Our beloved Cassinova Felix passed away on Thursday. He was 13.5 years old.

In September, we found out he had Kidney Disease. Our vet told us it wasn’t time to put him to sleep. She said with some medication, flushing out his kidneys and by keeping him very hydrated, he may make a full recovery. We fought for him for 4.5 months. He also fought for himself during that time. And, for a while, he improved and did okay. But, last week, we decided that his quality of life was such that it wasn’t fair to him to keep putting him through the regimen he was going through just to stay alive because we didn’t want to say goodbye. At the end, he only weighed 4 lbs and could barely walk. … We’re trying to remember him as he was before he got sick.

We found Cassie in July 1998, four months after we were married. At the time, we couldn’t see any sign of his manhood so we named him Cassie thinking he was female. When we got him fixed, we were surprised to find out he was male. We lengthened his name to Cassinova. (We know Casanova is the proper spelling, but we like our spelling for him.)

Cassie’s name fit him to a T. He was the most loving, friendly kitty anyone could ever meet. Even people who hated cats liked him. He was always so inquisitive and excited to meet new people.

In fact, Cassie turned Corey into a cat person. Corey didn’t much care for them when we found him. But, he was so cute and acted kind of like a dog. He would always fetch his toy mice. Soon, Corey fell in love with him and now would rather have a cat than a dog.

Although our kitties are inside kitties, Cassie loved to play outside. Every now and then, we’d go out with him and let him play in the grass and run around. It was fun to watch him have so much fun. He also loved strawberries, particularly strawberry yogurt and creamies.

We miss Cassie dearly. We miss his presence. All the places that he used to sleep in seem empty. Our two other kitties are missing him too. They keep looking for him, not understanding why we don’t bring him home. Right now, we can’t get through a day without crying or feeling depressed in some way because we miss him so much. The only comfort and peace we have is that we’re happy he’s no longer suffering and that we’ll see him again someday. For now, I guess that’ll have to do.

This picture was taken by me earlier this week.  I love how artsy it feels with its blurriness.  I chose an alternate picture for Project 365 similar to this one, but it’s actually in focus.

Tomorrow is Corey’s and my 12th anniversary.  Because our anniversary falls on a Sunday this year, we decided to celebrate our anniversary today.  However, because of homework and other obligations on both of our parts, we decided just to go see a movie together and give each other gifts.  (We haven’t given each other an anniversary gift for most of our marriage so this is a big deal for us.)

Corey bought me a Canon powershot.  I mentioned to Corey a couple of weeks ago that a digital camera would be a nice gift since we didn’t have one anymore and since we’ve never had a nice one.  Corey did some research and found out that the powershot has great reviews and really nice features.  The camera comes in gray, light blue, or hot pink.  He chose the hot pink and I love it!  It’s so fun!

He actually gave it to me a few days ago when it came in the mail.  I’ve been checking out its features and taking pictures ever since.  It’s awesome!  It has a timer, which is so cool.  Here are some of the pictures I’ve taken with my camera this week.

I gave Corey stone sculpting tools (pictured above).  He’s going to pick up some stone next week so he can use his tools.  I can’t wait to see what me makes.  I bet it’s great no matter what it is.  When it comes to art, he’s very talented.

We chose to see Alice in Wonderland.  Corey and I are both big Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, and Danny Elfman fans.  We adored the movie.  It was a great adaptation of the story.  All the actors performed superbly, especially Johnny (but what doesn’t he do well in?–nothing).  The effects were great and added so much to the experience.  I don’t think the movie would’ve been nearly as good had Tim Burton not directed it.

After the movie, I went out to lunch with Karey Shane.  We had a great time together.  It was great to get to know each other more.  By reading each other’s blogs, we’ve discovered that we have a lot in common and it was nice to expound on those similarities.

After lunch, I came home.  Corey and I have been spending some time together watching TV, playing with the cats, and playing on our computers.  Even though this anniversary has been/is low key, it’s been a great day, and it will be nice to spend time with each other again tomorrow (even if it’s the first day of Daylight Saving Time).

It’s hard for me to believe we’ve been married for 12 years, and, at the same time, it’s hard to believe we’ve only been married for 12 years.  (I think I say that every year.)  We haven’t had it easy.  We’ve had our share (and then some) of financial woes, health problems, and other personal matters, but it’s been worth it.  I’m glad I married Corey and even knowing what I know our life has been like, I would’ve still married him 12 years ago.  I know I couldn’t have done better than I did and I look forward to the next 12 years.

PS–Don’t forget to click the “Subscribe to this post’s comments” link so you’re notified when I (or even someone else) replies.  (Click here for instructions if you need them.)

In the post Dax, the Killer, I posted the results to a quiz I took about her.  That quiz told Corey and me there was a 96% chance that Dax is trying to kill us.  She made her first attempt on Sunday.

We took the picture after Corey had wiped up most of the blood and the wound had started to clot.  This picture doesn’t show how bad it really was.  It wasn’t deep enough to get stitches, but I kept telling Corey it looked like she had sliced his carotid because it was bleeding so much.

PS–She didn’t really mean to.  She was trying to climb over Corey while he was laying down and accidentally scratched his neck.  Or, at least, that’s what we’re telling ourselves to give us some peace of mind.

I wasn’t going to post anything else about Froyo until we move it to the new location.  But, I’ve had a lot of people ask me how it’s going and how Corey and I like owning it.  I thought I’d post a small update.

First, the biggest change for us is that Cassie’s being a lot more affectionate than he normally is.  If you know Cassie, this is kind of hard to imagine since he’s already such an affectionate cat.  He’s been used to having Corey at home with him during the day for so long that he’s been feeling a bit lonely and neglected.  Every time we’re home, he wants our undivided attention or to be in the middle of anything we’re doing.  While I was reading on Saturday, he decided it was time to be loved and jumped on me so I could give him affection.  Obviously, you can’t tell from the picture, but he was purring very loudly and was very happy.

Anyway, Corey and I really like Froyo.  Both of our employees are college students so during finals last week, Corey picked up a lot of the hours to cover for the hours our employees needed to study for and take their exams.  It was a pretty busy week for him.  Not only was he working in the store, but he also did (and is still doing) a lot of other things to help rebrand Froyo, grow business, and get ready for the move.

Right now, business is growing more and more each week as summer looms closer.  In the current location, it’s slower than it could be.  I guess that’s why the number one rule of business is, “Location, Location, Location.” But, business is still good, which is great!

We’ve implemented a couple of specials to get more people in while we’re in the current location.  One special is to help compensate for the rainy weather.  If you come in while it’s raining, you can buy one frozen yogurt (or any product for that matter) and get another one, of equal or lesser value, for free.

The other special is just to help get the word out about Froyo.  There’s already a small following, but of course, we want to help it grow even bigger. This special involves joining our * I Love Froyo * group on Facebook.  If you join this group, you can print your invite and bring it into Froyo to get a free frozen yogurt during the month of May. Spread the word to all your Facebook friends!

We still haven’t added sorbet to our menu, unfortunately.  We’re waiting until we move to the new location because the current location can’t accommodate the sorbet.  (Sorry to my lactose-intolerant friends.  Hang in just a little longer!)

Right now, we’re slated to move to the new location near the end of June.  However, we may be able to move sooner!  Once we do move, we’ll have a grand opening to introduce the new, improved Froyo!

Anyway, if you still haven’t come in to see us, please do.  Corey’s usually there everyday and I’m there on Saturdays.  We’d love to see you and serve you some yummy frozen yogurt!

Corey came across a website that allows you take a short quiz to determine the likelihood of whether your cat is trying to kill you.  We, of course, decided to participate with Dax in mind.

Why do you think we named her Daxius Cattius Kill-’em-us All-of-us?  We had a sixth sense about her nature when she was a very young kitten.  If you’ve ever met her, then you understand what I mean.

On the other hand, Cassie and Tigger love to be smothered with love.  In fact, Cassie will sit in our lap like a child and give us kisses. When I tried to do the same with Dax, this was the result:

Doesn’t that look like the face of a killer?  I think so.

As I mentioned in the post Lifestyle Changes, sometimes it takes me longer to fall asleep because of Dax.  I thought I’d share what has happened.

Normally, Dax sleeps on Corey in the middle of the night, or I should say used to sleep on Corey in the middle of the night.  He enjoyed it because she helped keep him warm.  Sometimes, however, she likes to cuddle up with me under my blanket before she moves (or I push her) over to her usual spot on Corey.

Last Thursday, when I was moving her, she caught a glimpse of something on my blanket and she went crazy. That entire night, she kept trying to get whatever it was that she saw.  I kept pushing her off and she kept coming right back.  We even tried spanking her a few times, but it made no difference (never has).  Needless to say, I didn’t get much sleep.

All day Friday, I kept wondering what could’ve happened to make her go crazy like that.  Normally, when I go to bed, Corey lays in bed and works on his computer for about an hour.  Thursday night, however, he was really tired and just went to bed.  I wondered if having no glow from the lap top made a difference.  I also wondered if my sun-bright display on my clock was somehow making a difference.  (Seriously, whoever made the display on that clock forgot the dim or off button! It usually faces away from me at night.  Otherwise, it’s like having a flashlight in my eyes.)

Before we went to bed on Friday, I moved the clock into the other room to see if that would help.  It didn’t.  Corey was even on his computer and it made no difference.  We tried putting her in the back room, but other than her constant meowing to be let out, Cassie and Tigger were really stressed that we locked Dax in the room.  We let her out and since Corey doesn’t mind if Dax’s on him at night, we tried switching sides on the bed.  She followed me to the other side. At that point, we thought that maybe it was my blanket.  (Remember, Corey and I sleep with separate blankets.)  After sharing a blanket and saying a prayer, she finally calmed down for the night. Hallelujah!

On Saturday, Corey and I slept with the same blanket again because I didn’t get to my blanket when I did the laundry.  We still had to deal with her being crazy for a little bit, but not as long as we had the previous two nights. Thanks goodness for small miracles!

I washed my blanket on Sunday to see if there was something on it that she was attracted to.  Nope, she still perched herself on my stomach or back as she had been doing and watched for whatever it was she thought she saw on Thursday.  Before we feel asleep Sunday night, she started running around again and we finally saw what she saw.  Our curtain was cracked just enough to let some light through.  I closed the curtain so that no light came through.  For the most part, she stopped running around on top of me because the light was gone.

As of Sunday night, the light has been gone, but she still stays on me just in case it might come back. After a while, I don’t like to have her on me because I get uncomfortable.  I’ve tried pushing her over to Corey, but she just won’t go! Last night I put the squirt bottle on my nightstand.  When she got on me, I squirted her.  Thankfully, she left.  But, in the wee hours of the morning, she came back.

I guess the most evil part of this whole thing is that until Thursday, she didn’t care.  There was light there before, but something on Thursday changed.  I’m wondering if the “senior” cat food is making the difference.  Cassie has been losing too much weight, so we thought it was time to move him to the senior food.  (He and Tigger have been seniors for about three years now.)  It has helped them, but since Dax is shy of being a senior by a year and a half, I wonder if it’s giving her more energy than usual, which is the last thing she needs.  With more energy, she’ll be like the Energizer Bunny on crack since she already has enough energy to power a small city.

Since Thursday, we’ve been praying for her to be calm, which definitely helps.  Hopefully, however, she’ll calm down for good, go back to her normal self, and let me go to sleep.

Dax has been doing a lot of funny stuff lately so I thought I’d share some pictures.

About a week after Corey’s surgery, he had the heating pad on his leg.  Dax decided to come lay by him and his laptop.  Corey put the heating pad on her and she wasn’t sure what to think at first.  But then, she was in Heaven.

Dax has always loved to drink water out of the sink.  However, since we’ve been at my parents’, she’s had to maneuver around the faucets in my parents’ bathrooms.  The faucets stick out a lot further than ours did.  She got so fed up with trying to figure out how to get a drink without getting her head or ears wet that she finally relented and just stuck her whole head under the faucet.

About a year ago, one of my visiting teachers brought me some jam.  The jar was decorated with a ribbon.  Dax adores that ribbon!  It’s her toy and she plays with it almost every day.  When we moved our stuff to the new townhome last week, I put her ribbon in our suitcase to take up to my parents’ house with us, so she’d have something to play with.  It proved to be a good decision. Even Tigger got in on the action.

Cassie’s a really funny cat. It may be that Corey and I let him indulge in a few things most cats don’t have the opportunity to indulge in. But, I just think it’s funny that he likes some of these things in the first place.

A couple years ago, I opened some yogurt to eat. Cassie was asleep in our bedroom, and in less than 10 seconds, he was down at my side. Once I was done with it, he wanted to lick the yogurt container. About five minutes later, the top half of the container was licked completely clean. After that he put his paw in the container and started to lick his paw. He still does it and I’ve discovered that strawberry is his favorite flavor. In fact, for his birthday in June, I bought Cassie his own yogurt to eat.

Because Cassie likes to eat yogurt so much, I thought he might enjoy Creamies as well. We didn’t let him taste a chocolate one, of course, but we let him taste a banana one instead. He loved it! Every time I took the Creamie away, he would try to get at it until I let him lick it again. And guess what, strawberry is his favorite flavor in Creamies as well. He’s such a goofy cat!

After he’s done indulging in something good, he always cleans his face. He’s so meticulous about keeping himself clean.