Boyfriend several years back moved into my condo with Skip and me.  The condo is a bi-level and one of those where when you walk in you decide to go up or down immediately.

One day boyfriend walked in and yelled “Hello!”  I replied with “Hello!” This became our Marco-Polo game when we came home.  It was our way of determining where the other was when walking in the door.

Well, little did we know Skip was listening and learning.  He figured out what we were doing by calling out to each other.  He is a smart cat when he wants to be.

One night boyfriend and I headed to bed and we forgot to make sure Skip was with us.  A little while later we hear “Herrow!” from downstairs.  We both looked at each other and at the same time called back “HELLO!”

Skip came running up the stairs and jumped on the bed with a look of “It worked!”  Of course we praised him to let him know that we were pleased.  Then we all fell fast asleep with one of us purring.

Thinking back on it, maybe encouraging him to call out wasn’t a great idea.  Skip however liked the game and would play it quite often even in the middle of the night after heading down for food.

Skip will even use it when we leave him with his grandparents when we travel.  I had told mom about it and she knew to call back “Hello!”  Mom said that Dad was surprised to hear “Herrow” from Skip and even asked if Skip was trying to say “Hello”.  But hey even Dad knew what he was saying, so it’s not like we parents are making up what it sounds like Skip says.

So, if you ever visit our house or my parents house when you are in town and hear “Herrow!” please reply with “Hello!” and you will have a kitty probably come running to you. 🙂

Just a quick update on my little nutcase (That’s just one nickname for him): Skip is doing awesome!  We are a year and half after the first diagnosis of HCM and you’d never know he has a HCM or hypothyroidism.  I can’t say the same for food allergies because ice cream is a weakness of ours.  He loves it so much that it is hard to tell him no, but he is allergic to milk.

While on vacation, Skip stayed with his grandparents.  I got a report from mom that Skip didn’t like her timing on giving him his pills.  You see at home, Skip gets his pills before I do my hair.  Mom was trying to do it afterwards.

Mom said that he would come and sit outside her bathroom and stare at her.  She asked him for just a bit more time, and he would leave.  She said that he was serious the second time around though.  If she didn’t comply, he would just go and lay down somewhere thinking he wasn’t getting his medicine.  Then she’d have to go find him to give him his pills.

The next day on his second time around the house, she dropped what she was doing and followed him to the kitchen.  He was more than happy to take his pills.  Skip had his grandma in training. 😉

Skip is doing great and it looks like he has gained a bit of weight back since Thanksgiving which is a good thing.  He looks healthy and happy which is saying a lot.  He still willingly takes his pills while sitting on the kitchen counter which he jumps up on.  I hope that this will always be the case.

A full update on Skip will be available once he goes to his next cardiologist appointment in February.  I truly hope that other pet owners are as lucky as we were with our vet finding the HCM in its early stages.  This is just another reason to get your pets checked regularly by a vet.