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      Monday, October 01, 2007

otherstuff 10:48 AM - 10/01/2007 The topic: My ass is not a pincushion ---------------------------------------------- Okay, I ended up at Urgent Care yesterday.  Got a tetanus shot in my arm and an antiobiotic shot in my right butt cheek.  Super heavy duty shot in my butt cheek.  The rush of antibiotics hit me hard enough that I thought I was going to pass out.  A prescription for augmentin.  Which is a stronger version of the amoxicillan I started taking Saturday (the stuff I use for the cats, only I took ten at a time instead of the one I give them).  I’m feeling much better today, but the doctor didn’t think I was doing as well as I thought I was and ordered another one of those antibiotic shots for me (I guess my stoic face and maniacal laughter when I tried to move my hand as he instructed didn’t fool him; “You aren’t out of the woods yet, we have to be very aggressive with this, it can be very nasty”).  Today’s nurse wasn’t as gentle as yesterday’s.  Today’s pinched my butt, shoved the needle in and pushed the plunger pretty steadily.  Yesterday’s pushed the plunger in slowly so it didn’t burn as much. After the shot, after I had my jeans pulled up and fastened, I sat in the chair trying to place the pain in my ass.  The pain in my wrist was totally forgotten at this point.  I was quite pleased with myself when the answer came to me.  A bee sting.  It felt just like a bee sting.   Sadly, this knowledge did not make it hurt less. Anyway, I am doing better.  I can actually kinda sorta type normally (that missing left index finger is a major speed bump) and this morning I took a shower, washed my hair and was able to comb it without help.  It’s amazing how many little things you take for granted.  Opening a door, unlocking a lock, opening a can of food to feed the cats, holding a book to read it….all are affected. Not to mention the housecleaning that NEEDS to be done before our trip next Tuesday. If this feels as much better tomorrow as it did today (and I have to see the doctor yet again!), I think I’ll be able to get it all done. And…Charlie is still fine.  Even let Brian pet him last night.  He’s such a nice cat. | Permalink

      Tuesday, October 02, 2007

catstuff 11:26 AM - 10/02/2007 The topic: It’s TUMMY TUESDAY #63! ---------------------------------------------- Thank you for your patience and understanding for my lateness, I spent the morning at Urgent Care, waiting for my final *yay!* recheck. Today's tummy belongs to Georgie, who is doing much better now that he gets to eat all of the chicken breast he wants. click for a larger pic He’s feeling a lot more frisky these days. ================================================ If you’ve got a Tummy Tuesday blog entry, feel free to post the link in the comment section or trackback to this entry. And if you put a link back to this page, then more kitties will get to show off their tummies! | Permalink

otherstuff 12:04 PM - 10/02/2007 The topic: I liked my doctor ---------------------------------------------- I went in today for another recheck, brought a book with because yesterday I had to wait in the exam room for a while and waterskiing isn’t something I’m interested in (waterskiing actually has it’s own magazine). So, I get comfortable on the table, back against the wall, legs/feet crossed Indian style and start to read. I guess I looked pretty comfortable when he walked in. He checked out my arm, said he felt the second shot was a wise idea and that I was to finish out my Augmentin and come back to see him in a week. I shook my head. Huh uh. A week from today, I’m gonna be at the Happiest Place on Earth with some of my best buds. I am not gonna be sitting here cross legged on a table, you can count on that. He laughed, said have a good time and if it gives me any trouble to come back in. On the way out the door, I told him I almost made a shirt to wear in (I would have if the heat press had been more accessable) that said “I am not a human pincushion”. He chuckled, said “you make ‘em, we’ll sell ‘em”. *lol* I just might. Anyway, the second shot WAS a good idea, the swelling is so much better. It is bruised (now that the puffiness is gone, you can see there was internal bleeding) and the most sore area is directly around the bites. And the back of the hand where the skin is still stretched from the swelling and that just feels more tight than painful. I still don’t have 100% motion back, but it won’t be long. I can open a door, flush the toilet, put water in my glass, wipe myself with a small amount of pain.  The tetanus shot area hurts.  It took a while, but it started hurting last night. I think I’ve been pretty lucky these past years that this hadn’t happened before. And you know what? I’ll do it the same way if it happens again. The chance that Charlie might have severely injured his leg if he’d been allowed to twist his body overcomes the fear that I’d serve as a human pincushion. I understand the reason for the pain. He doesn’t. And that’s why I’d do it again. | Permalink

      Tuesday, October 16, 2007

catstuff 07:59 AM - 10/16/2007 The topic: It’s TUMMY TUESDAY #64! ---------------------------------------------- Sorry for the lack of TT last week, I was on vacation.  We went to Disneyland.  We had a petsitter, the same we’ve had for years.  And this was her last year.  Because when we got home on Saturday, the house was cold, all of the doors and windows open and it stank.  The floors had been vacuumed, the litter boxes cleaned out, but there were a couple of places where the cats had peed and nothing was done.  But the worst thing was Wally was sick.  I noticed he was uncomfortable Saturday night and Sunday morning I was very alarmed to see how very yellow he was.  We rushed him to emergency (where he still is) and after blood tests and an ultrasound, it was determined that he has hepatic lipodosis, or fatty liver disease.  Yesterday afternoon, they placed a feeding tube in his belly.  We were warned that there could be some repercussions from anesthesia, because the liver, being in such bad shape, would have a difficult time processing the anesthetic through the system.  They were right. Last night, at nine, I took a couple of AdvilPMs, hoping to sleep through the night.  At 10:10, the phone rang.  It was the hospital, Wally wasn’t doing well, he’d fainted and was in and out of “it”.  I asked should we come down, the doctor said “yes”.  We dressed in silence, drove down in silence, neither one of us knowing what to say. We were stunned, we were in shock.  We got to the building, rushed inside and were shown to a waiting room.  The doctor finally came in, after a very long period of waiting, it seemed like an eternity but was most likely five or ten minutes.  She said that they’d put Wally in an oxygen tank and that he was doing better.  Earlier, he’d stood up and started howling.  His eyes were fully dilated and he’d fallen over.  But the oxygen seemed to be helping and if we’d like, we could go back and see him.  We did.  What a sad little cat he was, all huddled and hunched over in the tank.  His eyes squeezed shut, his ears down.  We spoke to him.  He opened his eyes and let out a couple of little meows, more just moving his lips than making any sound.  I started to cry. The good thing is his eyes were no longer dilated, they were back to normal.  The doctor told us she’d taken an x-ray of him and although there was a small amount of fluid in his belly, everything else looked good.  And that he was keeping the food down he was getting, he hadn’t vomited recently. She said they’d be keeping him in the tank for at least twenty-four hours. Obviously, I’m very upset with our sitter.  We hired her because she is a vet tech and would be able to catch something early.  We were wrong.  She told me last night that she rarely even sees any of the cats.  Because she brings her kids over.  It wasn’t a big problem when she brought her older children over, but she now has a two year old (adopted) who’s mother was a drug addict when he was born, so he has issues. He’s very active and his presence most likely scared the cats into hiding.  Well, that’s just fine, but now we have a cat who’s very, very sick and with a lot of luck and prayers and healing thoughts, just might make it.  She said last night when I spoke with her “my kid made your cat sick!”  To which I replied, “let’s just hope your kid didn’t kill my cat”.  Cold, yes, I know, but I’m very, very upset and disappointed.  If I’d known she wasn’t seeing all of the cats, at least trying to find them, she wouldn’t have been here.  We pay her a hundred dollars a day for special work.  And now, we find out, too late, that it wasn’t being done.  Of course I’m upset. Anyway, in honor of Wally, the king of Tummy Tuesday, here’s a picture from earlier this year, of his wonderful belly. click for a larger pic Get well, Wally.  I miss you.  News that you’re on the road to recovery would be the best birthday present ever.  ================================================ If you’ve got a Tummy Tuesday blog entry, feel free to post the link in the comment section or trackback to this entry. And if you put a link back to this page, then more kitties will get to show off their tummies! | Permalink

      Wednesday, October 17, 2007

catstuff 12:12 PM - 10/17/2007 The topic: Wally update ---------------------------------------------- He hasn't thrown up since Monday night. That's a good thing. I got to see him yesterday.   Wally, Tuesday 10-16-07 He looked pretty bad.  Better than he did Monday night, but not good. Of course, he’s on some heavy duty painkillers and antibiotics right now.  He did purr up a storm for me. Today, he looked about the same as yesterday, but less yellow. Which I think means something is working as it should. The vet was concerned about fluid in his abdomen, which is a potentially bad sign. She wanted to have an x-ray taken of his chest, to make sure there wasn’t any problem with his heart/lungs.  There isn’t.  She does want to do another ultrasound and to test the fluids in his belly.  She drew them this morning and it takes about twenty-four hours for test results (they send these out).   The concern now is cancer. If it’s cancer, she said they could do chemotherapy, that surgery wouldn’t be an option (I told her “no” to the liver biopsy suggestion this morning, because I don’t feel he’s up to another round of anesthetic like he got when they put the tube in; I think that’s what she wanted me to say, but she had to put the option out there).  So, that’s the latest. We’re still not sure he’s going to survive this. And if you want to donate to the fund, feel free.  The links are at the bottom of the page, both Paypal and Amazon, just specify for Wally’s care.  My mom said she’d help out.  I’m an only child, so there won’t be any fighting with siblings about spending their inheritance. | Permalink

      Friday, October 19, 2007

catstuff 11:08 AM - 10/19/2007 The topic: Wally’s gone ---------------------------------------------- They just called, he passed away.   | Permalink

      Sunday, October 21, 2007

catstuff 01:50 AM - 10/21/2007 The topic: Lisa’s gone ---------------------------------------------- And then there were thirty-three. Earlier this week (or last week, it’s Sunday, isn’t it), Lisa had a hard time eating.  She cried out in pain when trying to swallow.  So, Thursday afternoon, I was able to get her in to the doctor.  The regular doc was not there, but the doctor who was there looked at her mouth, declared a stomatitis flare-up, prescribed Clindamycin with Torbugesic.  I gave her one dose Thursday night and again Friday morning, but I didn’t like the way she looked.  Her eyes were dilated (same as when I took her in) and her breathing was labored (one of the things I mentioned when I called asking if I could bring her in). She kept purring the entire time and she wouldn’t sleep.  At least, she wasn’t closing her eyes.  Earlier today, I gave her fluids, because many times a cat is dehydrated and fluids help.  Her mouth was very dry, the pred I’d given her earlier fell out of her mouth a couple of hours later, as dry as when I gave it to her. Not this time.  She had a little rally around six, I gave her Clindamycin and it was downhill from there.  I’d put Lisa in the bathroom earlier today so that I could keep an eye on her.  I had her set up with a special bed with a heating pad underneath, lots of blankets, food, water, and a litter box.  She’d get into the bed, I’d cover her with the blanket, she’d rest her head, but she never closed her eyes.  It was the strangest thing.  Before we went to bed, I let her out and she went to the bedroom.  I put her up on the bed and she ended up on my pillow.  I slept on the sofa for a while, then went to bed.  She was next to Brian.  Well, he had some sort of coughing fit and she jumped down.  I looked for her and she had come back to the office, just laying on the floor by the catcam chair, breathing hard.  I took her back to the bedroom and I told him that she was dying. I didn’t think she was going to be getting any better, she was getting worse and worse as the hours went by.  I was afraid she was in pain, the breathing had never gotten better and it was spooky that she didn’t close her eyes.  After the ordeal with Wally, we’re thinking we don’t want to put her through what he went through.   I told him “let’s take her down”.  I could tell he wanted to wait to see if the fluids helped and the antibiotic were kicking in, wait until Sunday.  I saw a kitty in obvious distress.  We took her down. The first surprise was she was blind. That would explain why she wouldn’t close her eyes.  The second, she had fluid in her lungs.  Her heart was giving out. There was nothing we could do about it.  Yeah, sure, medication might have extended her life another six months, but at what cost?  She might have gotten her sight back, but there was no guarantee. And it kept coming back to Wally.  We tried so hard with him, to what end?  He died.  His heart stopped.  He was unhappy and uncomfortable in that tank and I would not put Lisa through that.  Neither of us would. So, we said our goodbyes. I hate this.  Three cats in six weeks.  I effing hate this. | Permalink

      Monday, October 22, 2007

otherstuff 10:21 AM - 10/22/2007 The topic: Fires ---------------------------------------------- Back in 2003, there was the Cedar Fire. You know, the first time we met Wally (the first picture I ever took of him is on the page I just linked to). They’re saying the latest rounds of fires could be worse than that one.  *sigh*  There are seven right now that I now of, here in San Diego county.  More up in Los Angeles area.  One down here is in Descanso.  We went to Descanso for breakfast yesterday morning.  It was windy on the way up, but much worse on the way home Santa Ana winds happen in the fall. I like the winds, I don't like it when they come with fire. This just sucks. Off to get Rory in because of the bad air quality. | Permalink

catstuff 02:09 PM - 10/22/2007 The topic: Nature abhors a vacuum ---------------------------------------------- Since Captain spends a lot of his inside time on my chair (and I spend a lot of my time trying not to slide off of the front since he’s got most of the seat area behind me) I put him in the catcam chair.  I petted him, talked to him, told him to wave to the world.  I walked off and he jumped down. Imagine my surprise to see he got back up.  I hope he decides to sleep there often.  When Mystie isn’t there. And if he does, I imagine it will be much to Brian’s chagrin.  See, he was trying to get Oliver to hang out there since Oliver is a big pest at night when Brian is trying to sleep.   Ollie is one of those kitty cats who will paw at you to get your attention.  He doesn’t care what part of the body he paws at and Brian’s head is usually his target, since that’s the only thing not under the covers. Brian put Ollie in the chair last night, but Ollie immediately jumped down and has no obvious inclination to jump back up. | Permalink

      Tuesday, October 23, 2007

catstuff 08:45 AM - 10/23/2007 The topic: It’s TUMMY TUESDAY #65! ---------------------------------------------- Our first Tummy belongs to the lovely and talented Richie Cunningham.   click for a larger pic   Followed by an equally lovely belly belonging to the sweet little boycat, Potter Pot Pie.   click for a larger pic   ================================================ If you’ve got a Tummy Tuesday blog entry, feel free to post the link in the comment section or trackback to this entry. And if you put a link back to this page, then more kitties will get to show off their tummies!   | Permalink

      Thursday, October 25, 2007

disneystuff 03:19 PM - 10/25/2007 The topic: Are you ever so intent ---------------------------------------------- on your phone conversation, that you have absolutely no idea what’s going on around you? Yeah, me, too. | Permalink

      Friday, October 26, 2007

otherstuff 07:55 AM - 10/26/2007 The topic: Prayers requested ---------------------------------------------- Prayers, stay safe thoughts, whatever you can send. Going out to PersianMom. She lives in the Running Springs area and had to evacuate earlier this week.  No one has been able to contact her. She’s a wonderful woman who rescues both dogs and cats, pulling them from shelters before they’re due to be put to death.  She’d mentioned two cats she might not be able to trap (the wonderful world of feral rescue) and get into carriers when she evacuated. From what I can find, that area has been hard hit by the fires. I’m very scared for her. | Permalink

catstuff 08:01 AM - 10/26/2007 The topic: Damn it! ---------------------------------------------- Last night, Daniece was drooling quite a bit while Brian held her.  He said it was because she was happy.  I wasn’t so sure.  I tried to look into her mouth, but she was having none of it. I was able to peek in this morning.  One of her bottom canines is sticking straight out of her mouth.  Gum looks fine, at least to me.  But I’ll have to get her into the vet as soon as I can. *sigh* | Permalink

catstuff 10:40 AM - 10/26/2007 The topic: Daniece update ---------------------------------------------- Vet just called, said she had cavities in that tooth that caused it to break off.  It’s just being held in by a little bit of whatever right now.  Her upper canine on the same side has a similar problem, the gum is very inflamed and that tooth needs to come out (it’s loose).  But the rest of her teeth and gums look good.  He said it was probably from some sort of viral thing she had as a kitten.  Having both canines on the same side removed will make her lip a little odd on that side, he said it would make her “look stupid”, but stupid is better than dead. She can come home after three this afternoon. | Permalink

otherstuff 10:49 AM - 10/26/2007 The topic: Thank you, Woot.com! ---------------------------------------------- Earlier this week, I got a brown refurbished Zune on Woot.com for $79.99 plus $5.00 shipping and handling.  The black or white ones are $20.00 more, so this was a pretty good deal.  Thirty gig - I didn’t want to pass it up. Anyway, I get an email from Woot that they ran out of the brown ones, so they’re sending a black one instead of the brown.  And they’re also including this. How nice! No more media players for me, this should do it.  For a couple of years anyway. | Permalink

      Monday, October 29, 2007

catstuff 09:25 AM - 10/29/2007 The topic: About that vacuum that nature abhors ---------------------------------------------- I’ve gotta admit, it’s pretty tough for me to know that Lisa is not in her spot, in the chair, keeping the world company.  I don’t like the chair being empty. Leaving it empty as a memorial may be okay for some, but I’m not big on that type of thing. When it’s empty, it’s just another reminder of her loss. I don’t need visual reminders, my heart and head know she’s gone. So, I tried my hand this morning at exposing some of the kitties to this nice spot. First was Oliver. He wasn't real thrilled with the prospect, he wanted me to let go and he wanted down right now. Then I tried Charlie. Nope, he doesn't want to stay there. Then I figured I'd change the blanket to a fresh, clean one. I picked up Lorelei from her resting spot on the plastic files next to my monitor and put her in the chair. Hm. She's not immediately jumping down. She's actually kneading the blanket. She settles in. She stays settled in.   She starts to nap. Let's see if she likes it enough to come back to. It's quiet, it's warm and it's in the office. It's a nice cozy spot for a pretty little girl.   | Permalink

catstuff 10:05 AM - 10/29/2007 The topic: Woohoo! ---------------------------------------------- We might have found a new petsitter! She also works at my vet’s office. I asked what she’d charge and she said sixty a night.  Yay! She’ll come over next month to meet the cats and hopefully, stay here in December when we go up to Disneyland to stay two nights. | Permalink

      Tuesday, October 30, 2007

mailstuff 07:07 AM - 10/30/2007 The topic: Letters, I get letters! ---------------------------------------------- I had to laugh when I read this, in my inbox this morning.   I used to like your web site because I could create and send e - cards from your site. My other reason for liking your site is because I do like cats. But now I no longer care for your site as I now need a password in order to enter onto your web site. I think that new addition to your web site was a serious mistake on your part. Now I will no longer return to your site because I do not know how to enter your web site any longer nor do I wish to. Sorry but you lost a faithful fan of your web site. Because I used to recommend your site to all my friends that have and like cats as much as I do. I will jst have to fnd a new website that has cats on thier postcards. Ed from Wisconsin Why? Because at this point in time, the only portion of my website that is password protected is the postcard portion. And that's because I need to get it up and running and haven't gotten around to working on it. It's been "password protected" since January, 2007. There are NO postcards to send at this time. Also, my previous postcards were taken down well a year before that.  Why?  Because people were stealing my images and using them as their own. Or they’d attach one of my pictures, using my bandwidth, to their email and send it to all of their friends.  I didn’t appreciate this.  So, I shut the site down. Sorry to lose your viewership, Ed, but a little more timeliness in your complaints would serve your cause much better. | Permalink

catstuff 09:10 AM - 10/30/2007 The topic: It’s TUMMY TUESDAY #66! ---------------------------------------------- Kind of late today, forgot it was Tuesday. I should really think about getting a dayclock. Anyway, on with the show. The only tummy that I had the camera handy was this one of Richie.  Oh, there were many more, but no camera on hand.  So, this half a tum will have to do. click for a larger pic ================================================ If you’ve got a Tummy Tuesday blog entry, feel free to post the link in the comment section or trackback to this entry. And if you put a link back to this page, then more kitties will get to show off their tummies! | Permalink

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lisaviolet is seventy something, married with no kids, takes care of lots of cats, likes taking photographs, loves Southern California weather and spends altogether too much time avoiding her responsibilities. In her spare time, she makes pretty things to sell in her store.

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