Disclaimer: I have nine cats! But I'm not an expert on cats, I'm learning as I go along. This blog is about my cats, their crazy natures, their fights and the mischief they get up to! If you are looking for advice on how to take care of cats, this is not the place for you!!
It's gone very cold here; we even had a few flurries of snow the other day!
The cats are very good at finding the warm spots!
One good place, in the morning, is in front of the big window. It gets a bit of sun on it, and there are usually birds outside for entertainment!
Alan is enjoying the morning sun.
Of course, the best place is on the beds, especially when the electric blanket has been left on! I don't like the cats in my room, but these three managed to sneak in! I was going to kick them out, but they looked so comfortable!
Sam, Frodo and Mama, all snuggled up!
Then there's Fluffy, who always has to sit on something! Even one sheet of tissue.
Fluffy on a sheet of tissue.
According to the weather, it's going to get a lot colder next week. I like the cold weather, but not this cold!
Update on Alan, he's doing much better. His last vet visit was on Monday. The vet said that he was peeing alright, just finish the medicine he was given and keep an eye on him. I can see that he is a lot better; he is walking around meowing at everyone and everything, which is normal for him!
Alan is enjoying the sun.
All of my cats got spoiled over the holiday. They all got some of the leftover chicken, plus my daughter is home for the holidays, she loves these cats and really misses them when she's at her own place. She has spent most of the holiday playing with them. They follow her around all day!
Just a couple of photos.
Steve looks angry, but he was really purring.
This is Sam's favourite spot, the middle of my bed.
Fluffy is guarding my cup.
Alfie, sitting with his paw up. There's nothing wrong with it!
The Christmas festivities were great! We ate, laughed, and I watched a musical with my daughter, just enjoying ourselves! I have another blog where I wrote in detail about that (here's the link, if you are curious, Jackie's Japan Journal).
But poor Alan has spent most of the holiday going back and forth to the vet! Christmas isn't a holiday here in Japan, so everything is open. I've always struggled with that, it feels funny to be able to go to the bank, shops or anything over Christmas. But this year I'm very grateful that it's not a holiday. The emergency vet is over an hour's drive; our vet is just 10 minutes away.
On the 24th, we noticed that Alan wasn't peeing again, so we took him to the vet. The vet emptied his bladder and did a thorough check. It looks like there are a lot of little stones, almost like sand in the urethra, which means Alan can't pee!
From the 25th until the 27th, Alan had to go twice a day, to empty his bladder and see if the medication was working.
Alan is doing a lot better, but has to go again on Monday. I really hope this is resolved because the New Year is a holiday here in Japan. Most places close from the 30th to January 2nd. I don't know about the vet; his house and clinic are together, so he might open if needed. I really hope we won't need to go!
Another thing about this vet is that he doesn't charge too much. Each visit costs about 1,000 yen (about $5), which includes the check-up, treatment and medicine! For that, I'm very grateful. I've heard some places charge up to 10,000 yen (about £50) per visit! How about where you're from? What are vet fees like?
Yesterday was 13 years since my husband passed away.
It was a hard day, hard week, actually. I think part of that had to do with being very busy and feeling a bit under the weather with a slight cold.
After lunch yesterday, I was talking to my son, just chatting about this and that. I know he misses his Dad, but he doesn't say much, typical man! As we were talking, Fred jumped up on the table, pulled David's arm and curled his front paws around it and rested his head on David's arm.
Fred hugging David's arm.
Fred is not the most affectionate cat; he'll tolerate a bit of fuss, but after a couple of minutes, he walks away! To see him like this for about 20 minutes was very unusual!
It was nice and reminded me that our animals are a lot more sensitive to our moods and feelings than we are aware of!
I'm not sure who the culprit was, but they managed to open a cupboard door, drag the big bag of food out. The white bag contained the smaller bags. They got the smaller bags out and chewed them open!
The cats aren't starving!
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry! The photos were taken after most of the mess had been cleaned up. Coming home from work, I don't expect to be greeted by such a disaster!
All of my male cats have problems with their urinary tract. They get stones, which makes it difficult to pass urine. I'm very vigilant with their diet, also making sure there is always water for them to drink. But of course, they still get sick now and then.
David noticed that Sam was going to the litter box but not doing anything, just squatting there for ages. Sam seemed alright, still eating and drinking, still racing around the house, chasing the other cats or being chased. Last night he was in my room again, every hour he got up to go to the litter box, but didn't do anything! So of course, he needs to go to the vets!
Then this morning, I noticed Alan was also squatting in the litter box but not doing anything. Also, he was moewing very loudly, a sure sign that something was wrong!
When David came home from his night shift, I asked him to take them to the vets. Which is where the entertainment started!
I was trying to clean out my kitchen cabinet, but I was getting too much help from the cats!
I don't know why the newspaper was so interesting!
David got a couple of cat carriers from the storage place. The cats saw them and took off!
We managed to get Alan in, but Sam wasn't having it. He ran off and hid under the sofa! It took half a dozen attempts to get him in.
I didn't go to the vets; I was busy cleaning up the mess the cats had made.
David said that we had caught the problem early; both had small blockages. Alan had to have a catheter put in to drain his bladder. Sam had no urine in his bladder, so he just needs medicine.
On the way home, David said that Sam got out of the carrier and sat on David's lap! Fortunately, it's only a 10-minute drive!
When they got home, Sam went into hiding again. He actually got on the cat tower.
Sam is not happy!
Alan, however, was complaining to the other cats! He followed them around, nudging them, then he started to meow again!
One thing I'm very grateful for is the price. I thought that with two cats being seen, it would cost over 20,000 yen, about £100. But it was only 8,000 yen, about £40, including the medicine.
I really hope that the other cats don't get sick.
Looks like going back to only giving this expensive cat food.
With nine cats, that's a lot of money, especially since our budget is very tight. So we've been giving cheaper food. Not every day, maybe two or three times a week! Looks like that isn't working! So, back to the expensive food!
A couple of them are rather stand-offish; they aren't interested in being petted, but enjoy playing with whoever is around.
Then, three of them are the troublemakers; whenever there is a fight, I know that one of them will be in the middle.
Then there is Fluffy, who is stand-offish until it comes to getting people food, especially chicken. She knows how to be very cute to get what she wants! She is also good at imitating a parrot!
Fluffy, being a parrot.
Most of the cats will get on your lap or sit next to you when it gets cold!
But Sam is the biggest love bug. The past week, he has decided that sleeping on my bed is the best place, it's warm!
He sits outside my room crying until I let him in. Once I open the door, he runs in with a very cute, quiet meow, as if to say thank you!
Curled up on my bed!
Before he goes to sleep, he purrs and starts making biscuits!
I don't mind, but he likes to be in the middle of the bed, so I have to find a way to lie down around him. I try to move him to where I think it would be better, but he always moves back to the middle!
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