Oh Roy! So sad, so sad!

Sunny takes "kitty antidepressants," but he is so VISCIOUS and MEAN that I can't get pills or liquid medicine down him. So what do I do? Buy the super expensive transdermal gel that I rub on his ear every day. His meds cost more than mine! No wonder I need antidepressants, too.

Poor Roy! He has it rough at Chez Spinster!

Excellent, funny vignette. Love all the pics of your cats. I think you should have at least one with each post regardless if it's appropriate to the subject or not.

Oh, what we "Moms" have to put up with when our babies don't know what's good for them.

You just tell that Roy that if he keeps making that face, it'll freeze that way.

:)

Oh, the inhumanity!

Awww, poor Roy. And BAD Laurie!

If only they knew that their humans actually paid a FORTUNE to have the opportunity to torture them so. I almost gave up when I had to give one of my cats a pill - 2x a day for 14 days.

I'm not going to say how much I out-weigh him by, but it's a lot. How could he out-muscle me so?

Poor baby!!! Poor you!
When will this antibiotic circus cease?? This too shall pass my darlings!!
I wanted to let you know I found to my LYS ( well not so local actually..) but it was All that I knew it would be and more!!!I couldn't stay long cause I knew I would have to sit down and breathe into a bag. Everyone there was so QUIET and SERENE. For a moment I imagined myself at crazy loud full throttle asking to take pics for my blog and ranting on about this wacky funny chick in LA and you have to check out her blog and she's the reason Im here and knitting in the first place.......But I think I will save it for a later visit.After I spend my x-mas gift certificate I have since requested from family name drawing. After they realize I am harmless after all...just a bit exuberant.This could however take SEVERAL VISITS. Tragic.

A suggestion - my cats don't like to be on their backs, so to pill them I kind of sit on them (sit on my knees with the cat between my legs) and then all their sharp bits are pointed down, they are on the floor so they feel more comfortable, and I reach over their forehead, pull up on their top jaw by the sides, and their mouth usually stays open long enough to stick something in. (Speed is key - get it in and get the mouth closed!) They can't back up or run to the sides, and I keep my hand on their head so they can't run forewards until I think they've swallowed. (Rubbing their throats gently can help with that.)
That has made pill time MUCH easier with my five kitties.
Love your blog to bits. Hugs to Roy and the rest of the kitty posse.

Is Roy a Linx Point Siamese?

Poor Roy...I can't believe you still have to medicate!

Aww...poor thing ::insert sarcasm here:: You are just so mistreated. My 4 cats send their sympathy. Right after they barf on the carpet, claw the furniture and knock over the Christmas tree - again.

Fun times!

I'd pay money to see that wrestling match!

That Laurie is such a satistic woman. Cruel. Horrible. She treats you with such disregard. It is as if she doesn't even care about your well being. Poor, poor Roy.

I agree with Allyson, we need a cat-a-day picture.

Ooooo - how about the Crazy Aunt Purl cat-photo-a-day calendar, with captions and occasional random knitting patterns? Sign me up!

As I was scrolling down I thought, "Oh, Roy looks so cute all rolled up on his back." Then I saw THE KITTY-DRAGON FACE OF DOOM. I'm sorry you have to put up with this! How much longer?

Poor Roy! And poor Auntie Purl! I had to do the antibiotics thing with someone else's cat this summer...they say holding them by the scruff of the neck works, but I think they're lying. That poor cat, I think it's stilll afraid of me. Luckily, Roy look more forgiving.
Get well soon Roy!

roy is such a drama queen

Psst! Roy!
Remember our code: Never swallow the pink stuff. It's genius how we all act like it's disgusting. I'm actually quite fond of the taste myself. But we need to stick together on this. Eventually our servants will mix it in with a scoop from the small can that says T U N A and we all win, Buddy. We all win.
Keep up the good work!
Max >^..^<

I have probably two more weeks of this ... 2 times a day. We have tried every position possible and all the tricks everyone has mentioned. He is a wild man and can someohow escape from a towel burrito. He jerks his head back and forth while simul-kicking. It's so much fun!

He thinks I am torturing him. I know he doesn't hate the taste so much, just hates having it squirted in his mouth.

What he did not mention in his docu-DRAMA, above, is that afterwards he gets finely chopped up deli meat with a side of Gerber baby food. Spoiled.

will you take care of me next time i'm sick?

i like the orange baby foods best.

ps- I HEART YOU ROY!

love love love love love

Y'know, he acts like he doesn't like it, but he *LOVES* that he's getting so much attention from his mommy and the entire knitblog universe. He's milking it, big time. Notice how nobody is asking how Soba is doing!

Roy,

Meet me at the window in 30 minutes. I will help you escape the evil torture. Pack gooshy food...we will need supplies.

she_beast

I had to pill Frances earlier in the year. It was far more traumatic for me than her -- she would spit the pill out and foam and foam (nasty cat spit foam)and drool and drool to show me how much torture I was putting her through.

Then the vet showed me how to give a pill the way Induline described, and it went much better.

Poor Roy! Bad mean mommy for trying to get him well. :)

I am so grateful that the psychotic cat I used to have actually understood that medicine was good for her. All I had to do was crush the tablets and put them on her food. Didn't even need to hide them.

Pills are much easier than liquid meds by a long shot. I don't understand how vets can expect you to give animals liquid meds unless mixed with food. When Coffee broke her leg, I had to give her pain meds (pills). It was very traumatic as she would writhe around and try to run away with her pink splint/cast in tow. (psst I. O...) Hugs to L and tuna to Roy. (Ok ok, put your claws away Soba...tuna for you and your other minions as well)

I LOVE ROY!!! i want to get t-shirts printed!

Roy must be feeling better to be putting up such a fight. Trust me, when they stop fighting is when it is time to get upset.

Roy!
Listen, Mary does the same thing to us sometimes. Now, Felix has an embarrassing experience with the towel...he ate some hot salsa last summer. Didn't react well and ...the back end didn't look all that pretty. She took him to the vet and the vet shaved his back end and had to put ointment on the area for 2 weeks. Embarrassing!! Oh, and the fur didn't grow back for MONTHS and is still white.

Can you mix it in with something yummy and get him to eat it that way?? My elderly Bill-cat gets his thyroid pills in tasty canned food, and reminds me (demands it!) twice a day if I forget...

I am glad Roy is doing so much better and am amused that he is putting up such a fight... but to pose like that for pictures! WOW! Such a dramatic! How ever do you capture the moments?

Oh Roy! You poor beautiful boy you!

I call the cat-tossed-into-the-towel The Tuna Roll. It works pretty damn well.

Feel better, Little Roy. The world is praying for your speedy recovery. Someone, light a candle please!

Maybe we could start a Hands Across America For Roy.

Poor Roy! Although I do have to point out here that cats only remember what they want to remember. They remember "Aaaargh! Medicine! Vets! THERMOMETERS!!" and forget the treats, food, pats, cuddles, destroyed belongings, tangled yarn, birds ritually sacrificed on the kitchen floor, etc etc etc....

My three cats would like me to pass on their solidarity with Roy.

"What do we want?"
"No pills!"
"When do want them?"
"N... oooh, shiny thing! Bite the shiny thing!"

Poor Roy. I can't believe you're not getting bacon afterwards. How you suffer.

Simply hysterical story boarding. :-)

I think it's all an act to piss off the Soba.

And to get good food.

And to make you be his beck and call girl.

well, running like the wind is better than "breaking wind"!

Roy....glad to see you up and around. Ask for bacon, play her like a fiddle...one little cough might do it!

Puddy

Did she just get a bath?

if you scroll down and up real fast it almost looks like roy is in *action*.
is that his next major endeavour? cuz you know... lots of stars are cranky pants drama queens but none of them have the magnatism of roy...*he's so real*...

you and soba and frankie and bob can be the entourage...

can i have your autograph? i'll settle for a fang-face picture...

Roy. Give your adoring fans what they crave; we haven't seen a good fang shot in, like, forever!

BTW: what Induline said. That's exactly the way I do it and it's relatively painless, for me and the kitty.

I had to towel wrap the kitten lastnight to trim his nails and put on his new set of 'Soft Paws'... He was NOT impressed and I don't think I've sworn so much in a long time (O'_'O) whoops.

Aunt Purl - I'm a daily reader of your blog. It helps me understand what my dear brother-in-law is going thru. He was cruelly dumped by his wife and his divorce is not yet final.
You're funny and talented and I wish you well.

One of my cats was diagnosed with diabetes last year, and I was actually relieved that she'd be getting needles. Giving cats pills is potentially life threatening.

I love this! Thanks for bringing smiles on a rather unsmiley day.

I have a LYS like Schnoobie ... really large, but you kinda feel like you mustn't make any noise at all in there. (Unless you're the owner's snappy, old schnauzers!) Beautiful yarn, though, even if they get weirded out when my DH comes in with me, or I show up on the Harley.

Roy is obviously a VERY fierce fellow ... good to know he's feeling better.

That's one bonus of really small pets -- like ferrets! -- they're relatively easy to immobilize.

(Hey, if there's *anything* sexier than a 30-something divorced woman with 4 cats, it's got to be a 30-something divorced woman with a pair of ferrets! *muah*)

::flashbacks to painful cat-worming memories::

turtlegirl... Yes! Roy is indeed a Lynx Point Siamese Cat. I have also heard him called a Tabby Point. His markings are traditional Blue Lynx.

Can you believe a beautiful cat like that was abused, burned with cigarettes, and forced to live in a cage for two solid years? Not that any cat should ever suffer! But Roy's such a sensitive feller. And so darn pretty!

Laurie,
We managed our cat's kidney disease for 18+ months. That meant pills every morning and subcutaneous injections of saline solution twice a week. Sub-Qs are a lot more difficult than a simple injection. You have to hold the cat still for several minutes while the fluid drips in.
In the beginning, I felt like I was living with a teenager with a really bad 'tude. She'd punish my husband (her real "mom" who had had her for 14 years) by avoiding him at all costs. There were a lot of "you're not the boss of me" vibes flying around.
For the pills, we learned to just wait her out (bless their short memories -- "Why was I hiding in the litter box?"). We also learned to throw them way, way, way into the back of her throat and hold her mouth shut so she wouldn't be able to spit them out. For the sub-Qs, once we got better at administering them, she got a tiny bit more patient with us (but always still looking for a way out of it).
Best of luck. Kitty children are so important.

What? That's terrible! Poor, poor Roy! He can have some of my bacon. I hate to think any animal ever had to suffer like that. Ever. It's why I can't watch the Animal Channel most of the time. Awww, poor Roy!

Oh, yeah, I get all the same "looks", cuz I'm so cruel, only I'm so cruel because every time I happen to wander in the vicinity of the kitchen I don't drop what I am doing and feed the HERD.

Or, I don't offer them chicken or fish from my fork at the dinner table...you know, we owners are sooooo awful!

Or, (MY GAWD) I have the nerve to GET UP OFF THE COUCH after King Laps-A-Lot has just gotten comfortable. You know...

I'll have to try to find a photo of what my daughter calls "The Death Look". When her cat is feeling particularly passed over, he gives us "The Look."

We cower.

Roy, this too will pass--soon, you'll be able roll your eyes at Laurie for important things like, she didn't share (enough of) her bacon, or, whatever your favorite gripe might be. We love you, buddy!

Roy is beautiful and is soooo lucky to have you as a "mommy"! How do you capture those marvelous expressions????!!!!Sheer artistry and absolutely hysterical. I usually laugh til I cry when I read your blog it's so funny!

Poor Roy. Poor Laurie.

I have to know, though, (and I have a tortie cat, I know what you're going thru) why is it that a cat can spit out his pink medicine all over the bathroom walls and not get any drips on HIM?

Oh, no. Poor Roy. One of my cats was kept in a small cage for 10 months at a shady pet store. The people at the store said he has been adopted once and returned because he was so wild. I don't think anyone had ever held him or let him run free until my friend adopted him. It took a lot of patience because he was very feral. Then about a year later my friend fell in love and decided to move out of the country. I told my friend I would take the cat but if he gave him to me, he was mine forever. He had been moved so much that I didn't want him ever to feel again like he didn't have a permanant home. I have had him for three years now. He is a completely different cat. Very sweet and loving. My other cat is a female Chartreux who was hours away from being euthanised when she was rescued. She is absolutely stunning and sweet. I think animals know when they have been saved. I'm glad you and Roy adopted each other.

love the sideways sorta backward ear action going on. Poor baby! Mean Mom!

God Bless you for taking such good care of Roy. It is heartbreaking to think of the cruelty inflicted on him. I know that must make you love him all the more.

Omigod! I can't stop laughing! What a perfect telling of a cat story. If cats could talk/type that would be what they'd say. I'm sorry your kitty has to take medicine, but at least kitty can tell the viewers about it :)

Roy, you are more than gorgeous!

This brought tears to my eyes... okay, they were tears of laughter, but Roy doesn't need to know that. :D

I just love the fact that you are wrapping Roy in a towel with one hand and taking pictures with the other!

Did you try mixing the liquid in with the wet food? Works with my kitties. You just need to keep Soba away!

wow, look at those muscles!!!

Poor, poor Roy. I've got some maple-smoked bacon - would that help the medicine go down? ;)

When our siamese makes that kitty-fang face we tell her "No Samantha, Halloween is over. Put away your scary mask!" Then she gives us "you humans are so wack" look and walks away.

Tranqilizer dart rifle....I'm just sayin is all...

oooh, an Aunt Purl kitty + knitting calendar! I'd buy it:)

Ironically, he looks so content in the last picture. You sure that's not Xanax instead of antibiotics??

:lol: love the kitty comic, I especially like the "mean face" :)

These posts have reminded me of when I had to give my cat some sort of sinus medication. It was green liquid, they had me do the whole wrap-cat-in-towel thing, and no matter how hard I struggled to keep his tiny mouth shut, I always ended up with LindaBlairKitty, spewing green medicine around the room and howling obscenities at me while his head practically rotated 360'. Good times!

I had to give our cat Trooper medicine the first couple of weeks after we got him. It wasn't much fun for either of us...but he seems to have forgiven me! I hope Roy feels better soon.

~ Christina

Thank you for the photo essay. It is great. How much longer will poor Roy be on meds?

A friend directed me here, since I am also dealing with the hurt and betrayed looks of my pirate girl, who is getting pills for the next two months. I feel your pain!

You are going to tell us Roy's story, aren't you? It sounds like it has a happy ending, pink squirting stuff notwithstanding.

You are so empathetic to animals. It must make you a very humanisticly insightful person too. I like you.

To take pictures of this while trying to do it is brave. You must look like you've been through the wars.

Induline seems to have the idea. A LONG plastic cat piller is helpful to... PetSmart, maybe?
And don't forget that every time you medicate the cat, YOU can have a glass of wine....
Oh, the vet forgot to tell you?

Cute, cute, cute cat. Poor little cat! jane

Fred and Padma have hijacked my computer to send their solidarity to Roy. They understand well the cruelty of caring owners.

Fred says fight back Roy, fight back. Bite her toes!

He's just bitter cause I'm taking him in to get his butt shaved again. The the things we do for our cats...

I had to look after a housemate's bad-tempered, very overweight cat for a week while she was away. The cat had some kidney trouble and needed a tablet twice a day. She had been getting more ill because her owner couldn't bear to give her the tablets, 'It's so cruel!' Sigh. I thought, 'RIGHT'. Armed with gloves, towel, treats, thick jeans, I wrestled that cat to the ground twice a day for three days in a cloud of fur and kitty swearing and poked those tablets down her little throat like I meant it. On the fourth day she jumped on my lap, and I swear, opened her mouth. Never had any trouble with her after that. I guess they were making her feel better.

if Roy thinks HE has it bad check out the post on Rabbitch's blog...rabbitch.blogspot.com

Good lord woman! What kind of sadistic towel-wielding lady are you? lol

Cats are so melodramatic.

picture number 3 should be used as torture devices to make terrorists talk.

"where is the bomb?"

"ill never say!"

"then we have no choice but to kill you with cuteness"

"NOOOOO not pictures of ROY! he's so cute... no nooo ok ok ill talk ill talk"

or something like that

Those photos are so funny I had to post again. It looks like Roy really is trying to tell the world about his pain. "My fans must hear and see the true story of how cruel this daily medication process is!"

I love the action shot of the "bunny kicks", as we call them around our house.

FREE ROY!

I think my Jesse was on the same pink liquid and it made him drool like Old Yeller:

Now we just do insulin shots twice a day for his diabetes.

Poor kitty!

i heart Roy. Most gorgeous kitty ever. Even when he's pissed off.

let your roy know he's not alone. my rooster is currently being abused as well. a UTI has made it necessary for antibiotics.... my arms! it looks like i've been attacked by a cat - oh wait, i was! ;)

Oh poor roy! or poor poor roy! Or poor roll-on-the-floor-laughing-funny roy! You are just sooooo mistreated! My cat did't like her ear drops either.

Try catnip or valerian for mean cats. Wroks like a charm. I haad a biter that could be picker up and rubbed if she was high on cat nip.