Trina's page of Blogginess

I'm very sad to report that we've lost another furry member of our family.

Claude was my parent's kitty. He passed away today after being diagnosed with ailing kidneys about a month ago. His health diminished quickly, and he had a rough last few weeks - he was on a special diet and needed to receive fluids via an IV. Sadly, he lost his appetite over the past couple of weeks, and wasn't sleeping well. My parents made the very difficult decision that his quality of life wasn't what it should be, and that it was time to let him go.

Claude was a very special cat.

Actually, as Dick once pointed out to me, he was the original "Cat Chow".

Claude was my very first cat. Dick and I adopted him from the San Francisco SPCA on May 7, 2000 - just over a week after his 3rd birthday. Dick was the one who chose Claude - he was quite taken by him when he saw him, and told me that Claude would be a great kitty to take home.

He was right.

This was before Dick and I had moved in together, so Claude moved in with me in my Condo. He was quite shy at first - he hid on top of the cabinets in my pantry, and under the armoire in my hallway for the first few days. He eventually came more comfortable in his new environment, and was a great furry companion.


Claude, about a week after he came to live with me in May, 2000.

By the time Dick and I moved in together in 2002, we asked my parents if they would adopt Claude. Dick already had Marcel and Noe living at his house, and we were afraid that Claude wouldn't be happy moving in as a third cat after he was so happy being an only cat. He had been to my parent's house to visit a few times at this point, and we all agreed that it would be best for him...

...and what a lucky cat he was!

I always teased my parents that Claude was the most happy (spoiled) cat ever. :)
He was so well loved, and so well taken care of. My parents had never had a cat before him, and they showered him with love and attention. He was so happy with them. I used to feel guilty for giving Claude away, but that went away as soon as I saw how happy he was with my parents, and how happy he made them, too.

Claude was one-of-a-kind. He was very dog-like in some of his mannerisms: he would follow my Mom wherever she went around the house, and he would always come to her when called. He would always run down the stairs to greet her when she came home (sometimes, he remembered to greet my Dad, too). ;) My Mom and Claude had a whole song and dance routine when it was time for his supper - they trained each other well. :)


Dad, Mom & Claude, Christmas, 2004

Claude had the softest coat of fur, and very long legs. We called him our Panther Cat. After he overcame his shyness in his earlier years with us, he later became a very outgoing and friendly cat to everyone he met. He loved car rides, and would even go with my Mom to visit my Grandma at her apartment. He loved walking around my parent's backyard on his harness, and especially loved to watch his birdie-friends from his sliding glass door.


Claude, sunning himself in the garden window

It was a good life. He was a very happy cat.

We will miss you, Claude. Thank you for all of the love and joy that you brought to our family.

Labels: kitties, pets

Crissy!

My sister's pet cockatiel, Crissy, turned 30 today!

Thirty!!

I've blogged about the age of this bird before, but it's worth repeating.

We adopted Crissy when she was only 6 weeks old, so she's been a part of our family practically the entire 30 years. We have heard that the average life-span of a cockatiel is approximately 15 years - which, obviously, she has now doubled! She's the oldest cockatiel that we've ever heard of. Even our vet doesn't know of any older. We think she may be part Alien. Actually, my sister's other bird, Bonsai, is probably around 25 years old - they must be very happy, healthy birdies!

Crissy is showing her age a bit these days. You would too, of course, if you lived double your life expectancy! She's a bit arthritic, and hasn't flown in years. Come to think of it, she was never really fond of flying to begin with. She always preferred walking and climbing. :)

We held a small party for her today. It's not often that you reach another decade - especially in a bird's life. I brought the party hats and the noise makers. :)

Here we all are, posing with the birthday bird (and Bonsai, too).

Four Chows, and Two Chow Birds

...and here's the Birthday Bird!

Crissy is now 30!

Happy Hatch Day, Crissy!

Labels: pets

The velociraptors (my sister's two cockatiels) have been staying with us for the last couple of months.

They've got a pretty good set-up in our guest bedroom/Raggedy Ann room/"compromise" room. I've got sheets covering the bed, doll cases, etc., and they've got free run. Bonsai flies around a bit, just to stretch his wings once or twice a day, but Crissy is 29 years old, and hasn't flown in quite some time.

They've got what I call "birdie condos" set up on the bed. One paper bag, one 12-pack soda box, and a "double-wide" 24-can Diet Coke box. They basically just hang out and sleep and play in one of their condos for several hours a day. (we've got toys for them to chew on and play with, too.)

This is a picture I snapped of Crissy a couple of weeks ago in his/her Diet Coke box, peeking out of one of the slits on the side. The slightly-obscure nature of it cracks me up.

Labels: pets

My sister has an out-of-town gig for a while, so my parents and I are splitting "bird-duty" while she's away.

My parents dropped Crissy and Bonsai off this morning. They seem to have adjusted to the semi-familiar room pretty well. They are both out and about in their room, whistling, and hanging out in the 'ol bag. :)

Labels: pets

Today, my sister's cockatiel, Crissy, turns 29 years old!

Twenty-Nine! That's remarkable!

We got her in March, 1980, when she/he (we used to call it a "she" but "she" never laid eggs, which means that "she" is actually a "he" which has made the pronoun game very confusing for the rest of us) was only 6 weeks old. We got him/her from a bird aviary, and the owner was able to tell us the exact day that Crissy was born/hatched.


Crissy's first day at home. March, 1980.

Here's a video that I took in November while the birds were staying with me. Crissy is the one in the front - being serenaded to. :)



Happy Hatchday, Crissy!

Labels: pets

The birdies are back! My parents are in NYC visiting my sister, so we're taking care of the birds for a couple of weeks again.

I caught this short video clip of the birds this morning. Bonsai is the one behind the Diet Coke box (that they like to play in and chew). Bonsai is the one whistling to Crissy.

Funny birdies!

Labels: pets

The velociraptors are still here. We've actually had a really nice visit so far.

These birds are really funny. Every morning, I take them out of their houses, and let them out to play on the bed (which is covered with a sheet to avoid, um, bird-stuff). My sister placed on opened paper bag in the center of the bed filled with paper, cardboard and tissues. The birds both LOVE this bag. They spend hours in there. Literally. They usually hang out in there for upwards of 8 hours before I insist that it's time for them to go back home.

What do they do in there? Mostly sleep - they are well over 20 years old, after all. But, once in a while, they'll come out to walk around the bed, eat some crackers, and other times they'll just sit in the bag and sing or whistle. It's pretty funny.

This afternoon, I went in the room to check on them. I peeked in the bag, and only saw one bird. Where's the other one? I looked around the room, and didn't see the other one anywhere. I checked the bag again, and realized that Crissy was hiding her head underneath a tissue, and I could only see her body. I also realize that Bonsai was standing behind her in the bag, and I could only see his head!

Funny birdies!

Labels: pets

It's like having miniature dinosaurs in the house..

I'm taking care of my sister's two birds for the next couple of weeks.

That's Bonsai on the left, and Crissy on the right.

We've had Crissy since she was a mere 6 weeks old. We got her in February, 1980, which, yes, means that she is 28 years old! (average life expectancy for cockatiels is around 15 years). We adopted Bonsai from a friend of a friend over 20 years ago, so she's probably in her early 20s.

When my family first saw Jurassic Park years ago, and we saw the scenes with the Velociraptors, we all agreed that our birds must be distant cousins of these dinosaurs. The way the walk, look around, and especially attack.

The birds, especially Crissy, have always been especially attached to my sister. Neither of them, especially Crissy, has ever been very fond of me. Seriously, she used to chase me out of my own room by pecking at my feet!

But here we are, years later, attempting to cohabitate peacefully for at least a couple of weeks.

Two weeks: two birds, two cats, two people.

We are truly redundant here at His 'n Her Condos. ;)

Labels: family, pets

On my way home from Pleasanton, I decided to drop by my sister's place
for lunch and a visit.

Here's a picture of her two cockatiels. Bonsai, who is well into her
20s, and Crissy, who just turned 28! We got Crissy when she was only 6
weeks old. That was a really long time ago!

Labels: pets

(not literally, of course!)

It's Andrew & Lola!
Miss Lola has grown so much since the last time I saw her. She (and
Andrew) were excited to demonstate all of new tricks she's learned.
What a good (and cute!) doggie!!

Labels: friends, pets

...and with a face like that, who could resist?

Congratulations to proud new Papas, Andrew & Barry!

Andrew & Barry adopted a 10 week old Tibetan Terrier Pup last weekend!

I went to meet little Lola for the first time today, and what a cutie she is! It'll be fun to watch her grow!

I have no doubt that Lola will be a happy, and loved little girl. I look forward to visiting her (and her Dads) again soon.

Congratulations, Barry & Andrew!

Labels: friends, pets