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   

Freeze Dried Furiday #ChewyInfluencer

Hey, it’s RaenaBelle. Is anypawdy out there?  Mommy and sis Dezi said today’s somethin’ called black Furiday, and dat a lot of our furiends are gonna be out standin’ in lines today tryin’ to get a bargain. We purray you all stay safe. I’s not sure ‘bout those bargains. Mommy spent a little time yesfurday lookin’ at “ads” and sayin’ everythin’ was way too spensive, and dat only a few items at each store was actually a good deal. Anyways, we’re all right here tryin’ to recover from yesfurdays meal, and I’s ask sis Dezi ifin I’s could tell ya’ ‘bout da Halo Kiblets we got from Chewy this month as Chewy Influencers.

 

Raena looking over her shoulders.

 

 

 

Disclaimer: We received compensation in exchange for a honest review. Chewy, nor Halo are responsible for the contents or claims of this post unless stated. As always, we only tell the truth and bring products we use or have tried ourselves and think would be of interest to you, our readers and friends.

Chewy Logo

 

 

Raena sniffs the Halo Kiblets bag

 

 

 

So, as most of ya’ know, our favorite treats and meals are of da freeze dried variety. So when Halo came out with a line of freeze dried noms, we just had to try them. Da Cage-Free Chicken formula was our choice. They’re also available in Salmon and Turkey, and just Turkey for cats; and Beef and Cage-Free Chicken for dogs. They come in 6 ounce bags and vary in purrice from $14.99 to $17.91. As a lot of you know, sis Dezi and me like teeny tiny bites. Mommy usually has to break up anythin’ freeze dried dat comes in da house. But, da Halo Kiblets/Mix ‘n Mores are already bite size morsels, so no breakin’ needed. And cuz of their size, mild crunchiness and irregular shape, they would make a purrfect option fur those kibble addicted kitties, as they can be served wet or dry. So let’s see what Chewy says are da key benefits. 

Key Benefits

  • Delight and satisfy your cat’s inherent and ancestral love of meat by adding flavorful freeze-dried topper to dry or wet food

  • Made with limited ingredients, with whole chicken as the first ingredient

  • Topping provides highly digestible essential nutrients for optimal health and vitality

  • Whole chicken is pasteurized, crumbled, flash frozen and freeze-dried to lock in the nutritional value of the chicken without any dehydration

  • Formulated without artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives for an easy-to-digest topper with wholesome natural flavor

And here’s da ingredients: 

Chicken, chicken liver, whole flaxseed, salt, salmon oil, mixed tocopherols (a preservative), taurine, calcium sulfate, calcium carbonate, vitamin e supplement, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, copper sulfate, niacin supplement, manganese sulfate, d-calcium pantothenate, vitamin a supplement, riboflavin supplement, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin d3 supplement, vitamin b12 supplement, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid

 

 

 

Halo Freeze dried kiblets

See? They kinda look like kibble.

 

As you can see, altho’ da name says Kiblets/Mix ’n Mores these can clearly be served as a complete meal. And they don’t include any of those questionable ingredients our humans try to avoid. Of course they can also be fed as a treat or added to your pets normal food. Mommy initially gave us a few as a treat, but we purrfur them mixed in with our regular noms. Notice I’s said we purrfur, so ya’ know dat means we like ‘em. They’re a great bite size piece and taste purretty good ifin I’s do say so mines self. There seems to be a bite every now and then dat has a darker color to them and are a bit crunchier than da others. Mommy says it’s purrobably da liver. No purroblem fur us, tho’, we just spit ‘em out. So, fur dat reason, and da one mommy will talk ‘bout in a minute, I’s give ‘em a hearty 3 paws up.

Sissy? Wanna tell everypawdy what you think ‘bout da Halo Kiblets? 

 Dezi watching Raena while they eat

Fanks Raena. You’re doin’ a great job by da way. Da Halo Kiblets are da purrfect size right outta da bag. Like Raena said, we’re not crazy ‘bout freeze dried liver tho’ so there are a few pieces we both spit out. But hey, overall, me likes ‘em just fine. Fur da same reasons as Raena, me gives them 3 paws up.

Fanky fanks sissy. Let’s check in with mommy now.

 Dezi and Raena eating

Thank you darlin’. I really like the fact that both you girls will eat the Halo Kiblets, even if you spit out a few pieces. I’m a picky eater too, so why would I be surprised that ya’ll are?. I’m happy with the ingredient list. I do think they’re a bit pricey, but this seems to be a theme with most freeze dried foods and Chewy definitely has the best price on the internet. Because of the size of each piece, each bag is a full 6 ounces and there’s very little waste. Anyone who has ever bought a bag of freeze dried food knows that there is often quite a few broken or crumbled and powdered pieces that amount to waste. Especially when your kitties are “biters” and not lickers or lappers. So all in all, I give them a thumb up.

 Chewy blog hop badge

Pet Parade Blog Hop Badge

Fanky fank you mommy. Hey mommy, did you check out Chewy to see ifin they’re havin’ one of those Black Furiday sales? You know, Christmas be comin’ up soon, and sis Dezi says Christmas sometimes involves extra treats and maybe even some toys. And you said you were gonna be gettin’ sis Dezi a litter hide away to keep me from “playin’” with her while she tries to make depawsits. Maybe those might be on sale, ya’ reckon?. You know, Chewy carries just ‘bout everythin’ you could need fur da furry and non furry anipals in your life. They have pawsum customer service peeps, and speedy shipping. Dat shipping is furee fur all orders $49.00 and up and a flat rate shipping fur all other orders. They also offer an auto ship program so you’ll never run out of your best furiends noms or other supplies. And ya’ know what else? You even save a little off each purroduct when you sign up. Don’t worry, you can always skip, cancel or delay at any time. You know you wanna check it out. Fur other Chewy reviews click here.

 Raena laying in a chewy box

We’re gonna wrap it up fur now. I’s have a fridge to stand in front of. We’re joinin’ Rascal and Rocco fur da weekly Pet Parade. And we really want to thank you all fur sharin’ sweet Hopes’ story and fundraiser. We’re gonna be a bit busy this weekend. Da neighbors furmily is emptyin’ her ‘pawrtment and dat has sis Dezi and me a little freaked out, so mommy plans to spend a lot of time with us. They’re really noisy, bangin’ on walls and screamin’ at each other in da ‘pawrtment and outside. We’re a really calm and mostly quiet household so this behavior is kinda upsetting to us. Even da ambulance ain’t this noisy. So we’ll be by to visit as soon as we can. 

 

 

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

 

 

Raena: Navy Blue

Dezi: Vibrant Blue

Mommy A: Black

 

 

Luvs and Hugs and Kitty Kisses

RaenaBelle and Deztinee 

Service Cats: Round and Round We Go, Where We’ll Stop…

Dezi and Raena in a fall themed frame with a pumpkin and orange, yellow and green leabes
Welcome one and all, it’s Service Cat Monday. We know you’re all wondering ifin we got any questions or are we gonna tell another training story. Well, we didn’t get any questions, so we will be tellin’ another story ‘bout mes wheelchair training. Now a lot of you got a little giggle or laff from our last posty. Dat’s okay. Have yourself a big ole belly laff on us. It’s actually on me, but me doesn’t mind. Mommy says trainin’ is serious business, but:

  • Ifin ya’ can’t have a little fun with it, then kitty will quickly get bored and lose interest.

  • You never know exactly what kitty’s gonna do when trying to train them to do something totally foreign to them.

  • Most kitties are afraid of moving chairs initially, so whatever their initial reaction, you can be assured it’s gonna be funny.

  • And lastly, ifin ya’ can’t laff at yourself, then…well, so go on and have a laff on me.

As with all our educational postys da following will be written in human English. No kitty is ever harmed during wheelchair training. Ifin you’ve missed any of da posts in this series, you can ketch up by clicking on da links at da bottom of this posty.

Young Dezi standing on whaeelchair arm with Lexi laying beside her
You can see the footrest folded up at the bottom front right of this photo

Let’s first take another look at the wheelchair itself. There is a foot rest between the front wheels that sticks out further than anything else on the chair except the actual wheels. So when the chair hits anything, it’s actually the wheels, foot rest and mommys large ski sized feet that are in danger of getting banged up. This foot rest is made of metal, thus the main reason mommy attaches “bumper pads” foam pieces. Me wasn’t the first kitty mommy trained to drive the wheelchair, so she had already learned us kitties can’t drive using our paws. The joystick controller is pretty touchy and doesn’t take much pressure to move. When pushed forward, the chair goes forward, back, the chair goes back and left or right, to the left or right respectively. Anyways, like me said, mommy learned real quick that kitties can’t drive with their paws. So that led to our current method of mouth on joystick.

 

 

So, if you read last weeks post, you know mes first session was not very successful. But remember, training is all about repetition. So if at first you don’t succeed, then try, try again. And remember, that repetition must occur daily. Once training has begun, you can’t let a day go by that you don’t spend at least 15 minutes training the specific task. You may train more than 1 task a day, but they must be divided up into different training sessions. For most peeps, one task a day is enough. Another thing we didn’t say before is that you should never begin training tasks above and beyond normal kitty behavior until kitty knows and responds to their name. Mommy doesn’t allow anyone to call us “kitty kitty”. Mommys’ case manager has a really tough time with this one, and in response, we ignore her. We just don’t know who she’s talking too.

 Dezi lays in the Wheelchair

Anyways, mes first session was a bust. So the next day, mommy started all over again. Wheelchair positioned in the bedroom up against the bed facing the bathroom and the speed setting on low. Yep, a straight shot. All she had to get me to do is put mes mouth on the joystick and push forward. Easy peasy right? Well if you’ve ever trained a kitty, or any animal for that matter, you’d know nothing is ever that easy peasy. None the less, mommy sat down and began to call me. Of course me was already sitting at the bedroom door watching what mommy was doing. So me trotted over and rubbed against her overhanging toes, and she reached down and picked me up. Once on her lap, mommy began to pet me and coo about how smart me was and how much she loved me. Full on purr going, mommy positioned me onto her right leg with mes front paws on the right arm of the chair. All the while mommy was quietly and calmly telling me what to do next.

 

 

Mommy gently pushed mes head over to the joystick while holding me securely with her other hand. She then began to scritch mes chin till mes mouth opened. She then gently pushed mes mouth onto the joystick and said, “bite”. Me bit down and then started chewing at the joystick. Yep, me was a little over stimulated. So we sat there for a bit till me calmed down. No additional petting during this time, however mommy did continue to coo at me about how proud of me she was. When me finally calmed a bit, mommy started over. She repositioned me onto her right leg, front paws on the right arm and head over the control panel. No chin scritches needed, me automatically opened mes mouth and bit down on the joystick. Me could feel mommys energy and knew she was happy and proud of me.

 

 

She then gently pushed mes head forward. And…Nothing. We didn’t move an inch. Yep, while me was calming down, the wheelchair had turned itself off. It’s a battery saving thing the chair does. If there’s no activity for a couple of minutes, the chair will automatically turn off. Mes mouth was still on the joystick, so mommy couldn’t really see through mes head when she reached over with the other hand to turn the chair back on. She fumbled around feeling the buttons on the control panel and thinking she had landed on the power button, she pressed down. instead of the chair being powered up, she honked the horn. Me looked back at mommy who was still feeling around on the control panel. Finally getting the chair turned on, mommy positioned mes head again with one hand and held me on her lap with the other. She gently pushed mes head forward and…Nothing. The chair couldn’t move on the carpet on its lowest setting.

 Dezi lays in wheelchair

So, mommy felt around again for the speed button and finally gave it a push. By now, me thinks we’re playing a game, and me started pawing at mommys’ hand. Mommy patiently told me to stop and to “bite” the joystick again. Mommy then gently pushed mes head forward again. WooHoo  We were on the move. Me could feel mommys’ excitement and me got so excited that me turned mes head to look at mommy while still biting the joystick. Remember me telling you earlier that whatever direction the joystick is pointed in is the direction the chair would go? Well we turned to the left and just kept turning. Round and Round we went in circles till all we could see was a spinning room. Yep, when me pawed at mommys’ hand earlier, me, or maybe mommy actually hit the speed button a few more times. Knowing this wasn’t what we were supposed to be doing, and because me was getting dizzy, me turned mes head forward again, and BOOM!!!  Where’d that dresser come from, me questioned. Least that’s what mommy said the look on mes face said.

 

 

Hmmmmmmm  Me had never seen the top of the dresser before. Look’it all those cool things me could play with. You guessed it, me jumped outta mommys lap and right onto the dresser hitting the joystick once again, and slamming the chair into the dresser once more. Yeah, there’s a reason me had never seen the top of the dresser before, it’s off limits to kitties. Mommy hollered for me to come back, but it was too late. Me was off and running. Me pushed an old jewelry box onto the floor and was off to investigate. Another training session over. Mommy says you have to know when to stop. If kittys’ attention isn’t focused on the task at hand, continuing to push will be fruitless. Sis Lexi joined me from her observation spot down the hall, in mes investigation.

 Raena lays in wheelchair while pointing out the joystick

 When’s it gonna be mines turn to drive? I’s can already turn da chair on.

 

 

Well, me’s gonna wrap it up fur now. By now sis Lexi, had probably figgered she would never get any help. Me knows this, cuz now me’s in her pawsition and wonderin’ ifin Raena’s ever gonna calm down enuff fur mommy to train her on da wheelchair. Believe it or not, me does eventually learn to drive da wheelchair, but it wasn’t overnight or without much patience and a few bruises on mommys pawrt. So, stay tuned and lessen we get anymore training questions ‘tween now and next week, me will tell another of mes wheelchair training stories. In da meantime, don’t furget mes Gotchaday tomorrow and check out da pawsum Fanksgivin’ card Nellie made fur us. We’re wishing you all a pawsumly Blest Fanksgivin’.

 Thanksgiving card with turkey and pumpkins from Nellie

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

Luv and Hugs and Kitty Kisses

Deztinee and RaenaBelle

 

 

Service Cats Series

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        

Service Cats: Dezi the Wheelchair and the Chest

Well meow everypawdy. Here we are another week closer to mes Gotchaday, which is next Tuesday ifin you’re wonderin’. Anyways, it’s also Service Cat Monday. You know what dat means; it’s time fur another Service Cat trainin’ posty. We had a lot of great questions, and sure hope we’ve given everypawdy some helpful trainin’ tips these last few months. Ifin you’ve missed any post in da series, you can ketch up by clickin’ on da links at da bottom of this posty. We told ya’ last week dat we had reached da end of questions asked by you; and dat unless we got any more we would start tellin’ a few stories ‘bout mes trainin’. And, well, we didn’t get any questions this past week, so today you’re gonna hear ‘bout some of da fun dat occurs durin’ trainin’. As with all our educational posts da followin’ will be in human English speak. So let’s get started.

 Dezi laying in wheelchair

Mommy wanted me to remind you all that altho’ training should be taken seriously, you can still have a lot of fun. We thought we’d focus on wheelchair training today. Let me give ya’ a little information about electric wheelchairs; or at least the one we have. At the end of one of the arms is a control panel. Ours is on the right arm since mommy’s right handed. On this control panel is a joy stick, power button, horn and speed buttons. The other arm has a small pouch attached for things like keys, a phone, wallet, and/or treats. For the first few lessons, mommy usually has the chair already turned on, so all we have to focus on is the joy stick.

Me was purretty young when mommy first started mes training, but me still had very large furry paws. Mommy had learned while training sis Lexi and her then brofur Lucky, that the wheelchair needed some padding if she hoped to avoid damaging walls, doors and furniture. So mommy cut up some foam pieces and attached them to the arms and foot rest. And in the pouch she placed a bag of our favorite freeze dried chicken breast treats. Mommy tries to avoid first thing in the morning training because she can’t move everything (legs, arms, etc.). So one afternoon, mommy got all set for mes training session, and it went something like this. 

Raena lays in wheelchair while pointing out the joystick

 Bigify to see teeth marks

 

 

 

Mommy sat down in the wheelchair that had been moved to the bedroom facing the bathroom. This is the shortest distnce and straightest line we have to drive. What could go wrong, right? Then she began calling for me to join her. Me was familiar with the wheelchair since it had been a part of mommys life from the day me came to live with her. So naturally me ran straight to mommy and jumped up in her lap. The newly attached foam had all mes attention. Me was sniffin’ each piece and even put the bitey on one of them. Of course that’s not what mommy had intended so, she gently moved me further into her lap and positioned me with mes head over the control panel where the joy stick resides. Mommy had already turned the power button on and turned the speed down to it’s lowest setting.

 

 

Mommy then gently pushed mes head over to the joy stick and tickled mes chin and nose so me would open mes mouth. And then she gently pushed mes open mouth down on the joy stick and said, “Bite”. Hmmmmm Really? Bite? Hasn’t mommy been telling me Not to Bite everything? And now she wants me to Bite? Whatever. Me bit down on the joy stick but nothing happened. Me wasn’t sure what was suppose to happen, but nothing did. So, me let go of the joy stick and started to turn to look at mommy. Well, while maneuvering meself to turn around, mes big ole furry kitty paw landed on the speed button. Of course neither mommy or me was aware of this until, mes other big ole furry paw pushed the joystick forward. Now mind you, all of this happened in just a few short seconds, not the slow motion it sounds like now. Anyways, what happened next is the very reason for those foam bumper pads mommy had attached to the chair earlier.

 Young Dezi standing on whaeelchair arm with Lexi laying beside her

Me had one front paw and one back paw in mommys lap and one back paw on the arm of the chair and the other front paw pushing against the joy stick. And before mommy could even say mes name, we bolted across the room and ran right smack dab into the chest of drawers sitting next to the bathroom door. Yep, we ran right into that big ole chest. Me jutted forward and then back against mommy as we made an abrupt stop due to the size of the chest we had just hit. Mes eyes were as big as dinner plates and mommys dropped jaw was still over by the bed where we had started. Sis Lexi came running down the hall towards us from her spying place right around the corner. Me gathered meself together and jumped over the back of the chair and zoomed down the hall towards sis Lexi. Head on collision in the hallway. Once me made it to the end of the hall me sat down, looked around and started bathing meself as if me had planned it all. Me could hear mommy hollerin’ ‘bout how much she luvved me and how purroud of me she was, but me wasn’t ready fur any hugs and snuggles, so me stayed put. Gotta remember to reward our actions. Altho’ things didn’t go as planned, me had “driven” the chair.

 

 

Once mommy gathered her dropped jaw and moved the chair back into position, she began to call for me again. Sis Lexi had taken up a safe position on the bed to oversee mes training. Reluctantly me headed back down the hall towards mommy and the kitty killing wheelchair. Okay so maybe the chair didn’t kill any kitties and maybe no kitty was actually even harmed, but it sounded good didn’t it?. Anyways, me jumped on the bed with sis Lexi and meowed with her a bit. A frustrated mommy finally reached into the pouch and brought out the hidden bag of freeze dried chicken breast treats. Of course sis Lexi and me were both in her lap faster than that chair could move.

 

 

While mommy fumbled around opening the treat bag, sis Lexi and me clamored back and forth to see who would get the first treat. Of course during this time, both of us kept stepping all over the wheelchairs’ control panel turning the chair off and on, off and on, and honking the horn. And then of course the moment came when the stray paw pushed the joy stick. It could’ve been a stray butt too, but we’re sticking with the stray paw. It just so happened that the chair was on and again at full speed. Can you guess what happened next? Yep, away we went. The treat bag went flying and so did sis Lexi. Let me tell ya’, in her day, she sure did love her some treats. Mommy and me came to an abrupt halt when we hit the side of the bathtub. Mommy has seen it coming but all too fast to stop it. At least she was able to grab hold of me and held on tight so me didn’t get thrown into the bathtub. When we came to a stop, mommy looked at me and said, “This is why, you’re to calmly drive the wheelchair with your mouth Dezi, and not your paws.” At that moment me could care less what we were supposed to do. All me wanted was down and at those treats sis Lexi was now gobbling up.

 Raena laying in wheelchair

 It’s gonna be mines turn next.

 

 

Well, there ya’ have it, wheelchair driving 101. Fur all of you dat think we just magically know what to do da furst time, well, dat just ain’t true. After 2 crashes in less than an hour, mommy halted trainin’ fur da day. Oh we’d be at it again da day after and da day after dat. Cuz ‘member, trainin’ is all ‘bout repetition. We’re still takin’ questions, so ifin ya’ have somethin’ ya’ wanna know or hear ‘bout, just let us know. Ifin we don’t get any questions befur next week, we’ll pick up where we left off here. ‘Member to check out our purrevious Service Cat postys by clickin’ on da links below. Me’s gonna go see ‘bout getting’ some treats right now, so me hopes you all enjoyed readin’ mes story.

 

 

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

 

 

Dezi: Vibrant Blue

Mommy A: Black 

 

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