Shelter Cats and Redemption

Tyler loved the holidays.  Here is Tyler back in Christmas of 2008. Notice my cheesy decorations in the background? Full on statue mode.

A video interlude to get you all through the rest of the week.  Here is Tyler 6 years ago on his 10th birthday.  Cats in general could give two shits about such human things like birthdays. Tyler was no exception. Here is clear evidence of how Tyler loved to celebrate hitting the big 1-0, by sleeping!

Here's a Tyler Tuesday for you. Tyler and his beloved roommate Tiger chasing sunspots just after I adopted Tiger in the late summer of 2008. Tiger features later in our story.

Jackson has been entered into the Modern Cat Magazine cat star contest.  I mean, after all he's been through, he deserves a win right? Please be sure to vote! http://moderncat.com/starcat/entry/jackson-0

Jackson has been the happiest cat since he came home this past Friday.  Non-stop cuddling, sleeping, window watching, and just being Jackson....the gentle giant. Last night I got the best possible news from the vet.  Last Thursday during surgery, when they opened his bladder it appeared to be badly shaped and swollen, with a lot of scar tissue.  At first, the vet suspected the possibility of a tumor or cancer within the large amount of scar tissue in his bladder.  This, of course, set my mind racing and my heart sinking.  The only way to know for sure, the vet said, was to biopsy the scar tissue and await the lab results. SIX WHOLE DAYS LATER, the vet had the test results: NO CANCER!  WHEW.  Thank the lord!  What the tests did show were a lot of fancy medical terms that basically boil down to a severely infected bladder as well as the effects of the bladder stones.  A major relief!  Jackson has a clean bill of health! Following a p...

Jackson, Tyler's last roommate, came home Friday night after 5 days in the hospital.  Thursday he underwent a lifesaving cystotomy to remove badly infected scar tissue and stones that became lodged in his bladder and urethra.  He will have a post-op this coming Friday and is on an even more strict special diet.  Even Sophie, Tyler's successor, needs to be on the same diet since Jackson had a habit of stealing her food when I wasn't looking.  Jackson even became a "godson" to two new amazing godparents that quite literally saved his life in every possible way. They know who they are, and I am beyond grateful for the great lengths you both went to make sure Jackson got the care he needed.  Without you both, I would have had to say goodbye.  I love you both and I will never be able to thank you enough. Jackson is a lot more like himself.  Alert, meowing, cuddling, and sleeping away the effects of the surgery in his favorite window. A week ago he was rea...

Jackson, Tyler's last roommate, is in the hospital this week fighting for his life. He has kidney damage and stones in his urethra. His blood work shows his kidney levels are dangerously off, but he is resting and on fluids today at the hospital. If tomorrow's bloodwork comes back positive, the vet will proceed with life saving surgery to redirect his urethra. Please keep Jackson in your prayers. I miss him terribly and hope he will get better. #TeamJackson

Tyler would have been 16 today.  I never knew his actual birthday, but since I adopted him on December 9th and they said he was 1 1/2 years old, I made June 9, 1999 his birthday. This is an especially tough day as Jackson, Tyler's last roommate, is fighting for his life with kidney and urethra ailments. Happy Birthday old man, I love you and miss you more than you can possibly know.  Please look after Jackson, he always looked up to you.

I’m moving out…. Yeah, the Billy Joel song is in your head now too, right? Anthony worked at....I forget the lyrics... By the fall of 2002 I was ready to move out on my own.  I was nearly 29 by then and, as much as I loved my parents, and my big house, I knew the time had come for Tyler and I to branch out on our own.  Not to mention my parents had by that point become “snowbirds” or “snowflakes,” whichever is the term for aging Jewish New Yorkers who spend their winters in Florida. They were gone for months at a time, so I got to play the part of being self sufficient, and, much to my surprise, Tyler and I didn't starve! My parents were talking more and more seriously about selling the house and living full time in Florida.  My mother was sick of New York, and my father had semi-retired. Their friends were more and more in Florida and they loved the lifestyle. As much as they would have preferred I move with them (actually my mother would have prefe...