Archive for the ‘Here Kitty Kitty’ Category

It’s been a long few days for us here at the Pattern & Paw household. Probably feels even longer for little Sgt. Pepper. Poor little guy had to spend the last 48 hours caged up at the vet’s office, hooked up to IV fluids, and shuttled multiple times between the regular daytime vet and the emergency vet overnight.

Why? Little bugger decided it’d be fun to snack on a Lily.

For those who may not be aware, there are few things that are more toxic to cats than Lilies (dogs too – but because of the fast-paced metabolism of cats, toxicity can occur much more quickly). All parts of the plant, even down to the pollen, are extremely toxic to cats. So Sgt. Pepper’s little snack, had we waited and not taken him to the vet immediately, could have caused severe kidney or renal failure in a matter of hours.

The ridiculous thing is that we never have fresh flowers in our home. We have some vases of fake flowers, but rarely replace them with their real counterparts. But on Monday, while picking up our weekly CSA, they had a bucket of fresh flowers, free for the taking. So we grabbed one. ONE. And Sgt. Pepper decides to eat it. So much for a free flower.

We feel very fortunate to have, first of all, SEEN him eating the flower, and secondly, known enough about the dangers of lilies to call our vet immediately. As of last night, Sgt. Pepper has a clean bill of health and is happy to be home. Yes, he has a precious little shaved spot on his leg, and yes, our wallets are significantly lighter after the whole ordeal, but the outcome could have been much much worse. Needless to say, there will never be a lily in our home again. As beautiful as they are, lilies just aren’t worth the risk. Please keep your animals safe!

For more information and a list of other toxic plants, foods, and common household products, please visit the ASPCA poison control center. Also check out this great photo-database of toxic/non-toxic plants.

Sgt. Pepper found a new toy. I think he just might give Maru a run for his money…

I think it’s going to his head, don’t you?

Two weeks ago little Sgt. Pepper got fixed. And because the little bugger would not stop licking himself, he had to wear an e-collar for a few days. While I felt bad for him, I knew it was for his own good; and I couldn’t help but chuckle at his lack of coordination and depth perception with it on. Not to mention his inability to eat and drink by himself.

Only now that he is happily free of his “cone of shame” do I post this series of hilariously-hearbreaking videos I took during that time. Visit our YouTube channel to see all 5!

Amazing how fast kittens grow. We’ve only had Sgt. Pepper for six weeks and already he looks huge compared to the early pictures. I guess this is how people with kids must feel, too?

We’ve never raised a kitten before. Kitty (hereby now known as Big Kitty – not to be confused with Little Kitty), came to us when she was about a year and half old. Sure, she’s “filled out” quite a bit since then, but we never got to experience the true speed at which a kitten grows. Sometimes we’re curious what Kitty would have been like as a kitten, since she’s still so playful and kitten-like at times now.

I wish they could stay little forever…

Ahh, the life of a kitten…

Because kittens are clumsy. And that makes them all the more adorable.

With that said, be sure to check out our newly created YouTube channel! There are a few cute kitten videos up there now, with more to be added daily!

Sleepy little bugger. About time. It takes him a good 3 1/2 hours of full-on play to get him to this point.

How are things going with Big Kitty?

I think the look says it all. Kitty is definitely upset with us. Sgt. Pepper is a bit too forward for her – if he could mind his own business I think they would get along just swell, but because he likes to run right at her, well, she doesn’t like that too much. She can take about 5 minutes of it before she gets really peeved. Poor little guy. All he wants is too play! Right now Kitty can still escape to a high table (he’s too little to jump up there), but I know that won’t last.

It’s definitely a test of our patience, as our lives haven’t yet returned to “normal”. We’re still sleeping in separate rooms (so neither cat feels left out), and cannot yet let Sgt. Pepper out during the day or when we’re not around. It would be harder if he weren’t so gosh darn cute!

If anyone has any tips for getting Kalypso to be more accepting of her wild-man little bro, we’d love to hear them!

Introducing… Sgt. Pepper!

We’ve officially increased our furry family from 1 to 2. This is the new little guy we just brought home on Tuesday. Boy is he a sweetie. We are absolutely smitten.

We’re taking the introduction process very slowly, as we want Kitty (formerly an only child) to accept her new baby bro. So far they have only met through a cat carrier, and she was surprisingly calm. Very alert, but no hissing or growling on her part. Hopefully in the next day or two we’ll give them an actual face to face meet and greet.

The next big question (after we finally decided on a name), is what collar shall he wear? :)

Have a drink why don’t you. Kitty is more than happy to help herself (tisk tisk, naughty kitty!)

Believe it or not, she drinks like this on a regular basis. Not out of a giant pitcher, but with her paw. We think it’s a ‘survival’ tactic she learned as soon as she realized the freshest water was always in our glasses, not her bowl (which, by the way, she refuses to drink out of anymore. she now gets her own personal water glass). Spoiled rotten, that one. Creative, surely, but spoiled.