Meowllo and welcome to Service Cat Monday. One of da things mommy hears most offen when tellin’ peeps ‘bout us is, “Service Cats? I’ve never heard of a cat being a service animal?” And then da next biggest question is, “What do they do?” Once mommy tells a few of da things we do fur her peeps jaws drop a bit; some in disbelief and some in awe. We’ve covered a lot of topics in this series, includin’ trainin’ tips dat every kitty could benefit from. So, ifin you’ve missed any of our postys, purrlease click on da links at da end of this post. As with all our educational postys, da followin’ will be written in human English. Purrlease leave your questions, comments or topics you would like covered in da comment section below. We’ll be discussin’ da last of da questions we’ve received today. So without further adieu, let’s get on with it.
When people hear that mommy passes out and that we help her in the shower, it probably conjures all kinds of pictures in ones head. We guess that based on the question mommy is asked. And our friends Shoko, Kali and awnty Jean of the Canadian Cats made certain to ask, “Just what can an average cat do to help you in the shower? How do they Move you?” For all of you that are new to our blog, let us back up a minute and explain what they’re talking about. See, mommy passes out. This happens for many different reasons, none the less it happens daily and often while she’s taking a shower. And it was Shad, mommys’ first ever Service Cat that trained herself and showed mommy what a kitty is capable of. You can read Shad’s story here and here. Please be aware the Shad posts were not educational training posts and are therefore written in cat speak. Anyways, the question remains, just what is it that the average cat can do to help an unconscious human? After all, the average cat weighs in at about 8 to 10 pounds and hates water.
Shad, Mommy’s Original Service Cat
As most of you know mommy has rather large kitties. She always has. Even Shad, who weighed in at 15 pounds, was considered large. And yes, at 15 pounds she was healthy and not considered overweight. Shad was amazing, and without her there might not be a me or sis Raena. But mommy did learn that some of the things we are trained to do require 2 cats; otherwise it’s just too hard on kitty. Now let’s get back to the shower and just what it is we do.
Healthy Lexi at around 30 pounds
You are right, even 2 healthy 30 pound kitties can not pull or push a wet, naked, over 100 pound human out of a bathtub. We aren’t concerned with getting all of mommy out of the tub. The only concern is that she doesn’t drown. So all that’s necessary is to make sure her head is out of the water flow. To accomplish this we push mommys head and torso up over the edge of the tub. Stop imagining things and let me explain. This is exactly why 2 cats are needed. Each kitty gets under an arm and positions in the armpit and pushes at the same time thus moving the torso and head. On occasion, some kitty does have to grab a mouth full of hair and reposition mommys head to lay on or over the edge of the tub. We then get out and roll around on our towels and wait for mommy to come too. We don’t mind water. We’re trained from the beginning to be in and around both standing water and flowing water like a shower.
We, like Shad, are devoted to mommy. There is a special bond that exists between a Service Cat and their human handler. This is NOT among the first tasks we are trained to do as it is asking a lot of a kitty and bonding takes time. And for that reason we will not be posting the how to’s to train this task to your kitty. It is something that the new kitty starts learning from the resident kitty at this point, as Raena is already trying to help me help mommy. We do hope this has helped you understand a bit more just what a kitty is capable of. But remember, NEVER expect more of an animal than size, breed and species would dictate. The love and devotion Shad and mommy shared caused Shad to go above and beyond. Mommy knowing the kind of love and devotion she gives and elicits has allowed her to have that continued help from the cats who came after. Anyone can have that relationship and any kitty can be trained. But you must start with a solid foundation.
I’s a good helper aren’t I sissy?
Yes Raena, you’re a good helper and are gonna be a fine Service Cat. Anyways, we do hope we’ve helped you to understand a bit more of what we do. Fur those of ya’ dat read Shads’ story we hope you enjoy it, she is very much a pawrt of who we are today. Mommy wants me to remind ya’ dat cuz she be naked and we live alone of course, there will never be any fotos of us purrfurmin’ these duties. Mommy says she’s no pb bunny. We need to know what you all wanna hear next, so leave your questions in da comments. We’re gonna see ‘bout goin’ fur a stroll while da weather’s nice, so have a great day.
Do you (your cat) like water?
Is there something you would like to know how to train?
Meowllo and welcome to another Blest Sunday. Today is a day fur ‘memberin’ and so mommy wanted to say a few things ‘bout sis Lexi. She’s never written ‘bout this, so purrlease bear with her. Ifin you missed sis Lexi’s goodbye posty you can read it here. Mommy will cover some things dat those of you who have followed us a while already know, but we do have new followers dat don’t know sissy.
Thank you baby. As most of you know I’m just mommy Audra. I give the girls their voice to come to all of you. They are so full of personality and love that writing through them is much easier, especially when it comes to the heartbreaking moments in our lives. When Lexi left us to go to heaven it was only natural to let her say goodbye. I felt like if I added anything to that it would signify closure. And I wasn’t ready to close the book on that part of my life, and I’m still not. So this post isn’t closure, it’s merely a small look into my feelings on the matter. Lexi had been the biggest and best part of my life for the almost 17 years she was with me. And now suddenly it was over and people wanted me to get over it and move on.
My favorite seat in the house.
From the time Lexi came into my life, when she was 10 minutes old, till the moment she went to be with God, we had never been apart. We’d never spent a night away from each other, and never more than a couple of hours throughout a day. She’d traveled from Oklahoma to Mississippi with me when my aunt died, and we’d moved every year for the first 4 years of her life. The really funny thing is, Lexi was never supposed to be my forever cat.
Lexi at 3 weeks old
She was merely another of a 100 fosters that was to go through my home that kitten season. She was tiny. Smaller than most. I and the vet figured it had something to do with her birth, but it didn’t seem to affect her, so we didn’t worry about it. And it all changed when she grew up. She was a huge cat weighing in at around 30 pounds during her healthy adult life. Anyways, when she was finally 6 weeks old, the rescue wanted her at the adoption events, so off we would go. Those days weren’t good for her. She would come home and fight with my resident cats, who learned to give her a wide berth on those days. And then the day came when an application came in for her. My heart sank. But I put a “happy” in my voice and told her she might have a forever home. That just seemed to make her angry and she lashed out and drew blood from my oldest resident cat. As soon as she did it, she ran and jumped in my lap and purred louder and longer than I’d ever heard. I bawled. Of course I took care of Devon, but I cried so hard I was convulsing.
Teenage kitten Lexi at about 5 months old.
Why had I been so disappointed about the application? Lexi obviously wasn’t happy, so why was I thinking about keeping her? Well I called the rescue president and told her what had happened and her response without giving it a second thought was, “We can’t adopt her out. Take her to the vet and kill her.” All I heard was Kill Her! They had wanted to do that the day she came in because she was too black, and now they were going to get their chance. Well, that did it for me, I told them no and that she would stay with me. I picked her up and explained to her that she was going to be with me forever and that I was going to love her forever, and changed her name (it used to be Lana) and gave her a big kiss. She understood everything and immediately started to purr. The boys sensed the change as well and they all became the best of friends. They laid together, played together and groomed each other. Life was good.
We lost Devon and then Lucky, and Lexi and I carried on. Lexi and I would lose another before Dezi joined us. I just never thought it would be Lexi. She was going to live forever, you know? When she got sick, we fought. I researched and learned all I could. I did the very best for her and she knew it and fought right alongside of me, till she just didn’t. I know it’s stupid and selfish, but all I could think is why would she want to leave me? I needed her. I loved her. How could this be happening? I screamed at God to “fix her”, make her all better, and that He couldn’t have her. She had gladly taken anything I gave her, allowed me to do whatever I needed to her, and suddenly, she was refusing. She was struggling as much as her frail body could struggle. I would watch her try to move from one spot to another and fall over because she was so weak. Those last days I spent in tears. I cried so much I thought eventually there’d be no tears left. But alas, tears are replenishing and I still cry. I still scream at God.
I try to believe that God needed her more than me, but nobody ever needed anyone as much as I needed Lexi. We had developed an almost symbiotic relationship. We moved together, and knew each others thoughts, sometimes before we had them. When she left, it was like half of me went with her…the better half. The half that knew what to do and when to do it. I basically shut down and just went through the motions. I’m getting better now, but I will always want my Lexi back. I will always love her and miss her and remember her. It will always be “yesterday” for me. She taught me so much about pure love and devotion. Through her I learned that there are still good people in the world. Because of her I have some very good friends that adore my girls. Because of Lexi we were featured on an internet radio program to talk about Service Cats. Because of Lexi, there’s all of you.
Luv ya’ sissy.
I know to a lot of people, she was just a black tabby cat. But to me, she was Perfection. She was Love. She was my baby and so much more. I was so blest to have her, even if it was for just a moment in time. And the world is a better place because of her. Thank you to all of you who loved her and made her special and gave to her of your time, devotion, and gifts. Please know that she knew how much she was loved, and that she did love all of you. Someday, I’ll see her again, and be with her again. Until then, she is now healthy and young and feeling no pain. Thank you for letting my Lexi into your lives, and now my Dezi and Raena.
Fank you mommy. Me so misses sis Lexi. She was da bestest sisfur a girly could ask fur. She was soooo bootyful and gracious. She taught me to share, and about this innernet thing where all our furiends and uncles and awnties are. We truly are blest. And now we’ve been blest with Raena. Life is still good. ‘Member to take a minute today and everyday to give thanks fur da blessings in your life. We of course are joinin’ da Kitties Blue fur Selfie Sunday with some Lexi flashbacks. Hope you enjoy lookin’ at her as much as we do. Ifin you would like to read ‘bout sis Lexi’s start in life you can do so here and here.
Meowllo everypawdy and welcome to another Blest Sunday. Even tho’ we’ve been takin’ a few days off we didn’t wanna miss our Blest Sunday posty. Mommy says she’s gotten a lot accomplished and things should start to settle down fur us soon. Me will be so glad to get all this lease stuffs behind us, so we can go fur lots of leisurely strolls. You’ve purrobably noticed da new header and background fotos, and ifin ya’ follow our other social media sites, we’ve been updatin’ them as well. While we may not be ready to move sis Lexi to da side bar only, Raena is here to stay, and it’s only right dat she takes her place alongside me.
Anyways, this has been a pawsum week. Raena and me played our furst game of patty cake. Me patted too hard da furst time and Raena went flyin’ but she came right back and me learned to be more gentle with me’s pats. Of course we didn’t have any memory fur da camera’s so mommy didn’t get any fotos. But, fanks to uncle Mike, fellow cat scout Pete Hartley and furmily, awnty Susan Mullen, and an anonymous sender via amazon we have memory so both camera’s are charged and ready fur da next furst ‘tween Raena and me. And mommy keeps watchin’ fur another round of patty cake. She says it was adorable. Me doesn’t know what’s so excitin’ ‘bout us playin’, but mommy’s get x’cited over just about anythin’. Anyways, Fank ya’ll so much. Mommy does luv takin’ fotos of us and she really was sad dat she might miss some of Raena’s kittenhood.
Mommy, make Raena quit pullin’ me’s tail.
Speakin’ of Raena’s kittenhood, me told ya’ dat she had to go to da VET on Furiday fur her furst round of kitten vaccs and a recheck of her eye and nose; well all went well. Sort of. Dr. C went to give her da shot, and stead of pokin’ Raena, it spit out all over her furs. Yep, she’s so fluffy he missed her skin altogether and vaccinated her furs. Raena showed her disapproval by turnin’ and spittin’ at him. Me was purroud of her, but mommy told her dat wasn’t nice and dat she needed to behave ifin she wanted some of those yummy treats. Well a few minutes later da tech re-entered with a new syringe of medicines and Dr. C went in fur a second try. He got her dat time and she wasn’t da least bit happy ‘bout it. She’s on a L-Lysine supplement fur 10 days to hopefully clear up her eye and nose run. We would purreciate any purrayers you could spare as well. Anyways soon enuff they were all done and we were off.
(This was sis Lexi one week befur she left fur heaven. This past week Raena and me both have been playin’ with da same nip pouch, so we thought we’d show ya’ll a good nip toy never gets old.)
Mommy had picked up this bag of treats da last time we was at da VET fur me’s rabies shot and Raena luvved ‘em. So mommy had purromissed dat she would get another bag fur Raena after da VET visit. So off to Walmart we went to get treats. What are they you ask? Well they must be new cuz we hadn’t seen ‘em befur. But they’re called Delectables Juicy Treat. They come in several flavors and cost .50 cents a bag. There’s about 6 little chunks of moist meat purr package. Da meat and vitamin E supplement are da only ingredients, so mommy knows it’s good fur us. Me doesn’t care fur them much but Raena luvs them. So mommy gets me da freeze dried chicken breasts and Raena gets these.
Well we finally headed fur home. And fank catness too, cuz it was hot enuff to fry an egg on da sidewalk out there. When we got to our door we noticed a Chewy box waitin’ fur us. We hadn’t ordered anythin’ so we had no clue what it could be. After getting’ us inside and settled mommy opened da box to find it full of summer goodies fur her. Chewy had done sent mommy a thank you box. Me doesn’t know why mommy needs a fank you, after all us kitties do all da work and try all da foods and treats and toys and do all da posin’ fur fotos and…well, anyways, mommy sure did purreciate her Chewy box, and all kitten aside, me really purreciates Chewy fur thinkin’ ‘bout mommy too. She does a lot of work puttin’ together helpin’ with our review postys.
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Well after all dat excitement and overwhelmin’ heat, we all crahsed and slept like logs. Raena was back to her spastic and annoying self bright and early Caturday meownin’. So this past week was full of blessings. As always, we count all of you among da biggest of our blessings. Fank you all fur bein’ our furiends. We’re sendin’ big hugs and purrayers to and fur all of you. Don’t furget to take a moment today and everyday to give thanks fur da blessings in your life.
Purrlease let us know what ya’ think ’bout our new background.
Meowllo everypawdy, today is National Hairball Awareness Day. Ifin you have a cat, you no doubt know when kitty has a hairball. Mommy says almost all kitty luvvers know da sound of a hairball comin’ up; we call it da nasty hackys. And of course we kitties are so careful to place them fur maximum effect. While you sleep we may place one in your slippers or da path you take furst thing in da meownin’ when you still have sleepy eyes. Where ever we put them, we’re telling you somethin’. We’re telling you dat we need some help cuz our furs are sheddin’ like mad. Mommy says watchin’ me hack up a hairball is pawful and she’s never seen anythin’ like it befur. She says me’s face says me is terrified and me convulses till da hairball comes up as a purrjectile and lands across da room. Let me tell ya’, me may not know what me’s face looks like, but me can tell ya’ dat is some scary stuffs. Me doesn’t like doin’ it not one bit. (don’t worry, we’re not showing fotos)
Most cat pawrents just accept hairballs as one of the unpleasant things dat goes along with luvvin’ and sharin’ your home with a cat. And truth is, most hairballs move through our system just fine and either become da nasty hackys or go out da other end. But in rare instances hairballs can cause a life threatening blockage. Ifin you notice kitty exhibiting any of da following symptoms, purrlease take kitty to da VET. Always better safe than sorry.
Ongoing vomiting, gagging, retching, or convulsing without purrducing anything
Lack of appetite
Lethargy
Constipation
Diarrhea
Thing is, me gets very few hairballs. And trust me, me’s very glad ‘bout dat. Sis Lexi used to get them almost daily, even when she was young and healthy. Mommy says in all da years she’s dealt with kitties, da short haired kitties seemed to have more hairballs than da long. Seems a little backwards, but it is what it is. So how can you humans help us with those nasty hairballs? Well Wellness purrvided us with this great infographic with some pawsum suggestions.
Click on foto to bigify
Brushing always helps get out some of da loose dead fur dat would otherwise end up in our tummies and eventually in a wet slimy pile somewhere inconvenient fur you. Now me knows dat not all kitties enjoy bein’ brushed. Me is just one of those kitties. Fank da cats me’s fur doesn’t mat or me would be in trouble. But there’s a product out there dat your grooming challenged kitty will like; you just have to keep trying. Me luvs da grooming glove especially well. Now it won’t get out mats, but ifin you’re using it regularly, mats shouldn’t form. There are many other grooming brushes, combs and helpers out there, so keep trying, you’ll eventually find kitty’s sweet spot. Mommy says she’s even gone so far as to use a moist paper towel or microfiber cloth. Again, those won’t take out mats, but ifin used regularly they should take enough of da dead furs out so dat hairballs don’t form. As cats, we naturally groom ourselves. Ifin you notice kitty seems a little OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) about it, try to discourage this behavior. Ifin neccessary, see your VET; kitty may have other health issues dat need to be addressed.
There are treats, and pastes, and foods to help with hairball control as well. Wellness has just one of those foods. They’ve been busy creating a new formula dat be good fur kitty and helps with those nasty hackys. It includes deboned chicken and turkey as well as vitamins and minerals to support skin and coat health. And a precise blend of natural fibers to help move those hairballs thru da digestive tract. This formula touts supporting whole body health and well being. At this time it appears to only come in kibble form. It’s available in 3 sizes and runs from about $12.00 to $34.00. As you know we don’t eat kibble here, but this could make a helpful treat.
Me has to go get some brushin’ and play in now. You know, gotta keep those hairballs at bay. Me’s joinin’ Rascal and Rocco fur da weekly Pet Parade.
Today would have been sis Lexi’s 17th birthday. It’s hittin’ mommy purretty hard. We’re also havin’ some storms, so we’ll be ’round to visit soon, but purrobably not today. But we would like fur you to ‘member sissy today and smile. She brought so much luv and happiness to mommy, me and so many of you, and she deserves to be remembered.
Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. We received compensation to share Wellness’s Hairball Prevention foods and infographics. We believe hairballs are a real concern for all cat owners and are always truthful when sharing products with you. Wellness is not responsible for the content or opinions in this post other than the infographic and claims regarding the nutrition and benefits of their food.
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