Greetings from the Reilly-Mermigas Clan! We hope everyone is doing well.
We are still convinced that our Angel Rusty the Bunnyman sent us our three little furbabies to keep us so busy that we don’t have time to be sad that he is gone. It’s been over a year, and yet, his presence can still be felt in our home. We are filled with love for the new clan but often find ourselves saying we wish he could have been part of this. Yes, we know that was impossible, our hearts feel different. He did help prepare us for some of the adventures this year has brought us though!
Here are rare pictures of the three of them sleeping together. They will often stalk birds and squirrels together and make excellent fly catchers.
Our little Fiona girl had to go for hernia surgery. We had the sainted Dr Scott (who saw Rusty through all of his challenges) perform her surgery. She came through awesome! We had to keep her separate from the other two so we channeled our Bunnyman and created a two “room” suite for her, connecting two dog crates. By doing this, we were able to keep the litter box separate from sleeping areas as well as giving the little one more room to move around. We used the side entry on one of the crates and zip tied it with the front entry of the second crate. This allowed us to have two entry points into her suite at all times. Fully recovered from surgery! One other on going issue, when doing the bloodwork for surgery prep, they noted she has elevated liver enzymes. Not critical levels, but enough to have her on the Denamarin supplement daily. I have actually learned how to pill cats after almost 30 years!! She is doing great.
She chases her brother and mother around the house, tries to convince us she hasn’t eaten even though we just fed her, and makes a toy out of everything. My floor is covered with bottle caps, courtesy of our little goofball.
Onto her brother Shrek, the sweetest, most devilish kitty I have ever had the honor of serving. He must be part of everything that any hoomin or cat is involved in. He is a cuddle bug. We have a special bond because he is prone to sinus issues which I just cannot seem to get rid of. Dr Scott says it is nothing to worry about but I still would rather just have no issues at all. We have spent many hours on the floor of the bathroom together, sharing time as we experience the joys of steam showers. As much as he cuddles, he also attacks his sister and mother, chasing them around the house (fully play-no evil). They do start it sometimes too. He helps us make the bed and do laundry and takes care of breaking down the boxes for recycling by shredding each one. I think Shrekkie may have been personally responsible for the Toilet Paper Shortage of 2020!
Wrapping up the clan is Ana Banana, also known as Momma Cat, the ring leader, little Miss Innocent, and a complete sweetheart! Her almost human eyes pierce through you as you wake up with her lying on your chest. Her kids have a great role model for mischievous behavior. The Paper Towel Shortage of 2020… all her!
She is a very hard worker and will often supervise my Zoom calls. She does insist on breaks for her staff, sitting on the computer so we have no choice but to obey. Often, she will claim the chair when you get up. She also likes “shopping” in every bag we bring into the house.
Overall, they are happy, healthy little creatures who keep us on our toes. I am glad Rusty the Bunnyman sent them our way! No one cat will ever fill the space he had… We still say, he sent one for each paw.
Thank you for the support and love always shown here. See you soon!
Head Scritches and Sandpaper Kisses Always,
Gina, Nick, Angel Tripawd Rusty the Bunnyman, Ana Banana, Shrek and Fiona
It is so pawsome to hear from you!! One for each paw…. if that doesn’t sound like a Bunnyman move, I don’t know what does!! I love that you have mama and siblings, that just warms my heart. Their personalities sound too adorable, and I imagine they are a regular part of your work out routine 🙂
Your recovery suite was fabulous! It brought back memories of wrestling Huck back and forth trying to help get him care, I actually giggled.
I hope you find a photo for the tripawds calendar if you can. It would be so heartwarming to have one of his handsome photos on that calendar.
Sending lots of love and hugs, head scritches to the furbabies and with 4 cats now, we have plenty of sandpaper kisses 🙂
Jackie and Huck
Jackie!
FOUR? Wow! That must keep you on your toes. Huck is doing well?
I am going to look for a picture of our guy for the calendar.
Huck is doing fantastic❤ He greets me every night after work, hogs my pillow at night, nudges David at 6am on the weekends for breakfast, and keeps the rest of the furmily in line.
Phoebe is/was a feral kitten that was a TNR fail. Her pride, mama, sis, and bro are not handleable so we feed them breakfast and dinner faithfully. They’ve all been TNR and spend a lot of time in our yard like Huck did❤
Can’t wait to see your photo 🤗🐾🤗🐾🤗
It is sooo good to hear from you! I can’t believe it’s been over a year since Rusty got his wings. The Bridge has never been the same since!
And he definitely sent one kitty for each paw! Rusty knew who Fiona, Shrek, and Ana Banana were meant to manage. Clearly, they’ve trained you well to provide plenty of paper products and lots of love too. Oh and thanks to Fi, you’ve advanced your feline medical management skills as well? Bonus! That’s pretty cool about the way you handled her recovery ward. If you took any photos of the crate, and also how you learned to give pills after all these years, we would loooove to see them!
We will try to video one of the pillings 🙂
It went from kitty burrito, to a loose blanket which didn’t really hold her but gave her the illusion of it, to the current situation which is:
Princess Fiona jumps up to the couch, lets me put her front paws on the throw pillow to get a better angle, and we drop the pill down the back of her throat! This is followed by a “Licky Stick”, officially known as Hartz Delectables Squeeze Ups. These are Kitty Crack around here!
I will also look through our phones for photos of the recovery ward.
I want to add to the chorus of how wonderful it is to hear from you! And to see how full your heart is and how much joy and fun all you kitties are bringing to you makes me soooo happy!!
I had so much fun read about all the personalities and antics of Fiona, Shrek, and Ana Banana! The pictures are so precious! And yeah, we now know the real cause of paper towel shortage!
Risty, dear sweet Rusty the Bunnyman continues to touch your lives, and out lives too. He is referenced here often as one of our kotty heroes..and you and Nick are our kitty heroes hoomans!!!
Be sure and send a picture of Rusty to be put in our calendars!
Thanks again for the great update and delightful pictures!
Hugs and love to all
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
It is wonderful to know that something that we learned with Rusty can possibly help other tripawd families. It is paying forward what you guys gave us! I know I would not have been able to make it through those years without this support group. You are angels on Earth.