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A NEW Message from Oscar's Daddy

2011-10-23T10:09:00.005+11:00

Oscar's Daddy has adopted two new cats into the house where Oscar once lived. They are both adult cats, named Otto and Melrose (also known as Spaz Cat & Woolly Bear), and Oscar would have loved them both at first sight, not least because they are both white, and Oscar never met a white cat! Otto and Melrose have a new blog at:

www.ottoandmelrosecats.blogspot.com

or you can click on the link under the "My Favorite Blogs" menu to the right, if you would like to read it.

We will always miss Oscar and think of him with happy thoughts.

A MESSAGE FROM OSCAR'S DADDY

2010-12-10T16:08:00.001+11:00

It is with great sorrow and regret that I must announce Oscar's passing. One week ago, a chest x-ray at the Carlton Vet revealed the severe building up of fluids in his lungs, most likely as a result of the tumor in his abdomen growing and causing some obstruction. (For those of you who are medically minded, you may like to know that Oscar's heavy breathing over the last few weeks does not appear to have been a side-effect of the mirtazapine after all.) Oscar had difficulty breathing, so much so that his respiratory rate was 80 breaths per minute.

Some palliative care was given, with the knowledge that it could only be a temporary measure; Dr Miller from the Carlton Vet drained some of the fluid from Oscar's lungs with a needle last Friday, and on Monday (the day after Pussy Galore II went back to her mother), he prescribed a diuretic medication called Frudix to help drain the fluid from the lungs. This improved Oscar's condition somewhat, to the point that by Wednesday his respiratory rate was about 40 (more comfortable, but still awfully fast). But Oscar lost his appetite, grew weaker and even thinner, had difficulty maintaining his balance when jumping and injured one of his paws, and continued to vomit whenever he strained in his litter box. I finally made the difficult decision that his quality of life had been too compromised and that euthanasia was the humane action.

This morning (Friday, December 10 in Australia) I called the Carlton Vet. Oscar spent a quiet and happy morning at home with myself and my partner Kevin; the sun was shining and we had just decorated the room for Christmas. Oscar slept a little in his basket, sat with us for a while on the couch and then on the floor and purred a little for us while we stroked him. Around midday Dr Craig Miller and nurse Melissa Horwood of the Carlton Vet kindly came to our house to administer euthanasia to Oscar. He was in familiar surroundings, on the couch where he spent most of his days, and was I at his side the whole time; I also held him in my arms as he fell asleep from the initial sedative. He was fifteen years and nine months old.

Oscar will be cremated, and his ashes will rest next to those of his brother Gerald on a shelf in our living room.

These are some of the last pictures I took of him (including his last couple days, when I let him outside in the backyard for the first time):

And this is the very last picture I was able to take of him:

When I first adopted Oscar at the Toledo Humane Society in May 1995, when he was only two months old, he had been raised by human hands after a woman in Ohio had found him and his litter-mates behind a Meijer's department store, after their cat mother had died giving birth. I spoke to the woman who had saved Oscar; all of Oscar's siblings had already been adopted, but nobody wanted Oscar because he was black. The woman begged me to adopt Oscar because she had promised her two kids (who were with her) that if Oscar didn't get adopted that day, then she would adopt him herself. And she begged me to please adopt this black cat, since she already have five pets! And I assured the woman that I wanted a black cat, and I promised that I would give Oscar a good life. And I really hope that I have.

I want to express my gratitude to everyone, human and animal, who followed Oscar's blog these past few years. I have always found great comfort in the kind words of strangers who love and care for animals. I also want to thank Oscar himself for being my beautiful and beloved companion for the past decade and a half. I loved him unconditionally, and he did the same for me. He will be sorely missed.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T20:00:00.008+11:00

Daddy and Uncle Kevin are extremely thankful on this Thanksgiving that my health has improved, cause ever since last night I've started acting more normal and I purred long and loud today for the first time in a few days.

And I'm feeling so much better because Daddy changed my appetite-medication back to Periactin. Daddy called Dr Craig at the Carlton Vet on Wednesday evening, and Dr Craig looked up a website about Mirtazapine, and it turns out that my behaviour that was scaring Daddy for the last few days—including my rapid breathing, anxiousness, and periods of spacing out when I would hang my head and stare at nothing—was all consistent with the side effects of Mirtazapine observed in other cats! And Dr Craig said that the antidote to Mirtazapine was none other than Periactin, so Daddy started giving that to me. And even though Periactin didn't stimulate my appetite last weekend, it might maintain my appetite from now on; we'll see. And Daddy took me to the Cartlon Vet again this morning to make sure my blood pressure was OK and the doctor said it was normal, so hurray!

And as for my periods of weakness when all I could do was lie on the floor and pant—that was probably due to the hot weather (it was almost 90 F each day), but now that the weather has changed and it's been raining and it has cooled down to the 60s outside, I have so much more energy and I'm back to my old bad habits like jumping up on the table to get Daddy's attention.

But the only bad thing is that I'm straining when I poo, but I don't think it's my anal glands again since those got cleaned out last week, so Daddy is going to call the vet again tomorrow to see what can be done.

Meanwhile Pussy Galore II is sweetening up to me and she's been avoiding me because she can tell that I've been feeling bad but yesterday evening she jumped up behind me and batted at my head with her paw cause she wanted me to play with her. I politely ignored her. Then at night when Daddy went to bed lo and behold PGII planted herself next to me in the living room:

But she's not exactly snuggling up to me or anything and that suits me fine.

So I'm so happy that I'm feeling better! And Daddy says that he bought a turkey for Thanksgiving and is planning to roast it tomorrow or Saturday and I can't wait cause I love the smell of turkey!

Another Oscar Update - and Pussy Galore is back!

2010-11-22T20:34:00.005+11:00

Hello everyone - I'm not feeling very good these days. Today is Monday and my appetite is very low and it's hot here in Melbourne and I'm very weak and bothered.

It was one week ago that Daddy gave me another Leukeran chemo pill, and at first I didn't show any change in my behaviour. Then on Tuesday night a visitor arrived, and it was Pussy Galore II. Remember her? She's with us for a couple weeks until her mommy comes back from overseas. I don't really mind, but PGII was not happy to see me, so on Tuesday night she spent the whole night in the upstairs den, and even though I went upstairs to say hello, she hissed and growled at me and hid behind Daddy's desk. Then on Wednesday Pussy Galore spent all day hiding under the bed in the bedroom, and in the evening she decided to plant herself by the upstairs banister outside the bathroom.

It wasn't until Thursday that she finally came downstairs, but she limited herself to the dining room, and she hid behind the curtains so she could look outside into the back yard.

On Thursday my appetite went down, and on Thursday night and all day Friday I had lots of trouble pooing and I would vomit after I pooed and this happened about three or four times. So that got Daddy really worried so that night he gave me a Cerenia pill to stop my vomiting, but it didn't help much because I was straining so much when pooing. And my poo on Friday night was really weird looking and covered with a bright brownish orange film. So I didn't feel good.

And I didn't see very much of Pussy Galore, since she spent most of the day sleeping in Daddy's closet in the bedroom, although she would occasionally run up and down the stairs, and she would lick water from the water fountain, all the time trying to ignore me.

And then Daddy took me to Carlton Vet on Saturday morning where Dr Craig felt my anal glands and saw that they were all swollen! So that's why I was straining when I pooed, and the brown film on my poo was probably from the glands. So he put rubber gloves on his hands and squeezed my anal glands to empty them out and I let out a little squeal since I felt I had no dignity left! And then Dr Craig prescribed me a new pill called Periactin which is an antihistamine that was supposed to stimulate my appetite. But it didn't work very well, and over the weekend all I ate were little bits of chicken that Daddy had cooked in a soup:

And Daddy also bought some milk that's designed for cats because it's lactose-free, so I drank a lot of that. But I didn't feel like eating anything else at all.

And it was on Saturday evening that Pussy Galore finally ventured into the living room (which is my domain) and spent a long time in the front bay window looking out at the front yard. And I felt very weak and energyless all weekend, so whenever she hissed at me, I just ignored her. But she's been hissing less and less.

So today is Monday and Daddy picked up a new medicine today called Mirtazapine which is a people-drug that people with cancer use so he actually picked it up at a pharmacy and it's an anti-depressant that is supposed to stimulate my appetite better. And Daddy boiled some more chicken around midday and I could smell it so I begged for some chicken and I ate about 1 tablespoon of cut-up chicken but that was about all I wanted. And all afternoon I've been hopping around from spot to spot trying to make myself comfortable, but it's so hot today that I just can't get comfortable, I'll sit on my pillow for about five minutes, and then I'll hop over to the arm of the sofa for another five, and then I'll jump to Uncle Kevin's chair, and then I'll stretch on the floor, and then I'll curl up in my basket, and then I'll wander into the kitchen where it's cool, and I can't make up my mind. And I haven't seen hide nor hair of Pussy Galore, who spent the entire day upstairs in Daddy's closet again. And I haven't vomited since Friday night, but I haven't pooed either, since I just haven't eaten enough to poo. And Daddy is very worried about me because I'm not eating very much, and every night before he goes to bed he sits with me and whispers sweet words into my ear and tries to get me to purr. And Daddy is hoping that the Mirtazapine will take its full effect tomorrow or Wednesday and get me eating again!

So if you're a kitty cat like me and you're reading my blog, send me healing purrs and pray for cooler weather that will be more comfortable than today!

I'm feeling so much better!

2010-11-11T18:28:00.001+11:00

Hello everyone! I feel so much better today after Daddy spent three whole days feeding me all sorts of yummy food. He went across the street to a convenience store and bought some gourmet cat food and finally found one that I really really like and it's the Dine brand Salmon & Chicken Pate. And he offered me a yummy about every two hours so I kept eating and eating and I gradually got my strength back and now I can jump up on the couch more easily and I stopped cocking my head to one side and I don't limp as much when I walk now.

And Daddy took me to the oncologist today and Nurse Naarah took my vitals and they were all normal including my temperature which she took by sticking that thermometer up my kitty bum and when she did it I turned my head to her ever so slowly and gave her my best look of disdain and everyone laughed because she says I always give her that look. And she put me on a scale and I weighed 4.6 kg (that's about 10 lbs 2 ounces) which means I've gained a little weight since Monday. And Dr Peter said that my tumour doesn't seem to have grown since he saw me two weeks ago, and that it's a mystery why I had such a setback last weekend, but he suggested that we wait a few more days for me to get my strength back, and then maybe on Monday give me one Leukeran pill and see how I react; and if I deal with it OK, we can wait another whole week to give me another pill; but if I react at all, at least we'll know whether chemo, even in a low dose, is likely to affect me. For the moment though I'm enjoying watching the birdies and sitting in the sunny bay window:

and sleeping in my basket:

And I've been very attached to the living room the last couple days and haven't left it at all, not even to climb the stairs, so daddy put my litter box downstairs so I don't have to attempt climbing the stairs until I get all my strength back. And Uncke Kevin says I have happy-kitty face instead of sad-and-sick kitty face. So I'm back to my old habits of lounging on my sofa in the evening, and even though I do look thin, I'm more alert than three days ago, and I'm purring loud!

And to celebrate, Daddy cooked a yummy potato and cheesy bake:

And I demanded a lick, so I got some!

So I'm so happy!

I'm Not Feeling Good

2010-11-08T21:23:00.000+11:00

I haven't been feeling so good ever since last weekend. After my last blog I was feeling a bit more normal, and I was eating well (lots of salmon!), and I would stretch my paws on my Kevin pillow at night:

And in the daytime I would curl up in my basket for my naps:

But then on Wednesday (November 3, which is when the results of the US election were coming in here in Australia, and I should know, because I sat on Uncle Kevin's lap while he watched the TV broadcast), Daddy gave me my first pill of Leukeran, which is that low dose of chemo I mentioned in my last blog. I'm supposed to get a pill every other day, so Daddy gave me a second pill on Friday just before he and Uncle Kevin headed off to Canberra for three nights while Uncle Nick and Auntie Fiona looked after me. But I didn't feel so good the whole weekend, and Uncle Nick and Auntie Fiona could tell that I was acting sore because I wouldn't eat very much and I was very weak. And Daddy and Uncle Kevin came back today with all sorts of stories about Canberra:

But I wasn't interested, and I started walking funny and had difficulty balancing on my back right leg (not the one that has the tumor), and I didn't feel like eating very much, even when Daddy offered me salmon. And I would cock my head at an angle when I walked, and I would always hold my chin down, so I looked weird. Daddy was so worried about me that he took me to the Carlton Vet, and Dr Craig gave me lots of reflex tests to make sure I didn't have some neurological problem, and he said that my reflexes were all very good, and he thinks I'm probably having another bad reaction to chemo, so Daddy didn't give me a third pill today, but he's going to wait to see if I start feeling better tomorrow. And Dr Craig gave me a shot of a medicine that should stimulate my appetite, 'cause everyone wants me to gain weight, since I dropped to 4.54 kg today! (That's only 10 pounds!)

But even though I walk funny, I still like to get up and try to walk around a bit, and I can still jump up on all the arms of the couches, so I'm still keeping myself moving. And Daddy got McDonalds for dinner and I wanted some of his chicken sandwich and Daddy was smart enough to share with me anything I like to eat! And after dinner I wanted to curl up in my Kevin pillow so bad, 'cause he was away for three whole nights, so the Kevin pillow was smart enough to oblige.

Thank you all you kitties and humans who have sent kind comments to my blog. It makes my Daddy so happy to know that there are so many animals and animal-lovers out there who care about animals that they're never even met. Daddy also wants everyone to know that, even though I'm not feeling good right now, he's watching me very carefully and making sure that I maintain a good quality of life...and that I get lots of Kevin pillow and salmon.

October Oscar Update

2010-10-30T23:03:00.002+11:00

Wow, so much has happened in the last month that I hardly know where to begin. At the moment I'm not feeling very well because the chemotherapy isn't shrinking my lump and I keep losing weight and now I weigh only 4.75 kg (which is about 10 and a half pounds) and we're not sure yet what my next treatment will be.

It all started a month ago when Uncle Kevin had his birthday on September 24, so Daddy bought him some balloons that I got to play with:

Then Daddy took me to the vet on September 30 after starving me all morning and I wasn't there five minutes before Doctor Peter measured my lump and said it hadn't shrunk any so he didn't want to give me any drugs that day until he investigated some other options so I got to go home! And I was so confused 'cause it made no sense for them to stick me in the cage and take me all the way to the vet and take my weight and then not do anything! But I got to eat lunch when I got home and then I napped on my Kevin pillow:

And since Uncle Kevin got presents, Daddy bought me a present too, which was a toy mouse that I politely ignored.

And on October 7 I got taken back to the oncologist and Dr Peter gave me a new chemo drug called Carboplatin that made me feel wonky for a whole week, and all I felt like doing was sitting in the window:

and sitting in the sun on the stairs:

And on October 14 Daddy took me to the Carlton Vet for the usual blood test a week after chemo, and it turned out OK; and then I started to get my appetite back and for the next week I was feeling pretty good. And I even had a visit from Indiana from next door:

and I started to sit in my uncle Kevin's lap again (and you can see the patch where the doctor shaved me to take a blood test)...

But on the evening of Oct 22 I started feeling weird and was drooling all night for no reason; I think it was because Daddy overfed me with some fish he was eating for dinner, 'cause I threw it up that night. On the next morning I felt back to normal, but then over the next few days I started losing more weight and didn't feel like doing much but sleeping. And when I would climb the stairs, I walked very slowly and sometime lost my balance; and when I would stand up on the arm of the sofa next to Daddy, it would sometimes wobble a little.

So when Daddy took me to the oncologist again on October 28, it was no surprise that my lump had grown some more, and that's why I'm losing weight, because cancer tumors drain all the energy from the rest of the body. So Dr Peter and Daddy talked a little bit about what to do next, and the doctor prescribed an anti-inflammatory called Metacam which Daddy has given me every day since then, and my appetite has been really good, and Daddy has been spoiling me with salmon from a can which taste delicious! And Daddy will call the oncologist on Monday to report on how well I'm doing, and maybe they can start giving me pills with low doses of chemo, and I think the idea is that these will target the blood supply of the tumor and get it to shrink that way, although it would happen very slowly, if it works at all. And Daddy is very worried about me because he doesn't like to see me weak and unhappy, but Uncle Kevin keeps telling him that I'm still eating good and I still sit on Daddy's lap each day and purr real loud and I still have lots of life left in me that I can spend showing my Daddy how much I love him.

Tomorrow is October 31 here in Australia, which is Halloween! And even though Aussies don't really celebrate Halloween, it's a very special day for black cats, so I expect to be worshiped!

Chemotherapy has resumed

2010-09-18T22:07:00.000+10:00

Well, I was right about the withholding of my food last week 'cause the next morning (which was a Thursday) I got stuffed in my cage and got taken to the vet and they did all sorts of things to me, or maybe I should say, what didn't they do to me? 'Cause first they shaved my belly and did an ultrasound and then they took my blood pressure and then they put little patches on me and did an electrocardiogram, and after all that they gave me chemotherapy! And I had a new doctor this time named Laura since Dr Peter was on vacation, and Laura and nurse Naarah gave me a different chemo drug this time called Mitoxantrone, which they hope will knock me around less than the Doxorubicin did. And they gave me less sedation than they did before, so I didn't feel as goofy this time when I got back home, but I did feel a little weird all the next day.

And here's what I look like after they shaved me in various places for my ultrasound and ECG:

And Laura said that the ECG shows that I have a heart murmur, which might be caused by one of the walls of my heart starting to harden, either with age or as a result of my high blood pressure; but she said the heart murmur wasn't "clinical" so it didn't prevent me from getting chemo again. And for the first few days after my chemo I felt awful and climbed the stairs very slowly and even felt a little dizzy when I got to the top, and I didn't want to eat very much at all, but Daddy and Uncle Kevin did coax me with some people-food like chicken and fish.

On Thursday night I was wide awake and couldn't settle down, and I was kinda the same on Friday, and I kept myself pretty quiet:

And occasionally I would stretch out next to the heater, but still be very quiet:

But on Friday night I crawled into bed with Daddy, which I haven't done for a long time, and I slept next to him the whole night without waking him, which I REALLY haven't done for a long time! But over the weekend I still didn't eat much and wasn't looking very good, and I did vomit twice, so Daddy got the vet to prescribe me some anti-nausea pills called Maxolon, which he was able to pick up on Tuesday, and ever since I took them, I started eating a bit more. And on Wednesday I just wanted to be held so I clung to Uncle Kevin's belly:

And when I wasn't on his belly, I was at the top of the stairs enjoying the sunshine:

And on Thursday morning my Daddy stuffed me in the cage again and took me to the Carlton vet where the doctor weighed me (I was 5.23 kg, which is about 11 and 1/2 pounds) and then she took my blood, but I didn't fuss this time. At least Daddy didn't have to starve me this time! And when I got back home, Daddy took the day off work and I sat on his lap ALL DAY, except for when he fed me more chicken.

And on Friday the vet called to Daddy to say my white blood count was fine, and they also did a test to see if my thyroid was acting up, and the result was negative, so my heart murmur isn't being caused by any thyroid problems. (I remember that my brother Gerald had thyroid problems many years ago and had to have radiation treatment; he was even radioactive for a week afterwards!). And on Friday I started feeling a bit better and I ate more and more hard kibble.

And today was Saturday and I was such a good kitty that Daddy gave more chicken in the evening, and I keep eating hard kibble and wet kibble, and Daddy and Uncle Kevin get more and more happy when they see me eat more and more. And I always drink plenty of water, too:

So tonight I curled up on the Kevin pillow and soaked up all his attention 'cause I'm a good kitty.

And Daddy and Uncle Kevin will watch me closely every day to make sure I'm recovering OK, and I'm due for another chemo treatment on September 30 but I remember Daddy saying he'd like to talk to the oncologist about switching to a different chemo treatment where I take a special chemo pill every day instead of a big intravenous treatment every three weeks; but I'm not sure what that's all about so I'll have to wait and see. In the meantime it's time for my evening nap, so good night all!

Oscar update

2010-09-08T23:43:00.001+10:00

It's been a long time since my Daddy updated my blog but that's because he's been enjoying my company and devoting himself so much to spoiling me that he hasn't had any time to type my blog. But I'll try to summarize all the things that have happened to me as best I can.

At the end of July Daddy took me to the Carlton Vet to have me weighed and have a urine test to make sure my kidneys weren't affected by the chemo I had. And I was furious when Daddy put me in the cage:

And I gave my most pitiful yell that sounded like a human child:

And when I finally came home and was let out of my cage I let Daddy have it and led him straight to the kitchen where I knew my wet kibble was hiding in the fridge...

And so he gave me the kibble and after I gobbled it down I made myself comfortable on my heated pad:

And Daddy was concerned that I had lost quite a lot of weight during my chemo, so he decided to give me a rest from it for about two months so I could get my strength back. And I sure liked that idea, so every morning I would wake up Daddy at 3.30 a.m. for my first breakfast and then again at 6.00 a.m. for my second breakfast, and then during the week Uncle Kevin would be home and give me my elevenses after my morning nap, and then my afternoon snack after my afternoon nap, and gradually I gained my weight back:

And every once in a while Indy would come walking through the backyard and I would want to see her:

And it got really COLD in July and August, since that's winter here, and it got so cold that some more MICE started coming into the house. And on August 1, which was a Sunday morning, Uncle Kevin actually caught a mouse in the kitchen, but I slept through the whole thing until I heard the mouse thrashing about inside a plastic fruit container.

And Uncle Kevin sat me down next to the mouse to see if I would be scared of it; and of course I wasn't, and whenever the mouse would run around in the box, I would bat at it with my paw; but if it stood still, I would just stare at it until I was bored with it. And in the end I got bored with it, so Uncle Kevin took it out to the park where he released the other two mice last year, and we haven't been bothered by any mice again since then.

And Daddy and Uncle Kevin had a very busy time in July and August, 'cause at the end of July they went to Sydney for a weekend, and in mid-August they had to fly to Hobart for a weekend; so both times our neighbours Auntie Fiona and Uncle Nick looked after us, and they were great 'cause they SPOILED me, and I especially liked Fiona because she's a girl and I don't have many girls that get to take care of me.

But I know that tomorrow I have to go to the doctor again since Daddy has already started withholding food from me so I can guess that something big is going to happen. So I'll write again after I find out what the very has in store for me.

I've lost some of my whiskers!

2010-07-17T20:30:00.012+10:00

The oncologist did say that I might lose my whiskers, and today I've started to lose a couple, and if you look closely at this next picture, you can see that I still have an eyebrow-whisker over my left eye, but I've lost the one over my right:

But I don't mind too much because not having all my whiskers doesn't interfere with my laptime:

And my Daddy took a video of me purring for him:

and a video of me sleeping, and I'm twitching which means I was dreaming about catching those birdies...

Which reminds me that it's time for me to take my afternoon nap...so goodbye for now...

A new Oscar update!

2010-07-13T22:58:00.023+10:00

Hello everyone! I haven't had a blog for a long time but you can blame my Daddy for taking so long to write it. It's been three weeks now since I had my third chemotherapy treatment and I'm actually feeling pretty good although I've been losing weight and sometimes I don't have the greatest appetite. The tumor on my leg has really shrunk but three weeks ago when I was at the vet the doctor told us that the nodule inside me next to my abdomen hasn't shrunk at all, although it hasn't grown either. And the doctor said it might be a good idea to give my body a break which is why I didn't get dragged to another chemo treatment today.

On May 23 our neighbors Nick and Fiona gave me a new toy to play with, and a whole twelve days had passed since my first chemo so I was feeling much better and more energetic so I played with the toy a lot:

And in these pictures you can see where the fur on my side had started to grow back after my cat scan:

Then on May 30, the day before my second chemo, I had a surprise visit from Indiana, and we had a conversation through the front door:

Then on June 1 I got scooped up and taken to my second chemo treatment, and yet again they gave me a sedative 'cause I was a real pest and pulled out the tube they tried to put in my paw, and then I pulled out the next tube they tried on a different paw, and after they finally gave me the drugs I stopped fussing, and they were able to put the doxorubicin into my veins. And I was feeling really wonky when I got home and all I could do was stare into space like this:

And I was wide awake for about 24 hours and didn't eat hardly anything and then the next day I took a couple naps and gradually got my appetite back but I didn't have a poo until my third day home and Daddy even called the doctor to find out if it was normal for me not to poo, and shortly after he got off the phone, I pooed. I got better and better, so that by the next week I felt like curling up in Uncle Kevin's lap like this:

And then on a Sunday morning, June 13, Indy came by again and I ran behind the drapes to see her:

and she was there!

And then she went away:

And another week went by and I noticed something scurrying behind the living room chair and it was a mouse! And not only that, he had a friend! And Daddy tried to take a picture of the mice when they hid behind the filing cabinet, and he got a photo of the one, like this:

And then on the morning of Tuesday June 22 I got taken to the vet again for my third chemo treatment and they sedated me again and I felt wonky again; and when I came home my legs were really wobbly and all I could do was lie on my rump and stare into space:

but Daddy bought me a heated pad for me to sit on so I would stay warm (since it was getting VERY COLD in Melbourne now that it's winter). And I got very attached to it:

But I hurt my hip somehow, and even when the sedation wore off, I still had a really bad limp, although that didn't stop me from running down the stairs, like you can see in these videos:

So Daddy took me to the Carlton vet on the Friday and the doctor prescribed me an anti-inflammatory and it was a liquid that Daddy mixed with some ice cream that he gave me as a treat each day for four days, and I felt all better. But I WASN'T thrilled with those mice being in my house, so for the last few weeks I've slept downstairs all night in the living room looking over my domain and making sure those mice don't come back. And Uncle Kevin found a hole at the back of the stove in the kitchen and bunged it up with some steel wool and ever since then the mice haven't come back inside; but Daddy saw a mouse run underneath the front of the house, so there might be rodents living just underneath the floor for all we know!

So it's been over three weeks now since my chemo, and Daddy's letting me have a break from it, since I've lost a lot of weight and he wants me to gain some of it back. He took me to the Carlton Vet again on July 9 and I had a urine test which proves that my kidney disease is stable and hasn't been worsened at all by the chemo; but my weight was only 5.28 kg (that's only 11 and a half pounds), which means I've lost at least a whole kilo since I was first diagnosed with a tumor, and the doctors don't know if that weight loss is because of my disease or the chemo; and even if my appetite has been good in general, the thing about tumors is that they absorb a lot of the energy that we eat, so I could be eating like a pig and still lose weight. So Daddy's taking me to the Essendon airport vet again next Tuesday for an ultrasound to see how the nodules inside me look at the moment.

So, some days I feel really sleepy and all I do is snooze:

And other days I feel perky and beg for people food:

And most evenings I lounge on my heated pad in the living room and sleep with my eyes open:

And sometimes I have a good catnap:

But I'm still here! And I know that my Daddy and Uncle Kevin love me, and they're doing their best to take care of me. I'm so thankful to all the blog readers who have sent me messages of good wishes.

Oscar Update

2010-05-20T22:23:00.006+10:00

It's been nine days now since my chemo and I feel very good. On the third and fourth days after the chemo, I started feeling a bit out of sorts and ate less kibble than I usually do; and on Saturday morning I got Daddy a little worried because I woke him up in the middle of the night and three times I jumped into the tub next to the faucet and each time Daddy let the water drip but I just sat there and stared at it and didn't drink anything. And after coaxing me for over half an hour Daddy finally got me to eat some wet kibble; and then I climbed into my cat tree and sat there and stared at Daddy:

but I never had any diarrhea or any vomiting, and after a couple days I got my full appetite back, and for the last few days I've been very energetic and even playing with some ribbon:

And I've been eating kibble and drinking water from my fountain:

Then I had another visit to the Carlton Vet on Wednesday afternoon, and Dr Miller took a measurement of the lump on my leg and it hasn't grown any further, which is good, and he took my weight, and I had lost quite a bit of weight, since I'm now only 5.92 kg (which is about 13 pounds), which means I've lost almost a whole pound since my biopsy all those weeks ago, but the doctor wasn't terribly surprised since most animals do lose some weight after chemo because we lose our appetites. And then the doctor wanted to take a blood sample from me, and he took those electric clippers and shaved my neck AGAIN, just when I had almost finished growing my fur back there! And I was so tired of having doctors poke at me that I threw a proper fit when Dr Miller tried to take my blood, and I hissed and I yowled like my brother Gerald used to, so the nurse had to put me in that burlap bag again, and I wriggled my head out of the hole in the bag since I didn't want them to get me, but I couldn't escape them, and they got my blood in the end. But Uncle Kevin congratulated me for showing that I had some gumption, and he would have been more worried if I had been docile for the doctor, and I'm sure the doctor would have preferred me docile, but I'm feeling well enough these days to make everyone know that I am sick of vets!

And the vet called Daddy today to say that my blood test came back OK and there were no adverse reactions to the chemo, so my next chemo session will be on Tuesday June 1, which is a little less than two weeks away. Meanwhile Daddy is spoiling me with chicken treat and fishy treat and long snuggles and kibble on demand...

And I still have my whiskers!

My First Day After Chemo

2010-05-12T23:30:00.003+10:00

Yesterday was my big day at the Melbourne Veterinary Referral Centre because I went there to have my first chemotherapy treatment. And Daddy had to starve me after the midnight before because I wasn't supposed to eat anything in case they had to anesthetize me, so I was meowing all morning begging for food. And Daddy came home early from work and at 3:00 he picked me up and put me in my cat carrier and I yowled because I knew something was up, and I remembered that the last time I was in the carrier was exactly a week ago when I spent the whole night at the Glen Waverly clinic. But this time I only had to go to the clinic at Essendon airport, and at 3:30 the nurse took me into the consulting room (and here's a picture from the Centre's website):

and some people came in, but I didn't recognize them because they had gloves and masks on (like these pictures, also from the Centre's website):

but I think one of them was doctor Peter, and the other might have been that nice nurse Naarah; and they put a tube (a catheter) into my front left paw, and I hated it so much that I bit it and pulled it out! And they decided I needed a sedative to calm me down, so they gave me a shot of something that made me feel all wonky, and then they put a new catheter in my front right paw, and I sat still for twenty minutes while a strong-smelling chemical called Doxorubicin went into my paw. But they sat with me the whole time and petted me and I felt nice and relaxed. And at about 4:30 they brought me back into the waiting room where Daddy and Uncle Kevin were sitting and waiting for me, and I swear they reminded me of pink elephants, 'cause that sedative was still making me feel weird. Then Daddy's friend Andrew picked us up in his car, and when we got home, I climbed out of my carrier and walked around, but my back legs kept stumbling because I was feeling really really wonky, but even so, I made my way to my food dish and tried to eat some hard kibble (I hadn't eaten all day!), but I couldn't remember how my tongue works so I kept dropping the kibble out of my mouth! So Uncle Kevin got me some soft kibble, and I managed to eat that up very slowly, and for the next five hours I didn't feel like doing anything except sitting next to my food dish with my chin on top of my hard kibble. And Daddy sat with me for a long time and watched over me while my sedative wore off. But I never threw up and I never passed out or anything. And by about midnight I was more alert, and made a little poo, and I felt like sitting downstairs in the living room and making sure nothing had changed in my domain.

And this morning I sat in my basket in the living room next to the heater (it got really cold last night! It got down to 6° Celsius outside; that's only about 43° F. That's cold!) and slept a little bit; and I drank some water out of the tub, and then I sat in the sun, too, like this:

And Daddy came home early again, around 12:00, to watch me this afternoon while Uncle Kevin worked downtown. And I sat in Daddy's lap for a while and purred, like this:

but you can see from the video that I was kinda staring into space, since I didn't feel too terrific. And Daddy was making sure that I wasn't throwing up, and that I wasn't going off my food, and that I was drinking plenty of water. And I didn't really like the taste of my wet kibble, but I ate dry kibble a few times this evening and drank water from the tub three times, 'cause I wanted to show Daddy that I was being a good kitty, and he got take-away chicken for dinner and gave me some chicken yummy as my reward!

And doctor Peter said that the first 24 hours after chemo are the critical time, and I've done very well; but he also said that the third day after chemo could be another time when I might start to feel sick (he said something about my cells regenerating at that point), so Daddy and Uncle Kevin will be watching me closely from now on. And doctor Peter said that my whiskers will fall out because of the chemo, but my fur will be OK. And I'll miss my whiskers! After all, we kitties use our whiskers to find our way through strange places in the dark, or to sense vibrations from people and rodents and vehicles passing by. So I'm not looking forward to losing them. But it hasn't happened yet, so for now, I should try to get a good night's sleep and hopefully I'll feel less wired tomorrow.

And thank you to everyone who read my blog and sent me good wishes (especially you, Huffle!); it made me and my Daddy very happy to hear from so many animals and pet-people in cyberspace.

Oscar Update

2010-05-07T19:00:00.000+10:00

It's Friday here in Australia and it's been just over 48 hours since I came home from the oncologist, and since then I've been slowly getting back to my routine. Daddy talked to the oncologist yesterday and scheduled my first chemotherapy treatment for Tuesday afternoon, and even though he could have scheduled it right away for today, Daddy wanted me to have a few days to rest at home and enjoy my routine a little more before going back to that hospital AGAIN, and I'm glad he did 'cause it's taken me this long to feel like my normal self again.

On the night that I came home I was really wide awake after all that anesthesia and I caused my Daddy some anxiety when I woke him up at 5.00 a.m. and made him follow me around the house, 'cause first I led him to food dish with the hard kibble, and he gave me some fresh food, but I wouldn't eat it, and then I hopped into the bathtub next to the faucet and he let some water drip for me, but I sat there for three minutes and wouldn't drink, so then Daddy led me downstairs and gave me a wet kibble snack, but I looked at it and wouldn't eat it, and then finally I walked into the living room and showed Daddy the big spot on the floor where I had thrown up and the little spot where I threw up only a little, and Daddy wiped it all up, but he still didn't know what I wanted, so he led me upstairs again, and I hopped into the bathtub, and Daddy let the water drip, but I still wouldn't drink, and he sat there and watched me for five whole minutes while I refused to drink, and finally Daddy led me downstairs again and opened a fresh new can of kibble and I did eat a little bit of that because it was nice and fresh. But Daddy was worried about me because I still hadn't pooed in my litter box even after being home for several hours and having a big dinner; and even after eating this fresh food, I didn't poo. And after a little while I came upstairs and hopped onto Daddy's bed and Daddy gave me a body rub all over and eventually he went back to sleep and I slept at his side for a little while, and when he woke up he found me in the front room in my kitty tree curled up on top, like this:

And Daddy and Uncle Kevin had to leave really early for work, and I ate a little more wet food as they were stepping out the door, but Daddy got worried about me again so he came back to check on me, but I was fine, and he watched me sleep in my kitty tree for another half hour. And I woke up when Uncle Kevin came home after midday and we kept each other company during the afternoon. And when Daddy came home in the evening I ate some more, but I still hadn't pooed. So I spent the evening on my green pillow in the living room and spent some time on the Kevin pillow and tried to get my groove back with my routine.

And this morning I woke up for breakfast then took a morning nap in my basket by the window where the birdies feed while Uncle Kevin worked at his computer, and it felt good:

But I still didn't poo, and it wasn't until 2:30 today--almost 48 hours after I had anesthesia in the hospital--that I finally made a big poo in my litter box, and Uncle Kevin was so happy! And then Daddy came home from work early to see how I was, and he gave me some early dinner, and when I had finished licking my lips I jumped into Kevin's office chair and sat like this:

And Uncle Kevin didn't want to disturb me so he brought Daddy's office chair down from upstairs and sat on that, so he wouldn't have to move me. And Daddy joked that I was re-establishing my dominance over the household, and I said, "What do you mean 're-establishing'? I never lost my dominance over this household! I have always been and always will be the master of this home." And Daddy admitted that I was right.

And I want to thank SO MUCH all the animals and friends from all over the world who sent comments to my blog, so my heartfelt thanks go to Keiko, Kenji & Pricilla (in Adelaide); kittens Fui, Suey and Lishy (in Sydney); Julie and Poppy Q (across the Tasman in New Zealand); Kim with Annie, Nicki, Derry, and "angel" Chumley (Canada); Felix, Kona Kitty, Tiny Johnson, The Baby, Maui, Rupert, Sweet Pea, May Ling, Grayce, Scouty, CC, Salem, and their Mom from the Katnip Lounge (USA); the puppy Suja (also in the USA); Whicky Wuudler and his mates, and Ginger Jasper (all in the U.K.); KC, Missy Blue Eyes, Faith Boomerang, Sol, Smokey, BJ, and their Mom ML (Texas); Rusty, Cyndi, Crystal, Cameron, Cotton, Percy, Merci, Buddy & Samaritan (at Jan’s Funny Farm in Georgia); Junior and Orion (Utah); The Island Cats (Michigan); Zippy, Sadie and Speedy (Wisconsin); puppies Phantom, Thunder, and Ciara (Kansas); Artemisia, Fenris, Socks & Scylla; Cat Mandu; Sparkle the Designer Cat; 'Kaika and the Yosemite cats; and The Cats of Wildcat Woods; and thanks to everyone else I might have missed; and a very special meow of thanks to Huffle Mawson here in Melbourne, who told readers of her blog to visit mine, and who suggested that I ask for ham. The thoughts and purrs of all of you are very helpful and encouraging (especially for my humans) during this time. All of us in my household appreciate it very much.

As I'm writing this, Daddy is cooking a potato-cheese bake in the oven and the smell is driving me crazy! So I might ask for cheese instead of ham.

Back from the oncologist

2010-05-05T22:11:00.009+10:00

I'm back from the Melbourne Veterinary Referral Centre after over a day away from home and unfortunately the news is not good, because a chest scan and an MRI showed that the tumor on my back leg is not the only tumor inside me, because I have what they call a "nodule" in my lung and another in my abdomen, and the big tumor on my leg is so big that it's close to my spine so it would be very difficult to remove it without amputating my pelvis and my leg, and Daddy doesn't want to put me through that, so I'll be going back to the specialist vet again next week to talk about chemotherapy treatment or other care for my cancer.

I'm home now and I'm happy to be home and I'm feeling sprightly and active after all the tests I got put through. And it all started on Tuesday morning at 9.00 when Daddy and Uncle Kevin took me to the Melbourne Veterinary Referral Centre at Essendon Airport, and a nice nurse named Naarah took my vitals (including my heartbeat, my breathing rate, and of course that thermometer up my kitty bum!) and it was all normal and she said I was a handsome cat (which I am, of course!), and then a nice doctor named Peter the oncologist came in and felt me all over, especially the tumor on my leg, and I didn't fuss hardly at all, and then he asked Daddy some questions about me. And doctor Peter explained that the tumor I had (what he called a "sarcoma") was likely to be one of two types: either what he called "spontaneous", which older cats like me get sometimes, and no one knows how they begin; or what he called an "injection-site sarcoma," which is common in American cats like me who used to receive rabies injections, and even though I haven't had a rabies shot in nine years, sometimes kitty bodies will react to something in the vaccine many many years after they had the shot. And doctor Peter wasn't sure which type of tumor I had, but injection-site sarcomas are bad and more aggressive; and he said he would get in touch with the pathologist who analysed my biopsy last week and get an opinion on what kind of sarcoma it was, because it might influence the choice of treatment. But meanwhile I should have some tests to see if there were any other signs of cancer inside my body, since a big tumor on the outside of my leg could mean smaller tumors on the inside.

So Daddy authorized the doctors to do a chest scan and then an MRI, which had to be done at the Referral Centre's facility in Glen Waverly (many miles away!), but nurse Naarah said that the Referral Centre staff could transport me; so Daddy left me with the nurses in the Essendon centre around 11.00 and later in the day I was transported to Glen Waverly in their "ambulance" and then they gave me some anesthetic and shaved my belly (so that I look like this):

and they did a chest scan and discovered the lump in my lung, and that changed my prognosis, since having a lump in my lung means that surgery on my leg wouldn't cure all my disease. Then I woke up a bit, and doctor Peter phoned my Daddy and asked if he still wanted an MRI done on me, and Daddy said yes, so they gave me anesthesia again and when I woke up it was too late in the evening to go back to Essendon, so I spent the night at the Glen Waverly centre with a tube in my paw to make sure I had fluids; but I was wide awake and charmed the nurses and meowed every time they walked by me (they had 24-hour nurse care at the Centre). Meanwhile Dr Peter phoned Daddy a couple times about the initial results of the MRI, which showed the condition of my abdomen, and how my leg tumor was so close to my spine; and Daddy made an appointment for 3.30 pm on Wednesday (that was today!) to meet with the surgeon to get the full explanation of my scans. And I spent the morning at Glen Waverly and the ambulance transported me back to Essendon in the early afternoon and I was so excited because I knew I'd get to see my Daddy again! And the nurse who brought me on the ambulance paid me such a complement when she told Naarah, "I want this cat!" because she said I was so well-behaved and friendly, and she loved the color of my eyes. And the nurses put me and my cat carrier inside a big cage, and sometimes I sat in my carrier, and sometimes I curled up in the litter pan they had in the cage (I mean, the pan was just the right size to curl up in!), and I always meowed when someone walked by because I love the attention.

And at 3.30 that nice nurse Naarah brought me into the consulting room, and Daddy and Uncle Kevin were there, and when they opened my carrier I leapt out and wanted to explore the whole room, and a nice doctor named Simon the surgeon came in and explained to Daddy what my scans meant while I ran around and played with Uncle Kevin. And basically Simon the surgeon recommended that Daddy not make me have surgery on my leg tumor, since it would be too aggressive and unlikely to be curative, since I have these two other nodules in my body, and maybe even other things they couldn't detect; and he also said that these results were consistent with the "injection-site sarcoma" that doctor Peter the oncologist had mentioned; so the best course of action would be to go back to doctor Peter and discuss treatments like chemotherapy.

And Daddy and Uncle Kevin brought me home, and the first thing I did is run up the stairs and make a pee in my litter box. And then I asked Daddy to give me some wet kibble, and then I got him to give me hard kibble; and at dinnertime he spoiled me with a fishy treat:

And then Daddy hugged me and confessed that he and Uncle Kevin had spent a lot of time last night crying, and they said they love me and want to make my routine as normal as possible, so I hopped right to it and planted myself on my green pillow:

And while I was there, Daddy gave me a yogurt treat:

And then I sat on my Kevin pillow for a long time:

And I was wide awake most of the evening, just like I was on the night after my biopsy, but now I'm getting sleepy after such an exhausting day. I don't know what the future will bring and I don't know when (or if) I'll start feeling sick, but for now I'm so glad to be back in my home after over 30 hours away in a hospital having tests, and tomorrow when I wake up I'm going to sleep in my basket in the window and watch the birdies gather at birdfeeder. And I want to thank all my furry friends who read my blog and have sent me such kind messages and good wishes; it means a lot to me and especially to my Daddy.

My Results from the Vet

2010-05-01T12:12:00.003+10:00

I went to the vet again on Friday because it looked like my stitches were coming apart, but it turns out they weren't; but the results of my biopsy came back and it wasn't the greatest news, because the nurse said that I do have a cancerous tumor which is of the "intermediate" kind, which means that it needs to be removed and that surgery could cure it if the surgeons are able to remove the whole thing; but since they can't do that kind of operation at the vet, Daddy had to make an appointment with a specialist "oncologist" veterinarian (that's a tumor-doctor) for Tuesday morning. And the oncologist has a consulting office in the "Melbourne Veterinary Referral Centre" at Essendon Airport, and they use the same facilities as the Emergency Animal Hospital where my brother Gerald spent his last days all those years ago. So I hope it doesn't bring back bad memories for my Daddy; it shouldn't, since Daddy didn't cry when he went there more recently with Pussy Galore that time that her tail got stepped on.

And I'm trying to convince my Daddy and Uncle Kevin not to worry about me, since there's nothing they can do until I meet with the oncologist; and as for me, I still feel happy and energetic, and I insist on maintaining my daily routine, which includes sitting in the sun on the stairwell:

and eating a yummy treat in the sun:

and watching the birdies:

and sitting on my Kevin pillow in the evening:

So on Tuesday the doctor will have some recommendations about what to do to me next (if anything); and until then, I'm going to enjoy the sunshine:

My return from the vet

2010-04-28T18:19:00.004+10:00

I'm back from my ordeal at the vet and I'm SO glad to be home! Last night Daddy didn't feed me any food after 8.00 pm and I spent the whole night beside myself because I was STARVING and I pawed and pawed at Daddy's leg and I jumped up on the sofa and knocked things off the bookshelves to get Daddy's attention and I meowed and I meowed but Daddy wouldn't give me any food. So when Daddy got up this morning and still didn't feed me, I could tell something was up, and at about 9.00 am Uncle Kevin scooped me up and petted me and talked gently to me and he carried me closer to my cat carrier and I said "NO!" and I REFUSED to get inside that carrier, but Uncle Kevin finally managed to shove me in, and we got on the tram and got to the vet, and the nurse wanted to examine me, and this time I REFUSED to LEAVE my carrier, but they pulled me out, and then the nurse poked and prodded me and stuck that stupid thermometer in my bum again, and when she was done I made a beeline for my carrier, and I stayed there for a few hours until they were ready to operate on me. And they gave me some anethesia and I fell asleep and when I woke up I had stitches on my left side and a big patch of shame where they shaved lots of fur, and I had a pink bandage on my front right paw where an IV tube had been. And they gave me a special pain-killer called methadone which was a kind that wouldn't affect my kidneys. And the doctors also gave me some food, and I was starving, so I gobbled down a bunch of wet kibble. And at about 5:oo pm Daddy and Uncle Kevin came to pick me up, and we went home on the tram, and as soon as Daddy opened the door of my carrier, I zoomed straight upstairs and went to my litter box in the bathroom and had a big poo. And then I walked into the front room where I have a smaller litter box, and there I had a big pee, and Daddy was silly enough to take my picture:

And then Daddy gave me a scoop of hard kibble and I helped myself:

And then I noticed that my dish of wet kibble wasn't downstairs, so I meowed and convinced Daddy to give me some wet kibble as well. And then I settled down onto the couch on my green pillow and got back to my routine of evening relaxation:

And I have to go back to the vet in 10 days to have the stitches out. And the vet took out a small chunk of that tumor, about the size of a small lump of sugar, and it will take between three to seven days for it to be analysed, and then they'll know whether I need to come back again and have surgery to remove the whole tumor. But until then all I can do is relax and get myself back to normal...

I have to visit the vet yet again!

2010-04-27T18:37:00.006+10:00

I had to go back to the vet again last Wednesday because Daddy noticed a lump growing on my back left leg and he had never noticed this lump before and he would know since he gives me a body rub every night. So Uncle Kevin popped me in my cat carrier on Wednesday morning (since Daddy had to work) and took me to that doctor I saw only a week before, and the doctor took out some electric clippers and shaved over the lump, and then he took a needle and did what he called a "needle biopsy" which meant he stuck a hollow needle into the lump two or three times with a digging motion and tried to catch some of the cells inside the needle; but to my great surprise it didn't hurt at all and I didn't make any fuss. And the doctor said that it's not unusual for older cats to get lumps, and some lumps grow very fast (like this one did!), but it's important to find out what kind of lump it is since some lumps can be very bad if left untreated; but other kinds of lumps can be left untouched. And now I have shame on my side in addition to the shame on my neck, so now I look like this!

And the doctor phoned on Friday with the results and said that the needle biopsy showed "spindle cells" which are cells that can show up in "fatty tumors" which are a kind of tumor that is bad if it's not removed. But the needle biopsy was also inconclusive, so I have to go back to the vet again tomorrow (Wednesday) for a different kind of biopsy where they will give me some anesthesia and then cut a small portion of the tumor out so they can examine it. And then, if it ends up being a bad kind of tumor, I'll have to go back to the vet one more time for surgery. So Daddy is being very strict with me tonight and not allowing me to eat anything after 8.00 pm because I'm not allowed to have a full stomach when they give me anesthesia.

And Daddy and Uncle Kevin are naturally very worried about me, but I keep telling them not to worry about me at all, because I don't feel sick, and I have a healthy appetite and lots of energy and I'm not in any pain, so there's no reason for them to upset themselves about what the doctor might find. As for me, I stick my to daily routine of looking at the birds through the window:

and licking myself in the sun at the top of the stairs:

and examining all the orchids that Uncle Kevin brought inside the house last night:

but I was a VERY good kitty and didn't bother the plants at all. So as a reward I get to sit on the Kevin pillow on the night before my biopsy:

Another Trip to the Vet!!

2010-04-12T14:35:00.012+10:00

Daddy took me to the vet last week for a blood test and it was awful! I was sitting in the living room enjoying my morning nap when Daddy scooped me up and petted me all over and tried to make me feel all cuddly but I could tell something was up when I saw my cat carrier on the floor and Daddy stuck me inside and closed the door behind me. But I'm an intelligent cat so I knew this could only mean one thing: the vet! So I pawed at the door and begged to be let out:

And I let out the most miserable yowl I could think of:

And then Daddy thought, "Why don't I take a video of Oscar so I can post it on his blog?" But I said, Forget the camera, Daddy, and get me outta here! Please!

But of course we ended up going to the vet anyway. And the doctor took my blood pressure with that awful machine that pinches the base of my tail; and then he took blood samples from my chin, so he had to SHAVE my chin and then he took two needles' worth of blood while the nurse pinned me down. But I was a good kitty this time and didn't channel Gerald or hiss and fight like I did before (although I did wiggle a lot).
And Daddy put me back in my carrier and set me down in the waiting room in front of a glass cage full of kittens that were up for adoption. And the kittens were adorable! Then the hospital cat, Kofi, who's a tuxedo-cat about eight years old, came up to me to say hello, but I wasn't in the mood to have him gawk at my shame, so I hissed at him.
And when I got back home and Daddy sprung me from my cat carrier, I ran straight to the middle of the living room floor next to my toy mouse and took back ownership of my domain (and you can see a bit of the shame on my chin in this picture):

And later that evening Daddy had chicken for dinner and he rewarded me with a chicken treat for all the vet drama I went through:

And after dinner I prepared for my evening nap on the living room couch (can you see my shame again?):

And since that day, things have gone back to normal. Every morning I take a morning nap in the living room in my basket next to my plant (and I usually sleep, unless some busy-body like Daddy insists on taking my picture):

And if the weather is sunny, at midday I hop upstairs to sit in a sunbeam and watch the rainbows made by the crystals hanging in the window:

And when Daddy and Uncle Kevin come home at night, they give me dinner, and then I have my evening nap on the living room couch:

And Daddy says that the results of my blood tests are that my kidney disease is stable, which is good news, since it means it's not getting any worse, so I can sleep without any worrying dreams.

Another Happy Day at Oscar's House

2010-04-02T23:30:00.005+11:00

Yesterday was Maundy Thursday here in Australia, which meant that when Daddy came home, he knew he had a long weekend off (since Good Friday and Easter Monday are holidays), which means he can spend all weekend spoiling me. And Uncle Kevin will be home, too, so they can spoil me together! But on Thursday night they weren't paying quite enough attention to me, so I had to remind them of their solemn duty to spoil me whenever they're home, and since Daddy was spending far too much time on the computer at the start of his holiday, I jumped up onto the shelf in Daddy's office, and he thought taking my picture with the flash would encourage me to jump down, but little did he know that my eyes would glow with magic:

And I admit I was a little freaked out by the flash at first, but I refused to be intimidated, because it was my plan all along to tease Daddy into standing up and fetching me...

and when he just kept taking pictures, I politely ignored him:

But he finally took the hint and gave me some kitty kibble; and after all that, I had to clean myself:
And then I camped down on my Kevin pillow (which is Uncle Kevin's lap) for a nice long snooze, and when I woke up, Daddy took these adorable photos:

And then today, which is Good Friday, I spent all day getting Daddy to spoil me, and he did an excellent job. I got lots of kibble, and lots of lap time, and Indiana even came into the backyard for a visit and another contest of yowling. And in the evening I spent over an hour on the Kevin pillow, and I ended the day with a drink of water out of the tub:

So that was my Good Friday. Good, yes?

Palm Sunday at Oscar's

2010-03-28T16:16:00.004+11:00

A million thanks to all those animals and humans who sent a message to my blog and wished me Happy Birthday! I had a whole 27 messages from animal friends and their owners from all over the world. It was so exciting to meet new friends and to learn that there are so many kitties and puppies and animal-loving humans in cyberspace! There were bloggers from the USA (including Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Missouri, Kansas, Texas, Utah, New Mexico, Oregon and California, to name a few!), plus bloggers from the U.K., Canada, and even here in Melbourne! Thanks very much to everyone.

Today was Palm Sunday here in Australia, which unfortunately didn't mean that anything was all that different around my house. When I used to live in Michigan and Daddy would go to a Palm Sunday church service, he would bring home the palm fronds for me and Gerald to chew on, or he'd turn them into a cat toy and tease with them. But I haven't touched a palm frond in ages, so today I had to content myself with watching birdies. And there were LOTS of them just outside my bay window since Daddy refilled the birdfeeder:

But of course, every time Daddy tried to take their picture, the birdies flew away. So I said, Stop scaring away my birdies, Daddy!

It was pretty cloudy all morning with a bit of rain; but the sun did come out occasionally, and when it did, Daddy decided to spoil me and put my food on the stairwell so I could eat and sunbathe at the same time:

But the sun didn't last long, so when I was done, I went back downstairs and gave myself a mouth-lick and post-meal bath on the couch:

And that was my day. So much work for a fifteen year old kittycat!

It's My Birthday!

2010-03-17T19:11:00.008+11:00

It's March 17 and it's my birthday! Happy Birthday to me! I'm 15 years old today which Daddy says makes me a really old kitty, and I'm definitely the oldest cat I know in this neighbourhood. And Daddy spoiled me this evening with a chicken treat as my birthday present. But since it was my birthday, I decided I could spend my morning any way I wanted, and this was what I wanted: I sat in the sunshine in the living room bay window...

in my own private forest (actually, it's just that old houseplant), and I looked out the window and watched the birdies in the birdfeeder:

And then I took my morning nap:

And then when the sun changed position to the top of the stairs, I followed it for my early afternoon nap:

Then I went exploring in Daddy's office and tried to encourage him to clean up his stuff by rubbing my face all over his boxes:

And to show his gratitude for my helpfulness, Daddy gave me that chicken treat I mentioned. And that's how I spent my birthday. Happy birthday to me!

Another visit from Indiana

2010-03-08T23:09:00.002+11:00

Indy came to visit me again yesterday and this time she came to the front door!

And when I walked up to say hello, she growled and hissed at me for some reason, even though all I was doing was saying hello. And she reminded me so much of Pussy Galore who always hissed at me whenever I walked into the room. Maybe it's a girl thing. I got bored with her hissing, though, so I just walked back into the comfort of my living room:

And I had a nice stretch in the sun...

And Indy busied herself with exploring the jungle that is our front lawn:

And then I got curious and started looking for her again...

But she had disappeared, so I took a nap on my Kevin pillow:

And that was my day yesterday. So much work!

Oscar needs to learn how to type

2010-03-05T20:57:00.000+11:00

My Daddy is so mean! He's been so busy ever since he went back to work in January that he says he hasn't had any time to update my blog and when I told him I have all these friends who wonder what I'm doing, he said I need to learn how to type. Well, gee, Daddy, talk to the Apple Company about making a computer keyboard that works with paws (they can call it iPaws or iKitty). So I kept giving Daddy a hard stare until he finally gave in and agreed to take my dictation and post this blog. But I've promised to keep it brief, so here goes:

Here's a picture that Daddy took when I was shaking my head. It makes me look like a cartoon!

I've had such an amazing past couple months. My neighbor Indiana comes by almost every day, and whenever I hear the bell she wears, I wait by the back door and poof up my tail:

And sometimes she sits in the garden and growls at me:

And one time she gave me a real mouthful!

And one time Daddy tried to tease me and let Indy walk into the room...

But I was not impressed, so I went to my food dish and guarded it from Indiana:

And when she left, I took my morning nap:

at least, until Daddy woke me up...

because he wanted me to see that Indiana was climbing a tree...

but I wasn't interested, so I just went back to sleep...

And that's been my life for the last couple months! Now if only Daddy would take my dictation more often...

Another Heat Wave in Melbourne!

2010-01-11T22:20:00.006+11:00

I'm so hot and bothered! The temperature in Melbourne reached 42° C today (that's about 107° F, which is more than I ever had to endure in Michigan) and Daddy and Uncle Kevin left the house around noon so they could hike it to the shopping mall called Melbourne Central and live in air conditioning all day, but they couldn't take me along so I had to stay in the flat all day and there's no air con here and it was so hot that all could do was curl up in the corner and sleep. And they finally got home about 8:30 pm and it was still about 38° outside (that's about 100° F!!!) and it didn't get much cooler when the sun set, so after Daddy gave me my dinner I sat in front of the fan in the living room like this:

And I know it doesn't look like the fan was moving (after all, this is a still photo), but believe me, it was blowing on full speed, and I was still hot! So Daddy took a thick paper towel and wetted it with cold water and rubbed it all over my fur, and I loved it! I don't know how outdoor kitties stand it, like my friend Diamond in Adelaide (where it's been hot for even longer than here in Melbourne), or my nextdoor neighbor Indy. Last night she was roaming around our little neighborhood block by tiptoeing on the fences, like this:

Don't her eyes look great? I think they shine just like a possum's. Of course, it was a bit cooler last night, so Indy had the energy, but I don't know what she did today to stay cool. And the weather report for tomorrow (Tuesday) is that it'll be hot again and get up to 36° by mid-afternoon (that's 97° F!!!) before a COOL CHANGE in the late afternoon, and then there shall be much rejoicing, believe me, because we're all sick of this heat!

The Third Day of the New Year

2010-01-03T14:31:00.003+11:00

This evening I've been napping on the couch and leaning my paws on Uncle Kevin's arms, and Daddy thought I looked cute, so he took my picture AGAIN. And I was napping because I had another busy morning watching the birdies from my spot behind the Christmas tree:

And when a birdie got really close, I pounced!

But of course that darn window was in the way again.

The Second Day of the New Year

2010-01-02T23:08:00.005+11:00

Today is Saturday and it's the second day of the new year 2010 and I've been watching birdies all afternoon and relaxing on the couch all evening and Daddy keeps taking pictures of me!!! He can't get it through his head that I don't like the flash on his camera:

So Daddy took a couple pictures without the flash, but there's still a red light that flashes (something about "red-eye correction") and it bugs my eyes so I always look away:

And if you're wondering what those white specks are on the couch, it's styrofoam bits that came out of a box that contained a lamp that Uncle Kevin was assembling, and it got all over the place.

Finally I decided to ignore Daddy and get to napping (I've had a busy day watching birdies, after all), but Daddy even takes pictures of me when I'm sleeping!!! Can't I have any privacy?

Still, I do look pretty cute, don't I?

Happy New Year 2010!

2010-01-01T19:05:00.000+11:00

I'm enjoying the first day of the new year 2010 by making Daddy play with me with my Christmas toy:

This is the toy that I didn't swallow, and I love it 'cause it has a little bell that dings whenever I chase it:

And yesterday I spent the last morning of the old year curled up in the drapes in the sunshine. I know I'm lazy, but do I look fat?
It was SO HOT here in Melbourne yesterday, up to 38° C (that's over 100° F!) and at first I enjoyed laying in the sun, but my mid-afternoon I couldn't stand it any more, so I hid in a cool corner behind the TV set, like this:

My new friend Diamond lives in Adelaide where it was even hotter! (And if you'd like to see a picture of him on his balcony, follow the link under "My Favorite Blogs"). But in the early evening the clouds started to come in, and there was a stunning cloud that looked just like a crocodile:

And at the stroke of 9:00 pm it started raining and there was a thunderstorm and the temperature dropped to about 26° C (that's about 78° F), and that's what people around here call "a change" and I loved it! And about an hour later Daddy's friend Uncle Andrew showed up and they went with Uncle Kevin to a New Year's Eve Party with Asta and Pussy Galore II and their humans. And I didn't get invited (which is OK, since it was raining "cats and dogs" that night and I would have hated it), but I smelled my friend Asta's scent on Daddy's clothes when he came home, and the scent said "Happy New Year, Oscar!"

It's been three weeks now since Uncle Kevin had surgery on his stomach, and all that time he hasn't let me sit on his tummy, but tonight I'm insisting on it, so he put a green pillow on his tummy and stretched out on his back so I could climb on, like this:

And now he's mine for the rest of 2010!

The Drama of Christmas

2009-12-25T18:16:00.001+11:00

Merry Christmas everyone, but I've had a very dramatic day because I swallowed one of my kitty toys and Daddy took me in a taxi to the vet!

It happened like this: Daddy gave me two new kitty toys and even though they were wrapped in wrapping paper I could smell the catnip underneath so I was chewing the paper trying to get them open, like this:

Then Daddy opened the first one and it was a little catnip toy on a string and I chased after it like this:

And I got all high and started rubbing myself all over stuff:

And the second toy was made of rope in a criss-cross pattern with a feather on one end and a little plastic mesh packet of catnip on the other. And I chewed it like this:

And I got all high again:

And I chewed my toy so much that I tore it apart like this:

But I got so excited by the little plastic packet of catnip that I took it in my mouth and licked it and chewed it and then I SWALLOWED it! And I didn't think anything about it, but Daddy and Uncle Kevin got really worried that the plastic packet could get stuck in my intestines and make me sick. So they waited about two hours to see if I would throw it up, and of course I didn't—I even ate some more kibble—but finally Daddy didn't want to wait any more so he called a taxi and put me in my cat carrier and we started driving towards the Emergency Animal Clinic in Essendon (the same place where my brother Gerald was a patient). And as soon as Daddy put me in the carrier, I was NOT happy and I meowed and howled and said, "Get me outta here!" and we hadn't driven but ten minutes when the taxi got caught in traffic because there was an accident on the road, so the driver took a short cut which was down a really steep hill at fast speed, and I got carsick and so I said to Daddy, "You want me to barf? I'll show you barf!" So I made my little yowl that all cats make when they're about to hurl, and I hurled in the corner of my cage and got rid of that toy (not to mention some hairballs). So Daddy had to tell the driver not to go to the Animal Clinic after all, so we went straight back home. And here's what I threw up:

So that little toy gave me about ten minutes of pleasure and gave Daddy and Uncle Kevin about three hours of worry. But it all worked out happy, so here are some picture of our Christmas lights:

Indiana Visiting Me Again

2009-12-20T17:12:00.000+11:00

My next-door neighbor cat Indiana visited me again today:

But you know, I'm starting to get used to her, so even though I ran to the window to look at her, I didn't meow or anything, and when Daddy came into the room I asked for my lunch yummy and he gave it to me and I wasn't phased by Indy at all. So after I had my yummy and went into the living room and sat and admired the Christmas tree:

And then I took a long nap on Uncle Kevin's lap and ignored Indy. She can have the back yard, as long as she doesn't try to come inside to MY domain...

My Next-door Neighbor, Indiana

2009-12-19T18:13:00.015+11:00

Oh my gosh, I've had such an exciting day because the kitty cat that lives next door keeps coming into my back yard and teasing me! Her name is Indiana (Indy for short), and she's less than a year old I think:

And about a week ago she climbed over the fence of her backyard and crawled all over the top of the green shadecloth that Uncle Kevin drapes over his orchids, and then climbed on top of his greenhouse, but Daddy wasn't home at the time to take pictures, but when she came over today and did the same things, he took lots:

And whenever I see her I get all excited and meow at her, 'cause I'm not used to having outdoor cats in my backyard. I didn't mind Pussy Galore when she was here last year because we were both indoors and she was obviously scared of me; but I don't know if I trust Indy quite yet because she was up so high and she walks around my backyard as if she owns the place:

So Daddy picked me up so I could see her, and we had a singing contest with the screen door between us:

And then Indy started strolling through Uncle Kevin's orchids like a tiger in the jungle:

And then she came right up to the screen door!

But after we chatted for a while, I didn't feel fazed anymore and I sat down and said, "Hey, you may be outside, but this is my house." And she seemed OK with that:

And then Indy started to climb the tree in the backyard!

But then--oh no!--she started falling off one of the branches and held on with her claws!

But we kitties have nine lives, you know, and she pulled herself with all her strength and rested on a bigger branch:

And I'm so impressed with her, 'cause she's still just a little girl, and already she's so athletic! But after all of that drama, she went across the fence back into her own backyard:

I hope she comes back and visits soon, and I'm gonna keep looking for her!

Christmas is Coming Soon!

2009-12-03T19:46:00.007+11:00

Daddy and Uncle Kevin decorated the house for Christmas today, and I helped:

Well, they kinda thought I got in the way, but really I was helping, 'cause I had to inspect the tree for bugs and things, since it's the same artificial tree they used last year and I had to make sure it was still useable:

But Uncle Kevin got mad when I started to nibble on a branch, and Daddy thought I was so cute that he took my picture, and then he thought I'd look even cuter wearing that horrible Santa collar, and I thought I looked stupid, so I went and sulked on the couch:

But then evening came and Daddy put the tree lights on and it looked so pretty:

And they put up their smaller tree too and decorated it blue and silver, like they did last year:

Isn't it pretty? I gave it all my stamp of approval, like this:

Happy Thanksgiving 2009!

2009-11-26T22:27:00.004+11:00

Today was Turkey Day, which is Thanksgiving Day, and Daddy and Uncle Kevin went to a Thanksgiving Day lunch at some friends’ house in Northcote and they got home at 7 in the evening and Daddy gave me a turkey treat and then another and then another because I was such a GOOD kitty all day. And Daddy was saying that it was a real drama trying to cook the turkey because originally one of his friends was supposed to cook it, but she had to travel to Sydney for an emergency, so Daddy agreed to pick up the turkey in the morning at the market and cook it at his friends’ house, and if he could start cooking by 8:00 a.m., then they could eat by 1:30, but it was raining really hard in the morning so the trams were running slow, and then when Daddy got to the market he couldn’t figure out where the stall was that had the turkey, and by the time he found it another half hour had passed, so he didn’t get to his friends’ house until 8:40, and then he discovered that they had a new oven that was too small for the roasting pan he brought, so his friend had to go out and buy a new roaster, but when she got to the grocery store, she realized she had forgotten her wallet, so she had to come home and go out again, and meanwhile Daddy couldn’t figure out how to turn the oven on since it had a bunch of international symbols on it that he couldn’t read, and then after stuffing the turkey, the aluminium foil he was using to make a “tent” over the roasting pan kept falling apart, so he didn’t actually get the bird n the oven until 10:45 a.m. And since the bird was almost 12 pounds, he knew it would take at least four hours to cook and another half hour to rest, so he figured they wouldn’t eat until 3:15 p.m., which would be very late; but in the end his friend in Sydney was coming back to the airport around 1:30 and didn’t get back home until 2:30, so she took over cooking the vegetables, and the other guests were entertained with wine and nibblies, so when lunch was finally served at 3:15, everyone said the turkey was wonderful and the stuffing was the best they’d ever had, and the gravy he made from the dripping was delish. And Daddy said he made the stuffing with a whole load of multi-grain bread that had pumpkin seeds baked in it, onions and celery browned in butter, currants, and moistened with an herbed chicken stock that came in a box. And the turkey was served with cranberry sauce, corn on the cob, green beans, boiled white potatoes, sweet potatoes (white flesh with purple skin), and different kinds of delicious wine; and for dessert Daddy bought a lemon tart with passion fruit glaze at the market, and it was served with cream and ice cream.

It sounded fantastic, and everyone complimented Daddy on his turkey in particular, and I think they were right cause I got to taste it too and it was fantastic! And here’s a picture of me begging for more turkey and getting it…

Thanksgiving is when we all think of what we are thankful for, and I’m thankful that I’m healthy and happy that I have a Daddy who loves me. It’s been exactly two years since my big brother Gerald passed away and I’m thankful that he was my brother for my whole life and I still think about him. And I’m thankful for my kitty basket where I sleep every morning and I’m thankful for the living room couch where I sleep every evening on my black pillow and I’m thankful for the Kevin pillow where I rest every night, like this: And I'm thankful for my hard kibble and my soft food and the turkey Daddy gave me and I'm thankful every time Daddy cleans my litter box and I'm thankful for the birdies that come by my window.

November is Spring in Australia

2009-11-02T22:00:00.000+11:00

Daddy bought me a new pillow!

Daddy and Uncle Kevin went to big warehouse called Costco, with my puppy friend Asta's servants, Louise and Brian, and he came back with this big fluffy blue pillow which he says he bought for himself, but I know better, so I kneaded it and gave it my stamp of approval:

...and now I own it of course.

November is springtime in Australia which still feels kinda weird even after living here for eight years but the one thing I like most about springtime is that the birdies come out to play and this is the first year that they've come to the birdfeeder outside our door (I guess they didn't notice it last year) and so every day they come right outside my window and I like to watch them and pretend that I can catch them:

And that's how a kitty cat like me gets my exercise each day.

The Doctor Stole Another Tooth!

2009-10-07T18:54:00.002+11:00

Daddy took me to the doctor today early in the morning and the doctors gave me a little gas to make me sleep and when I woke up they had removed one of my bottom back teeth! It was a “dental” since it’s been a while since I had my teeth cleaned, but did they have to pull my tooth? And now I have to drink a cold milky antibiotic each morning for the next few days, and Uncle Kevin has to take me back one more time for a “follow-up” but already I feel fine and I’m going to be able to eat more and more of my yummy hard kibble. But first I’m going to demand what’s due to me, which is lots of snuggles on my Kevin pillow, like this:

And then I crawled into bed and licked myself all over to get the bad taste of that vet off of me:

Another Awful Trip to the Vet

2009-09-29T18:42:00.002+10:00

Daddy scooped me up this morning and put me in my cat carrier and took me to that nasty vet for a check-up, and they gave me a vaccine and a bunch of other stuff and put me back in my carrier, but at the last minute they took me out again because they decided to draw some blood for a test and I did NOT LIKE it and I threw such a fit that they had to put me in a bag—yes, a burlap bag!--that my head stuck out of so they could hold me while they took my blood with a needle, and it took the doctor four times to try and take my blood because I REFUSED to let them come near me, and the doctor joked that I was “channelling Gerald” since Gerald always hated doctors. So after I came home, I went right to sleep ‘cause I was exhausted, and I curled up next to Daddy’s teddy bear Muskie (short for “Musqueam”, one of the first nation peoples that live in the area of Vancouver, Canada), and I looked like this:

And as a reward for being such a good kitty, Daddy brought out the tunnel toy he once got from the vet, and I spent the afternoon playing in it like this:

The Secret of the Kitty-Purr has been Discovered!

2009-07-15T21:27:00.011+10:00

News flash! Scientists at the University of Sussex in the U.K. have stumbled upon one of the biggest secrets that we kitties have—the secret of how we use our purr to manipulate our humans! These scientists call it our "soliciting purr" and one doctor said that our "pestering purr often convinced beleaguered pet lovers to get up and fill their cat's bowl." Well, duh! What else would we kitties want? If you want to read the whole story on BBC news, click HERE

And of course we kitties are the experts at training our humans, and it was my brother Gerald that taught me all the tricks of the trade 'cause he was an absolute master at manipulating Daddy, and Gerald told me that every kitty has to develop his own special method, because that's what makes each kitty unique and is one of the reasons humans love us so much. So if you want to see what I do to get my Daddy to feed me, watch this clip of how I led him into the kitchen this morning and straight to the fridge and then to my food dish by meowing and purring combined...

And even though I meowed a lot in this film, believe me, Daddy did feed me! And afterwards I went and sat in a sun beam and washed my paws real nice and gave myself a good bath:

And then I took a late-morning nap in the sun on the upstairs landing:

And when the sunbeam moved I went downstairs to my kitty basket in the bay window and got myself all comfy for my afternoon nap:

But I woke up when Daddy opened the curtain so I could look out on my front yard, which was fun to watch:

And then in the evening I sat in Uncle Kevin's lap and gave him my "soliciting purr" because I wanted him to stroke me:

And it worked, and he let me sit on his new scarf:

So I put in a lot of hard work today!

Anal Glands, Ear Drops, and My Trip to the Vet

2009-06-01T18:50:00.007+10:00

Sometimes I think humans are just clueless cause it takes them forever to figure out what I’m saying, and I’ve spent five days giving Daddy clues by roaming around the living room and changing my eating habits and pawing at things, but all Daddy hears is “meow meow meow blah blah blah meow meow meow,” when what I was really saying was, “Come on Daddy! I don’t feel good! Do something!” And when that didn't work, I would sit very still and show him general disdain, like this:

It all started last Tuesday when Daddy brought me a new bag of kibble and I was so excited that I just scarfed bowls of it down, it was so good! And this is my kidney-diet kibble which comes in hard crunchy pellets which is just yummy. But then when I went poo in my kitty box, my bum felt really sore, so I went off eating the hard kibble; and on Wednesday I had a wet and gooey poo which did not make me happy, and I meowed to Daddy, and he thought I wanted kibble, so he gave me some, but I turned away and didn’t eat it, and that confused Daddy; and even when he would give me some hard kitty-treats in the evening, I turned them down. And sometimes when I got so hungry that I would have to eat the hard kibble, I only ate little bits, and I’d shake my head, and I’d let some of it fall out of my mouth. And I got so upset that my ears started itching, and I scratched and scratched my right ear so much that it started to bleed a little bit. And Daddy thought maybe I had a toothache because I wouldn’t eat my hard kibble; and then on Thursday Daddy noticed that my bum was sore, and there was a little trail of grainy stuff on my belly from where my poo had come out, so on Friday morning Daddy went to the vet and got some canned kidney diet food, and he gave it to me and WOW, I loved it:

And it didn’t hurt my bum when I pooed, even though I kept having wet and stinky poos; so all weekend I kept telling Daddy, give me more of that wet canned food! And he did, and I loved eating it, but he ran out of it on Sunday afternoon, and I didn’t want of that hard kibble stuff, so I starved Sunday night.

But then today is Monday, and this morning Daddy scooped me up and put me in my cat carrier, and I HATED it cause I knew it meant I was going to that nasty VET again, and sure enough, that’s where I ended up. My picture is in their newsletter and you would think they’d treat me special for that, but NO! The doctor picked me up and weighed me (I’m 6.4 kg, or just over 14 pounds, which means I’ve actually gained some weight since last visit), and he looked all over my teeth and found no inflammation or redness, and my throat glands weren’t swollen (I could have told him that!), then he listened to my heartbeat, but I decided to make it difficult for him by purring real loud, then he stuck that stupid thermometer up my kitty bum and discovered my temperature was perfectly normal (I could have told him that, too!). Then finally it dawned on him that I might have something wrong with my anal glands—at last, FINALLY one the humans figured out what was wrong. But then, what did the doctor do? He put on a rubber glover, grabbed a paper towel and some antiseptic, had Daddy hold me by the scruff of my neck, and then he probed my anal glands. YIKES! It was NOT FUN! My glands were all dirty and clogged and inflamed, and he squeezed the granular stuff from them, and I YOWLED and I SCREAMED and I decided, I’VE HAD IT WITH THIS PROCEDURE, so I swiped at Daddy with my back feet and clawed him real good on his right wrist (luckily for Daddy, he had clipped my claws a couple days ago, otherwise I would have gouged him), and I said to myself, if I were my brother Gerald, I’d be hissing and spitting and biting long before this; I’m usually such a quiet and timid cat at the vet, but this time they’ve gone too far—leave my kitty bum alone! And then the doctor put all sorts of antiseptic on my belly (since it was covered will some nasty-looking granules, and I was not looking forward to licking myself later). And then, to crown it all, he had to look in my ears! We cats HATE having our ears looked at. And not only did he stick an ear-scope down my ear canal, he put this sticky ear fluid in BOTH my ears. NO, NO, NO! I tried real hard to shake my ear and aim that stuff right at the doctor’s eye, but he was took quick for me and he put me on the floor before I could aim. But he let me run into my cage, and it was all over, and a good thing, too, because I was DONE with all this nonsense. And my ears looked like this:

Then Daddy paid the bill and bought some more soft kidney diet food, and as we were going out the door, he struck up a conversation with a couple who were bringing their cat to the vet, and he was a gorgeous longhair white cat with grey patches, and it turns out his name is Oscar, too! And they got this Oscar from the Cartlon Vet a few months ago as a kitten (I wonder if he was named after me, given that I’m their star patient?). And I felt such sympathy for that Oscar, because Lord knows what that doctor had in store for him!

When I got home, I was ready to get a major spoiling from Daddy; I deserved it. I still had little bits of granules all over my face:
So he tried to give me some more of that hard kibble, and I meowed, NO WAY! So he gave me some of that yummy soft kidney diet food, and I devoured it, I was so hungry. And when I was done, I licked myself all over, cause my ears were still wet from that yucchy stuff the doctor put inside them, and my bum was wet from the antiseptic, and I just looked a mess. And I don’t like looking like a mess! So it took me ALL DAY to lick myself back into shape.

But I'm still mad at Daddy:

Uncle Kevin is Building a Greenhouse

2009-05-24T14:16:00.006+10:00

I'm very excited because Uncle Kevin is building a greenhouse in our backyard so he can grow his orchids out there and all the parts for the greenhouse are in the dining room and they all smell interesting, and as you can see I've been investigating them thoroughly:

Uncle Kevin starts by assembling a frame made out of PVC pipe:

and he'll put the green shadecloth on next, and then put shelves on the inside for all his orchids. And I was such a good boy and didn't bother Uncle Kevin while he was working, and so whenever he takes a break, HE OWES ME, so I climb into his lap and purr and purr and purr, like this:

And then Daddy gives me an ice-cream treat:

and then a little drink of water:

And then I lay down for my afternoon nap in my basket, which Daddy very kindly put next to the heater in the living room, and I dream about that mouse that we haven't seen for a whole week now:

I'm a Star!

2009-05-15T18:28:00.001+10:00

Guess what! I'm featured in a newsletter for the Carlton Veterinary Clinic! I'm the "Patient of the Month" and my story is used to flag the "Senior Cat Program" at the vet, cause they figure that I'm 14 years old now and keep coming back to have my blood pressure taken and my urine sampled and all that stuff I always complain about. So my picture is on the cover, like this:

And if you want to read the article, just go to www.carltonvet.com.au, click on the "Newsletter" link and ask them to email you a copy. I'm so proud of myself! And if you want to know the secret to my longevity, it's all due to frequent naps in the sun:

and plenty of self-grooming:

and my Daddy feeds me lasagna (I'm just like Garfield!):

and then plenty of exercise. Lately I've been prowling through my house each night to make sure that a mouse isn't running around, and guess what! We have a third mouse in the house, and Kevin saw it last Saturday afternoon running around the kitchen floor when Kevin was on the phone, and he saw it again just today (Friday) hopping behind the stove, but Daddy hasn't seen it yet, but I know it's around cause I can SMELL it and I've been sniffing real hard behind the bookcases and the filing cabinet and under the couch...

So, if you're a kitty like me, then exercise, good food, and naps in the sunshine will help you live longer. Don't I look just adorable? No wonder the vet newsletter made me a star:

Do these mice think I'm a useless cat?

2009-05-05T22:48:00.003+10:00

Uncle Kevin caught a second mouse today with his live trap, and it was a big ginger-colored mouse that looked like this:

And I didn't catch him, 'cause he was a big mouse that had Gerald-colored fur, and he always spooked me out a little bit whenever I saw him. So Uncle Kevin took him to the park and set him free and took some pictures of him all excited about getting out of his trap:

But I'm pretty sure there's more mice since Daddy saw a tiny mouse sticking his head out of the vacuum-cleaner house in the bathroom; and if Uncle Kevin has already caught two mice, then there are probably more living in the house, and they're probably in the downstairs bathroom where my litter box is. Daddy realized that mice eat poop, and that it looked like my poop was disappearing, so we wonder if the mice are stealing my poop! So Daddy moved my litter box upstairs away from the mice, and I just want those mice outta my house!

There's another Mouse in my House!!!

2009-05-01T21:45:00.002+10:00

I'm sitting here licking myself and congratulating myself because Daddy finally figured out the kitty secret I've been keeping all day: there's another mouse in my house! I saw it earlier today after the Mousey-Mouse was taken to the park; and the second mouse is a bigger mouse than the one that got caught, and I kept trying to tell Daddy and Uncle Kevin that I had seen him, but they didn't understand, until finally this evening Daddy saw the big mouse twice in the kitchen running underneath the stove. So they're going to have to set up the trap again to catch him, and I think Daddy has given him a name: Big-Mouse. But I'm very satisfied with myself that I had a kitty secret that they couldn't figure out, so I'm going to treat myself to a licking and a stretch:

The Mousey-Mouse has gone to his new home

2009-05-01T11:32:00.009+10:00

This morning when Uncle Kevin got up, he went into the second bedroom to say hello to the Mousey-Mouse, and Uncle Kevin was so quiet because he didn't want me to know what was going on, but I could tell, and Uncle Kevin told Daddy that the Mousey-Mouse was much more calm this morning, so Uncle Kevin took lots of pictures, like this one:

And Uncle Kevin said the Mousey-Mouse had such "perfect little ears," and Daddy went "ewww, yucch," and I thought, "hey, I have perfect little ears myself!." Uncle Kevin thinks the mouse is cute, which is why he didn't kill it; so he took the box that contained the Mousey-Mouse's cage and carried it to the park, and set it on the ground like this:

and then he opened the cage, and the Mousey-Mouse looked around like this:

and then the Mousey-Mouse scampered off into his new home, which looks like this:

And that's the last we'll see of that Mousey-Mouse in my house, unless he has homing instincts. But Daddy and Uncle Kevin don't know what I know. I know a kitty secret! And when Uncle Kevin came back home, I tried to get him and Daddy to notice me by pacing back and forth all around the house, and meowing and meowing. But they just decided I was ready to be worshipped again, like this when Uncle Kevin offered me some of his morning coffee:

But I don't do caffeine.

WE CAUGHT THE MOUSEY-MOUSE!

2009-04-30T21:43:00.007+10:00

Guess what! We caught the Mousey-Mouse, we caught the Mousey-Mouse! No, I didn’t catch the mouse myself, but what an experience!

For almost a week I didn’t see the mouse, and Daddy and Uncle Kevin had named the mouse, and every night they asked me if I had caught the Mousey-Mouse, and every time I just yawned and pretended they hadn’t asked. But it was yesterday that I saw the Mousey-Mouse for the first time in about a week, and it was early in the morning when I saw him run from the kitchen into the living room and hide behind the file cabinet, and he was crouched in the back corner and I could see his little eyes and his little ears and I meowed and meowed and meowed and walked back and forth and back and forth around the cabinet and I batted with my paw between the cabinet and the wall but it was so narrow I couldn’t fit my whole leg in, so I sat and waited and waited and waited and waited to see if the Mousey-Mouse would come out, but an hour went by and he didn’t come out, so I got bored and went away to take my morning nap. And Uncle Kevin put all sorts of boxes and things around the edges of the cabinet so the Mousey-Mouse wouldn’t get out, but the somehow the Mousey-Mouse DID get out, ‘cause we couldn’t find him again. So I decided to just relax, and here’s a picture of me relaxing…

And then this morning, WOW! I could just smell the Mousey-Mouse all over the kitchen, and Uncle Kevin had set up this big mousetrap next to the refrigerator, and it’s a mousetrap that catches mice live and doesn’t kill them (since Daddy said he didn’t want to hurt the poor mouse, even though kept telling me I should catch him), but the Mousey-Mouse was refusing to go into the trap, and I could tell the mouse was behind that refrigerator, so I meowed and meowed and ran up to Uncle Kevin and tapped his leg with my paw and jumped into his lap, ‘cause I wanted him to come look for that mouse, but Uncle Kevin didn’t understand me, so I went and pawed at the mousetrap, and went back to Uncle Kevin, then I went back to the kitchen and pawed at a cardboard box to get Uncle Kevin’ attention, and when that didn’t work I went back to Uncle Kevin, then I went back to the kitchen and pawed at the mousetrap and dragged it out from the corner it was in, and finally Uncle Kevin told me I was a wacky cat and annoying him, so he scooped me up and locked me in the bedroom with my kibble, and I just sat there patiently until Uncle Kevin finally got done whatever he was doing and let me out.

And then Uncle Kevin went to work, and I decided to take my catnap, and I napped for a long, long time. And when he came home, I woke up from my nap and greeted him at the door, and lay down and stretched out so he would rub my belly. But then I thought, you know, I wonder if anything is new in the kitchen, so I peeked round the corner, and lo and behold, THE MOUSEY-MOUSE WAS IN THE TRAP! So of course I wanted to play with him, so I batted the trap with my paw, and the little guy got all scared and pooped in the trap and crouched in the little opening to the trap, and finally Uncle Kevin noticed what I was doing, and he was so surprised to see the Mousey-Mouse in the trap! So Uncle Kevin took the trap away from me and placed it in a cardboard box and put it in the second bedroom and shut the door, so I wouldn’t scare the mouse to death, and tomorrow Uncle Kevin’s going to take the Mousey-Mouse out to the park near the river and let him out, far away enough from our house that he won’t come back. And Uncle Kevin took a picture of the Mousey-Mouse in the trap, and here’s what he looks like:

And Uncle Kevin thinks he’s cute. And I’m not afraid of the Mousey-Mouse anymore, ‘cause I’m more curious about him than ever! But I don’t think Daddy will let me see the mouse again. But he spoiled me tonight with a fishy treat and an ice-cream treat to celebrate catching the mouse, so here’s me eating my ice cream:

And Daddy is so happy that I actually showed an interest in the Mousey-Mouse yesterday, since he was worried that I was a scaredy cat afraid of a little mouse (and I was a little afraid of the Mousey-Mouse when he first showed up in the house). So let the world know, I am NOT a scaredy cat anymore. Now we will soon learn whether there was only one mouse.

There's a Mouse in my House!!!

2009-04-14T13:19:00.006+10:00

I'm sitting here in the sun in the stairwell enjoying the rainbows on the walls made by my Daddy's Austrian crystals, and I'm trying to get myself as far away from the kitchen as possible because there's been a lot of drama here at home ever since a CREATURE showed up in the kitchen week ago. When I first saw it, I ran into the living room where Daddy and Uncle Kevin were sitting and my tail was all poofed up and I meowed and meowed and said, 'hey guys, there's a strange creature I've never seen before!" but neither of them understood what I was saying but they thought I was just nuts. But finally a few days ago Uncle Kevin was working on the computer and he saw the creature and told me to go catch it, and he said it was called a "mouse" and I have never seen one before because I'm an indoor cat and was raised by people ever since I was born and THAT MOUSE SCARES ME! It looks a lot like my furry toys, but it moves! And it's tiny and black and furry like me but it has a scary thin tail and it zooms around the floor whenever someone sees it, and I can smell it but I don't know what to do with it! And ever since Daddy found out there was a mouse in the house, he keeps teasing me and says "Catch the mouse, Oscar! Go get that mouse!" but I don't know what to do! And this morning the mouse came into the living room and scampered under the couch and Daddy freaked because he's scared of mice too, but I don't know what to do with this mouse!

Meanwhile I'm enjoying being a healthy senior cat, and I went to that nasty vet last week (a couple of days before I first saw that mouse), but it wasn't nearly as bad as it usually it because the doctor had a new blood pressure machine that doesn't go around my tail, so they didn't have to shave my tail and give me shame like before. This time he wrapped something around my front paw and pressed a button and the thing squeezed me, but it didn't hurt, and at least he didn't have to use those noisy clippers and shave the base of my tail! But even so, I knew what was coming next, and sure enough he poked and prodded and looked at my teeth and stuck a thermometer up my little kitty butt and stuck a needle in my bladder to take a urine sample, and all that nonsense. But the good news is that my blood pressure is perfect, and my urine is the same as it was last time (meaning that my kidney diet food is maintaining me), and my weight is the same as it was last time, and my temperature was normal, and I guess that means I'm in good health and will live a long long time. So why should I bother expending my energy on chasing a little mouse? (Besides, he scares me...)

It's My Birthday!

2009-03-17T20:04:00.000+11:00

Today is St. Patrick's Day and it's the day my Daddy always celebrates my birthday and I'm fourteen years old today. Daddy gave me lots of treats today and kept picking me up and telling me what an adorable kitten I was when he first got me and all that kind of goopy stuff. I love my Daddy but I just wanted the treats. Here are some pictures of how I spent my birthday:

Heat Wave in Melbourne

2009-01-30T20:11:00.003+11:00

We’re having a heat wave here in Melbourne, Australia, and I’m burning up! On Wednesday around 3:00 in the afternoon the temperature got up to 107 degrees (or 42 Celsius, as they use here). It got really hot and stuffy in the house, especially upstairs, so I didn’t want to go upstairs to my kitty tree, so I lay on the tile in the hallway because it’s cool, and our house doesn’t have air conditioning:

Then on Thursday, which was yesterday, it got up to 44.3 C (that’s 112 degrees!) in the afternoon, and it was beastly hot indoors all day, so I hid underneath the curtains like this…

Then today—eek!—it got up to 45.1 C (that’s 113 degrees!), and it was so hot that my Daddy and Uncle Kevin went to a McDonalds where it was air-conditioned, but the air-conditioning broke down, so they came back home and sweltered in the dining room which is the coolest room in the house and I hid behind the television set cause it felt cool there, and we’ve all been drinking lots and lots of water cause we feel so miserable! And I’ve had no energy and have just been lying around all day:

Then around 5:00 pm tonight the weather started to drop down to 36 C (which is almost 97, so it wasn't exactly cool, but it felt better!), but by 8:00 it was about 28 C (which is about 82 degrees). I say, thank goodness I’m not an outdoor kitty because I’d probably get heat stroke if I had to walk the streets on days like this, and Daddy says you could fry an egg on the sidewalk this afternoon, and it was so hot that the metal frames of his glasses got hot as he walked to McDonalds. But Daddy says I was never in any danger of sunstroke because I was indoors all day, and I had plenty of water, and Daddy put some ice cubes in my water fountain which tasted great, like this:

And Daddy gave me a brushing in the evening because I was shedding so much fur, and afterwards I gave myself a bath, since my brother Gerald taught me that all kitties should groom themselves properly after getting a brushing, and it starts by licking our front paw until it's nice and wet:

and then we wrap out paw around our head, and that cleans the top of our head:

and then we take our tongue and lick our arms until the fur is nice and neat:

I'm so glad I'm an indoor kitty and my Daddy takes good care of me, otherwise I'd be shriveled toast on a day like this!

My Orthodox Christmas Present was a trip to the Vet!

2009-01-07T15:40:00.001+11:00

Today was Christmas Day for people in Melbourne who worship at the Russian Orthodox and Greek Orthodox Churches and so you would think I might get a special present but instead my Daddy took me to that nasty vet! I could tell something was up when Daddy shut the bathroom door last night and kept me away from my litter box 'cause he wanted my bladder full so that the doctor could take a urine sample, but I was having none of it so I stood outside the bathroom door and meowed and meowed and meowed and meowed and meowed and finally Daddy put together a special litter box with a fresh plastic liner and a tiny little bit of crystalline litter so I climbed into it and made a big huge pee and as soon as I stepped out Daddy took a syringe and took some of my urine but all he had to put it in was a taco sauce jar that he washed in the sink and I thought that was funny.

And when Daddy brought out the cat carrier I REFUSED to go in it so Daddy had to push me into it and then we walked to the tram stop and I meowed and meowed and meowed and meowed but I felt better when we were on the tram and didn't make a sound then. The tram went past the Greek Orthodox Church and we saw a whole bunch of people on the steps getting ready for a Christmas service.

But when we got to the vet I knew I was in for it because I could hear two or three dogs whining in the exam room, and when I got in the first thing the doctor did was pin me down and shave the base of my tail with those noisy clippers and wrap that cold blood-pressure strap around my tail but he realized he hadn't shaved off enough so he turned on those noisy clippers AGAIN and shaved off MORE hair and then the strap squeezed and squeezed my tail and I hated it and another doctor was holding me and I was so scared that I hid my face in her elbow. And my poor tail, I have SHAME again and it looks like this:

And then the doctor dumped me on a scale and I weighed 6.34 kilos (which is almost 14 pounds) and then he stuck a stethoscope against my chest to listen to my heartbeat, then he pried open my mouth to check my teeth and stuck a Q-tip inside to scrape tartar and I HATED it, and then he took those noisy clippers again and shaved my chin and took a sharp needle and drew a blood sample, and now I have SHAME on my chin and it looks like this:

And then the final indignity was the thermometer in my kitty bum to take my temperature, then FINALLY he let me go. And while Daddy put me back in my cage, they checked my urine sample and it was still a little diluted (which is why I eat special kidney diet food) but better than 3 months ago which means the special food is working. And the doctor said my blood pressure was perfect which means the Norvasc pills are working so I have to keep taking them (yuchh!) but I didn't care, I just wanted to go HOME! So now I'm home and I'm going to lick myself all over and get my fur back into the right place:

and then I'm going to take a long nap because I DESERVE it!

How I Spent My Christmas day

2008-12-25T23:26:00.001+11:00

Today is Christmas Day 2008 and Daddy made me wear this red-and-white collar with jingle bells and I think it's silly but Daddy thinks I look SO CUTE in it so my gift to Daddy was to make him happy so I wore it and politely ignored it, like this:

When Daddy and Uncle Kevin got up this morning they opened up all these present that their friend Jim had sent from California and I got to help:

And I spent the whole day relaxing and playing with my feather toy and then in the evening we turned the Christmas lights on and it was so pretty that I took a long Christmas nap.

And that was my seventh Christmas in Melbourne, Australia!

Kitties Love Christmas

2008-12-06T18:06:00.001+11:00

Daddy says today is Nikolaustag or St. Nicholas' Day which is the best day to start decorating the house for Christmas since St. Nicholas is Santa Claus who brings presents to all good kitties on Christmas Eve. Nikolaustag is a German holiday but I'm not a German kitty and Daddy's not German either and we live in Australia not Germany, but what the hey. So Uncle Kevin started unpacking the Christmas tree and I decided to watch:

And he and Daddy put up two trees, one of them tall and thin and I love to sit underneath it:

and the other tree is small and on a little pedestal and decorated with only blue and silver decorations:

Now it's only a couple more weeks until Christmas!

Lookatme, I'm cute!

2008-10-05T16:04:00.000+11:00

My Daddy is still away in Canada so Uncle Kevin took this movie of me with his digital camera and it made Daddy very happy, and I thought you'd all like to see it too. I'm so cute!

I'm a film star!

2008-09-13T21:11:00.001+10:00

Since my Daddy is in Canada, Uncle Kevin took a little movie of me and emailed it to Daddy, and it made Daddy so happy cause he misses me! So of course I'd like you to see it too. Don't you love my big black mitten paws?

Late Winter Blues

2008-08-20T19:55:00.000+10:00

My Daddy left town today for a three-month visit to Canada and was teary-eyed when he left the house today but he bought me a very special present which is a water fountain that runs all the time in the kitchen. Daddy knows that I love to drink running water which is why I hang around the bathtub all the time but now I can have running water whenever I want and I love it! Uncle Kevin will look after me while Daddy is gone but I'm going to miss my Daddy and I got all anxious when he was packing his luggage 'cause I could tell he was going to be gone for such a long time. And I miss PG II 'casue it's been almost three weeks since she went back to her own house and I remember how fun it was to have some cat company and I still find tufts of her fur all over my carpet and her stank is still on my kitty tree.

I'm going to take a nap now in Uncle Kevin's lap and think about how much I love my Daddy.

Home Alone Again

2008-08-04T21:00:00.002+10:00

My friend Pussy Galore II had to go home today, and I don't know when I'll see her again, but I have great memories of the five weeks that she spent with me, and here are some photos of our last moments together:

My New BFF PGII

2008-07-30T17:40:00.000+10:00

Pussy Galore II has been living in my house for four whole weeks now and we really get along well, and we like to chase each other up and down the stairs during the daytime, and at night I sleep on the bed with Daddy while PG II sleeps in my kitty tree, until we switch places in the early morning. And around midday we like to lounge in the sunshine, or peek out the window together. Daddy says that PG II has only a few more days before her daddy Brian comes back to Melbourne, but I like PG II a lot, and here are some pictures of the time we spend together:

It's been eight months since my brother Gerald died, and that's a long time to be without a cat friend, and PG II says she's never had a cat friend, but only a puppy friend, so I don't want her to leave!

Pussy Galore Again!

2008-07-15T21:32:00.001+10:00

Just when I thought I had my house back to myself, a couple weeks ago (July 1) Daddy brought Pussy Galore here AGAIN, and this time he said she was going to stay FOR A WHOLE MONTH! It took a long time before Pussy Galore could stand to be in the same room with me, and she would hiss whenever she walked past the basket I sleep in (and here's a picture of me in my basket):

But then Pussy Galore started sitting in my favorite places, and she started to sleep in the bedroom at night, and she jumped up into my kitty tree and got her stank all over it, and before long she would let me sit in the same room with her, as long as I didn't talk to her. Here's a picture of us ignoring each other yesterday:

And she eventually told me that her full name was Pussy Galore the Second, or "PG II," and she wasn't Andrew's cat after all, but belonged to Daddy's friends Louise and Brian, who had to be out of the country for a while, and that's why we were looking after her, and suddenly it all made sense! Her sister is Asta, that terrier puppy that I see sometimes, and that's why I hissed at Pussy Galore when I first met her—she smelled like dog! But once PG II figured out that I was a friend of her sister Asta, we got along OK. And PG II explained that she was less than two years old, and she'd never met a boy cat before, or one that was as old as me (I'm thirteen!), and she was named after her mommy's first cat (Pussy Galore the First) who was named after a character in some James Bond film. So PG II and I have started to get along better, but we're not as chummy as Gerald and I used to. But PG II likes to pretend to ignore me while I eat, like this:

And if you think cats are good at ignoring people, you have no idea how good we cats are at ignoring each other!

The day I met Pussy Galore

2008-06-27T20:34:00.003+10:00

It's been four months since I last blogged because I've been so busy and all sorts of things have changed. In April 2008 my Daddy moved house, and my new place is a townhouse with two floors and a staircase that I love running up and down, like this:

And there's a banister I like looking through, like this:

And I 've been the only cat in this whole house, and I miss my brother Gerald so much, since I've never had a new house all to myself, so until now I 've really been wanting some cat company.

Then last night at about 9:30 pm, Daddy came home with his friend Andrew (he’s babysat me a couple times) and Andrew was carrying a cage with a girl-cat in it! And I figured she must be Andrew’s cat, and I could hear her growling inside her cage as soon as she saw me, and her growl said, “My name is Pussy Galore, and I’ve never met a big black cat before, so get away from me!” And she looks like this:

So I poofed up my tail to three times its size because I was so excited, but Daddy put me upstairs in the bedroom and I wasn’t allowed to see Pussy Galore for a long time so that she could wander around my house first (and notice I said "MY" house!). Daddy told me later that she came out of her cage very, very slowly and sniffed the floor around her cage, then she sniffed a potted plant, and then she sniffed the drapes by my bay window, and then she crouched down by the window and hid behind the curtains. Daddy put out food and water and a litter box for her and let her sit right where she was behind the curtains which is where she felt safe. And here's a picture of her once she got out from under the curtains:

And I was waiting for Daddy in the bedroom, and was very curious about this strange girl-cat in my house, but I didn’t make any fuss about letting me out. Daddy got up after a couple hours and still wouldn’t let me out of the bedroom; but he told me that Pussy Galore had left the curtains and had started to sniff out the rest of the room and gradually the entire ground floor, and she was very methodical, as if her nose was a vacuum cleaner going over every inch of the carpet, and if she ever caught Daddy’s eye, she’d run away. Daddy went back to bed for another couple hours, then finally I couldn’t stand it any more so I tried waking him up by pawing his shoulder, and when that didn't work I bit his ear, and when he swatted at me I sat my butt on his face, and that worked! So Daddy opened the door, and this time Pussy Galore was in the hallway right outside our bedroom, just sitting and waiting for us to come out! But Daddy picked me up and put me in the bathroom and shut me in there, and all the time Pussy Galore was growling because she had seen me! But Daddy turned on the tub so I could have a drink of water, which I did, but what I really wanted was to suss out that new girl-cat! But sure enough, Daddy came back to the bathroom and scooped me up and put me in the bedroom with him and shut the door, but I could smell Pussy Galore’s stank on Daddy’s legs, so she had already started rubbing him and laying claim on him.

Finally in the morning, Uncle Kevin got up and let me out of the bedroom, and I ran straight to the bathroom where I smelled Pussy Galore’s pee on the bath mat, and I found Pussy Galore sitting in the cupboard on top of some clean sheets, and Kevin got the surprise of his life when Pussy Galore started hissing at me from inside the cupboard—so of course I started hissing back. Daddy zoomed in and dragged me back into the bedroom, and Pussy Galore apparently ran downstairs and hid underneath the living room sofa.

It was finally about 10:00 a.m. this morning when Daddy fetched Pussy Galore from under the sofa and took her upstairs, and I heard him say, “It’s time to put these cats together for better or worse, and I don’t want Pussy Galore to feel like she’s in a corner, so she needs the chance to stand her ground when Oscar comes out.” So Daddy opened the door, and I poked my head out very slowly, and Pussy Galore took one look at me and growled and darted down the stairs, and of course I zoomed afterwards, and by the time I got down there, Pussy Galore was back underneath the sofa growling, so I stuck my head underneath to look at her and poofed out my tail, like this:

Now, if you’re not a cat psychologist, I’ll tell you that we cats prefer not to fight with each other if we can help it, and if we’re afraid and sussing up a stranger, most of what we do is posturing, so there was some growling and hissing, but Pussy Galore and I kept our distance from each other, so there was no biting or scratching or fur flying, and after about five minutes of sussing her out, I decided to let her be and proceeded to sniff every inch of the house where she’d been, starting with her food dish—and naturally, I decided to eat her food—plus the spot where she had hid behind the curtains. I was moving as slowly and trance-like as she had done, and she had a very peculiar smell, and after about half an hour I had gone into the other rooms of my house, but then Daddy decided to take Pussy Galore back to her home and let me feel like I had the place back to myself, so he let me suss out Pussy Galore one last time while she was in her cage, where she would feel safe, and where I could see that she was leaving, and it ended up something of a hissing match, but at least we said farewell.

Possums Outside My Window

2008-02-26T13:52:00.002+11:00

Last night there were possums outside my window! At first I thought it might be angels, since we kitties can often see angels at night (but I can't tell you which ones, 'cause that's one of my kitty secrets), but it turns out it wasn't angels this time, but possums! And this isn't the first time they've spooked me at night. I think there's a baby and a mommy, and they like to run around the bushes outside my window at about 3:00 a.m. and I put myself in the window and hit the glass with my tail because they get me so excited!

I remember how the squirrels in Michigan always got me excited, but they were nothing compared to Aussie possums!

Gerald's Ashes

2008-01-23T11:00:00.001+11:00

Daddy came back home last night after being in Hawaii for a couple weeks visiting Popo and Uncle Joel and while Daddy was there he took some of Gerald's ashes and spread them around some special places on Oahu which is one of the most beautiful places in the world that Gerald never got a chance to visit. Come to think of it, I've never been there either, but Daddy showed me the pictures.

The first place Daddy put Gerald's ashes was over the side of the Nuuanu Pali, a big cliff on the southeast corner of the island of Oahu, and it looks like this:

It was very windy up there and Gerald's ashes went whoosh into the wind. The Daddy drove up the east coast of the island to the north shore and stopped at a beach near Haleiwa and put some of Gerald's ashes in the water on the rocks near the shore, and it looked like this:

Then on the next day Daddy went to the top of Punchbowl where there's a military cemetery in the crater of an extinct volcano and he put some of Gerald's ashes in the gardens there that look out over Honolulu:

And hearing about it made me very nostalgic for Gerald and it's only been about two months since he passed away...so I'm going to spend the rest of my day sitting in Daddy's lap or Uncle Kevin's lap and thinking about my brother who I miss so much.

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-25T21:59:00.000+11:00

Hello all, this is how I spent my Christmas holiday:

Doesn't that look fun? Good, 'cause it was! I have so many fond memories of Christmases in America at Popo and Gung-Gung's house, because there was always a Christmas tree and lots of present to roll around in, and lots of ribbon to play with, so here's a picture of how I liked to peek up under the tree when Popo lived in Toledo, Ohio:

And here's Gerald playing with Popo and some ribbon when she lived in Harbor Springs, Michigan:
I find myself missing my brother Gerald an awful lot at holiday times like these, because he and I would have special romps around the tree, and we'd bat at the ornaments together, and we always got presents like new toys. But holidays are times to be happy, not sad, so I'm going to enjoy remembering Gerald when he was at his happiest, and for me that will be the best Christmas present ever.

OSCAR

Green vomit

2007-12-21T17:29:00.000+11:00

It’s been four weeks now since my brother Gerald died, and why am I still counting the days? I guess it’s because I still think about him all the time and expect him to come bouncing around the corner to try and steal my kitty space, and I miss the fact that he doesn’t, which is why I’m sitting in the dirty laundry today, which used to be one of Gerald’s best kitty spaces.

My tummy didn’t feel well these past few days and I lost my appetite and decided to show my displeasure by vomiting up some watery green stuff (as one does), so guess what? I got to go back to the vet AGAIN and the kitty doctor checked my digestive system and said I had no blockage, and she took my temperature (and you can guess where she put the thermometer!), and she checked my eyes and my ears and my heart, and then she gave me a shot (not fun!) because she said that I might have a touch of gastro from the other medications I had to take this past week, and the shot would relieve any stomach spasms, and she said I had lost a little bit of weight but was otherwise fine. All together, I HATED IT! But when I got home, after a while I got fed some special easily digestible food (called i/d) which I LOVED so I tucked right into it. I’m fine now, and we kitty cats get these kind of tummy upsets every now and then; and I remember a couple years ago I had a tummy upset just like this, and Gerald told me that we kitty cats are the experts at barfing, and I should practice my aim, so when I was sick at that time, I waited till Daddy came home, then I went into the bathroom with the tile floor that’s difficult to clean, and I vomited a huge spray of greenish-brown bile all over the floor, just so Daddy would notice (and he did!). And he took me to the vet that time too, and gave me the special i/d diet back then too, and I got better real fast.

It’s only four more days until Christmas, and tomorrow is the summer solstice here in Australia, which means it’s the longest day and the shortest night of the year, with 14 hours and 47 minutes of daylight here in Melbourne, and I’m not sure whether to be happy or disappointed, since Gerald often told me that kitty cats are night creatures, which is why we sleep during the day and creep about the house at night to peer out the windows and keep the evil spirits away and say hello to any angels that drop by, and it was Gerald who taught me how to look for angels at night, and although I’ve seen more bugs, I have seen a few angels, but I’ll never say which ones, since that’s one of my kitty secrets. So Gerald never liked the summer solstices because it meant the least amount of night time for him to creep around in. But I like the summer solstice because I like looking out into my garden at all the pretty flowers, and I like having more daylight hours to sleep in!

Daddy finally put up a Christmas tree with all his favorite ornaments (many of them from Sesame Street), but my favorite ornament is the sled that says “I Love My Cats,” so here’s some pictures:

I don’t know what Daddy plans to get me for Christmas, but I hope it’s a toy or kitty treats or yummy kibble, or even catnip, and it better not be another trip to that vet!

OSCAR

Glow-in-the-dark Cats?

2007-12-15T20:21:00.000+11:00

It’s been just over three weeks now since my brother Gerald died and I feel a little odd about counting the days because it doesn’t really change the fact that he’s not around, and three weeks seems like such a short time and yet it feels like a long time, and being a kitty cat, I enjoy having all the attention to myself and I like being able to be in al my own kitty spaces without having to share them, but I do get lonely sometimes, and I suppose that’s normal.

Uncle Kevin found this news article on-line about some scientists in Korea who are cloning kitties who glow in the dark, and I think to myself, “Leave it to humans to invent cats that they can find in the dark! Don’t they know that cats don’t want to be seen in the dark?”

Visit URL http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071212/ts_afp/healthscienceskoreacloning

It reminds me of the time when we were living in Ann Arbor on Lawrence street, and there was a power failure, and Daddy’s neighbor knocked on the door to borrow a flashlight, and of course when he opened the door, I went out, but nobody saw me, at they didn’t notice I was gone for a whole half hour, and then Daddy and Aunty Beth panicked and grabbed a pair of flashlights and looked for me all around the neighborhood, and Daddy kept saying, “How do you find a black cat in a power failure?”, and they searched for me for over an hour, but of course I was hiding the whole time and I never told anybody where I hid myself, and when I was ready I came back to the front door of our apartment and just waited until Aunty Beth came back and stumbled upon me, and she said, “Oscar! Where have you been?”, and I just grinned, and when I got inside Gerald was very jealous that I got to have such an adventure, because he was always even more adventurous than me (like the many times he snuck into our upstairs neighbors’ apartment in the house on Catherine Street, or the time he hid in Joel’s room in Harbor Springs for over three hours and no one could find him). But if you clone cats so that they glow in the dark, that ruins all the fun! Daddy remembers when he took Gerald to get radiation treatment for his thyroid problem all those years ago, and we joked that Gerald might glow in the dark afterwards, but that was just a joke; but these cloned kitties really do glow in ultraviolet light, and that’s crazy!

And speaking of crazy, I’ve been going a little crazy after Daddy started giving me that yummy kidney diet food, and those antibiotic pills twice a day, because I started getting diarrhea and a very wet poo, so I had to go back to the doctor AGAIN to be poked and prodded, and I was so scared they were going to stick a needle in my bladder again, but they didn’t, but they did give Daddy another yucchy medicine to give me, and this one is for my diarrhea, and I just hate it, but at least I stopped scratching my ear and the infection has started to go away. But Daddy doesn’t give me my favorite kitty treats any more because the pet store can’t get them imported until after the start of the new year, which is making me crazy! Isn’t there an Australian company that can make decent cat treats?

Daddy says that Christmas is less than two weeks away, and I remember lots of Christmases that we used to spend in Toledo, Ohio, or Harbor Springs, Michigan, and Gerald and I used to love sitting under the Christmas tree and playing with any ornaments we could reach and watching the tree lights twinkle on and off, and we would sit in the windowsills and look out at the snow and the ice; but here in Australia it’s so different, since it’s hot and dry at Christmas time, and Daddy hasn’t even put up a tree this year since there’s not enough room for one, but at least Uncle Kevin put up some Christmas decorations and some lights, and here’s a picture of them:

I don’t know what Daddy’s going to get me for Christmas, but you can probably guess what I want—KIBBLE! Or kitty treats, if the pet shop can find them. Or a new feather toy that I can play with. And knowing my luck, I’ll just get a new collar that I won’t even like. Here’s a picture of me and Gerald from a few months ago, and you can see what my old collar looks like:

I'm not saying that I wouldn't mind a new collar, but you know me, I WANT KITTY KIBBLE!

OSCAR

My Yucchy Visit to the Vet

2007-12-06T22:51:00.001+11:00

Here I am, sitting in the window of our flat, and Uncle Kevin says this picture makes me look like a monkey, but I keep telling him that I’m a kitty, not a monkey! But he thinks I’m adorable, which makes me happy.

It’s been exactly two weeks now since my big brother Gerald passed away, so today Daddy took me to the kitty doctor to check on my general state of health, and I freaked out when he took out the carrier cage because I remember the last time Gerald left the house in his carrier cage and he never came back, so I did NOT want to go into my carrier cage, so Daddy practically had to push me into it, and so I meowed and meowed and meowed and meowed in the hopes that someone would let me out, but then Daddy carried me to the vet and once I was there I did NOT want to be let out. And while I was waiting at the vet, Kofi, the resident kitty cat, came over to sniff me and tell me that everything would be OK, but I wasn’t interested in listening; and a blonde Labrador retriever came out of the examination room, and even though he was very well behaved, I thought to myself, “oh no, not another dog!” and I did NOT want to be let out of my cage. Then finally we went into the examination room, and the kitty doctor pulled me out of my cage, and Daddy helped hold me while the doctor shaved the base of my tail AGAIN to take my blood pressure, and here I had spent all those weeks growing my fur back to hide my “shame,” and now he went and shaved it again! And my blood pressure was quite elevated when he measured it, and wouldn’t yours be if you went through everything I was going through? And then the doctor lifted me to listen to my heartbeat, and I wiggled and tried to say “Let me down!” but I was too nervous to meow. And then he turned the lights off and shined a thing in my eyes to see if the backs of my eyes indicated anything about high blood pressure, and luckily my eyes didn’t look bad, but it wasn’t over yet, since next he looked at my teeth (or what’s left of them, and I started thinking, no, don’t take any more out!), and then he noticed my ears where I’ve been scratching myself a lot lately, like this:

and the kitty doctor saw that I’ve scratched my left ear so much that I got a secondary infection, and he also noticed wax in my ears, so he put a yucchy liquid in my ears, and I HATE having liquid in my ears, so I shook my head and knocked the bottle of liquid off the table, and then I shook my head again when I knew that he was standing right over me, so I aimed that awful liquid right into his eye (serves the doctor right for doing all this stuff to me)! And then he took a needle and gave me a shot of an anti-inflammatory, so I wouldn’t feel like scratching myself more, and I wanted to say, “Are we DONE yet?”, but he wasn’t, because he stuck another needle in my bladder to take a urine sample, and then FINALLY he let me go and I ran into my carrier cage. But the doctor said that my urine was more “diluted” than it was a couple months ago, which might indicate a kidney problem, so he told Daddy to put me on a kidney food diet, and also to give me antibiotics for the next ten days for the infection around my ears. And he said he’d send my urine to the lab for another test, but I wasn’t listening at this point, I just wanted Daddy to take me home! So at long last Daddy took me home and gave me some of the new kidney diet kibble, and I love it! It tastes so great that I scarfed it down, like this:

and I even used my paw to grab the kibble and move it closer to me in my dish! And the antibiotic pills were tasty too, so even though having yucchy stuff in my ears was just awful, at least I got some tasty kibble out of it!

Uncle Kevin sat with me all afternoon while Daddy was at work, and then later they both went to the Emergency Vet Clinic at the airport for one last time, to pick up Gerald’s ashes, since Daddy had hired the Australian Pet Cremation & Burial Service people to cremate Gerald, and they delivered his ashes in a little wooden urn to the clinic where the nurses still had Gerald’s cage and blanket. And Daddy and Uncle Kevin were a little weepy when they brought the ashes home, but then they found a nice place on the shelf for the urn, after they let me approve of it:

Then this evening my doggy friend Asta dropped by with her Mommy Louise, and I’ve seen Asta lots of times, so I just sat down on the floor and stretched out and let Louise tickle my belly, then I walked over to my kibble dish and ignored Asta. Gerald was the one who used to run around with Asta whenever she would visit; but for me, when it comes to dogs, I show my affection for them by ignoring them.

Then I decided to take my evening nap, and where better than some nice clean sweaters?

Uncle Kevin had washed and packed up all his sweaters so that he could store them in the closet during the hot summer, but I said “No, not until I bless them!” and so that’s what I’m doing, since no sweater will store well unless it has come black kitty fur mixed in. That’s another lesson I learned from Gerald, since almost every article of clothing that Daddy owns has some Gerald fur on it!

I miss having Gerald around to share the simple kitty things, like sitting in laundry together, or looking out the window together, or competing for the Kevin Pillow; and as the days turn into weeks and will soon turn into months, I have lots and lots of fun memories to make me feel like Gerald is still close to me. But every time Uncle Kevin or Daddy walks by my kitty tree, I coo at him to remind him that I’m still here to give kitty love, and Gerald would be very happy to know that we’re going on as a happy family.

OSCAR