This is Mau, enjoying the heat.

Ok, he’s really not happy with the weather around here right now.  But he’s taking his medicine, and hopefully that will keep him out of the vet’s office for the time being.

I’ve been trying to give him a bit of milk, to help keep his internals flowing (if you get my meaning), but as he doesn’t care for people food in any form, it’s been challenging.  The best we’ve been able to do is mixing a couple tablespoons of milk with a couple tablespoons of canned food (and his medicine) and hoping he eats it all.  Of course, being a cat, he doesn’t care for being hovered over either.

But we remain hopeful, and Mau’s a tough kitty.

This just in!  No gnus!

No gnus is good gnus!

Just wanted to let you all know that Mau seems to be doing fine…he’s a little limp from the heat out here, but other than that, not bad at all.

(halfway there, he gave up. It’s just too hot to care about hind legs)

He’s done with the antibiotics, for which we are both grateful.  Now it’s just the medicine for his internals, which he’ll be taking for as long as we both shall live, according to the doc.  Fortunately, it can be mixed with canned food without Mau rejecting it, so guess who’s getting treats every night now?

Also, I want to thank all of you who have helped, financially or with moral support or with links and nagging (special thanks to Sumiko, who’s doing all that and more). And a person I don’t even really know from Requiem Rose Designs is donating proceeds from a jewelry set to Mau.

I can honestly say that knowing I’ve got this support, I am breathing easier.  Mau…well, he never knew there was a problem other than his tummy, but if he did, he’d mau in your general direction as well.

I’ve had several people offer help for Mau, for which I am eternally grateful. This is probably the most aesthetically pleasing offer though.

Requiem Rose Designs is selling a collection of jewelry whose profits will go towards Mau’s care. Even if it weren’t for a good cause…it’s some pretty amazing stuff.

Click through the picture to see the rest.  Even if you hate cats, you might be suckered in to this deal…

The picture you see here is of Mau. He’s not a chicken. He’s a cat.  An awesome cat.

Here’s a little history on Mau.
Many years ago (like 7 maybe), I called up a friend who had a friend who attracted strays like some people collect Precious Moments figurines.  Not on purpose, they just kept showing up on her doorstep.  A couple days later, he calls me back.  A cat showed up on her doorstep.  A cow-cat.  With a black nose.  And a wicked-ugly injury on his back.  Did I want him?  YES.

So I went and picked him up.  He was filthy, his back was shaven and the wound cleaned.  He wasn’t able to fully control his back legs, but seemed to get around all right.  They estimated he was about 9 months old.  He opened his mouth and said…well, he said MAU.  Like a cat and a cow had a freaky duet.  Thus, his name.

So my point in writing this today is that now, after all this time of being Mau the Invincible, he’s spending the  night at the vet’s.  Impacted bowels.  How undignified, right?  Not like those cute little two-legged puppies that people ooh and aah over and make them little carts for their missing legs.  So completely unglamorous.  Unfortunately, just as long-lasting.  Just as puppy legs won’t grow back, neither will his bowels ever again be at 100%.

But the thing is, this visit is probably going to cost more than a whole paycheck, and for those “paycheck to paycheck” types (like myself) it’s a huge blow.  And a huge bill that I can’t even begin to figure out how to pay.  That’s where you come in.

This is a Donate button.

It will take you to a page where you can donate as much as you desire to the cause of Mau.  You have my promise that any funds donated will go to Mau care, either directly to his vet bill or the medication they say he’ll have to be on for the rest of his life.  Vulcan’s Honor.

If you like, you can lend instead – seriously.  If you make a note in your donation that you are lending, not donating, I will do my damnedest to pay you back at some future date.  Again, Vulcan’s Honor.  I can’t make any promises about when it will be, but It Shall Be Done.

So please, consider doing this.  Show your friends.  Hell, show you enemies, I’m not proud.
Mau is a fantastic cat.  He’s our luck dragon, our manly-man, our kitten keeper-in-liner.  Look at this face and try to say no.

**UPDATE**
Mau is home, seems to be doing ok.  He’s awful stinky, but I guess that goes with the territory of his condition, and will go away.  He’s also doing a lot more curling up with us, but I suppose that’s to be expected as well. He had a hard couple days.

He’ll be on two kinds of medication for a week, then one for ever.  Fortunately, it’s something I can mix in his food, and fortunately, it’s not as expensive as I thought it would be.  Yay!

Picture here is Sprinkles, who is currently broody. I wasn’t terribly concerned, I just pulled her out of the coop a few times a day to make sure she got food and water and exercise. Until yesterday.

I’d thought that my other ladies weren’t laying much lately because of the heat – that can happen. I’ve only been getting one brown egg a day lately. Turns out they have been laying eggs. Under a pallet we’ve been stacking wood on. I found a dozen white and green eggs stacked up under the edge – I only saw them because it was getting crowded and one had rolled out partially.

So now, I’m taking this Broody-Breaking a little more seriously. I’ve already tried the water-dips, and that didn’t work. So now, I’ll try the “kenneling” treatment. I don’t want to, it doesn’t sound nice at all, but I’ve got to find a way to get her out of the coop so the other ladies can lay their eggs in the comfort of their nesting boxes.

The entire purpose of this post is to show you a ridiculous video of my chickens eating a popsicle.

Yeah, that’s it. Nothing else.

Oh and the sounds you are hearing are a combination of the music on my MP3 player, the chickens hootling, traffic on the road going by our house, and an occasional exclamation or giggle from myself (the exclamation being from when one of them nibbled my toe off-camera).

No, not this one. My sister sent me this picture from when she went to the Emu-Z-Um this month.

It would be a great addition to my household, I think. I could put one in the front yard – think of the money I’d make!

Yesterday, I brought home a roll of chicken wire and used a couple of pallets to build a more secure enclosure for the girls to hang out in while they get used to being outside.

Since the enclosure is attached to the coop, I wanted to make sure that the older ladies would be ok with them – I’ve heard that flock integration can be a bitch at times.  I’ve been taking the younger ones out in a cage and spreading scratch, giving them all a chance to eat together without the danger of being physically in the same space, so I was pretty sure it’d be ok.  But you never can tell.

I decided to put all of them into the garden enclosure and spread some scratch, to make sure no one got picked on if they were together.  This video is some of what happened.

Yeah, just a little goofy. But they seemed to be getting along pretty well, so I left them out there last night.

I’d put a large dog house with bedding in the enclosure, but outside of the main coop, with their food and water dishes and the heat lamp. This morning, all seemed fine. The older chickens did exactly what I expected – ate the little one’s food. Otherwise, the younger girls stayed close to the enclosure while the older ladies roamed the yard.

So, Stage One Integration complete. Eventually, I’m hoping the younger ones will move into the coop itself, and we’ll no longer need the outer enclosure or dog house.

And hopefully, they’ll figure out what to do with worms.

Well, of course I’ve heard of chickens!

A herd of chickens, complete with chicken-herding cat.