Chat Aux Sphynx

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Thursday Thirteen: Things We Do Together

#52 - 13 Things We Do Together

(Click any photo below to view a larger image)

1. Cuddle

2. Play

3. Groom

4. Sleep

5. Wrestle

6. Drink from our water fountain

7. Curl up in a sleeping bag

8. Burrow under the covers

9. Curl up in mom's lap

10. Get comfy on dad's lap

11. Chase each other throughout the house

12. Sleep next to our humans in bed at night

13. Blog and visit our friend's blogs

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Wordless & Meezer Rule Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday: Cozy

Meezer Rule Wednesday

When your humans have the windows open (because they are running on the moving sidewalk that goes nowhere, or for some other reason) don't be afraid to leech warmth from your brother! Big brothers tend to be even warmer than fleece blankets for curling up with!

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Cats on Tuesday: Wrestling Fun

Brothers are fun to cuddle with, as we've demonstrated in many photos, but they are also lots of fun to wrestle with! Here are some photos of us enjoying a wrestling session together. :) Don't worry, we've never hurt each other, and we enjoy our wrestling sessions!

Attack!

Gotcha!

Watch the face!

(Click any photo to view a larger image)

Monday, January 14, 2008

Meezer & Mancat Monday

When our humans are out running, it's nice to have a brother to curl up with. They were running for over two hours yesterday, so it was nice having company while they were gone!

Dragonheart: I really like grooming Merlin, especially his ears! I'm 100% back to normal after my health scare a week and a half ago, and it's great having a little brother to curl up with and play with!

Merlin: Dragonheart is lots of fun to curl up with and play with. He's a great wrestler! He's a little too obsessed with grooming me, though, especially my ears. I guess he thinks I don't do a good enough job grooming myself, and our humans don't do a good job bathing me and cleaning my ears.

In regards to our differences post that we made on Thursday, most of the differences are due to personality, and not due to age. Merlin squirms a lot more than Dragonheart did at Merlin's age. Right from the start, Dragonheart never squirmed when being bathed, having his nails trimmed, or having his ears cleaned, unless it started taking too long. He's always been a "good boy" at the vet, sitting quietly and letting the vet do whatever is necessary (except when having his temperature taken - he's squirmed at that). Merlin, on the other hand, is always squirming. Trimming his claws, cleaning his ears, and giving him a bath is a lot more challenging, because he won't stay still and is always moving!

As for the fact that we've become such good friends so quickly, part of it is due to the fact that we are Sphynx. Sphynx are very friendly, social cats, and we love attention! Generally, Sphynx prefer human companionship - we love being around people and meeting new people. When it is time to relax, our favourite place to curl up is in a human lap. When a human isn't available, however, another Sphynx is the next best thing! We are both very friendly cats, so we've become fast friends and inseparable.

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Easy Like Sunday Morning

Sunday is a great day to spend cuddled in a sleeping bag with your brother.

(Click to view a larger image. Credits for the scrapbook layout can be found here.)

Thanks to everyone who has presented us with awards recently. We are horribly behind on posting about them and passing them along to others. We hope to have them assembled later this week!

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Go Home Annie & Mao!

(Please scroll down for our Photo Hunters post for today.)

Mao and Annie, we are purring and praying hard for each of you to make your way to your respective homes safely and quickly. Please go home!

Photo Hunt: Skinny

Skinny

We both love to play with this skinny butterfly wand toy. Since it is on a very skinny wire, we play with it under supervision only, with our humans holding the other end of the wand toy.

Dragonheart playing with the butterfly toy

(Click either photo to view a larger version)

Friday, January 11, 2008

Twice the Frootbats on Friday

As mentioned yesterday, our ears are very different. They are both frootbat ears, but Merlin's are essentially naked, whereas Dragonheart's have fur on them. In addition, Dragonheart's have become quite fuzzy in recent months - this is a new development. We aren't sure if it's due to the fact that it's now winter, or due to the fact that he is getting older (18 months). We'll see come spring if it sticks around!

Dragonheart's Ears:

Merlin's Ears:

The CFA Sphynx breed standard states:

EARS: large to very large. Broad at the base, open and upright. When viewed from the front, the outer base of the ear should begin at the level of the eye, neither low set nor on top of the head. The interior of the ears is naturally without furnishing.

COAT/SKIN: the appearance of this cat is one of hairlessness. Short, fine hair may be present on the feet, outer edges of the ears, the tail, and the scrotum. The bridge of the nose should be normally coated. The remainder of the body can range from completely hairless to a covering of soft peach-like fuzz whose length does not interfere with the appearance of hairlessness. This coat/skin texture creates a feeling of resistance when stroking the cat. Wrinkled skin is desirable, particularly around the muzzle, between the ears, and around the shoulders. There are usually no whiskers but if whiskers are present they are short and sparse.

One of Dragonheart's Ears:

One of Merlin's Ears:

(Click any photo to view a larger image)

So, as you can see from the breed standard, Sphynx are not totally hairless. In accordance with the breed standard, we both have normal fur on the bridge of our nose, and short, fine hair on our tails. Neither of us has hair on our feet, and Merlin has a bit of hair on his scrotum. The ears are the big difference, in terms of the amount of fur present. Dragonheart has quite a lot, as you can see in the photos, whereas Merlin essentially has none.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Thursday Thirteen: Our Similarities and Differences

Both of us, Dragonheart and Merlin, are Sphynx, and so we share many of the typical Sphynx characteristics. Of course, we are also individuals, each with our own unique personality. So for today, we thought we should share our similarities and differences with you.

#51 - Our Similarities and Differences

Like most Sphynx, we both LOVE to cuddle. We love curling up in a human lap, or with each other.
We both LOVE to purr. However, Merlin purrs at the slightest touch, or even when you just approach him. Dragonheart purrs easily, but you do have to earn his purrs, with pets, head rubs, or chin scritches.
Speaking of head rubs, Dragonheart loves having his head rubbed, Merlin doesn't. We both love being pet, however.
We both love to sleep under the covers, next to one of our humans, at night.
Merlin is very squirmy; Dragonheart isn't. Although neither of us enjoys their weekly baths, or likes having our ears cleaned or our claws trimmed, Dragonheart will at least sit quietly and endure, whereas Merlin is constantly squirming while being taken care of. The same thing happens at the vet. Dragonheart will sit quietly and be a "good boy" whereas Merlin squirms.
Like most Sphynx, both of us LOVE playing. We especially love wand toys and trackballs. Merlin will play with anything, though, while Dragonheart is more discriminating.
Merlin likes to get into the garbage, and fish things out of the garbage to play with. Dragonheart generally leaves the garbage alone.
Most Sphynx have a little bit of fur on their ears. Merlin, however, has naked ears! He only has a little bit of extremely short fur around the edges. (No, it's not from Dragonheart cleaning them - his ears were naked to start, and Dragonheart licks them on the inside, not the outside.) Dragonheart has fur on his ears, and he has even developed a line of "fluff" where the fur ends. We aren't sure whether the fluff is there because it's winter, or because Dragonheart is getting older (18 months) but we'll see when spring arrives! You can see the difference in our ears on the photos to the right. Merlin's ears are the photo just above; Dragonheart's are the ones to the right.
We don't like to be apart. When we are placed in separate rooms, we stand at the door and meow.
Merlin likes having his tummy rubbed, Dragonheart doesn't. Merlin's umbilicus (a cat's "belly button" essentially) is a lot less noticeable than Dragonheart's.
We both love our water fountain, however, Dragonheart drinks from the top, where the water comes out, but Merlin drinks from the bowl.
Sphynx have a fast metabolism that helps to keep us warm. Because of that fast metabolism, we burn a lot of calories, and so we both like to eat. Since Merlin is a growing kitten, he eats more.
Merlin likes to eat more human foods than Dragonheart. The only human foods Dragonheart likes are salmon and tuna. Merlin likes those, along with animal crackers and yogourt.

BONUS: Of course, there are all the physical differences between us too. Dragonheart is a black and white tuxedo Sphynx, with green eyes. Merlin is a seal point and white Sphynx with blue eyes. Dragonheart is about twice Merlin's size, since he is almost full grown (18 months), whereas Merlin is still a growing kitten (17 weeks). But we are both very loving, friendly, active, cuddle bugs, very typical and excellent examples of the Sphynx breed (if we do say so ourselves!)

Today is Miss Peach's Birthday! We would like to wish her a very Happy Birthday! Alles Gute zum Geburtstag! We hope you have a wonderful day, filled with joy and love, Miss Peach. :)

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Wordless Wednesday: Nice Catch!

(Click photo to view a larger image)

Meezer Rule Wednesday: Comfort is Important

Merlin: When you are comfortable on one of your humans, refuse to let them get up until you are ready to move.

Merlin comfortable on his human dad and Dragonheart next to him

(Click photo to view a larger image)

And, since I was at the vet yesterday for booster shots, a second rule for today: If you look cute and adorable at the vet, both the vet and your humans will forgive you for squirming when you receive your vaccinations and when the vet tries to listen to your heart.

As you can see, we have changed our blog template. Please let us know if you have any problems with it. We hope that some people who have had problems with our blog loading in the past will now be able to access it. Thanks!

Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Cats on Tuesday: Merlin's Meme

Merlin: Tripper; Pearl, Bert & Jake; and Artsy Catsy tagged Merlin for the 7 Random/Weird Things About Me Meme. So here are 7 Things about me, Merlin.

I LOVE to purr! I purr at the slightest touch! Sometimes I start to purr when someone (either Dragonheart or one of our humans) just gets close to me! Or when my humans are putting food on my plate.
I LOVE to play! My favourite toys include feather wands, squeaky mice, and trackballs. When I'm playing or running around, I frequently bounce up and down. I bounce onto things, and then back off.
I am a real cuddlebug, just like Dragonheart. I LOVE to cuddle. My favourite spot to cuddle is in one of my humans' laps. At night, I like to cuddle up next to one of the humans, or tucked into an armpit. When there isn't a human available, I love to cuddle with Dragonheart. The best cuddling of all is when both of us are in one of our humans' laps.
I am teething, so I love to chew on things. My humans have sprayed bitter apple on the various cords that are exposed, so that I don't hurt myself. I have a couple of teething toys that are good for chewing, plus cardboard boxes are good to chew, as are some of my other toys. My humans only keep "safe" toys out for me to play whenever I want to. Other toys are played with under supervision only.
I like to eat animal crackers! One of my humans holds an animal cracker out for me, and I nibble at it, a bit at a time.
I don't like being separated from Dragonheart. When he was sick, and I was confined to the kitten nursery, I would stand at the door and meow and whine. One of my humans had to stay in the nursery with me so that I wouldn't throw myself against the door.
Unlike most Sphynx, who have very short hair on their ears, my ears are totally naked, except right around the edges! Like all Sphynx, I have fur on the bridge of my nose. I also have a little bit of fur on my scrotum (goodie-sack) and some short, sparse hairs on my tail.

Merlin & Dragonheart's Mom: Thanks to everyone for the feeding suggestions yesterday. We've tried most of the suggestions. As we said yesterday, we've tried feeding them in separate rooms, but Merlin just throws himself against the door to the kitten nursery, and Dragonheart stands outside the kitten nursery and meows.= Putting them on either side of the door, but able to see each other, doesn't work, because they just stand at the door and meow. Putting Dragonheart up on a table or counter doesn't work - he just jumps down. Feeding them in the same room, but slightly separated doesn't work, because they just switch spots, and eat the wrong food, no matter how hard we try to herd them to the correct food. You would think that if they are hungry, they'll eat the food that's in front of them, but so far that hasn't seemed to work. It's very sweet that the boys are already inseparable, but it sure makes feeding them a pain!

Monday, January 07, 2008

Meezer & Mancat Monday

Dragonheart:

Thanks again to everyone for their good wishes, prayers and purrs. They've worked, along with the great care I've received from my vets and my mom and dad! I am almost back to normal - I'm just a little less active than I normally am. Merlin and I are playing and sleeping together again, which makes us both very happy. The crazy little fellow started throwing himself against the door to the kitten nursery when he was in there alone! (He was fine if one of our humans was in there with him.) Kittens! They are crazy!

Our humans are also having problems feeding us our separate foods. Merlin needs kitten food because he is still growing, and I need to eat my prescription vishus deer food because of my food allergies, and it's no good for kittens. Once Merlin is grown, we'll both eat my food, but for now, we need to eat separate foods. The problem is, even though I wake my dad up for breakfast, and he goes downstairs and feeds me, and then puts Merlin in the kitten nursery and feeds him, neither of us eats! We stand on either side of the door to the kitten nursery, meowing, and if Merlin is alone in there, he throws himself against the door! My mom has been frantically searching for a vishus deer (venison) food that kittens can eat as well, but although she's found some North American brands, she hasn't been able to find any that are available in Germany. Merlin goes to the vet tomorrow for his booster shots, so she's going to ask her what she recommends.

(Click either photo to view a larger image)

Merlin:

I am very happy to have my big brother back to play and to sleep with! He's a lot of fun, although he is obsessed with cleaning my ears, as shown here. I guess they must taste really good or something! As seen in the photos above, we both fit on our mom's lap, although it is a tight fit, and she's says we get heavy after a while. Dragonheart's the heavy one, though. He weighs 3.65 kilos (about 8 lbs). I hardly weigh anything at all! Anyhow, we both like to share either mom or dad's lap, curled up next to each other on either one of them.

Sunday, January 06, 2008

Easy Like Sunday Morning & Update

Dragonheart & Merlin: This is a scrapbook page our mom made of the two of us snuggling together. This photo was taken on New Year's Day, before Dragonheart became ill.

(Click to view a larger image. Credits for the scrapbook layout can be found here.)

Dragonheart: Update on me: Thank you everyone for your positive thoughts, your purrs and your prayers. We all greatly appreciate them. I am doing much better. My temperature is back to normal, I am eating, drinking, using the litterbox, running around, and playing a little bit. I am very happy to have the IV port out of my arm. It didn't bother me too much, but it was a little odd having it there. Every so often, I would try to shake it off. The vet had a bit of a challenge taking it off, since the tape adhered really well to my Sphynx skin! I am taking my antibiotics like a good boy. The two nice lady vets at the vet practice, the various veterinary technicians, and my humans have all taken very good care of me. The vet told us that with fevers as high as I had, things can go downhill very quickly, so they are all very happy that I improved so quickly and am doing so well. She thinks that I probably picked up an infection that Merlin brought with him, but that didn't affect him. Whatever it was, I'm just glad I'm doing better. Thanks again for all your good thoughts, prayers and purrs.

Saturday, January 05, 2008

Photo Hunters: Delicious

Delicious

For some reason, Dragonheart seems to find Merlin's ears delicious!

(Click photo to view a larger image)

Update on Dragonheart: Dragonheart is doing much better. He took his antibiotic yesterday without any fuss. We were back at the vet this morning for IV fluids, and everything went well. His took his fluids without any fuss, and his temperature seems to be back to normal. The vet removed the IV feed today, so hopefully that will be the end of it. Dragonheart's blood work came back normal, except for slightly elevated leukocytes (white blood cells) which indicate his body is fighting off some sort of infection. But everything else was normal.

Dragonheart is a little quieter than normal now, but is eating, drinking, and using the litterbox, and even playing a little bit. So hopefully he is on the mend. We do have three more days of antibiotics to give him.

Thanks to all of you for your good thoughts, purrs and prayers. We all greatly appreciate them.

Friday, January 04, 2008

Vet Trip

Merlin and Dragonheart's Mom here.

Yesterday, Dragonheart wasn't acting like himself. To start, he didn't wake my husband up for breakfast as usual, but since he had eaten a lot the previous day, we thought that maybe he just wasn't hungry yet. Then he seemed very lethargic throughout the day, and didn't eat or drink anything, and just lay curled up under the covers, sleeping all day. He also felt very warm to the touch. We couldn't even tempt him with treats. Even Temptations didn't work - we gave him a bunch, but he only ate two.

Our vet is open from 9:30 to 12:00 and then again from 16:00 to 19:00. It was after noon when we noticed that he was really warm, and hadn't been acting like himself all day (he had no interest in checking out Merlin, or in playing at all), and so we brought him to the vet right when they opened at 16:00.

They took Dragonheart's temperature, and it was 40.5°C, which is very high for a cat. Once you get over 41°C, tissues start to be damaged. So they wanted to get his fever down quickly. They gave him IV fluids and antibiotics, and gave him a separate shot to bring the fever down. We sat with him for a long while at the vet's while the IV fluids were being administered. Being a Sphynx, at least they didn't have to shave his leg to insert the IV! They also took some blood to be tested.

The shot that they gave him to bring the fever down worked like a charm! An hour and a half after we brought him back home, he was eating and drinking normally, and even playing a bit! His temperature also seemed to be close to normal.

Merlin and Dragonheart do not like being separated, and both were meowing on either side of the door to the kitten nursery last night. I slept with Merlin in the kitten nursery, while my husband slept with Dragonheart.

This morning Dragonheart was still doing better, but wasn't as active, and he felt a little warm. We brought him back to the vet, where he received more IV fluids. His temperature was a little elevated, but not too bad. He is very good when receiving the fluids, although he doesn't like having his temperature taken. I don't blame him - I wouldn't like having my temperature taken rectally either!

We bring him back to the vet tomorrow morning, for more IV fluids, and we have antibiotics to give him for the next week. The vet isn't quite sure what is causing the fever, but they think it is just an acute infection of some kind. Perhaps Merlin brought something with him that isn't affecting him, but that infected Dragonheart.

Dragonheart is being really good about the IV feed that is stuck to his leg, and hasn't tried to pull it off, although he has tried to lick it a few times. Needless to say, we are worried about our little guy, and hope he feels better soon.

Thursday, January 03, 2008

Thursday Thirteen: Christmas Photos

#50 - 13 Christmas Photos

If you have trouble viewing the slideshow, you can view the individual photos here.

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Meezer Rule Wednesday

(Click photo to view a larger image)

Merlin: Always seek out a nice warm spot when you are having a nap. Burrowing under a fleece blanket is always a good idea, and curling up next to another cat, or a human, while under the fleece, is even better! Curling up next to your brother, in particular, seems to make the humans very happy, and will have them exclaiming how cute and sweet the both of you are!