A note from Laura

We lost our Buddy yesterday. She just couldn't eat anymore, though she wanted to. She still wanted to lay in the sun in the yard, but we could tell she was hurting.

We buried her in a sunny spot she liked, in the middle of everything, and almost underfoot, which is where she liked to be. We put in her stuffed frog and a favorite mouse, some catnip, and a lot of fish cookies. I saved her hedgehog toy, I think she'd understand. She put it in my suitcase when I was going on a difficult trip a few months ago, and I discovered it when I had arrived and was unpacking. It helped me then, maybe it will help me now.

We will build a flowerbed around her grave, and she will end up lying among plants and trees, another kind of place she liked, with a favorite catnip plant on top of her. I'll move it when it recovers, she nearly did it in. She will still be able to supervise us as we putter around in the yard, and we like having her near.

We sure do miss her.

Thanks for being such a kind community while she was blogging. I had hoped she'd be blogging longer than that.

Yummy yummy yummmmzzzz zzzz zzzzzzzz

I got my tuna juice, but even better I got cubed turkey breast. My absolute favorite food ever. I can pick up the cubes & eat them and they don't bother my sore tooth. Yay!
Now I am feeling very sleeeeepppyyy.....

Doin' better.

Hey, Everybody,

Thanks for all the good words & thoughts. I'm feeling a little better, eating better is why. My mouth is sore, but not as bad. The exam irritated it I guess, and that was making it even worse. But also J&L figured out I'll eat fish sticks (chopped up) & I'm eating some canned food that hasn't been made all mushy. So if I can pick it up and it's soft enough, I can eat it. I haven't tried dry food in years (kidney problems) but it might work to eat it if it's been soaked. That's what works with my beloved fish cookies. And L slipped me a big bowl of tuna juice yesterday, not the best for a kidney cat but she just wanted to get something in me. Naturally I had no problem with that! In fact I wouldn't have any problem with some about now. Time to send some psychic vibrations: tuuuuna juuuuice. tuuuuuna juuuuice.

The problem with my mouth is a bone growth on my gums above my upper teeth on the left side, not the teeth themselves. Laura thought that the swelling was pulling my lip over my fang, which it sortof is, but the needle-man says the bleeding is coming from the mess farther back. The growth is so big it's beginning to grow down around the teeth on that side, and it's pretty ugly.

The idea to get a second opinion is a good one, and I'll see if I can figure out how to persuade J&L that I *want* to go to a v*t. I hear there are some nice needle-women nearby. Though I'm not sure what they could do.

I had a heck of a sneezing fit in the night. Laura was worried & crawled over by the laundry basket, where I like to sleep. Once it settled down she petted me a little & then went back to bed, so I went and got on her to let her know it was ok. The sneezing didn't cause any bleeding, which is good. This kind of cancer (if that's what I really have) can get into the sinuses & other places, and that's when things get bad.

Actually, I was doing so well today that J&L decided it'd be ok to go see a movie matinee. It turned out to be a very long movie, but they left the shades open so the sun would shine on my favorite rocker, and they left a bunch of food, so I didn't mind.

But since they're back:
Tuuuuna juuuuice. tuuuuuna juuuuice.

A tough couple of days, a narrow escape, and a ticking clock

Yesterday I went to the needle-man's hoping he would fix my tooth so I can eat more easily. Instead he said he can't help me, and that J&L should be thinking about when to let me go, and whether I'm in pain.

We came home, and they sat discussing it while I went out and laid in the sun. I was having so much trouble eating that they were trying to decide whether to do it yesterday or today. I got tired of hearing about it, so I chased some grasshoppers and then laid in a new spot. That shut them up.

They started experimenting with food texture, and I can eat regular food better than I can eat the mixed-up wet soup I was liking until a couple of days ago. So maybe I can enjoy a few more days in the sun. Lucky for me, it came out. I hate it when it doesn't, and I bug Laura to fix it. I am sure she can. She is very powerful.

She caused an earthquake once, it was very scary. I kept telling her that I felt funny buzzing & stuff in my toes, and that I wanted to go out. She kept saying "in a minute", but finally I yelled loud enough and she got up and said "alright, alright, you little bitch!", as she yanked the door open. Just then the whole house started to shake and I knew that she was very mad. I ran away and everything shook for a long time and when it stopped I let them catch me and take me home, but I stayed away from Laura for a few days.

I'm not sure how long I can take being hungry and having trouble eating, but I think J&L are paying close attention & won't let me suffer too much. In the meantime I am trying to enjoy lots of sunshine and lap time.

What's in a name? That which we call tuna would smell as sweet.

I have had many names in my long years, plus some nicknames and even songs written for me.

When I first came to Laura & Joe's place my name was Nezbine. Nobody could remember it, least of all me. So I became "CAT!", particularly when I was on a counter.

They tried naming me Debug, because that's what I liked to do, but somehow it didn't work.

Laura wanted to name me Penny Annie, but nobody else liked that one. I think I might have liked it better than what I DID get named next, which was Butthead. That one stuck for a long time. One time a new neighbor asked what my name was, and when she was told she said "Oh, Button, that's a cute little name!". Oops.

After I got my hip removed about eight years ago (it was arthritic from being hit by a car when I was very young), and my grumpiness along with it, they decided that name was unfair (DUH) and changed it to Buddy. Which is a good name for me. I have become pretty friendly, considering that I didn't really want to be touched when I arrived. I had never been anybody's pet before. I mean, I went from feral to allowed to live indoors with some people and other cats, but the people came and went and I don't like other cats much. I didn't like fighting for food. When I could have all I could eat, I got fat for a while. If 9 1/2 pounds can be fat.

Anyway, the last several years I have discovered that Laura is warm, and I like it warm. And she's nice too, she knows not to pet me too much, which overexcites me and I have to leave. So now I lie on her. If she doesn't have a satisfactory lap I get on & off again over & over until she gets a clue and fixes it. When she's sleeping I sometimes lie on every side of her as she rolls over in the night. First the tummy, then the left side, then sometimes the tummy again, then the right side, and finally the back. Best of all is the tummy in the morning when I know she has to pee.

I have tons of nicknames, which come and go. Joe is always coming up with new ones. Lately he has been calling me Smidgen Underfoot. Laura says that's my Hobbit name. But one of his and my favorites is Monkey, which is pronounced Minkie, as Inspector Clouseau would say it. Whoever.

I've had so many more, but I can't think of them right now. So I'll close with a little song Joe wrote for me, to the tune of Doctor Doolittle's song, I'll call it Doctor Beelittle:

If I could talk to the bugs,
Under the rugs,
Even get a bug language degree,
I'd study butterfly and beetle,
Ant and big mosquitle,
And the bugs would talk to me!

'Night.

Some stuff I like a lot

FISH COOKIES!!!


(Bench & Field Holistic Natural Feline Treats, from Trader Joe's)

I also like spaghetti sauce (Joe's, not Laura's), Nilla wafers, stars (Kookamunga catnip treats, from PetCo), turkey, and tuna juice.

I like birds. Especially slow ones. None are slow enough these days. There are birds in Laura's computer, but I can't find them. She says they're here:

http://www.naturesongs.com/pass.html

I like Joe. He is fun and treats me like a dog. I like that. Not many people realize we cats are a lot like dogs. I like it when he rubs my fur the wrong way and when he pats my side hard enough that I thump like a drum.

I like Laura too. She fusses too much, but when she settles down she's pretty good for napping on.

And, well, I like sleeping. Obviously.



Can anybody tell me why my pictures won't go side-by-side?
Thanks.

I'm a model, and I do my little turn on the catwalk.

I have been a great source of inspiration to Laura. Here are some drawings & stuff she has done of me. Mind you, I hate it when she does this. I don't like being stared at like that. Doesn't she know it's rude?







Yes, she seriously did weave a shawl based on my coloring. If you don't like being stared at, imagine what it's like to have someone holding cones of yarn up to you, matching colors.

And the bad news is...

...that they think I have bone cancer.

The needle man examined a lump on my face way back on April 30th and declared that I had not long to live. A few weeks at best. Clearly, I disagreed. I may have cancer, I wouldn't know, but I have lasted a little more than 3 months, which is far longer than his prediction. At first I was in some pain, and Laura and Joe had to give me shots of some dreadful stuff that hurt a lot and made me woozy.

I know I was probably pretty entertaining when I got my head stuck in the watering can, or when I ran into the sliding glass door trying to get at a chickadee that was collecting nest materials from the jute doormat RIGHT ON THE OTHER SIDE, but really, I wasn't enjoying myself nearly as much as Laura was. After the first few days I felt better about the drugs, but not the shots. Those I hated more and more. But I was enjoying life a little more, and I started getting pretty excited about going outside every morning. I would go out for a few minutes and then come back and yell at Laura to come out too. She really needs a life.

After a few weeks of the drugs I stopped feeling the pain, so I'm off the nasty stuff. I still am eager to get out every morning, and sometimes I still bug Laura if she forgets to come out soon enough. Little by little, I am getting her trained.

A few weeks ago I started sneezing a lot, and that went on for a few days. Now I still sneeze once in a while but not enough to bother me much. I know I have the cutest little sneeze, but that doesn't mean I want to entertain everyone with it.

Last night I slept on Laura most of the night, which I don't often do, as it disrupts my sleep. She moves around too much, which is very annoying, but I try to put up with it because she doesn't know any better.

This morning I was next to the bed, and I was pawing at my mouth some. I don't normally, unless it hurts. Most of the time it's just really annoying. Anyway I must have scratched myself because I started bleeding, and the blood mixed with spit and a little went a long way. I gave us all a scare, but it stopped right away and I stopped pawing too. Here's hoping it won't bug me again like that.

Otherwise today was pretty much like any other. I slept around (get your mind out of the gutter, you know what I mean), ate some, washed some, and went out and supervised Joe in the yard and Laura at the computer. Tonight I helped them watch TV and ate some cheese from their nachos. And of course I begged for fish cookies early and often. All in all a long and satisfying day.

This is a good place to sleep

Chief among my responsibilities is sleeping, so I have become very adept at finding new and exciting places and ways to accomplish my daily task(s). Here are a few of my favorite places to catch a catnap or spend a sunny afternoon:

In the grass, of course

In my "dish"

On my "tower"

In the "little black dress" sculpture Laura's friend Fiona made.

I'm getting sleepy just thinking about all this napping. Back to work.

Me.