Amber’s Mewsings: Raw Food

Amber's Mewsings| 11 Comments

Since I last talked to all of you, spring has finally arrived here.  What this means for me, since I’m an indoor kitty, is that mom leaves the windows open so I can enjoy the breeze and the spring smells.  My favorite place to do that from is on one of my window perches.  I have two – one in Mom’s office next to her desk, and one in our bedroom.  I spend more time on the one in Mom’s office, because then I can be close to her while she’s working.

In the afternoons, I like to hang out in our living room, because it has lots of sunny spots, especially late afternoon.  I can either sprawl out on the couch, or on the blue rocking chair.  I like to mix it up a bit.

The other thing that’s new in my life is that Mom has been feeding me some different food.  She says it’s called “raw.”  I’m not entirely sure about it yet.   Sometimes I really like it and eat it straight up.  Other times, I just don’t feel like eating it, so Mom mixes it in with my canned food.  She thinks she’s fooling me that way, but please.  Of course I know it’s in there.  I just humor her and eat it that way.  I like to keep her guessing.  The only thing I don’t like is that now, if I don’t finish every last bite on my dish, it disappears after about half an hour.  That’s usually not a problem for me, I’m a pretty quick eater, but I do like to leave a few morsels to enjoy a little bit later as an in between meal snack, and now, that doesn’t seem to be an option any longer.  I’m not sure how I feel about that yet.  Mom has explained to me that she can’t leave the food with the raw meat in it out longer than half an hour, because it starts going bad, but that doesn’t make any sense to me.  How could food ever be bad?

I know she’s making this change because she wants me to be healthy and live for a long time, and I want that, too.  I just wish that it wouldn’t mess with my eating routine.  Humans – always something with them.  What I do like about this change, though, is that Mom keeps trying to introduce different flavors.  So far, I’ve dined on chicken, turkey and rabbit.  I like the turkey and chicken, I’m not sure about the rabbit yet.  It tastes a bit, well, gamey.  I saw her looking at Cornish Game Hen on the computer.  Hmmm – that sounds interesting.  I think I’ll keep giving this new food a chance for a little longer.

Adventures in Veterinary Medicine: Beast

Adventures in Veterinary Medicine| 14 Comments

tabby-white-cat

This post contains affilaite links*

I worked in various veterinary clinics for over twelve years, and during those years, I met some pretty amazing cats and dogs.  The memories of some of these animals, as well as the lessons they taught, have stuck with me over the years, and I thought it was time to share some of their stories.  I’m calling the series “Adventures in Veterinary Medicine,” because for me, that’s what my journey in this wonderful profession was – a never-ending adventure.  No two days were ever alike, just like no two animals were ever the same.   In this first installment in our Adventures in Veterinary Medicine series, meet Beast.Continue Reading

Amber’s Mewsings: Blog Anniversary

Amber's Mewsings| 15 Comments

I told Mom that she had to let me blog during our anniversary week celebration – after all, I am the inspurration behind this site!  It’s been such an amazing year for Mom, and also for me, because when Mom is happy, I’m  happy.  I think it’s a bit ironic that the first real post on this site that Mom wrote was titled Amber is on a diet – but I guess I really needed it then, even though I still think that I was only big-boned and fluffy, and didn’t really need to loose any weight.  However, I know Mom wants me to be healthy for a long long time, and I guess being overweight is as bad for kitties as it is for people, so I reluctantly cooperated with the whole diet thing.  (This is where opposable thumbs would come in handy – I’ve figured out how to open the cabinet where Mom keeps my food, but I can’t seem to figure out how to open the cans…)  I’m happy to report that a year later, I’m back to less than 13 pounds, which Mom says is a good weight for me (and our vet, Fern, agrees).  Mom’s been feeding me some really yummy stuff lately – it’s called raw food, and you’ll soon read more here about why it’s so good for kitties.   It sure tastes good!

This past year, I’ve written eighteen posts in my own Amber’s Mewsings category.  I got to write about everything from how much I love to be my Mom’s mewse to what it felt like to be forced to have my teeth cleaned (nothing to love about that!).  I have fun writing my column, and I know it gives Mom a break from having to come up with new stuff to write three times a week, which I guess can be challenging for a human.  I keep telling her to let me blog more, because I have lots more to say!

There are lots of exiting things coming up for our site for this next year.   Mom said she’s going to do something called a teleseminar series – I don’t really know what that means, but she says that it’ll be another way to teach people stuff about cats and their health and their lifestyle.  Sounds good to me.  There’ll also be lots more giveaways – I guess humans love getting stuff for free, and Mom likes to give stuff away that she thinks our readers would enjoy, so look for more of those things.  And most importantly, there’ll be lots more mewsings coming from me!

And don’t forget to enter our anniverary giveaway for the cool gift basket my mom’s friend put together for us!

Amber’s Mewsings: After the Snowstorm

Amber's Mewsings| 9 Comments

It’s been an interesting couple of weeks here!  We got a lot of snow, and I mean a lot!  The photo above shows you what we woke up to Saturday morning – and that was less than half of what we got altogether that day.  Mom was really stressed about things on Saturday.  She woke up at 3am and realized that our power had gone out.  I don’t know what she was so worried about, we were snuggled in bed together and it was nice and toasty, but I could feel her energy going all weird on me and I knew she was scared.    After a while, I realized what she was worried about – it got a little colder than I like to it be in our house.  I guess this power she was so worried about is what makes our house warm.  I wasn’t worried, though – I knew Mom wouldn’t let me get cold.  She put out lots of blankets for me to snuggle in.  I just wished she’d stayed inside to snuggle with me, but instead, she kept going outside to do what she called shoveling.  It looked to me like she was just moving the white stuff around, and I don’t understand why she didn’t just leave it in place, but that’s humans for you.  Whenever Mom came back inside, we snuggled under the blankets together, so I thought it was a pretty decent way to spend a Saturday.

Thankfully, this mysterious power came back on Saturday afternoon and Mom started to relax, not to mention warm up!   Sunday was a gorgeous day, the picture on the left shows you the view out of our living room window on Sunday morning.  Mom says it’s called winter wonderland.  All I can say is it was blinding to look outside and see all this white stuff, with the sun reflecting off of it.  But I was happy to have my sunny spots back and spent the day soaking up warmth and snuggling with Mom.

On Tuesday, Mom started getting worried again – apparently, they were calling for more of that white stuff.  I think Mom was scared that we’d lose the power again.  I hate when Mom worries, and I knew I needed to find a way to help her.  I was getting a little frustrated with Mom, it was like she was forgetting all the lessons my sister Buckley had taught her about not getting caught up in fear and worry.  So I made sure to remind Mom that Buckley wouldn’t like it that she’s already forgotten the lessons, and I think it really  helped Mom.  She even blogged about it (Letting Go of Fear and Worry During the Storm).

So when round two of this snow stuff started, Mom was calm, which made things much more pleasant.  It helped that the power stayed on.  I got a little scared when the wind kicked up big time (Mom said it’s called a blizzard when it does that), but Mom reassured me that everything was going to be fine.  I like how we help each other.  The storm made for some great bird watching.  I have to respect these little birdies, they’re made of tougher stuff than I am.  I’d hate to have to be out in this kind of weather.  I’m so grateful I’m an indoor kitty.

Things are back to normal as far as I’m concerned.  And anything that keeps Mom home with me even more than usual is fine by me.  I do wish they made kitty sunglasses though – it’s just so bright out there!  I think I’ll just take a nap in the sun.

Amber’s Mewsings: Amber and the Laptop

Amber's Mewsings| 5 Comments

It’s about time that I get some computer time!  I tell you, it can be tough being a writer’s cat.  Not only do I have to be my mom’s mewse, but since she’s on the computer on her desk practically all day long most days, it’s hard to get a paw in edgewise.  And when she leaves the house for a while, she turns the computer off!  I haven’t been able to figure out how to open what she calls her laptop, and I hate that thing anyway.  When it’s in her lap, there’s not enough room for me, too, and that’s just wrong.  You can see me giving the thing the evil eye above.  She recently got something she calls a BlackBerry, even though it looks nothing like a berry to me.  I got all excited at first, because I thought maybe I could use that to write on, but I tried typing on it and realized that my paws are too big to work the tiny keys.

But I digress.   What I really wanted to talk about is that, despite the frustrations mentioned above, being a writer’s cat is really a very cool job.  For starters, it means that my mom is home with me a lot, and I really like that.  I just like knowing that she’s nearby, even when I’m sleeping.  And she says I’m her mewse, which I guess means that I inspire her writing, which is really nice to know.  I know how happy it makes her to be a writer, and I’m glad that I can contribute to that happiness.  It’s also kind of nice to have her at my beck and call all day long – and I have her so well-trained that she doesn’t even realize that that’s what’s happening.  She thinks it’s her own idea to get up and give me a treat occasionally, and to feed me my dinner in the afternoon rather than making me wait until dinner time.  Okay, so maybe the staring holes in the back of her head approach, whining and weaving myself around her legs, and generally making a pest out of myself after a certain time in the afternoon is a bit obnoxious, but it never fails to work, so why should I stop?!

Another thing I like about being a writer’s cat is that I force my mom to take breaks.  Even though she loves what she does, it’s not healthy for her to do it 24/7 (what an odd expression – how did humans come up with that?  I only have four paws, so I can’t count much beyond four.)  So I make sure that she takes breaks throughout the day by asking for cuddle time, looking so cute that she can’t resist taking my photo, or showing her where my dinner plate is (because , some days, I swear, she forgets what she’s supposed to do with it!).  And after a certain point in the evening, I think she needs to get off her computer and come to bed, so sometimes, I have to lead the way and wait for her in the bedroom.

As you can see, being a writer’s cat is not for the faint-hearted among us felines.  It takes a special cat to be a writer’s companion, but it’s also very rewarding (and I don’t just mean food rewards!).

Nutra-Thrive-Cat

Amber’s Story

Amber's Mewsings| 25 Comments

One of the questions most frequently asked of me since the release of Buckley’s Story has been why Buckley?  What was so special about this particular cat, rather than any of the other cats who have been part of my life, that inspired me to write a book about her?  You’ll have to read the book to find out how she changed my life in ways I never could have imagined by teaching me universal lessons about opening my heart and living a joyful life.  As the old saying goes, when the student is ready, the teacher appears.  In my case, the teacher came in a seven pound feline body.

Inevitably, the second most frequently asked question I get is will you write a book about Amber?  Who knows, some day, she may get her own book.  Those of you who’ve visited this site have gotten to know her in her occasional Mewsings, but not all of you know her story.  So – even though it’s not a book (yet – you never know!), here is her story:

Amber and her five kittens were brought to the Middleburg Animal Hospital in the spring of 2000 by a client who had found the little family in her barn.  Despite being emaciated and scrawny-looking, Amber’s eventual beauty was evident even then.  She is a dark Tortoiseshell color, with an amber-colored heart-shaped spot on top of her head, which became the reason for her name.  Her kittens found new homes in fairly rapid succession.

However, nobody was interested in the beautiful mommy cat.  She spent her days in the big adoption cage in the hospital’s waiting area, but with the constant inflow of homeless kittens that is typical for spring and summer, nobody wanted to adopt an adult cat.  I had recently lost my almost sixteen-year-old soul mate cat Feebee, and the grief over his loss was still very fresh.  I did not think I was ready for another cat, but coming home to an empty house was becoming increasingly difficult.

One weekend in July, I decided to take Amber home, “just for the weekend”.  I wanted to give her a break from the abandoned feral kitten we had placed with her after her own kittens had all found homes.  The kitten was a rambunctious six-week old grey tabby, and Amber was becoming increasingly exasperated with his constant need for attention.  As far as she was concerned, she had done her mommy duty with her own kittens.

After living in a cage for all these months, Amber was initially a little overwhelmed by having access to an entire house, and she spent most of that first weekend near or under my bed.  By Sunday evening, she had relaxed a little and started exploring her new environment.  I liked having her gentle and peaceful energy around the house, and I decided that she could stay a little longer.  Not quite ready to acknowledge that she was home with me to stay, I told everyone that I was “just fostering her”.

Somehow, the flyers advertising that she was available for adoption never got distributed, and she only returned to the animal hospital for regular check ups.

Amber is a gentle, loving cat with a wise old soul.  For the past nine years, her peaceful and solid presence, not to mention her almost constant purr, have been bringing love and affection into my life every day.  She enjoys sleeping in our sunny living room, curling up with me when I sit down to read or to watch television, and watching the birds at the feeder on our deck.

She is a teacher to the core of her being, and she is my writing muse.  There are days when I sit down in front of the computer and stare at the blank screen with no idea of what I’m going to be writing about, but as soon as she comes into the room and curls up on the window perch next to my desk for a long nap, I feel inspired, and the words start flowing.

Animals come into our lives for many reasons.  Some very special animals touch our souls and change us forever.  Amber is one of these special animals.

Sadly, Amber passed away on May 13, 2010, after a sudden, brief illness. I will always miss her.

Pretty Litter

Buckley’s First Christmas

Author's Life| 5 Comments

Christmas card large

In memory of Buckley’s first Christmas with Amber and me:
An excerpt from Buckley’s Story – Lessons from a Feline Master Teacher

Soon, it was time to get ready for Buckley’s first holiday season with Amber and me. I traditionally put up my Christmas tree during Thanksgiving weekend. It is a small, four-foot high artificial tree that I have had for close to twenty years. While I like the idea and especially the wonderful pine scent of a real tree, I also find it too much of a hassle to deal with having someone bring the tree into the house for me and then to remove it again at the end of the season, so I have been quite content with my artificial tree over the years. And since having a fake tree has even become the environmentally conscious thing to do in recent years, rather than feeling like I should be making apologies for it, I am now politically correct. The tree sits on a small table next to the dining room cabinet. The table is draped with a red tablecloth that reaches all the way to the floor, creating a perfect little cat tent underneath. Amber always enjoyed hiding underneath the tree during Christmases past, and now Buckley got to share in the fun. It provided endless entertainment for both cats, and it was a new experience for Amber to be stalked by Buckley from underneath the tree.

In addition to playtime, the tree also provided lovely moments of quiet contemplation for all three of us. Most evenings before going to bed, I turned off all the lights in the living room except for those on the tree and put on some soft Christmas music. With both cats curled up on my lap, we simply sat by the tree and enjoyed the lights, ornaments, and the profound sense of peace these moments brought. This experience has always had a meditative quality for me that was greatly enhanced by the shared energy of the two cats.

Amber had never been all that interested in the ornaments on the tree. I decorate the tree with ornaments I have collected over the years, many of them cat-themed, which should come as no surprise. Some of the ornaments have great sentimental value, such as the silver bell that I brought home after cleaning out my father’s condominium after he passed away. As far back as I can remember, that silver bell was on the Christmas trees of my childhood. Other ornaments were gifts from friends or items I had picked up while traveling. I always hung the breakable ornaments on the side of the tree furthest from the dining room table. In the past, Amber had occasionally jumped up on the table and batted at the ornaments she could reach from there. Thankfully, she had never tried to jump up on the table the tree was sitting on. I was not sure what to expect from Buckley, but she turned out to be far more interested in the tent underneath the tree than the actual tree or ornaments. I never once even saw her on the dining room table trying to bat at ornaments she could have reached from there.

Buckley’s first Christmas was a special time for all of us. This little cat had never gotten presents before in her life. Needless to say, I completely overdid it that year, and I was not the only one. Many of my friends also showered Buckley, as well as Amber, with toys and treats that Christmas. Buckley had a difficult time deciding what was more fun—the actual toys and treats or helping me tear them out of their colorful wrappings and ribbons.  She had a wonderful time that first Christmas, playing with abandon and giving herself up to total joy.

Amber’s Mewsings: Amber Gets Her Teeth Cleaned

Amber's Mewsings| 4 Comments

sunny evening 006

You may remember that a couple of weeks ago, I had to undergo the dreaded bi-annual exam (you can read all about that ordeal here), and Fern, my vet, decided that I needed to have my teeth cleaned.  That finally happened last week.  Let me tell you, it was not a fun day.

I politely waited for Mom to get up like I do every other morning, and I led the way to the kitchen.  At first I thought Mom was just really tired that morning, because instead of feeding me, she just gave me fresh water.  Then she made her coffee.  Hello!  My food always comes before her coffee!  She kept saying “I’m sorry, Amber, I can’t feed you this morning.”  Well, sorry didn’t quite cut it, we were talking about breakfast here, and I made my displeasure known in no uncertain terms.  When that didn’t get the desired result, I tried flattery and rubbed against Mom’s legs and purred.  Still no breakfast.  When she took her coffee into her office and started doing her computer stuff, I knew we had a serious problem.  I kept trying to remind her that she was forgetting something, but no breakfast appeared.  After about an hour of this, I gave up and curled up for a nap.  Maybe this was just a bad dream and I’d wake up and breakfast would be served.

Well, things only went downhill from there.  Mom woke me up from my nap – and I immediately knew it wasn’t for breakfast.  She grabbed me off the nice and soft window perch I’d been sleeping on and stuck me into my carrier.  I knew resistance would be futile, but I still complained at the top of my voice.  I know it upsets Mom when I cry, but I was spitting mad!  Before I knew it, I was in the car and we were on the way to what I knew by now would be to the dreaded cat hospital.  I could have cried all the way there, but I decided to go easy on Mom and just grumbled occasionally.

Once we got there, I refused to come out of my carrier, knowing full well that they have ways to get me out, but I wasn’t about to make it easy for them.  Fern was there, and two other women who, okay, I’ll admit it, had good kitty vibes, but I wasn’t feeling too friendly, so I ignored their pathetic attempts to make nice with me.  Mom dragged me out of the carrier while one of the women was holding on to it, and then Mom put me on the scale.  She was happy with what she saw there, so at least that was good.  Apparently, the measly rations that have passed for breakfast and dinner around here are working and I’ve lost a couple of pounds since my last visit to the cat hospital.  After being weighed, Mom put me on a table with a soft towel on top that was really nice and warm.  I have to admit, that felt pretty good, but I also knew it was supposed to give me a false sense of security.  Sure enough, seconds later, I felt a needle being stuck in my hip, and something cold and burning was injected into me.  A few seconds after that, I started feeling really weird – fuzzy and kind of tired.  I don’t remember much after that.

When I woke up, Mom was holding me in her arms.  My mouth felt strange – a little sore, and there was this odd flavor coating all my teeth, nothing a cat should ever have to taste.  It smelled like what Mom’s mouth smells like after she brushes her teeth.  I shudder to think they used that paste stuff I’ve seen her use on me while I was asleep.  Mom says it’s called a fluoride treatment, but I say it tastes and smells nasty.  My throat was sore, like something had been shoved down it and then pulled out again.  Mom told me it was a breathing tube, but I don’t really know what that means, nor do I care to!  I felt really weird – I wanted to wake up but I couldn’t really control how to move my head or the rest of me.  But at least Mom was holding me, and that really helped.  Eventually, I felt a little better. I was able to lift my head and look around a little bit.  I can’t say that I cared much for what I saw.  Fern and the two women who were responsible for everything that was done to me were still there.  They were now torturing another cat on the table I had been on earlier.

After what seemed like forever, Mom put me back in the carrier.  This time, I wasn’t putting up any fuss about going in there – I’ve been through this enough to know it meant we were going home!  Once we got home, I still felt pretty crummy – just out of sorts, restless, tired, but yet not able to relax.  My eyes felt strange, and I couldn’t see all that clearly.  The things I did see don’t normally exist in my house, so I’m not sure what that was all about.   Mom says it’s the drugs they gave me.  Finally, after a few hours of tripping like this, I was able to relax enough to take a nice long nap.

I know how important it is to keep my teeth nice and clean, but I sure am glad that this is over with for hopefully at least another six months.  And in all fairness, I know this is just as stressful for Mom as it is for me –she worries about me, and I love her for that.