Kitty Update

Figure it's been a long time since I gave updates on all the kits. ;) From eldest to youngest:

Kittanna is sweet 16 now. She's beginning to show her age with some extra white hairs. She's also recently diagnosed borderline hyperthyroid and three weeks ago had to have some teeth removed. She came through the surgery well and has mended beautifully. She's still my soul kitty and I hate seeing her get skinny and wobbly with age, but love the hell out of her none the less.

My Lilly monster. Never thought she'd see 8 and she just turned 10. The years of tests and blood work finally showed what at least some of the problem may be. She's borderline hyperthyroid, too, but closer to the mark than Kittanna. She's still holding at around 6 pounds and gets three different medications twice daily. They're not making her better, but they keep her from getting much worse. While her T4 (thyroid) levels are high, they're not yet high enough for medication. She and Kittanna both still need occasional blood work to monitor them. There's a Go Fund Me HERE if you can help to cover some of the costs. Thanks!

My tiny baby, Gaia Rose. Gaia is doing beautifully!! She runs and keeps up with all the other kits with no problem. Anyone who's been here and seen her run does a double-take when I tell them she's only got three legs. She'll always have a runny/snotty nose, but otherwise, she's in perfect health. She just had her fifth birthday and still weighs barely six pounds. :D

Chiara, the duchess of the house at 4 years old. Once upon a time, light as a feather and hell on my curtains. Spay surgery in February solved that!! LOL! She's over 10 pounds now and getting lazier by the day. Running her with the laser light toy has slowly stopped working as she just flops down and watches it now.

Pewter, my 4 year old purple kitty. Spay surgery for her was last year, done quickly due to a urinary issue. She was already a hefty nine pounds at surgery. She is now the proud owner of almost 20 pounds of pudge. I feed her as little as I feel she can stand and still... the pudge is like super glue. She still has a purr smooth as a rusty nail and is beginning to learn she can't sleep on mama's chest anymore.

Speckle, my bunny, so called due to her colouring being that of a wild rabbit. If you ever wonder what this colouration is called it's agouti. ;) She's maintained around 11 pounds since her spay and still has a lot of attitude. She's begun to become a sort of lap cat, though. At three years old, it was a late development. She doesn't like to share and often gets on the arm of the chair and flops over on my arm and sprawls. 

Miska, my little chunkabunk. She's pudged up since her spay, too, though mostly around her chest. Worries me that she'll develop breathing problems somewhere down the line. She's only 3 so hoping the weight gain slows down. I try not to feed her too much, but, despite the added weight, she can still get on the counter, so it's hard to keep her out of the other kits' food if I can't stand right there until they're done. She's my bug monitor. Hardly a fly, gnat, or crawly thing can get in here without her hot on it's antennae. ;)

My man, Rateelae. Rat is a right little mess. He's about a docile as anything you've ever seen until you try to cut his claws. I can play with his feet all I want, but once I reach for clippers, he's a wild man! He makes the trip, when I can afford it, to have his nails trimmed at the vet. Way less traumatic for the both of us that way. He's 3 years old and has never tolerated his nails trimmed by me, but he's a perfect angel at the vet! He's a big boy at just over 11 pounds and he's not overweight. He's very tall and long and that just makes more of him to scoop up and cuddle. He has claimed the sleeping spot on my chest. 

And the baby, one year oldTrysten. He got his name at a friend's suggestion after I talked about his personality as a kitten. LOUD!! He screamed almost constantly while he was in isolation for a bad cold when I brought him home. Tore his way through the zipper on the kitten kennel twice before I gave up. Serenades me constantly to the vet AND back. The name Trysten means: NOISE. It was perfect!! He's not built as big as Rat, but they weigh about the same. He upholds the orangie tradition and is a right little love bug. :)

And those are my babies! My Taillee went to the Bridge January 7, 2014 at approximately 23 years old. She'd lived a long, good life and was ready to rest, but refused to go on her own. Thankfully, my nephew came the last night and stayed with her. Work also let me come home during the night to check on her and come home early that last morning. She was wrapped in a towel in my arms from 6 am until almost 11 when I let her go, except for the few minutes it took me to get dressed. My sister took us to the vet and Taillee stayed with us until the end. One tiny shot, a small gasp, and two twitches and my furry little dishrag was gone. But she left a legend behind no one has lived up to yet. Docile and cuddly with a mean streak when she got really stubborn. And I doubt I'll ever have another cat where I can flip her on her back, trim all her claws, and then file them smooth, while she purrs the entire time. ;)

I still miss my Zilla very much. I'm still not over her sudden passing. She was my little attitude kitty and I sometimes miss her bitchiness and I miss her purr. She's at the Bridge with my angel Tigger now and I'm sure she's loving being back with her adopted furmom.