Here, have a Staalsy pic-spam

Staalsy knocks my pillow over and sleeps on it. He has done this since day 1.

Staalsy's New favorite thing in my room, a hockey puck

He really loves that puck. He licked it, purred on it and tried to smack it around. He lives up great to his name.

Staalsy knows it's old news. He's too busy watching stuff move on my laptop to care about how epic this day was.

All of that sleeping, puck loving and Penguins clip watching really wore him out. I won't get any charms made because there seems to be some feline interference.

At the end of the day, he enjoys snuggles and kisses.


This has been a Staalsy pic-spam.
:)

Staalsy is starting to make friends

Sorry I have failed to update lately. Things have been kinda nuts.

Staalsy is doing pretty great. He's finished his anti-biotics for his eye but it is still runny. I'm starting to think he's light sensetive or somethimg.

He's been exploring a lot more and getting extremely comfortable with stuff. His claws are so epic that they get stuck in the carpet. He won't let me touch his paws still or I'd trim them.

Today he kinda played with Brody. Brody was in my room and around my computer chair. Staalsy got in the chair, spun it around and then saw Brody's tail in the air..so he pawed at it. Claws in, no hissing, no growling, just cooing. Brody is kinda tense about Staalsy since Brody is pretty small compared to The Staal Man.

Staalsy also kinda bonded with Taylor today. He went up to Taylor, sniffed his ear and then licked him the head and cooed. I think he was expressing his heartfelt love since Taylor has to have medicine in his ear. Taylor freaked out because he's not yet used to Staalsy. There wasn't any fighting or growling.

My plan is to take pictures with an actual camera and try to get some decent video of him being adorable. He's being pretty adorable right now as he's a frantic dreamer. He's chasing something and having some words with it. He's a fantastic little cat.

ADVENTURE!

Today has been an epic one for Staalsy.

I had my door open and he wandered out into the living room. Up until today, he'd not gone past the hallway on his own. He did so great. He went up to Parker and touched noses with him. Parker, however, is not so thrilled with Staalsy and hissed at him. Do you know what Staalsy did? Walked away. He honestly has no interest in fighting or hissing. I'm so proud of my boy.

He's discovered that he has a new favorite place to sleep:


If you look, you can see water on the bottom of his chin. He sticks his face into the water bowl to drink and usually gets it all over the place. He then tries to rub the water off all over me.

Here is a picture of him with a toy mouse on his head:


He kept that mouse on his head for a good seven minutes. He went to sleep with it on his head.

He is almost done with the first medicine he was on!

He is getting better and better with everything ever day. I'm so happy that he's making progress so fantasticly. When I have some money, I'm going to buy him a collar (I've picked choice B from the collar post) and then will get him a little ID tag.

Sorry this update is so short. I'm watching Conan and feeling a little sad. Conan O'Brien is one of my favorite people in the world and someone I have nothing but love/respect for.

So much progress!

Staalsy has made A LOT of progress in the last two days. He also made a huge mess in my room by knocking over my full cup of red koolaid. I turned my head for five seconds and blam; Koolaid EVERYWHERE!

I went to get his medicine last night and left my door open. When I returned, he'd left the room. I called for him and heard a meow from the spare room. This is where I found him:


He is leaving my room on his own. He's exploring and having adventures. He is the Flapjack to my Kunckles. ADVENTURE!
(cough)
He has also handled the other cats fantasticly. Brody was sitting in the hallway and Staalsy walked right up to him, sniffed noses and walked away. He didn't hiss or growl, he just went "eh" and walked away. He's making so much progress and it really makes me excited.

I was worried on Friday if this was going to work. Tipper hasn't been the nicest host thus far and constantly tries to start stuff. I'm still worried about it but Tipper is getting a bit better. In the back of my mind, I know that if it comes down to it and they don't get along there is a no kill shelter in the county that has a room of FIV+ cats that are beyond well taken care of. I hope, with all my heart, that it never comes to that. I honestly don't think it will but it is one of those things that I have to think about a lot.

In the meantime, Staalsy makes progress with his family...and we make progress with him.

Staalsy and his many medications.

Staalsy has discovered the many joys of being brushed. This is his "being brushed is pretty awesome" face. He purred the entire time and slept on my leg. If you stop brushing him, he pulls the brush towards his face and meows at you. He can be kinda demanding sometimes.

He is now on two different medicines. The new one is also a liquid and is bright yellow. It clearly tastes no better than the other based on the fact he makes the "OH MY GOD WHY" face. He takes it and the other one like a champ still. He's really good about having his eye cleaned out still. The next goal is to trim his claws a little because he gets them stuck in everything. He was stuck to my pillow the other night. His paws have pretty much healed.

Staalsy is starting to get curious about the other cats now. They've been touching noses without any hissing or growling. He doesn't seem to be interested in starting any sort of drama which is good. At most, he sniffs them and walks away to go back to bed. Progress is kinda awesome.

The vet said that it should really take about four weeks for him to really get used to everything and warm up to the rest of the house. I had to put him in my bathroom the other day so I could feed Skeeter (Skeeter is a drama queen when it comes to eating his dinner.) and the second Skeeter was done I opened the bathroom door. All the other cats were sitting in the hallway. Staalsy came out, looked at them and then promptly ran right back into my room.

I just want to take a few seconds to thank everyone for reading this little blog and supporting what I am doing. It means a lot to myself and to Staalsy. <3

Staalsy has been super laid back today so I figured it was time to talk about myself and the other cats that Staalsy will *hopefully* roam about the house with.

If you stumbled on this blog from a friend: Welcome. If you already know me, you can just skip over this part unless you enjoy reading about me that much.
My name is Sara. I'm 27 and I live in Virginia with my parents. I'm an artist, of sorts. I run my own little business where I make stuff out of polymer clay. My business is called "Mind Panda Charms" and it's two and a half years old.
I love animals (clearly), cartoons, music, nature, space, Conan O'Brien, and hockey. I laugh a lot, I break out into song constantly. I'm pretty 'leaf in the wind' and I don't eat chicken/pork/beef. I don't really digest things so great and the jury is still out on if that's Crohn's Disease or not.
I have the best friends and family anyone could ever ask for.

Staalsy is cat #10 in our house. He joins: Simba (female tabby) 15, Tipper (male gray tabby with white paws aka the favorite) 8, Taylor (male brother to Tipper, cream/tabby/blue eyes) 8, Skeeter (male Tipper's twin sans white paws with hooked tail) 8, O'Neill (male black & white fluff ball) 5, Brody (male tanish tabby) 4, Mokey (female fluffball-feral when i caught her) 4, Parker ( male gray) 3, and Apple (Parker's evil twit of a tabby sister) 4.
Skeeter is the only other cat in our house with any real medical issues. He's also the other personal favorite that I say I don't have. He was abused pretty badly as a kitten and has a tail that crooks over his back as a result of it. He's very clingy with me and on a special raw diet since it is easier for him to eat as he lacks all but his front teeth.
Tipper is his brother and pretty much the favorite. He is a big sweetheart and has a sweet tooth.
Taylor is just Taylor. He's insanely stupid, but also insanely sweet.
Simba is a cranky old lady that likes to eat and hates everyone.
O'Neill is the biggest failcat ever. He can't meow or jump, but he is also a sweetheart. He likes fruit like Tipper likes ice cream. He's also the only cat we have that came from a shelter. He is one of the two cats we currently own that we planned on. Simba being the other.
Brody is a terror if you ask anyone that isn't me. He's a momma's boy. He talks, he gets into trouble and he loves to play.
Parker is sweet. He likes to sleep under blankets. He also enjoys bathing his sister and then beating the tar out of her.
Apple is pure evil. She is also pure cuteness and knows that is the way to get out of trouble. She will seek out her brother and then attack him in his sleep. They keep us on our toes for sure.

This brings us to Mokey, my sweet little fraggle cat.
We'd been feeding a tomcat I named Wembley (who looked a lot like Staalsy) and the day after my mom brought home Brody, he shoed up with this little ball of fluff following behind him. Where he found her, we'll never know but he did. I spent three months trying to catch her. Wembley constantly tried to show her that I was OK but she was just too scared for some reason.
Finally on a cold december night shortly before the first snow of the season, I caught her.
We never saw Wembley again after that. It was his final mission to make sure she was taken care of.
Mokey, like Staalsy, makes progress everyday. She went from being a cat that lived under the bed to being a cat that comes into the living room to play with the others and I.

To be fair, there is also a fish that lives in my room with Staalsy and I. His name is Max and he is a drama queen betta fish. He's been upset over the past week that Skeeter hasn't been in here to stare at him. It's really rather comical.

So in closing: I'm Sara. I like stuff. I have many cats.
I'm an evil man. and I'm also emo. also into caaaaaaats.

*cough* Anyway, now you know a little more about myself and the other cats that will one day be roaming about with Staalsy...if he ever decides to leave my bedroom.

Staalsy picture spam!

Not a lot to report on. Staalsy has blood in his stool and so there will be a vet call/possible visit in the morning. He's been getting more and more at ease with everything. He 'helped' me make my bed and then work on charms. If hiding them under his tummy and then refusing to let me have them back counts as helping that is.

I'm torn between two collars for him. There's choice A: http://bit.ly/53Of1r and then choice B: http://bit.ly/4njLLw
Either way, he'll be rocking Canada love in honor of Jordan Staal. *Yes, I am that lame*

Staalsy is currently in a happy sleep world, chasing after something or other and speaking very sternly to it. I love this little cat so much it's unreal. Expect for when he sleeps by my head and has gas...that's not so great.

To make up for my lack of updates yesterday, enjoy these "Snuggle Staalsy" pictures:

Staalsy has been here a week now!

It has been a week since Staalsy showed up outside. It's amazing to think of how much he's already changed my life. He's pretty pimptastic, look at him.

I suck at sleeping. Ask my parents or friends or exboyfriends and they'll tell you the same: I really really fail at sleeping. It's a good thing because I've really not slept so much since taking in Staalsy. He lives in my room so he likes to wake me up sometimes to purr on my face and lick my nose as if to say "thanks for giving me a home" or "I am pretty sure I can see the a little piece of the bottom of my food bowl so you should get up and fix that".

I talked to the vet today about getting my other cats vacinated for FIV. They're going to have to order it since it's not something they normally keep in stalk. I'm seriously in love with the new vet, she's beyond awesome.

Not a whole lot else to report on. Staalsy is on TEAM CONAN, just in case you wondered if he had an opinion on it. He says Jimmy Fallon is ok sometimes and that he really wants to pee in Leno's shoes. He means it. Look at this face and tell me he's not serious:



We also watch the Penguins tonight. After Gonchar's 5 minute plenty, he was pretty much over it:

That's all for now. Take care everyone.

Staalsy discovered a way to get under the bed today.

Today Staalsy figured out how to get under my bed. We freaked out because we weren't sure if he was sick or if he was ok. He was under there for 6 or so hours and when he came out, he was perfectly fine. We had a serious heart to heart about scaring the crap out of me that ended in some kisses.

Not a whole lot to report today as he spent most of it being a twit. I do have an adorable picture of him:


Additionally I have a video of Staalsy and his beloved catnip. I took it with my phone so it's kinda meh, but you get the idea of how adorable he is:



Seeking out "Yesterday's News" cat litter is proving to be difficult, but his paws don't seem to be getting litter stuck to them like yesterday. I'll go to our local pet store tomorrow and check there. I thought about shredding up newspaper but apparently we have none.

A very relaxed day

Staalsy had a pretty chill day today. We put all the other cats in one room and let Staalsy explore the living room again. He ended up laying beside me while we watched the Penguins power over the Maple Leafs.

I left the living room to get something in the kitchen. Apparently this didn't go over well with Staalsy who sat right up and cried for me. My parents were sitting right beside him and said it was pretty amazing to see. He follows me wherever I go.

Tomorrow I'm going to buy special cat litter. Staalsy has sores on the bottom of his paws. I can only assume that it's from being outside in the cold for so long. I'm hoping that the antibiotics will also help with the sores as well.

All in all, he's making fantastic progress with the other cats and his eye is all but cleared up. He's getting more and more comfortable with everything around him.

Staalsy & his medicine

I went out of my room for 5 seconds & came back to see this:

I love his silly little face so much.

I came into my room with his bottle of medicine. He woke up, jumped off my bed and sat in front of me waiting for it. I am pretty sure my eyes popped out of my head. I can't decide if he knows it's going to make him feel better or if he knows he gets treats after the fact. Either way, he is so good about taking his medicine. He also lets me clean his eyes and ears without any fuss.

He explored the house a little more today. What that really means is that he followed me around the living room and laid down on the coffee table beside me. I went back into my room to check my email and he ran after me. He really doesn't care to be anywhere unless I am there.

Tomorrow is the first full day with everyone home. I can't believe it's already been 5 days.

One of my favorite pictures

This was taken on Staalsy's second night here. There was still some uncertainity if he would be staying or not at this point.

Not a whole lot is going on today. I'm sick so I've spent most of the day in bed. Staalsy has spent most of the day in the closet because sometimes you have to channel your inner R. Kelly.

I believe the medicine makes him sleepy. I'm also pretty sure he's never really felt safe in his life so he's sleeping as much as he can to make up for that fact.

It's weird. I keep thinking about how I just happened to look out the window when I did and what would've happened if I didn't. He would've just left and would've continued to starve.

I've been emailing back & forth with the SPCA regarding the found cat report and this is one of the things they said today:
This guy is lucky to have found you. Sounds like he's getting
better care than he did wherever he was before.

I think I'm just as lucky.

Catnip: The best thing ever?

So yesterday Staalsy discovered catnip. He's pretty much smitten with all the toys I've given him. Here are some seriously adorable pictures of Staalsy with his toys:


Playing makes him sleepy
Today has been a pretty good day for Staalsy. He got an actual litter box today which he promptly broke in. I've learned that he clearly hates the feeling of litter between his toes as he tries to perch himself on the box so only one foot is in it. It's fairly comical to watch.

I bought him a little cat tower. I'm pretty sure that I wasted my money since he has no interest in it so far. There is pretty much no point when he can just sleep on my bed.

His eye is clearing up super fast. He hates his medicine, but he takes it none the less. He gets treats after so I think he knows that he'll get rewarded for being a good boy.

He spent some time with Brody today. There was no hissing, no meowing, and most importantly, no fighting. They pretty much act is if the other isn't in the room. I was worried about how Brody would cope with the new addition but he's doing fantastic. All the cats are doing pretty well with it. It'll be a slow process, but it'll be worth it.

I thought I'd leave you with some facts about FIV:

1. The Feline Immuno-deficiency Virus is a slow virus that affects a cat's immune system over a period of years.

2. FIV is a cat-only disease and cannot be spread to humans or other non-felines.

3. FIV cats most often live long, healthy, and relatively normal lives with no symptoms at all.

4. FIV is not easily passed between cats. It cannot be spread casually - like in litter boxes, water and food bowls, or when snuggling and playing. It is rarely spread from a mother to her kittens.

5. The virus can be spread through blood transfusions, badly infected gums, or serious, penetrating bite wounds. (Bite wounds of this kind are extremely rare, except in free-roaming, unneutered tomcats.)

6. A neutered cat, in a home, is extremely unlikely to infect other cats, if properly introduced.

Staalsy is pretty good at hide and seek

I left my room to eat dinner & came back in. Staalsy was no where in sight.
I assumed he had gone under the bed.
I said 'Staalsy?' and got a "meow" in response.
Then I saw this:

I'll blog more about how he's done today & some of the adorable pictures from last night. The Penguins game is starting soon. Staalsy is excited.

Staalsy had a busy day.

Today was the day we offically decided to keep Staalsy. This meant a few things:

1. He would need to get familiar with the other cats
2. He would need to realize there is more to the house than my room.
3. That he has a home.

I'm more than certain he had the "i have a home" thing figured out the second he came into this house, but still having a home means having to get along with the others.

Today he met most of the other cats. I brought them into my room-one at a time at first but Skeeter ran in when Tipper did. All in all: it went pretty well. There was hissing, as to be expected, but no fighting. He pretty much hissed, meowed & went back to sleep. Everyone else carried on as if the other were not in the room.

We put all the other cats in the other two rooms and let him explore the living room/dining room/kitchen. He didn't want to leave my room at all to start so I picked him up & brought him out. He sniffed around until he found the toy basket.

Staalsy has discovered cat nip in a big way. The blur by his back feet is the little bag. He flung it around, purred on it, talked to it & licked it.

He came back into my room after that *with his new found bag of cat nip* and went to sleep.

He also started his anti-biotics today. It's a liquid & I was worried about how he would handle it. Staalsy, however, took his medicine like a professional. It smells horrible & I assume it tastes just as bad based on the amount of drool that came from him after. I feel really bad but he needs to have it.

I was working on a drawing so he came to 'help' me.


Staalsy is also a die hard Pens fan:He's had a busy day exploring, meeting new cats, finding new toys & getting new meds. He's currently passed out in his favorite spot.

We've only know him since Monday night & I already love him.

Meet Staalsy

On the night of January 4th, 2010 a little face appeared in the window. I opened the door to see if this cute little cat would run, instead he tried to come inside. I gave him some food/water and sat outside with him. He seemed torn between eating and getting love.
I noticed his eye was really runny & the gunk was starting to freeze up. At that moment, I chose to bring him inside.

I had no idea this decision would pretty much change my life & the life of my other cats.

I keep him in my room away from all the other cats just because I didn't know if he had anything. I set up a litter box, gave him more food/water & most important, snuggles. We thought he had to belong to someone since he was so friendly so the next day would be spent finding his family. I figured we couldn't just call him "cat" or "puss" in the meantime so I started calling him Staalsy.

Staalsy is named after Jordan Staal, #11, of the Pittsburgh Penguins. He's a strong cat that has clearly never given up & has an amazing heart. It's a fitting name.

Tuesday morning brought a mass amount of phone calls. I called our vet to see if anyone reported a missing cat. No one had & I was told that the SPCA was overcrowded at the moment but that I should call anyway.
I called the SPCA & filled a found cat report. They said I could bring him in if I wanted. I chose to keep him with us instead.

After talking to my mom, she told me to call our vet back & see if they would work with us about getting him checked out/tested. I recieved a less than stellar response regarding that.

At this time my best friend called & gave me the name of her new vet. I called them & they were more than willing to work with us. At that point, I booked an appointment & we set off on a journey to Andersonville, VA.

The Staff at the Andersonville Animal Clinic are simply fantastic. This deserves to stand on it's own.

They took Staalsy back & had to sedate him to do bloodwork/give him his shots. While they had him out, we had him neutered as well.

I sat in the waiting room with my dad while we waited for news on Staalsy. The vet came out.
Staalsy was negitive for worms and FeLV (Feline Leukemia). It was then came the words I didn't expect to hear: He was positive for FIV. Staalsy had AIDS.

We left the vet with Staalsy, still heavily sedated, and heavy hearts. We didn't know what to do from this point forward. We'd become extremely smitten with him in a day & couldn't bear the thought of putting down an otherwise healthy cat. At the same time, we didn't know what this would do to our other cats.

After much researching, talking to the new vet again, and then talking to a family friend who knows what it's like we reached a decision:
Staalsy would be staying.

At the moment, I'm introducing him to two of my cats. They're not being buddy buddy, but they're not fighting at all. They're simply just coexsiting & finding harmony in their own ways.

I do not know what adventures life holds for Staalsy & I. I just know that the fight is going to be worth it.