My brothers Cat Sandy has also passed this week. Sandy was 18 or so years old and had diabetes. I was watching her while my brother was helping my parents were driving across country to AZ. Poor Sandry had a stroke Wednesday and could not hould her head up. I took her straight to the vet, but she was just too old and she could not even stand.

I have to say I am pretty much heart broken this week. My mom has moved away and we have lost two family pets.

Sandy has moved on into the light though. I was with her when she passed, of course. The vet gave her kitty valium to relax her, and she started purring as soon as the pain went away. She was one of the sweetest cats I have ever had the pleasure to know. I am glad she was able to move on to the light.

My moms cat has shown up at the empty house. We went to clean up the empty house for her that is for sale and saw the cat that had passed on the trip to AZ.

I have been trying to get the Kitty to pass on into the light or to move on to my house to join my cats. My mom has not yet settled into her home - she is in temporary quarters so I cant move her into mom moms new home yet.

I find the situation very sad. I am having no luck getting her spirit to move from the empty house. I am going to try again this weekend once to invite her to my house or to move into the light. My hope is to get her spirit to attach to the cat tree she loved so much and move it to my house this weekend.

I really don't like her being all alone in the house. No ghost should be alone in a house. spirits need family.

My parents are driving on the way to AZ with their two dogs and their three cats. One of the cats is 15 or so years old and passed away in the first 4 hours of the car trip. We think it was a heart attack, she was crying a little in the carrier. They had given kittie valium under vets orders, but the stress still was too much for her, I guess.

My poor mother is devestated and guilt wracked.

I am the same, but here in VA where I can only try to console her on the phone and cant even give her a hug anymore.

My little Rosko has had bloody poo and vomiting since we got him 7 months ago. We had constant tests and different meds - nothing worked - they never found anything.

I put him on probiotics two weeks ago - and he has been fine since!!

My little baby!

He looks bigger than any groundhog I have ever seen. He also looked a lot lighter, and mottled - almost cream and tan.


What the hell? Am I just seeing a really big ass fat neighbor cat out of the corner of my eye or something?

My moms cat would fit the bill if he was not so ginger and about 40 miles closer. He is one of the biggest cats I have seen. Sweet, too.



Young buster too lazy already to stand up and eat his treat. He was tired.

Moms three other cats and two dogs do not have a weight problem at all. Buster says its all just fluff.

Her time is near. Very near. Her aura had been fading and shrinking. This morning it was brighter, silvery white, with gold speckles.

The two other dogs and two cats can see it as well. This weekend was a doggie vigil, we all lay near here giving her comfort.

Even the old, grumpy cat make a stop on the bed with us, gazing knowingly at the dog. It was as if to say, I ignored you, you ignored me - thanks for respecting my space.

Spike has been seen around this weekend, too. Those two were adorable when Spike was a baby. I think sometimes the gold speckles are him, but sometimes they feel stronger than a spirit as well.



Today will be a long, hard day. Pearl goes to the vet. I have to see an endocrinologist about my blood/health problems. It took 2 months to get an appointment with this doctor. I get my performance review at work today. David starts his new job today.

I will be tired tonight - maybe too tired to post.

http://www.readthehook.com/stories/2008/03/06/news-cougarhumphreys-b.aspx





From The Hook in Charlottesville. I love this paper.



by COURTENEY STUART

published on 2/28/2008



NEWS- 'I'm not crazy!' Witness sticks by cougar sighting
by COURTENEY STUART, published February 28, 2008


Susie Humphreys is hoping a motion sensitive camera will capture the cougar she's seen on numerous occasions.
PHOTO BY COURTENEY STUART

Last month, Marlene "Susie" Humphreys called wildlife officials to report her frequent sightings of a mountain lion around her Crozet home and her fear for her seven-year-old granddaughter's safety. Now she's not just afraid. She's angry following news reports in which those officials suggest she's mistaking a bear or some other animal for the big cat.

"I'm almost 50 years old," says Humphreys, shaking her head. "I think I can tell the difference between a cat and a bear."

She can also tell the difference, she says, between a bobcat-- which has a short tail and typically weighs under 40 pounds-- and a mountain lion, which has a long tail and can weigh up to 200 pounds.

"I was born in the country," she says. "I'm not some city girl."

The saga of the Crozet cougar is not new. Last summer, controversy erupted followed a series of cougar sightings. Philip Anderson, a Maryland man who's hoping to move to Crozet, wrote a letter in the Crozet Gazette warning locals of the dangers cougars pose to people-- particularly to small children. Anderson's warning, however, was not appreciated by many, who flogged him in a flood of published responses.

"Stay in the big city where you are more likely to be 'mangled' by one of your own kind," wrote one, "rather than come here and impose your tyrannical views on our wildlife."

Danger posed by mountain lions, others wrote, is minimal since the animals are shy and have a huge natural food supply of white tailed deer and smaller mammals.

Anderson points to mountain lion attacks in California, and says anytime large predators live in close proximity to humans, there's a risk. He doesn't advocate killing cougars; he'd like them relocated to areas where they pose less danger. Humphreys' experience, Anderson now says, could become more common and lead other Crozet residents to fear for their children's safety.

Humphreys first told her story to a television news crew from CBS 19 on February 26. The big cat, she said, prowls her backyard, eating her dogs' food, and on one occasion, scratching on her granddaughter's bedroom window. Humphrey believes the cougar was tempted by two pet guinea pigs squeaking inside, and while she didn't actually see the cat on that occasion, she found paw prints outside the window the following day.

The day after that first story ran on television, however, officials from the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries questioned Humphreys' claims in a follow-up report on Channel 19 and in a Daily Progress article titled "A Crozet catamount or just crazy talk?" Humphreys resents the implication of the headline.

"I may be a lot of things," she says, "but I'm not crazy."

Humphreys is not the only one who's seen the animal around her St. George Avenue house. David Shifflett, the father of Humphreys' granddaughter, Brianna, says he got up close to a cougar in late January when he was leaving the house one evening. About 20 feet in front of his car, light from his headlights illuminated the animal Humphreys had warned him about earlier that day.

"It bared its teeth," Shifflett recalls, reporting that his first instinct was to run over the animal to end the terror it's causing Humphreys. But as he pressed on the gas, the startled cat fled. "It was not a bobcat, a bear or a coyote," he insists.

Shifflett and Humphreys are not the only ones frustrated that a local cougar sighting hasn't been taken seriously.

Dozens of people, including a veterinarian, have reported seeing cougars around Crozet in the past decade.

One of those people says he has proof of a cougar around his mountainside house in Greenwood. A grainy photograph Richard Gaya took in 2004-- which has run in the Crozet Gazette, the Hook, and now the Daily Progress-- seems to show a large cat with a long tail. But even such photographic evidence isn't enough to convince officials that cougars are here.

"It looks like a bobcat to me," says Jerry Sims, Fredericksburg-based wildlife biologist and manager for the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, of Gaya's picture.

Gaya counters that the photo leaves no room for interpretation.

"There's no way in the world you can't come to the conclusion," he says, "that this thing weighs at least 80 pounds."

Sims says the only hard proof his department will accept is a cougar carcass, and even that wouldn't prove more than that one such beast is roaming about. He says it's possible someone released a captive cougar into the wild, and he doesn't believe there's evidence of a "reproducing population."

Still, his department is finally taking steps to confirm what Humphreys saw. On Friday, February 29, a game warden mounted a motion-sensitive camera on a tree in her back yard. If the cat goes by, it will be captured on the department's own film. If its existence is confirmed, the department could set a trap to capture it or use dogs to "tree" it. The department would then relocate it to an area unpopulated by humans.

Until that happens, Humphreys and her husband, Harvey, aren't taking any chances. Although it's illegal to kill a mountain lion, which is considered endangered, the couple now keeps a loaded gun in the house to defend themselves.

"I don't like guns to start with," she says, "and to have to keep one loaded?"

She and Harvey say they wouldn't think twice about shooting the endangered animal to save something else.

"My granddaughter's an endangered species," Humphreys says. "There's not but one of her."

And if they face prosecution for killing the cougar?

"We'll just tell them we thought it was a bear," she says with a twinkling smile.


A grainy photograph taken by Greenwood resident Richard Gaya in 2004 seems to show a large cat with a long tail. But even such photographic evidence isn't enough to convince officials that cougars are here.
FILE PHOTO BY RICHARD GAYA

#

I have had three presents left on my front walk and deck - so it is either a kitty leaving presents - or a serical killer - or both, right?

I guess it could be a divination sign - what would one dead bird and two dead mice mean?
(again, I am thinking a new family member is coming... today is the full moon - recently I did work to get a new familiar.)

I doubt is the ghost of kittens past visiting me. One was a serial hunter, but she never lived here. Spike was a lover, not a fighter.

It could be coincidence, but the closeness of the bodies makes that a little strange.

5- trees hit by lightening

3- new residents to my household

2- family pets passed to brighter meadows

1- drive through wedding in Vegas

3- water damage incidents

4- floors ruined from water

42 legs living in my house
1 husband
5 cats
4 dogs
1 brother




I miss you, Spike. I dedicate 2008 in your honor, helping fuzzies who need assistance in your name.

My main frustration right now is getting everything I ordered before we head up there. I ordered it over a week ago, but rural mail seems to add two days even to UPS. I have a few small things coming still that is starting to stress me. I got a Lowes gift certificate for Rob with Nate's picture on it, which I am quite excited about. This is what I am worried about coming in the mail. I keep telling myself it is not about the presents, but about the people, right!

I am a little embarrased to admit David and I have a new family member as of today. His name is Rosko, and it was a very sad situation. I am such a huge sucker, so we now have a little jack russel mix in our house. The older dog, Pearl, is not doing well so I fear she won't make it through the winter. Mia, David's dog, would be very lonely during the day on her own, so it is a good thing for her in the long run. I just hope he bonds well to David. I have to make sure he is the one to feed him and take care of him for the first few weeks.

My new Guardian Dog
She is mostly black lab but has german shepard in her as well.

My oldest dog Pearl came down with this Friday, so we have had a crazy of couple of days figuring out what was going on, and then helping her. It was kind of scary, because I really thought she had a stroke, and I was very scared and upset. David was very patient with me, and even more so nursing Pearl back to health.

Unless your dog has had the bad luck to experience this condition, few people will have heard of Canine Peripheral Vestibular Syndrome, even though the complaint is not uncommon, especially amongst older dogs.


The symptoms are dramatic and sudden and are often confused with stroke or poisoning, even by some vets who may have had little experience with the illness. The fact is, Canine peripheral vestibular disease has nothing to do with malfunctions of the brain or a morbid appetite, but is caused by inflammation of the inner ear.



Usually there is little sign of any build up to the disease and one of its characteristics is its habit of striking out of the blue. The dog appears perfectly well and happy, eating its meals and taking its usual exercise when for no apparent reason it falls over. When it tries to regain its feet, it staggers in drunken circles, bangs into objects and tumbles down steps.


This alarming site is often made more dramatic by the dog vomiting, which once it has emptied its stomach, tends to be a frothy yellow colour. If you take a closer look you will notice that the eyes shoot rapidly from side to side, the head is cocked to one side and these, together with the drunken staggers and vomiting lead many owners to the fearful conclusion that their pet has been poisoned. Alternatively, when no evidence of any toxic substance can be found, they consider the possibility of stroke.


Neither poisoning or stroke is the cause of this condition, but the inner ear. Examination by a vet may reveal some kind of infection, but usually there is nothing to see within the ear itself and the cause of the onset of the disease usually remains unknown.


What is thought to happen is that the nerves of the inner ear connecting to the cerebellum, which controls balance and spatial orientation become inflamed causing the distressing symptoms previously described, but why this should happen is as yet unclear. There seems to be a link to age as the disease is much more common in old dogs, though younger animals that are around the middle age mark can be affected too.


Symptoms vary in their severity, not all dogs experiencing the same degree of vomiting and unbalanced co-ordination and this seems to correspond to the duration of the illness. Symptoms usually last between three days and three weeks, but the good news is, almost all dogs make a good recovery, although some my be left with a slight tilt of the head.


Relapses can occur, but are not common. Dogs of a more advanced age that were previously fit and healthy tend to suddenly show their age by refusing to take as much exercise as they used to and sometimes there will be a noticeable decline in eye sight and hearing. Whether this is due to the vestibular disease or is just part of the aging process is difficult to say, but many owners do comment on the decline of their pets senses after recovering from the disease.


There is no medical treatment for the condition, although some vets may prescribe antibiotics if they suspect the possibility of infection. What the owner needs to do is provide good nursing and plenty of tender loving care, since the dog is usually very confused and sorry for itself.


Alarming as the symptoms are for the owner, they are terrifying for the dog who doesn’t understand why the world has suddenly started spinning in such a crazy fashion. Usually it seeks the sanctity of its bed and refuses all food and drink. Any attempt to stand or walk precipitates vomiting.


Hand feeding with water and easily nibbled food is the order of the day, although don’t be surprised, if your dog is severely effected, it doesn’t eat for a week. It is also appreciated by the invalid if you offer some support when it does begin to venture back on its feet.


The few dogs that do not quite make a full recovery quickly learn to cope with the head tilt and any unsteadiness and are able to enjoy a quality life which should last to its allotted span.


These five tips should help you to spot vestibular disease, but always get your pet checked by a qualified vet at the onset as there can be other more serious reasons for the symptoms.


1. Dog is perfectly well then begins to stagger and fall about.

2. Dog vomits.

3. Eyes shoot from side to side in a rhythmic action.

4. Head is tilted to one side.

5. Refuses food and or water


If any of these symptoms persist beyond the three week mark then the chances are that this is not Canine Vestibular Syndrome. Other afflictions such as cancer, brain tumors, and inner ear infections can all produce similar symptoms but do not fade with time.

Poor Kittyn is stressed with all the chaos.   My cats are quite old so all the changes are stressful for them.   I will feel better when the boxes and chaos is cleaned up.   Merging two households into one when half my house is taken up by my brother is going to be a bit tricky.   I am not sure where to put all the things.

On the up side, brother is looking for alternate housing. We may end up building an extension on my house or perhaps putting a small cottage on the property. That  would give us another bathroom and three more bedrooms, which would be so helfpul.  In the meantime, though, we will work something out.  

Pearl was up all night with a stomach virus - I had to take her out every hour. I gave her some pepto this morning under vets advice. I could feel her getting sick last night when I first came home with her- I could see it in her eyes and feel it in her energy. I think she just ate something yucky.

Actually, I could smell the illness on her, too. My brother asked me why I kept sniffing my dog last night, now that I think about it. Strange. I smell things all the time, whithout thinking about it.

Time to update the old list
1 The day Spike passed (I put him down  I know it was for the best, but still, the pain stays with me)
2 The day Grandpa died
3 The day I died (at least it did not take)
4 The day of being tortured (my spirit died for a long time)
5 The day I had my abortion (drugs, other circumstance from rape, but still, the pain stays with me)

I still don't care much for Christmas, but I dont hate it anymore.   I love some of the family traditions such as the cookie decorating parties.

The day I moved back to the States is bumped off the list as I am glad now I moved back to Linthicum and Cleveland Rd.  I see that as a wonderful event now.   I like how good things in the present can improve how you view past events!   This also shows how much growth and letting go of old friendships have occured lately.  



the old list
http://kittyn-moon.livejournal.com/3388.html