19 posts tagged “cats”

Things have been fairly routine around here. Well, routine can mean different things to different people. Mostly it was the weekend when things were happening....

Tasha developed disturbing symptoms that appeared to be cystitis. Frequent urination, straining at the litter box, inappropriate urination, and restlessness/meowing all presented themselves. The symptoms had come and gone about a week earlier, but reoccurred with a vengeance late last week. So I took off early Friday and delivered one unhappy kitty to the vet; her symptoms had calmed so it was the trip to the vet that displeased her. Tests showed no crystals in her urine but there were signs of a bladder infection so poor Tasha got a penicillin injection and is receiving a week-long course of twice-a-day oral antibiotics to try and knock out whatever bug was causing her discomfort. She's tolerating the dosing well in part because I've (finally) become somewhat adept at the eyedropper. Kitty seems to be back to normal. We'll hear from Dr. B concerning lab results today or tomorrow.

Saturday my car went to the "car vet" --dealer service-- for regular maintenance. They checked our record and found it's time for the timing belt to be replaced! Oh, joy: another big, unexpected expense! It's better than having the darned thing break which, we were told, does enough damage to the engine to cost on the order of $3,500 to fix. Still we didn't see this one coming.

Saturday night I had the observatory open from 9 to 11:00 PM at the behest of the student environmental group. This open night was to be a part of their Earth Day activities. A bat had moved back into the dome and/or shutter as had a bird or two. I chased the bat out of the dome and, before leaving, turned up the obnoxious "sonic repellent" that had been successful in keeping "Baxter" away. Unfortunately --or not, given sky conditions-- this was also the college Springfest and the poor old observatory was up against a pop music concert, an orientation day, and several other activities. With many alternatives and little promotion we had only two visitors --a student couple-- all night. Gave them a look at Saturn with moons Titan, Rhea, and Dione visible and told them about the observatory, telescope, etc. Sky conditions were clear but seeing was generally not very good with high-altitude water vapor preventing the sky from being very black. I couldn't find dim objects, not even M44 (The Beehive star cluster) but Saturn looked surprisingly good; the shadow of the ring system could be seen on the planetary body. Maybe a hint, now and again, at cloud banding on the planet. I took a look at Mars but between seeing preventing high-power views and with Mars receding and becoming quite small, it was less interesting than usual. That was about it for observing! I was happy to head home.

Sunday activity was chosen by She Who Must be Obeyed so we took our first bicycle ride of the season... the flat and easy rail-to-trail facility that runs through Oberlin. The weather was clear and cool with temperatures of about 65 degrees and light wind. The riding was easy and pleasant though we both wound up with sore-ish muscles from that short and easy 27-mile jaunt! Felt pitiable but it's been many months since we've been on two wheels. Lunch at Oberlin's Quizno's was very good and did not make us feel more guilt. One weird experience: when we parked our bikes at Quizno's my wireless bicycle computer, instead of registering zero miles-per-hour was reading upwards of 65 miles-per-hour whilst standing still! Apparently some radio source inside the building was causing the bizarre behavior. We didn't think about photographing the display until later and, when we returned to the sandwich shop to reproduce the experience, nothing happened! Cool photo gets away.

In all this weekend of cats, bats, and bikes was a good one.

Missy

Tonight when Sweetie got home she found Missy in desperate condition. I won't go into details but it was obvious Missy was very near death. We called the vet's office and took Missy in for evaluation but we all pretty much knew what had to happen. The choices were: extreme efforts to save her life, natural death at home, euthanasia. No good choices. Missy has been in poor health for some time and "heroic" measures pretty much equated to torture. A natural death promised to be lingering and hard. So we wound up asking Dr. G. to end Missy's life. Missy left us at about 6:30 tonight having lived nearly to the age of 18 (we thought she was a bit older but our records say otherwise). She had been with Sweetie and me through most of our marriage. Missy was a great cat.

As promised, Dr. B. called us Monday with the results of some fairly extensive blood work on Old Cat Missy. Turns out, by most measures, she's in very good shape. Test results show liver and kidney function to be good, within expected parameters for an elderly feline, blood cell counts generally good but with an elevated white count -- 30 percent over normal. Blood sugar (see below) at 171 is considered under control but the glucosamine was virtually unchanged since the last test... not so good but Dr. B. did not recommend any change. Missy was presenting with some symptoms that concerned us (dehydration, lethargy, occasional vomiting) and one of the tests gave a possible explanation. She has been receiving medication for hyperthyroidism which is very common in old cats. Turns out dosing her, as prescribed, with the medication, methimazole, had driven her into hypothyroidism with measured level of .4. (Normal range coming...) Testing hadn't been done on thyroid levels since spring. So Dr. B. ordered her meds to be cut literally and figuratively in half (cut them little pills) and we're to watch and see how it goes and call him back in one week. So the tale of the ancient feline continues....

January Sunset

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I'd noticed a brief phone outage on our line earlier today (no dial tone) and wondered if the the phone guys had pulled the final plugs on our old DSL service or were checking the line. To also get a better understanding of just why we couldn't get U-verse and its supposed non-DSL broadband Internet access installed while DSL was "officially" still connected, I called AT&T again this afternoon. I am so glad I did!  Speaking with a very pleasant and helpful woman named "Kimberly," I learned that yes, indeed, the DSL was "clearing" today and that we could re-order our service! We went through all of the ordering steps (after Kimberly spoke with her manager to make absolutely sure it would stick this time) and we should be getting our service installed Friday, January 25... just a few days later than our initial order had promised. Whoo-hooo! Oh, and Sweet Kimberly told me it wasn't for technical reasons that our DSL connection had to be completely cleared, it was to meet regulatory requirements. Right or not, I'm glad it's done. When She Who Must Be Obeyed arrived home we had a simple evening out with dinner at The Olive Garden, not fully in celebration but it was on our minds.

Missy, our old cat, visited the vet today for blood sugar tests. Dr. B. also ordered follow-up tests to check her hyperthyroid condition. He noticed that, even though her weight was up a smidge more, she was a bit dehydrated again. While we were there, they pumped a bunch of saline under her skin. She came home looking like a strange little cat hunchback --leaking a little-- but otherwise bright-eyed and happy to be here. We're supposed to get the full test results Monday but blood glucose --tested at 171-- looked to be under control.

So with the end of the big communications crisis apparently in sight, my publishing project up-to-date, a clear sky (by day), a cat still hangin' in there, a beautiful sunset, and a nice evening meal with my sweetie, it turned out to be a fairly fine day off for me.

I heard from Dr. B. today regarding Missy's fructosamine test result. He said it was higher than he would like but that it is better than it was. He advised staying at our present insulin dose and we're to have another test in December. Missy's geriatric system may not be able to achieve the same high level of control as a younger cat's. We also need to be careful not to send her into a diabetic seizure by using too much insulin! So there's no change for Missy right now.

We had a nice Thanksgiving visit with family in Northwestern Ohio. Mom is doing well; she's even looking at replacing her landline telephone with a cellular phone to reduce the cost and call her children daily to "check in." We also visited my my sister and her family. A tour of my nephew's recently-purchased fixer-upper house was included. The house needs plenty of work everywhere you look. He had already hired a new roof installed on the 900-square-foot place. Now there's painting, flooring, wiring, plumbing, and all the other "ings" needed to make the place livable. It'll be a great place for a young bachelor... a little house on a big lot with a view of the Maumee River! Really grand. Near the road, on his property, is an ancient inn -- the main structure was apparently built in about 1900. The roof is completely shot but the walls are ceramic block. Restoration will mean huge amounts of labor but it could be worth it. He'd like to use it as a sort of club for his friends and himself. I could see it being renovated into a guest house and rented out. Either way, the residence takes precedence and the bank dictates it must be in livable/salable condition within six months. Once completed I believe he'll see a big return on his investment some day. In the mean time it will be a great place to live.

Friday morning Missy was in a grouchy mood. Instead of simply yowling in protest over having me stuff a tablet into her mouth she hissed and aggressively bit my hand! She had never bitten me so hard before; I could feel one of her lower teeth hooked beneath the skin of my right palm, at the base of my index finger. One of her upper teeth penetrated, though not so deeply, the back of my hand. I didn't punish her. I did get the pill into her. The wound has become infected as I feared it would. (Cat bites usually do get infected.) Today (Saturday) she took her medicine without trouble and I've got an appointment to get my hand looked after. It will probably involve antibiotics and a tetanus booster injection. She's still a "good ol' cat" but this was reminder she's also a sharp-toothed force to be reckoned with!

Sweetie and I did a couple of errands Friday morning (after the bite). Then we headed to the observatory where we installed plastic sheeting over the office windows on the inside. I'm hoping the sheets will help the room heater keep the office above freezing this winter. Good timing on the effort... it got down to 28 degrees (F) or so last night! We headed home via state route instead of freeway and had a very nice afternoon. I made dinner --baked spaghetti-- and we later watched a DVD of the comedy movie Knocked Up. It's a sex comedy and tells the story of the maturation (over nine months) of a very immature guy as the woman he got pregnant deals with her situation. Very funny with a good base story but for adult audiences only due to adult situations, nudity, and loads and loads of foul language.

To the vet with Missy this afternoon. It was time to see how well her blood sugar level was being controlled. It turns out she's doing very well indeed. Her weight is 9.1 lbs., up a bit from last visit when it was up to 8.9 lbs., and a good, healthy weight for a cat her size. Her blood glucose was 68.7 -- tested twice because Dr. B. couldn't believe it. That puts her blood glucose at a "low-normal" level, way down from the last visit when it was 387. The fructosamine test will be back tomorrow (Wednesday) and will be a better indicator of just how well she is doing -- glucose can rise and fall rapidly depending upon a number of factors. She was cringing, yowling, and growling during the exam and blood taking and was, as usual, ever so happy to get back into her carrier. In the waiting room after the exam she got feline treats which she ate enthusiastically -- a trick she repeated at the food bowl when she got home. Good ol' cat.

UPDATE: The fructosamine result was 483 (normal is 172-370) which indicates, on average, that Missy's blood sugar level is running high. Her insulin regimen will likely need some tweaking and, I'm guessing, it will involve twice-a-day injections to smooth out the ebb and flow of blood glucose. We're to speak with Dr. B. next week.

Visiting Dr. B. yesterday, Missy's blood sugar came in at a surprising 87! It means the insulin therapy is working very, very well putting her sugar level inside the "normal" range. Blood was screened for other issues as she still has some skin problems and it was found she has an elevated white count. So now Missy gets daily doses of insulin, thyroid medication, and an antibiotic. Meanwhile Tasha threw up three times yesterday (July 3) which has me worried. Continuing her cortisone. So far, she has eaten today without regurgitating so I'm hoping it was a fluke.

Missy had better results at her vet's than I had at my physician's. The technician couldn't get a blood sample from me for my own screening! So it was basically a wasted appointment for me. Like we say around this house... the cats get better medical care than do we.

The day ended with this

Speaking with the vet today, Dr. B. said Tasha's cortisone dose is to be reduced by half. Then, after another week with no symptoms, we're to reduce the dosage by half again. The goal is to eliminate the treatment entirely but the only way to see if we can do that is to see if her illness flares up again as the cortisone is cut back! The cat is getting really good at ejecting the pill these days; she runs her tongue in reverse and pushes on my hand with her paws. It's impressive how strong a little animal can be! Sometimes I can get that tiny tablet in on the first try but often it's taking several tries. For several good reasons I'll be happy if we can discontinue the medication.

At work I've been rehabbing an existing PC for use by our new webmaster -- a current staffer taking a new post which will incorporate portions of my job. He starts in a couple of weeks and I'll transition my Web duties to him as quickly as I can. The enjoyable part: I haven't rebuilt a PC from bare metal in a while. It's tedious but rewarding as even older computers run very well with the OS cleaned out and freshly-loaded, current software. I've finished with the basics and the old PC is good as new and maybe better.

The weather is supposed to be darned near perfect this weekend. Sunny with temperatures in the 70s -- my ideal summer weather. All I want to do is rest and get centered; stuff at work is throwing me off balance -- yes, I know it is up to me to let such things flow past me and not affect my being but I never said I had myself under control. I'm tired. Between self-inflicted stress (gotta start meditating) and not getting enough sleep last night, I'm draggin'. I'd also like to know where my sense of humor went and how to get it back! Believe it or not, I used to be pretty funny! I'm taking vacation time this coming week so maybe I can look for some of those things during the first week of July. I'll bet that doesn't happen, though. Still, it will be nice to be away from the office.

Morning Deer

It was a pretty nice morning this day. I had a reasonably good night's sleep (too brief, as usual, but restful except for waking briefly suspecting the shadow on the wall had supernatural significance, telling my id it was stupid, then going back to sleep). As I was getting dressed for work, clad in briefs and a dress shirt, I spotted a deer munching on tree ring plants in a neighbor's front yard. So I went downstairs, grabbed my camera, and shot a few photos of our visitor. The deer strolled out of the neighbor's yard and toward ours so I moved to the balcony, still clad in briefs and a dress shirt. Hey, I was covered! Anyway, the deer was becoming wary apparently hearing my camera's stupid beeps and clicks but was checking out some ragged landscape plants when I shot the photo shown here. Shortly after that, our Friday morning visitor disappeared into a small wooded area nearby and I went indoors to put my pants on. The deer around here regularly visit our front yards in search of good grazing but we usually don't see them this long after sunrise. They are emboldened by the pressure of diminishing habitat as wooded areas and open fields are developed, mostly for new housing. I can't help but feel sorry for them: they're just trying to make a living in a world that is increasingly hostile. I wish we would preserve more green areas around here as refuge and habitat for these and other wild creatures. Politicians and developers define such lands as "vacant" or "idle." Just shows you what they don't know about the natural world and it's too bad so few people recognize the value of such areas.

The cats are both doing well. You can tell Tasha's feeling better because she was a total grouch towards Missy last night. She's probably transferring the aggression she has over the outdoor cats she sees through the window on to poor old Miss who she sees moving through the nighttime shadows of the living room. At any rate, she charged and hissed at Missy several times last night and was difficult to calm. This morning they were apparently at peace with each other as they got their respective medicines, foods, and treats.

My niece is to be married tomorrow. Most of the family will be traveling to the Dayton area for the ceremonies but we won't be among them. I'd made an early prior commitment to run an open house at the College Observatory for Alumni Day. Pretty important to not miss. By chance we also got into the conflicting requirement for regular medication of two cats who definitely will do better at home than boarded at the vet's. Long-term stress is just no good for them. Still, I'm sorry to miss this important day in her life and the chance to see my family. So, weakly in our stead, we sent our best wishes and a generous gift to dear Rachel. Even now I usually think of her as a 10-year-old girl rather than the engaged recent college graduate she now is. {Sigh!} Where did those years go?