Got up to go to the bathroom, brush my fangs, and go to bed, and stumbled across this:
He’s just lying there, rolling around, chirping and purring, trying to get me to pet his belly so he can attack me. It worked.
His new thing is to now sleep in bed with his front paws on my left bicep and dig his claws in anytime I move. It’s Steve’s world and I’m just living in it. Also, I don’t kn ow if Lovey is the same way, but Thurston is at least 400 degrees at all times. It feels like I am sleeping next to a hot water bottle. I wake up sweating.
jl
” and stumbled across this: ”
That’s your cat, Cole.
Always glad to be of help. You are welcome.
Edit: it’s lying down on its back, in the dark. That’s why it might look a little strange.
West of the Rockies (been a while)
You might be over-feeding your cats a bit. He’s a chunk.
CaseyL
@West of the Rockies (been a while): Yeah, it does seem that Cole’s cats all* tend to be …. very fluffy. Particularly around their tummies.
*For n = 2; admittedly, not a big study population.
Eljai
Kitteh is splendidly voluptuous!
danielx
Not news. You just figured this out?
Anne Laurie
Well, 101 degrees anyways — and small dogs always seem to shed more heat than the big ones.
In fact, one of the reason toy dogs have been popular since there were dogs is that they’re self-perpetuating warming devices, which is a valuable resource in a world heated only by fire. Especially for old people with poor circulation, a little dog cuddling up to one’s feet on a cold night could at least seem like a life-saver. Much safer than a hot rock, or even a rubber bag of heated water — and a rock doesn’t respond when you pet it.
Mnemosyne
Some good kitty news — Annie’s probable pemphigus* is responding beautifully to the steroid, so now we start the process of figuring out what the minimum steroid dose is to keep it in check.
* Pemphigus is apparently an autoimmune disease that attacks the skin cells. It’s not common overall, but is the most common autoimmune problem for cats.
Aleta
I’ve been watching house of cards the last week. I had to finish it up tonight, because with the news in the last few days I was thinking and feeling too strange. I liked the last parts enough though.
Aleta
@Mnemosyne: That’s wonderful. Glad for you and her.
Mnemosyne
@Aleta:
We’re also lucky that she seems to have one of the less severe forms of it, and the steroid they give her is a freakin’ miracle drug. She started responding to it the very first day and was almost back to her old self within a week.
Unlike Steve, she actually needs to gain weight — she lost almost 2 pounds while the vets were trying to figure out what was wrong with her, and she was a small cat to start with.
Aleta
Been taking the same panoramic photo of the river for months, but lately the dog keeps walking into it at the last minute. So he appears in the edges randomly. If he’s moving he ends up stretched out longer than he is, which is also funny. .
Amir Khalid
For a moment there, I thought Fatty Boombalatty was the latest hit comedy out of Bollywood.
Goodness, look at the size of him (Steve, that is). I have to agree, he looks like a little less in his food bowl might do him some good.
jl
@CaseyL:
‘ *For n = 2; admittedly, not a big study population. ‘
Not at all, Those particular 2 are YOOOOGE.
Aleta
@Mnemosyne: I never heard of it before.
I love that there are miracle drugs that you can see working. It happened to me the first time I took an antibiotic (cat bite, in fact, and infection streaking up my arm really fast). I still remember how amazing when it stopped and turned and reversed.
I’m really happy her health has turned around.
Mnemosyne
@Aleta:
Because this is Balloon-Juice, when I posted about her diagnosis, one of the veterinarians who comments here said, Yeah, I treated a goat with pemphigus once.
The immutable law of Balloon-Juice is that there is always someone who has first-hand experience with anything that gets posted or commented on. ALWAYS. ?
Redshift
@Aleta: While I was downtown at an art exhibit, I took a full panorama of the Mall (including the Capitol and the Washington Monument), but it has half a bus in it. Amusing, but not quite the effect I was going for.
divF
I just saw over at LGM that Rosalie Sorrels died. She was a wonderful folksinger, and her performances figure prominently in the juke box I carry around inside my head.
I first saw her in 1974 at the smallest incarnation of the Freight and Salvage in Berkeley, during her brief flirtation with electric accompaniment. Then many times afterwards over the years at the Freight, plus one memorable night in 1985 at a folk club near the intersection of Cedar and Riverside in Minneapolis. The last time I saw her was a couple of years ago at the Freight on her farewell tour, mainly a performance by her many old friends from around the bay. By then the dementia had begun to take its toll, and she apologised for not being able to remember lyrics.
She was a master raconteuer and an old-school western leftist, much like her dear friend U. Utah Phillips, whose songs she was fond of singing (“Rock Salt and Nails”, “The Telling Takes Me Home”, and, for our host, “The Green Rolling Hills of West Virginia”). One story she used to tell was about her mother (or maybe it was her grandmother) receiving her first social security check, and the sense of security and autonomy that it brought. Another classic was her story about being up all night with a teething baby, and the other children are about to get up, so the only thing you can do is sing a lullaby that expresses your aggressions (“The Baby-Rocking Medley”).
She used to like to take a drink now and then. This made the folk club circuit a little taxing, since many of those places didn’t serve alcohol, and used to grouse about it a little in her performances. I once saw her (not performing, just as a customer) at Spec’s, a bohemian bar across the street from City Lights Books in San Francisco, sipping a shot. She was very much a part of that scene.
She had a life well-lived. I’m grateful to her.
ETA: I’ve been listening to one of her songs on youtube, and was reminded of another folkie tradition that she practiced, which was inviting the audience to sing along in the chorus.
Villago Delenda Est
@danielx: Dogs have owners.
Cats have staff.
Or, as Sir Terry put it: In ancient times cats were worshiped as gods; they have not forgotten this.
Juice Box
@Anne Laurie: No, I think it’s a male dog thing. We’ve got one of each and the boy just runs hotter than his sister. He’s the bed dog who spends the entire night working hard to keep my toes warm.
rikyrah
Steve still scares me, but I am glad that you realize that it’s his house and he lets you stay there cause you feed him, Cole.???
raven
@divF: Ah, I was lucky enough to see Lawrence Ferlinghetti do Lawrence Ferlinghetti Tyrannosaurus Nix once upon a time.
geg6
Yes. Lovey is a small, portable, furry space heater. Great in the winter. Not so much in this hot and humid weather. My poor John! Her favorite perch is on the back of the La-Z-Boy, draped around his neck.
Rosalita
Can we haz some Lily please?
Steeplejack (phone)
@divF:
Sorry to hear of her death.
Months ago you mentioned her and said you could not find “The Green Rolling Hills of West Virginia” on YouTube. I found it and posted it on that thread, but it was very late and I don’t think you ever saw it. Anyway, here it is.
debit
John, when cats roll around and show you their bellies, they are telling you that they love you and trust you not to go for their belly. Pet his head instead.
oldster
“fatty-boombalatty”??
That’s just blatant cat-shaming.
gammyjill
I love Steve. He’s big because he’s a Maine Coon. My small tabby, Alice Obama, who’s about 11 years old (rescue cat), has dropped almost a pound of weight in the last year. She had a vet appt the other day, and I have to bring her back next week for blood tests. I’m a bit worried because of the weight loss. We’ll see…
Rachel in Portland
Aw, Belizbeha!
Mnemosyne
@debit:
Depends on the cat. Annie loves to have her belly rubbed and will demand it from us. She’s the fuzziest of our cats, so we suspect that has something to do with it — our fingers can get all the way through her fur. The other two cats will tolerate a couple of pats or rubs before trying to bite.
Marina
Mnemosyne, I had an older cat with FIV and IBS. The vet had me give him Prednisolone. It triggered renal failure and diabetes. I realize you’re in a very different situation with your cat, but just wanted to give you a head’s up on these potentially very dangerous side effects (which no doubt your vet has discussed with you–mine didn’t). My cat also had skin problems (scabs), which the cat allergist–yes, they exist, and no, they’re not cheap–treated with Ivermectin.
About Steve’s midnight attacks: you can potentially, with the help of another strong-willed person, trim the tips of a cat’s front claws, using regular nail clippers. It’s not easy with long-haired non-docile cats–the fur makes it hard to see the nails–but it can be done. Because only the very tips are trimmed, the cat isn’t hurt. But this way, for a week or more, neither are you.