Miley

Now that I'm back to feeling like myself again I must tell you about the latest and last addition to the list of feline residents here.

Miley is a couple of years old and when she was a kitten some nasty person threw her out the window of a moving car. She was badly hurt and had to have one of her legs taken off by the vet to save her life. Despite only having three legs she gets around pretty well though she has a tough time jumping up onto window sills, tables, dressers, and beds. Sometimes Ma or Pa have to help her get where she wants to go if it's too high for her to reach.

We know she's a tough kitty because she grew up in a house with dogs! Living in a house like that gives her some advantages, particularly when it comes to dealing with Henry. Henry can be a bit of a bully at times, but Miley will have none of that. More than once she's put him in his place, driving him off and chasing him until he finds someplace high to perch where she can't get to him.

Another thing Miley learned while growing up with dogs? She's bilingual. She speaks both cat and dog!! [I can attest to that, hearing her 'woof' when she's hungry and wants to be fed. - Hilda's Pa]

While Miley isn't fluffy like me she's still cute. She has nice eyes and likes to flop just like Minnie. But unlike Minnie I think she flops because sometimes she forgets she's missing a leg and tries to stand on it.

I had to delay posting this because it was difficult for either Ma or Pa to get any decent pictures of Miley but Pa finally managed to snap a couple of quick ones so now you'll be able to see what she looks like.

And here's another one of her poking her head out of one of what Ma an' Pa call “cat condos”:

I've Been Sick

Pa figured it would be a good idea to write a brief message to let you all know I've been sick but that I'm much better now. I am missing some fur. (No, I won't post a picture showing where. I do have my dignity. But at least it wasn't in a thoroughly embarrassing place. The places they shaved give me something Pa calls "an asymmetrical look." I'm not sure what that means, but I don't like the sound of it.)

I'll be back to writing more important stuff in a day or two.

Some News

It's apparent to anyone reading Hilda's little blog that she hasn't posted for a while. This is because she was quite under the weather. In fact, we had to take her to the emergency veterinary clinic because she was so sick.

She was severely dehydrated due to some kind of intestinal ailment that made it impossible for her to keep down any food or water for over three days. She was given IV fluids and antibiotics, had a number of x-rays taken, and received other treatments there and at her regular vet the day following her admittance to the emergency care clinic.

I am happy to report that she is now home, looking and feeling much better. We're still keeping an eye on her, monitoring her food and water intake and making sure she's comfortable.

The only complaint we've heard from her is the indignity she suffered from having to have some of her fur shaved off in order for the vet to administer her meds and IV fluids.

Somehow we think she'll get over it.

-Hilda's Pa

Charlotte

The next member of the household I have to tell you about is Charlotte.

She's a Maine Coon Cat, just like me. She's also grumbly, meaning the only one she gets along with all the time is Pa. (Personally I think it's because she's old, like Bagheera. But she won't tell us how old she is.)

Charlotte was found by a friend of Ma an' Pa's in an abandoned house. Her family had moved out and left her behind to fend for herself. Ma an' Pa's friend, Julie, took Charlotte to her home to stay with her, but she didn't fit in all that well. You see, Julie has dogs! (How any self respecting person can think that dogs are better than cats escapes me.) So after a few weeks Ma an' Pa told their friend they'd take her in.

It's taken a long time for her to settle in, but she pretty much used to almost all of us now. The only exceptions are Cole and Henry.

Cole, being the nurturing kind of cat he is (at least Ma says so) has tried to play with her and groom her, but she's having none of that. Henry, on the other hand, has run and jumped at her every time he's had a chance. That might explain why she doesn't roam around all that much unless she knows where Henry is.

And something else a little weird about her: she sleeps in the kitchen! Ma an' Pa have even set up her bed on one end of the kitchen counter and that's where she sleeps. The kitchen is hers and she lets everyone know it. She even claims the window above the kitchen sink as hers, too! See what I mean?

She takes the whole window and won't let anyone else use it. That's not nice.

And another thing: she isn't nearly as pretty as me. She won't even let Ma or Pa brush her, meaning her fur is kinda ratty with all kinds of tangles and lumps. How silly is that?

See, here's a close-up of her. As you can see she needs a serious brushing!