RIP Mr. Nibbles

It is with great guilt and genuine sadness that I announce the death of Mr. Nibbles. In honor of our first family pet, I've compiled a photo story of our journey with Nibby. 

When Jesse and I were in college, there was a stray cat that always hung around our apartment.  We began feeding her and affectionately called her Mrs. Nibbles.  When Jesse and I moved to Charlotte after graduating, we knew we wanted to get a cat.  Jesse selected and adopted our cat from the Humane Society in the fall of 2008.  His original name was Nehi.  His siblings names were Pepsi and Mountain Dew.  We named him Mr. Nibbles.

He was our only cat at the time and was every bit the crazy kitten.  He would pounce on anything that moved, including clawing your feet in the middle of the night, reflections of light, or cords.  He detested anything in his path and made it his job to knock off anything and everything from the counter or tables.  Our attention was devoted towards Mr. Nibbles and he became the subject of silly photo shoots.

The following year we temporarily ruined Mr. Nibble's life by bringing another cat into our home.  Nibby and Cowbell had a love-hate relationship.  Both cats tried to affirm their dominance in the household.

As Mr. Nibbles matured, his playfulness was replaced by more frequent naps.

 

Mr. Nibbles had another difficult adjustment when we brought Jackson home from the hospital.  Jackson's crying sent Nibby into a panic where he hissed and assaulted his feline sister.  Within a few months, all was right with the world again.

As Jackson grew, Mr. Nibbles exhibited incredible patience with a curious crawler and walker chasing him around.

When the trio arrived, Nibby did not interact with them much.  He did, however, continue to serve as watch cat and he generally slept in the babies' room with them. 

Shortly after the birth of the triplets, Mr. Nibbles began pooping on furniture, clawing Jackson, and running outside every chance he could.  Before long, he was spending more time outside than inside.  He was never declawed and we continued to feed him outside.  If the temperatures were below freezing, we let him sleep on a blanket in the garage.  If he ran inside, I always let him nap on Jackson's bed or the recliner until he was ready to go back outside. He was gentle around the babies and continued to rub up against our legs and purr.  This behavior continued until a few weeks ago.

We could not find Mr. Nibbles during the snowstorm.  I was relieved to see that he was still alive once it melted, but he certainly did not look or act the same.  This morning when I went outside to check on him, I found him like this:

I don't know what changed so radically, but there was nothing that could be done.  I brought him water and food, even a fresh can of tuna fish.  He could barely lift his head.  He tried to meow but the only sounds that came out were a wretched moaning.  Without going into any more detail, it was very obvious that he was dying.  I laid beside him in the mud and wept.  The babies were napping and Jackson kept asking me, "What wrong, Mommy?"  When Jesse came home I stood in the rain and cried some more.  By nightfall, he had passed.  Jesse gave him a proper burial while I tried my best to distract Jackson inside. 

Of course I am rightfully ridden with guilt.  We should have taken him to the vet.  We should have kept him indoors.  We should have found a better home for him if we were no longer going to care for him.  The tears will continue to flow as we remember our first addition to the family.

Rest in Peace, Mr. Nibbles

Goodbye, Cowbell

Cowbell joined our home five years ago.  She has always been a feral cat.  At only a few weeks old, I took her from my sister's porch while she was eating a chipmunk.  She didn't immediately adjust well to Mr. Nibbles or life indoors.  She used to steal our dinner right off the plate, get stuck in Kleenex boxes, and jump from above the tallest cabinets.  After several weeks she settled into her new home, and slept in our bed from that point onward.

 

Fastforward five years and four kids later and we simply do not have a place for Cowbell in our home.  Our furniture and carpet upstairs has been destroyed.  She constantly sought attention by smothering and clawing babies. 

 But despite the rough play from Jackson, she continuously came back to him.

We kicked her and Mr. Nibbles out and officially made them outdoor cats last month.  We still fed them daily.  Cowbell constantly snuck back in the house and our vehicles.  This unknowingly led to her ultimate eviction.

Last Thursday I picked Jackson up from preschool as usual.  I immediately knew something wasn't right when I saw his face.  He asked me to hold him and was acting whiny.  As soon as I picked him up it was obvious he had pooped.  When I sat him down in his carseat so I could grab the diaper bag, the most vile liquid seeped up his back and down his legs.  At this point we were both covered in poop.  While ushering him back into the school building, another teacher shrieked "Oh my God.  A cat just came out of your van!"  I glanced back to see Cowbell running through the parking lot, and impulsively exclaimed, "Nope.  That's not mine."  I stripped Jackson down and used half a pack of wipes to scrub him clean.  A teacher found a 4T shirt and pants to drape on Jackson.

We left with one more outfit and one less cat.

Good luck and good riddance, Cowbell. 

Ten Life Lessons

FYI, this is my 500th blog post!  Crazy!

Here are some things I've learned in the past week:

1. Home Owner's Association has way too much power.  Jesse received an e-mail saying we had two weeks to have the exterior power washed to remove mold and algae build up.  If it is not cleaned within two weeks, we will incur fines of $25 per day.  We have no choice since we signed a legal contract with HOA.

2. Those awesome Glad OvenWare dishes can resist heat of 450 degrees.  However, they will completely melt under the broiler.  We almost had a plastic pot pie for dinner.

3. Moving fragile ornaments to the top of the tree does not keep them out of reach from a persistent toddler.  Jackson pushes chairs around to climb up and play with the ornaments.  We've got quite the pile of broken Hallmark ornaments accumulating. 

4. The measurements of the frame of a stroller don't necessarily include the width with the wheels attached.  The Foundations Quad LX stroller is a beast and it doesn't fit through standard doorways.

5. Just because a formula is hypoallergenic does not mean it will taste good.  Maddie refuses to drink the Similac Alimentum, even if it is mixed with breastmilk.  Thankfully, she doesn't mind 4 oz of breastmilk fortified with one scoop of Enfamil Gentlease. 

6. Don't let your demented husband be in charge of hiding the family Elf or this might happen:

7. Cats are loyal and they will stick around FOREVER.  Even after evicting the cats, removing their litter boxes, and refusing to feed them, they still wait by our doorstep all day.  We can't get rid of them.

8. When you let your toddler sleep in the bed with you once, it can quickly become a habit.  Gone are the days of reading stories and tucking Jackson in his bed.  He regularly falls asleep in "our bed". 

9. Instant grits and quick cook grits are not the same thing.  After three failed attempts, I gave up on the cheaper canister of quick cook grits.

10. It's hard to enjoy a girl's night out when you're staring at the clock making sure you're home before the next feed.  Nothing ruins a cute outfit more than leaking boobs.