Frosting, anyone?: Do I need to take a number?

I've had my cat, Winter, for almost 12 years now. In human years, he's an old man....say around 70 or so. I got him when he was about 6 weeks old and he was full of fleas, ear mites, tapeworm, and roundworm. With the help of my vet, we got him back to health and he has lived a long, happy, relatively healthy life. He's had his share of issues, however. When he was a kitten, he would meow all through the night. I tried everything to get him to stop....I mean everything!!! I even resorted to trying to dose him with liquid Benadryl before I went to bed. I must say, it's quite a site watching a cat run around the house foaming at the mouth because of the Benadryl. :) Yet again......another flop.

When he was around 4, I brought him to the vet for a good teeth cleaning and requested they check his ears as well. When I picked him up, I was informed that his left ear had some type of mass in it that they couldn't get a good look at....thus, I was referred to an animal Dermatologist. Yep....a Dermatologist. The Dermatologist found some type of bleeding ulcer in his ear causing an excess of wax buildup. He couldn't get to the area to biopsy it to determine if it was cancerous or not, so he suggested it be removed....so I was referred to the animal Surgeon. Well, in the end, Winter had his inner left ear removed. After that surgery, the constant meowing at night stopped. According to the vet, he had probably been in pain for several years due to the ulcer in his ear. Boy did I feel horrible for everything I did to get him to shut up!!!

Well, as the years passed, living in a situation where it's just myself and my two cats, you really get to know their personalities. Twelve years with Winter has given me the ability to almost predict his behavior. I sometimes know exactly what he's thinking just by the look he gives me....or by his actions. I know that if I'm gone all day and get home really late for a few days in a row, I can almost bet there will be a nice little poop present in my bathtub. And, if I get home and am in a rush to change and head out the door....and I don't give him his expected treats and turn the faucet on for him, he'll vomit in the middle of the living room floor. Or if I have a friend over and my friend stays late (past his 10:00pm bedtime), he'll start to get real ancy, start pacing and scratch on a window. And learning his behavior saved on my grocery bill as well! After giving him treats and watching them sit in his dish for days after he snubbed his nose to them, I learned to let him pick out the treats he wants each day. His favorites, I know, are in the lavender bag!

Recently, though, he's developed a new behavior. Initally, I didn't understand it. Sometimes when I am on the computer, he will sit on the floor next to me, stare at me, and meow non-stop. I'd reach down and pet him briefly, then go back to what I was doing. But that wasn't enough. He'd start meowing again. I'd get up, go to the pantry and let him pick out the treat he wanted...but that wasn't it, either. Then one day, I decided to pick him up. Now Winter has NEVER been a lap cat. He does NOT like to be held....so picking him up and putting him in my lap is usually the absolute opposite of what he wants to do. However, I was suprised. I picked him up, put him in my lap, then tended back to what I was doing. Apparently, he wanted to play on the computer, too! Who would have thought! All that meowing was because he wanted to watch what I was doing on the computer! It was so cute, I had to take a picture!