Closing Out 2017

2017.... It was a Year.

Looking back, the biggest story was the explosion of sexual harassment cases- Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Roy Moore, Al Franken, Matt Lauer.  The dam broke- good.  Maybe this time a better standard can be held for the future. 

It was also the year I gave up on politics.  There are two parties in the USA, and their defining characteristic is how much they despise people who belong to the other party.  Donald Trump is pretty much who we thought he was- a narcissist who lives to see his name in lights and has no shame or doubts about his own awesomeness.  In today's political environment, that behavior is rewarded.  I'm not asking that the two sides stop fighting.  I just wish they actually fought over ideas instead of personalities. 

Sports?  The Cavaliers are a great team that ran into a greater team in the Warriors.  The Indians had a great season- I would love them to win one title before their core gets old, but it's a fun team to watch.  And the Browns were awful and pathetic- for the sake of the city, I would love them to get better.

On a personal level... we lost our cat Pippin this November.  We still have two cats, but losing the big guy hurt.  I lost ~25 pounds and hope to lost another 20 or so to get down to 190 this year.  Work is fine, and we still perform at Dinner Detective. 

May 2018 bring everyone peace and happiness.

RIP Pippin

Last year, Katie and I lost our cat Smokey.  Tonight, we lost our second cat, Pippin.  I've written about him before- he came to us in 2011.

He was the most dog-like cat I have ever met.  Friendly to everyone, always willing to come up and bonk his head against our leg.  Smokey hated him- but I think Smokey hated every other animal except Katie and (somewhat) me.  After Smokey passed away we picked up two new kittens, and Pippin (for the most part) got along great with Dashiell and Mystery.

We must have had a half dozen nicknames for Pippin- everything from "Golden Yellow Spider Monkey" to "Hipster Pipster" to "Bonk Shu".  He loved everyone, and he was loved.

I miss you, Pip.

Closing out 2016

2016- it's a cliche that people have been saying how awful 2016 was.  A lot of famous people died, and the election was both draining and caused a lot of friction between people.  In five years, I have no idea if people will blow off 2016 as "just one of those things" or it really was a portent for a worse future.

On a personal level- we lost our cat Smokey to cancer.  She will always be missed.  We have two new kittens- Dashiell and Mystery- joining Pippen in our household.  

Dashiell (left) and Mystery

Pippen

Meanwhile, Katie and I both started working as Detectives for the Dinner Detective show in Cleveland.  It's a fantastic show with great people that I'm thrilled to be a part of.

And Sports-wise...  Cleveland won their first title since 1964.  The Cubs won the World Series for the first time since 1908.  I wasn't sure I'd ever see either in my lifetime.

Here's hoping everyone has a safe New Year's Eve and a wonderful 2017.  

Smokey

"Let's get a cat."

My brother Brian had moved in with me in early 2000, and his suggestion was to get a cat.

Which- our family had always been a dog family.  We had a German Shepherd (Snafu), a Black Lab (Midnight), two Siberian Huskies (Shadow and Zinny)... yes, we technically one cat- but she treated us with disdain.

But we lived in half of a duplex in Lakewood, and there was no room for a dog.  So we went to the Cleveland Animal Protective League, and picked up a Domestic Shorthair.  She wasn't my first choice- she wasn't Brian's first choice- but she was the only one we could agree on.

Then we couldn't agree on a name at all- I think he wanted to name her Rudy, and I wanted Mystery.  We finally settled on Smokey (or Smoky- never could figure out the proper spelling).  I hadn't wanted a cat, but Brian did... why not?

Two weeks later, Brian wasn't that interested in having a cat.  But I was hooked.  Smokey liked to hop up and let me pet her, even though she was shy around everyone else.

Fast forward ten months.  An online friend was visiting from Boston.  I tried to warn her that Smokey was shy, and "... you might not even see her while you're here."

An hour later, Smokey was sitting on her stomach, purring.  At that point, I pretty much had to marry Katie- my cat approved of her,

More than me, in fact.  I'd been replaced as the only tolerable human in Smokey's life.  But they needed each other.  When Katie was down, Smokey was there for here.

About five years ago, we brought another cat into the house- Pippin.  Twice Smokey's size, the single friendliest cat I've ever met.  And the most doglike cat I've ever met.  Smokey can't stand Pippin- which makes Pippin even try harder to be more friendly.  

But this past week, Smokey has been lethargic.  And not eating.  And today we went to the vet, and... she has fluid in his stomach, and a low count red blood cells.  The prognosis isn't good- we're giving her Prednisolone, but the medicine won't cure her- just give her energy, allow her to eat, and prolong her life for some time.

The medicine seems to be working- she's sat in both of our laps, and seems much more energetic.

They say All Dogs Go To Heaven.  It won't be Heaven unless Cats are there to.

My feline problem...

Permit me to vent here.  I'm getting near my wit's end, and not sure what the best solution is.

I've had a cat, Smokey, for almost a dozen years.  My brother and I got her from the Cleveland APL, and she's been a great pet.  Generally quiet, occasionally snippy, but always part of the house.

When I first met Katie, I warned her that Smokey was shy and generally hid from people.  An hour later, Smokey was purring on Katie's lap.  I took that as a good sign.

Smokey's getting up in years.  She doesn't run much and climbs the stairs slowly, but the vet confirms she's in good health.

The problem is Pippin.

A month ago, some friends of ours had a problem- they had two cats, but after moving and having a baby, one of the cats (Pippin) was reacting badly, spaying the house.  They needed to either find Pippin a new home or put him down.  And I volunteered to bring Pippin over and see if we could take him in, hoping that without a baby, Pippin would calm down.

To be honest, it's worked out better than I should have hoped.  Pippin is a huge adult cat, but extremely friendly.  Unlike Smokey, who likes to hide, Pippin is always walking around and rubbing against people.  He likes to be petted, and there has been no spaying problem with him at all.

But Smokey is absolutely terrified of him.

In retrospect, I should have realized it.  Both are adult cats, but Pippin is twice her size.  Both Pippin and Smokey are fixed and have their front paws declawed.  I was told that cats take a few weeks to get used to each other, but we're on three weeks now.  Smokey is always either hiding from Pippin or hissing and attempting to strike Pippin.  Twice we've heard a 'yelp' and seen Smokey run and hide under the bed, but weren't able to see what happened exactly.  And now I'm worried Pippin is starting to use Smokey's litter box instead of his own.

I'm at my wit's end here.  I'm open to suggestions here on getting the cats to get along.  We've already bought a diffuser to try and calm Smokey down (Pippin always seems calm), but every day it seems like a case of "one step forward, two steps back" with the cats reacting to each other.  For my own sanity's sake, I can't have the cats being this neurotic around each other.

I've talked to Scott, and taking Pippin to the APL is a possibility.  Since we know Pippin doesn't spay, he can be adopted.  But I really hate the idea of taking an adult cat to the APL- it's too easy for him not to be adopted at his age.

I'm asking my facebook friends if anyone would be interested in adopting Pippin.  He's a fantastic cat, and can make a wonderful pet.  I don't want to get rid of him, and if I do I want to make sure he's going to a good home. 

Volunteers and suggestions welcomed.

Becoming a two-cat family

We've had a cat since before we bought the house.  My brother suggested getting a cat for the half of the duplex when we lived together- two weeks later, he was on the fence about having a cat while I couldn't imagine not having one.  As for Katie, she's always claimed to have "Feline Affinity" as a gift- cats naturally like her.  Smokey certainly did.

A friend of ours has a cat that had to have a new home.  Pippin is a seven year old male (Smokey is about 12 years old and female), and came over today.  Currently he's in the basement in his 'kitten condo'- he seems to be adjusting to the new house fine.  Smokey- we're not so sure about.  She's hidden herself either under the couch or the bed for the entire day, even when Pippen was locked in his condo.  We're hoping she'll get used to Pippen over time- especially since his cage is near both her food and her litter box.

At this point, I can't imagine our house without a cat.  Odd for someone who grew up with a series of dogs and only one cat.  Now it feels like "A house just doesn't seem like a home without a pet".