In Which Colby Pretends to Be Artificial

You know those fake cats that are curled up in a sleep position and have electronics in them so they "breathe" slowly and have fur that's supposed to feel like cats' fur?

I think they are really creepy.

I really hate it when Colby sleeps like this! And he does it a lot.

In Which Thimble Reclines Regally

I like the way the light
is shining on him ...

In Which Thimble Is Startled By a Sneeze

This is what happens when you sneeze unexpectedly while Thimble was fishing for food.

You see, he likes to put a giant paw in, grab a food kernel, and scoop it out onto the floor before eating it. I don't know exactly where he got the idea, but I think it may have been from watching Colby have such fun with the treat balls and not being allowed to play with the treat balls. (Colby took over the first one I got. So I got another one. That one became Colby's exclusive toy as well. I gave up.) The treat balls roll around (when pushed by kitty paws) and occasionally drop a piece of food on the floor. I think this is Thimble's version of a the treat ball dispensing a food piece on the floor.

He was right in the middle of scooping up a food bit when I sneezed. I had my back turned, so I didn't see him flip the bowl, but when I turned around, there he was, a bit astonished but quite pleased at the result. (He was cleaning up very nicely after himself even before I helped.)

Luckily this did not teach him how to flip the bowl on purpose, since he hasn't done it since.

These Are Not The Allergies You Were Looking For

I got allergy tested today. Took all morning, from 8 to noon. For those of you who don't know about allergy testing, this is what they do:

They use a sharpie and draw on your back, little marks with numbers for every fifth one. That's just to save time, instead of numbering every one. Then they bring in trays of these things that each look like a grouping of needles, maybe 4x4, I didn't count, embedded in a plastic handle. The ends of the needles have been dipped in an allergen, one for each of the marks on your back. They take these by the handles and stab you in the back with each one. Because there are multiple needles, it doesn't really hurt all that much for each ... but by the last time you're wondering why you did this.

Now you have to stop taking your antihistamines a week before. It's actually a specific number of days for each specific drug. I got two of mine mixed up, plus I couldn't stop taking one (for other reasons). So they did a control, which was a needle set with straightup histamine on it, not an allergen type (like "oak pollen").

Oh boy, did that one ever react. Got a nice red blotch about an inch square for it.

But the astonishing result for the rest of my back? No reactions. None. According to my back, I wasn't allergic to anything they'd tested for. (We'd skipped the food I knew I was allergic too, as I can simply avoid eating that. Now I'm curious as to if they would have reacted or not.) Apparently, I have grown out of my allergies.

Well, not quite, actually. You see, if your back doesn't react, but you know from your daily life that you're allergic to something, you can step up the dose they give you and see if you react to that. The first time I had allergy testing I reacted to many of the things, but not the lowest dose of the cat allergen. I reacted to the more concentrated dose.

The nurse asked if I wanted to go up to the next level, and on what, and that is what we did. They've run out of room on your back by now, so the next level gets done on your left arm. Since your upper arm doesn't have the space on it your back does, they start grouping the allergens. And you don't get the "nice" multiple needle stabs. No, this is an actual syringe with a tiny (she said) needle. That gets injected under your skin.

That hurts.

Two of those reacted. Ah ha, you say, the cat allergy, right? Nope. Two types of dust mites. The cat allergy one didn't react at all. This is very strange, very strange indeed. I was completely baffled.

So there is a third, even more concentrated level they can go to. This one uses your right arm, and is the syringe needles just like the left arm version. We did that, because, well, I was there, I was going to exceed my deductible anyway, and now I was curious and very puzzled. Allergy to dust mites does not explain the sudden increase in symptoms this year.

Two more spots reacted. That's the cat allergy one, right? Um, no. Even the third most concentrated level of the cat allergen did not react.

So that's the astonishing, good news out of this. I'm not allergic to cats. At all. Not anymore. Whoo hoo! (When I got home, I startled Thimble by rubbing my nose in his fur and taking deep sniffs of his neck fur, which is something I've always loved to do but had stopped doing because of the allergies. Thimble reached up one huge paw and placed it on my forehead and pushed me away, giving me this look of "what are you doing, mama?")

But here comes the bad news. Those final two spots were mold allergen groups. One of them includes the mold that grows in books. There is silence in the library. My library. Almost two thousand books. (The other group had the mold that is found in vinegar and pickles and some cheeses, which I already knew about.)

Well, I'm going to get allergy shots because I'm not getting rid of, or replacing electronically, all my books. I'm also going to see what books I can bear to part with, in order to at least reduce the number in the house.

And that explains the increase in allergies as the cats increased in size. At the same time, we were heading into a warm, humid summer, and both heat and water increase mold growth. (So hopefully in the winter I will have fewer allergy problems in the house.)

Also, I was tested for asthma and my lungs are just fine. It's the passage from my nose to my throat that's the problem. It's apparently actually narrowed from the congestion.

But hey. I'm not allergic to my cats. Hallelujah!

In Which Colby Sleeps Under the Curtain

At first it was just Colby feet and a tail

But then he noticed me noticing him.

In Which Colby Is Hiding

Colby thinks he is hidden. He slept here for quite a while!

Allergies Ahoy; Woe Is Me

Three's the perfect number,

We all agree,

Colby, Apricot, Thimble and me.

Only my allergies disagree. 

the perfect three

Yup. I have cat allergies. I actually forgot, since they aren't bad and with just one cat, I never noticed them. Even with three cats I didn't notice, until two of those cats got considerably bigger--thus more fur, thus more washing, thus more of the protein in their saliva that we're actually allergic to as humans in the air of the house.

So, what with the pollen count outside being through the roof, and the cat allergies inside, I have been exhausted and barely functioning. Thus the lack of posts.

The cats have noticed. Apricot and Colby are concerned that this lessening of attention I have for them is somehow their fault, and want me to reassure them that they are okay and are good boys.

Thimble, on the other hand, is quite the confident fellow. He feels sure that no one could ever dislike him in the slightest, no matter what he does (including jump on the kitchen counter while I'm standing right there, and he knows he's not supposed to). So Thimble is not looking for reassurance.

Thimble, bless his sweet heart, is trying to reassure me. He knows I'm feeling down and unhappy because of it, and he wants to cheer me up. So he has been randomly bringing me his toys. He doesn't want to play fetch. That would be bringing a toy to me for him. He's bringing these toys for me.

Every few days he'll show up where I'm sitting (or lying down) on the settee, a soft plush toy in his mouth. Somehow he knows I like stuffed animal toys the best. He brought me his pink mouse all the way from the other end of the house the other day.

And honestly, even Apricot and Colby wanting reassured is helpful, too, because it lets me know they still love me despite my inactivity.

I'm just so tired. This week is going to be even worse. My allergy testing appointment is next Monday, and I'm not allowed to use antihistamines from yesterday till then. Since I made this appointment due to the antihistamines no longer taking care of all the allergies ... let's just say it's kinda hard to breathe. I sit around a lot. Which is not so much fun for two active kittens.

But at least the HEPA air filters I got (ow, the expense!) are helping me breathe at all.

And my concerned kitties are helping me deal with the anxiety of having difficulty breathing. So it's all good. Or will be, eventually.

In Which We Have Two Boats

They have both lost their feet
and are ready to go floating
down a river somewhere.

In Which They Did Something

I have no idea what they did
but they sure look guilty about something!

In Which Everyone's Just Hanging Out Together

One Sunday. I like it when they're all being sweet together.