Seattle Snow Day

Snow Day, originally uploaded by CoriK..

We live at the top of a hill that is routinely shut down and blocked off whenever it snows. I love it because I get to play hooky from work; the boys love it because without fail, some intrepid driver tries to drive up and around the street closures. This leads to engine gunning, tire rolling and ultimately one car sliding backwards down the street into any number of parked vehicles. I imagine Albert and Elvis shake their heads, sit back and share a laugh at the insanity on the street below.
And yes...I've slid backwards a time or two as well. I just hope these two furr-brains weren't watching.

Man, I love this cat...

Elvis, originally uploaded by CoriK..

As soon as I walk in the door I set my keys and purse on the table and toss my sweater/knit outerwear onto the big pink chair in the living room. 5 seconds later Elvis is in the chair snuggeling into the leftover warmth. It's become part of our winter routine and is totally adorable and heart-warming all at the same time.

Bubba Update

Albert, originally uploaded by CoriK..

Hey guys and gals, Albert here! Just wanted to let you know that the vet said my attention hog brother is going to be just fine. His test results were excellent...he always was the teacher's pet. He is down to one pill a day for three weeks then down to one pill every other day for three weeks after that and then done to none! This is good news for him but bad news for me...sympathy please? Every time Mom gave Elvis a pill she gave him treats afterwards and then gave me some too so I didn't feel left out. Ahh, the good ole days.
Anywho, now that Elvis is better it's back to your regularly scheduled programming...ME! Try to contain your excitement.
P.S. I'm really glad Elvis is ok. It would be no fun at all with out him. But you didn't hear that from me!

This one is doing just fine!

Elvis, originally uploaded by CoriK..

Elvis finished his last round of steroids this morning. We have an appointment at the end of the week to see if he will need more or if we are in the clear. Something tells me we are good to go. His energy is at 120% and he and his brother are playing together instead of fighting. If you look at his right(our our left) paw, you can see where the hair is finally starting to grow back from his blood transfusion. It's ALMOST like he was never ill in the first place.
Right now I'd like to put a little gratitude out into the Universe...Thank You for our continued health, happiness and everything else we are blessed with on a daily basis.

Rituals

It's become a morning ritual for Albert and Elvis to wake me up well before my alarm goes off. You know, because they're STARVING. These two have it down to a science... from the kneading and the head swatting to the constant mewing. Albert is probably the worst. He's puts his wet nose right on my eyelid until I can't take it anymore. I squint into the darkness ready to shoo his furry butt away, but it's too late. He knows I'm up and the meowing turns to howling and the kneading turns to frantic prancing. "Okay," I think. Just get up, feed them and go back to bed. So I do. At 4:30 every morning, I stumble in the dark to the food bowl, trying not to crush Albert as he runs back and forth between my feet. Elvis, never really that hungry in the first place, has curled into the warm spot on the pillow where my head previously rested.

I'm such a sucker.

Edited to add: I just realized that I drew this entire picture with my right hand. I'm left-handed. Can you imagine? I spend so much time on my computer that I don't even know which hand I write with anymore... What does that say about me? Jeeze.

Window Watching

Last week, two men came and painted the trim around all of our building's windows. Between the ropes hanging down from the roof and the men swinging by on harnesses, these two didn't move for hours.

Two Pills Are Better Than Four

                        

Elvis Update: Had a check up with the vet on Saturday and Elvis is now 100% better. Can I say that again? 100% BETTER! He is officially off of his antibiotic and instead of 4 Prednisone pills a day, he is down to 2. Obviously I see him doing better every day, but to hear the vet say so is just super. There is still no real diagnosis other than he had some weird auto-immune spell. Hopefully we can wean him off of the steriods and he will be ok. If not, well now I know the signs and I can prevent him from getting to such a drastic place.

The boys and I spent the weekend getting ready for Halloween. That was fun. Expect to see Albert in his finest attire/costumery(Elvis gets a pass this year ;)) and an awesome flashback to their IBKC days. I love this time of year and I'm glad I have these two little furballs to share it with. And you guys too!

Year Two: Elvis

Survivor.

Instigator of Hugs.

Catnip Fiend.

Irreplaceable.

My Little Ellie-Belle.

A Word To The Wise..

Albert's fluffy exterior hides a menacing warrior ready to maim at a moments notice.

So, to all you kitty diseases, consider yourselves warned...

 

Mess with Elvis again and

Albert will hunt you down and make you wish you were never born.

Miracles

Hey Everyone,
Sorry about the non-posting. Things have gotten a little nutty lately and I can never seem to catch up. The one positive note in all of this is that Elvis is doing SOOOO much better. The meds have been doing what I pay them to do which is make Little El normal again. To recap, when I took him to the vet, his white blood count(?) was at 7%(scary low), after blood transfusion - 16%, 1 week later -19% and as of Saturday - 30%. That's huge guys! I think normal is 34-36%. The vet also says his bone marrow continues to do well(all of your prayers worked!). The only spot of bad news is that the cause of all of these problems is some immune system disease which likely means Elvis will be on Prednisone for the rest of his life. I guess long term steroid use can shorten the kitty life-span, though I'm not really focusing on that because, Hallelujah, Elvis has a life-span!
He is currently eating me out of house and home which is fine...he looks so healthy I have no complaints. Albert is a sweetheart and gets many hugs for alerting me to the fact that his bubby was sick. Though, if there is a next time, maybe he can whisper it in my ear instead pouncing on his ailing bro.
I am so happy we are at the point we are at..back to a somewhat normal home life. The past few weeks have been horrible, as anyone with a sick pet knows...even though you pray for the best, something inside always prepares for the worst. Sitting in the living room and trying to picture a day without both Albert and Elvis, well... it just wouldn't be home.
I promise to post pictures of my two little fighters just as soon as I can. Thank you once more for all of the sincere well wishes and prayers. It's meant everything to me.
xoxo
Cori

Hey Everyone!

So, just wanted to give a quick update on Elvis. He's making progress, albeit a little slowly. Vet appointment on Saturday let us know that his blood content(?) was down from 19% to 12% which is not good but that it wasn't 7% which is what we started at. The vet wasn't sure if the bone marrow was generating new cells so she sent off for another test, the results which we got back today. It looks like the bone marrow is regenerating cells(YAY!) but only a small amount. Frankly, I'll take what I can get. If it hadn't shown any improvement...well, let's just say that's the worst that could have happened. This small amount of cell generation lets the vet know that his bone marrow WANTS to work, which is pretty much the highlight of my week. She is going to up his steroid dosage and put him on more antibiotics and give him an iron supplement as well(he's been licking a rock). We will have a return vet visit in 10 days and hopefully see a more pronounced improvement. Though I'm not sure what the future holds, I'm counting today as a victory for Team Elvis. Thank you again for all of the well wishes and prayers.
Cori

Puberty Rewind

It's all about the Moustache. Where did it come from? How long is it staying? Most importantly, why does it keep changing shapes? Weird little cat.

Surprise, Surprise

It never fails...everytime I go shopping, Elvis is the first one to settle in for a nap...on my new clothes. I had literally just, JUST, unloaded my purchases, gone to the closet to get hangers and voila. I turn around and Elvis is "asleep."

Faker.

That's right..I'm talking to you.

Brat.

He doesn't play favorites either. He is an equal opportunity shirt sitter.

C'mon. Is that necessary?

No heiny cleaning, ok? Pretty please?

Aww..Thanks!

Now beat it buster!

Elvis: I'm ignoring youuuu!

Mish-Mash of Cats

What a treat!

Elvis-RAWR!!!!, originally uploaded by CoriK..

It's done, it's done. Amazingly talented portrait artist, Rachael Rossman, emailed me today to tell me that the Elvis watercolor painting was done. If you'll remember, a couple of weeks ago we were a finalist in a cat photo competition over at Ree Drummond's Pioneer Woman website. As luck would have it, the runners-up received custom portraits of their pets. I can't tell you how anxious I have been to get a look at ours. I mean, feast your eyes on this! It's just amazing. Please visit Rachael's site and take a look at the rest of her artwork. What she can do with a touch of water and paint will blow your mind. Enjoy!

Prime Real Estate

Instead of using any one of the three sections of the cat condo available, they both choose to sleep in the "top bunk." You can't tell, but they are literally on top of each other. Poor Elvis got the short end of the stick. I think it's just a case of boys being boys...both waiting to see who will move first. Silly Cats.