Farewell

Jet joined our little family in June, 2015. 

"My youngest opened the door and this little black kitty immediately started loving her. Then me. He snuggled. He purred a quiet but steady little purr. And he drooled. There was no going back. "Jet" had found the family he wanted to go home with."

Jet's story is interwoven into the context of this blog in a manner that encompasses who he was to us in every way. His antics, his personality, his quirks, his neediness and intense curiosity.

When I made the move to my Little Oasis here just over a year ago, my daughter took over the care of our home and cat dependents. Two senior cats who came with a diverse and complex set of unique-to-them health challenges. 

To be loved by my daughter is to be loved without condition. She has taken these cats to the vet time, time and time again. Then some more. She did and has done everything in her power to make our cats comfortable. What medicine didn't heal, my daughter's love and devotion soothed.

Jet had a "mystery intestinal irritation" which resulted in litter box issues that preceded my move out and away from cat-responsibilities. We had investigated and tried everything. No stone was left unturned. In the end steroids bought Jet as much time as he could endure comfortably. 

Two weeks ago, the time to let him go had come.

Loss is not easy. Letting go is hard. Being held, comforted, in the presence of loved ones, consoling voices and tones in the end is the best one can hope for. 

As my daughter described Jet's last days and moments, I couldn't imagine a more loving farewell to our beloved Jet.

Jet was loved to the end and beyond. He was a good cat.

A Multi-Topical Post

I'm sitting in the middle of a natural "high" at the moment. Brought to me courtesy of: completing a task BEFORE a long weekend; savoring the moment of a Friday off; persevering through a challenging month; the satisfaction of the month-end credit card balance equaling $0.00; AND the morning-after elation of my 20% off shopping at Shoppers.

Where to begin? Where to begin?

I have a list of "hard things" to accomplish within my office-that-lives-at-home. There is a bonus to the satisfaction of completing these tasks due to the fact I chose my resignation date to coincide with completing, filing and finalizing all year-end tasks before my end date. Each of these tasks has a bonus prize of being the last time I am responsible for its completion. ONE big job done has paved the way for what must follow. The hard part is over.

Month-end. It snuck up on me this month. I knew I had one big deadline to meet by March 31st. What surprised me was the fact that March 31st landed on a Sunday, with Friday being a holiday. All month-end tasks were due by Thursday (March 28th). And I did it! 

I thrive on deadlines. Wishy washy "do this when you have time" goals are my enemy. Tell me I have a week? It's done. Hormones are spiked and I'm riding a natural high that endures longer than most anything else I can imagine.

Our life has been sprinkled with the reality of living life. Our senior cat's bloodwork revealed he has Stage 3 Chronic Kidney Disease. We are managing this with a renal cat food diet. Dry cat food is being consumed at a near-regular rate of speed, we've supplemented his diet with canned renal cat food and we have water dishes available in multiple areas. This has brought him back to where he was about a month ago. Litter conditions are unchanged so my unofficial diagnosis is his stomach is still not tolerating his food as well as it should. But we are enjoying his presence in our lives for as long as he is comfortable. 

A reminder that life is a temporary condition always feels like a surprise. Renewed appreciation of the small stuff is the reward.

I have been getting up an hour earlier, which has given me the illusion of extra time. The morning hours have always been my favorite. Time before the rest of the world wakes up feels more sacred. I've been prepared to step into my office at a reasonable hour without sacrificing the time it takes to recharge my own batteries.

Ahhh. Taking care of oneself without guilt of stealing time out of (what should be) work hours. Guilt-free pleasures are the best.

Speaking of taking care of myself, I have been diligently trying to take better care of this body I inhabit. Drinking water and spacing my vitamins and blood pressure medication two hours apart has become a full time job. I'm considering cutting out one of my vitamins to save time (and money). Then I added the complication of making a goal of meeting my daily fiber and calcium requirements. I'm so full from nuts/fiber and dairy, that I have little desire for actual meals. I do need to add some form of exercise (walking) into this routine but honestly! When will I have the time? I'll have to squeeze it into my day before my consumption of liquids necessitates the close proximity of washroom facilities.

What goes in, must come out. I am literally flushing my system. All day, every day. I (should) feel so clean inside.

Speaking of clean, I have yet to add a thorough cleansing of our home to my regimen. Thriving on deadlines is not serving me well as yet. I am planning on moving throughout the month of July. I have 3 months to procrastinate. Thirty years at one address will not pack up in a day. I have convinced myself that completing my work related tasks will free up the energy levels required to start dealing with the excess of possessions around here. I hope I'm right.

Packing up a full-time job and office, with the addition of emptying a home feels daunting. ONE step at a time.

I love and look forward to my personal month-end tasks. The games I play within my budget scheme are plentiful. They provide challenge, entertainment and joy. Let me tell you about my most recent joyful moment ...

Our weekly milk requirements revolve around senior's 20% off days at Shoppers. The bonus of Seniors Day at Shoppers is the minimum age requirement - 55 years. You better believe I mentioned this gift in my brother's 55th birthday card. It is a rite of passage and I have owned it. Add the association between Superstore's bonus points being added to the Shopper's Optimum card and it is a winning combination. 

Thanks to a bonus offer I couldn't refuse, I easily amassed $30.00 worth of points on my Optimum card. After an extremely expensive month, I opted to cash in $20.00 worth of those points when I made my weekly purchase. Add that to my 20% off savings and look at what I bought for $3.17 last night!!

Look at all that calcium and fiber!! $3.17!!! I am over the moon!

I need to save all the pennies I can. I have another expensive month on the horizon. New summer tires, an oil change, a few social outings (being reclusive is a much more affordable hobby), refilling my quarterly prescription, a hair cut and an unhealthy cat equals financial insecurity into my regularly scheduled life.

April is right around the corner and I'm already anticipating the satisfaction of enduring yet another month and summing it all up with my favorite number. Zero. Zero credit card balance + a near-zero savings account balance isn't my favorite combo, but it's better than the alternative.

All this and it is a holiday Friday to boot. Life just doesn't get any better ...

Hidden Blessings

Life threw us a few curve balls this past week ...

Our Senior Cat in Residence took a sharp turn for the worse one day. The vet cured his sneezing and excessive mucous condition, but almost immediately after he completed his dose of antibiotics things started to change.

I thought it was an side effect of the medication. I assumed once the antibiotics were out of his system he would be back to his regular self. I was wrong.

Litter conditions changed, there was another somewhat steep decline in food consumption. In the past, when one cat lost some weight, the second cat gained it. Total cat weight stayed the same. Food consumption remained static. This was not the case.

When the cat food started to last much longer than usual several months ago, my thoughts immediately went to the cost savings. Instead of going through one bag every four weeks, it was lasting five weeks. When my daughter commented on the recent decline in cat food consumed, along with our Senior Cat losing more weight, it raised alarm bells.

Then one day (it seemed suddenly, but in actuality it had been happening gradually for quite some time), Senior was laying down in odd spots throughout the day. The bathroom tiled floor, the bathtub and en route to wherever he was going. By nightfall, I noticed his walking was severely compromised. He was wobbling and could barely stand, let alone walk. My daughter had observed the same and we convened in the hallway where he stalled. 

This was serious. It felt like it happened overnight (it didn't). I honestly wondered if he would make it through the night. My daughter slept with one eye and two ears open all night (she didn't sleep). He made it.

In unrelated events (but I promise to tie the two subjects together) ...

The next morning, our internet went out. Just as I was thinking how fortunate we were that the city was grading our back alley, POOF! Our services were cut (literally - the grader dug up our internet cable which had not been buried). After a phone call to our service provider and some troubleshooting, we were put on a two day wait list for a service call.

The perfect storm ended up being a blessing in disguise.

No internet = more family time + a sick cat = lots of desire to talk it through.

Long story short, we took our cat to the vet and her suspicion is our cat's kidneys aren't functioning properly. Blood tests will confirm or deny, but the cure's starting cost is medication at the cost of approximately $130 per month PLUS a new diet of special renal cat food. She did give our cat one pill which stimulated his appetite and the increase of nutrients definitely smoothed things out the past few days. But it isn't a cure. We firmly believe our cat is in his end days.

Our missing internet connection provided the best conditions we could wish for, as my ability to work was hampered and my daughter's desire to be on the computer was thwarted.

We talked, we reminisced, we simply sat with each other's company while enjoying moments with our ailing kitty.

It was the worst of times, but we managed to turn them into the best moments one could hope for under the circumstances. There can be small blessings buried deeply within some of the hardest of times. 

Ray's favorite resting spot has been on the register of the bathroom for quite a spell now.
I added the comfort of the softest hand towel we have and he seems to appreciate my effort.

**Update - a recent check-in brought encouraging news. Ray seems to be doing well and appears to be walking normally. His blood tests are still pending. My hope is perhaps a change of "gold-nugget" cat food (Ray has been on an expensive special gastro-intestinal diet since shortly after we adopted him) may ease us through this next phase. Who knows? We can hope for the best...**

Spiralling

I'm in a thought spiral this morning, so I reverted to my old ways of managing the words spinning around in my head. I grabbed a pen and paper. 

Seeing the words on a piece of paper has a way of taming them. You can see you aren't thinking about a million different things - you are more likely to be thinking of a small number of things in a million different ways.

I started with the topic front and foremost in my mind, made bullet points about my thoughts, concerns, potential action plans and what was or wasn't within my control.

I came up with eight main focuses of concern. Five of these are ongoing. Three are new. Some are inter-connected (ie: our cat's chronic mucous-spewing sneezing is impacting my house-keeping abilities). Money is a common thread throughout most of my ongoing worries.

Note the white spots - I have discovered our cat's mucous bubbles up when sprayed with hydrogen peroxide. This is a section of the floor I washed up after supper last night. The knowledge that this is all over our floors, walls, doors and furniture is causing great angst. 

Work is taking up the number one spot of my anxieties, inter-connected with and followed closely by money. This is not a surprise. I have taken action and handed in my notice, which has compounded the troubles instead of lessening them.

I started a clean page titled "TODAY". I itemized that which must be done, will be done and can be done today. 

Breaking things down into manageable pieces. It is about all we can do. It is what we must do in order to take the next step forward.

I admit that "shower" is one of the items on today's to-do-list. These must-do items may be as small as that which, depending on the day, is a big thing. 

I endeavor to keep my regular list of must-do's pretty basic:

• Get out of bed
• Make the bed
• Wash my glasses
• Make my morning smoothie/coffee
• Wash my smoothie glass/coffee cup
• Clean cat litter/refresh cat water

That's it. I make it a rule to keep my bed made, the kitchen counter and sink empty and clean, tend to our cats and THEN do one hard thing at a time.

Work is hard. Extra-curricular housecleaning is hard. Running errands, leaving the house, going to appointments are all hard. Some phone calls are hard. 

Lately, when the going gets tough, the tough turns on Netflix. So you know what? I gave myself the gift of one more month of grocery delivery. For the small cost of $9.96 per month, I can let someone else shop, pack up and deliver my groceries for me. Winter has finally arrived and our temperatures have dipped to -28º this morning. I will forfeit something else in order to allow myself this indulgence.

What gift to you give yourself when the going gets tough? We all need a little something to pick us up at times. Give yourself a break today. You deserve it.

Easy Come, Easy Go

I got a bill for $19.00 last week, to renew one of our cat's licenses.

I received a cheque in the mail yesterday for $18.86.

The number of times this has happened within my budgeting world are too numerous to mention. 

What I have noticed is when I watch my spending carefully, the income to expense ratio is often offset.

Our second cat's license will be forthcoming within the next month or so. 

If I don't receive a cash bonus to offset this expense, maybe it's time for the cat to move out...

Here We Go Again

I think I found a piece of myself this past weekend.

I found it while savoring some solitude in my little oasis away from home

I hope I can hold onto whatever this is once I step back into my regularly scheduled life.

I don't want to go home.

I love this little piece of heaven right here on earth.

I'll be back!

I know I have the same easy feeling within my home,

but it is a relief to spend time away from my work that lives with me 

... and all the cat hair.

Oh, the cat hair.

May you find a small piece of heaven somewhere within your day-to-day world.

Sleeping In Day 2

Unwilling to have a replay of events from yesterday, I immediately made my side of the bed this morning.

Jet is sleeping in. His job is to finish de-hairing the bed before he makes his half.

He is a terrible roommate. He never picks up after himself.

The Hot Spot Has Cooled Off (at last)

It is my habit to make my bed as soon as I wake up. I will make the bed around a sleeping cat but I make it all the same. It is a very rare day when I veer off the norm and our cats were quick to take advantage of the fact I'd (momentarily) left an unmade bed this morning.

I awoke and was out of bed around 6 a.m. and something took me outside my room. When I returned to make the bed, Jet had hopped into my spot that wouldn't have had a chance to cool down.

Jet finally appeared in the kitchen a few hours later so I knew my opportunity to make the bed had arrived. 

I assumed Jet had resumed his position but it was Ray (our second black cat) who had taken advantage of the vacancy. So I put off making my bed once again.

I finally headed outside and took a book with me. When I reentered the house, both cats were pacing by the back door, eager to find their next new hot spot. Outside with me.

My bed is vacant at last. A smart person would take advantage of the moment and wash their sheets. I have never burdened myself with the label of being smart. So I shall vacuum the cat hair and make my bed. Washing sheets this late in the day is a recipe for disaster. The chances of remembering I'd started the chore long enough to dry the sheets AND make the bed? Slim to none.

We'll try this again tomorrow.

By the time I typed these words and returned to make my bed, Ray was settled back in.

I may need to wash these cat hairy sheets after all ....

The Hot Spot Remains a Hot Commodity

I knew Jet had joined me in the kitchen so I was all set to go make my bed when I found Ray (the likeness to Jet is undiscernible in this pose) had taken up from where Jet left off.

Jet hopped into the warm spot I left in my unmade bed; Ray stepped right up to fill in Jet's hot spot.

We are team-tagging the R&R hot spots this weekend. 

The hottest spot of all will be heading outside to breathe in some fresh air and sunshine ...

(who is going to stay inside to make the bed?)

Morning Musing

I heard a little scuffle behind the bathtub curtain this morning and this is what I found:

Dripping faucet = cat fountain

Cats in the tub = the need to vacuum the bathtub before bathing.

Little things that make me go hmmm.

First World Problem

I feel like I've been using this space as a whining board. Yes, I've shown up and written regularly for one month. Yes, I've accomplished what I set out to do. But when I reread my recent posts I don't find anything terribly inspiring, amusing or of any real value. They are words forcefully transferred from my brain to my fingertips in an effort to rekindle the connection that was once there.

I know how fortunate I am. 

I wake up every morning and I'm able to get out of bed without pain, anxiety or fear of what the day holds in store. I am in good health. I am sheltered, warm, have clean water, appliances that cook our food and keep it cold; appliances that wash and dry our clothes and dishes. We have ample food plus the ability to replenish our supplies. I live in a safe community and country. I have a car to make it simple to get where I want to go. I have a steady income stream and work for people who value me. I have strong and solid relationships within my safe little community. I am blessed. I am grateful. I am content within my predictable little world. Thank you.

But can I end the month with one final rant? 

Am I the only person who has to vacuum the bathtub before they have a bath? Honestly! The cat hair is everywhere!!

Trust me. The picture does not fully portray the amount of hair in the tub.

I think it's time to fix the dripping faucet ... 

Cat Co-star Enriches Life

Yesterday was a write off. Completely, totally and without a doubt. Do I feel better for having a "cat day"? It did motivate me to do more today than yesterday so that is something. Not much. But I'll settle for better.

I watched the movie "A Man Called Otto" and was pleased a cat co-starred along with Tom Hanks. The cat didn't play a pivotal role but it did soften the edges of Tom Hank's character who was described as "a grump who no longer saw the purpose in life" (after his wife died).

I am afraid the same description could be used to describe me lately, so ending a cat-day with a movie that starred a cat who enriched a grump's life was a pleasant diversion. 

All the cat hair serves a purpose after all.

I Should Stay Home and Work

The goal: I should stay home and work

The reality (in pictures ... there are no words):

Happy Saturday to you.

Foiled Again *Updated*

Our determined black cat has found another way to gain entry under my bedding ...

My bed was fully tucked in. A top sheet, turned sideways so I could tuck in both sides of the bed so Jet couldn't sneak under the quilt.

So he entered from the top.

There is an almost invisible little lump that I only investigated because the top of the bed looked askew.

Today? I have tucked in the top and both sides of the sheet atop my bed. With Jet's renewed interest and fast learning curve, I highly suspect he will be entering from the bottom of the sheet now. At least he can only sleep on top of my quilt via that route. 

I've moved the vacuum cleaner into my bedroom. Maybe I should park it right on top of my bed.

*6 hours (or less) later ...*

He's baaaack!

Human vs Cat

In the long standing war between me and our determined little black cat, Jet finally figured out the answer to his dilemma which has been deterring him from sleeping under my covers.

Long story short, I have resorted to putting a flat sheet over my comforter during the day, which I de-hair and remove every night in an attempt to minimize the cat hair I sleep in. 

Jet soon discovered he could still sneak under my quilt by entering via the side of the bed:

This way ...

Or this would do.

I remedied that by tucking the sheet under the mattress on the side of the bed where Jet made his entrance. This worked like a charm for months on end. I was highly amused that Jet didn't figure out there was a second entry point available. The sheet was tucked into one side of the bed and there was easy access on the other side. The cats slept blissfully unaware on top of the sheet and I felt pretty pleased that I had outwitted our highly intelligent cat. I didn't even speak my thoughts aloud because I have a sneaking suspicion Jet understands English.

Then it finally happened. I walked into my room yesterday to discover this:

Isn't he cute???

So ... I flipped the sheet so I could tuck in both sides of the bed this morning. I've outwitted Jet once again. 

Until next time ...

Felines at Rest

While robins, mourning doves, sparrows and even the grackles add a spark of joy to my Weekend Oasis,

 my Monday to Friday home includes enjoying the antics of our two furry felines.

After a brief game of tag around the house, these guys are ready for a rest:

There is nothing like watching a cat hard at rest to lower blood pressure and put a person in the moment. 

Oh, to live the life of a cat who has a safe and happy home. 

It is my ultimate retirement dream to be as content as these two guys. 

To sit in a sunbeam,

marvel at watching the birds and rabbits who pass by,

have the easy companionship of one you know well,

to be content, healthy, safe and know where your next meal is coming from,

to have the sense of "ahhh"

and then

find your most favorite resting spot 

and have a little rest.

We all should be so lucky.

Foiled Again

This is my goal:

And this? Is Jet messing with me. Again.

 

Making a Bed Around a Cat Tutorial

Living with cats requires some accommodations. Living with cat hair is perhaps the only thing I don't love about living with our furry felines.

One of our cats favorite daytime napping spots is on my bed. Despite all efforts, dealing with the cat hair accumulation is an exercise in futility.

Awww ... so sweet, isn't it?

But Jet prefers to sneak in under the covers (note the little bump under the covers in the picture above) to share the wealth of hair on top of and IN my bed.

So, I decided to adorn my bed with a bed sheet during the day and securely tucked the top of the sheet at the top of the bed to deter any sleeping "under the covers".

This worked. For a while. Then this happened: 

Where there is a will, there is a way.

Jet in for the win. Again. I keep trying, while Jet is scheming to plot his next move.

The following is a typical morning-in-the-life with Jet and me. Jet doing what cats do best - napping. Me? I'm just trying to make the bed around a resting cat. Who wins the battle?

I think it's a tie.

Hidden Benefits

I have accidentally locked one of our cats in our den on more than one occasion. One would think one would learn their lesson after doing so. Twice. One would be wrong.

The scene of the crime:

The aforementioned cat was sitting on a chair in the den prior to my closing the door. When the mere act of vacuuming the room in close proximity to the cat didn't make him budge, I proceeded to vacuum the chair he was resting on. 

The cat moved, I vacuumed the chairs, then proceeded to close the door behind me. The cat guilty of hiding out under the couch while I did a visual check before closing the door was safely outside the room.

Then I left the house. For the weekend.

Did I mention we have two cats? We do. It was the second cat who somehow got locked in the den. For two days.

There were some minor demeanors of a cat in need of a litter box, but all in all the cat escaped relatively unscathed from the event.

The only victim was a huge box full of papers to be shredded. The box top was folded shut so the "liquid" did not infiltrate the entire box but it did necessitate cutting off the box flaps and initiated the process of shredding the first layer of papers-to-be-shredded.

One day at a time, one layer at a time, the cat-locked-in-the-den-incident has nudged me into action. This box of shredding WILL be dealt with. After months of procrastination, one ill fated weekend with a cat has forced me into action.

Our cat may require therapy to get over the emotional scars (in reality, he seems to be rolling with the aftermath rather well and had in fact dominated the couch in "his" den after the ordeal), but I am grateful for the much needed push to do what should have been done long ago.

I Think I Need a Holiday

I wandered down our hallway to find our two furry felines doing what they do best:

I am so envious.

I'm ready for not only a "cat day", but a "cat week".

Thank goodness a long weekend is right around the corner.

It'll do.