I received a phone call tonight. Two, in fact. My mom, back-to-back calls. That’s very unusual.

So I picked up the second time. She was at the emergency vet’s office.

Angel’s kidneys are failing.

Angel hasn’t been eating the past few days, which indicated to my mom that something was very wrong. Today she decided to take Angel to the emergency room, where they did blood tests and determined that Angel’s kidneys were going out.

The doctor gave her several options. One was to leave Angel overnight with an IV and a catheter, then come back tomorrow. Another was to go through painful treatments to try to extend her life a couple of months, at most. Another was to insert a water pack under Angel’s skin, which would keep her hydrated for a couple of hours, then take Angel home and bring her back to the hospital in the morning. The final option was to euthanize her right away.

Angel’s going home tonight with a water pack under her skin. She’ll be home. We don’t know what will happen tonight– but we do know what will happen tomorrow morning because Angel will go to kitty heaven and catch all the birds she could ever dream of.

It kills me more than anything in the world that I can’t be there right now with my baby Angel. It kills me more than anything in the world. That’s my first cat, my baby, my Angel. I wish I could be there.

My baby Angel, I’m there with you and I love you so much. I love you and I’ll miss you forever and ever. You’re the best cat that ever lived.

Here’s to 19 years, my baby girl.

With 5 cats, the annual trip to the vet is like having our own 3-ring circus. First, we have to capture them and put them all in their carriers as fast as possible so they don’t catch onto anything. Then we load up the car and listen to a symphony of howling and meowing.

Once we get to the vet’s office, we load them into shopping carts and wheel them into Banfield. Banfield is a chain veterinarian inside of PetSmart . . . more about them later.

Needless to say, the cats are not happy. Being the only cat that goes outside, Hot Dog needs to get tested for FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus– basically, feline AIDS). Of course, Hot Dog is also an extremely large and powerful cat. It takes three vet techs to hold him down and draw blood. At this point, he has also peed in his carrier to show his extreme discontent, so his long, thick fur is covered in cat piss and the techs are trying to dry him off at the same time. We can see him through the small glass window in the exam room. At one point, Hot Dog gave us stink eye with a look that said, “You f#$&@!s are going to pay.”

Meanwhile, Mama is completely paralyzed with fear. She curls up next to her boyfriend for comfort. Vince, of course, couldn’t care less. He’s about to get stabbed with 3 needles, but he’s made himself right at home at the vet’s office.

In his carrier, Kramer is practically hyperventilating. Not surprisingly, the vet pronounces Kramer overweight. He’s just under 14 pounds, and while Vince is also 14 pounds, he carries it differently. Vince is built like a linebacker; poor Kramer’s just fat.

When Toester got on the exam table, he proceeded to drool about 1/2 cup of fishy-smelling kitty slobber. He gets a little nervous at the vet’s office.

Now, about Banfield… We really should know better than to take them to a mega-chain veterinarian, but we took them there once when we first moved here and it just seemed easier to keep going back.

After we saw the bill though, we’d had enough. $384 for SHOTS. Granted, it’s five cats, but almost FOUR HUNDRED BUCKS???? It shouldn’t be so shocking, but really, we do think Banfield is a massive rip off. They might be competent, but they’re also taking their patients to the cleaners. And being a chain operation, I get the impression that they’re not really concerned with your pet’s health, or your feelings towards your pets. They’re more of an assembly line. If one of our kitties needed surgery or, god forbid, had to be put to sleep, Banfield is not the kind of place I’d want to do that.

Rant over. If you have any Banfield or vet stories, share them with Crazy Kitties. We’re also looking for a good vet in the Sarasota, FL area, so if you have a recommendation, that would rock.

SBT says: Here is a photo of my dad’s cat, Toots. She’s a country cat out in rural West Virginia.

Just a couple of months ago, Dad noticed Toots had been gone a few days. Wanting to make sure she was okay, he went out looking for her.

Dad found Toots in an outside shed, crouched in a corner. When he approached her, he realized her entire belly was sliced open, from chest to butt, and all her innards were hanging out. She’d been attacked by a coyote and somehow escaped.

Toots was rushed to the vet, where she was operated on . . . and survived.

Toots is now sporting a 14-inch scar and working as a spokeskitty for Special K.

Thanks so much to SBT for the amazing submission. Glad to know Toots made it out okay!

Let’s face it - a sleeping cat is a cute cat. Then again, a sleeping cat can also be a totally crazy cat.

Take a look at these sleeping cat photos. Kinda makes you wonder what YOU look like sleeping….

This is the belly-up sleeping method. It is designed to trick humans into thinking they can rub that cat’s belly. When the hapless human reaches his hand close to the fuzzy cat stomach…. SWIPE!!! The cat lunges at the human’s grubby hand to show her feline superiority.

Like many people, Mama Bear likes to fall asleep with the TV on. Watch out though… once she’s got the remote, it’s Animal Planet all freakin’ night.

This soon-to-be world famous photo of Vincent sleeping is just too much.

For some cats, sleeping together is a way to express their affection for each other. What if we could read their minds? Would it be something like Days of Our Nine Lives?

Got sleeping cat pictures to share?  Send them in!  We’ll post them right here on CrazyKitties.com.

Living in Florida means living with interesting wildlife, including lizards. For humans, lizards are just another reptile. For crazy kitties, lizards are lunch.

Lizards occasionally slip through the cracks in our screened-in patio, and that’s when the games begin.

It’s usually Kramer and Toester ganging up on some poor, helpless creature. But today, Kramer managed to catch the lizard all by himself and brought him inside to thank us for all our love and attention.

The hunt follows a carefully orchestrated routine designed to highlight the cat’s agility, dexterity, and coordination.

Mad Huntin’ Skillz - First, he dumps the lizard inside and starts the chase all over again, so we can see what a good hunter he is.

The “Swoop” - With a quick swoop of the paw, he once again captures the lizard, rendering the reptile blind and temporarily unconscious.

Sniff and Nip - At this stage of the capture, the cat presses his nose against the lizard and playfully taps the creature on the back as though to say “hello” before he chomps the reptile’s body in his razor-sharp fangs.

Playing dead - Knowing he’s met his match, the lizard pretends to die. This, of course, is part of the carefully choreographed representation of the cycle of life (or something like that).

Disinterest - Now that the lizard has served his purpose, Kramer completely loses interest.

Don’t cry. We’re happy to report that the lizard escaped with his life and is enjoying Mai Tai’s on the neighbor’s palm tree.