Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Wordless Wednesday - Odilia will not be wordless..



How Embarrassing..


So a few weeks ago I told you that I took Fleurp to a holistic vet and she gave me some homeopathic remedies to give her.  What I didn't tell you was that the doctor told me to add some vodka to the mix..

One thing you should know about me is I do not drink.  Never have, do not intend to ever do so.  Not at my graduation, not at 21, not at my wedding (which technically came before my 21st birthday anyway, but still)..

I have purchased alcohol a few times as gifts for people, but I just felt so bizarre purchasing it for myself.. heck not even for myself but for my cat that I just couldn't seem to do it. It became a running joke around the house..   I kept telling my husband I needed to go get some vodka for the cat... and different variations of cat / vodka / liquor / drunk..

Finally I decided I had to put my big girl panties on and just buy it.. and yet apparently being one of the people of the world that does not drink means you have NO idea where to buy hard liquor.  The stores I normally shop in carry nothing heavier than beer and wine.  I asked my co-workers if they had any plain vodka and they didn't (and that was a fun conversation, yup, I need it for my cat.. no, I'm not crazy.. really.. well not any crazier than normal)

Finally at my wits end and about to google for a liquor store, I decided to call my sister and and I asked her. Yup, she had some and she was home and I was welcome to it.  She didn't ask why, didn't treat it any differently then if I had asked for a cup of sugar.  Now remember, I don't drink, never have, and my family knows that full well.  I was so sure that asking would have spawned all kinds of weirdness, but nope.. just here you go.

Well fine, ok, no weirdness.. well that's weird.. so once again my husband and I were making all kinds of jokes about it as we were driving over to see her.. and joking that maybe she could provide a side of weed to go with it.. (not that alcohol is an illegal substance, it just kinda felt that way)

We show up, she gives us some, and we sit down and have a nice visit.  After 20 minutes or so my husband apparently couldn't stand that she didn't ask, so he brings it up.. there we go, there is the weirdness :)

So thank you sis.. Thank you for helping me get my cat drunk*.. she really appreciates it!





*fyi, it is 1 part vodka to 5 parts water to dissolve the remedy, and a few drops of that are mixed in with 1 oz of regular water and only a few drops are given so there is no 'drunk' involved here.. it is used as a preservative and apparently helps it work better..

Monday, April 29, 2013

Falling for Odilia


Now before any of you get any ideas, NO.. I am NOT keeping her.. it is not going to happen.. I am hoping beyond hope that SOMEONE steps up and says "I NEED TO HAVE HER!!" before I bring her back for adoption to make it easier on me, but even if no one does, she will go back for adoption..

but I'm am absolutely head over heals for this kitten.  She has so much spunk.. She reminds me so much of Ella, only better..

We are having some issues with communication as you'll see in the videos.  I touch her and she immediately starts purring up a storm, and then throws herself on her back and starts 'playing' with me, but then this 'play' turns on a dime and she 'lunges' for me and bites and meows - acting very much as if this is no longer fun. I stop and she works to get back on her feet, and she will take a step or two away, but then turns and comes right back for more attention.  I'm working on stopping before we get to the lunge bit, and if she does start to do it, I will end all play and put her in back in her 'condo'.

Warning, videos contain mews.. if your kitties are distressed by such things, you might want to turn the volume down or get headphones..



She will eat on her own when it is pointed out to her.  She has yet to eat anything left with her over night or during the day.  Last night I put her food on the textured blanket that I had been giving her KMR on.  My hope was that she would recognize the texture as one that meant that food was coming, and she found the food on her own and started eating.  Was it the smell of the food? was it the feel of the plate? or was it the textured blanket?  *shrug*  I left her with another plate of food and we'll see when I take care of her this morning if we need to put that blanket under the food for her.  The blanket is covering the plate to keep her from accidentally pushing it off the plate..


While I was out shopping I kept seeing things I wanted to get for her including this photo frame when I did not get.. although part of me is still considering going back and getting it..


and this piece of fleece for her condo - which I did buy..


She has a personality bigger than my whole house.  I can not wait till we get things straightened out communication wise and we both are more comfortable with the daily routine..

Sunday, April 28, 2013

So I had this brilliant idea..


As much as I loved the bear seat I got..


It always did bother me that it had a "permanent sad" and I had a feeling that I could fix it.  So I finally tracked down a needle and pulled out some floss (mint flavored) and sewed it's head to it's back.. and poof..

All the better to sit on!
Um, kittens, could you get off I wanted to take a picture.. 

Picture of me?? 
No, of the awesome job I did fixing my bear
You can't even see the stitching.. 
See, awesome job.. 
Um, excuse me.. 
Did you say YOUR bear?
I'm pretty sure it is OUR bear.. 
Is it mine?
I want it to be mine
Nope, really it's mine, all mine!
Isn't it??
Sorry kittens, it is going to stay here while you move on next week.  I so do not want to let them go, but it isn't fair to keep them from their people.. So I've sent an email in to say they are ready..

Friday, April 26, 2013

Odilia


Little Miss No-Name has turned into Odilia..


She is a little spit fire this one.  She reminds me so much of SuperElla that it isn't even funny - personality so large it takes over the whole room..

or the whole recycle bin even when she is sleeping..

She shows little fear.  Everyone is so surprised she gets around so well and shows no fear.. well she has known no other way in life has she?

I "see" you sitting there not patting me.. PAT ME!
and like most kittens, if you want to cuddle her and let her sleep on your chest she wants to get down and explore.. if you put her down in a safe area to explore, she takes a nap..   *rolls eyes*

She eats fairly well.. about 30ccs of formula at a time.. She's got most of her teeth, so I offered her some friskies turkey and giblets canned food which she ate rather well.. watching her eat is pretty interesting, because I held it for her and she just opened her mouth, lunged forward and when she felt the food in her mouth clamped down and then swallowed.. which made her look a bit like a snapping turtle, and put my fingers at serious risk.  She didn't like the second can of food I opened specifically for her - but it wasn't friskies.. and she didn't like the Fancy Feast Turkey and Giblets either.. but when I opened up another can of Friskies turkey and giblets, she ate like a champ!  I left some on a plate for her in her new "spacious condo" and hopefully she'll eat it tonight..


no, she hasn't used the box yet.. but it is there if she feels the need.  Surprisingly she does not seem to like the box in the least.  She doesn't want to play with the litter, nor eat it.. (nor pee in it but she's young and youngsters do the first two things before they do the latter)

I did finally get her to poop though.. she was horribly gassy and the stool was pretty liquid.. she ended up needing a rinse down - which she took surprisingly well.

It looks like I am going to bring the other kittens back sooner rather than later.  I love them, they are AWESOME kittens that are amazingly photogenic.  I mean seriously, they love having their pict taken.. they see the camera and sit down and look at me!!  Odilia will then move into the kitten room, but I think I'll set her up in the cage for a while and let her run around when I am there to watch her.  In a couple of weeks when she has better control over her sensory input I'll feel better about her finding things in a larger area..  It is interesting to watch her at this stage.. when you make a noise she knows she wants to get to where that noise is coming from, and it takes her a few seconds to locate where the noise is coming from before she starts heading in that area.  If you stop making the noise she gets 'lost' and slows down and might even stop because she wasn't really sure she was headed in the right direction.. she will eventually start to get better at that.. but this is all new to me (as it is to her obviously) so we'll just take things one day at time and see what happens..


(how on earth did I get ANY work done at work these past two days?)

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Thankful Wednsday - What is up at Casa de Gato


I was planning on writing this post for Thursday, as it is basically a whole bunch of stuff I'm thankful for, but I got a phone call last night that changed my time table.. but more on that in a bit.  So I'm swapping my "Wordless Wednesday" post with my "Thankful Thursday" post..

So last I updated you, Jack was peeing blood and Fleurp was showing signs of anemia..

Well after a week we seem to have Jack back on track *knock wood* as he hasn't peed anywhere inappropriate for the last five days.  It was touch and go there for a bit, and I was so concerned and feared I might have to take him back to the vet.. especially when we came home from work and found one more big bloody puddle of urine in the middle of the great room and Jack had apparently laid in it.. I mean talk about frightening.. but he was up, and dry and eating and active so I held off and tried to clean him up with a wet face cloth - which didn't go all that well - and kept going.. and he is doing SO much better.  Unfortunately he ended up needing a bath, so I filled up the tub with nice warm water and after a lot of love and condolences I put him in there.. which elicited one major hiss.  Such language coming from my boy!!  I talked softly to him and kissed his head and we got through most of the hand scrubbing I intended to do while he was in the water with out another swear, but once I stopped talking he hissed again.. so I talked softly and worked quickly.  No soap, but I did get most of the rest of the urine off his fur.  Today he is back to his old self.. hopefully he stays that way this time

Fleurp is also doing very well.  Her homeopathic remedies seem to be helping, as she started off being far less pale then she was, and she stopped hanging out by her favorite cement lick.  When I realized she wasn't eating raw, I started feeding her Fancy Feast classic Turkey and Giblets - which she LOVES.  In an attempt not to spoil her and get her back on to raw as soon as we could, I do not feed her it until at least an hour after meal time and I lock her away for far longer than necessary to keep it less than ideal.  She scoffs at my feeble attempts and she is now spoiled rotten.  she runs down the hall after me every time I walk towards the bathroom I use to feed her, she does the dance and chirp of joy when she thinks I'm about to give her canned food.. She has gained back about half of the weight she has lost, and once she has gained it all back I'm going to cut back on the canned and see how it goes..

and finally the reason for the Thankful Wednesday post.  I got a phone call yesterday from the shelter.  Might I want a 3 week old kitten?  What made them call me when I already have kittens?? well.. Because no one else wanted her..


Why?


Figured it out yet?  Look again, she has no eyes.  Apparently she was born with a sibling who did not make it.  At "three weeks" she was turned into the shelter with out her mother - which just peeves me.  The scuttlebutt is that she wasn't getting enough milk from the mom but she is quite plump and doesn't feel malnourished in the least  *shrug*  so no idea what the real story is.  When I fed her this evening I noticed that her milk teeth are in quite a way, so I have a feeling she is a bit older than three weeks..  She ate pretty well, didn't much like it when I went to rub her belly to make her burp, and she kept pushing my face away when I went to kiss her (talk about friggen adorable!! and I so need to clip her claws!!) She's also pretty quite.  Didn't make a peep driving home, nor when I showed her off.. she squeaked at me when I went to rub her belly, but on the whole, she doesn't have much to say - but she does purr :)

It really is a huge mindset change on my end though.. when I set her up in the tub in my office I had the thought that I should leave the light on so she could get used to the way things are laid out.. but by the time I finished that thought I had that D'UH! moment.. I still felt horrid shutting the light off.. but I did it

If she survives to wean (and with the known death of a sibling I do not take it for granted that she will do so) she is going be one heck of a lot of trouble, I can see it already..

and it makes me smile.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

I'm Cute..


Hey  I want you to know I'm cute.. 
Really.. pay no attention to my brother.. 
HEY!  I'm cute too!
well we are
right?
but I'm cuter!!

Monday, April 22, 2013

Not Monday Again!!


*sigh* Monday is here again, and we are left all alone all day.. 
I do not like this one bit.. 
Me neither.. I haz sad.. 
Friday better get here really quick!
(little do they know that come this weekend we have to start having 'that discussion' about the facts of life.. they are doing so well and are growing up so nicely that they are probably ready to go back now, but I'm being a little selfish)

Friday, April 19, 2013

KL Cool G


LL Cool J = Ladies Love Cool James.. 
KL Cool G = Kittens Love Cool DH


Which led to the creation of a new proverb.. 
May you have a kitten tail in your eye.. 
some how that should mean you will have all the luck.
DH didn't quite think that was the case, but I didn't have ANY kittens on me at the time 
 I thought he was lucky.. 


Seriously, kittens LOVE him.. 

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Thankful Thursday - Clinical Trial for VAS..


Clinical trial provides hope 

to owners of cats with cancer


By LORI TUCKER
6 News Anchor
KNOXVILLE (WATE) - A clinical trial is underway in East Tennessee that could save lives in cats with cancer.
One beautiful gray cat named Griege just graduated from the clinical trial at Animal Emergency and Specialty Center in West Knoxville.
She's been part of Linda Wallace's family for 17 years, most of them healthy years.
But recently, Griege showed some troubling symptoms.
"She actually developed thyroid disease and got very thin and when she got very thin, then we could see she had this tumor on her hip," Wallace said.
She brought her pet to be checked out at the AESC where Dr. Jeff Phillips confirmed the bad news, but offered hope through a new clinical trial.
The tumor on Griege's hip turned out to be an aggressive form of cancer called feline fibrosarcoma. It's a type of cancer that can be triggered by some vaccines.
Dr. Phillips says surgery to remove the malignant tumor is not enough.
"This is horrible," Dr. Phillips told 6 News. "The standard treatment is surgical resection, but even with the best surgeon in the world, the average cat has a regrowth of their tumor within nine months."
That's why the AESC is part of a clinical trial of immunotherapy using feline interleukin-2. A form of the drug is already used in the treatment of some types of cancer in people, like melanoma, and kidney cancer.
Griege just had her last round of interleukin-2 for the study. So far, Wallace said her beloved pet was responding well.
"She has been fabulous," said Wallace. "She has had no side effects at all. Just nothing. I mean, you wouldn't even know she had any treatment."
To find out if your cat qualifies for the study, call the Animal Emergency and Specialty Center at 865-693-4440.
The clinical trial itself is free of charge. It does not include surgery to remove tumors.

News article copyright WATE.com
Thank you so much for reporting this!!

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Catswell - an update


stupid me.. never ever EVER tell the universe you expect the worst is over..

in the back bathroom
drips in the bathroom
Drips leading out of the bathroom
My poor boy
So last night I saw one small dribble in one of his normal spots.. it was slightly tinged with pink, so I have already started him up on meds.. but this morning (according to my husband) he peed in the laundry room as well as the main bathroom which he cleaned up before I woke up.. He told me before he left for work, and I got up and checked on Jack.  He's acting like he's doing OK, but the story in the back bathroom tells a whole different story.

Fortunately I had a dose of pain meds left over and as I said we already have started him on meds

So according to "Soap Opera Laws" I am to never ever say he is better.. and we will never get over this *looks around for what ever enforces SOL* and will be dealing with this FOREVER!!    *knock wood*

Current fosters - The Girls



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