Tuesday 22 September 2015

New sleeping arrangements

Hello. I thought you might like a catch up with the family. Just back from a late walk with the extremely handsome Rocky. We don't go far, just a bimble up and down the road so he can have a sniff around and check out his territory. This cooler weather is not good for him, but luckily we had some sun today so we were both out in the garden. The medication is easing his arthritis, although he will never run about again, his tail is still wagging.  
This is Mayze's favourite place, she makes a dash to the kitchen window sill whenever she hears any kind of clattering of pots and pans. She enters at 90 miles an hour and launches herself from exactly the same spot every time, which is now making an indent in the vinyl floor covering. She watches me open the fridge door and waits in anticipation of some tasty morsel finding it's way onto her saucer. She does this at least six times a day, or more, but she does not always get something, she is a greedy madam.

Heidi is still camping out on the living room table. She spends a lot of time here, with the occasional trip out into the garden. The window sill is a very nice sun spot for her as well. I have to move the food tray off if I want to use the sewing machine. She will have to have another blood test soon to compare the readings with the first one she had.

The bestest cat in the whole wide world, Bugsy Baby Bugalugs stays mainly in the bedroom window sill. I have propped a door up against the curtain because he rolled over and fell out once. He likes to watch the world go by, and the king of the castle gets his food brought to him. He climbs down to use the litter box, and if it is sunny he will go outside. He can still get up and down with the help of a chair, not bad for 18 years old.

Now what's all this about new sleeping arrangements? Rocky has always slept on my bed with me, but during the last week he has been going to sleep for a couple of hours then waking up and has not been able to settle. He is tossing and turning trying to get comfortable. I wake up at about midnight to find his face looking down at me. I ask him what he wants but he doesn't tell me, so I have to guess. On with the dressing gown, pick up the torch, and out we go onto the garden. He has a pee, and we go back to bed.

Two hours later the same thing happens again, and sometimes it is three times in the night. This was not doing my beauty sleep much good and I was waking up in the morning with a headache and still tired. I came to the conclusion that the bed was too soft for him, so I brought his own bed upstairs and put it on the floor next to my bed. This didn't work, he preferred to lay on the carpet.

I have been carrying him up and down stairs for quite a while now because I don't want him to put any unnecessary pressure on his joints. His little legs have got to last him a while longer, and hopefully pain free if possible. Anyway, I have come up with an idea, where I don't have to carry him up and down stairs. Why don't I bring my bed downstairs. Now I am not going to clear a space and hump a chuffin great king size bed into the living room. Mind you looking across at the three piece suite I have in here, I could shift that upstairs and have my bed in it's place. That would be good, like a bedsit, everything in one room, ha ha.

The solution is I have a camp bed that is very comfortable to sleep on, so for the moment I am camping out in my living room. This lot gets taken downstairs and a bed made up. Rocky is happy on the floor he has plenty of space to choose his spot. Bugsy can have a poo in the night and I am not woken by the smell of it, so I don't have to get out of bed to move the litter box.

We have had two nights now where Rocky has not bothered me, and we have both slept through till 6.45am, so it's working. He didn't really need to go outside, he never has done before, so it was the soft bed that he wasn't comfortable with. Now we are both happy. I think I might need to move into a bungalow, ha ha.

Right, that's me done, got to make the bed up. It's surprising how comfy it is.
Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip

30 comments:

  1. I would do the same for my animals...Good solution!

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  2. Oh how good to hear of somebody else's night time arrangements! we have two dogs, both rescued. The oldest one( 14 yrs)decided he didn't like sleeping on the landing in his bed anymore and just paced up and down till we went and got him and took him on to our bed! Of course, the younger one didn't want to be left so he had to come in too! We did keep trying to get them back into their beds after 10 - 15mins but more pitter pattering up and down the landing!! We've GIVEN UP and now sleep with 2 dogs on our bed!!! Good job they're not big ones! Linda J

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    1. As long as everyone is happy, that's the main thing.

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  3. we are carrying Roobarb up at night, she runs upstairs during the day, but her old legs get weary come 10pm.
    Good to know that little Rocky is coping well in his senior years. I was just thinking about him this morning and the horrible environment he used to put up with.

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  4. You are a love....
    Teresa

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  5. You are so thoughtful and kind. Your animals are lucky and I know you get lots of pleasure (and love) from sharing your happy life with them. JanF

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  6. You are a beautiful Lady llona! ☺

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  7. Rocky (yes, he is very handsome), Mayze, Heidi and Bugsy are so lucky to have you, Ilona!

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  8. Does Bugsy miss you being upstairs at night?
    I have a tiny house all one floor - often describe it as a studio apartment but a house. Thought of building an upper floor at one point, but if I had, it's me that would be creaking and moaning about stairs now!

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    1. Hi. No I don't think so. I feed him last thing before bed time, and he is yelling at me for food when I go upstairs to the bathroom in the morning. If he stays in all day I visit him and give him cuddles, he purrs loudly. He knows I love him.

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  9. Hello.Oh my goodness!Bugsy is amazing for such an old fellow.All the kitties are so sweet and precocious.Rocky of course is a matinee idol,just love that boy,look at that face!Okay,enough of my gushing. They are blessed to have you and to be so well loved and cared for.Bye for now,D.

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  10. I love the love you have for Rocky. Now if every dog and cat in the world could be as loved as yours and maybe each child as loved as your pets, what a wonderful world it would be. D

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  11. You are a good woman. I loved the photos of your animal family and your old boy looks such a darling .

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  12. My dog dug through the neighbours bonfire remains and came home with a black face and a tummy full of goodness knows what. Whatever it was, it gave her the runs and kept us up all night. Five times a night at the most. She is fine now, but we are still tired ;). The cats are out all night and sleep all day, each on a fluffy blanket. Have a nice day, two and four-legged. Pam in Norway

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  13. My cats don't wait for me to open the fridge door - they do it themselves and then help themselves to anything they fancy - usually in the middle of the night ! I've invested in child-proof locks but they pose no problem !

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  14. You are a very kind and thoughtful lady. I admire the way you look for solutions to life's problems and do not give up until you find an answer. Well done, you put me to shame x

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  15. I think you are good woman too. Your little family look contented and happy and when they are, you are. My old cat needs a help up so we have put a folding chair with a cushion on it in front of the dishwasher for her to jump up and down and also put a small sofa in the kitchen in case she wants a nap without jumping. Who cares if the kitchen isn't ideal home standard, the cat loves living with us and that's just fine isn't it?

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    1. I look around my house and think, the stair carpet is scratched, cat hairs everywhere, bowls of food and water lying around, litter boxes to be cleaned, it aint no showhouse. It's a house of love.

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  16. All of your animals are very lucky to have you to love them and look after them.Rocky is just so beautiful and well done for finding a solution for the current situation.I don't know how old Rocky is,but my old girl (sadly no longer with us) started to become unsettled at night when she was very elderly.I think it's quite normal for a bit of doggy dementia to set in and it shows up most by being restless at night,or at least it did with my beauty.I spent the last few months of her life sleeping downstairs with her,seeing to her every need!She was still happy and content when she wasn't going a wandering! Your description of your new arrangements with Rocky have made my eyes go a bit leaky.It's heart warming to hear of a beautiful little dog who had so little in life ending up one of the luckiest,richest little dogs in the world.Thank you for sharing.

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    1. Jan, my eyes go a bit leaky when I think of the time when I won't have him around any more.

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  17. I love seeing photos of your furry family but have always had a soft spot for Rocky. I guess he is quite old and is very lucky to have you as his owner in his senior years. Sadly many golden oldies end up in rescue centres when owners can't be bothered to adapt to their needs. Pleasexgive Rocky a big hug from me. Kristel

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  18. Bless your heart. If only every elderly dog had someone who cares as much as you. Reading this blog and comments from your visitors, it is heartening to know that I'm not the only person who once re-arranged all the sleeping arrangements for the benefit of an aged and desperately loved dog :-)

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  19. I slept on the floor in the hall outside my (late) Uncle's bedroom when he was worried about something. My friend sleeps in the armchair so that my cat can have someone to open the door when he wants to come in (no catflap). Yes, it is very nice of you. Natalie.

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  20. You'll get your rewards Ilona for being such a kind soul. I wonder if poor little Rocky's arthritis was bought on by being left out in his previous life.
    It's good to read about your pampering the cats, it makes me feel so much better as we do exactly the same thing, ha ha.
    Briony
    x

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  21. I hope you are comfortable too, but I would have done exactly the same for my pets. I didn't know Bugsy was 18 - wow he is doing well. Great to see your family looking so content and happy. Debbie.

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  22. You are a girl after my own heart. We live for our beautiful dog Millie and fabulous cat Archie. Everything we do we consider them first to make sure they are ok.
    Archie was a freebie from friends who own a Cat Hostel and he is now 16 years old. We calculated recently that we have paid out $6,000 (Australian dollars) in boarding fees but not a cent too much to make sure he is well looked after while we take a holiday.
    We are retired now and lots of our friends are taking cruises but we have bought a Motorhome so Millie dog can come on holiday with us. Friends recently christened our van Millie's Motorhome. Never a truer word.
    Millie sleeps with us but Archie is a fidget so we shut our bedroom door so he can roam the rest of the house and choose one of his many beds to sleep on.
    We had a boarding kennel before we retired and I think that has to be the best job ever. You can only own a few pets but being with about 80 every day is sheer bliss. We treated each and every one as though they were our own and now 10 years later folk stop us in the street to say hello and how happy their dogs were when they stayed with us. That is better than winning the lotto.
    I love your blog, just wish you live nearer, would love to share a cuppa.

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  23. What a gorgeous fur family you have.xxx

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  24. That's love. Xxx Thank goodness for animal lovers everywhere. Xxx

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