R.I.P. dear Mitzie

We have three cats no more. I wrote about Mitzie's bizarre eating habits. Turns out there was a reason.

Cottage Country Reflections: Feed the birds --

Oct 13, 2009

Mitz, the anorexic, severely disturbed, picky eater feline, had her self her special Thanksgiving dinner (Really - see the can!). She still picks her food up with her paw. She is so weird. It would be funny, if I didn't have to wash the floor, etc. 

I noticed her drooling, and her tongue hanging out. Poor thing. She looked ill.

Taking her to the vet cost JB some scratches and pain by the time we wrangled her into the carrier. This is the big problem with her. She panics and scratches. Between PTSD and being born in a dumpster, she's had a good life with us. We haven't been able to give her good preventive vet care, and that has been sad. 

Sick and cold, she loved the fireplace

I nursed JB and sent him on his way bandaged to the vet. Poor old Mitz had gum disease. We simply cannot pick her up without getting scratched. This, of course, is the royal 'we.' I haven't touched her, never mind picked her up, in months. She was a one-man cat.

Funny thing, some seniors have issues with aspiration pneumonia. If teeth are not brushed, and the bacteria not destroyed, they inhale it into their lungs and die of pneumonia. I am surprised she has lasted this long.

I held her in my arms as the vet gave her the final needle. No more pain. Nor more fear. I will treasure the times we spent. I encourage you to have your pets fixed. There are too many rescue cats around.

She loved good old Oliver. They were pals on moving day. Snuggling for comfort. A picky eater, she had to be fed when the other two were put into their respective bedrooms. (Handy having a 3-BR house for them!)

Grumpy, she watched me all the time, afraid I was going to try to touch her!

She liked playing 'shadow.'

A simple cat, really. Wanted to be left alone, except for JB. He was the only person in the world who could touch her.

I told her to go and visit those who have gone before. Bless her little tortured soul. 

A sad day in our household. We rescued her from a rescue cat bungalow that held 23 cats. What was I thinking? 

I kid you not. I imagine that I felt good taking her away from all those crazy cats.

Pets at the cottage

Camera Critters #67

Dear Mitz, I know some have asked about her. She is feeling better. We know not why or how. But she is still eating food by raking it out of her dish, and pulling it to her mouth. (See the video below!)

As I stacked 3 cords of wood, and she was my moral support. She has gained weight, and she is much more vocal than before, meowing quietly when she wants more food. Her weight is better, too. She will eat out of Oliver's dish, standing up for herself. Speaking of Oliver...


I like to give warning. As will all of us, the bugs are terrible this year.
With cool temperatures, and no July heat to kill off the May blackflies, they are still around.

We have now: blackflies, mosquitoes, deerflies, horseflies. Really.

But then, since these cool temperatures help the wicked critters multipy and, indeed, thrive, we know that our pets are similarly suffering from fleas. The fleas live all year under our cottage, which remains warmer from the heat of the house, but slow down in deep winter.

I can tell the fleas are rampant - when Oliver snuggles up at night with me. Unlike normal cat-twitching dreams, he is awakened with a start and has to scratch like stink. Now, normally he cannot bear sleeping with me; he sleeps with my hubby. I have nightly power surges, as well as back issues, and I fling off the covers, burying both hubby and any cats. Or I roll over in a mighty earth-tremour, that rocks the boat, exacerbated by painful back spasms and limiting my movements.

When we took the cats in for their regular checkup, the vet took a fine-toothed comb, and combed them just above the base of their tail. Sure enough, flea poop, along with much loose car fur! It is important to look after their needs.

Sady lets us know she has excess fleas when she become irritable. Hubby will pass by her and she will whack at his ankle.

The solution has been a neat little ampule of Rx medicine, placed behind their necks where they are unable to lick it off. We all sleep better.

Now, all pets must be monitored and supervised when visiting cottage country. You cannot allow your dog to wander; neighbour's pets, and the wild animals, do not appreciate it. In addition, there are many critters (like the fisher - although Sady treed ours, porcupines, skunks) that do not appreciate your pets running around. There may be dire consequences. The critters have regular patterns of wandering for food. For example, the fox runs our road every morning, as does the bear. Rocky Raccoon has a regular lakeshore patrol, but she and Sady have a mutual agreement. They respect each other's right to be here. Don't know why!
~~~~~~~~~~~

Cat's eating habits are bizarre. Oliver makes so much noise, hungry teenager!

frowsy goslings

Summer is unfolding as it should. Everything is lush and green. Much is blooming.
We are happy to provide sanctuary from the high speed demons on water ski and wakeboards. The waterfowl kindly fertilize our clover, too. The tourists whip back and forth on boats across the lake; goslings and Eva munch my clover.

It is amazing how quickly they grow. Their wings are little useless stubs for now. They look like the ugly duckling.
The water lilies are blooming.

But dear, old, emotionally disturbed Mitz has a deep sleep. None of that outdoor life for her. She lets the other 2 cats keep the geese and ducks under control. We still have a bear around, and she likes her peace and quiet.

There is much pollen. With the wind it blows across the lake and covers everything: the lake surface, the shoreline, our decks and dock. It must have been a great (cool, wet) spring for the trees considering the pollen amounts. The bears, however, continue to be active around the neighbourhood, since the blueberries and raspberries are late, due to cool conditions, and they need FOOD!

The day time mosquites and blackflies have lessened, but that is not saying much!

Traffic is busy and there are garage sales aplenty. Lots of places for sale, too.

I must have taken a 1000 photos of Lake Superior. Our accountant just popped by to finalize a tax concern, he is headed to the Lake Superior Park to camp! I shall organize my photos. Such scenery!
Visit Camera Critters for more CC #64

Shadow shot #45

I happened on another meme. People are so clever and help pull that creative strand from what might be a boring blog post. I worry about copyrights, as people are prone to stealing one another's ideas, words or images.


This meme features Shadow Shots. I dug up some photos.

Yesterday the sun shone brightly. There are deep shadows, since the sun is so low in its solstice. The ice on the lake displays lovely shadows.

On this dreary day in March, with rain pouring down in puddles on the still-frozen lake, I found a phot of my cat playing shadows with my husband. We live an uneventful life!












For more shadow shots visit: