Merry Christmas to all!

It starts

Woke up this morning to find the tree undecorated already.
Ribbon pulled off the bottom two rows and the tree skirt off in another direction. The boys have been busy.

Santa Claws outtakes

I tried for the annual "dress the kitties up for Christmas" picture. They did not enjoy it as much as I did.
Here are some outtakes.

Bath time

The cuteness

Riley was very interested in something outside my office window this morning and when I looked out this is what I found.
We think he lives under one of the cacti on our front lawn because we have seen burrow openings.
Cute little guy.

Toby and her brace

We are in week two with Toby's brace and she continues to do very well. She is wearing it up to four hours at a time several times a day and tolerating it unbelievably well. I really think she feels the difference too. She does not limp when she is wearing the brace and we often have to remind her to slow down when it's on because she runs around like she used to.

Riley and the humidifier

We recently bought a humidifier for our bedroom. Who knew it was the secret to no longer waking up with headaches? I have my wonderful chiropractor Bonita to thank for that.
Anyway, what is in a humidifier? Water.
Who likes water? Riley.
Here is a picture of our humidifier. Enough said.

Toby's brace

Toby's brace arrived from Orthopet yesterday and we tried it on her this morning for the first time. She loves it! We took her outside after she walked around the house a little bit with it and she ran and played with Jessie just like the old days. We actually had to tell her to slow down.
I am so happy we did this for her.
Video of Toby with her brace.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am thankful for my family, two-legged and furry. I know such joy and peace because of all of them. I wish everyone everywhere a happy and blessed day.

Pusses and boots

Riley and water - again!

Walked into the kitchen this morning, barely awake, all the animals trailing behind me because they knew I was going to get breakfast for them.
Turned the corner and came smack dab into a big mess.
Someone [who shall be nameless but his initials are Riley Collins] apparently caused the coffee pot - the GLASS coffeepot - to fall on the tile kitchen floor and break into a gazillion pieces.
Let me clarify - John gets the coffee ready every night. Fills the coffeemaker, puts ground beans in the basket in the machine. Last night, he was tired and forgot to put coffee grounds in the machine. Just water.
He got up for work this morning and turned the pot on as he always does. Then he realized there was no coffee in it. So he turned the pot off but there was still about an inch of water that had come through the brewer into the carafe. He was canceled from work so he came back to bed, never giving the water in the carafe another thought.
Mistake!
Riley was fully aware of the fact and was apparently trying to get at the water that was in the pot when he scooted it too close to the edge of the counter and BAM! A mess.
So John and I spent the next 45 minutes cleaning up shards of glass mixed with water. I think Riley needs therapy.
Or we do.

Toby's leg

We have decided to get Toby a brace from Orthopets instead of doing surgery. I have been doing some online research and have found people who have had success with conservative management of torn ACL's.
So this past weekend we made a cast of Toby's leg in preparation for the brace to be made.
Toby tolerated the procedure very well. John made a sling to support her because she had to remain standing while the cast was made.
Her brace should be ready by next week.

Chaz and the scorpion

Had a scare the other night. Chaz was bitten by a scorpion. I think it was on his mouth judging by his reaction. My husband killed the scorpion. It was a really small one which concerned me. I heard they are worse. Plus Chaz is only 6 months old. I called the animal Emergency Clinic and they gave me advice. He seemed OK so we opted not to bring him in. Why do these things always happen at night?

Anyway, we watched him for several hours and he seemed all right. No swelling or drooling. He ate for me and seemed playful.

I think his mouth hurt a little and he seemed angry about it. He kept going back to the spot where the scorpion had been, looking for it.

Never a dull moment!

Helping Mom work

Playing the piano

My mother-in-law's cat loves to play the piano.

If I fit in the kitty bed, does that make me a kitty?

Watching the birds with big brother Riley

Me and my sister

Chaz was terrified of the dogs when we first got him. He had never seen a dog before and was sure they were dangerous creatures, indeed. In fact, he attacked Toby when he first saw her.
But he has gotten over that and now loves them. Here he is relaxing with big sister Jessie.

Sleeping with Mom

Chaz fell asleep next to me on the sofa.
So cute.

Chaz at Mommy's computer

Big bother Riley

I continue to be amazed at Riley's transformation from rambunctious kitten to responsible parent ever since we acquired Chaz. Riley never lets Chaz get out of sight and he's often found grooming him, much to Chaz's delight [most of the time]. Yes, they rough-house and tumble around but it's play, not aggression.
I have no idea how Riley learned to do all this since he was an orphan himself and got very little mothering. Maybe it's instinct? I will probably never know but it's inspiring to watch these two as they grow together.

ACL

Toby has been diagnosed with a ruptured ACL [anterior cruciate ligament] and will be having surgery next month.
Keeping her quiet after surgery is going to be the biggest challenge but we are determined to do the best for our baby.

More Chaz

4 months old

Riley is in love

And so are we.
What a cutie-pie!

Best buddies

We were hoping Riley would love his new brother and it's happening better and faster than we thought.

Chaz

Well, Riley has a little brother. He's a little mini-Riley and his name is Chaz. He's 4 months old, weighs 3 lb. 7 oz. and doesn't take anything from anyone. He and Riley are already making friends.

Our little adventurer

Well, it's been a while since I have written anything about Riley-roo.

He's been good [well - good for Riley].

Ok, he hasn't been good at all. I just haven't written anything.

He has developed a taste for plastic bags. We can't leave any of those bags that groceries come in around because he chews on them.

Bubble wrap is a biggie. He LOVES bubble wrap.

Of course, all of it is a choking hazard so I have been the plastic bag Nazi, driving John crazy.

Today was a new one though.

John just got up and was on his way out to the garage when he called me.

In order to get to the garage you have to go through the laundry room.

The dryer door was open so of course John looked in.

Who was curled up happy as a clam?

Riley, of course.

How did the door get opened? It's hard to do that. He might have done it.

More than likely, John left it ajar when he emptied the dryer last night.

But now we have one more thing to watch out for.

Riley helping Dad redo the floor in the bathroom

How long do hummingbirds live?

Can you believe the little hummingbird who has taken possession of our feeder is still at it?
Day after day, he sits on a branch near the feeder and chases any other hummer away. I would have thought he would have given up by now. It's been a month. But no. He seems more determined than ever.
There must be a lesson in there.

Sleeping

I just love when cats sleep with their paws over their face. It's like they are saying to the world "Don't bother me, I'm enjoying my nap."
Is there any animal that seems to enjoy sleeping more?

Arizona sunrise

I am so blessed to be living in this part of the country.

Kamikaze hummingbird

A little hummingbird has taken full possession of our hummingbird feeder. He has positioned himself on a branch in the foliage on our deck and chases off any other hummingbirds who attempt to eat from the feeder. It's amazing to watch. Occasionally, he'll fly over to one of the spouts on the feeder and sip. Then, he goes back to his branch, chattering away as if to tell one and all that this is his feeder and they would be wise to stay away. Then, sure enough, one or two other hummers will challenge him. Swiftly, he flies off his branch chasing the interlopers away, all the while sounding like a little helicopter on crack. Then, it's back to his branch, with more chatter. "And stay away!"
You have to admire his bravery and tenacity. Here he is, with a brain that is smaller than the eraser at the end of my pencil, but he is fiercely guarding what he has decided is his.

Another sweet baby picture

Six weeks old and all tired out from playing.

I love AZ

Two of our neighbors have informed us that a Momma Bobcat and her 3 babies have taken up residence in our neighborhood. Right in one of our neighbor's backyard to be more specific. The one directly behind ours. I have seen Momma walk across our front yard on two occasions. And our neighbor to the left of us shared pictures she had taken of all 4 of them. Yesterday, our neighbor directly behind us called over while we were out walking the dogs in the backyard to make sure we were also aware. He informed us that they had basically been living in his yard since the babies were born and he had gotten some great photos as well.
Well, this morning I was also treated. I was out about 7 AM walking our girls and I looked up to see one of the babies watching me from our wall.
I was able to get this picture.

[click on the photo see it better then hit the back button to return here]

Riley - the music lover

Lazy playing

Just too lazy to stand up to play.

Happy Father's Day!

Riley knows his Dad loves cornbread so he helped me make some this morning.

"You sure this is right?"

Then, of course, he supervised cleanup.

Our beautiful boy

Relaxing in a sun puddle

In keeping with our mailing theme

Riley is crazy about bubble wrap

Priority Mail

Special delivery

Riley - Calendar pin-up

We've decided to go ahead with our idea for a Life of Riley calendar for 2010. I'm having lots of fun going through his baby pictures from last year to pick out 12 best. It's hard! He was so darn cute. One thing I noticed is there were a lot of sleeping pictures. Either he was just too cute when he was sleeping or he did a lot of it then.

Here's one

Happy Birthday, Jessie!

Our beautiful Jessie-girl is 10 years old today.

She's still as sweet as ever.

Happy Birthday, Jessie!

Riley the Conqueror

Riley found himself in a somewhat precarious position last night. While I was at the keyboard last night, I heard a Thump! and looked up. There was Riley having an adventure on the curtain rod. He had jumped over from the top of the book case. He soon realized he had no way to get down until John rescued him.
I cringe now. He knows he can get up there. He doesn't seem to care that he had to be rescued. Toby was alarmed and had to check him out as soon as he was back down.

Happy Mothers Day to all!

No matter how many legs your kids have!

Happy Nurses Day!

My Mom and Dad are both nurses so I know from whence I speak [bet you didn't think a cat could be so eloquent!]. Nurses rock! Hug a nurse today. They are always there when we need them and are crucially needed in today's topsy turvy world.

This is a picture of my Mom's nurses' cap. She doesn't wear it any more but she claims to love it, nonetheless. Dad didn't get a cap - but I think a white baseball cap would have been cute.
All my best,
Dr. Riley