Aby-a-Day – 15 Juli: Do they miss us when we’re gone? (Monday Mystery)

Do our cats miss us when we’re gone? Alfred and Angel are used to us going away, I was particularly curious how Izaak and Lorelai would react to our being away, since usually when we go off on a trip, they come with us.

Hero the London Lion which I had seen in a shop in Covent Garden, but we were too tired and hungry to go in and look at him. Later, after a rest and some food, I wished I had stopped and gotten the “Lion in a British jumper” because he was wicked cute!

As luck would have it, I found him at the airport as we were leaving!

I introduced Hero to Rory…but she didn’t seem very impressed.

“Really mom? Really? You left us ALONE. For a WEEK. Without taking us with you! And you bring this thing back with you?

“Look at me. My eyes are bigger, and I am way cuter!”

In the end, I am not sure if Rory missed us…or the fact that we take her outside to run.

Meanwhile, the moment we walked in the door, Zak was yelling for his chicken neck.

After he had demolished it, we sat on the sofa and I gave him cuddles. At first, he seemed happy I was home…

…but then…

…I think he remembered how much mommy kisses him.

I have a deep suspicion that he didn’t miss the kissies.

But he did miss me.

So much so that he is clearly contemplating his escape from my dastardly clutches.

Aby-a-Day – 1 April: Looks like we’re going back to Jönköping (Medical Monday Mystery)

Siiiiggghhh… And we had been doing so well, too. Jacoby has been on his treatment plan for several weeks, and he had been gaining weight nicely. But in the past week or so, he’s been…not himself. Less eager and excited about food, sleeping in unusual places (like the radiator bed, which I don’t think I have ever seen him in before), and just…not being himself. Most concerning, the last time I weighed Jake on 16 March, he was up to 4.8 kilos…and yesterday, he weighed 4.3 kilos.

So…I called Min Veterinär this morning to leave a message, and then, completely by coincidence, Anicura called me an hour or so later. I made an appointment with them, just in case…and, when Min Vet called me back, we discussed it and decided it would be better to take Jake back to Anicura since they have all his recent treatment records. So it looks like Jake and I will be riding the rails to Jönköping this Friday.

Aby-a-Day – 19 November: Modern Maturity (Monday Medical Mystery)

Izaak will be 10 months old next Monday.

(This is Zak)

He has turned into a husky, burly cat. I call him my “little sausage.”

(This is Logan)

He is much more burly than Logan was at the same age.

(This is Logan)

But that’s honestly the only way that Zak is ahead of Logan, developmentally speaking.

(This is Logan)

When Logan was the same age as Zak, Logan had to wear diapers because he was marking his territory like a tomcat. He also paced around the apartment, yowling.

(This is Logan)

Logan seems to have been a faster developer than Zak is.

(This is Zak)

Zak is one week shy of 10 months old, and he is showing zero signs of male maturity. No inappropriate play mounting (which Alfred was showing with Logan at seven months of age), no pacing and yowling, and no random peeing. His pee doesn’t even smell strong, like a tomcat’s!

(This is Zak)

Not that I’m complaining, exactly…and I do want to wait as long as possible before getting him his Suprelorin implant…but it’s like waiting for the other shoe to drop. You know it’s going to happen…but when?

Aby-a-Day – 24 September: What’s with the tail, Lorelai? (Monday Mystery)

The other day, I was doing stuff around the house, watching the Red Sox play the Indians in Cleveland (they won, by the way), when, suddenly, Lorelai jumped onto the coffee table all puffed up.

I have no idea what was out there. I looked out the window, but I couldn’t see anything.

She went to the window to see what it was, tail still a-puffed.

I will probably never know what triggered her.