Happy First Day Of Fall

Happy first day of Fall. I hope you have many adventures planned and at least one includes jumping into a pile of leaves! Mortis and Mady are planning their Halloween costumes and i am planning on how to get them onto them! Stay tuned!

One Year Ago Today

One year ago today I had to say goodbye to my best friend. A day has not gone by when I have not thought about Mar.I miss him everyday. I dream about him often. I continue to help kitties in his honor. I tell Mady about him (when she can sit still long enough to listen). I love him as much as if not more than when he was here. He was an awesome cat that continues to live on in our hearts and in our memories. 

We love you Mar.

Introducing Mady

On July 18th right after I saw Matt off to work, had my tea and breakfast bar and was about to do 30 minutes of yoga I heard high pitch mewing noises outside. Thinking it was a kid, but realizing that it was to early for children outside I  thought it was one of the feral cats. I went outside and up came this little ball of energy, she ran past me into the house and started purring. I offered her some food but all she wanted was to be petted and held.
I did yoga, fed her and played with her. She was by my side the whole day. I asked around to see if anyone was missing a kitten and no one was. So we went off to Target and bought some supplies, came home and set her up with her own bowls and a litter box (she knew how to use it right away). 

 I searched Craig's List, the lost and found section in the paper, neighborhood fliers...Everything and no report of a missing kitty. I believe with her trusting nature and how she found her way into my backyard someone dumped her. It's not common for my neighbor and I to see cats and kittens just magically show up around here.

I was not wanting a cat or kitten, I love cats, kittens and all animals as many of you know, but my heart still aches for Mar. I miss my big boy kitty and still cry over the loss of him. A few people said that maybe Mar has lead the kitten to us, she came into our lives when we needed to think of what we have to offer and not about problems that come up...I do not know, I just know she is here and I need to learn how to open my heart up and realize that I have love to give even though I still hurt.

Mady Facts

Name: Mady (Matt + Kendy = Mady. My mom came up with it. I was going to name her something to do with yoga but then thought Downward Dog might not cut it).

Breed:  Tortoiseshell or as I like to think of her and her high energy TortoisesHELL. 

Age: Around 8 weeks looking at her teeth.

Favorite food: Coconut oil! I oil pull in the morning and once had some on my finger leftover, she went crazy licking it up. So now she gets a tiny bit in the morning. As soon as she hears the lid unscrew she is climbing up my leg to get some. I caught her trying to drink my cold brew almond milk coffee today - um no Mady!

Bad habit: Climbing and jumping on everything. She has already pulled down the curtains. 

I will be posting more of Mady's progress as the weeks go by. Right now I got to go kitten proof the house! 

Cats On The Radio - Tuesday Memories

So many questions, and they ask me if I'm still down
I moved up out of the ghetto, so I ain't real now? - 2Pac

When Matt is driving music is always on, it relaxes me and helps me be in the passenger seat. Matt and I both have eclectic music taste so a random car ride can bring up old school hip hop to middle eastern music. One thing that connects all these songs together is my insistence that cats be worked into the lyrics somehow!
I think we both enjoyed picturing Mar in rap lyrics, especially 2pac and Biggie Smalls. Something about Mar being a cat thug just made us laugh. I bought a bandana and cut it down to size so Mar could wear it...I think in the above picture he was channeling a young Snoop Dog.
Best Coast's lyrics "I wish my cat could talk" from the song Goodbye always hits home. Whenever that song pops up I remember Mar and wishing we could have conversations. I think they would have revolved around food, but it would have be interesting. Before I fall asleep at night I send thoughts of love to Mar and tell him that wherever he is I love and miss him. If he is out there (which I believe we all leave a piece of ourselves behind) I hope he hears me and knows how much I miss him.

The Stay At Home Girlfriend #6

Issue number 6 of The Stay At Home Girlfriend is out now. I talk about my life with Mar, how the loss of him has effected me, a tribute to Mickey, vegan recipes and talk about day to day life having OCD. Please pick it up in my Etsy shop today! 

Dia De Los Muertos Altars

 

My altar for Mar (and I) at Peer Recovery Arts in Modesto.If you like the art in the background check out Chicano Art Frisco Style .

Closeup of Altar. I included his favorite cat food treat, toys, wooden letters I painted that spelled out his name, paw print fabric, pictures, incense in a glow in the dark (cat eyes) holder, a prayer candle I made.

Our home altar complete with Mar photo collage, photos of my sister, Matt's dad and some of the doggies and kitties of people we know or have met through the CRF groups. For those without pictures I placed their names on a candle.

These last few weeks have been hard. Creating these altars have helped me think of good memories and show love to those that we have lost.

Memories And Love For The Best Kitty Ever

 Marilyn "Mar" Manson

 3/7/97 - 10/20/13

On Sunday October 20th we had to say goodbye to Mar. It was the hardest thing I have had to do, the most painful. As many of you knew Mar had been suffering from kidney disease since June. He crashed one morning and I rushed him into the vet, he had to stay two nights, I had never been without him for so long. I was a mess, my neighbor helped get Mar into her vet when Mar's regular vet did not give us much hope.
Since June Matt and I tried various medicines, various food and various supplements. We also went to the vet every 2 -3 weeks for blood work and check ups. Mar had some good days and some not so good days but through it all Mar was a brave little fighter.

In early October Mar started urinating on the bed, something he never had done before. We were concerned. He was treated for a UTI and we stocked up on blankets, baby crib liners, towels and visited the laundromat to wash our comforter a lot. I did not mind Mar having accidents, yes I was tired, lacking sleep and groggy but there was no way my kitty was not going to sleep in bed with me if that is where he wanted to be, right between his mommy and daddy. We got into a routine, put out a baby crib liner (the best thing in the world - we tried a lot of leak proof things), put Mar on top, climbed into bed, checked on the pee situation a few times at night, adjust accordingly...In the morning I would wipe him down with a baby wipe, brush him and use a kitty scented grooming cloth on him to clean him up. He enjoyed it.

He was having a hard time getting around, his back legs did not want to work. I would carry him to the litter box, bring his food to him and also bring him outdoors to get some natural energy and warming sun. Every morning I hugged him and said "thank you for another day"...

On Saturday October 19th Mar would not eat much, he was really tired and I was worried. We went to his vet, he got a vitamin shot, his temp was on the cold side so we went home, I busted out a bunch of water bottles and warmed them up, made him a warming sauna and got him comfy. Matt and I did some errands and came home.
Later that night I noticed Mar was having a hard time breathing. His eyes were also dilated. I  was really worried, Matt and I took him to the vet ER. I did not like her, she was very cold. So we drove 30 minutes away to another emergency vet. Matt took the lid off his carrier and as he sat Mar in his carrier in my lap I just stroked him over and over and talked to him. The news was the same, his heart was giving out and his lungs were filled with liquid. We had to say goodbye. I am not ready to talk/type about this in detail, please forgive me. I just wanted to say how painful it was and how sad we have been.

My life was Mar: if you read my zines, visited this blog, met me in person you know Mar was my world. We have art work of Mar in the house, I have his face tattooed on my arm and 16 years of stories of my best friend. Mar saved me from my dark days, he was always there demanding attention, meowing for food wanting to be brushed - his way of saying 'think of other things mom'...Mar never once judged me when things 'did not feel right', like the door needing to be closed a certain way or I had to check on something...He just wanted to love us, get love and eat!
My paranoid thoughts revolved around Mar's safety. I did not like to be away from Mar long. I would pray to anyone out there listening to make Mar better. I lit candles for him, going to scary parts of town to buy the right ones. I would use energy and stone therapy on him, praying for a long healthy happy life (my mantra for him). My mom and Matt would say "give Mar a break, he does not need you hovering around him". Sixteen years is a long life for a kitty, but I wanted more, don't we all?

My days feel alone. I go outside to feed the feral cats that were his friends. I cry a lot. I have been psychically and mentally drained.We got his ashes and paw print back last week. I hide them under a blanket on the couch. I have pulled the box out a few times and hold them delicately and cry. I want him near me but it just hurts. I hid his brush because I cannot look at it right now, I pulled it out, trying to smell his scent the other day and put it back. We celebrated his life last weekend during Dia De Los Muertos. I have been trying to be strong and we have been trying to learn a new routine...It is not easy...

I miss Mar. Mar was more than a cat, more than a companion he was a huge part of my life, my friend-soul-mate. I love you Mar. I always will. I will have more to come, I wanted to try and get something up and this is all I can do for now.

[Vegan MOFO] Throwback Thursday - A Plate Of Chocolate Chip Cookies After School

I know the old adage is apple pie is the American treat. I beg to differ though! I believe it is chocolate chip cookies.While apple pie has it's place in the world, were you ever greeted after school with apple pie? Handed some apple pie to cheer you up? How about a PMS apple pie craving? I doubt it - but I could be wrong, if I am beg my pardon!

Chocolate chip cookies....ahhhh...memories in a circular shape, gooey and delicious! My mom would often bake chocolate chip cookies as a treat. I remember her once making a bunch for my elementary school classroom and the connecting class rooms for my birthday or something (I say something because my birthday falls during the traditional summer break month).
Matt has memories of plates of chocolate chip cookies. As a kid her was allowed a few cookies and as he got older he got to grab more on his way to play practice in high school. Plates of cookies make a crappy school day better!

I have played around with vegan chocolate chip cookie recipes for like seven years now. I had a really awesome recipe that someone gave me that consisted of using olive oil, I accedintly left it behind when I moved - bummer. I have tried many since then. Currently I have been baking with coconut sugar and other alternatives to the white stuff (sugar). I have also been testing out new flours and techniques.

I have been baking a lot of cookies and selling them locally under the name Pastry Paws. All the money goes to help Mar's medical costs. Baking also helps me reduce my stress/anxiety. Matt is my taste tester and Mar is my mascot. It is a great way for me to bring in a bit of extra money to pay the vet, buy Mar his med's and connect with people over vegan treats.

Cookies are love. Do you have cookie memories - chocolate chip or otherwise? Make cookie memories if not! Bake some cookies and share them with your family, your neighbors or even your coworkers. Share the cookie love!

Mar Update - Good News!

 

We started off last week on a not-so-good note. Mar was having trouble getting to the litter box, moving around, eating - just a lot of stiffness.We took him in to the vet and while his BUN and creatinine where at good levels his potassium was once again on the low side. So after starting him back on his supplement and giving him a few days to rest he was back to his old meowing at 5AM self.

When he was not feeling well he had an accident on his favorite scratching post and we had to throw it out. Mar recently got a get well gift from my good friend - $50 to spend at PetCo. So after the accident with his scratching post/lounge we went on a mission to find him one he would use, not like the other 5 collecting dust he has no interest in. I picked out the biggest one and he is content! I catch him chillin' in it often, like last night before bed. 

Thank you again everyone for the love and support you have showed my baby kitty over the last month. It means the world to me. Mar will be relaxing for a 2 week off from the vet break. I release my newest zine this week in hopes of getting some of the vet bills paid off. Stay tuned!

Crafty Cat Projects: Blanket

 

I love my baby-kitty blanket! 

I have tried my hand at making fleece tie blankets a few times over the years. Each time they come out lumpy. I always get fustrated - everyone can do these after all! After buying baby tuxedo cat print fleece to line Mar's vet carrier with - and it not working out I decided to make him a blanket.

I sat down with the kitty print fleece fabric and black fleece fabric feeling confident. After all I had a power chat session over lunch with my cousin who makes them all the time and the fabric department lady who even gave me a simple instruction sheet to follow. I got this! I cut off my corners, cut it into strips, tying it, moving Mar off it a few times, trying to keep the scissors away from him at one point...It still came out lumpy.

Once I put it down though, Mar walked up to it, sniffed it and flopped on top of it. Lesson learned: your cat-baby sees the love in handmade things even if they are not perfect! Mar loves his blanket and wherever you sit it down he flops onto it and falls asleep!

Look out for more cat crafts, CKD diet talk, and kitty videos coming in July! 

Gtting Back Into The Swing Of Things

Last Tuesday I woke up to Mar not feeling good, I knew something was wrong. He was not eating, walking weird - hunched up, then he had black diarrhea. I called his vet, they could get him, I asked my neighbor for a ride and after getting him in his carrier we zoomed over to his vet.
I was crying and scared, we had to leave him there. His vet called to tell me his kidneys were not working. We ran over to the vet to see him (Matt got home early) because Mar was staying the night. After spending time with him, we went home. Mar had to stay Tuesday and Wednesday night. I have never been away from my cat for so long. His vet did not give me good news, I called another vet to bring Mar into on Thursday. At this point Mar started doing better. So my neighbor took me to pick up Mar and we took him to the new vet. Mar got some sub-q fluids, cat food and antibiotics.
Right now Mar is recovering, he is getting back to normal. I am learning as much as I can about chronic kidney disease in cats. His appetite is not back to normal, however he is eating cat food and sweet potato baby food and drinking a lot of water.

This has been a stressful week for everyone. Mar has a vet visit this week and I am trying to prepare us all for it...Mar's stess levels need to stay down and the one thing that really stresses him out is the vet. Can you blame him?

Thank you to everyone who is keeping my lil kitty in your thoughts! Positive energy is really helping us all right now! I have a lot of hope we will continue getting good news this week. Expect more positive news, some food reports and of course kitty updates from me!

May - Pet Cancer Awareness PSA

Mar giving the middle claw to cancer! 

May is here again, time to talk about companion animal cancer. Please read up on the facts, check your companion animals for any sores that are not healing or bumps. I cannot stress enough that we just thought Mar had a boo boo on his tail, we thought it would heal and it was cancer.

Mar is a cancer survivor! Donate now and help other kitties and doggies stand up and win the fight! You can donate at Petco or online at Blue Buffalo.

Happy Easter

 

HAPPY EASTER BASKET DAY!!!!

Happy 16th Birthday Mar!!!!

 

Mar turned 16 today! He woke up to a can of his favorite food, he loves it so much he sucked it down and proceded to barf it up minutes later. No worries, mama is going to go buy him another can once daddy is home from work. He opened gifts and played outside. It has been a nice sunny day and he enjoyed his outdoor sunshine break! I hope you enjoy the pictures I captured of him - he is often camera shy or camera grumpy, a mixture of both I assume!

Happy birthday and many more my to my wonderful companion, my baby, my best friend and furry soul mate!Everyone who knows you loves you!

Happy Holidays

Mar-y Catmas everyone! I hope your holidays include lots of love and purrs!

[Vegan MOFO Day 22] Bye Bye MOFO & Looking Ahead

Today is the last day of MOFO - oh no! What did we do before MOFO? Oh ya zines - for me. I can get back to working on a new issue and working on some new jewelry, one item I have been planning on for like six months!

Since it is the last day of MOFO and it landed on a 'try something new day" I want to talk about holiday plans. I just got the Vegan Food Gifts book via the box with a smile on it last week. This has inspired me to create some gifts in jars for people on my list.

The book is really cute! The ingredients are easy to find for the most part and each page has a nice layout and gift ideas on how to give items. I think the gifts would work for vegan and omnivores a like. A lot of ideas are great to do in batches if you work in a office setting you could make each person a yummy jar! I am thinking some of these things for neighbors would be a hit!

I also have not picked up my knitting needles in forever. The big local craft show I have done for like the last  5 years was a no-go this year. I usually start knitting fingerless gloves for shops and shows. They seem to be a big hit and are much requested. I need to go yarn shopping, I want to knit up 2 fast scarves for a homeless couple we know...Also buy their furry companions some fleece blankets as it gets cold...

 

Speaking of holidays - it is Halloween! I did not find much in the way of cute-spook this year! It is OK, I am really trying to not add more clutter! I hope your Halloween is fun - even if you are staying in like us! We have mini bags of Oreos, Swedish Fish and Sour Patch Kids to give out! Also once Matt gets home from work we give each other little Halloween gifts! Maybe tonight we will watch something spooky!

[Vegan MOFO day 6] Weekend Roundup: I Rather Be In Bed

This weekend was spent doing not much of anything. Maybe the cold weather is getting under my skin or I am just PMS-y.

Friday I went to the DMV since Matt got out early. He had a team building day at work - his work even picked him up a vegan lunch from our fave Thai place down the street! I had to renew my license.It was so crowded and I hate being jammed into a room with a bunch of people. Not the best way to start off the weekend! I needed a new ID though and got to wear my gently used $12 jeggings I bought at Plato's closet - the same pair I was looking at online for $58...Score right?

I started reading Catcher in the Rye - because you know it was banned book week...Matt recommended it to me...I spent Friday night reading while Matt broke in his new Resident Evil game! In between chapters I put up a new zine in my Etsy shop! Ohh and mending a burnt mouth - my plate of nachos tempted me way to much for me to check the temp before I took a bite!

 

How does one fix a burned mouth the next day? An ice cold Slurpee! After Matt and I ran around looking for props for his next project and doing errands we went to 7-11. I was armed with this list hoping to score some vegan snacks. I only found the mint cookies which I shared with Matt that night. They were good - thicker square thin mint type cookies! Oh - if you are wondering, the Slurpree flavor is cherry with a splash of banana at the top!

Grocery shopping was another weekend event - my favorite part was getting a new rewards card with pink doughnuts all over it...Oh and I got a handful of Seventh Generation laundry soap samples at the store...I like free stuff! 

Maybe it is the fall weather but I am craving Speculoos spread on toasted wheat bread. I pulled out a jar this weekend and have been using it on toast...It is about lunch time now, I think I need some toast with Speculoos spread as part of my lunch! Maybe that will perk me up!

A bonus pic of Mar - we spent time playing in the yard this Saturday! I think he kinda has an eggplant shape!

I Love Cats & Toys!

When I was in the Disney Store a few weekends ago doing some shopping for a friend I came upon a giant plush cat. I asked who the cat was and was told Lucifer - how could I pass up a giant plush kitty with so much attitude? Mar approves of Lucifer!



Mar and Lucifer even have something in common - the butt hide! If I happen to want a pillow - Mar will flop on it. If I want a paper Mar will sit on it!Mar tends to go after my jewelry, not sit on it, I do not give him the chance - it would suck trying to retrieve a skull charm from Mar's poop, like my mom did with my sister's poo after she swallowed some change as a toddler...

So add Lucifer to the cool cat club! Mar voted him in!

Spring Time?

It is in the 70s today! Birds are chirpin' (and eating tons of food: I reload the feeder 1 - 2 times a day!), Mar wants to play on the grass and flowers are blooming!

We have daffodils blooming in the backyard! I know these are toxic to cats but Mar has no interest in flowers and he is monitored whenever he is outside.

The last few days we have enjoyed the front yard. Mar even got to check out two little dogs both smaller than him! I got to wipe him down with baby wipes today (he was grumpy for a few minutes), his skin allergies seem to be doing well since he got a shot. I am still on the lookout for cat wipes that are good for skin allergies that are not full of nasty chemicals. Any recommendations?

Paw Print Nails

This was done pretty fast yesterday. Something fun and easy to take my mind off going to the doctors (I hate going to the doctors!). I used Zoya - Mitzi (a matte neon yellow green) sponged on in 3 light layers with a non-latex cosmetic sponge at the tip. Then I pulled out a wooden chopstick and used the larger side to create the base of the paw and the smaller end to create the lil paw dots using Man Glaze - Cabron (a carbon matte dark purple). I topped everything off with a top coat and was good to go!

Thank you Catsparella, Mr. Puddy and of course my Mar-Mar panda bear for the inspiration! BTW going to the doctor sucked - sometimes I ask myself why bother?