Little Apu

With my camera on the blink and the insanely wonderful weather we have had lately (low humidity, highs in the low 80s and lows in the mid-60s), my blog has been the last thing on my mind. So tonight I thought I would go through my old photos and talk a little about Apu, who, going on 12 years old, is now the patriarch of Possumlady’s Passel of Cats.

As many of you know, I adopted Apu when he was four months old from a shelter in 1996 along with Butterball (who was three). My very first cat, Bill, had died just two weeks prior. Bill was one psychotic kitty and many of my friends were more than a little worried around him. So, when I adopted Apu I decided to bring as many people around as possible to get him accustomed to strangers. Apu followed Butterball’s lead and welcomed everyone that came over. When folks would be settled in the living room, he would crawl over everyone to meet and greet them. A friend of mine joked that he was worried that Apu didn’t know how to walk since I carried him everywhere. I would sing to him while he would fall asleep in my arms, a song I made up that went to the tune of Winnie the Pooh, except it was Little Apu.

(Little Apu at six months with Big Butterball)

Then, when he turned a year old it was as if a light switch had been turned on in his brain and he became incredibly nervous around everything and everyone. It was such a drastic change that I called my vet thinking something was wrong with him. She didn’t think anything was wrong but she came over to do a quick check. After giving him a clean bill of health, her explanation was that he just grew into his adult personality. She mentioned that, unless the animal is sick, all puppies and kittens are very social by nature but they eventually grow into their specific personalities. I was so disappointed. I knew genetics played a part but thought, considering he was just a domestic short hair, that I could mold his personality with lots of positive feedback and love from me and my friends.

Well, a friendly outgoing kitty Apu was not going to be. To give you an idea of his nervousness, when I moved into my current house, I had everything moved in and then when all my friends and commotion had left, made my last trip back to my old condo to pick up Butterball and Apu. I brought them to my house and let them out in my bedroom. They were both very upset and scurried under the bed. I kept the bedroom door closed with the usual classical music playing and went on my way unpacking in the living room. After about an hour I quietly opened the bedroom door to find Butterball roaming around. After he saw me he quickly came out of the bedroom and proceeded to rub his chin on every corner wall of the house marking it as his. Apu remained under the bed. For three full days Apu stayed under the bed. I put a little makeshift litterbox under along with food and water. He barely ate or drank. During the night of the third day as I was lying in bed, he slowly crawled up on the bed (on his belly and under the covers) and crawled up onto my stomach where he stayed nervously trembling the rest of the night.

He was sweet around me but really preferred it to be just Butterball and him. Poor Butterball, sometimes I felt sorry for him as he never seemed to get a moment’s peace without Apu sneak attacking him, trying to get Butterball to wrestle with him, or scout out wherever he was sleeping and flop on top of him.

Then I developed this crazy cat lady affliction (we have our own society you know) and started taking in strays, first Sweet Pea, then Woody. Oh, Apu was not happy. Hissy fits were a regular nightly event. Then more cats started coming in. To give Apu credit, he didn’t react as violently with the rest as he did with Sweet Pea and Woody but he clearly wanted nothing to do with any of them. A peaceful coexistence eventually developed with one another with a few flare ups now and then, always between Apu and Sweet Pea or Apu and Woody.

Then last fall Butterball started losing weight. Not only was I worried sick about Butterball (since he was the best cat in the world—okay, there, I said it) but I was also worried about Apu in anticipation if anything would happen to Butterball. When Butterball started rapidly losing weight in February and becoming weak, sometimes I would have to pull Apu off of him. He would still think of Butterball as his pillow and heavily flop down on him. I could see it was making Butterball very uncomfortable, but being the sweet guy he was, he never complained or tried to get away.

(Last snuggle with Butterball)

After I had to put Butterball down in mid-March both Apu and I were grieving. I was so upset but I made a point of watching out for and paying a lot more attention to Apu. I would watch him as he would walk past Butterball’s favorite chair, stop and look up to see if his lifelong buddy was there, then slowly walk away. Apu was never a vocal cat but about a week after Butterball died, he started to meow/cry while he would walk from room to room. Apu was also never a lap cat but I found him jumping up more and more to lie down and fall asleep in my lap.

After a few months a curious thing started to happen. When a neighbor or friend would stop by, Apu would start coming out of my bedroom to greet them. Something he hasn't done since he was a kitten. When an outside cat would come in for a bite to eat or find a cool place to sleep, instead of the usual slap they might get as they walked past Apu, they got a nose to nose greeting and sometimes even a quick lick on the head from Apu!

Then one Sunday a few weeks ago I was doing yard work and walking in and out of the house. Of course, Sweet Pea and Woody were sleeping right in the doorway so I had to step over them each and every time I came in and went out. But wait, that's not Woody....could it be......

OH........MY..............GOD! It is, it's Sweet Pea and Apu. Arch enemies for six years!

I think Apu is going to be JUST fine (happy sigh).

Odds and Ends

Sorry for the lack of posts. It seems my symptoms from the pinched nerve I had in my neck over a year ago are back. Working on the computer seems to exacerbate them--tingling in my fingers and lower arm but the worse is the painful feeling that someone is squeezing the biceps of my right arm. I can type for a little while, then the pain comes and I have to take a break. I had six weeks of physical therapy last March and April that really worked and they gave me exercises to do at home, mainly stretching of my neck and shoulders. Well, I did the exercises regularly for about two months, then slowly stopped doing them. I guess I'll have to start them up again.

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I had rather a scary episode early yesterday morning. Something woke me up around 4:45 Saturday morning. As I lay in bed I started to see a few flashes of light, then the gentle rumble of thunder. Oh, I love thunderstorms. When I started to hear my windchimes I decided to watch out of my bedroom window that faces the street. As I watch the storm approaching I start wondering if I should let the outside cats in. I can see them from my window all curled up on the porch wicker furniture snoozing away. It was then that I saw someone walking down the sidewalk and stop at my driveway. He then proceeds to walk up my driveway to my car and start to look in it. I freeze and realize I should call the police but I'd have to walk away from the window to grab the phone and I didn't want to lose sight of him. He never touches my car, just looks at it for a while, then takes a few steps and looks towards the side of my house. He then casually walks back down the driveway and down the sidewalk. I make sure he is past my house when I quickly call 911. The dispatcher calls back about 10 minutes later saying the police are looking for him and they would stop by my house shortly. By this time the storm is in full swing, making it seem like something from a bad TV movie. The police arrive and I give them a description of the guy and they take off again. I never heard back after that.

We have a neighborhood listserv so I put out a warning to everyone. I heard back later in the morning that two neighbors' cars had been broken into to get their GPS systems. Obviously, it must have been the same guy. Luckily, I don't have a GPS system in my car. Needless to say, I did not sleep well last night. Our neighborhood went through a rash of burglaries during the holidays in December when a lot of folks were out of town and I think this must be the same thing. Lots of folks are gone on summer vacations.

What a way to wake up on a Saturday morning!!

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I think I may have made a color mistake in getting a new rug for my living room. My old rug was just a plain darker sage color synthetic from LL Bean. It worked well and I was able to keep it clean with spot cleaning for a number of years. But, with so many cats who vomit, scoot across the carpet (I won't even go into that!), and Greybeard (RIP) urinating on it, after eight years, the thing was just getting too nasty. I decided to get the same rug because of its durability, but in a natural color to brighten up the room and also in case I wanted to change the color scheme of my living room. Of course if you get anything new in my house, everyone has to check it out.

Here is what the rug looked like after about a half hour....

You can see Sweetpea's head in the lower left corner surveying his handiwork.

Since the cats rarely just sit or lay on the rug, I'm hoping the newness will wear off and it won't be so bad in the future.

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I was looking through my old photos and came across this cute one of Greybeard.

This was taken on a cold March day when I was off of work. I know many folks can't understand my taking in so many cats. Especially, dealing with Greybeard, there were many times when I couldn't understand it myself. But, I came across this quote shortly after Greybeard died and it made me feel glad that I was able to take care of this old man.

You cannot do a kindness too soon because you never know how soon it will be too late.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson-

Elephant Sanctuary on 20/20 July 25 at 10:00 EDT

Photo courtesy of The Elephant Sanctuary

I know many of you have enjoyed my posts about The Elephant Sanctuary. The ABC program 20/20 will be airing a piece about the emotional lives of elephants and will spend some time at The Elephant Sanctuary. It will air this Friday (tomorrow), July 25 at 10:00 pm EDT, 9:00 CDT. Hope you can watch it and I will be interested in your reactions.

July 25 update: I just learned that if there is a breaking news story, the piece on elephants may be postponed to another time.

Where in the World is Possumlady!

I returned a few days ago from my association’s summer board meeting. This year the meeting took place in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin at the Grand Geneva Resort that is about an hour’s drive outside of Milwaukee. Everything went smoothly from the shuttle service I arranged to pick up 25 people at different times at either Milwaukee or O’Hare airports, to the meeting space and most importantly, the food.

I have to give a shout out to Midwest Airlines. I’ve never flown them before and boy have I been missing out. Flying is one of those things I really dread. I’m not afraid to fly in the least. It is just the constant hassles, along with being herded onto too crowded planes with too small of seats. Well, I was zoning out as we were being herded onto the plane for my flight to Milwaukee when I finally noticed the seats. Wow, I thought, how long does their first class go on! I then realized that ALL their seats were leather and big with only two seats on each side. How luxurious! Then to top things off, when we got into the air they announced they would be coming around with the beverage cart and freshly baked chocolate chip cookies! Lordy they were good, still warm and soft and gooey. All that, along with a short hour and 40 minute fly time made it the perfect flight!

Beyond all the arranging I make for our board meetings, I also have the task of taking minutes. Luckily, the only things I need to take down are actual votes and action items. In between there is a lot of down time when staff are presenting reports to the board. I always sit next to the Secretary of our board so we can compare notes. Luckily, she is also on the Board Development Committee. This committee is in charge of getting new members oriented, taking exit interviews of retiring board members and in general just making their board experience a positive one. Another one of the things they do is to bring little toys and gadgets to have on the table during the board meetings so you can keep yourself occupied and not nod off during a sometimes LO N G and dry report. Our secretary knows my favorite toys and kept all the play dough down at my end of the table.




Don't you love my little neon colored pea pods! Or the pink playdough cup filled with all the multi colored balls.

I got home and my neighbor who was taking care of my cats mentioned that Sweet Pea just didn’t seem himself. He was pretty happy to see me, but yes, he did seem just a bit off. I had already planned to take Thursday and Friday off so I was able to watch him a little more closely and found out that he had a bad case of gassy diarrhea. Who knew a little 16 pound cat could make such noises!! He probably picked it up from one of the outside cats that come inside and use one of my litterboxes. Since I had to drop by the vets to pick up Greybeard’s ashes, my vet was able to give me a prescription and Sweet Pea is on the mend.



Greybeard's ashes and plaque

On Thursday there was an article in the Washington Post about flea markets and an upcoming event this past weekend called the DC Big Flea. They bring in around 600 vendors to the Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly, VA. Since this is near my sister’s house I called her and we decided to make a day of it on Saturday. Wow, talk about sensory overload!! It was like walking through 600 junk shops. Now, I love rummaging through junk shops but after a while it just became too much. And we didn’t even make it into the second building of vendors! Prices were VERY reasonable and most of the vendors were already willing to negotiate. Let me show you a few of the things I found and just had to have.

Not exactly old, these necklaces were made on the spot. A woman collects sea glass near Virginia Beach and crafts them into necklaces and bracelets. These two just caught my eye.

With my love of elephants I've started looking for little collectibles. I found this little jade ele and just had to have him. I asked if I could have 5.00 off and the vendor agreed. I do love to negotiate on these things. It never hurts to ask.

Well, we HAD to keep our strength up walking through all those stalls! We only had a bite and I brought the rest of the fudge home. Three different kinds, dark chocolate, vanilla, and maple walnut. MMM, MMMM, MMMMM. And, no, Woody, did not get any.

Yes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. A vendor was selling all different kinds of animals made out of rusted scrap metal. I first saw a goat I really liked but it was just too big. Then I looked down and saw this little armadillo. When my sister offered to buy it for me for an early birthday present, I couldn't resist. I'm debating on the names of either Angus or Arlo.

There were a couple of vendors selling old ice fishing sinkers. They were mainly fish with a few odd animals here and there. I gasped when I saw this and the vendor said "yup, that's a rare one. I've never seen a possum before." You won't believe how much this cost and I'm not about to tell you but possum artifacts are few and far between so this little guy is now mine!

After an exhausting day I went back to my sister's house and had a wonderful steak and grilled asparagus dinner and to top it off, a great movie--The Mothman Prophecies, of course!!

Goodnight Greybeard

Thanks Lynne and Lisa for your thoughts and prayers. In a way, Lynne, it was a quick and simple solution in the end. Before the vet even checked out Greybeard's leg he did a quick check of his mouth and found a very aggressive oral tumor under his tongue in a place I had never noticed before. That combined with the fact that he had a broken shoulder made the decision pretty fast. Apparently, the break severed nerves in his leg so he was not in any pain. The only alternative would have been to amputate, which the vet said, even considering his age (he estimated Greybeard to be around 15) could be doable. But considering the cancerous tumor, my vet said it would probably be a matter of months before that claimed Greybeard's life.

I was so shocked that his leg was broken. Greybeard NEVER even would go near the street, not even the sidewalk next to the street. He was always either on the porch or on the sidewalk that was on the side of the house, or on the back deck. The vet said there didn't appear to be any other trauma that would indicate he was hit by a car so he thinks just his advanced age and the cancer contributed to brittle bones and he could have just lost his balance and fell from the deck. Update: I noticed on Monday morning that my big beautiful hosta that was just getting ready to bloom had all its blooms bit off. Deer have been reported across the street in the woods but I guess they have come across the street into my yard. I'm thinking now, more and more that Greybeard could have been either stepped on or kicked by a deer sometime late Sunday night or early Monday morning.

I came home from work to get Greybeard and just had a feeling about how things would go, so I gave him an entire jar of turkey baby food before we left. I always split a jar of baby food among the 3 indoor cats as a treat every evening. If Greybeard is in the house, he gets to lick out the jar. He absolutely adored baby food. If you could have seen his face when I put down the bowl in front of him filled with an entire jar! His eyes just lit up. He was about half way through when he stopped to lick his chops, purring the entire time and looking at me with such love.

I was so apprehensive taking him in as I had no idea how he would react at the vets. He was a cantankerous old thing. The drive over was hard with him howling the entire way. But, when he was let out of the carrier he was surprisingly calm and the vet was able to handle him easily. When I put my face down to his he immediately starting purring and that is how he went to sleep.

So, Goodnight and Goodbye Greybeard. I only knew you for three years yet it was an honor and a privilege to know you and love you. How scary and hard your life was before you found your way to my house, I'll never know. It must have been pretty bad since it took you an entire year to let your guard down and let me pet you. But once you trusted me you gave me your heart and soul, no questions asked. You can read the history about how Greybeard came to my house here

Be free old man.

Last photo of Greybeard taken a few minutes before I took him to the vets this afternoon.

A Little Prayer for Greybeard

It was a whirlwind weekend flying cross-country to Seattle to attend my nephew's wedding and getting back home Sunday evening. My neighbor who was taking care of my cats mentioned that Greybeard was acting strange, not moving when she came by, sleeping so deeply she had to really shake him awake. She actually thought he was dead two times. Well, that wasn't the Greybeard I saw when I came home. He hurried up to me with his croaky meow, jogged up the front steps and dashed in the house where he drank some water, ate a few bites of kibble and basically just followed me around the house purring the entire time. When it was time to go to bed, I put him out on the front porch since I was so tired, I just didn't want to deal with cleaning up cat urine in the morning.



Monday morning came and Greybeard was nowhere to be found. I did eventually see him around 6:00 last night on the back deck. I motioned to him and he sat up but I noticed one of his front legs was dangling. I rushed over to him and picked him up. I gingerly touched his leg, no pain response. I pressed his paw, no pain. I then started more vigorously manipulating his leg and shoulder to see if I could find a break or a bite wound. I found nothing, and it was just as limp as a rag doll and when he walked (or hobbled), the leg would just drag along. So, I've made an appointment today at 3:00 to bring him in. I honestly don't know what it could be...a minor stroke? A blood clot? I would hate to have to make the decision to put him down due to financial conditions but I honestly can't afford a battery of tests, let alone possible surgical solutions to the problem. And, with his urinating in the house, I can't keep him in the house all day and he obviously can't be outside now. So, say a little prayer for Greybeard that the problem is minor and temporary, but I don't have my hopes up.



I will keep you posted.

Here is a photo of Greybeard last fall helping me on the computer.

My Evening

Let me tell you about this past Friday evening. I worked late, as usual, driving home around 7:30. I had to first stop at a copy shop to see a proof of our board agenda book to make sure it was okay to print 35 copies of a 350 page agenda book with numerous colored inserts. I get there and stand in line while another person at the counter is yelling at them for not getting her project done on time. This does not bode well. Ten minutes later I get to the counter and let them know I was there to look over a proof. They immediately pull out a box, but all that is in it are my originals with instructions that I would be by after 6:00 on Friday to look over a proof.

Copyman: “Oh, I guess it didn’t get done. If you want to wait, I can get one printed out in about 30 minutes.”

Me: “You know, I don’t have 30 minutes to stand around here. I’m exhausted and I had to drive out of my way to come here.”

Copyman: “Well, it’s a pretty simple project. I’m sure it will be okay.”

Me: “Well, I’ve done this enough times to know that it is never simple. Many things can and have gone wrong”

Copyman: “If you want to come by tomorrow, the proof will be ready”

Me: (Big long sigh while rubbing my face) “Okay, again, I’ll have to make a special trip AGAIN. Can we get any additional discount on this since it has taken up my time?”

Copyman: “How about 5 percent”

Me: “Deal”

I’m driving home after this and realizing I have absolutely nothing to eat. All I wanted was a baked potato, so I stopped at Wendy’s and picked one up. Oh, it smelled so good on the way home as exhaustion was really starting to settle in. I get out of my car and I see my neighbor D. walking up.

Back up to two weeks ago, as I was mowing my lawn the mower started sounding funny and then all of a sudden the blade flew off! I realized I hadn’t been cleaning under the lawnmower and it got completely gunked up with clotted grass. The blade kept banging into it and finally said enough of this and flew the coup. I tried getting the blade back on but realized I needed a special wrench that came with the mower and God knows, I had NO idea what I did with it. So a few days back I asked D. (who has the same mower) if he had the special wrench and if I could borrow it.

Back to Friday night. You know how you should be grateful for small favors. I know I should have been happy to see D., but all I wanted to do was to get in my house, feed the cats and have my baked potato. Maybe he will just drop off the wrench. But, no, D. was there to help me with my mower. The light is quickly fading as we are both sweating and swatting mosquitoes who, I’m sure, are overwhelmed with the smorgasbord of ankles and feet. Did I mention that D. is retired. He’s a big guy but does everything s l o w l y. I could tell that he had the blade on backwards but he really thought it was on right. So, I humored him and started it up. Oh, the rattling it made.

Me: You know, I really think the blade needs to be turned over.
D: You may be right. Let me look at my mower and I’ll be right back.

Great, at least I have a little time now to feed the cats. Phone rings, it’s my neighbor K.

K: Hey, C, could you do me a big favor.
Me: (muffled cry in my head) Sure!

K: I was transporting some feral cats today and one bit me really bad. My whole hand and arm is swollen and I’m supposed to be taking care of Kelly’s cat. Would you mind running over there and feeding the cat?”

Me: No problem.

When I hang up I see D. walking up. Sure enough, the blade was on backwards. He fixed it and my mower was humming like new.

Me: Gosh, thanks so much D. This is great.
D: No problem, just let me know if it needs to be tightened up some more. Say, did I tell you about………………..

Another 15 minutes go by as I listen to D. talk about various neighborhood news. A lull finally appears in the conversation.

Me: Well, thanks again. I need to run over and feed Kelly’s cat.
D: Okay, goodnight.

Whew, I run across the street and down about a half block to Kelly’s house. The cat is outside and food is on the deck. Hmmm, shouldn’t there be some water around here? I put out food and run back home and call K. asking her about the water. Yes, there should be some water, would you mind putting out a bowl. I take a Tupperware container and fill it with water and run back over to Kelly’s. As I’m walking back to my house I notice my front storm door is wide open. Damn, I forgot to lock it! For some reason when the humidity level is high my storm door doesn’t close properly and sometimes flies open. I get to the stairs of the front porch and see Sweet Pea (inside only cat) on the front porch. Our eyes lock and we both freeze. I quietly and slowly say “Sweet Pea” and BOOM, he is gone like the roadrunner, streaking off into the night. I cannot repeat the words I said at that point. By now it was closing in on 10:00 and I decided to let Sweet Pea run while I finally sat down at my computer while eating my reheated baked potato. I tried twice after that to get Sweet Pea back in the house but he was just toying with me. After the second time when I did get a hold of his back end, but he hissed and lashed out at me, I said, ENOUGH! I’M GOING TO BED. IF YOU WANT TO STAY OUT HERE ALL NIGHT SO BE IT! I marched up the stairs to the front porch, opened the door and stood in the threshold and said “Last time”. Sweet Pea then just sauntered up the stairs and into the house.

I sighed my last sigh of the day, locked up and went to bed.