After 3 surgeries and almost 4 months straight of being in a medical cone because of melanoma on her ear (which returned a 4th time), we decided that the quality of life for our cat was not what we felt it should be. As of late she's been losing weight and hiding (something she hasn't done since we got her 4 years ago). So today we did what my family does to pay homage to the pets we've loved.
We had her put to sleep so she wouldn't suffer just because we wanted
her around, and then we planted a tree over her as a tomb stone.
Although we got Mao almost 4 years ago when my husband's best friend moved overseas, we've known her for most of her 14 years of life because we kitten sat her before she was a year old. Her name when she came to us was Raspkitten but we decided to change it to Mao because she said "mao" in our ears for a 10+ car drive when we took her home with us (and she acted a bit like a fuzzy little dictator when she entered our house).
She will be missed, but we have the Mao tree to remember her by. And we hope that we live in this house long enough to be able to eat the Palmello fruits that should grow in a few years.
Showing posts with label pet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pet. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Things that Make you Go Hmmmmm...
My Facebook friends are probably aware that I have been having a rough week at work. I've been called a liar and been threatened with a lawsuit for the supposed lie. Anyone who knows me knows I don't lie. In fact, growing up, lying was punished more severely than anything else I can remember. Although I know I didn't lie and I know they don't have a case, it still hurts that someone accused me.
This year we signed our kids up to participate in 2 group classes. One was science and the other was also a bit science related but was based around Lego's or K'Nex. This week it was decided the science class was going to be cancelled for the rest of the year. Apparently a few of the families who were participating just couldn't make it anymore and we couldn't hold the class with the few people remaining. The group is still going to try to get together once a month but it's going to be a bit more laid back. A part of me is sad and another part of me is happy because my schedule only seems to be getting busier.
This week I ended up teaching my daughter's Lego class and my husband ended up teaching our son's K'Nex class. I've taught the Lego class last year so it wasn't that big of a deal. Technically it was the second time my husband filled in for the K'Nex teacher, but it was the first time he actually taught the lesson rather than just helping the kids build something with K'Nex. Not only did he enjoy himself, but the kids he taught enjoyed the class too.
My husband is also in the process of figuring out the feasibility of teaching a class starting in January about building and programming robots. They wouldn't be competing with other schools or groups like some of the robotics groups out there, but this would be the first step toward that (we hope).
One night this week, my daughter and I were reading a book. I read a page and then I had her read a couple pages. Then my son volunteered to read! Not only was that a surprise in and of itself, but his reading has improved. I know he's been reading in his room at night and I was hoping it would help his reading improve. It was nice to actually witness it.
I don't know what's going on, but my husband is really getting into the whole stay-at-home Dad thing. He's been enjoying the time with the kids. He's volunteering to teach their classes if needed. He enjoys cooking and he's getting good at it too. He's even getting to the point where cleaning is becoming part of his routine.
A little over a week ago we let my daughter's hamster go free. It was a hard decision to make, but his brother (from the same litter) passed away suddenly a few months ago and the remaining hamster seemed to be getting sick. He had a growth on his neck that kept getting bigger and bigger. He only cost $5 so taking him to the vet just wasn't in the cards. We though about putting him out of his misery but no one was willing to do it and no one wanted to watch him slowly die. So my daughter decided to let him go in a secluded and safe area in the back yard so that he could live out whatever life he had left in the wild. We have seen no sign of him since and that's particularly important since we have an outdoor cat that likes to leave us presents. In fact, the first few days after we let the hamster go, part of my morning routine was to check the present location before the kids might stumble across something.
I think the lack of small furry things has finally hit us. We got a call from a woman who runs a cat rescue the other day asking if we would be willing to take a litter of kittens. Being the suckers that we are, we said yes. They will be joining our family this coming week.
This year we signed our kids up to participate in 2 group classes. One was science and the other was also a bit science related but was based around Lego's or K'Nex. This week it was decided the science class was going to be cancelled for the rest of the year. Apparently a few of the families who were participating just couldn't make it anymore and we couldn't hold the class with the few people remaining. The group is still going to try to get together once a month but it's going to be a bit more laid back. A part of me is sad and another part of me is happy because my schedule only seems to be getting busier.
This week I ended up teaching my daughter's Lego class and my husband ended up teaching our son's K'Nex class. I've taught the Lego class last year so it wasn't that big of a deal. Technically it was the second time my husband filled in for the K'Nex teacher, but it was the first time he actually taught the lesson rather than just helping the kids build something with K'Nex. Not only did he enjoy himself, but the kids he taught enjoyed the class too.
My husband is also in the process of figuring out the feasibility of teaching a class starting in January about building and programming robots. They wouldn't be competing with other schools or groups like some of the robotics groups out there, but this would be the first step toward that (we hope).
One night this week, my daughter and I were reading a book. I read a page and then I had her read a couple pages. Then my son volunteered to read! Not only was that a surprise in and of itself, but his reading has improved. I know he's been reading in his room at night and I was hoping it would help his reading improve. It was nice to actually witness it.
I don't know what's going on, but my husband is really getting into the whole stay-at-home Dad thing. He's been enjoying the time with the kids. He's volunteering to teach their classes if needed. He enjoys cooking and he's getting good at it too. He's even getting to the point where cleaning is becoming part of his routine.
A little over a week ago we let my daughter's hamster go free. It was a hard decision to make, but his brother (from the same litter) passed away suddenly a few months ago and the remaining hamster seemed to be getting sick. He had a growth on his neck that kept getting bigger and bigger. He only cost $5 so taking him to the vet just wasn't in the cards. We though about putting him out of his misery but no one was willing to do it and no one wanted to watch him slowly die. So my daughter decided to let him go in a secluded and safe area in the back yard so that he could live out whatever life he had left in the wild. We have seen no sign of him since and that's particularly important since we have an outdoor cat that likes to leave us presents. In fact, the first few days after we let the hamster go, part of my morning routine was to check the present location before the kids might stumble across something.
I think the lack of small furry things has finally hit us. We got a call from a woman who runs a cat rescue the other day asking if we would be willing to take a litter of kittens. Being the suckers that we are, we said yes. They will be joining our family this coming week.
Labels:
homeschool,
kittens,
pet,
what we've been up to,
work
Sunday, August 21, 2011
A New Addition
Guess what? We have a new addition to our household. We have a "new" cat. Our friends who just moved to Qatar have been trying to find her a new home for a while. She's 11 year old and declawed. We know how hard it can be to find an older cat a home (we did it a year ago). It's even harder because they want the option of taking her back when they come back stateside.
We have taken care of this cat before. In fact, she and Jon ended up with a bit of a love-hate relationship from that time together. You see, while she was with us, we had her declawed (upon the request of her owner). After I took off her pain patch early one morning, she promptly found Jon and treated him poorly (I won't go into specifics. Let's just say it was not pretty.).
Since then, she has been known to run away, vomit, and hiss whenever she sees him. This time though she has mellowed a bit. There was no vomiting or hissing and she even lets him hold her. We realize we have a ways to go before she is comfortable, but at least we are making progress. And her "owner" is happy that she's with someone who loves cats and has children which will keep her acclimated to such things (since they have a 16 mo old).
Unfortunately, all this change has affected the cat in some less than desirable ways. We have traveled with her before and she did very well that time. In fact, she curled up in our laps or on our sholders in the car and slept most of the way.
The two days we just finished traveling were very different. She pooped in the truck minutes after refusing to use the litter box (luckily we had vinyl down to protect the seats from the kids), meowed most of the way, and every time she got nervous she would climb into my lap and invariably scratch me. I think all of this has determined that while traveling she will be in the camper rather than the truck. We did that for the last part of the trip yesterday and it seemed to work better for not only us but her as well.
We're excited about our new addition, but can't wait to be in a house so that she can settle into her new life.
We have taken care of this cat before. In fact, she and Jon ended up with a bit of a love-hate relationship from that time together. You see, while she was with us, we had her declawed (upon the request of her owner). After I took off her pain patch early one morning, she promptly found Jon and treated him poorly (I won't go into specifics. Let's just say it was not pretty.).
Since then, she has been known to run away, vomit, and hiss whenever she sees him. This time though she has mellowed a bit. There was no vomiting or hissing and she even lets him hold her. We realize we have a ways to go before she is comfortable, but at least we are making progress. And her "owner" is happy that she's with someone who loves cats and has children which will keep her acclimated to such things (since they have a 16 mo old).
Unfortunately, all this change has affected the cat in some less than desirable ways. We have traveled with her before and she did very well that time. In fact, she curled up in our laps or on our sholders in the car and slept most of the way.
The two days we just finished traveling were very different. She pooped in the truck minutes after refusing to use the litter box (luckily we had vinyl down to protect the seats from the kids), meowed most of the way, and every time she got nervous she would climb into my lap and invariably scratch me. I think all of this has determined that while traveling she will be in the camper rather than the truck. We did that for the last part of the trip yesterday and it seemed to work better for not only us but her as well.
We're excited about our new addition, but can't wait to be in a house so that she can settle into her new life.
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