Not a Service Cat Monday

Well Meowllo, it’s time fur another Service Cat Monday. Can me be completely and totally honest with ya’? Yes? Good. We’ve only had the wheelchair workin’ again fur a couple of days. And durin’ those days mommy was hurtin’ purretty bad from head to toe; so she didn’t even put Raena in the chair once. Now me knows we told ya’ that mommy had intentions of trainin’ sis Raena to drive, and that we would chronicle it on Service Cat Monday. But havin’ fell on Thursday and with so much to do this week, mommy hasn’t even thought about trainin’ something new.

Dezi lays in mommys lap for loving

We hope you can furgive us. We plan to be back on track next week. Mommy told me that she actually thought about takin’ this week off cuz we had so much goin’ on. But we told her, that we had the bestest furiends in the universe and that you’d all understand.

Fankfully the snow has melted and the sun is shining. Mommy and Raena will be headin’ to mommys’ regular monthly doctors ‘pointment today, so they’ve gotta start getting’ ready shortly. Paws crossed, Raenas’ harness still fits. She has gained a few pounds. MOL 

 Raena posing in her harness on the small cat perch

We haven’t decided who’s gonna get to go with mommy to that dental exam on Wednesday, but we’ll let ya’ know. Since Raena’s still in trainin’, she should be the one to go. But, the dentist is in the Wally World town, and me wants to go. What do ya’ll think? Should we toss a coin? Draw straws? How would you decide?

 Raena in stroller

          It’s simple sissy. You’ve gone everywhere with mommy fur 7 years, so now it’s mines turn.

 

Dezi sits in stroller

Hmmmmpht  That doesn’t make any difference. Maybe this should have been our Service Cat Monday posty; How to decide which Service Cat to take to town. What do ya’ll think? We’re gonna wrap it up now so mommy can get ready. We’ll be by to visit as soon as we can.

 

 

How would you decide which Service Cat to take?

Which of us do you think should go, and why?

 

Till the next time…………………………………….Be Blest!!!

 

Dezi: Vibrant Blue

Raena: Navy Blue

 

 

 

Luv and Hugs and Kitty Kisses

 

Deztinee and RaenaBelle

Service Cats: Will Raena Ever Learn to Drive

Hey Raena, do you know what today is?

Dezi and Raena with nip toy

          Is it another holiday sissy? I’s luvs these holidays; they’re so much fun.

 Raena hugs Dezi while she lays on the brown cat tree

Get off me Raena. Me doesn’t want a hug right now. 

But I’s luvs you sissy.

 

 

No silly, it’s Service Cat Monday. And the furst one of the new year.

 

          Well, what are we gonna talk about; mommy crawlin’ all over the house? You know, I’s not big enuff to give her a ride, or even let her hold onto mines tail so I’s could pull her from room to room.

 

Yeah, that wasn’t really the plan Raena. Me isn’t big enuff fur that either. Mommy’s more than a little peeved at the wheelchair peeps. They billed fur brand new wheelchair batteries a few months back, but mommy thinks they gave her used ones. She thinks that cuz they’re already dead and won’t hold a charge. Then to top it all off, they ain’t comin’ out to replace ‘em till next week. What do you wanna bet they rebill fur new batteries again? In the meantime, mommy’s been crawlin’ around since Thanksgiving.

 Raena sits in mommys lap and massages her

          At least we can massage her arms so she can use them to pull herself along in the mornings. I’s even gave her head a whacky paw this morning, to keep her from hittin’ it on the bedside vanity.

 

You did at that Raena. ‘Course now she probably has a headache. That means more head massages today.

 

          I’s already gave her one after brekky sissy. Ya’ reckon she’ll want another?

 Dezi snuggles in mommys lap

And lots of cuddly snuggles

 

 

Yep, me’s sure of it. She’s also having some teeth problems, that are makin’ her sinuses act up so she can’t hardly breathe.

 

          Is that why she’s so hot too sissy?

Dezi and Raena chat in the chair

Yeah sis, she’s runnin’ a fever. Hopefully it’ll go away soon. (no, mommy doesn’t have any dental insurance and there’s no community type programs she qualifies for. She needs dentures to get rid of all the problems once and for all.) Anyways, we hope to get new batteries fur the wheelchair soon, so mommy can start training Raena to drive. It’s about to get real interestin’ here. So we hope to have lots of adventures to share with you all this year. And remember, ifin you have any training questions, or just feline questions in general, let us know. You can ask in a comment, email or email via our contact page. Our contact page sends an email directly to us and is totally private. That means nopawdy sees what you write but us. Ifin you’ve missed any of our Service Cat posts, you can check them out by clicking the links below. Me’s gonna go give mommy another massage now. We’ll be by to visit as soon as we can. We hope you all had a pawsum Mew Year.

 

Till the next time………………………………..Be Blest!!!

 

Dezi: Vibrant Blue 

Raena: Navy Blue

 

 

Luv and Hugs and Kitty Kisses

Deztinee and RaenaBelle

Service Cats 

What to Look for     Training Foundations     Train Kitty to Massage

Smelling Disease     Do You Need One     Who Bears the Cost

Housing Laws and Exceptions     Accommodations and Common Sense

When the Handler Dies     Proper Training Methods Pt. 1 & Pt. 2

Easiest Task to Train     Getting Kitty Ready for an Outing 

Discipline: Stop Countersurfing Kitty     Internal Disputes 

Calling Emergency Help     Just What is Kitty Capable of 

Shad: Original Service Cat     Harness or Vest Leash or Stroller 

Dezi, the Wheelchair and the Chest     Round and Round We Go

Tumble and Fall Response     Raena Calls for Help 

Service Cats: Raena Calls For Help

Meowllo everypawdy, we hope you all had a good weekend. It’s December and Christmas will be here befur you know it. Ifin you missed our Gift Guide, you can see it here. We know you’ll find something for everyone on your list there. And don’t worry, there’s purrlenty of time to get it befur Christmas. (wink) Today is also Service Cat Monday, and we know you’ve all stopped by fur a Service Cat posty. As with all our educational posts the following will be written in human English. Ifin you’ve missed any of the posts in this series, purrlease click on the links at the bottom of this post. We’re kinda not sure what to post today. As a lot of you know, mommy fell da other day and we wrote ‘bout it last Service Cat Monday. Everypawdy cheered as Raena’s furst respawnse was to run fur da fone. Mommy and me are very purroud of her as well. But we also got a few questions via comments and email ‘bout trainin’ kitty to dial 911/call fur help. So, here’s our quandry. We’ve already written dat post and we’ve linked to it in every Service Cat Monday post since. 

 Dezi puckering mouth and holding head up for a kiss

We’ve re-read that post and are quite satisfied that we covered 911 training sufficiently and trying to re-word it wouldn’t do any good. So, ifin you missed that post or would like a refresher, please click here to read it. Our question to those of you who asked the question is, Did you want a training post or did you want a story about Raena’s phone training? We call them “stories” not because they aren’t factual, but because they don’t really explain how to train. They are for entertainment purposes only. And entertaining they can be. They can also be frustrating, as training is all about repetition. Anyways, assuming, (and we all know what that word means) that you wanted a story, then sit back and enjoy.

 Raena learning to dial the phone.

First me has to tell you that we have cordless phones and each handset has a speakerphone option and all calls sent to voicemail are screened through the handsets. So for all intents and purposes, the handset is the phone to us. Now me told you all that Raena was quite the little helper from her first day, so mommy began to introduce her to the phone right away. She wasn’t nearly big enough to push the buttons, but she could learn to be interested in it. Mommy lets most calls go to voicemail initially, so we can get used to unknown and known voices coming out of the handset. So ifin you’re calling us, don’t hang up, leave a message. Or at least start to, ya’ never know when mommy might be reinforcing our training. Anyways, Raena loved the phone almost as much as me did.

 Raena learning to dial the phone.

She would bite the phone, whacky paw the phone and lay on it when it rang. When somebody called she would sit and cock her head one way and then the other. All good signs and mommy reinforced her interest with lots of love and cuddles. All of which Raena ate up. You all know she’s a little love bug, right? The day finally came when she was big enough to actually push the buttons down, so mommy began training. She had programed the emergency call to go to her cell phone which didn’t get a signal at our house. So mommy was pretty comfortable that Raena wouldn’t be calling anybody by “mistake” or getting us in trouble with the law. Remember, it’s a Crime to call 911 ifin you don’t have a real emergency. Well, training went on as usual, till this one afternoon when mommy fell. Falling for mommy is normal, the bad ones like the other day, aren’t.

 Raena learning to dial the phone.

Anyways, mommy fell. Yep, there she sat on the floor all sprawled out, looking for something to grab onto to pull herself up when she heard a strange ringing. She looked around and there me was, sitting by her as always. But where was Raena? Nothing scares Raena, so we knew she wasn’t hiding out. Mommy kept hearing this strange muffled ringing sound coming from the living room. Mommy looked around once more and then called for Raena. Raena came running down the hall from the living room with the phone hanging from her mouth. Hmmmmm  Now it all made sense. Raena had pushed the emergency pre programmed number and for some reason, we actually had cell service and the cell phone was ringing. The thing is, mommy and Raena weren’t at that part of her training yet. Mommy hadn’t actually trained Raena to make the full call.

 Raena learning to dial the phone.

Anyways, the little stinker laid the phone at mommys feet, just outta reach, and began to meow at the top of her lungs. The ringing had stopped now as the voicemail mommy never set up hadn’t answered and the phone disconnected the call.
What? No sense in setting up a voicemail if you don’t have service and rarely give the number out. Thankfully Raena hadn’t reached the “somebody answers” part of her training, so once mommy called her, she believed the “exercise” to be over. Yes, mommy in the floor is another training technique mommy uses. It’s got to kind of sort of look real right? Anyhow, mommy knew then that Raena was going to be too smart for her own good and she was going to have to figure out something new to do with the phone. Raena made her first official training call to 911 later that evening, and we’ve never looked back.

 Dezi lap selfie

Our emergency pre programmed number is once again set to 911, so that’s why mommy was certain to stop Raena from making the call the other day. And that’s the first time Raena’s gone for the phone since officially ending her phone training. But remember, training is ongoing. Raena has now learned the difference between the “normal” daily falls and a “serious might need help” fall. So there ya’ have it. A day in the life of a Service Cat in Training.

 Dezi on the Liberty tree and Raena on the small perch at the front door.

This will be our last Service Cat Monday post for the year 2016. With the holidays upon us and so many things going on, we thought we’d let everybody including mommy rest. We have our annual nursing home visit coming up and festival of lights, where mommy takes us around to see the lights peeps put up. Needless to say, it’s a busy time of year. So we’ll be writing more Service Cat posts in the New Year, but for now, we want everyone to enjoy the season.

Till da next time……………………………Be Blest!!!

Luv and Hugs and Kitty Kisses

Deztinee and RaenaBelle

Service Cats   

What to Look For     Training Foundations     Train Kitty to Massage

Smelling Disease     Do You Need One     Who Bears the Cost 

Housing Laws and Exceptions     Accommodations and Common Sense

When the Handler Dies     Proper Training Methods Pt. 1 & Pt. 2

Easiest Task to Train     Getting Kitty Ready for an Outing 

Discipline: Stop Countersurfing Kitty     Internal Disputes 

Calling Emergency Help     Just What Is Kitty Capable Of 

Shad: Original Service Cat     Harness or Vest Leash or Stroller

Dezi, the Wheelchair and the Chest     Round and Round We Go

Tumble and Fall Response    

Service Cats: Tumble and Fall Response

Meowllo everypawdy, come on in and take a seat. Get your favorite beverage, sit back and relax. it’s time fur another Service Cat Monday story. We didn’t get any questions last week, so we’ll be tellin’ an actual story ‘bout us. And yep, ya’ read dat right, today da story’ll be ‘bout us, Raena and me and of course mommy. We was gonna pick up where we left off last week, but mommy never lissens to me. Me told her we had purrlenty of stories to tell without her makin’ more, but…well, me’ll just tell ya’ ‘bout it. Ifin you’ve missed any posts in this series, purrlease click on da links at da bottom of this posty. As with all our Service Cat/Educational posts, da followin’ will be in human English. So let’s get to it.

 Dezi laying in cat tree in new harness

It happened last night at dinner time and no, there are no photos. Ain’t that the way it always goes? Anyways, it had been dark and stormy all day yesterday and mommys arthritis was really acting up. She was hurting really bad and could barely get around. None of that is new. It’s pretty common actually, especially in the winter, and definitely now that her meds have been messed with. We’ve got to get the government outta medicine. Anyways, most of ya’ know we have a lot of “stuff”. Till the manager was finally told to leave mommy alone, she used to write us up all the time for being “cluttered”. Which of course isn’t any of her business and isn’t against the law. While there are a lot of reasons for our clutter, one is that mommy is a furniture walker.

 Raena posing in her harness on the small cat perch

Now a lot of you just said to yourselves, “A what? What’s a furniture walker?” So let me explain. Mommy, or any furniture walker for that matter, holds onto pieces of furniture, doors, walls, or tables to steady themselves when walking around. Me has told ya’ll that one of mommys problems is that she falls a lot. She often can’t feel her legs, feet and/or arms. Because this has been happening for so long, mommy has adjusted and can mostly make her extremities work anyways. Never the less, she still falls pretty regularly. Usually, she doesn’t get hurt too bad, because she’s learned to roll with it. But, when you add dizzy and an overload of pain to the mix then you get what we got last night at dinnertime.

 Raena hiding behind kitchen towel

 Is dinner ready yet?

 

 

Mommy had been in the kitchen preparing our dinner plates and hollering for us to come up and get ready for dinner. Me was in the litter box and sis Raena was in the kitchen with mommy, so me wasn’t in any hurry. Me figured Raena could handle anything that might occur. The biggest thing that has happened during food prep is mommy dropping a plate and having to do a quick clean up. Yep, Raena could deal with that. Me finished up mes business and headed down the hall towards the kitchen just in time to see it all. Mommy had prepared our plates and was taking the bags of freeze dried noms back to their place on the external pantry shelf in the dining room by the front door. She only had one free hand, her left. Mommy’s a righty, by the way.

 Dezi laying on floor

Mommy caught a glimpse of me and told me to come on down. Raena had taken her spot on the small brown cat tree that sits in the dining room; to continue to watch mommy. And then as if in slow motion, mommy got dizzy and lost her balance. She started reaching out and grasping at everything. That brown cat tree, her end table, a dining room chair. It didn’t matter what she grabbed. They all gave way and moved from their spots and provided mommy with no stability. Mommy dropped the bags of our noms and started grasping with her other hand as well. The brown cat tree just kept moving further away from mommy as did her end table and that dining room chair. After what seemed like forever…BOOM!!! Mommy finally hit the floor. As mommy fell, the cat tree had cut up her right arm. A fingernail got caught in the the carpeting and pulled back and broke off. Mommy landed, all sprawled out, backside to the floor. Her behind actually landed on a bag of our noms. She’s gonna have to order more, cuz they’re all crumbs now. Not sure what she hit her head on, but she’s gonna have a shiner for sure.

 Raena plays with the track ball toy

 I’s luvs this toy.

 

 

Anyways, me ran down the hall to mommy and Raena flew over mommy towards the phone. Again, as if in slow motion, mommy laid there in total shock and began looking around. Mommy could feel something poking into her back, so she struggled to sit up. Me tried to get behind her to help push her up, but she had landed on one of our track and ball toys that was in mes way. Mommy finally sat up and hollered at Raena to leave the phone alone. Mommy said we didn’t need an ambulance. Mommy reached under herself and pulled out the bag of noms she had squished and started crying. Mommy told Raena and me how sorry she was that she had crushed our noms and promised she’d get us more. Then she apologized for breaking our track and ball toy. It was Raenas’ favorite. She looked around for something to hold onto to try to pull herself up. She could sort of feel her legs, but they were like jelly. Her cut arm was throbbing and she could feel pain everywhere. She noticed that Raena looked stressed and confused as she sat at mommys feet licking her toes.

 Raena bites chewy box out of frustration

 Take dat you ole box you.

 

 

Everything that could have provided support for mommy had moved just out of reach. So she pulled her legs up and tried to push herself up with her hands. She told me to move out from behind her and told Raena to get on the Liberty tree beside her in the living room. Mommy was afraid she’d fall back down and didn’t want to fall on us. Finally mommy managed to push herself up. Then came the clean up as always. That’s the part mommy hates the most. Once everything was back in it’s place, mommy went back to the kitchen on her wobbly legs to get our dinner plates. That’s when mommy finally saw the blood dripping from her arm. She had a cut and scrape from her elbow just passed her wrist. Didn’t do her carpal tunnel any favors. She quickly cleaned up and brought our plates to our mat and called for us to come and eat. Raena and me sat at the edge of the living room watching and waiting for mommy to fall again. Thankfully, after she placed our plates on the mat, she sat down to look at her boo boos.

 Raena contorts on the brown cat tree

 This brown tree in da dining room is just da right size

fur a kitten like me.

 

 

Well, the last thing Raena and me was interested in was eating dinner. We both jumped into mommys lap to give her some purr love. She’s gonna be okay, but she’s gonna be really sore for at least a few days. Mommy falls everyday, but the big ones like this, don’t happen that often. Mommy says that she gets hurt the most when she tries to fight the fall, and that’s exactly what she did last night. Unfortunately, there’s nothing we kitties can do when mommy falls. We can only be there to comfort her after it’s all over. Y, Raena even let mommy sleep in this morning.

 Dezi getting mommy loving and petting.

Raena in lap and reaching for the camera strap

Now me knows a lot of you are saying, “Well if you don’t do anything to stop your mommy from falling, how is this a story about Service Cats?” If you’ll remember, sis Raena’s first response was to head for the phone to call for help. See, we saw the blood before mommy did, and that’s a 911 event. Altho’ the blood wasn’t coming from mommys head and she was still conscious, which would mean we shouldn’t call for help. It’s okay tho’, Raena’s still learning and mommy’s proud of how she responded and that when told to leave the phone she immediately obeyed and took her spot beside mommy. Altho something was in the way, mes intentions were to help mommy sit up. And mes first response was to come to mommys aid instead of running to hide. Yes, mommy said she’s very proud of me as well. As we’ve said many times, it’s very important for a Service Cat to not only know their name, but to respond to it every time. Mommy says that she no longer has to “tell” us me everything, because we are me is able to assess the situation and determine the proper course of action to take. This happens because of our constant training and our bond with and concern for mommy.

 Raena lays on the shower chair

 I’s not leavin’ your side mommy. I’s’ll go wherever

you go.

 

 

So there ya’ have it. A brand new story ’bout us workin’ today. Raena did well, and is purroving she’s gonna be a great Service Cat. Reckon she’s not as droll as me once thought she was. Ifin ya’ have any questions ‘bout training or anything in general purrlease feel free to ask. We try to answer all questions in a timely manner. Due to mommys fall and subsequent injuries, we’re gonna be a bit slow fur at least da next few days, so purrlease bear with us.

 Raena conked out on the Liberty cat tree

 Just let me have a little nappy furst.

 

 

Till da next time…………………………………………..Be Blest!!!

Luv and Hugs and Kitty Kisses

Deztinee and RaenaBelle 

Service Cats  

What to Look For     Training Foundations     Train Kitty to Massage

Smelling Disease     Do You Need One     Who Bears the Cost

Housing Laws and Exceptions     Accommodations and Common Sense

When the Handler Dies     Proper Training Methods Pt. 1 & Pt. 2

Easiest Task to Train     Getting Kitty Ready for an Outing

Discipline: Stop Countersurfing Kitty     Internal Disputes 

Calling Emergency Help     Just What is Kitty Capable of 

Shad: Original Service Cat     Harness or Vest Leash or Stroller

Dezi, the Wheelchair and the Chest     Round & Round We Go