Love Like That

Oscar loved Arthur. Oscar resurected Arthur. I feel for Oscar.

Oscar the dog missed his feline friend Arthur so much after Arthur's death that he dug him up, brought him to their shared bed, cleaned him up, and cuddled with him.

I'd like to think there's this kind of love between Spencer and Lucy (my cats). Somehow I think that if Spencer were to die first Lucy would look around, forget where she was, try to find Spencer to attack him from behind, and then lay down in the middle of the floor. I think she'd notice at "goddamn dinner time." If Lucy died first I'm afraid Spencer would have some sort of party at Menjos.

But I'd like to think there was this synergy between them. But I'd flip out if one exhumed the other.

Here's a pic of Lucy cuddling up with Spencer (it's never the other way around).

This is why I've come to appreciate cats.

Oscar may be a grouch, but he's also a good predictor of death amongst his hospice patients and offers them and their families comfort in the final hours. Apparently he knows within a couple of hours when a patient is going to pass on and curls up beside them. This was my favorite part of the article:

Most families are grateful for the advanced warning, although one wanted Oscar out of the room while a family member died. When Oscar is put outside, he paces and meows his displeasure.

Good little Oscar. I remember when my Nana was in her last assisted living one of the residents had a cat. My Nana pretended she wasn't a sucker for animals even though she'd feed them and pet them when no one was looking. But when the hospital bed arrived, the cat came in the room all the time and it was a comfort to me. Secretly, I think the cat and my Nana were close friends and the cat was distraught. She probably fed her and talked to her when no one was looking, and unlike so many others, didn't try and pick her up or control her. And the cat was sad that she was leaving...just as I was.

Dogs are great companions, but they have nothing on the psychic and emotional connection of cats.

Lucy-Lu and I Have More in Common Than an Address

This article on the Interstitial Cystitis Association site talks about the remarkable similarity between cats with Feline Interstitial Cystitis (FIC) and humans with Interstitial Cystitis (IC). This comes as no surprise to Your Honor as her younger feline friend, Lucy, has had a bout with this syndrome. In fact, the medicine given to Lucy when she first had problems is just a much smaller dose (1/10th to be exact) of what I am currently taking.

It's amazing how life is--I end up with a cat that has a random syndrome that I have. The odds of that are probably not that great, yet I managed to overcome them. It's too bad I can't use my odds of that at the casino.

That is a picture of Miss Lucy to the right. It's one of the many times she has posed for the camera that I'm sure I'll share along the way.

Back to the article...This was the major finding:

Dr. Buffington thinks that bladder abnormalties aren’t necessarily the root cause of IC, they’re the result. And it may be just one of many organs in the body that are being affected by a ramped-up or overly active fight-or-flight mechanism that results in nervous system, endocrine system, and immune system abnormalities. He and his research team have focused on what’s called the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which controls those fight-or-flight reactions in response to stress.

This is particularly interesting to me as I have a number of endocrine system-related issues. I just know one day they're going to find out that this is all connected. And I'll finally have an answer to a question that's burning inside: What in the hell is wrong with me?

You Deserve A Break Today

This picture always makes me giggle like a five-year old. I found it like three years ago and I used to send it to a friend renamed as something else so he'd have to open it and see it again.






I mean look at this cat--he's in a hamburger bun. It's hilarious. The way the cheese and lettuce flops over the sides of his head is the best.