Oliver Swarr: A Tribute

We were actually hesitant to get another cat, but we talked it over and decided that Arty needed a friend. We went to the local shelter and I started to look around at the cats. Maribeth walked in the room and within 5 minutes had a tiger striped cat out of its cage and in her arms. It was the fastest bonding I had ever seen between an animal and a human. We found our Swarr.

We got him home and naturally he was hesitant of his new surroundings, but by the evening he was sitting on the couch with a little Declan hovering inches from his face. They exchanged sniffs and kisses and then whack. Declan hit him on the head with a Gameboy and under the couch he went for almost the rest of the night. If my memory serves me, I actually think he slept on our bed the first night and just about every night since.

He was fantastic. An instant part of the family. His bond to Maribeth was very strong and very visible. He wouldn't ever let me hold him for more than 6 seconds and he rarely slept on my side of the bed. When she had a bad day he would follow her and love her just the right amount. He was always there to greet her (and I) and never missed an opportunity to make it known that he was hers.

His patience with Declan was outstanding. He let Declan poke and prod. Explore and tug. Tickle and snuggle. And all the while he was happy. He would intervene with Declan at just the right times to get him to relax or help him do what we were asking. It was almost creepy, but he truly did.

Oliver was one of those cats that comes along once in a lifetime. He was an extremely loving cat who would always curl up on your lap. He would follow you around, but never get underfoot. He would nuzzle with you when it was needed and keep his distance when the time was right.

Although he was only living in this house for about a year and a half, he has more than earned the right to be a lifetime member of the family. He helped make this house a home and he will be sorely missed. And although (I'm sure) many other pets will grace the halls of this house, he will be the one to whom we will compare them all.

So to you, Oliver, we say, "Thank you. Thank you for coming into our lives and our hearts. You will always be with us."

-Your family

Arty's Test Results...

Ok...as all of you know, Oliver had Feline Leukemia. Feline Leukemia is very contagious and is transmitted mostly through saliva. Just for learning purposes, I'll break this down as simple as possible: Once the virus enters the body, it travels to the nearest lymph node. It uses that lymph node to replicate itself to the point where it enters the blood stream. If the immune gets defeated it then infects the rest of the lymph nodes and replicates itself on such a scale that it ends up killing the cat (or becoming semi-dormant yet embedding itself in the bone marrow, blah blah blah).

So given the fact that Oliver had it and he and Artemus played together and shared the same food/water dishes, we've been hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst. Maribeth took Arty into the vet today to get him tested. As always he acted like the spawn of the darkest Hellcat. They took what they needed for testing and gave him a quick once over. Except for fleas, everything else seemed in order. Then it was back in the crate, devil-cat.

Now as most of you know, Arty is "my" cat, so I was extremely anxious for the results. After losing Oliver, losing Arty would have been equally, if not more painful. So I called Maribeth to see if she had heard anything and she had not. So I called....I spoke with the vet tech.

Artemus' test results: Negative. >sigh< Joy of joys.

That was very unexpected, but well needed news after losing Oliver. I asked about us getting him retested after 3 months or so and she said there is no need. If he was that exposed to Oliver and he didn't get it before now, he won't get it. So no worries.

The only thing we can think is that Oliver had it before we got him and it just chose to resurface when and how it did and he just couldn't fight it. On the other hand, we got Arty as a kitten and he had all of his shots, etc.

So here's to you Arty. Good job.



Up next: Oliver's Tribute post.

Find upon finds!

So I've been perusing Google's patent search engine as of late and I usually come across some really cool stuff. The patent forms are very interesting to me because they not only have to contain a full description of the invention, but also a picture. I've also been fairly disappointed because it seems that every good idea I have, some schmuck thought of it, patented it, and is now squatting on the patent and not marketing their product/invention. Ah well.

I've actually found the patent for for a baby brain cooling device and also the patent for for the push pin. However, today (10 minutes ago, actually), I came across the absolute coolest patent form I have ever witnessed. It's for a toy gun which is convertible into a robotic humanoid form.

Yup. You guessed it. I found the patent for Megatron...





UPDATE: There is actually a whole SLEW of Transformers patents. That zany Takara.

Change of mood

It's been a very sobering week. It is strange to not see Oliver around the house as we used to. It's a definite change. It's different. But different is a part of this world and so is change. I'm working on a nice tribute page for Oliver...to celebrate the joy and friendship he brought to out home rather than just mourn his loss. So be patient.

But for now we'd like to lift up the mood of this blog by talking about something stress free and relaxing: the holidays. I know, I know. I was just kidding. The holiday season is one of the most stressful and non-relaxing times of the year. But you have to admit, it's a fun stress.

First is the spooky Halloween holiday. Halloween's origins are actually not very well known to most. If you have time, go here and read about it. As far as costumes go, I think we've narrowed it down to two options so far for lil man. I know I need to come up with a costume as we're having a work party again this year, so the only one with no costume is Maribeth, unless we have a party to go to. Any ideas?

The next one on the list is Thanksgiving. We all (I assume) know the origins of Thanksgiving, but if not, here you go. Declan is already talking about this one. All he needed to know is that Uncle Gabe and Aunt Karla are coming to visit and all of a sudden he's asking "When are Uncle Gabe and Aunt Karla coming to give us thanks?" ...every day. It's going to be a long wait until Turkey Day. I love the innocence in him how he broke down that word to think that on that day we all give each other "thanks" (as presents).

And lastly, is Christmas...I'm not even getting started on that one....all I have to say is this, this, this and last but not least...this. I am excited...for all but the last one. That was just weird.

So...let's all jump into the holiday season head first and have some fun!!

p.s. If my memory serves me correctly, I owe all of you a blog entry entitled, "Santa Nuts" this year.