Happy International Children's Book Day

 

Hi evfurrybuddy, this is Dori *wavy paws*. Sorry we have been away - actually I wasn't, I was sleeping in my favorite sun puddle and making fwens with the USA branch of the Squirrelingtons while Momma has been overwhelmed by demands on her time that take her away from helping me to hang out with my vewy best fwens. 

Anyway! Today is International Children's Book Day. Mom just realized it as of an hour ago and I told her I wanted to post about it on my blog. I mean... our family blog. Of course Wabbit had to get involved. {heavy sigh} I would have done a better promotion if I'd been asked, but sadly I'm still behind closed doors while he's running loose like a wild dog hunting little Dori Deers. So sad.

 

Mom's best seller Finding Mya features the best cat in the world - my big brofur Hwermie aka Herman TattleCat. Not Wabbit - who is trying his best to be the baddest cat in the world. Wab’s book Diary of an AssRabbit is currently in the works. When am I gonna get my own book? I'm pwecious too!

Anyway! Finding Mya was written for adults to enjoy while reading to their children, and features original artwork by then-eight-year-old Mya Lyn Campbell, a fan of Herman’s who sent momma drawings of him that inspired this book. She even did a book signing in her home town! Love that so much.

FINDING MYA by Kimberley Koz is available on Amazon.

“Eight-year-old Mya has a magical relationship with her grandma’s foster kitten, Herman. They can talk to each other. Not with words. With tickle thoughts!

Then Mya’s vacation ends and Herman is adopted by a lady whose dog treats cats like chew toys. He vows to escape! But how will he find her? Mya says she will leave picture-maps along the road to her house. All he has to do is follow them and they will live Happily Ever After. It’s a great plan. Too bad it goes wrong right from the start.”

With the choking amount of vet bills we have incurred, I want to help out by promoting momma's books like Finding Mya, Sherlock Herms Purranormal Mysteries (starring me too), and her romance A Mad Fling, and her Christmas fantasy Kringle - all available on Amazon.com. If yoo think someone yoo know might enjoy one of these stories, please pass along. Thank yoo so much!

Update on Wonderpurr Gang Health

I am happy to weport that we are finally seeing light at the end of a dark tunnel at my house. So many sick kittehs, me included, but we have been all enjoying great improvement since mid-March. Jesse is in remission, ChauncieMarie's insulin has been decreased down to half  of a one unit twice daily, Peaches had dental surgery last week and lost six teeth - our old vet was a poo poo head when it came to dental care - but our new doctor saw Peaches yesterday and said her healing is looking great. And best of all, I haven't had any weturns of Aliens or Wocks in my pee pee since my surgery in January. Yay!

So I'm thinking we may be on our way back to enjoying a normal social life, and writing more books. Wish us luck, and thank yoo all for yoor love and support. 

Until Next Time...

Jesse the Toothless Wonder in Full Remission

 Hi evfurrybuddy, this is Dori yoor Bweaking Nooz reporter for It's a Wonderpurr Life with incredibly good news. Jesse the Toothless Wonder is in Full Remission.

 

 Last September when our pawrents returned from a two week vacation, Momma noticed Jesse's eye looked very orange and strange. Our old veterinarian at the time was not able to determine the cause (and we later learned she had been giving ChauncieMarie the wrong type of insulin for feline diabetes so we bid her farewell)  and Jesse was taken to University of Florida Small Animal Hospital in Gainesville, Florida where they first thought he had a tumor, but later determined it was stage five lymphoma.

That started Jesse going for chemotherapy every week. However the two hour one way drive was very upsetting to Jesse, and when they tried to give him oral chemotherapy, his hyper salivating made it difficult. After this continuing for weeks, his doctors had a meeting with the big bosses to discuss this problem, and did the unthinkable. They asked if Mom would be willing to give Jesse his chemo pills. This isn't typical, but they were aware of Mom's lengthy cat rescue history and how she had been treating multiple cats for years for various problems. 

Recently there was concern because Jesse had lost a pound of weight. Because he's toothless, he cannot chew kibble, and if he enjoys too many, they bloat in his tummy and he will barf. Well, Daddy was giving him kibble before breakfast, unknown to Momma who also gave him kibble with his canned noms. And then she would give Jesse his prednisolone pill with a Churu to wash it down... resulting in barfs several times a week. 

Mom had tried to upgrade our noms to Weruva and Blue Buffalo, but Jesse wasn't thrilled with the new food and as a result he started eating less - although he begged snacks from Daddy a lot - resulting in mixed messages for all concerned. Finally Mom and Dad got on the same page. The doctor at Cat Care Clinic said to get 300 to 350 calories a day into Jesse. Mom went back to Fancy Feast pate - Jesse prefers the Beef flavored - and added kitten kibble to his meals. As a result, Jesse has gained back what he lost in two weeks.

Yesterday his university doctors wanted Jesse to have an ultrasound. They saw some more nodules so they took samples from his spleen, liver and kidneys. The samples were clear making them suspect this is just a part of Jesse's aging process. He will turn 15 on March 30th. They also gave him a B12 supplementation to encourage him to eat more.

We truly appreciate evfurryone keeping Jesse in yoor prayers. We are aware there are so many of  yoo fighting cancer, and want yoo to know we have yoo in our prayers too.

Until Next Time...

It's Wonderpurr to Feel Better

Dear Fwends, This is Dori back from being on a forced bweak from soshall meowdia. *wavy paws*

So it's been weeks since our last post, but taking a bweak managed to do one important thing: it opened Momma's eyes to how fweakin' old she's gotten! Sadly she's realizing that she can't juggle so many balls without dropping them ... watching them roll across the floor... under the couch... where they stay because her knees refuse to let her get down to retrieve them. I'm paraphrasing her.

Anyway! I'm happy to report that I'm all better after my surgery where I had to have rocks removed from my bladder. I would show yoo the surgery scar on my tummy but this is a pee gee rated blog and I'm not one of those meowdels who like to pose nekked. I'm very happy to report that I'm no longer invaded by aliens, nor do I have fire pee. I'm so happy to be better, that I've been playing and being silly more than I've done in months. 

While we were away, my sisfur ChauncieMarie is aging with grace and beauty as she celebrated her 19th birthday on February 9th. 

ChauncieMarie arrived shortly after my pawrents moved to our former home in Mississippi. She hung around the house of our neighbors who called her Chauncy, thinking she was a boy. But then she gave birth, and after her kittens were bigger, she left them with the family so they could give them a better life. She figured she’d always be homeless. But God knew what He was doing and brought her to our yard where she informed my momma that she was French. So, ChauncieMarie got a new name and a Forever Home. At 19 she's still spry, gleefully showing off her ability to maneuver pet stairs despite having diabetic sight and foot issues. She enjoys evening couch time with us, and snuggling with her buddy, Opie. And still wears her ear like a fascinator hat or French beret. After all, she's French.

Speaking of Opie, he just celebrated his Sweet Sixteen on January 28th. He enjoyed his favorite birthday dinner of tuna with a Churu for dessert. 

Momma loves to do photo shoots but with her time eaten up caring for us, this year's birthday shoot didn't happen. However good news is that while Opie has CKD, he's doing well and is living a happy life. And yes, he still loves to walk around crying with a ball in his mouth... especially in the wee hours of the morning.

Opie's long time lady, Peaches will be turning 16 in April. She's the birth mother to Jesse the Toothless Wonder, and also the Queen of the Wonderpurr Gang. While on break, Momma took Peaches to the vet because she's had the cold from hell for too long. 

We had another vet who sadly let us down in so many ways, among them not giving the right insulin to ChauncieMarie, and also not treating the feline herpes - slash - respiratory issues we all have. Peaches has suffered for too long, so when Momma took her to the Care Care Clinic we now go to, they helped Peaches with a Convenia shot. They also said her teeth were in bad shape - thanks to our old vet not addressing the dental issue. So Peaches will be going for dental very soon.

We had such a short winter here in FloryDa, that even though it's still chilly in mornings, the sun has been shining and I'm looking forward to my hammock returning to it's place in the window where I can welax and enjoy the view of deer doggos in our yard. 

Before I close, Jesse would like to bring yoo up to date on what's happening with him. In case yoo follow us on soshal meowdia, Jesse left his Instagram account and moved into mine, so we now share posting on @Shes.Adorapurr. Okay Jesse, it's yoor turn.

Frens,  Dis be me Jesse the Toothless Wonder back from my momma being “on break.” Although Ah dint see her breakin nuthin, but you know how Hoomoms hide how they’re really feelin’.

Anyway, Ah have a new motto for dis year: What Upsets N Scares Me Makes Me Stronger N Braver.

Since Ah went into partial remission, Ah no longer travel every week two hours to the University for chemo treatment. Intead, Ah be stuffed in da Bad Box every week to go to nearby Cat Clinic where they steal ma blood. Ah’m verra bothered by dis rood treatment but seems like dis be New Normal for me. 

Then the next day after ma blood is stolen, my mom gets a phone call from ma University doctor to go ahead an’ give me chemotherapy pills. Frens, Ah do not like them pills, and Momma has to wrangle me like a Yellowstone cowboy wrangles a baby cow. Sadly she’s stronger than me and so far she’s winning the battle. But Ah get a nice treat afterwards - clearly a bribe for me to like her again but Ah’m not one to turn down a Churu.

After all dis hoo ha bizness, Ah gets all frisky n brave, and trot round da house like Ah be da Boss. Ah gib dat Frank my best stink eye, and Ah let a certain AssRabbit know Ah’m not scared o him.

So Ah’m doin great and be a verra happy n good boi. Thankee much for sending nice messages of support. Momma read them to me and they made me feel warm in my heart. Lub you all. 💕🐈‍⬛ Jesse

Until Next Time...

Jesse the Toothless Wonder in Partial Remission

Frens, dis be me, Jesse the Toothless Wonder. Ah'm here to thankee all for your thoughts and prayers while Ah be fighting lymphoma. As of Thursday, ma doctors are verra happy wif ma progress and consider me to be in Partial Remission.

Every Thursday for weeks and week me and ma daddy have been getting up at the crack o'dawn to drive a bazillion miles to where Ah gets chemotherapy. Frankly, the trip is a real bummer for both of us cuz it lasts all durn day. The reason being they have to steal ma blood, and then send it to the Lab (still not sure if Lab is blond or black or brown, but that doggo be verra slow). By the time the Lab finishes doing whatever he's doing to ma blood, it's late and Ah still haven't gotten ma chemo. And when Ah finally get it, there's more waiting around for... who knows why.

All dis time Ah've not had a bite to eat, so Ah'm verra hungry and pretty durn crabby about it, too.

This past Thursday me and Dad left at 6 am and didn't return until after 7pm. Ah was drooling like that doggo in Turner n Hooch movie. Verra greasy and lots of it. The doctors wonder if Ah'm reacting to the stress of being at the hospital (ya think?) so now they are looking into changing how Ah get ma chemo jooce by having ma momma give it to me. This isn't a typical way of handling this, but ma doctors are clearly Pro Jesse and want me to do verra well.

Their notes from Thursday read "we restaged Jesse today with an abdominal ultrasound to see how his internal disease is responding to chemotherapy. Fortunately, his small intestinal wall, spleen, and intra-abdominal lymph nodes' appearance on ultrasound has improved significantly compared to his ultrasound performed on 11/17/245. We consider this a partial remission and wonderful respond to treatment.

Yay me! Here Ah am meowdeling ma Cancer Warrior collar with it's tribal print that Ah got from momma at Christmas. It's working!

 

Ma family is verra relieved that Ah'm doing so well, but Ah think it's because Ah've got ya'll cheering for me. Frens, you give me strength to keep going despite the awful tasting medicine. Ah'm deeply touched and want ya'll to know Ah thank the Lord every night for your love.

Stay tuned for future reports on how Ah'm kicking that nasty C Monster in the keester.

Until Next Time...

Life is Wonderpurr Without Rocks

Hi evfurrybuddy, this is the Noo and Impwoved Dori. *wavy paws*

I am feeling so much better without a yoo tee eye, an alien and now without wocks in my bladder. It's been a week since I went for my oppurrashun. Let me tell yoo, I did not enjoy that at all. 

Not only did I have to be kept overnight away from my momma, but they dared to put me in a pink onesie. Despite the Cat Care Clinic's brand color being purrple, they put me in a pink onesie. 

Pink! I was so upset that I took it off during the night and messed it up, so the next day when the girl saw me, she had to wash the onesie before I could go home. She told Momma I'd had a pawty in my cage. I think I made my point. Don't mess wif me!

Anyway, this past week I was made to eat prescription noms and take pain pills. Those pills made me very loopy. So much so, that the first night I was home, I climbed the cat tree near the kitchen and FLEW three foots through the air onto the kitchen counter where Momma was making chimken salad. She was horrified. But I got to taste chimken salad.

By Friday I was done with those pills. I do not like having anything shoved into my mouf, and so I started to hide. I chose a Chewy box cave in the senior room where I've been recupurrating. Momma had to drag meowt, and when she saw me giving her my vewy bestest scowl, she knew I was serious. But she kept on giving me those pills until Friday when I fought her off. I'm only seven pound, but as Momma says, I may be smol, but I'm mighty.

Then there was the issue of the pwescwipshun noms. No offense to Hills, but I did not like their cuisine. Of course Momma had two cases of it, but sad to say she's now trying to hide it under the other noms (without success let me tell yoo). I do prefer the Purina Pro Plan U/R canned noms. Very delicious. It's like a chunky stew. I like it so much, I'll even eat it cold from the friggerator.

On Monday - exactly one week after my oppurashun - I slipped out of my unflattering pink onesie and made a run for it. Momma noticed me running nekked and found the offensive onesie under the bed covers. She washed it and tucked it away in her memory box where she put my original collar and DollyMeow the First. On Monday she also texted my doctor to tattle on me that I refused to take any more pills and am running around nekked. My doctor is off on a purrsonal leave, so she won't find out until Thursday, but I'm feeling so much better now. Yay me!

Jesse has been doing well, too. He's spending more time on the floor than counter surfing, which tells Momma and Daddy that he's feeling great, despite going for chemo. He even sat on the floor while Fwank and Wabbit were hovering around. Jesse used to be afraid of them, but now he's telling them -- "See my warrior collar? Ah'm not afraid of nobuddy. 'Specially you two."

This Thursday Jesse and Daddy have to leave the house at 5:30 am to drive to Jesse's next appointment where they will take a biopsy to see how his body is doing with the chemotherapy. Please keep him in yoor thoughts and prayers. Thank yoo so much.

And... ChauncieMarie has been doing well too. Momma did a glucose curve on her on January 3rd and the doctor said it looked great, and to keep her at the 1 unit of Lantus. ChauncieMarie likes her pwescwipshun noms, and gets a half packet of Purina Pro Plan HydraCare Liver Flavored Liquid Supplement with each meal, and even as a treat. It helps keep her hydrated, so she hasn't needed sub-q fluids. In fact, we all enjoy the flavor so Momma adds it to mine and Opie and the other seniors meals.

As yoo can imagine, my Momma doesn't have much of a life anymore. Playing nurse has taken the lead in her day over writing books, and social meowdia. As a result, she's really behind in visiting blogs and Instagwam and Faceybook to help me comment. Sad to say I still can't type wif these paws.

So! We had a meeting last week and decided to allow her to take a mental health bweak starting Monday January 29 to February 12th. She will then not feel the footprint of neglect in her back like she does now, and will have time to clean out closets and drawers, purge old papers lurking in the dark corners of her office, brush us and give us pedicures, and finally put a game-plan together on how to manage so many social accounts. Jesse graciously gave up his Instagwam at the start of this month and moved in with me, but sadly that's not enough. So I guess there will be more reductions to come.

I look forward to stopping by to visit yoo during our social bweak and catching up on what yoo've been up to. If yoo have any suggestions on how yoor hoomons are able to manage yoor social meowdia life without feeling overwhelmed, I would be happy to pass it on to her.

Love yoo all, and thank yoo again for yoor messages of support and yoor prayers.

Until Next Time...

Dori's Proof of Life Celebration

Hi evfurrybuddy, it's me, Dori. *wavy paws* I know this isn't Tuesday, but I am so vewy thankful to all of yoo who sent me messages and prayers while I was suffering from having wocks in my bladder. They hurted something awful, and I wouldn't wish on anybuddy, including Wabbit. Which is saying a lot since I still have my westwaining odor against him in place.

It's been a highly stressful few months with Jesse sick with lymphoma, and ChancieMarie sick with diabetes, and Opie sick with CKD, and now me with a yoo tee eye, a nasty alien and finally - bladder wocks. It's a good thing my momma doesn't have a Life because she has had no time to do anything other than play Nurse to us all.

Thank yoo Mister Terry and Miz Ann for wanting to bwing attenshun to my opurrashun. I love my sunflower pikchure so much. Love yoo all, Dori

Jesse the Toothless Wonder

Dear Friends, Yesterday Jesse had his first appointment with the oncology team at University of Florida Small Animal Hospital. The ultrasound revealed lymphoma is present in multiple areas of his body, including his spleen which puts him in the Stage 5 category. However, the team notes that Jesse’s lymphoma has highly unusual or atypical features. His cells are intermediate, neither small which are good, nor large which are bad. They also cannot be 100% sure of what the organ of origin was. While technically very advanced because it is present in so many different places, he has apparently no clinical signs, which is usually not the case when the disease has spread this far.

Jesse was administered his first dose of cyclophosphamide, with a daily prednisolone prescription. His eye looks fabulous, so the drops are working to simmer down inflammation. Because Jesse is not checking all the typical boxes for a cancer of this type, his doctors want to see him in another week to determine how his body is reacting to the treatment.

The oncology team expressed yesterday, just like the ophthalmology team did back in November, that Jesse was “a very sweet boy” who took both the lengthy examination and treatment with grace. His Resident Intern Clinician mentioned that when cats react strongly to being in this kind of environment, their treatment can be negatively affected. Clearly, this won’t be a problem for Jesse. His lead oncologist is celebrity Dr. Rowan Milner, who has twice received Clinician of the Year awards. And in recognition of his development of a new melanoma vaccine and for other research, Milner was named Clinical Researcher of the Year by the Florida Kennel Club. He also won the Pfizer Award for Research Excellence and received a faculty enhancement opportunity award from the Office of the Provost at UF. Despite this heartbreaking diagnosis, we think Jesse is in great hands.

During these first couple of days while the cyclophosphamide goes to work, we have been told his poop and pee will require special care in handling. So, he’s hanging out in my office, which he thinks is great, to avoid the other cats from using his litter box.

We are all about positivity, despite having numerous senior cats requiring advanced medical attention, so please refrain from commenting with premature condolences. You would never know Jesse is sick to look at him. He’s eating fine, active, and strong. Thank you all for your prayers and support.  Kim

Fire Pee, Aliens and the C Monster

Hi, evfurrybuddy,  this is Dori. Although I may change my name to Ripley because of what happened to me this past week. But first, I want to welcome all of yoo born in December to the Ber Month Fan Club. Yoo don’t have to be born during a Ber month to belong to my Club. Yoo just must love everything about the months ending with a Ber.

So,what happened to me was, last week while Doktor Feelgood whooped it up in Hawaii, I had fire pee. Hoomons call it a urinary tract infection. Momma bought me medicine and cranberry treats, but by Tuesday I was still spending too much time in my litter box. So, when ChauncieMarie went for her all-day glucose curve, Momma took me in too. So, there I was in the bad box, curled up in a cute lil ball, hoping nobody would see me. But when Momma picked me up I broke my pearl necklace that I got for my OctoBER birthday. Pearls scattered all over the place, but Momma got them all, and the next day Daddy fixed it, so I’m back to looking pretty in pearls.

I was prescribed a big ol’ pill every day to chase away my fire pee. I really hate taking pills, but what can yoo do. However - and this is the part where I might need to change my name to Ripley from the movie Aliens - when Momma got up the next morning, she noticed I was in my litter box, and when I got out, I scooted on my booty. And I was squealing! So she picked me up to wipe my booty, and yoo know what she found? Oh! It’s just too horrible and too embarrassing to talk about. I’ll let yoor imagination figure it out. 

So, I got medicine to terminate the alien inside me, and I’m getting extra treats that will help me feel better again.

Meanwhile ChauncieMarie, who was diagnosed with CKD last year, has been struggling with her newly discovered diabetes while Momma and Dok Feelgood try to get her insulin dosage right. Momma has increased her food, adding delicious HydraCare, while reducing the insulin. ChauncieMarie said to tell yoo all she's appreciative of your thoughts and prayers. 

Opie has been feeling pretty good despite getting CKD this year. He's still eating like a lil piggy, so keeping him out of the not-prescription noms is a constant battle.

And ... I'm sad to tell yoo my brother, Jesse the Toothless Wonder, has been diagnosed with lymphoma. On Monday December 11th he travels to Gainesville's University of Florida Small Animal hospital for a meeting with the oncology department. His appointment isn't until 1:30 and he's not allowed to eat beforehand, so he's going to be very hissed off about that, cuz Jesse is all about food.

You'd never know he's sick. His eye looks better because of the eye drops he gets twice a day, and he's eating well and bouncing around like he owns the place. We pray these are good indications that he's going to be a success story and beat the C monster. Please add him to yoor prayers if possible.

Because of everything going on, I know yoo will understand that we won't be posting much throughout the holiday season.

Time is precious, my fwends. Hug each other tight.   Love, Dori

Mealtime Madness with the Senior Wonderpurr Gang

Gidget followed me into the cat apartment closet where I placed her dish containing a smidgen of Fancy Feast pate and a handful of Iams senior kibble on the rug, then closed the doors to prevent others from stealing her food. Over the past year Gidget has decided she’s not a fan of canned food – any canned food – so I mix her kibbles in with the pate to get something into her.

Next, I invite Peaches to join KC, Candy, and Frank in the kitchen where they dine atop a pink child’s table with the legs removed. However, she dives under the bed, leaving me no choice but to serve the Queen her cuisine where she hides, suspicious of my motives.

Meanwhile ChauncieMarie and Opie dine on top of the bed, happily lapping the Purina Pro Plan Hydra Care liquid supplement that I poured over their yucky prescription noms for kidney disease, mainly to get them to eat it. I hover, waiting for Peaches to finish. Naturally she slows her bites to the point of raising my blood pressure. Chevy and Nikolas are waiting for their dinner delivery, but I can’t leave, because the moment I do my French girl will immediately join Peaches and eat food she shouldn’t have. At nearly nineteen ChauncieMarie’s nose can still ferret out the food she can’t have and has a pattern of checking out Gidget’s closet to see if the door is adjacent, as well as any other bowl that smells better than hers. She moves amazingly fast for an old broad.

ChauncieMarie has had CKD for the past two years. This year Opie was also diagnosed with CKD. Telling my old ginger boy that he can no longer eat from everyone else’s plates has been an uphill battle, so I finally had to ban him from the kitchen. This is the main cause for Peaches being suspicious, because Opie has been her dining partner and best friend for nearly sixteen years. If he can’t leave the cat apartment, well… she won’t either.

I get down on my knees several times to check the Queen’s progress, receiving a glare each time I do. No one shoots a glare like my torbi. I finally risk it to run into the kitchen to grab the remaining dinners and deliver them to Chevy and Nikolas with apologies for being late. Bless them both, they hunker down over their dishes without complaint. At least at first. I will return in a bit to find if the flavor of pate agreed with them. Nik has become picky over the past year and sometimes will leave his meal untouched.  Chevy is a bit more happy-go-lucky and will eat just about anything. I deliberately give them something different in case they want to switch plates.

Recently ChauncieMarie turned diabetic, throwing an even bigger monkey wrench into my life with the Wonderpurr Gang. In all honesty I've watched this train coming at me for years. The train being that I knew when I adopted a group of stray cats all within a short time of each other, all pretty close to the same age, one day they would become seniors with varying medical issues. Well, now the train is about to run me over. I'm okay caring for them financially, but the heartbreak is going to be enormous. I'm certain every one of you reading this can relate.

Twice a week since October 18^th I’ve run ChauncieMarie across town to have her glucose checked to determine the right amount of insulin for her. I went through this with my tabby Buddy who passed at age 24 after being diabetic for ten years. Unheard of, but I don’t mess around when it comes to my fur babies. He traveled everywhere with me so I could give him his insulin twice a day. I would even leave parties to drive back home to give him his insulin at the same time. So, while I’m deeply sad about ChauncieMarie going through this, I’m devoted to give her the same dedication. God forbid anyone else becomes a diabetic – looking at you, Miss Candy Applebottom who needs to drop a few pounds. She tells me she’s not fat, she’s fluffy, but I digress.

Then on top of ChauncieMarie’s latest medical revelation, I now face even darker news. When we returned from our Alaskan cruise, I noticed that Jesse’s left eye looked a little weird. At first, I thought it might be the light. He’s not one to look me full in the face, rather he dips his head and looks away, especially when I aim a camera at him. So, getting proof that something was wrong took time. Finally, I got the photo. His left eye looked orange and the pupil was strange. I ran him to our veterinarian on the same day I took ChauncieMarie in to be diagnosed with diabetes. Doctor Feelgood tested his eye for scratches but as there were none, she determined it was internal. We chose to take Jesse to the University of Florida Small Animal Hospital in Gainesville where we had taken Buddy way back when we first adopted him as a two-year-old stray. He had an odd voice, and his breathing was noisy. Turns out he had a polyp growing in his nasal passage. With that a success story, we were confident that they could help Jesse.

Gainesville is two hours away via winding back roads. Jesse went with us to Ashville, North Carolina last October, so I knew he would travel well. And he did. At the hospital they gave him a once over to determine that he may have a tumor in his eye. Best news – it’s just in his eye and can be removed along with the eye. Worse case – it’s lymphoma and has attached to his eye, which means its elsewhere in his body. And, as if that was not upsetting enough, they told us Jesse tested positive for FIV.

 Jesse is fourteen years old. He is the son of Queen Peaches and was born (along with his now deceased brother Jack) under my neighbor’s deck on March 30, 2009. Never once had any vet told me he’s FIV+. That Chevy is FIV+ didn’t surprise me because when he first turned up, invited by his pal Nik to join the Garage Band, he was a friendly but feisty kind of guy. However, he sensed that Jesse and Nik were his only hope of getting a home, so he always got along well with them. No fighting at all. So, I’m not sure how Jesse, who has always been an introvert, never a fighter, got the virus.

 We return on the 17^th for Jesse to go through a full day diagnosis with both the ophthalmology and oncology departments involved. If you feel moved to say a prayer for Jesse the Toothless Wonder, we would sincerely appreciate it.

Ironic how November is not only National Senior Pet Month but also Pet Diabetes Month. 

Sadly, Dori, the President of the Ber Month Fan Club, is off sulking in her window hammock because her plans to celebrate Everything Autumn have been derailed due to time restraints that have kept me from performing my job as her muse and secretary. There's always next year, I've told her. I've even suggested she can celebrate Autumn all year long, which she may or may not do. You know how cats can't make up their minds..

I'm blessed to have cat loving friends who appreciate the trials and tribulations that go hand-in-hand with rescue. Upon hearing of Jesse and ChauncieMarie on Instagram and Facebook they've reached out to me with advice and reading material. I sincerely appreciate you all. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Kim

Until Next Time...

. 

Exploring Alaska Coastline Aboard the Holland America Koningsdam

Friends, this isn't Dori so don't wait for me to do any wavy paws. This is Kim (aka The Momanager) who along with Ray (aka Dadders) managed to escape the Wonderpurr Gang for ten glorious days to cruise the Alaska coastline aboard Holland America's Koningsdam ship.

Being away for ten days was both fun and worrisome. My fur babies mean the world to me, and because they are sliding into their golden years, being away is rough, especially when I'm on the other coast, plus aboard a ship without a way for anyone to get a hold of me. I deliberately didn't buy the WiFi package for the ship as I could check in with our kitty sitter when we stepped on land, and I felt secure in that my almost-nineteen-year-old super senior ChauncieMarie was in good shape to not need any close monitoring. And in all honestly I needed a break from both cats and my social media life. I've heard it's good to take a break, and after this past long hot summer, I was truly ready for one. I told Ray I wanted to go someplace where my melting brain could solidify, so he chose to take us back to Alaska.

We had already enjoyed a cruise to Alaska during the Summer Solstice 2015, and while it had been cold in June, I wanted COLD so Ray chose one of the final cruises for the season in September aboard the Holland America Koningsdam. With me being overwhelmed trying to write Rabbit's book (still a work in progress) and juggle umpteen cat social meowdia accounts, I had no brain juice left to plan a huge vacation. And since Ray is retired and constantly complaining he's bored, I let him take the reigns.

He truly hit one out of the park. He booked us first class on Alaska Airlines out of Tampa. We flew to Seattle, and the next day took an Amtrak train to Vancouver, Canada. The next day we boarded the Holland America Koningsdam ship with early boarding access as Ray booked us in the Neptune Suite that came with a private concierge lounge with coffee and yummies right across the hall from our room - I had to stop Ray from popping across the hall barefoot and in his robe for morning coffee - plus access to Club Orange private dining room.

PS - Orange is the color of the Dutch royal family - the House of Orange-Nassau - and has thus been considered the national color of the region for hundreds of years. The Holland America line has splashes of Orange everywhere, and therefore so do my videos. I've created short video highlights of each day, so please enjoy at your leisure. Thanks so much. 

Celebrating Dori on her Birthday

 

We at It's a Wonderpurr Life are celebrating our beautiful Dori today on her birthday.

Dori arrived in our Southaven, Mississippi yard at 3 months old on a cold winter night shortly before we left to drive up to Michigan for Christmas. At the time I thought it was just one stray, a black female with a bad eye. I told my fabulous pet sitter, Michelle, to feed her while I was away.

When I returned a week later, Annie the stray had brought her entire family - baby daddy Nikolas, two black panther sons and twin tabby girls. 

While the parents were sweet and tame, the kittens were WILD and scared the hekk out of me with their hissing and spitting. But I caught them all and kept them in an upstairs bedroom throughout the winter while I worked to simmer them down in order to be adopted.

Almost immediately I knew the one tabby girl had to be removed from the others. She was very sweet and never once tried to murder me with her mittens. She was so pretty with such a delicate feminine face. Ray started calling her his little peanut. Her twin was cute, but in a tomboy kind of way.

I put the family on Pet Finders, and right away there was interest in Dori. But when Ray found out his little peanut could be adopted, he said NO! To be honest I was relieved even though at the time we had around nine or ten ex-strays living with us. 

So Dori was officially adopted, and we also kept her daddy, Nikolas, who truly was the best daddy I've ever met. He loved his kittens and played with them all the time. I recall dragged a rug around the cat room for Nikolas to surf on, with the kittens jumping on to ride with him. To this day Nik is still a very sweet guy, and rooms with our FIV+ tabby Chevy. They were Garage Bandmates with Jesse until we moved to Florida and Jesse was kicked out of the band after losing his teeth to stomititis.

We cannot imagine our home without Dori. She has a sweet, spunky spirit, and greets every day with Joy. I especially cherish hearing her squeals of delight upon finding her precious Dolly Meow (who is constantly being lost under furniture or inside closets), or when she snuggles with me at night, waking me every now and then to pat my face and lick my cheek. Who needs REM sleep when you have the sweetest little girl reminding you that life is truly Wonderpurr, even with a dozen plus cats.

Happy Birthday, Dori! You are the true inspurration for It's a Wonderpurr Life.

Baking with Cats: Almond Joy Cookies

 

Dear Fwends, this is Dori. *wavy paws!* I hope yoo all are enjoying a nice AugtoBER and getting excited about the arrival of Fall where we bweak free from the leash of Summer and start to dwink lots of pumpkin spice lattes, and nom on pumpkin spice muffins and pumpkin spice Spam, and pumpkin spice ... Everything!

Recently my momma got into the mood to bake some cookies, and she wanted to try making Almond Joy Cookies because Almond Joy is one of her favorite candy bars. Daddy prefers Mounds Bars, but that's not the point. The point is, Momma chose a day to bake these cookies when Daddy was finally out of the house after three weeks of not golfing due to storms and high heat. After yoo see this video, I'm sure yoo can see why she chose a day when Daddy was not home, because Daddy and Wabbit are almost one and the same in purrsonality.

Anyway, we have been hunkered down trying to get through this summer because the heat is making my momma crabby, and also she's trying to help Wabbit write his Tell All book. Gosh. I hope there's no unseamly gossip about me in it. I would have to sue.

If yoo are interested in making the cookies in the video, I have included it below. And ... maybe lock up yoor kittehs if yoo do decide to make them. Sticky coconut and kitteh fur do not go well together, even with a Pumpkin Spice Latte. 

Almond Joy Cookies

1 - 14 oz bag sweetened coconut flakes

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

2/3 cup chopped lightly salted almonds I used Blue Diamond Low Sodium Lightly Salted - light blue bag

1 - 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

Instructions
• Preheat the oven to 325F.
• Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Note
• Parchment paper is critical for these cookies to turn out right. Silicone mats, waxed paper, etc. will yield a slightly different result.
• In a large bowl combine coconut, chocolate chips, almonds, and sweetened condensed milk.
• Stir until combined.
• Scoop out dough with a cookie scoop onto prepared baking sheet.
• Moisten the tips of your fingers with water and shape into discs. Pat the tops flat.
• Bake cookies for 12 to 14 minutes or until tips of coconut are just starting to turn golden brown.
• Let cool on baking sheet.
• Store in airtight container.

Until Next Time...

Black Cat Diary of a Horrible Mornin'

Frens, dis be me, Jesse da Toofless Wonder. Nice to meet ya'll. Ah doan get much oppurrtoonitty to get off da kitchen counter an' socialize, but Ah had a rough mornin' an' so Ah'm takin' control of today's blog post.

It all started when ma Mama dragged me out of ma loft condo ‘n stuck me in a Bad Box. Bad Boxes only come out for visits to Doktor Feelgood. Affer a long drive in da car... Yup. That’s where Ah ended up.

While waitin’ ma Mama attacked ma claws with special clippurrs. Lemme tell ya, Frens, when you don’t have teef you gotta grow some pawerful murder mittens to protect yerself from ex-street thugs like Frank ‘n pretty lil scary grrrls like Dori (although she’s simmered down a lot and Ah’m not bothered about her no more.)

At home Ah’m verra determined not to give up even a small piece of ma claws - Ah eben put a formidable bitey on Mama once but she laughed ‘n said it tickled; so cruel to hear when Ah wuz being ferocious. Anyway, ma Mama be a sneaky Yankee grrrl ‘n quickly robbed me blind of ma claws while Ah was on da table tryin’ hard not to cry.

A Happy Accident

 

Greetings! This is Candy posting by accident on our family blog. Yes! Just moments ago I was on my momma's desk and rubbed against her desk window screen and guess what happened?

I created a new post!

Momma didn't realize her desk window screen is also a touch screen. And kitties like me can make it do stuff she doesn't necessarily want it to.

So this is a real eye opener for her.

I don't have my own social meowdia and sadly, I'm feeling left out. 

However, Momma now realizes she's in a pickle and it's her own fault. She has a lot of wonderpurr kitties, but the majority of us aren't known because we stay in the background of our popular fursibs Dori and Rabbit.

Momma is juggling too many Instagram and Facebook and Twitter accounts, plus a blog - I guess she's referring to this one - and she's also ghostwriting Rabbit's book, Diary of an AssRabbit. She's also playing Nurse to our seniors and other stuff... like dealing with summer heat, which she hates so much.

So I understand she's going to combine accounts in order to bring the rest of us out of hiding. I'm so excited! 

I guess while I've got your attention I would like to remind you to be aware of how the summer heat affects your fur babies. You would think by now hoomons would know better than to leave a fur in a hot car, even with a window cracked, and the hot pavement is torture on naked paws. And having lots of fresh water available is dire. We are drinking down big bowls every day. So those of you who have blogs and social meowdia accounts, please do your part by reminding everyone to think twice when they let their furs outside or take for a walk or ride in a car.

Momma has also started putting out a big bowl of iced water for the wild life. Her squirrels and a murder of crows are coming to our yard every day wanting water and also the leftover kibbles. We have a pond across the street but it has turtles and a small alligator, and frankly I doubt the squirrels from our yard go that far to get water. So having water in our yard is both appreciated and necessary.

Well, I'm so glad I got to say hello to you all, and hopefully I will get to say hello again soon. Now go off and enjoy your day!

Love, Candy

Mixing It Up with Country Fairs and Dental Scans

 

Hello Furends and their Pawents. This is Kim, hip-checking Dori and Rabbit, and the rest of the Wonderpurr Gang aside for a little me time on my own damn blog. I've noticed most of us pet pawrents rarely step in front of the camera, so to speak, but when you're going through a semi-burn out like I've been this past summer... um... year... it's time to mix things up.

I am not a fan of summertime humidity, but here in Flory-Da, as Dori refers to our new home state, it feels like humidity is a way of life. I tend to move slowly throughout my day, like I'm wading through an invisible wall of damp heat. My joints have notified me that unless things change, they will ramp up the inflammation, and I will cease to enjoy physical activity... like walking without pain.

Bloody Friday

Hi evfurryone, time for another Tuesdays with Dori. It's me, Dori. *wavy paws* 

So, last week I mentioned I had something rather exciting to meow about. But after what my momma did to her paw, what I'd planned to show you pales in comparison. So let me give you my report on the sordid details of what will live down in history at my house as BLOODY FRIDAY, and then I'll show yoo what I was hinting about last week.

So now that we have that gruesome piece of bizness out of the way, I want to tell yoo about Chevy and Nikolas' Man Cave.

When we lived at the house where I ... and evfurrybuddy else except Wabbit was borned, my daddy Nikolas and Uncle Chevy were always outside kittehs. And Uncle Jesse, too. Always outside because they were all a bit on the wild side, plus they started a Garage Band, so they'd be out caterwauling throughout the night. 

But when we moved here to Flory-Da, because there are dangerous creatures like alligators and snakes and HUGE birds of prey, nobuddy is safe outside. Unfortunately that meant Chevy, Nik and Jesse had to become indoor cats. Not an easy transition because Chevy is still pretty feral, plus he's FIV+. And he once rolled Hwermie, so Mom says she won't trust him not to do that with me or my sisfurs. And daddy Nikolas likes to squirt his mancat juice on stuff. So they are not allowed even in Jesse's cat apartment.

The trouble has been with my pawrents worried about their mental health. How to keep them stimulated. Mom carries them to the Catio to have sunshine and smell the fresh air, but Nik doesn't like the Catio and immediately begs to go back to the garage. Chevy likes the Catio, but only while Momma is out there hanging with him. She takes him for walks in Mosey the stroller too. But my pawrents still didn't think that was enough.

They bought sod and created a grass pool in the garage, complete with sun lamp. And they brought in moving toys so the boys can hunt. Daddy made a cool box tunnel, and there is a radio playing. But it still isn't enough.

So then Daddy says, "Let's give them the old TV." They'd had a small one since 2006, and it was still working. Momma and Daddy are now into Roku, so setting up the TV in the garage was not a big deal. Daddy installed a shelf, and Mom insisted on putting stuff on either side so the boys couldn't get behind the TV and send it crashing to the floor.

And yoo know what? The minute the TV was on, and Momma set it to a Zen-like Aquarium channel, Chevy immediately settled into his cat tree right in front of it. And Nikolas seems to enjoy it too, although for some reason he won't lounge on the bench in front of the TV. But the soothing sound is nice for them all to enjoy.

Momma has been playing around with different channels, since the Aquarium channel can get kinda tedious. So she found more animal channels, and was thrilled when Chevy took a particular liking to a dog channel, watching the doggo's play and bark and run around like dog's tend to do.

So, while some may think it's crazy to give feral garage cats their own TV, it wouldn't be the first time deeply devoted cat pawrents like ours went to the extreme to provide mental enrichment for their fur kids.

Hope yoo all enjoyed today's show.

Until next time...