Category Archives: Cats

Books, Music and More

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Getting to know Samantha has been not only entertaining but also very enlightening.  It turns out that Samantha and I have quite a bit in common:

Samantha the Bookworm.  Although I tend to be drawn to historical fiction and memoir, with my most recent favorite good read, The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes, Samantha sticks to books that contain the word “cat” in the title, with her favorite being Men & Cats by Marie-Eva Gatuingt.

Music.  Who knew that Samantha would be into music? I now get a helping paw when picking out CDs. In the below photo she selected a CD by the Rolling Stones, Forty Licks.  After that we played Live at Blues Alley by Eva Cassidy (one of my favorite female vocalists—you must hear her arrangement of “Over the Rainbow”), which includes a sassy rendition of “Stormy Monday.” Some of Samantha’s favorite musical talents include Cat Stevens, The Pussycat Dolls, and The Animals, and her eyes light up when she hears Tom Jones belting out “What’s New Pussycat?”.

Yoga Kitty.  Samantha amazes me with her flexibility and determination to hold an asana (yoga pose).  And when I roll out the yoga mat she is right there with me watching my every move.  When I’m in downward dog pose, Samantha reclines underneath me, forcing me to hold the pose as long as possible.  And although she does a mean downward dog herself, I think her favorite pose is shavasana (a relaxing, meditative pose at the end of a yoga session).

Asana entitled: Spiralled Head to Knee

Shavasana

Cat Dancing.  When I dance around the house, Samantha prances along with me. She even has ballet in her genes like Cat Lady, often standing in a perfect first position, and becomes mesmerized with the ballet steps I can still execute, especially pas de chat (cat’s step).

Vintage Furniture.  Besides the bookcase, Samantha has a thing for the vintage chair where she spends hours on and under this lovely piece.

Samantha is purrrfect for me in a different way from Bobcat, Lexington, or any other of my beloved cats. We are both starting new chapters of our lives together.  We’re both recovering from surgery and helping each other heal from recent trauma; for me—a life threatening disease and for her, negligence by her former owner (I will not dignify that woman by calling her a cat mom).

I look forward to our growing bond, our respective transformations, and to seeing where our lives together will lead us.

Cat Lady’s Last Chemo

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On Friday, April 16th, I spent my last day in the infusion lounge at Hoag Hospital receiving my final chemo treatment.  Getting chemo isn’t uncomfortable or painful; it’s the knowing of the week-long (sometimes longer) side effects that lie ahead that I always dread, even with the final round.  But this time knowing that a sweet spirited kitty would be awaiting me at the cottage helped to quell my anxiety.

Chemo side effects kick-in two days after all of the long acting premeds given before chemo subside.  So when I get home from a chemo treatment, I feel peaceful and relaxed from the Benadryl buzz, and when that wears off by Saturday, I’m left with the lingering energizing effects from the steroid.  Last Saturday after my final chemo, my kitten-like energy rivaled Samantha’s as we played “get-the-mousey,” “toss-the-pom-poms,” and hide-and-go-seek throughout the day.  I asked Alexa to play some Sly and the Family Stone and danced my booty off as Samantha watched, saucer-eyed and intrigued with my movements until she joined in by prancing alongside me (no kidding).  I organized my closet, vacuumed, did laundry, washed dishes, watered my garden then finally slowed down about sunset (oh to have that kind of energy everyday!). I got through Sunday with only mild nausea.

By Monday morning, intense nausea awoke me and by Tuesday, nausea was followed by fatigue, muscle aches and weakness, and thrush.  Before my first chemo the nurse told me that chemo side effects feel like having the flu—excuse me—you mean the flu on steroids.  Even the muscles in my feet became weak and achy.

For the remainder of the week I remained sofa-bound with the exception of random bouts of playtime with Samantha.  As I would recline back on the sofa, completely worn out after playing get-the-mousey for five minutes, Samantha belted out sorrowful meows, begging for just one more round…

I awoke today almost side effect free, feeling somewhat celebratory in my chemotherapy treatment accomplishment.  I’ve been called a warrior and have been praised for my perceived strength. But coping with cancer and chemo has been so debilitating that most of the time I’ve felt small and meek.  I’ve just been riding out the storm, doing what I have to do until the clouds break and the rays of sunshine clear the darkness. I can see those rays now.  I can feel them energize my spirit and reposition my outlook to better see the approaching end of this “long strange trip” I’ve been on.

I start radiation treatments in a few weeks, and will say that I’m anxious about it.  I will be facing more side effects, but as I’m told, they are not as harsh as chemo. I hope that’s my case and that my renewed spirit can maintain its newfound power throughout radiation.

My gratitude for the love, support and understanding of dear friends, family and my beloved Bobcat (RIP) is never ending.

Wendy and Cat Lady before Final Chemo…I’m gettin’ my guns back!

And now Samantha is here to help see me through the last leg of my journey.

Furlough Friday at The Cat Cafe

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When I announced to the cats that management mandated furlough days because of dismal first quarter projections, they both looked unimpressed. Upon hearing the news of my having to take mandatory days off from work without pay, Lex gave me a pensive stare as if trying to comprehend what that meant.

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Bobcat just languidly stretched a curled up leg out from under his chest onto the side of the sofa.

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Seriously, how could they possibly relate—everyday was a furlough day for them. They don’t quite understand how the whole work thing…works. Lucky for them I’m the one that puts the cat food on the table. At that, I was done feeling frustrated. Rather than yowl and hiss about the cut in pay, I looked at furlough days as much needed time off.

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My first furlough day, a Friday in January, started with a meeting at Zinc Café with a fellow Blue Bell Foundation volunteer to discuss the upcoming Cat’s Meow fundraiser and basic catch-up conversation. That led to errands around town then back home for a power walk along the beach.

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Cats don’t understand work, but they do understand routine and know that five days a week I leave the house in the morning and am gone all day. So I’m sure when the cats realized I was not dashing out the door at 8:00 a.m., they thought they’d have an extra day to hang out with me. Ha—I was barely home. And then just when the cats thought they would get to relax with me on the patio to watch the sunset, they instead watched as I touched up my lipstick, fluffed my hair and said, “Bye sweetie-pies! I’m off to happy meower at Catmosphere…!” as I grabbed the car keys.

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Move over dog park, a cat café has come to town!

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After walking into the chic cat-themed café, I was greeted with a big smile and hug by Catmosphere’s proprietor, Gail Landau. I sat down at the bar facing the window to the very well-appointed kitty lounge adjacent to the café where the adoptable cats live and are visited by guests looking to adopt (or not—some like me just want to play with the kitties). Gail took a break from her operation and visited with me while I sipped on a red blend.

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Nestled in downtown Laguna with its whimsical window décor and cool cat-in-sunglasses logo, Catmosphere makes even the non-cat person curious. Gail tells me that many people wander in because they want to find out what it’s all about—and end up being quite impressed. The first of its kind in Orange County, Catmosphere is the purrrfect business model for cat adoption. Cats live in a more enriching environment causing their personalities to shine because they’re relaxed and happy, rather than being in an unnatural and stressful caged environment while waiting to be adopted. This is much more conducive for the cats and their soon-to-be new family to get to know and bond with each other. I finished my wine and went into the lounge to get my fill of cat cuteness before heading home.

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My furlough day ended with lots of fur-babies by my side, including my own as I settled in for the night, content with earning currency of the kind you can’t put into the bank, but the kind that fills your heart.

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Since Catmosphere’s August 2018 opening, it’s found forever homes for forty of its feline fosters!  Congratulations!  For more information about Catmosphere visit catmospherelaguna.com