My Poor Poor Taxi...

He's stressing so much about everything that's going on around him in the flat that his whiskers are splitting and breaking...!
My poor little snicker-doodle-tixanax has almost no whiskers left on the right side of his face and the left side's whiskers are only a little bit better.
As he was diagnosed with FeLV a few months ago, so I monitor him closely to make sure he is himself and doesn't develop the mysterious fever, loss of appetite and listlessness that seems to be indemic to FeLV. When he does get a fever, I take him to the vet and he gets a broad spectrum antibiotic- so of course I immediately attributed the whisker loss to his FeLV.

I Googled like a lunatic and could only find that maybe a kid had cut them off, he'd lost them in a fight, or he needed a dietary supplement. Then I called my vet.

He phoned me back (isn't he sweet?) and made the same suggestions as I had found online.

Losing them in a fight is not an option becaus he and Greebo are BIG mates and they don't go outside. Damien-the-amateur-eco-warrior cutting them off was also ruled out. A dietary supplement may help... but when he mentioned stress it all clicked into place!

So here's hoping they'll grow back normally when he moves in with my Glugs and things settle down again.

Moving House...

I have decided to move my furbabies in with my Glugs before we move, and even before I give my landlady notice. This also means my landlady can "show" my flat if she wants to and I won't have to worry about the boys getting out.
For one thing, my babies won’t be alone again as they’ll be with my Glugs in the week and we’ll be there on weekends.
I am very excited about our move- but at the same time I am terrified of the upheaval and the packing is very daunting…
So I have decided to move Greebo and Taxi so they can settle in before we are fully moved and they can consider it home as we steadily transfer our belongings over.
I’ll be transporting them both in their own travel boxes- they have one each- and because their boxes are always open on the floor, they consider it part of their home and they are not afraid to get into their boxes.
I’ll also be taking all their belongings over, their own bowls and water fountain and blankets and scratch posts and such. They’ll be locked in what is going to be Damien’s room to begin with- I’ll probably keep them isolated in there for a couple of weeks.
I am telling myself it will be a little easier to move them than it is to move some cats as my boys do not go outside at all. So they will not have a huge territorial adjustment to make when they move.
I will also be leaving some of mine and Damien’s things in the room with them so they can smell us and to reassure them that we are still “there”.
I was ecstatic when my Glugs met my furbabies and liked them both- and they liked him- which is amazing ‘coz they usually don’t like having anyone in their space…
And what I am even happier about is that my Glugs is quite happy with them remaining indoor cats once they’ve settled in. With Taxi’s FeLV I can’t run the risk of him infecting other cats with fighting or playing, and luckily to date Greebo has tested negative for the virus. Taxi can also very easily pick up illnesses from other cats should he be allowed to go outside since the FeLV attacks his immune system, so I won’t have that risk either.
Another bonus is that there’s a vet right around the corner where I’ll be able to take them for shots and for when Taxi needs a treatment.
This is very nerve-wracking… but I am confident they’ll be okay!

God Bless Our Pets

They say memories are golden.
Well, maybe that is true.
I never wanted memories.
I only wanted you.
A million times I needed you.
A million times I cried.
If love alone could have saved you.
You never would have died.
In life I loved you dearly.
In death I love you still.
In my heart you hold a place.
No one could ever fill.
If tears could build a stairway.
And heartache made a lane.
I’d walk the path to heaven.
And bring you back again.
Our family chain is broken.
And nothing seems the same.
But as God calls us one by one.
The chain will link again.

i know you're all cat slaves!

for the cat-slaves amongst us...