The obnoxiously short goodbye - Freakinly Awesome Jack 2002-2018

I want to start off this post by being horribly callous and possibly even mean by saying none of you could possibly understand how shattered Jack's loss has left me. I know many of you have had beloved pets and were shattered by their loss, and I can't know how, but I only know how I feel. I do not want to diminish your grief in the least. So please take this as my brain being addled by grief..

I have loved this cat more than I can possibly express, more than any other. He wormed his way into my heart the second I met him and he stayed there, curled up in a ball purring contentedly, ever since - and for always. I always dreaded this day. I knew it was going to come one day, but I was hoping, stupidly, that it was a decade away.

I will never do him justice trying to explain him. Despite what the vet said upon his initial exam, he was an incredibly remarkable cat (the vet said "he is unremarkable - meaning that there was nothing to remark on during the exam nothing wrong to keep an eye on).  He had demands, requests, and he constantly asked us questions in his whiny howl of a meow that I would give anything to hear again.

Jack had an uncanny ability to be where I needed him to be, and not necessarily where I wanted him to be. I was unemployed when I fostered him so I used to travel with him quite a bit. We took him out for ice cream, I took him to visit the Catman at work. This made him an incredibly outgoing and friendly cat that believed that everyone loved him.. and they did.

I fear that his last few weeks were 'less than' because I was emotionally distracted by the death of Graham. I did my best to care for him. I knew something wasn't right with him because he had been licking litter and peeing outside the box. When we did a senior panel we found he had an infection and was a bit anemic. I was given antibiotics for the infection but nothing came of the anemia. It wasn't dramatically worrying so I thought I would bring it up on the follow up for his UTI and we could address his symptoms and issues then. There had been some confusion about his final wellness exam as I had asked for an exam for blood work and the front desk scheduled me for blood work only so I was a little rattled and didn't ask all of my questions - again, I thought they could wait.

Then Graham happened.

I was trying to tell if he was feeling okay, trying to observe his attitudes and his demeanor. He stumbled once while walking on the bed which freaked me out but he didn't actually fall and righted himself and continued on like nothing happened. I could tell something was off. I thought it might be his urinary issue. I thought it might be kidney issues since things were headed south in that department. I thought it might be his arthritis that prevented him from "leaving work" and coming to bed when we went to bed at night (he always made his way up eventually and we snuggled almost up to the last) I had no indication that things were going to go south so quickly.

I took this photo on Tuesday maybe an hour or two before things went down hill. We sat here at "work" and I was working on my personal computer. I was kissing his head frequently. I was thinking that the upcoming Friday I would take both of these kitties in: Jack for a follow up and Muffin for a senior exam. He was laying there with me. He stood up and shook his head every so slightly and sniffled and my world shattered.  There were blood spatters on my computer and my hand.

I have had two other cats develop nose bleeds. Em developed nasal cancer. Kit who developed throat cancer. I knew our time was coming to an end. I was hoping I'd have a year like I had with Em. I emailed the vet and asked for the first available.

Jack was freaked by my reaction so he wandered off. I wanted to see if he was willing to eat. Jack was never one to turn down a meal. We offered him some canned food up in my husband's office and he ate some of it but not all. He parked himself there and did not leave.

It hurt that he didn't want to hang out with me, but considering my panicked state of mind I wasn't surprised. He was still bleeding a little.. just a few drops an hour it appeared.. and we found blood droplets in the water bowl and where he was sitting.

I tried calming down and hanging out with him but I failed miserably. He kept walking away from me. Wanting him to rest and hopefully recover, I went to bed. I found he had vomited up the food he had just eaten. I didn't see any blood in the vomit so we cleaned it up and went to sleep.

I woke up with Jack in the bed, licking my nose, purring, happy.. I had hope.

I took him to the vet, we did an exam, we found a mass that could not be explained. I took him home on supportive care hoping that he would be okay. He was not. I came home and offered him food, he wasn't interested. I ran to the kitten room to give him some dry food - his beloved dry food - and I got him to eat a few bites.

I wanted to give time for things to work. He started hanging out in my husband's bathroom. I tried to give him things to be comfortable. It broke me that he didn't want to be with me. Muffin and Fleurp spent some time with him.

He was not eating, he was not drinking that I knew. I was worried. I researched and reached for straws. Dr. Lisa was incredibly kind listening to all of my questions and possible suggestions of what might help him. Realizing that surgery on a mass in his abdomen was not going to have a great prognosis, I wanted to find something outside of that which would give us some time.

I started prenisolone and hoped.

He did not visit me Thursday morning; my heart broke. I got the kitten webcam so I could watch him and realized pretty quickly that it was time. He was not sleeping, he was moving every ten or twenty minutes to try to get more comfortable. Several times I heard him actually groan.

Every time I would go and visit him to give him meds, or fluids, or force feed some baby food into him, or just love on him he would basically try to get away from me. He didn't want any more. He didn't want me to fight for him. I made the appointment.

Could we have gotten him through this if I had given the pred more time to work or got more food into him? Maybe, but at some point and some point pretty soon he would end up exactly as he was and I could not face the idea of doing this to him again. To try would be the most selfish thing I could think of - and yes I seriously considered it anyway.. I have always been a firm believer in a week too early than a minute too late. It was my second to last gift to give him. My grief is my last.

I had my husband spend time with him because he wanted nothing to do with me. My husband hated that I say it that way, but it is true. My energy was on a level Jack could not handle.

This has broken me. I had no time to get used to it, to be okay with it enough to be there for him. This is why I get seriously pissy when people try to guilt others into "being there for the pet" at the end.. there are times it is the absolute wrong decision.

I was very fortunate that the vet does final house calls and was available that night. I can not express how fortunate and thankful I was.

Jack's final photo

The vet found him in the bathroom. She gave him sedative to make him sleep. She asked us to tell her about him which I can't explain to you how much that helped. To hear my husband tell stories of his youth.. to remember him being healthy and happy..

He had gotten up and came closer to me while we were doing that as the sedative took effect. When he was out, we took him to a more convenient location and I got to hold him and kiss his head and drench his ears with my tears. When the vet left, I sobbed. I pulled it together and we went to bed and watched a movie. As is routine, I like to do a head count before bed, I always look for kitties in order.. Jack, Muffin, Eli, Twee, Kit, Fleurp, Skippy.  Before when Em and Ollie were still around it was Em, Ollie, JackMuffinEli.. kinda like LMNOP when you are saying the alphabet.  It is almost two years since Kit's passing and I still have a hard time skipping her in the routine.. but last night I could not start with Muffin.. I kept trying and trying, but it was always Jack.. I saw Muffin and Eli so I just kept going but I kept throwing Kit's name in the mix and then from then on I simply could not get the names right or in order..

And then there were five..

***

Maybe one day I'll gather up the strength to get through a Jack retrospective of just how freakin awesome he was.. because he was freakin awesome. but since I still haven't done one for Kit, I can't imagine it will be any time soon. Even now I am typing through the tears.

***

None of the kitties wanted to sit with me during the movie.. My energy was still so wrong.  My heart actually hurt, not in the emotional broken heart sort of way, but in a I strained a muscle sort of way.. When I finally drifted off to sleep Muffin came around for some snuggles. She woke me up and I tried to snuggle with her. She always enjoys snuggling with me but my energy was still "wrong" and she didn't want to be with me. She sat on her hammock and whined a bit and then settled down.

I'm grieving. I cry. I wail... I am eating copious amounts of yummy food and I am doing obnoxious things to my kitties like grabbing them and covering them with kisses - which only Jack ever appreciated. I am watching the Doctor Donna..

I will get through this, but I am basically in shock. I will eventually be fine, but right now I can't people. I am sorry I have been absent from social media and I've been staying away from email. If you want to reach me, leave a message, I'll respond when I'm ready.. Maybe Monday, possibly before.

If you want to make a donation in honor of Jack, NHKittens.com would be an awesome place. As Jack was a foster (my first fail) it seems only fitting. If you would like to send me a card (I have been asked for it) my address is PO Box 554 Grantham NH 03753. If you met Jack and want to share a story about him that you remember, I would love it. If you want to share your favorite Jack story that I've shared with you, I would love that too.

There is a kitty waiting for me, she is pregnant, and I have left word I am ready. The distraction will do me good. Being needed will do me good. Time will do me good.


THE LOVING ONES

My beloved Jack is not doing well

This was one post I was dreading writing.

Jack has been exhibiting micro signs that he wasn't feeling well. I had the feeling he has been uncomfortable for a while but they were nothing I could put my finger on. Each time I saw them I would "check in" with him and he responded exactly as he always has.. bright-eyed, willing to eat, attention seeking, even playing on his on occasionally.

I noticed the other day he deliberately walked into the litter box and licked the litter. I know this to be a sign of anemia and planned to take him to the vet if he did it again. We waited and nothing.  Then one day he walked in with litter on his nose. Did he eat that? or did he just get too close sniffing? I wasn't sure. I knew an exam would be several hundred dollars and until the other house sells (which the closing is next week) money was very tight. I was totally willing to spend it if I had something specific as a symptom..

Then he developed a UTI a little over a week ago. This was something.  He was due to have his thyroid rechecked as well, so I scheduled an appointment. Between the time of the schedule and the appointment, he vomited up a lot of water, some litter and little pieces of a plastic bag that was being used as a trash liner.

Well, he was already going in, and he was still eating, so I just made note of it and meant to tell it to the vet.. yes, I forgot.

They did a senior panel on him and found the UTI. They put him on antibiotics. I received a copy of the blood work and saw he was anemic and I emailed and asked about it, but it was the exact same time as Graham, so my question wasn't responded to. Since he was improved on the antibiotic and seemed to be doing better - again, in a non-specific way - I figured I'd talk about it on his follow up appointment.

Now, also during this time, he has been spending more and more time in my "office" hanging out with his head on my laptop. I thought it might be the heat, so I moved the heated bed to where he liked to lay and turned it on, but he refused to lay on it. Since we are still pretty new to this house, and the bedroom is upstairs from my office and the kitchen, I thought he just was reluctant to walk upstairs to come to bed. I was going to talk to the vet about possible pain meds in case it was arthritis.

I'm serious.. there was nothing one could hang a hat on to say he was not doing well, but there were a bunch of micro symptoms that could easily be chalked up to old age. He has thyroid issues, he has kidney issues.  He has been shivering more but not a lot and the first time I ran him to the vet for that she chalked it up to his being old.

And then there was a stumble.

When his antibiotics were almost over he was walking in the bed and stumbled. We have a ton of blankets and a thick mattress pad so I wondered if he just stepped weird. He continued to walk across the bed and no other stumble.  Then the day after, there was another, smaller one.

Is stumbling on an uneven surface an issue? I have no idea. We were due for a followup. I wanted him to be off antibiotics for a few days to make sure we had taken care of the issue. I was planning a follow up with him and an exam for Muffin and thinking that Friday might be a good day to do that.

And then there was the blood.

It was nine pm and he was sitting next to me at work. I was cleaning up my email and watching tv. He stood up and stretched a little and then sniffled and shook his head. Totally normal stuff, right? well, the three droplets of blood that landed on my computer and the one on my hand said differently.

I immediately had a breakdown. A huge ugly cry that made my husband extremely nervous.

You see, the two other nosebleeds in my cats were the precursors to finding cancer and their deaths. Emmy due to nasal cancer months later and Kit with a tumor on her throat that advanced in weeks.

I got an appointment for the next morning (yesterday) and got an exam. They were extremely kind to me. They let me in on an emergency appointment and I was there for over an hour.  During the initial exam, he seemed okay. There was no deformity on his face that would lead to nosebleeds. We talked about what it could be. His kidneys were starting to show signs of his age and his dealing with thyroid issues, but they never threw up warning flags; now with the anemia, it might be a sign of progression and that could be the cause of the nosebleeds due to low platelets. She asked about vomiting and I mentioned that someone had vomited up their breakfast but I didn't know who and Jack clearly vomited last night after the nosebleed but we didn't see it. He only bled a few drops at a time, but it lasted for several hours. He left several drops of blood around the water bowl and several drops of b

She did a full body exam and Jack reacted when she palpated his kidneys by biting me - well his warning bite of wrapping his teeth around my finger. She believed she felt a mass in his stomach so we took some x-rays.  Unfortunately, they weren't as clear as she would have liked. there is something there.. Her next step would be an ultrasound.

So, we talked about all of the possibilities. She said it could be nothing. It could be anemia from the kidneys and with supportive care, he could recover. She said it could be a mass. If it is a mass even in the best case she doesn't see a great prognosis in these cases. He is sixteen and a half.. He is anemic. He has thyroid issues, his heart murmur is back probably from the anemia. We talked about pred, we talked about different options. We did a CBC to see where his anemia was - if it was stable, progressing, or getting better (not likely as she noticed he was pale) and I took him home to give him fluids, an anti-nausea medication, and wait for the results.

Interestingly, the results came in just as I typed results.. his anemia has progressed.

Jack wouldn't eat after the exam. He went and isolated himself in my husband's office all night. I was expecting him to visit me last night and he didn't.

He got fluids last night. He will get some this morning. I am going to start steroids in hopes of shrinking the tumor and to spur him to eat. If not, we are probably going to look at end of life this weekend..

*big fat sobbing ugly cry*

What is CBD oil and why would I give it to my cat?

I have six cats and, by veterinarian standards, they are all seniors (Skippy is nine if you can believe that). My three oldest are 16 years old and Muffin has been dealing with arthritis for several years now. I have tried many things over that time to help her. We started with Cosequin. I have tried Adaquan, increasing the amount of fish oil she takes, MSM, and hyaluronic acid. The Cosequin and the Adaquan seem to give her the most help but she still takes a long time to walk up a flight of stairs and she goes down the stairs two feet at a time and is quite reluctant to do so.

I had been looking for something "more" but there aren't good options for chronic pain in cats. There are opioids like Buprenex - which are not long lasting and has to be dosed multiple times a day and can be sedative - and a few nonopioid options that can have harsh side effects.

I have been hearing more and more about how helpful CBD oil is for pain. I should probably tell you that I am a total teetotaller.  I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't do drugs. I don't see the point in it and since most of these things are harmful to your health long term... well anyway, I am a teetotaller. I tell you this so you might understand what it took to get me to try this and that I don't support this lightly.

My research on CBD led me to many things that it is supposed to help or cure. It was starting to feel a bit like the "coconut oil" trend that it would fix anything.. or people would at least start to attribute it to cure everything anyway.. but the research I saw on pain management was quite compelling. It also helps with seizures, anxiety, cancer, and it reduces inflammation.

Researchers think that CBD interacts with receptors in your brain and immune system. Receptors are tiny proteins attached to your cells that receive chemical signals from different stimuli and help your cells respond.

The human body contains a specialized system called the endocannabinoid system (ECS), which is involved in regulating a variety of functions including sleep, appetite, pain and immune system response. The body produces endocannabinoids, which are neurotransmitters that bind to cannabinoid receptors in your nervous system. Studies have shown that CBD may help reduce chronic pain by impacting endocannabinoid receptor activity, reducing inflammation and interacting with neurotransmitters (*). 

Cats and dogs also have an endocannabinoid system and with CBD becoming easily available and the research on CBD is finally being done (although sadly it is still hindered in the US due to federal restrictions that are so restrictive they make no sense what so ever) - a lot of vets are even prohibited from prescribing it, but there is some information on CBD for veterinarians out there too. CBD oil made from hemp (with the low THC levels) is currently legal in all 50 states so buying it online should not be an issue. Some lawmakers are trying to change that both for easier access and for less access so your mileage may vary.

So, from my reading on the subject, I realized that CBD should help Muffin's arthritis as well as Eli's anxiety and might even help Jack feel more comfortable. As time went on, I wondered it if might help Fleurp's anemia (since we don't know the cause but prednisolone helps her) and Skippy's overgrooming/fur loss (since I don't see him overgroom) and possibly his rhinitis, so I added them into the mix as well. Even if it didn't help them with their specific issues "they" say CBD is still good for the healthy since it helps fight general inflammation, which researchers are finding is far more harmful than originally thought.

When I decided I wanted some I quickly realized I was totally out of my depth. I had no idea what I didn't know and wasn't sure what I was supposed to be looking for so I found a CBD group on Facebook for pets. It was very active and had a lot of members so I just followed along with the questions and read as much as I could with special interest in those posts about cats. I found the same questions popped up over and over.

• Will CBD help my cat with their issue?
       Depending on the issue - very likely
• How much CBD should I give?
       1 to 3mg per 10lbs is the general recommendation You start low to see how your cat reacts
       Start with once per day, to make sure your pet is okay with it and increasing from there.
• What is the best brand of CBD?
       That is a very subjective question. Every member of the board had their own opinions

There are several types of CBD oil. CBD oil made from "hemp" and CBD oil made from "cannabis" / marijuana. Because of the laws in the US, purchasing CBD oil from cannabis with the higher concentrations of THC is only available if you are in a state with recreational marijuana laws. Humans can get them if they live in a state with medical marijuana laws, but from what I have read a vet cannot prescribe these.

Hemp-derived CBD has minimal amounts (less than 0.3%) of THC which is the active ingredient in cannabis that causes you to become high. Cats and dogs have a low toxicity threshold for THC, but most cases of overdose come from the animal consuming the whole plant either fresh or dried. Higher levels of THC (over 0.3%) seem to have a synergistic effect on the CBD making it work 'better', from what I have read. It is recommended if you are dealing with tough cases or cancer to try to get a full spectrum CBD oil with THC which is made from marijuana. I have not gone that extra step, but I am considering it. If you want to learn more about higher concentrations of THC, I recommending joining a support group for CBD oil and doing a lot more reading on the subject

There is also some confusion about labeling because of regulations and lack thereof. Some companies call CBD oil "hemp oil" but that is confusing as there is also an oil made from hemp seed called "hemp oil". Some companies call it a tincture. If you are unsure of what you are getting, you can usually find some feedback by searching the internet for pages that are willing to go further in depth for you or support groups in places like Facebook (and there is much more to learn about CBD, I am only touching on the things I wish I had known when I was looking into it). For what it is worth, at this time, Amazon will not sell CBD oil.

There are also two general types of CBD: isolate and full spectrum. There are a few reasons to try isolate; one it has no taste (the isolate I bought tastes like the carrier oil) and there is zero THC so if you are at risk of being drug tested you will not come up positive.

Full spectrum CBD includes other cannabinoids and terpenes which can help. The full spectrum oils I have purchased all taste very grassy. Some were much stronger than others. I believe the theory is the stronger the taste the more "full spectrum" it is but my cats refused to consume the very bitter ones. When picking an oil, you want to find one that has independent testing and makes the labs available to you.

I started with Treatibles, on the recommendation of a friend and because I had met someone who then started working there, which comes in a 90mg bottle. I liked it because the carrier oil is grapeseed whereas most CBD is coconut oil based (one company said because it makes it easier to give transdermal). After that, I have tried several other products and I have yet to settle on one brand. Ideally, I would like a product that would not use coconut oil as a carrier oil, would be full spectrum with some good grassy notes but not overwhelmingly so. Right now the closest I've come is CBDistillery (it is coconut oil based) but I have several others to try.

I have moved on to human versions of CBD because they are *generally* higher quality and they are most certainly available in higher concentrations which often leads to lower prices. The 90mg bottle of CBD from Treatibles was $34 where the human version 500mg bottle at a different company was $35. You just want to avoid those oils with flavorings since they come in flavors like orange, mint, or chocolate.

CBD is weird in that they label the bottle with the full amount of CBD in it.  So a 1 ounce CBD oil that is 90mg has 90mg of CBD in it, if you drank the entire bottle you would get 90mg of CBD. A 1500mg bottle has just that.  So if both bottles are one-ounce you have to use a lot more of the 90mg bottle to get the same dose as one drop of the 1500mg bottle. But a two-ounce bottle of 1500mg has oil that is half as concentrated as a one-ounce bottle of 1500mg. You want to read the labels of anything you want to purchase to know for certain what you are getting and then what an appropriate dose would be.

When I started giving the oil I mixed it in with meat baby food. My cats LOVED it. My problem with that was I could not be sure how much CBD each cat was getting. Some cats were more aggressive at licking the spoon and the bowl than others. If I had one cat, or even just two, I would probably still use this method. I started buying higher concentrations of CBD so I can dose just one or two drops (Jack, Fleurp, and Skippy get minimal amounts - actually it didn't seem to help Fleurp and Skippy so I no longer give it to them - and Eli and Muffin get higher concentrations) and I have found that a freeze-dried salmon treat soaks up the oil easily. Once again, my ideal use would be to be able to dose them directly in the mouth because there is better absorption if you can get it on the gums/inside of the mouth/under the tongue (how I dose it when I've used it) but I want my cats to love getting medication whenever I can so this works for us.

Yes, I have used my cat's CBD. I have suffered from headaches for decades and I had one that was killing me and I had a bottle of CBD that my cats would not consume due to the strong taste. It helped me quite a bit and I am a fan. Even if you don't have a reason to take it, it will not hurt you to try it so you know how it tastes before giving to your cat. I have done some readings on contraindications and there are some but most of them are abated if you take it a few hours before or after the medication you might be taking/giving. I hope one day CBD becomes more and more acceptable and one doesn't have to go to a skeezy "smoke shop" (to be fair, not all smoke shops are skeezy, but I have found that cannabis products are generally sold at shops that have catered to the 420 set so they have that type of feel to them - please don't tell  me they aren't all that way, I know that) to buy it locally. While I have found it in my local natural food store, it was only one brand and it was priced quite high vs the online stores I've searched.

Want to learn more? Check out the following links I thought were helpful.

• CBD oil beginners guide from CBDistillery
• CBD oil user reviews at cbdoilusers.com this website also has a number of coupon codes for companies they have affiliated with or who see the value in this type of site.
• A round-up of the laws concerning medical marijuana

Lastly, disclosure time: The effectiveness of CBD Oil has not been evaluated by the FDA for treatment of any health issues. The information on this page is designed for educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for informed medical advice or care, or even your own research as this is intended as a primer - a place to start if you want to learn about it. While ideally, you would have a discussion about CBD with your vet before using it (or doctor if you want to use it), remember that many vets and doctors have their hands tied or they might come with their own prejudices against marijuana. You do not need a prescription to get it

Have you tried CBD oil? Do you have any other information you think would be helpful or see any inaccuracies in my article? I am totally open to feedback..

Wordless Wednesday - nipped out

Um, Jack, this is not for you...

Despite my overwhelming love for my boy, not everything is for or about him.. but don't tell him that.

Muffin did very well on her dental. She still has all of her teeth. I swear dental health has more to do with genetics than anything else... Jack has shown no other signs of shivering. I remember him doing it once before in the past, but I don't remember when. Just when I was convinced he was shivering he stopped. The vet said it could be any number of things but chances are that he was just old and as such is prone to being cold - like us humans. But I am keeping an eye on him.

So .. the photo above.. um.. yeah, about that.

If all goes well you should be seeing that basket again tomorrow.. Wish me luck

Why yes, I am paranoid, but I have reason to be

My darling Jack is coming up on sixteen, he is prone to urinary crystals, he has blocked three times, and he is now hypothyroid. So when I sat next to him yesterday afternoon and he appeared to be shivering I just about panicked. Nothing good comes from a shivering cat.

I watched him for a few minutes to be sure he was doing it and then decided to snuggle him to try to give him some of my body heat. Still, he shivered.

So, I got up and found my thermometers. I have two for cats and I didn't know if they both worked so I bought both of them to him and attempted to get a reading. He was NOT a fan. The first one read 98.0 (normal is 101ish) so I wondered if it had a good battery, so I took a second reading with the other. He was even less of a fan this time it was 97.5.

Now I'm taking stock. I thought of getting a glucose reading (and I so should have because the vet did and charged me $10 for it) but I was distracted and didn't do it. I got him some treats. He ate several of them but left bits behind - which is not like him. I thought I would break out a can of cat food, something he rarely can resist. He was very happy to have it and dug right in, but stopped after about four bites.

He was eating. He was interactive. He was happy but he was shivering. I had a low reading on two thermometers. I could sit and watch him or I could take him to the vet for a once over. Because of his age and health issues, I chose the latter. If it had been Muffin or Eli I probably would have chosen to watch instead.

We get to the vet and he is active and his charming self.  Their reading on him was also 98, so I opted to have the vet give him a once over. She didn't see anything glaring and gave me options to give pain meds in case he was in pain (she didn't see signs of it during the exam but it could be an option) do blood work to see if his kidneys were shutting down (but if they were shutting down to the point he would be shivering he wouldn't be as interactive) or bring him home and monitor. I opted for the later.

He got home, he DEMANDED more cat food (which I gave him) (and he ate most of it) and did a walk around the house to make sure all was okay at the house and then he went off to bed to sleep off all of the 'back door intrusions'.  Sorry buddy, but I'd rather be safe than sorry (at least now I know my thermometers are working)

Muffin is going to the vet today for a dental.. wish us luck

Blogging conference: day two

It is way too late, and I am way too tired, but I thought I would check in with you all and let you know I'm still kicking. 🐱 There is something uniquely special about hanging out with people who get you, who are into the same things you are. Tonight a number of the cat bloggers went out to eat at a local BBQ joint and had a wonderful time talking about cats and blogging and the things we have learned and vendors of products we have met.

I am really enjoying being here, even if the furry hoard at home is giving me major guilt trips for not being at their beck and call

Seriously, how did I ever leave the house?
and yes, that is snow back there. it is still coming down according to the Catman

The post about raw fed cat poop

Momma is gonna talk about my poop again, isn't she?

The other day I gave my cats a couple of cans of wet food as a treat. I do this from time to time, mostly because we have failed to thaw out enough raw food, but also because I pretend it is a little nutritional insurance. We do not know everything about nutrition and even less about feline nutrition, so feeding many different sources of protein and different recipes gives a little bit of coverage nutritionally, just in case.

and my cats adore it. They go insane when they hear a can pop and act like kids do when there is birthday cake.

When I do, there is some evidence of it in the litter box. but never so clearly as what I scooped the other day. I got three perfect examples of poop from when they ate raw food morphing into poop from when they ate canned. Raw food produces stool that is very dry, crumbles easily, doesn't pick up much litter and barely smells. Canned food produces stools that are wetter, smellier and bulkier. Just look:

Even if they could prove to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that raw food held no nutritional benefits for cats over canned, I would still feed it for the poop. There is never a stink bomb in my house, there is far less stool produced because most of the food is utilized by the body, and I use less litter because it doesn't stick to the stool and I don't throw it away.

Since I have seen first hand the dramatic improvement in cats when being fed raw including diabetic cats with reduced glucose levels, cats with uncontrollable diarrhea clearing up almost overnight, cats with urinary crystals no longer suffering, not sure there is anything that would get me from feeding raw.

Wordless Wednesday - Now Jack is just being ridiculous.

Pay attention to me!!

Because of my lipedema, I need to spend time on a vibration plate. The other day when I was 'just standing there" Jack decided he needed some attention.

Muffin was all "whatever, I have nip." Jack wasn't getting the attention he wanted so he went off and got a toy. He usually carries it to me, crying out pitifully, until I see him doing it at which point he drops it - which makes it very hard to get a photo of it. As soon as we make eye contact he leaves it where he is and comes to me for praise. This time it was halfway up the stairs.

Yes, Jack, you are a good boy.

Makin momma jealous

The post (mostly) about Eli

This is Eli. It is a pretty low-quality photo of Eli as I had my phone on me at the time and he was being a huge pita this afternoon so it was what I had on me at the time.

For those of you who are new to the blog (am I even getting new readers at this point? I mean what is a foster kitten blog without foster kittens??) Eli was a foster of mine back in 2002 that I ended up keeping. Yes, this means Eli is 15 years old (he was born sometime in the late summer). I ended up "ruining' him by medicating him for a particularly harsh strain of URI. He was so afraid of me that he could barely stand to be in the same room as me for the first few years of his life. It was over ten years before he finally reached out to me on his own. He is still quite fearful and a bit paranoid and is not a fan of you even think too much about him.

This afternoon I was in the kitchen and I heard him scream out. He doesn't meow, he squeaks, and when he wants attention he squeaks quite loudly. I wasn't sure what was going on with him so I set out to find him and he was in the kitten room hanging out on the litter box. I couldn't coax him down, he just seemed to want me to pat him. So I did.

Hello? We heard there was attention going on and we want some, please.

His abdomen was a bit tight - like it gets when he is stressed and when he is stressed it leads to bladder issues for him - so I was a bit worried about him, so I hung out with him and continued to pat him. He soaked it all in. He still didn't want to seem to leave the kitten room for some reason, but he was completely fine with my bringing him treats, which he ate, and patting him, so I'm guessing he was just having a weird.

Jack was so determined to get up there to get some of the attention going on.
He was soooo proud he figured out how to do it since he was unable to jump up like Eli does.

Sadly, Eli has developed a rather large but shallow lump on the side of his rib cage. At first, I thought it might be a bit of an abscess because we occasionally get tussles in the household that get a little rough; we have had a handful of them over the years. The vet was unsure of what it was. He was being seen for stress and possible bladder issues at the time so we didn't get too far into it. She said to watch it, etc. so that is what we have been doing. It is still there and it seems to have grown a bit over the last few months.I should probably take him back in to have it checked out further, but with his disposition, there is really no kind way to treat him extensively for that kind of growth. Either it is a lipoma (he already has two on his legs) and there is nothing to do or it is cancer and it would require surgery and recovery and possibly chemo - all of which are not really a good idea on a high stress. He is fifteen and has had a good life. This is probably nothing, but it might be something, so I'm basically making note of it for future reference.

I'm molting, moooolllllting..

Despite what the groundhog said, Spring is coming and it is having its way with Fleurp. For longtime readers, you know that Fleurp becomes anemic every spring and every spring she loses her incredibly glorious mane and quite a bit of fur.

As a result, she leaves little bits of herself all over the place.

um, excuse me.. 

How is this post not all about me?

Seriously?!?

I have found a local place that grooms cat and I am going to make an appointment in the next few days to get Fleurp's belly shaved, because while I can groom her mane off (it is actually almost all gone now) and can work on her sides, she will not let me get to her belly. I am hoping this prevents the worst of her issues and I don't need to put her back on prednisolone. We won't know if it helps for several weeks.

A look at FeLV aka Feline Leukemia

When you spend any time around cats without homes, you run into the illnesses that affect them. Most of them are described in acronyms; FIV (Feline immunodeficiency virus), Felv (Feline Leukemia), FIP (Feline infectious peritonitis), Feline coronavirus (FoCV), just to name a few. Today I want to take a look at FeLV commonly known as Feline Leukemia.

Jack - exposed and diagnosed with FeLV in 2003/ FeLV- in 2004

Feline Leukemia is unlike leukemia in many ways, so the fact that they have the same name is very misleading. Leukemia is cancer of the body's blood-forming tissues, including the bone marrow and the lymphatic system.¹ Feline leukemia is a retrovirus, a virus that changes their genetic characteristics, that can cause tumors (mainly lymphoma), bone marrow suppression syndromes (mainly anemia), and lead to secondary infectious diseases caused by suppressive effects of the virus on bone marrow and the immune system.²

FeLV is less common now than it was twenty years ago. The experts believe it is due to better testing and proper management of cats who are found to be positive to prevent them from spreading the disease. There is also a vaccine for FeLV that is 80-90% effective so if your cat is free roaming and comes in contact with a FeLV+ cat their chances of contracting the disease is greatly reduced.

Our knowledge of FeLV continually evolves. When it was first discovered, many assumed it was an automatic death sentence. Unfortunately, many vets and shelters still subscribe to this philosophy thinking they are saving the cat from a painful death and preventing the spread of the disease. But with the information we now know, euthanizing a cat simply because it tests positive is happening far less.

We do know that the virus is communicable and that cats pass the feline leukemia virus to other kitties through saliva, nasal secretions, urine, feces, prior to birth from an infected mom or after birth from her milk, through bite wounds, via grooming of each other, and by sharing food dishes and litter boxes.³ It was once thought that the virus was quite hardy and that it would survive in the environment for a long time but they found out that it can only survive a few hours at most.³ and some people believe that it only lasts a few minutes.⁴  So if you come in contact with a FeLV+ cat, it would be highly unlikely that you could bring that virus home to your cats.

We also know that cats who do test positive can live long happy healthy lives⁵. Not every case of infection is active. While we can't say for certain they will survive their normal lifespan, we can't guarantee that for any cat. My cat, Kit, passed away at age nine from cancer. My other cat Ollie passed away from vaccine-induced sarcoma at age eleven.

As something to consider, there has been some work with FeLV and Vitamin C⁶. Dr. Wendell O Belfield had some pretty interesting success stories regarding FeLV and FIV and vitamin C. I know that the veterinarian community as a whole is not convinced that it helps, but read Dr. Belfield's book, you will find it fascinating. If you are willing to think outside the box, it might help you as well.

I am King of the Castle

Where ever I sit is the best seat in the house.

Everyone is always tryin to horn in on my attentions, but ALL the attentions belongs to me..

The Royal Photographer then tried to get all artsy.. But I decided it was time for those attentions I like so much

Wordless Wednesday - Personal Space Dude..