how are your kidz?

Soba has a cold, but because she's almost 9 years old they also did bloodwork and other junk. So, right now I am medicating two cats twice a day and have spent a bazillion dollars. Last night, Bob started the sneezing sniffly stuff, too, so I fear I might have four sick cats by week's end and I am. not. happy. This is too much. I thought my horrorscope said my month was going to be good! What happened to good??? I want good. Not more bad.

whoops, probably more info than you needed...

Hunny. Does it help that they are so danged cute?!

We missed you last nite. Darcy brought CUPCAKES! And they were YUMMY.

poor kitties. my cat got hit by a car a few months ago, and after appropriate mourning, i'm ready for a new one. i'm trying to find a couple of black or tortoiseshell kitties to adopt, and they say it is the season. hoping yours stay/get healthy.

on a different note, i've started knitting because of you, and just finished my first scarf. well, almost finished, cause i don't know how to bind off yet, but i'm real close!! i found a local yarn store yesterday too, and i just love all of it!! thanks so much.

I love the cat pictures and captions! Something I look forward to. I'm so sorry that the vet is cutting into your finance-untangling. Gah! Nothing less than $100 per visit....

gotta go click some of your blogads now.

Happy cinco de mayo, laurie!

Jessi... I know where you can get four cats REAL CHEAP...

Man, now Roy's teaching Soba his tactics?? You are well & truly outnumbered. ;)

((((Soba))))....hope she feels better soon. And how *is* Sir Roy?

Very funny!

WOW, what was Roy trying to do to Soba in that kitty punch pic? And she let him get away with it? :0) She loves her Roy.

Too funny! Of course not that the cats are sick. I fear any time anything is wrong with my puppy girl.

Kitty Friday. Thank God. I hope they put up a fight against them germs and bacterias and stuff too. They are just the cutest team.

My sons baseball team heads out of town today for the first game of the state tournament. A bunch of 16-18 year old boys. They are pretty cute too.

laurie..well, i'm coming down to LA in june, so maybe we'll meet and i'll take them off your hands!!

Why is it always eleventeen hundred dollars to go to the vet? I ask you.

I love that Soba didn't budge but once throughout that photo montage. Hilarious!

Me and the cats will be eating ramen noodles all month. Of course, we are financing a new wing at the vet's office. That's something. Yup.

I swear you have the cutest cats, EVER! I realize Soba may be seeking world domination, but I'll be damned if Soba isn't just so adorable. Hope Roy is feeling better!

Poor kitties. And poor (literally, after the vet bills!) Laurie for having to dose them. It's bad enough getting meds down one kitty, never mind two or more. Yikes!

Love the photos though! I think Roy is hoping to be second-in-command when Sobakowa takes over the world.

Poor kitties...hope they all feel better really soon!

That last photo may be the funniest ever. Roy and Soba look like a long-married couple waiting on a bench at a bus-stop: Soba has her handbag in her lap (it has photos of the grandchildren in it) and Roy is wearing a pork pie hat. They are going to catch the bus and go downtown to eat at their favourite cut price cafe. Their grandchildren are angels and their daughter doesn't call often enough.

PS: Hope both of them are feeling better soon.

On the theory that misery loves company or in the spirit of "I cried because I had no shoes then I met a man who had no feet" my dog was hit by a car two weeks ago and I actually had to finance (interest free, thank God) the surgery...I will be paying enough to support a family of four monthly for the next year.

Sigh. I'm so glad she's home and on the mend though...

Somehow Soba doesn't have a problem with her mean face. :-)

But Roy looked perkier - I hope?

Love to the cats and to their mama. They'll pull through; chicken soup for all!

OMG those pictures are too much. I love Roy's mean face. Hope Soba feels better soon!

Laurie, you beat me to it, but I'll say it anyway: Jessi, I have a tortie who can be yours if I ever get her out of the *#$#$&^!@@$&!!!! tree.

The coconspirators are so adorable it's a wonder they can stand themselves.

I'm sorry to hear about the kitties. Hope they all feel better soon!

Oh no...tag team! Do you shut your door at night? :)

Precious little monsters, aren't they? Poor Soba must really be deep in his world domination plotting, to let Roy swat him like that.

I hope they both get better soon. (And that the other two stay healthy in the meantime!) And yes, definitely time to go clicking away at your blog ads...Love those Jordana knitting bags! (Even if I don't really knit yet...they'll work for crochet!) If only they weren't so expensive...

Your kitties are so cute and I love that photo series. I can completely relate on medicating your cats. I had to do that with Ticia twice and I'm hoping never again!

I knew I should have checked in earlier. Now I'm never going to be able to find Boris a new home. I found out last night how dangerous trying to make a bed can really be.

Also Laurie, I cannot believe that you now have to medicate two cats. I have a hard enough time trying to medicate one at any given time. Obviously poor Soba is under the weather if she sat there for that many pictures.

Sending out some positive kitty energy.

Pet health insurance. Maybe it's time?

I used to feel that way whenever I took my poor Sherman to the vet. That dog must have cost me close to 10 grand over the course of her life in just vet bills alone. And she was always sick. Poor doggie. She was the sweetest dog, too. So of course I spent the money.

Being a pet owner isn't easy. *sigh*

Lots of hugs for you and your posse.

My Princess Kitty sends "get well" vibes to your kitties. Me? I wish you a big bottle of wine tonight. Two cats on medication? Oy!

I'd like to know what they are sitting on...

Tami, Soba is a she, not a he....

I covet your kitties!

The only thing worse than a thirty-year-old girl who's obsessed with knitting and could stand to lose 20% of her body weight is a thirty-year-old girl who's obsessed with knitting, could stand to lose 20% of her body weight who has imaginary cats.

I'm the imaginary cat lady.

God I love it...

I feel your pain. One of my kitties has started up with the sniffly-sneezy-wheezies and I'm dragging my feet about taking him to the vet. I'm waiting for the green snot. I need to see green snot, dammit! Is that mean?

Hi from the South (North Carolina). This is my first time posting on your blog, which I've been reading every day for the past 3 months or so. I feel compelled to post today because I have been mother to many sick cats and I totally feel your heartsick and financial pain. One of my cats (Rocky) developed diabetes when he was 7 years old, and I gave him insulin injections twice a day for 8 years. He passed away when he was 15. Everyone told me that diabetic cats only lasted a couple of years post-diagnosis, but Rocky lived with it for 8 years, and I feel like that was a result of my good mothering. :) Another one of my cats (Gracie) was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism last year and we opted to pay $1000 for her to receive a single, curative, radioactive iodine shot (ouch!!! we were like, should we send this money to Hurricane Katrina victims, or give it to the cat???). We chose the cat. And she is quite the happy, healthy furball today.

I wish you luck with your furry friends. They deserve the best and you are a good mother. Don't let people make you feel stupid for spending lots of money on "just a cat." I get that reaction from a few people. Our cats are our family, for better or worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness, and in health.

I think you should have a PayPal button for the Kitty fund. I would contribute. Yours is my favorite site and well worth the price of admission.

Tell those kitties to start washing their paws & stop spreading those germs!!!

On a much lighter note, have you seen this:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hitbyabus/106745499/
I so want to make that bag!!!!!

Doesn't it make you made at times like this to hear Bill Gates complaining that he is "too rich." Too bad you can't bottle and sell the Roy/Soba cuteness or you'd be rolling in the dough.

I was supposed to take my orange one in for his annual checkup this weekend but I just couldn't deal with the idea of hauling his yowling ass over there in a cab since I'm carless right now. I wish vets made house calls.

I'm so sorry Laurie! I didn't mean to reassign poor Soba's gender! SHE is a beautiful assertive woman-cat.

Definitely second the pet health insurance policy purchase. Also the PayPal vet bill button, I'd contribute. After all, you have to pay for the website & stuff (meaning I don't know how all that bandwidth stuff works). Hopefull the Soba just has a cold. Or allergies?
A friend of mine told me that some of the animal medicines are exactly the same as people medicines except for the flavoring, so if the kitties or doggies don't mind (say) bubble-gum flavored amoxicillin inst of tuna-flavored, you could get it at a regular drug store for a lot less. The pharmaceutical companies charge more for the animal stuff b/c there's a lower volume of prescriptions filled. Can't really blame vets for charging a lot, they go to school for the same length of time as a people MD, usually have to have a mini-hospital in their office instead of just the basic supplies, and have to charge the full price for the treatment to the patient's humans inst of just a copay. If it seems like a lot of $, take a look at your own bill for a hospital visit and see what it would have cost without insurance. Yikes!

And so Covert Feline Ops: Alpha Team begins its first strike!

Best of luck with the cats! I myself don't have any pets, but empathize greatly with those straddled with crazy vet bills.

I agree with everyone on the insurance thing. B&N have coverage. My mom laughs at the fact that I pay an insurance premium for them each month. I figure if anything catastrophic happens though, it will be much cheaper in long run.

I got the idea from my dad's cousin. She had a cat who had a thyroid condition. That meant a lifetime of expensive meds for Buddha. She would not have been been able to afford Buddha's medication without the insurance.

Actually my old employer offered pet health insurance as one of the employee benefits.

sue is right; pharmacy's charge WAY less for animal meds.

The kitties are precious! So good of Roy to show her the ropes!

Those kitty sniffles sure are contagious cooties! Love Roy's mean face! He does look perkier!

I got no profound advice, but lots of sympathy! Hope Roy and Soba feel better, and the other 2 don't get the cold.

Take care of yourself, too, and fight off the cold with lots of wine.

Seeing those two sweetiecats just made my bad day brighten up! I hope the others stay healthy!!

I first found your blog because I did a search for cats. Not knitting. I don't knit. Thanks for including such wonderful story pics of your cats. I LOVE IT. And I love all your cats and love you for taking such good care of them. You deserve only happiness.

I actually cancelled a trip because Atticus had an impacted "extra" tooth and needed surgery! And judging by the trips to the box, the little Dude may have crystals...again.

But we love them!

Good grief that made me giggle out loud!! Thank you!!!

That is the funniest thing I've read in a long, long time.

oh yeah - a Paypal kittycare donation button could help you out a bit, at least to buy catfood for them instead of nasty ramen noodles! I really only give to animal causes, so why not to cats I "know?"

Hilarious! Those cats are too cute, not to mention Smart.

My wife and I are both allergic to cats, but she sees how cute your kitties are, and she wants one anyway... but what would the gerbils think?

Anyhow, I hope you'll visit me at www.dragonpastor.blogspot.com because I'm trying to help my wife help others... just scroll down to Socks for Sheep and you'll see what I mean...

Aww, little Soba and Roy. They are good for one another.

Also, everyone keeps mentioning pet insurance, so I thought I'd let you know that often, it isn't worth it due to the limited coverage:

http://www.consumerreports.org/pets/0307vet2.html

Oh Laurie, great photo-shoot! - I especialy enjoyed Martigny's response (the old couple at bus stop -so apt.)
I nursed a feline companion (Thomis, the Gent) through asthma, diabetes, and kidney failure. His ashes are now on his favorite sunny window-sill.
I have a new feline companion (Sheldon from Sitka, or big, gentle Red) We needed each-other. And here we are!
I've been blessed by the presence of so many wonderful fur-persons. My German grandmother used to refer to me as the "Kats Muti". (Cat mother) She understood me so well!

Awwwwwwww... poor babies!!! That's heartbreaking, isn't it?

Oh, and just so you know, one of these days I'm gonna buy me one of those Jordana Paige satchels, and when I do, I'll click the link here, and add a few coins to the kitty fund.

Roy has got a wicked hook there! Thank you for the great pics. I too, would gladly contribute to a kitty for the kitties.

>>>>><<

I agree that the Paypal Kitty Care button is a good idea. For years I've donated to the ASPCA and HSUSA, but this year decided to take a break from them and focus on animal causes closer to home. I feel like I know your cats and would love to help out. Please consider it, Laurie.

~~~~~~HEALING KITTY VIBES~~~~~~

Before I had (and fell in love with) any furbabies, I couldn't imagine that someone would spend so much money on a PET. Now, however, $1000 so he can live and be with us some more. No question, doc - thanks for performing miracles :). I know where you're coming from - they're more than cats, they're family.

That looks like they are planning something for you. I'd be afraid.

And also like they need their own comic strip...

Isn't it wonderful how they can come together and not swat each other when it really, truly matters? Just shows you, I guess, that they're truly siblings after all.

I too would gift a little something through a PayPal button. Princess Perry the Bi-Polar gets her hyperthyroid medication regularly and an eyedrop every two days to keep some sort of funky ocular problem at bay. We won't talk about the emergency dental care a month ago, ok?

They're our children, Laurie, and although I begrudge Perry's medical bills (I have an AMEX Blue card that I call Perry's Blue Cross Card) I spend the money because she's such an important part of my life; I'm certain you feel that way too.

Here are good health wishes to Roy and Soba - Frankie and Bob too - a some hugs of friendship and commiseration to you! I'll fedex a pound of bacon for all :)

In the spirit of today's post - here is one of the funniest cat things i've seen :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_JMC26hY88

So funny, it really does look like they're conspiring! Feel better, Soba Kitty! You have such nice markings, i could stare at you all day!

You know you'll pay whatever it takes! Those kitties have got you right where they want you.

Although, personally, I wouldn't have thought Soba needed any tips on violence.

i did animal insurance for years, and frankly, it was kind of a bummer because once something expensive happened, then POOF i'd get a policy update announcing that the coverage would disappear for that particular condition. but that's just my experience. i'm all for the paypal button, tho.

and that last picture is priceless.

Unfortunately, older pets are usually too much to insure, and pre-existing conditions are usaully not covered.
You can ask your vet about having your animal prescriptions filled at a pharmacy. It sepends on what it is, it may be less having the vet fill it, but most vets understand and will have mo problem giving an Rx. If you're able to give tablets rather than drops, that may be less expensive too--especially if you have to give the same medication to multiple cats. The amoxidrops used by vets are the same cherry or bubblegum flavor used for human kids, unless they use a compounding pharmacy, which has the tuna or liver flavor to add.
I sympathize on giving meds--I'm a vet tech, and I have a 15 year old hyperthyroid abysinnian that I can't medicate! Shhh--don't tell him his meds are crushed up in that canned food I give him every night.
Good luck on treating yours!

They are so cute! You just made my night. Good luck with everything!

Oh my God! Your tortie looks just my cat Baby,who passed away last spring when she was 14. Baby was a supreme diva. She once had a $200 overnight stay at the vet because she was CONSTIPATED. The vet gave her three enemas. She was furious when I picked her up the next day. I really loved that cat. Everyone has that one really special pet in their lifetime, and she was mine.

Laurie, I have been reading your blog for awhile and now. So funny; I have 2 tortis (I call them 'tortiterrial')and an orange tabby. The idea of a comic strip is perfect. How you get these picures . . . it's like a good sitcom.
And, the vet is my first line on the budget, above rent!
Healthy thoughts to The Four.

Laurie, I have clicked into your kitty comic several times today, and each look makes me laugh so hard it hurts.

Best wishes to you and your tribe from me, Lucy and Mack. (She's a tortie princess, but an angel when it comes to nail-clipping and med-taking. He's a mellow marshmallow, but either of the aforementioned morphs him into a 20-lb. dervish.)

Laurie,
I have spent a few thousand on my cat Wally, who is prone to urinary obstructions. Yea, it is hard, but would I do it again- oh yea!
Your blog gives so many people pleasure- please add the PayPal button for donations.

Now Roy,
Laurie means well. She's only trying to help you both. There's no reason to retaliate. (That means no peeing on the bed. No hairballs in the hall. No dumping the food dish.)

Soba, honey, I hope you feel better soon. And you don't need to listen to Roy. Top cat always knows how to handle her human.

I hear your pain! I've got a cat with feline herpes and another who steals milk from people and then gets bladder infections. Good thing I like my vet or I'd have to give him a good whack every time he hands me his bill.
I love your kitty comic strips! If only mine would slow down a little I could catch the INDY 500 that's been happening here today.

Very cute!
Mia

sounds like a conspiracy at your house.

I am sorry that Sobakowa is sick, but I crack up at your pics. How on earth do you manage to capture these fantastic moments of utter catness?

well i remember having one cat that always needed sinus meds...PITA! now i have a 5 yr old son who always needs sinus meds...PITA! WTF?
my new favorite saying is: "It IS what it IS..."
sorta makes me accept the facts of the day.