Coda is "Special"

I have come to the decision that Coda is "special."  I don't mean, oh he is so precious/What a special cat.  I mean, "Is there something wrong with him?  He seems a little...special."  You all may ask why I say such a horrible thing about my pet, who might as well be my own child.  Recently, my beliefs have been affirmed on a daily basis.

Coda often will meow, which yes, is normal for a cat,  however, he meows as if he is lost and is no where near us.  As you call him he will walk a few steps, meow again and then once we respond, will take another couple of steps towards the direction of our voice.  Like a sad version of Marco Polo from childhood.  As you can imagine, this is great fun when standing in the echoing hallways and stairwell and he cannot find which direction our voice is coming from.  Deliciously cruel, but hilariously entertaining as well.  Why have pets if you can mess with them, right?  

He also brings his "sqwishy" to bed with him each night.  Its a little ball with fuzzies sticking out of it, kinda like the newer beanie babies.  It reminds me of the puff ball that Horton heard the Who on and Coda talks to it and carries it around like it is something precious and special.  Again, adding to the "special" belief.  As I write this, he sits outside of the bedroom door, pretending not to fall asleep sitting up.  He is more entertainment than I ever bargained for and I can't wait to share more about my "Special" little boy!

Summer...so far

So far, this summer is well under way and it is hard to believe that we are into the month of July already.  We have gone camping, experienced flooding, spent time at Adventureland, grilled out frequently and celebrated the 4th of July festivities.  We also got our new Toyota Prius on June 30th and are enjoying 50+ miles per gallon.  I have put almost 1,000 miles on it already and have been averaging 52 mpg, even though I drive interstate most of the time.  Very impressive in my opinion considering the EPA estimate of 45 and 50, highway and city respectively.  I told Ben that I was in love with this new car but he has yet to feel the same, although he does enjoy getting a chance or two to drive it!

For the 4th, we enjoyed the carnival in Urbandale as well as the fireworks, which was nearly 25 minutes long.  We also primed and painted the upstairs bathroom in a grey color to match the red curtain and dark grey towels.  We will be putting the room back together and hope that it looks a little less blue than it currently does.

We still do not have plans to extend our family for at least a year.  Ben is working on getting a few more programming classes in and I am applying for graduate school at Buena Vista, UNI and Drake for guidance counseling in elementary schools.  Hopefully I will get into one of the programs for Spring 09 and be on my way towards the career I have finally decided on!  

Coda has been improving but still continues to eat his special diet.  He has been using the litter box and doesn't seem to have any strain.  I found that a product called Stink Free Instantly has worked miracles on the carpet that I thought was ruined.  Recently, he snuck past the gate we had put up to keep him away until it got super cleaned and he completely ignored the spot, which I can only assume means that the smell has been removed.  Next, we will attempt a final urine sample to get to the vet to be sure that the crystals are gone before changing his diet back to normal.  

Things are finally getting settled here in Grimes.

Coda's issues

So, we still don't know what Coda's issue is, as they have take x-rays and found nothing significant enough to suggest that he is having any bladder infection or stones.  Glad that he is not sick, but what the hell is the reason for him peeing all over the rug and carpet???  Well, after getting back from a Memorial Weekend camping trip with Matt and Morgan I decided to do a deep cleaning so no pet could ever smell urine in the carpet again.  I ended up ripping up 1/2 of the carpet on the landing and cleaning the padding as well as the front and back side of the carpet.  Next, Ben tackled the brand new rug that Coda decided to "christen" as his own, cleaning the front and back of that as well, trying to do so quickly as it began to lightening, thunder and rain.  So now as we wait for those to dry and hopefully become fresh and clean, we have installed a baby gate to keep Coda out of the stairway.  We recently found out that "Skinny" aka Ziggy can slip his narrow little hips through the gate and get through, and taunts Coda from the other side.  Unfortunately or not, he then cannot figure out how to get back through the way he came from and cries from the other side to be let back in.  Ah, the life of cat owners.  I guess we will be prepared for when we have children and won't have to spend $60 on a gate at that time as we already took care of it.  Stay tuned for more of the cat's shenanigans to be posted throughout the year.