Birthday Kittens!

Its hard to believe, but these two cuties are 8 years old today. Even harder to believe is that Parm was ever that small...

Happy birthday to Khar'pern, Parm, and (gone but not forgotten) Per'la.

Kittens!

Happy 7th birthday to Khar'pern and Parm.

Its a bit of a sad day (for me, but probably not so much for them) since this is their first birthday without Per'la.

Mama loves you, kittens!

Happy Belated Birthday!

Khar’pern, Parm and Per’la turned 5 years old while I was out of town. I don't think Khar holds my absence against me, although I think its just one more item on Parm and Per'la's Reasons Why We Hate Mom (being banished to the dog crates being the first item, of course). Oh, well. Happy birthday, Kittens!

Happy Birthday, Kittens!

Khar’pern, Parm and Per’la are all 4 years old today (or close enough to today, anyway). Its hard to believe they’ve been part of the household for so long. Of course, its also hard to believe that 20lb Parm was ever a small, fluffy kitten.

Poor, Poor Parm

Thursday morning, Parm jumped off the bed. This normally wouldn’t make the news, but this time he apparently landed wrong and hurt his leg. He was limping just a bit, and when I checked his leg, I couldn’t find anything obviously wrong. Friday evening was the next time I saw him (he’s a hider, so I don’t see him every day) and he was limping pretty badly. Saturday morning, he was still limping, so I called the vet and made an appointment for Monday afternoon. Monday, his limp was on and off, so we went on to the vet. The exam showed that his right front elbow is swollen and painful to manipulate. The vet said that he was probably hyper-extended when he landed, and that’s what caused the injury. Keeping him quiet is the best option at this point, which isn’t hard to do. The difficulty is keeping him from jumping off of high surfaces (like the bed). Every time he does that, his limp gets worse. When he sleeps on lower surfaces, his limp gets better. So, we’ll just wait and see. If its still a problem in a couple of weeks, we’ll go back for a follow-up. On the upside, Lardbutt managed to lose some weight – he is now a petite 18.5 pounds...

Happy Birthday!

The kittens are three years old this week (Khar'pern yesterday, and Parm and Per'la somewhere around this time). They sure don't look like this anymore...

A Good Visit

The kittens went for their annual checkups yesterday. They’re all healthy, which was no surprise. Parm is just a bit too healthy, though – he weighed in at 19.8 lbs. His little sister, Per’la, weighs 14.1 lbs, and Khar’pern is the slimmest of all at 11.7 lbs. Parm also showed signs of gingivitis, but his teeth are shiny clean. The vet laughingly said he hopes Parm develops a bad tooth, as it might get him to cut back on how much he eats. I offered to let the dogs run Parm a bit, but we decided that might cause Parm heart problems. Parm still doesn’t groom himself very well, especially along his back. Most of it is just plain laziness, but the vet said that Parm responded to the physical exam in a way that indicates he may have a touch of arthritis – most likely brought on by being fat and lazy.

While I was there, the vet and I talked about Reyna a bit, too. He’s going to look into options for stronger pain killers, since she limps or drags her leg pretty much every day. We also discussed options for the dogs when I’m in Hawaii. I have a neighbor who’s agreed to watch the dogs, and I've talked to a couple of pet sitters, but I’m concerned about Reyna’s stress level with being left home alone with someone she doesn’t know really well for an entire week. Of course, I’m also concerned about the stress of boarding for a week. The vet’s opinion, and I’m inclined to agree with him, is that boarding is the better choice, because she knows those people, she likes it there, she and Duncan can do day camp each day - which will both distract her and wear her out - and I can call 24 hours a day to check on them. The cost is a problem, but I’ve gotten the last of my student loan, so I have some extra cash now. I’ll just have my neighbor pop in a few times to make sure the cats still have plenty of water. And, of course, the cats will actually be happier having the house entirely to themselves with no dogs or strangers to interfere with their fun.

To the Kittens!

The kittens all turn 1 year old this month. I know Khar’pern’s birthday is April 16, so it seems reasonable to celebrate all three at the same time. After all, Parm and Per’la can’t help the fact that there weren’t any people around to mark their entry into the world.

Happy birthday, Kittens!