Welcome to Sleepy Sunday at our House

Welcome to our home!

Hey, Little Nicky. I'm the senior one here and I should be welcoming everyone!

Let's all go upstairs and take a nap. It is Sleepy Sunday, after all.

I want to show everyone one of my other favorite nap spots these days - atop the big Panera bag that is filled with newspaper recycling.


Happy Napping!


Love,

Mr. Emerson

and Little Nicky

Indoor Jungle

Hi everyone!

Here I have allowed Mommie to photograph my magnificent tail. She and Daddie returned home today from a long weekend trip to Cape May, NJ to see birdies. Little Nicky and I didn't get to go despite the fact that we love birdies.

While they were gone, it got very cold outside and we had some snow! Unfortunately, Mommie neglected to bring her houseplants in from the deck before she left. She thinks that most survived the cold, and she brought many of them inside this evening.


Oh, Mommie, why is this plant where I like to sit and observe the squirrels? Hmm, maybe I need to investigate these plants and ensure that they are bug-free. I'll just climb up the drapes and

investigate.

Look at me!

Maybe I can join the circus because I can walk this tightrope very well.

Uh-oh! How do I get down now?

Tune in next time to learn whether Little Nicky is doomed to live the rest of her life atop the draperies--or whether she survives a death-defying leap to the floor.

Happy Halloween to all!

Love,

~Mr. Emerson and Little Nicky

BlogPaws with Mommie!

Mommie took me to BlogPaws in Tysons Corner, VA. We met the great Food Lady, now editor of MouseBreath. (She's the one in pink.) I also met some old friends like Skeezix, Mao, DaisyMae Maus, Charmee, and Sparky Fussypants. Who knew that being a flatcat could be so much fun?

~Emerson

Visit to the Cardiologist

Hi - Emerson here. This past week I had to have a check up with my cardiologist.
After the tech checked my vitals (including my blood pressure), we had to wait for the doctor.

There was a computer just outside the examining room door.

There was a diagram of a dog's heart on the wall, but none of a cat's heart.


After the doctor examined me, I was taken into another room for an echocardiogram. Both mommie and daddie accompanied me. The news was not very good. This is my diagnosis:

• *Juvenile-onset hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy





• *Systolic anterior motion of the mitral valve - resolved on atenolol (Yay!)





• *Moderate mitral regurgitation





• *Severe segmental left ventricular hypertrophy - left ventricular papillary muscles and the posterior free wall (Boo!)





• *Severe left atrial chamber dilation - posing a risk for congestive heart failure and blood clot events (Boo!)

*Normal left ventricular contractility (Yay!)

The doctor told mommie that juvenile-onset hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy is more serious and aggressive than the kind that develops later in life. After I was given some blood tests (which mommie did not get to witness!), the doctor prescribed some more meds for me. In addition to my atenolol (which I've been taking for over a year), I now have to take Benazepril and Plavix. If I do okay on them, the doctor might add something called Diltiazem. That's a lot of meds for my pill pocket. But I'm a good boy and I want to live as long as I can so I will take them.
To lighten up this post, you might enjoy this photo of my silly sister in her yurt.

She's an angel when she is asleep. Her yurt looks a little unstable to me.

Let me give Little Nicky a kiss.

Love,

~ Emerson

We're Two and One!

Hi! Emerson here. Long time, no posts! Last week, June 11, I turned TWO! And Little Nicky turned ONE!

Mommie decided that we should have the same birthday so we could celebrate together. We don't know Nicky's REAL birthday.

Mommie finds that I am hard to photograph because I am so active! I think that I look pretty cute here with my big round eyes.

Mommie could not decide which of these photos she likes best. She likes this one because it shows my tail,

but she likes this one because it shows my eyes.

One of our birthday presents was this mouse track. It's great fun, and we both enjoy it.

We LOVE reusuable shopping bags! I like to hide in them and let Little Nicky pounce on me. Our favorite time to play together is just after breakfast.


Here I am watching the deck. Sometimes neighbor cats come to visit and drive me crazy, but mostly it's the squirrels and little birdies that taunt me and Little Nicky. Lately Mommie has had the screen door open, and Little Nicky will climb it to hunt bugs and moths. She gets in trouble for that, but Mommie does admire her athleticism. I'm too dignified for such antics.


Who, me?




Oh, yeah, this! Somehow Mommie thinks that this is BAD! I'll always be a kitten!

Though my leg is long healed, I still have my crate. We both love it because it is complete with bed, rug, litter box, and scratching post, and is in the TV room.

See how much we love each other.

It's great to have a pal.

~Mr. RW Emerson and Little Nicky

P.S. Little Nicky is named after the nice lady out in the country who rescued her!

Meet Little Nicky

Hi! I'm known as Little Nicky, and my big brother Emerson said that I could use his blog to tell my story. Well, here goes.

I blocked out most all my bad memories, but one of the first things I remember was the nice lady who saw me trying to eat bird seed under her bird feeders. She lives way out in the country. She has three kitties of her own, and they were not very friendly to me through the glass. The nice lady knew I was hungry, and she was worried about me. She fed me and tried to make a comfy spot for me on her covered porch. I was ever so grateful and purred and purred. But it was winter and the weather was becoming MUCH colder in a couple of days. I wanted to be inside! A friend of the nice lady came to visit. She liked me, but she already had two kitties and a doggie at home. Guess what she did? She took a photo of me with her phone and sent it to my mommie with the caption, "Cute little kitty needs a home." You see, BOTH of the nice ladies are friends with my mommie.

What could mommie say when she saw my cute little face?

Of course, it was yes, but she made it conditional. She didn't want a "feral" cat, and she said that she was worried about Mr. Emerson and his feelings about having a little sister. She also wanted to make sure that I was 100% healthy because she didn't want to expose Mr. E to anything harmful to him. (Though he appears to be a tough guy, he has a heart condition and takes daily medication.) Mommie's friend took me to her veterinarian friend and had me tested and checked out. I had ear mites, but no fleas. I also had a bunch of tests.

Mommie came to visit me at the vet's office and learned that I was a sweet, loving little girl. She didn't take me home yet because she decided that I should have an operation to remove my lady parts. The doctor said that I appeared to be between 9 and 12 months old, though I am small.

I had my operation, and Mommie was supposed to come pick me up after work one day. Unfortunately, snow fell that day, and it took Mommie four and a half hours to drive home from work that night. I had to spend another night in a cage. Sigh. But Mommie took the next day off from work and brought me home. Yay!

At first I had to stay in the library, a room in the house with lots of books. My FIP test results still weren't back yet, and I needed to rest after my operation anyway. I did catch a glimpse of this beautiful big fluffy ginger kitty, but I could not meet him yet.

My test results came back and I was A-OK! I got to meet Mr. Emerson, and after just a little bit of hissing, he sniffed me up and down. He seemed to accept me from the start.

I loved him instantly and was thrilled to have a big brother. He shared all of his wonderful toys with me. I love to play with EVERYTHING! Red dot game, track ball, feather wand, crinkle balls, ball with bell, catnip banana, toy mice, just everything! And I LOVE to wrestle with Emerson.

Life is great here. Can you guess how I got my name? It has a special significance.

I'm so glad that I'm well loved!

~Little Nicky

New Sister

Today I met someone whom Mommie calls my new "sister." She was hidden behind the door for several days, but I knew she was there. I'm not sure if I'm going to like her in the long haul, but so far I've been a very nice and tolerant big brother. Her name is Little Nicky. I might let her tell her own story next month.

~Emerson