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      Wednesday, August 03, 2011


otherstuff
08:35 AM - 08/03/2011

The topic: The past three or four days have been miserable
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A high pressure system to the east of us has been keeping the monsoonal flow from Mexico hanging around.  Sometimes there are clouds, sometimes not, but with clouds or not, it’s been incredibly humid.  Ninety-seven degrees and eighty or ninety percent humidity.  The heat is bad enough, but when you toss in a little humidity?  I’m done for.  I even ran the A/C three days in a row and that’s crazy. 

Even though I closed the house early and had all the blinds drawn and it was cooler inside than out, the humidity was unbearable (how on earth do people do it with swamp coolers?). 

But that ridge of pressure is moving which will eventually allow cooler air from up north flow down our way.  But for now, at least the humidity is on its way out. Thank goodness.

      Saturday, August 06, 2011


catstuff
02:38 PM - 08/06/2011

The topic: Well, Skip is finally showing some progress
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He seemed to be doing a little better last weekend, but then most of this week, he’s not done well.

He hates the doxy.  I didn’t give him fluids after last week, which was a mistake, I should have kept it up. I thought because I saw him drinking, he’d be okay, but as the week went by, he quit drinking.  When I did the tent test on Thursday, his skin did not spring back into place as it should have.

So, Thursday evening, I started him back on fluids.  He spent the night under the sofa. Then yesterday, I got wise, I got his meds and fluids ready in the morning, set them on the bathroom counter, went outside and got him, brought him in, took him into the bathroom, laid a big towel on the floor and gave him the fluids, then the antibiotics.  It was really sad to see him trying to get out of the door through the molding and the wall next to the door.  He was pushing at it with his nose. But I didn’t bug him again for anything like that outside.

Last night when he came in, he went into the bedroom, up into the window where he spent the night.

He got his fluids and meds this morning, went outside and he’s sleeping now. Sleeping deeply. That’s something I didn’t see him doing at all last week.  He’s more relaxed.

He’s not eating much, but he is more interested in food.  He’s not laying in the coolest spots in the yard like he was doing, he doesn’t feel as hot to the touch as he had.  I’ve seen him doing a little grooming which is a good thing.

And he’s not running from me, but he’ll come up to me for scritches and back rubs again. 

I hope he’s a lot better next week at this time. He’s such a good cat.

      Monday, August 08, 2011


otherstuff
09:55 AM - 08/08/2011

The topic: Damn it.
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So, I go to the dentist this morning, time for teeth cleaning.  Hygienest is pleased, gums look good, not a lot of plaque….

Then she runs that camera through my mouth.  “Hmmm, I didn’t see that..”  I have a cracked molar.  Right side, very back tooth.  The dentist looks a the picture.  “Need an x-ray.”  Get the x-ray, he looks at it.  Looks at my chart.  Looks at me.  “The previous filling is pretty big, you don’t have much tooth left, best thing is a crown.”

Crap, crap, crap. 

My visit today was $158.00.  My visit on Wednesday will be $965.00. 

banghead

      Tuesday, August 09, 2011


otherstuff
08:20 AM - 08/09/2011

The topic: Woohoo!
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My new keeYOOT puter should be here by 10:30 Thursday morning! Shipping from Shanghai, China.


08:55 AM - 08/09/2011

The topic: I’m bummed I’m not done with doctors
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I got my pap smear last Thursday, got the paperwork for the mammo, scheduled that for yesterday afternoon.  I thought that would be it for another six months, until my next teeth cleaning.  I don’t want to have my tooth fixed!  I don’t want to have to leave the house before eight tomorrow!  I don’t want to sit in the stupid dentist chair for hours and hours. I don’t want to do it.

I want to make a sweet place here at home for my new keeYOOOT computer!

      Wednesday, August 10, 2011


otherstuff
10:47 AM - 08/10/2011

The topic: My day so far
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Got up early, turned on the computers, did a little surfing, bugged the hell out of Skip (he’s still not 100%, I don’t think he’s even 60%, I wish he’d eat more or at least eat when I’m watching), ate the breakfast Brian made, checked the interwebs for the delivery of my keeYOOT computer, OMG, it’s in San Diego! I hope it’s not delivered today, what if it is? OMG! I called FedEx, was told “it’s not scheduled to be delivered until tomorrow”, went into the garage and got a fresh can of A/D, put it in the bathroom, went and found Skip, carried him inside, in the bathroom, opened the can of A/D and started scooping food up on my finger and putting it in his mouth, he ate about a third of a can, let him out, he ran under the sofa,  got into the shower, couldn’t find my shower cap and didn’t want soaking wet hair at the dentist’s office so just put it up, got out, dried off, dressed, checked the FedEx website again, went outside, asked Brian, who was sweeping the pool, when he was leaving for work, would he be here until I got back, he said no, I came back in and typed out a note for the FedEx guy, just in case he showed up while I was gone (at the dentist, I’ll be back home sometime today, dentist is less than a mile from here, here’s the address, you can bring it to me there….), stuck it to the door, made the bed, grabbed my purse, put my phone and wallet inside, got my reading glasses and Kindle and was out the door.

Got to the dentist’s office, right in to a room, he deadened my mouth and I read while I waited for it to be fully gone, they started working on my tooth, used a lot of water and I kept swallowing, which is really hard to do when two people are messing around inside the mouth and I could hardly move my tongue.  Hard to swallow without a little tongue movement. The old filling and the top of the molar history, he started the procedure to make the cap (they make them inhouse).  I read, kept thinking about Skippy, worried about him, a lot, thought about my new computer, ambivalent, I want it today, but I don’t want it until I’m home,  should I make an appointment for Skip or just keep trying to get him to eat, worry about anorexia for him, then hepatic lipadosis, read some more, check the time on the Kindle, 8:47, they’ve blocked me in until 9:30, I’m hating this, finally done around 9:35, wait to pay the bill, have $826.00 cash, they get $741.00, I hand over eight one hundred dollar bills and one one dollar bill, I get sixty back, they don’t have sixty dollars, I take back one of the hundreds, hand over the twenty five I’ve got, hand her my credit card, told her put the rest on the card, it should be fifteen dollars and she said “no, that’s not enough”, uh, yeah, it is.  Come on, come on, I want to get home, check on Skip, check on FedEx, too much to do, need to get gone.

Finally she figures it out, I walk out, my mouth feels funny, I’m thirsty, drive down the street, they’re doing work on the road, they motion for me to make my turn, I get home at 9:44, my FedEx message is still on the door, guess it will be here tomorrow, start putting everything back where it belongs, empty the purse, hang up the keys, I hear the gate, it’s FedEx!  Not even home five minutes and my computer is here!  Yay!

Now I search for Skip, he’s still under the sofa, I bug him until he gets out, see him out in the yard, he pees, I wait then go see how he’s doing.  He meows at me, lets me pet him a little, last time I saw him, he was laying curled up on his side in the sun.  Much better than meatloaf.  I’m going to do what I can to get that whole can of A/D in him today.  I want to make sure he’s keeping it down before I give him more. 

Now, it’s time to relax and gaze upon my new computer. Which in the world of naming computers (you know how when you set up computers, you name them?) I’ve christened mine “adorable”.

*sigh*

      Thursday, August 11, 2011


catstuff
07:39 AM - 08/11/2011

The topic: Skippy, my Skippy
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Still wasn’t doing well yesterday afternoon. I’m quite concerned for him at this point.  I did the tent test on his neck for hydration and the tent was big and took a while to go back down.  So, I figured what the hell and got two 60cc syringes with fluid ready, put them on the bathroom counter, went back outside and got him.

Brought him in, gave him both loads.  Instead of the half dose he had been getting (only 60cc a day).  After he went back outside, then came in when it was time for kitties in and he promptly went under the sofa, where he stayed all night long.

This morning, he was one of the first out the door, later on I saw him on top of a rack that Brian has sitting outside of his workshop.  I helped him down and from there he ran to his “safe” spot on the bank.  About fifteen minutes ago I looked in that direction, no longer in his safe spot, he was digging at something under the pine needles. I thought maybe a lizard, I went to check. No, he was trying to get a piece of kibble!  A piece of kibble from the kidney food Benny likes, which I found Skippy liking last week. 

I came inside, grabbed the bowl where I store this kibble, took it back out, let him at it.  He ate!  He ate!  Woohoo!

I can’t help but wonder if I’d given him 120cc of fluids earlier he’d have been doing better sooner.  I said to Brian last night “remember what the vet said, when they’re dehydrated it almost feels like they’ve got the flu, they’re lethargic, their joints are achy, they just feel bad”.  It usually takes about twenty-four hours for the fluids to take full effect, so I’m hoping he’s doing MUCH better this afternoon. I guess the half dose he’s been getting on a daily basis just wasn’t enough.

Skippy! My Skippy!


catstuff
12:57 PM - 08/11/2011

The topic: Got all of my running around done
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Sent some packages UPS, went to the bank, went to CostCo, stopped at Wendy’s and got lunch, drove to the vet’s office, picked up more needles for fluids, then came home. 

Looked for Skip, he was on the bank and he came to me!  I walked away and he followed! He even talked to me a little, let me pet him a lot!  Then he laid on the patio, now he’s back by the shop.  He’s no longer hiding and this is such a good sign.

It’s all good!

      Tuesday, August 16, 2011


catstuff
08:49 AM - 08/16/2011
We found a dime on our walk this morning

The topic: Well, damn.
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Skippy is just not bouncing back very quickly.  He’s just getting thinner and thinner.  So that I’d quit watching him all day long, Sunday I gathered him up and put him into a large dog crate, which is now in the family room.

He has a soft towel, a litter box, kibble and wet food and water.  Now I can watch him. I can see what he eats, I can see what he does when he goes potty. And he can rest, he doesn’t have to be on guard against me trying to find his hiding spot outside.

He ate very little of anything on Sunday.  Yesterday (I’m talking twenty-four hours), he ate a can of Fancy Feast.  I gave him another this morning, added water to it and blended it to baby food consistency. He’s already eaten half of that.  The good thing about crating him is the food is there when he wants it.  The other vultures can’t get to it first.

He’s sleeping a lot better, he’s peeing, but I haven’t seen him drink yet (which is why I added water to the soft food).  And no poops. 

I called the vet’s office yesterday to ask if giving him an appetite stimulant would be okay, but haven’t heard back yet.  Since he is eating a little more, I may not need to, I just want to see him eating and pooping before I let him out.  Right now, he’s not using much energy, hopefully it’s all going into getting better from whatever hit him.

Send some healing thoughts and prayers his way, could you? Thanks.

      Thursday, August 18, 2011


catstuff
08:14 AM - 08/18/2011

The topic: Skip is doing a teeny, tiny bit better
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Okay, so Sunday he went into the big dog crate.  Hardly ate anything, didn’t drink anything (I gave him fluids) and no poop.  Monday he ate a little more. No poop.  Tuesday, after getting the okay to give him the appetite stimulant, I gave him a quarter of a tab (half the recommended dosage) and he did eat a little more. And we had poop!  Yesterday, I gave him the full dosage of the stimulant, I knew better because he got all wiggy, like has happened in the past with other cats.  I’d let him out and watched him closely and I wasn’t happy with his reaction and brought him back inside and put him in the crate.

He rested uncomfortably and did a little poop. After he’d slept a lot of the effects of the periactin off, I let him back out.  He spent the rest of the day in the backyard, in plain sight. He didn’t hide at all. He’s not really strong, he’s spent a month not moving. But he was always where I could see him, I didn’t have to hunt him down.  At dinnertime, he came back inside, went over to his crate and I let him in.  He ate some more, pooped again, then I let him out. He spent the night outside of the crate.

He went outside this morning when I opened up the door and he’s up on the bank in the meatloaf position. Not happy about that, but looking around at the other cats, they’re also in the meatloaf position, it’s foggy and damp this morning.  I’ll watch him closely to see if he loosens up as the day gets warmer.  And I’ll still give him the periactin, a quarter tab in the morning and a quarter tab at night. The quarter tab didn’t seem to affect him poorly, but he did eat.

I just want my Skipper back.

      Monday, August 22, 2011


catstuff
06:07 PM - 08/22/2011

The topic: Skippy is WAY better!
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It’s been a few days since I last posted about him.

I kept him in the crate until Wednesday.  I’d let him out a little, but he was just so weak, it was best to keep him in the crate so he could rest.  I gave him a quarter tab of periactin twice a day until Thursday.  Friday I stopped the appetite stimulant and started him on l-Lysine (an amino acid) twice a day.

Saturday I watched him drink from the fountain in the office and again from the dripping part of the sprinkler system down by the pool. Good sign! At night, he’d come in the house, go to the crate, want in to eat and potty, then he’d come back out. He hadn’t slept in the crate since Wednesday. Thursday morning, he caught a small lizard down by the pool and ate it.

Yesterday, I watched as he ate Kirkland kibble from the patio (the cats early morning treat, I put out enough that it lasts all day). 

This morning, I emptied the crate, took it outside and hosed it out. Brian put it away. 

And Skippy is on the road to recovery.

Yay! Or as a co-worker used to say many, many years ago - “Yippee, Skippy!”  (Although I don’t quite think she meant what it means to me today.)


otherstuff
06:16 PM - 08/22/2011

The topic: Saturday, Brian’s mom called
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She needed someone to take her to the drugstore and the bank.  Brian said no problem.  Then he asked me to do it. *lol*

So, I took her and asked if she liked my cooking (remember, I’m sending meals over to her). She told me she did, the meals are a big help to her.  I recalled back when I was single and didn’t have a working oven, I’d only eat one meal a day, at lunch.  When I worked it was easier to get something to eat.  And it can be really hard to keep cooking for one, it gets boring.

Anyway, I told her I wished I’d been able to do the same for my mom, but I know my mom would have said thank you, later tell me how great the meal was, when in actuality, she’d throw it out. I know that’s what she’d do.  I wish I could have saved her, but I know it wasn’t my choice.  I told Brian’s mom that if I could help keep her eating, I’d do it.  Don’t want another mother starving to death.

So, last night, mom came to me in a dream again. I think she came because of my conversation with Brian’s mom.  She has put on a fair amount of weight, bordering on chubby. I put my arms around her and hugged her really tight and she was so warm!  (The last years of her life, she was always cold.)  And I started to cry in my dream, sobbing my heart out and and told her how very much I miss her.

I guess I do.

I’m glad she dropped by.

      Wednesday, August 24, 2011


catstuff
09:32 AM - 08/24/2011

The topic: I was sitting down
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in the bathroom this morning, when Charlie came bouncing in (sometimes he bounces).  He stood with his backside to the wall when it dawned on me he was peeing. I didn’t have anything within reach to throw at him (nothing that wouldn’t hurt if it hit him, anyway), so I yelled. He just stood there, then bounced behind the door, then out the door.

Then he bounced back in, sniffed what he’d done and looked at me like “hey, someone peed!” If he was a kid, he’d fart, then blame it on someone else.

Then some cat completely missed one of the litterboxes in the laundry room, the big one. The one that needs to be pulled out to be cleaned. And now, there’s pee under it which I need to clean up.  *sigh* 

Work, work, work…..

Skippy is lots better.  He’s eating regular kibble again, drinking water and not running from us. He sleeps in bed with us, comes up to us for pets and is slowly putting weight back on.

Mickey kind of crashed yesterday, I gave him lots of chicken breast, as much as he wanted, fluids and he’s doing better today. He actually ate more soft food than Kirby this morning.  I think his problem is he’s losing another tooth, he was rubbing his cheek on the wood block I’ve got under my monitor to make it taller, then he’d rub that side of his face with his paw. When he was a kitten and lost his baby teeth, I swear he’d roll them around in his mouth then spit them out.

Well, got a couple of litterboxes left to clean, have cat towels in the washer right now, and many areas of cat urine to mop up.

I love my cats.

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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.

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