Black Cat Day

 There's a day for everything now, and today is Black Cat Day. So, in honor of Black Cat Day, I'm going to rerun a post about the black cat we used to have, Lucky. 

We got Lucky with his sister Lucy, as a young kitten from one of Theo's classmates. When Lucky was a few weeks old, he followed his mother out a door that closed on him before he was all the way through. His family thought the slamming door had killed him, but no, Lucky had other ideas. When he came to us a few weeks later, he was a healthy, playful kitten that we named Lucky because of the good luck he had already had in his young life.

It was soon evident that he was the dominant cat over his littermate Lucy, a sweet, gentle girl. Three years later, he remained the top cat when the other two cats, Leo and Annie, came into the house. Despite constant challenges from Annie, Lucky remained in charge. No need for swats or growls to keep the others in line. A stern look from him was all that it took.

As part of his leadership role, he was a leader in the food department. He was the one who got to eat first and the one who opened the food bag for the others. He could tear a hole in a new bag of food in no time flat. Then the others got to enjoy the spoils of his efforts. We tried to put the food away as soon as we got it, but he was amazingly fast at this trick.

He also got first crack at the prey that ventured into our house. He didn't bring the dead mouse or mole to us, as many cats do; he hid them under one particular rug in the basement. The same rug that he did his trick of lying on his side and running around the edge of it. We don't know what all of that meant in cat behavior, but I guess he did.

Lucky was also a relaxed cat who enjoyed a good lap to purr on and a pat from anyone — stranger or not. Even the vet. That was until he had some medical problems that needed invasive procedures. After that, the vet was not his friend. In fact, sometimes it took two or three of the most experienced people at the vet's to help Lucky with what he needed. Can't say that I blamed him. I wouldn't have been very happy with the people who poked and prodded me for no good reason that I could understand. But he and I survived, as did our other cats he hissed at for several days after they had been to the vet.

He was also our adventure kitty. All of our cats were indoor cats. They were curious about the outside, but happy to watch the show from a window. A door left open by mistake might get a cat creeping outside, but never a dash. So we couldn't figure out how and why we would occasionally find Lucky outside meowing at a window to come back in. He seemed happy, just ready to come inside for a bit of warmth. Sometimes he had been out all night, and we didn't even know he was out there. One time, he helped us figure out that we had a torn screen (maybe he tore it), but other times, we never figured out how he made it out. But he always came back.

Lucky had a good, long life of 18 years, and we still miss him.

Lucky, Blessed, and Fortunate

I was listening to a show on the radio today talking about mental health and the war in Ukraine. Basically, the experts said as a collective whole, we've been under a lot of stress for an extended period of time with the pandemic and now the Ukraine invasion. Among other things, one point discussed was the guilt felt of living a normal life while so much suffering is going on. The advice here was to do what you can in your sphere of influence and live your life. Even people in dire circumstances do what they can to live and celebrate life. So with this in mind, I will continue writing about everyday things--good things (you can get the difficult news in another place) and try not to feel guilty. Thus begins my series of Lucky, Blessed, and Fortunate.

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I know that I am lucky, blessed, and fortunate that I recently went to see Jesus Christ Superstar at the Kennedy Center, an iconic landmark in Washington, D.C. It has world-class productions, and you often see the President and other celebrities attending performances there. Any time I visit an iconic place, I get excited, and this time was no exception. Ward used to go regularly to the Kennedy Center with his mother to see the National Symphony when he was in high school, but he hadn't been back since then. So besides seeing the rock opera, it was also a nostalgic visit for him. 

We went with Miss Landers and her friend, who treated us to the tickets. Ward did the arduous task of maneuvering through difficult traffic, so all I had to do was sit back and enjoy the trip. I'm not sure we would have made it if it had been up to me. I don't like driving even in the best of circumstances, but Ward always delivers. 

The production was fantastic. It was an hour and a half of nonstop music and drama. I knew most of the songs by heart, but I had never seen it as the opera it was intended to be. Seeing it this way brought new meaning to a very familiar story. What I didn't realize before this was that the play was told from the perspective of Judas. It all made better sense now. I remember when the album was first out, the adults around me saying that they were not happy that it ended with the crucifixion and not the following resurrection. Judas hanged himself before Jesus was hanged, so it makes sense that the story ended where it did.

We were seated in the balcony and got a good view of the beautiful lights in the ceiling.

It was a very enjoyable afternoon, and I'm proud to say that no one had to shush me from singing along too loudly, although there was a little humming under my mask. :)

The weather was nice that afternoon, so 
 we spent time on the terrace overlooking the Potomac River after the show.
That's Georgetown in the distance.

 

And Then There Were Two *

Last Friday, our cat, Lucky, died. It was time. He lived a good 18 years.

We got Lucky. with his sister Lucy, as a young kitten from one of Theo's classmates. When Lucky, a black** kitten, was a few weeks old, he followed his mother out a door that closed on him before he was all of the way through. His family thought the slamming door had killed him, but no, Lucky had other ideas. When he came to us a few weeks later, he was a healthy, playful kitten that we named Lucky because of the good luck he had already had in his young life.

It was soon evident that he was the dominant cat over his litter mate Lucy, a sweet gentle girl. Three years later he remained the top cat when the other two cats, Leo and Annie, came into the house. Despite constant challenges from Annie, Lucky remained in charge. No need for swats or growls to keep the others in line. A stern look from him was all that it took.

As part of his leadership role, he was a leader in the food department. He was the one who got to eat first and the one who opened the food bag for the others. He could tear a hole in a new bag of food in no time flat. Then the others got to enjoy the spoils of his efforts. We tried to put the food away as soon as we got it, but he was amazingly fast at this trick.

He also got first crack at the prey that ventured into our house. He didn't bring the dead mouse or mole to us as many cats do, he hid them under one particular rug in the basement. The same rug that he did his trick of laying on his side and running around the edge of it. We don't know what all of that meant in cat behavior, but I guess he did.

Lucky was also a relaxed cat who enjoyed a good lap to purr on and a pat from anyone--stranger or not. Even the vet. That was until he had some medical problems that needed invasive procedures. After that, the the vet was not his friend. In fact, sometimes it took two or three of the most experienced people at the vet's to help Lucky with what he needed. Can't say that I blamed him. I wouldn't have been very happy with the people who poked and prodded me for no good reason that I could understand. But he and I survived as well as the other cats whom he hissed at for several days after they had been to the vet.

He was also our adventure kitty. All of our cats were indoor cats. They were curious about the outside, but happy to watch the show from a window. A door left open by mistake might get a cat creeping outside, but never a dash. So we couldn't figure out how and why we would occasionally find Lucky outside meowing at a window to come back in. He seemed happy, just ready to come inside for a little warmth. Sometimes he had been out all night and we didn't even know he was out there. He helped us figure out one time that we had a torn screen (maybe he tore it), but other times we never figured out how he made it out. But he always came back.

I have 18 years of stories to tell about Lucky, too numerous to tell all of them here. Let me just say that there is an emptiness in our house now that wasn't there last week. Lucky had a good long life that we are very grateful for and he will be missed.

*We now have two cats, Annie and Leo.

**On first glance, Lucky was a black cat. But a further look revealed more. Each one of his hairs was black tipped, but the rest of it was light grey often giving him a curious look. The vet called him a tabby because of the stripes on his tail and officially a Domestic Short Hair. We called him Lucky.

Thankful Sunday--December 17, 2017

I am thankful for a hungry kitty.

Our cat, Lucky, is 17 1/2 years old. Quite a respectable age for a cat. In fact, that's the oldest we've ever had a cat live. However, he is starting to have various problems as he ages. The most serious one was that recently he decided to stop eating altogether.

However, with a new medicine and change in food, he is interested in food again. Hurray! And here's how I know Lucky is really feeling better. About a week and a half into the new medicine, he started to fight me when I gave it to him. Before, there was only the slightest of protest. I have a new set of scratches, but that's okay because our old Lucky is going to be with us a little while longer.

So for a hungry kitty, I am thankful.

Cat Problems, Lucky and Lucy

Although cats are known to be standoffish, they can be demanding--especially if you aren't doing just what they want. And with the four at my house that usually involves food, petting, and more food.

Lucky, doing what all cats do--get into bags.

Two of my cats, Lucky and Lucy, have needed a lot of attention in these areas recently. They are both elderly so when I noticed they were losing weight, I was upset, but not surprised. This had been a pattern in other older cats I had had before and the cause of their problems was failing kidneys. Cats have fragile kidneys which often fail as they get older. When the kidneys aren't filtering well, toxins build up and take away the cat's appetite. Thus, they eat less, and lose weight. You can treat the symptoms of kidney failure, but can't really stop the progression of the disease. Ward and I talked and agreed on how far we were willing to go with treatment before I took them to the vet. We were ready.

Part of our suspicions were confirmed when we found that they had both indeed lost weight. However, followup blood tests showed that both of their kidney functions were good as well as all of the other screening tests that were done. That was a relief, but something was still going on. What? This was uncharted territory for us. Follow up blood work showed that Lucky had hyperthyroidism, meaning his body was burning off more than he was eating. And many other followup tests showed that Lucy had pancreatitus--meaning her body was not digesting her food enough to absorb it.

Luckily, both of these conditions are treatable IF the cat decides to cooperate. Lucky's treatment is not too bad. It involves putting gel on the inside of his ear flap once a day. He tolerates this well except when he runs away or flattens his ear making it hard to get the medicine inside. However, he is responding to treatment and gaining weight.

Lucy demanding better food.

When howling doesn't work,
she tries the pleading eyes.

Lucy is another story. She has what on paper seems to be a simple treatment. Powder gets sprinkled on her food containing the enzymes she needs to help her digest it. However, Lucy wants nothing to do with this altered food. We have tried multiple foods, both wet and dry, commercial and home cooked. We have also tried feeding her with a little powder and no powder, separately and with the other cats, or just she gets the powder or all of the cats get the powder, We've also tried feeding frequently or not so often as well as giving her B vitamin shots and appetite stimulants. We've tried everything we can think of with very limited results. In the beginning she went for two days without eating anything because of the enzymes. (Not a good thing for an already emaciated cat.) Now, she will eat a few kibble with a very slight dusting of powder in the bowl--sometimes. The vet said that Lucy is acting very typical for a cat and to keep trying. She may give in and slowly adjust. I hope so because I'm getting tired. However, as the vet pointed out, we've only been at this for a week. My how time doesn't fly when you aren't having fun.

I hope Lucy adjusts and we get a lot more time with her. However, if this simple treatment doesn't work, we're in for some difficult decisions ahead. In the meantime, Lucy is begging for more food (she's been here howling three times since I stared writing this) because the last time I fed her, I put enzyme powder on her food. And in her eyes, that's just not acceptable.

Meet Lucky

Lucky

(so named after surviving an unfortunate

encounter with a slamming door as a kitten.)

L-Lucy's litter mate

U-Unusual coloring--black-tipped gray fur

C-Calm, except when the vet is involved

K-King of our four cats

Y-You'll love him.