Banzai

Thanks to those who have sent messages of support over our loss of Banzai. For anyone interested, you can find longer rememberance of the little guy over on my writing blog, Multiplex of the Mind.

He was a good cat

Sadly, for those of you have been following the situation (and thanks to those who have sent messages of support or concern), I have to report that we lost our cat Banzai last night after a long battle with liver problems. We bottle fed him for six weeks, hoping he'd turn around, but it wasn't to be.

After a couple-day rally that made us think he might be getting better, he became very weak and strongly fought being fed. He was curled up in his (open) cat-carrier last night while we were watching a DVD. The movie had just ended when he howled loudly, like a kitten calling mama. We went in to check on him, and he calmed down immediately when I petted him. He just seemed to be calling us so he wouldn't be alone. He seemed to fall into a quite coma, his breathing became slightly labored, and he went peacefully, which is about the best we could hope for, under the circumstances. We buried him in the corner of the front yard, where I can see him from my office/Joe room.

He was a great little cat, always full of mischief, as you can see from this picture. But fat and fuzzy as he was, he managed to walk through that whole set, with all its little bits and details, and never knock over a thing.

I'm going to miss him climbing down, monkey style, the 9-foot cat ladder that connects my wife's office in the attic with mine down in the converted garage. I can almost hear the little "wumpf!" as he jumps down onto the platform that serves as the landing for the ladder. (Perhaps knowing that was what I was thinking about, our other Cat, Oz, just appeared up there and climbed down. But he always steps lightly on the platform and announces himself with a little "meow." Banzai jumped down with that loud "wumph!" that was very distinctive.) I'm not ashamed to say I miss the little guy terribly.

Obviously, I could use some cheering up, and your Angry Joe Day photos will help in that respect. They're starting to trickle in (and I'll start posting shortly), but I need more, and the deal still stands. More entries and participants will generate more prizes. Make me happy, and make yourselves happy too, and send in your pictures.

The Battle Continues

I hate to turn this into the "cat health report" blog, but that's been my life the last week. Trying eight-thousand ways to coax a sick cat to eat, then holding them down to shove needles, meds, and water into them: not fun. Poor little guy is still not eating much of anything (he took some salmon treats today, but that's all) and that's critical, as rapid weight loss can cause more liver problems. Joy.

Here's another example of Banzai "helping" me in a photo shoot. This is my partially completed Adventure Team MLV (Mobile Logistics Vehicle) and a Avenger Pursuit Craft (the floats are on the roof of the MLV).

Picture taken a couple years ago.

Back in the Hangar

Sorry I've been slacking off on posting these last few days. I'm still dealing with serious health issues with one of our cats, Banzai. (He's the yellow-and-white guy on the left in this picture, the other guy being Oz.) He been off food and we weren't sure he was drinking. Two trips to the vets and about $300 later, we're making progress. He's hydrated again, and actually ate a couple of kitty-treats out of my hand this evening, the first solid food I'm aware that he's touched since before Christmas. So I'm hopeful that we'll get him eating again, and back on the road to health.

Okay, so this picture is relatively free of 1/6th content, it isn't completely free.

The picture is taken in my office, a converted 1943 garage I call "Hangar 18" after the mythical hangar of UFO lore where the remains of a crashed UFO and its pilots are kept. I left the ceiling unfinished because I liked the rustic look, and any added woodwork was stained to match the reddish color of the 60-plus year-old cedar. Among the added woodwork is a "cat bridge" along the top of an existing wood rafter that the cats were using anyway, and the cat-ladder on the left, which extends from the beam to the office floor. Just off-camera up and to the right is an opening into the semi-connected house attic. The cats can leave my wife's attic office, go through the attic, and come down the cat ladder in my office.

Considering that the office is my primary GI Joe display area, it's a good thing that both cats are pretty-well behaved about my collectively. They usually stay off tables and shelves, and rarely knock things over. An especially worrisome display is the shelf of pilots right behind the cats. What you can't see in the picture is that this isn't a normal shelf (see picture below). It's a hand-carved replica of the front of a WWII B-17 bomber, produced by a local craftsman (since retired for health reasons, this was one of the last ones he made). It's a beautiful piece, and great for displaying GI Joes, but it's only supported by two screws in the back of the fuselage, so any "wing walking" by the cats would be disastrous.

Tempting through it must be, though, none of the cats have ever bothered it. Let's hope it stays this way, as this is one item in my collection that is literally irreplaceable.

Holiday greetings

I think I mentioned before I'd be running some of my favorite holiday shots from the past. Here's one featuring our cat, Banzai, which I really like. Banzai was just a kitten then, a stray that we pulled in out of a December storm. He'd just had a major ear-mite treatment, and thus his "bad hair day." He could sit in your hand, and was a good fit in the back of this Max Steel sports car.

The "snow" on the car is actually just shelf-dust. I didn't notice it (I was busy trying to get Banzai to sit still and let me snap the picture) but it really showed up strongly under the flash.

The car on the right is my first "custom" vehicle, a fashion doll "Rolls" that I repainted, tricked out, and gave new wheels. To me, it now looks more like a British sports-car than a Rolls. I'm currently using it to display my "Spinal Tap" figures.

As it happens, we returned from our trip to find Banzai wasn't feeling well. If he doesn't improve by tomorrow, we may have to take him into the vet. Hopefully it's nothing, but he had a very close-call illness earlier this year, so send some good thoughts Banzai's way if you can.

Fallback position

Hey, Steve, here's an idea. On a day when you're busy and don't have anything cooler to post, put up a picture of one of your cats messing up a 1/6th photo shoot.

Good idea, Steve, I'll do that. Here's a picture of Banzai invading my Adventure Team headquarters set.

Oh, right Steve, I remember that. He managed to walk all through it, and not knock over a thing.

Come on, Steve, he was having an off-day. Go easy on him, dude.

Right, Steve.

Right.