Because She's Adorable

Monkey News

That unimpressed squishy face? Is the unimpressed squishy face of a kitty that has a healthy spleen!

A while back I think I mentioned that the vet discovered that Cooca had a heart murmur? Well, in testing to see if the heart murmur is a problem (it has been dubbed "incidental" which means her little heart should be fine), they noticed that she had an enlarged spleen. So yesterday we had her appointment to get her spleen all checked out and apparently, she just has a "generous" spleen. A "generous" but normal spleen.

So now she officially has a velvety soft shaved belly, a little bit of grump, and healthy organs.

Five Out of Seven Kitties Agree

Last week we had a huge vet trip. All of my health things meant that the kitties' health maintenance got pushed to the back burner for a bit and almost everyone was overdue for their yearly shots. But I'm doing mostly better and Olive had something weird going on with her lips, so we took the most egregiously out of date kitties to the vet.

So Cocoa, Chloe, Gidget, Bitty and Olive all went to the vet. Yes, five of them. And all of them save Olive qualify as seniors, which makes for a very expensive vet trip. But who needs money when you have healthy kitties, right?

Well, except not everyone was fully healthy. All of their blood tests came back just fine, which was good, but Cocoa had a little bit of a heart murmur so we've got to schedule a cardiologist appointment for her to get an ultrasound. And Chloe needs a dental cleaning, during which time they will scope her ear because she has something in there that is either a growth or a really tenacious ball of wax. (Bitty had something similar a few years ago. It was stubborn wax. I'm pulling for that this time.)

We also came home with some antibiotic wipes for Cocoa's chin and Olive's lips (Cocoa's chin seems to be breaking out from messy drinking habits and who knows what is going on with Olive's lips but the corners are crusty and she keeps scratching them). Cocoa also got some joint supplement powder since her right hip has been bothering her more and more lately. And lastly, Olive also got some cream for a little bald spot on her head which may be ringworm.

So not a totally clean bill of health for all the babies (Gidget and Bitty did pass with flying colors), but heart murmur aside, the kitties came back good all the big stuff (like blood work). Next up, getting Chloe's teeth cleaned and figuring out the cause of Cocoa's murmur.

Drive-By Update

Just to close out an issue I mentioned a couple of weeks ago: earlier this week Emmett went back to the vet for a check up and he was given an official clean bill of health. No more UTI for the Emmett!

On the same trip, we also took Happy in for her annual exam and shots and we got more good news for her. All of her blood work looks good and her renal values are holding steady, which means her chronic kidney issues are being well-managed.

Good news all around!

Bad Picture, Not Bad News

Yesterday, two of the herd went to the vet. We were worried that Emmett had a urinary tract infection and Cocoa needed to have some blood work done to check the status of her (previously iffy) kidney levels.

Neither kitty was happy with this trip.

Yes, it's a horrible picture but it just defined the trip too much not to share. Cocoa yowled approximately every second and a half (not an exaggeration) for the whole 40 minute trip and Emmett did his best to become invisible underneath the towel in the kennel.

The end result of the vet visit (aside from a bit of a yowl-induced headache) wasn't too horrible. Emmett did have a urinary tract infection but he's been dosed with an antibiotic so that should take care if it. I'd prefer he not be sick at all, but at least a UTI is better than the bladder stones Chloe once had (and had to get surgically removed). And in better news, Cocoa's was given a very positive thumbs up on all of her tests.

Emmett will have to go in for a recheck in a couple of weeks but at least his hiding isn't like icepicks in my ears.

Snackies

Disgruntled Grooming

10!

Bitty is ten years old today!

Happy birthday, Bitty!

Chloe Hides Well

Gidget is Bad at This Game

Spot the Bitty

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There are Two Kitties in This Picture

Emmett Pillow

Apparently Olive thinks Emmett makes a good pillow.

Emmett doesn't seem to mind.

Because Olive is Awesome

The Dangers of Knitting

More Awesomeness

Cocoa likes my hot water bottle, too.

Your Awesome for the Day

In Other News

Olive likes being tall.

And she does it well.

The getting down thing, not so much.

This Happens Constantly Now

Emmy & Ollie

Emmett and Olive are becoming quite the little friends. Most of the time their interaction is play-fighting, but recently Olive has started licking on the other kitties, particularly Emmett. Of course, their grooming sessions seems to devolve into roughhousing, too, but I think they enjoy it. And they are really cute.