and the bed…

I wasn’t worried about them staying, though. No, I thought they’d go back downstairs to find something else to play with once I put away the teaser and turned out the light. And some of them did.

Some of them, however, made a night of it. They curled up by my legs so I couldn’t roll over without waking a kitten. They demanded I pet them in the middle of the night. Fin was especially vocal about how much he needed me to pet him. Then about 4, the early morning round of cat games began. Zoom! Across the bed! Thump! Onto the floor! Yelp! Onto another kitten! Thud! Back up to the bed! Chomp! lisa-mom’s foot is sticking out of the covers! Growl! Aunt Shira is not amused!

I now remember all too well why it’s good that the kittens decide to sleep downstairs starting at about 8 weeks. I get a lot more sleep that way.

Tonight I’ll play with them downstairs before I go up to bed. I’ll be safe then. Unless, of course, someone remembers what a great time they had this morning. Then I’m doomed…

I didn’t take Polgara in to see Dr Jennifer today. Instead I called and asked if I could get a prescription for Clavamox, as Polgara is sounding a little congested and I’m fairly certain she has an upper respiratory infection. All the BBs are going in tomorrow for an exam, so rather than leaving Polgara at the clinic all day today, I’d rather start treating her now and have Dr Jennifer take a good look at her tomorrow. The antibiotics are helping as Polgara is more energetic and more interested in food this evening. I did put her in the bathroom with the shower running (she wasn’t in the shower, just in the room) so the steam would loosen up the congestion. I’ll do that again in the morning. On the up side, her eye looks much better today — normal, really.

I didn’t get pictures taken tonight, though. Sigh… there’s always more to do in the evening that I have time to get through. Pictures seemed to be the least important tonight. This will be the last full set of pictures of the BBs as they start leaving for new homes this weekend. 

We are going to Portland this weekend — leaving Friday, returning next Wednesday. Garion, Belgarath, and Kheldar are going along so they can go to their new homes. Polgara will go along because I won’t want to leave her in the care of a pet sitter. Cati, Keegan, and Fin are going to the show, so they’ll be along. My daughter said, “how many cats are you bringing?!” A young woman from my vet’s office is going to be our pet sitter, coming by twice a day to check on the cats and let the dogs out and in. I know she’d take good care of Polgara for me, but I’d rather take her with me so I can keep an eye on her myself.

Friday was a busy day, trying to get some chores around the house done so we could go to Billings on Saturday for Ken’s family reunion. We spent the night and came back today. It was nice to see everyone, but with such a short visit and so many people, it’s hard to spend much time with anyone individually. To any family who are now reading my blog, that’s another  reason you need to come visit!

I took Crya and Zak outside for their weekly pictures. Cyra’s not sure that being in a tree or even outside is a great idea and I’ll admit, I like that she doesn’t like being out there. It’s better they don’t get too used to being outside. But she did pose nicely for some pictures. I’ll attach an bonus shot of her here — different than what is on the website. Zak is better about being outside, but still not all that comfortable. He’s more interested in exploring than posing.

Polgara’s eye is about back to normal, but I came home this afternoon to find that’s she’s not herself. Maybe I’m imagining things, but she seems quieter than usual. I think she’ll be visiting Dr Jennifer tomorrow if she’s still this quiet tomorrow morning.

Talia is in heat, which explains why she was so intent on weaning kittens last week. She and Shira will be going in to be spayed in a couple weeks. It’s sad to think that they won’t be having more babies, but it’s time they get to relax and enjoy the good life without all the stress on their bodies that come from being in heat, being pregnant, and nursing kittens. Shira will be able to rule the house full time. Talia, more than likely, will still help take care of babies, since she’s done that with other girls’ kittens even when she doesn’t have her own.

Back to work — catching up from being gone a day and a half.

Sad news… Brenda’s mom lost her fight with lung cancer yesterday afternoon. She’d been on life support since Tuesday night and Brenda and her dad made the difficult decision to let her go yesterday. Brenda and her mom were extremely close — as much friends as mother-daughter. Brenda also lost her only sibling — her brother David — earlier this year and her dad was just diagnosed with lung cancer a couple weeks ago. It’s been a hard year, with more tough times on the horizon. Thank you for keeping her in your prayers.

The Meriwether Fire is now the nation’s top priority fire. It continues to grow and behave in unusual ways. Yes, fire has patterns of behavior, but this one seems intent on defying the usual expectations. Three other Montana fires, along with the Meriwether Fire make up the top four priority fires in the West right now. The Helena valley is so smoky we can hardly see the mountains around us and the health department has issued an air quality alert, saying the air was “unhealthy for all groups” yesterday afternoon. It smells like we’re around a campfire all the time. Our weather is slightly cooler after the hottest July on record in Helena, but rain and a real cool down are nothing we’re expecting any time soon. So our fires will be here for awhile, I’m afraid.

I’m trying to think of something funny or cheerful to write this morning, but I’m coming up short. Might be sleep deprivation. I got woken up four times last night — about every two hours — for problems at work. So I think I’ll close now before I think of any other gloomy things to write about.

Oh, Polgara’s eye is still improving, although still not completely better. But her third eye lid was down all the way earlier this morning. Progress.

LostWoods Torianna of ForestKatz and HattKatts Guri of ForestKatz are the proud parents of six babies born over night. There are two little girls in the litter and I’ll be watching them very closely in case one of them needs to come to LostWoods to live with Grandma Shira and take over her duties as Queen of Everything someday. Or rather, Jim and Donna will be watching them closely and telling me if either of them looks like a worthy successor to the crown.  

Polgara’s eye is looking better today — the third eyelid is almost completely down. But she’s still squinting that eye a little and it’s watery. I know… Patience! But I hate it when my kittens have anything at all wrong with them, so I want it to be ALL better NOW! The sore eye is not slowing her down at all, but I still feel sorry for her.

One last thing before I get back to work… I have a new washer and dryer! Whee!!! I’m still learning how to use the options, but so far I really like them. They are both extra large capacity front loading machines, so that should save on electricity and water for us. Always a plus. But right now I’m mostly just happy I don’t have to go to the laundromat.