Doctor

Yesterday Fatty Fatty Boombalatty had a check up at the vet's office.  September is "Senior Pet Month" and they had a special for all kinds of tests.  Diabetes, anemia, thyroid, liver and kidney function.  Fatty was due, so he got to go.  He did not thank me for it.

All in all he is doing very well.   He's down to 13.5 pounds, which is a little concerning.  All of his bloodwork came back normal, so hopefully his weight loss is just due to increased activty.  "Increased activity" being Frankie.  Frankie is on him all the time.  All the time. To say Fats is more active than he used to be is an understatement.

Tuesday

Hikes and walks have been absolutely beastly as of late.  High temps, higher humidity.  We went for a hike the other day and saw this cool spider web:

I love to learn things, and I've learned something about spider webs.  Apparently, spider webs are spun between 5' and 5'10" off the ground.  I know this because I'm 5'10" and I find all the spider webs with my face.  It's impossible to see the stupid things and I walk right into them.  I always feel bad because the poor fellers worked really hard on those.  I don't want to tear them up so if they could put their webs just a little higher we'd all be happy.

I'm trying to cut down on artificial sweetener and diet sodas.  I've limited myself to one a day, and so far I'm going pretty good.  My new thing is lemon water with natural sweetener.  I don't like anything sour so it's really just water with a tiny hint of lemon.  Lemon is supposed to be good for you, all kinds of benefits.  This is how I spent my morning:

An absolute must for hiking---Injinji socks.  They're toe socks, which is a little weird, I admit.  Some of my toes rub together and I get terrible blisters.  These socks are a godsend.  They're wool but they're not too hot and, best of all, my toes don't rub together.  They're kind of pricey, which is the only downside.  Fifteen dollars a pair, but well worth it.

I was folding laundry this morning and the cats were "helping", as they always do.  I was playing with them and I threw a sock at Fats.  He clapped his paws together and caught my sock in midair.  I cheered for him and was thinking "Yo!  My cat's a genius, yo!!!"  So I threw another sock at him and this time it landed right across his eyes like a blindfold.  He made absolutely no attempt to catch it or even knock it off of his face.  So, I guess he's not a genius.  Just a bog standard cat:)

Fight

This is just a quick video of a Fat/Frank fight.  It was dark, so there is only audio, but this is what it sounds like when Frank torments the hell out of poor Fatty.  The one that you hear growling and hissing is Fatty.  Frank isn't phased by it in the least. 

Monday

I went for a walk with Barbie this morning.  It's super hot out and the humidity is through the roof.  But, being the dedicated little exerciser that I am, we went ahead and went for a walk.  We made it halfway through one lap and she got diarrhea and I turned my ankle and fell in a ditch.  We called it at the end of lap one.  Sooooo, today wasn't off to the best start.  At least the attempt was there.  We should get full credit for the attempt and burn the same amount of calories as a full walk.  Just sayin'.

This pretty much sums up how I felt about work today:

Frank has a new favorite activity.  He goes in the bathroom and tears off teeny pieces of toilet paper and spits them out.  It's huh-larious, thinks Frank.  I disagree. 

I ordered these new headbands the other day.  I got them today and they are awesome.  I'm a sweater and I hate getting sweat in my eyes.  I may look ridiculous but at least I'll have sweat free eyes.

My big boy is doing so well.  The last week or two he's been like the Fat of old.  He's been talkative and active.  It makes me happy to see him doing so well.  He's still a lot thinner than he used to be, but he has been acting just like he did pre-diabetes (and pre-Frank).  

Breakfast

This is what I woke up to this morning.  They were just staring at me, waiting on their breakfast.

Relaxing

My boy knows how to relax...

Boys

My boys, bless their hearts, are not bright. 

Idiot

He's been sitting with his mouth hanging open for twenty minutes. Twenty....minutes. 

It's a good day

A comfy chair. An even comfier pillow and a belly full of Fancy Feast. It's a good day. 

Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas, around our parts.  Very small, just my parents, brother and I.  I had to work both Christmas Eve and Christmas day and that harshed my buzz, but we still had fun.  We had our gift exchange on Christmas Eve, after I got off of work.  Biscuits and gravy were on the menu, and I'm going to try my hardest to make that a tradition because they're delicious. 

Fat and Frank needed new beds, because I only have one bed and they fight over it.  One bed is not enough for two cats, come to find out.  Grandma and Grandpa were kind enough to get them both their own bed, from Petco.   These beds were $40 and Mom said they had the same beds at out local farm supply store for about five bucks.  But my boys do not nap in beds bought from a farm supply store.  No sir.  Noooohohoho sir.  They do not.

I was so excited to get their beds put up.  It was the first thing I did when I got home.  I put them in the window, where the old bed was.  I sprinkled a little catnip in them, so they'd be attracted to them.  As soon as I turned around, Fatty was already climbing into his bed.  I was so excited, because I thought it might be awhile before they'd use them.  They don't like change.  So I go out to my car to get the rest of my presents, come back in, and find Fatty whizzing all over that bed.  He soaked it.  There was so much pee that it dribbled all over the floor when I carried it to the sink.  I rinsed it out as best I could and threw it in the washer.  Within three minutes of being home, my day had taken a serious nosedive.

Why did he do that?  Did he confuse his bed with his litter box?  Those beds are pretty big, I guess, but I still don't know why he peed in it.  He has never done anything like that.  Never.  In the eleven and a half years that I've had him, I've never been mad at him.  I've been aggravated a handful of times.  You can't live with someone that long and never get on each other's nerves.  Last night, I was mad at him.  He peed all over his special Petco bed. 

Luckily, it all came out.  There is no pee smell, that I can detect anyway, so I think it'll be all right.  This morning he finally realized that they are not litter boxes.  He was all curled up in one, but not the one he peed in.  He was sleeping in Frankie's nice, clean bed.  I think Fatty should have to sleep in the pee soaked one.  Serves him right.

I bought the boys a catnip toy each, which were kind of pricey, and watched Frankie bat a coke bottle cap all over the floor, instead of playing with his new toy.  Oh, well.  He had fun.  Aside from the bed incident, we had a good Christmas.  My parents and brother are healthy and happy. My boys are doing well.  What more could I ask for? 

 

Vet

Big Diabeto had to go to the vet today. He's lost a lot of fur on his back. It looks just like it did when his blood sugar was over 600. I check him every Sunday and his sugar has been about 130, with no insulin. He's in remission now and hasn't had any shots for over a month (cats can do that which is one of the reasons why cats are so awesome).  I was worried something else was going on, or that my glucometer was broken. The vet got a reading of 114, which is great. She found what looked like flea dirt. She never found any fleas, but thinks he was probably bitten and had an allergic reaction. He can't have any steroids, on account of his diabetes, so he just got a massive dose of flea medicine. Frankie got some, too. Hopefully that fixes it.  I'm glad his sugar is stable. He weighed eighteen pounds, which is really good. When he was first diagnosed, they told me to me to keep him around eighteen pounds. That is waaaaay above average but he's just a huge cat. He's not even fat. (He used to weigh upwards of 25 pounds. Then he was fat.) it was a good visit. Hopefully we'll get rid of those fleas, because they're super gross. They give me the willies. 

Here he is, relaxing in front of the fake fireplace after a stressful visit to the vet. 

Cuddles

Poor Fatty doesn't get many cuddles anymore. Baby Frank has taken over everything, to include my lap. They will not share lap space. That is prime real estate. They'll share food but they won't share me. Frankie doesn't mean any harm. He is the sweetest little guy and he's never been mean to Fatty.  But he's young and he quickly took over the dominant roll at home.  Frankie is the pants wearer.  I feel so awful for Fatty.It just breaks my heart to see him sit on the couch alone. Sometimes he just sits and watches us, if Frankie is on my lap. So I've started putting Frank in my room and getting Fatty for some cuddles. With Frank shut up Fatty has me all to himself for awhile. It usually takes him a minute or two to really relax. It's like he keeps expecting Frankie to lunge at him from out of nowhere. I swear that cat is a ninja. I feel better giving Big Fat some one on one time. And it's not like Frankie is suffering. He just goes to sleep. When I open the door to let him out he usually gives me the stink eye for waking him up. 

My boys❤️

The boys

It's time I introduced my boys, Fatty and Frankie.  Fatty is, without question, the love of my life. He's my best friend, without whom, I would not be here.  He's eleven years old now, twelve in May.  I got him out of a barn when he was about six weeks old.  He's my boy.  Not much of a looker, really, but I would die for him.  Fatty Boombalatty is diabetic and he gets his insulin shots every day.  He's such a trouper.  About a year ago he was so sick I was sure I was going to lose him.  He had lost his fur, skeletally thin.  I actually bought a memorial picture frame for him.  That's how sure I was that he was going to die.  He pulled through and now the picture frame is in my closet.   Big Fat is well over twenty pounds.  He's a monster.  Ironically, he's not actually fat.  He is just a huge tomcat.  Huge.  Every time I read about some kid's update, the author always documents likes and dislikes.  So I figure Fat and Frank deserve the same.

 

Fatty's likes:

Fancy Feast.  Boy loves his Fancy Feast

Chasing squirrels around the yard, from inside the house

Getting his head scratched

His bed in the big bay window

 

Fatty's dislikes:

Frankie:(

 

 

Frankie.  He's my little guy.  He's seven months old now and seems SO SMALL compared to Fatty.  I "appropriated" Frankie (stole is such an ugly word) from the neighbor's across the street.  They pretty much abandoned him so I took him in.  He is the sweetest little cat with the loudest purr.  We're still learning each other but, so far, he's proven to be a wonderful addition to our little family. 

 

Frankie's likes:

Fatty

Fatty's bed in the big bay window

Chasing Fatty around the house

Belly rubs

Fancy Feast ( I don't know what they put in that stuff)

 

Frankie's dislikes:

Nothing.  He's cool with everything:)



These are my boys.  I'm so grateful to have them both.  Fatty isn't quite as psyched about it, but I'm sure they'll be friends one day.  Hopefully.