Merlin's 9th Gotcha Day!

Hello everyone!  Merlin here!  Today is my 9th Gotcha Day!  It's a very special day, because back in February when I was diagnosed with large cell lymphoma and given 1-3 months to live, we could have never imagined I would be here to celebrate my Gotcha Day with my family and all my friends!

I joined my family on December 22nd, 2007, at about 14 weeks old.  Here are a couple of photos of my first day with my new family:

I was in a nice, large room, and Dragonheart and I were kept separate for the first few days.  As you can see, there was a door with a window in it between us, and Dragonheart was quite interested in who I was!

Now I'm a fully grown man cat, and although I have lymphoma, I am continuing to do well!

I am so happy to have made it to my 9th Gotcha Day!  We have no idea how much longer I have, but we are enjoying all the days we have together.  I am very thankful for all my friends who are purring, praying, purring their paws together, and sending positive thoughts my way.  Your love and support means so much to me and to my mom and dad.

It has been a wonderful 9 years with my family so far.  I have had many adventures with my brother Dragonheart, and we have lived in many different places together.  We had my sister Arwen for far too short a time, but I loved her too.  Then when we rescued Devi, I grew to love her as well.

Despite the fact that it is the holiday season for many, we are holding a comment-a-thon for the OVC Pet Trust.  For every comment left on this post between now and Christmas morning at 6am EST, we will donate 50 cents to the OVC Pet Trust, which is a Canadian fund dedicated to the health and well-being of companion animals.  They fund a variety of studies, and you can read more about them here.  It was at OVC that my biopsies were done, my cancer diagnosis was made, and I started my chemotherapy.  They also have a primary care clinic, and that's where I received my veterinary care for many years.  We are hoping that through the research at the Ontario Veterinary College they can find better treatments for feline cancers, and making even a cure someday!  That would be wonderful!

Thank you for taking the time during this busy time of year to visit with me and celebrate my 9th Gotcha Day.

Tortie Tuesday: Future Sister!

Hello everyone!  So a while back we told you that we might be getting a little sister in the future, and then a little while ago we posted a video of her as a newborn.  Back then you couldn't really tell that she's a tortie.

Well, we have some new photos of her to share.  You can now see the tortie pattern on her Sphynx skin.  She's a black tortie, which is why when she was a newborn it was hard to tell that she had a tortoiseshell pattern!

Our mom and dad think she is absolutely adorable.  We have to admit, at this stage, she is pretty cute.

Tentatively, she will be named "Chloe" after the character in "Smallville."  Our mom and dad are huge comic book geeks.

If all goes well, this little tortie will be joining us in March, when she's around 16 weeks old.  That gives her plenty of time to grow and allows her to be spayed and recover from her spaying before she joins our family.