While I was digging through plastic bins of Chirstmas things I came to the conclusion that I needed a new tree skirt.

The one I had was made by my mother. And while it’s nice and I enjoy it, I also have to contend with two cats who use it (and being under the tree itself) as a location for battle. Claudia loves to sit under the christmas tree. She chills out there. So the skirt is usually covered in dark gray hair.

Because Claudia likes it sit there, Calvin wants to sit there too and he adds his light buff colored hair to the mix. He also enjoys throwing up hair balls on the tree skirt. Why do cats do that? Why can’t they do these things on a surface that’s easier to clean? The problem is that to wash the tree skirt, I have to remove the wire edged ribbon and then sew it back on. Because I am lazy, this is a hassle.

The one I bought wasn’t exactly what I wanted.. but it wasn’t that expensive (some that I was looking at were 46 dollars and up! I refuse to pay that much for a round piece of fabric to wrap around a fake tree for a week or two each year). I searched high and low on the internets (I even checked The Google) and I ended up getting one from TJMaxx.

I feel confident that this one will be easier to wash. My only concern now is how long it is before the next turf war or hairball.

Friday Calvin had (what is quickly becoming) a routine vet trip to get more blood work done to check his thyroid. Still off the charts and his meds have been upped. Again. You’d think after 5 or 6 visits that they’d soon get the correct dossage down. Also, if anyone is interested in some slightly used but still quite functional body parts (a spleen perhaps?) please let me know. I’ll soon need to start auctioning mine off to afford the trip every three weeks.

When Jason brought him home this time though something was different. Both his back legs were wrapped up with tape. He’d had blood drawn from both and he was none too happy about it. In fact, he was down right hostile. Calvin is a pretty laid back guy normally. He lives on attention and typically has a good disposition toward everyone.

Not so Friday evening. You couldn’t even get close to him without any combination of growling, hissing, spitting or swatting taking place. It was really stressful for him to have his legs wrapped up and it was equally stressful for me because I knew if I could just get his legs unwrapped he’d be fine. I might be missing some fingers, but he’d be fine.

Eventually, after several attempts to wrap him up in a towel and unwrap his legs we conferenced with the vet. You see, we had in our possession some tranquilizers for Claudia for when she goes to the vet (she has a fun and also disgusting habit of getting worked up and deficating in her carrier. Which I then have to clean up. While at the vets office) so we confered with him to make sure that it was cool to give some to Calvin. After he was sufficently doped up, he still fought us on getting the bandages off. We pinned him down and finally freed him and there was an instant change in his demeanor.

Saturday and Sunday if I had stopped suddenly I would have had a tail. I’m just sayin.

Our next door neighbors have a few cats that they let roam the neighborhood. While the idea of doing this with my own cats scares me shitless, It’s kind of neat to have the neighborcats come over and hang out on the deck. Calvin doesn’t necessarily agree with this opinion.

One of them (an orange tabby who has the most beautiful stripe pattern I’ve ever seen), Jager (as in the meister himself), comes over the most often. He usually hunts chipmonks in our backyard which saves me from drowning them accidentally in the pond. Sometimes if no one is home next door he’ll come over to greet us after work and it’s always nice to give his head a scratch or two before heading in the house to our own herd.

Yesterday morning Jason was putting his belongings into the backseat of the car and he noticed that there was a dead mouse in front of the door. As none of our own cats are allowed outside I figure that Jager decided that he liked us so much that he should start taking care of us and so he brought us some breakfast.

Jason was less than amused.

It’s very true that sometimes, life comes at you fast. Usually when it does, it’s at the least opportune time possible such as the week before you are supposed to go on vacation or when you have a really great deal on getting your disgusting, awful carpet replaced. Life tends to throw wrenches in the most detail oriented plans though. Plans change and not always by your own deciding.

I can clearly in my mind picture the first time that I got to know Calvin. He was a strange cat to me at that time and he was pretty unsure of me. We weren’t on petting terms yet and he pretty much kept his distance most of the time. The first evening that I met him, I crashed on Jason’s couch as there had been much drinking and the night was late and walking home was not a desireable option. I awoke early that morning (probably around 7) and came face to face with Calvin. He was sitting on the floor staring at me. Eventually he jumped up on the couch with me and snuggled down for a nap and I was careful not to move or to try and pet him as I knew that would send him running.

Last week along with raccoons, Calvin went to the vet. He’s been throwing up, his appetite wasn’t what it normally is and he was generally just very clingy. Not that I mind. I’m willing to hold him if he wants to be held, for as long as he wants. It’s pretty much the only thing I can do for him. While he was at the vet he had blood work done and the results came back that he’s got some thyroid problems and will need medication for a month and then surgery.

It’s kind of scary for me. I’m a big fan of being in control. I like to plan things out and know what to expect before I walk into a situation. I don’t like there to be any room for error or unknowns. I’m sure that these type of things happen to cats all the time but this time it’s my cat. It’s hard because he can’t tell me that it hurts. He can tell me he doesn’t feel good. I can’t kiss it and make it better.

All I can do is continue to offer him my lap and cuddles when he needs them and help him to get past this hurdle.