Vante had a great Christmas! 

She started off early and terrorized her little sisters by swatting at them unnecessarily. 

After a 30 minute time-out in her room she was allowed out again & we opened presents.  She was fascinated by the whole ordeal, as always.  She loved the wrapping paper but the bows & ribbons are where it's at for this little Torbi-tude.  She sniffed the bows, tried to chew on them but really sank her teeth into the ribbons & strings that decorated the presents.  Luckily nothing except for food was ingested Christmas day to the best of our knowledge. 

We tried to capture her spirit in these photos to share with you, but as you can see, she's a free spirit.  The camera just can't keep up with her!

So please excuse the bits of blur and the amature camera skills that I possess.  Just understand that Vante had a great Christmas w/lots of cat treats, balls, cat-nip playthings and warm spots to lay in. 

Biting the Kong Kickaroo; I have a feeling it's going to be a favorite!

She just can't resist the shiny bows & ribbons.

After an attempted ribbon nomming session, we managed to tame the Torbi for a few seconds.

Probably trying to decide what kind of trouble to get into next.

I hope ya'll had a great Christmas with your human, dog, fish, bird & cat families!

Travel safely & Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

Vante got into the Christmas spirit (with a little coercion). 

Vante was relaxing on the chair by the fireplace & I tucked her in with the Christmas costume.

She was fine with it.

Still fine with it.

Then she changed her mind & was NOT fine with it.

Then she resigned herself & channeled her inner Christmas spirit (Grinch/Grumpy Cat) for the photo shoot.

Merry Christmas!

(Early) Merry Catmas!

Vante & I hope that everybody had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that there was lots of turkey on your plate.  Vante is doing great; she's healthy and just as ornery and yet sweet as ever. 

Vante has come a long way in the 4 years since she joined our household.  Look at how close she is to her littlest sister, Callie Mae in the photo below.  And there was no hissing or growling, just looking.  I'm so proud of Miss V.

As a late birthday gift (she turned 17 this July) we got her an upgraded Happy Brushing brush.  It's round, so we can just hold it still & she can use it, bit it and brush herself however & wherever she wants.  Here is a video of her thoroughly enjoying her new Happy Brush. 

I've got a ton of new photos that I'll slowly start posting of her.  I'm sorry that I've been negligent of her blog recently.

Vote for Vante

I've put Vante's photos up on the Modern Cat website, so please vote for her!

https://www.moderncat.com/photocontest/cats/2012/08/21/vante

They have a cat of the week & Vante would make a great one.  Plus, they might run her photo in their new & upcoming magazine.  Go Team Vante!

Vote for Vante!

Miss V is doing great.  She's been helping my husband write papers and study, as you can tell.  She is a big believer is Vante-orientated study breaks & insists upon them regularly. 

One of our other cats, Amelia, has taken over a box that we left out in our living room & Miss V occasionally explores it.  She has been surprisingly generous in allowing Amelia to have the box and occupy it while Vante is nearby.  She's learning manners, slowly but surely.  

Here is one of my favorite recent photos of my old lady.  She's quite a stunner. 

Happy Brushing Video

Vante adores being brushed but is very adamant that it be done her way and on her own terms.  Every morning Vante and I sit on the couch and this is what happens.

Professional Photos of Vante

 In April 2011 I had a friend who is a professional photographer, Dulcia Jerdan, take some photos of Vante and I.  She did an amazing job and unfortunately has moved away from Las Vegas since then.  However, the folks in Bethesda, Maryland are lucky to be able to take advantage of her skills. 

 Here are some more of my favorite photos from our photo shoot.

 Thanks again Dulcia!

http://www.roamingreflectionsphotography.com/

Dental Complete

Vante had her teeth cleaned by yours truly on Monday and she did great!  She had a good bit of tartar built up on her back molars and I was able to clean them up quite nicely.  So now her breath is smelling much better and her teeth are looking beautifully white.

Since Vante has a lot to say (AKA she screams bloody murder at the vet, even when I am petting her) we decided to be nice, save our eardrums and her the stress and anesthetize her before we drew blood or anything.  (This is safer for everybody involved.)  So Vante went into our anesthesia box.

This worked out well.  She breathed like normal, looked out of the see-thru box and slowly started to drift off to sleep as the anesthetic gases took effect.  Then we opened up the box and went to work.  She got her endotracheal tube, her IV cathether and I went to work cleaning her teeth. 

After about 30 minutes her blood pressure started to drop so as I finished up polishing her teeth we turned off the anesthetic gases and started to wake her up.  So by the time I was doing the last item in dental cleaning (the sealant that goes on the outside of the teeth) she was moving her tongue and practically licking my fingers. 

She woke up and I cuddled with her and whispered sweet nothings in her ear and she voiced her displeasure about the whole thing. 

As a side note we ran several blood tests.  Vante has leveled off on her thyroid medicine and we're still at a good medicine dosage.  Her kidney values were high, but still barely within normal range.  That means she will need to have those values tested again in 3 months.  If they're still that high or go up then we'll switch her from her special diet food for urinary crystals to a kidney-friendly diet.  I promise to keep ya'll updated on that front.

Also, Vante lost 1/2 a pound in the past month.  I've started to try to coax her to eat more when I'm around.  Offering her kibbles and leaving out wet food.  She weighs 7.6 pounds, which is still healthy but I don't want her to lose any more weight. 

Overall--great visit to the vet.  Clean teeth, we'll need to recheck her kidney values in 3 months and continue to coax her to eat more. 

Dental Health

Vante has been on her best behavior this week.  Enough so that we were able to leave all the doors in the house open while we were out and about running errands.  She has either chilled out in her old age or realized that if she leaves the other cats alone, they'll return the favor.

I have scheduled Vante's dental for 24 July.  I'll be doing the dental myself as part of my vet tech training and she'll get the best care ever!  She'll have some sparkly white teeth afterwards and fresh breath too.  I'm very excited about it but somehow I doubt she feels the same. I'll get some before & after photos of Vante's teeth cleaning to show ya'll what a difference it can make.

Here are some interesting facts regarding keeping your pet's mouth clean. 
Dry food vs. Wet food-->doesn't matter when it comes to your pet's tooth health.  Unless you're using prescription dental food diets; this food is large and must be chewed & it allows teeth to sink in and scrapes away plaque before breaking.  Most dry food is brittle and breaks too easily to scrape away anything from the teeth.

Chew toys-->hit yourself with the toy first, if it hurts, then don't give it to your pet b/c it's hard enough to break a tooth

Brushing their teeth-->using a soft-bristled toothbrush is the most effective!  Use pet toothpaste (not human), it is designed to taste good.  It is best to brush their teeth daily.

There are gels & things that you can put into their water to improve dental health.  Talk to your veterinarian to see what they recommend and make the best decision for you and your pet.  Remember, healthy, pain-free teeth will lead to better overall health for your pet. 

Happy Independence Day!

Folks,
Sorry I haven't posted in over a year.  Vante is doing great, we've had a few health issues and I was deployed to Afghanistan last year, but now I'm ready to reinvigorate Vante's Blog again.  I hope you'll continue to enjoy it and Vante's antics. 

Fireworks don't phase Vante--she ain't no scardey cat!

Healthwise, the most important issue that has come up is that Vante has Hyperthyroidism.  Her thyroid is overactive and she has to take medicine twice a day to keep her levels within normal limits.  She gets her medicine tucked into Pill Pockets & she loves them.  (We're very lucky.)

Vante is just as spry as ever and while she doesn't like the other two cats I have, her little sisters, she does ignore them quite well.  

More to come soon...