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      Saturday, September 02, 2017


catstuff
07:00 AM - 09/02/2017

The topic: It was horrible
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Potter's last day here was just awful. I don't know if it was as bad for him as it was for us. I hope not.

I think if the vet had realized how badly he was crashing, he wouldn't have sent Potter home. Blood tests don't tell the whole story. No, putting him on the floor and watching him move, watching him try to stand, watching him try to drink....that gives an excellent idea of how he's doing.

We don't understand how it happened so quickly. What did we miss?  What did I miss? I know we couldn't have stopped this train, but maybe we could have ended it sooner. But when? He was doing so well last week. Yeah, he was skinny. He's been skinny for a while. But he didn't seem to be drinking more than the other cats. He didn't pee a lot. Other than his weight, there were no signs that something was amiss. And when it hit, it hit hard.

He got progressively worse from Sunday. From the time I took him into the vet on Thursday morning, until we picked him up, it's as if he got one hundred percent worse. It was hell.

He could barely walk. He cried when he tried. He couldn't drink. That was the worst. He'd get over to a drinking fountain, water bowl, whatever held water and try to drink and just cry when he couldn't. It was heartbreaking. The fluids they gave him before we brought him home helped not one little bit. Usually there's some improvement. There was none. Unless he'd gotten so bad we couldn't see any.

It's been hot and humid here and we've kept the house closed up because we're running the air conditioner. Potter wanted to be outside. We left the office door cracked open. Potter seemed to like laying on the grass, stretched out. The grass was damp and cooler on his belly, I suppose. When I saw him down by the pool, though, I was pretty concerned. I didn't want him to try to drink from it and fall in. I brought him back inside and closed the door.

He could only "walk" about four or five feet at a time, then he'd drop and rest. It has to be the absolutely hardest thing I've ever watched. If I had an idea where he was headed, I'd pick him up and take him there. Once in the house, there weren't many places to go. Under the coffee table in the family room, next to the water bowl. In the bedroom, next to the water bowl. He wanted to drink. And he couldn't.

During the night, we'd hear him cry. And we knew there was nothing we could to to ease his pain. It was a fitful sleep for both of us. When I got up, I couldn't find him in the house. As hard as it was for him to walk, he'd made it out a cat door. And down to the pool. It must have taken him a long time. He was laying by the steps that go into the pool. I let him stay there. For the few hours left in his short life, I wasn't going to stop him from doing what he wanted to do. I checked on him every fifteen minutes or so. He eventually made it to the top of the steps that take you into the yard. At that point, I picked him up and took him to the grass in front of the patio.  From there, he made his way back inside. I set a bowl of water by him, just in case he wanted to try something where he didn't have to stand. Brian said he did stand and pawed at the water, not having any luck drinking.


Potter by the pool yesterday morning.

Shortly after that, we took him in. He was sedated and we said our goodbyes. he was taken into the back where they placed a catheter in his leg. His blood pressure was so low, they had a hard time doing this. He was brought back in and we said we were ready. Then it was done.


Brian says his goodbyes.
The sedative has started to work. Potter really wanted to get off of that table. He just didn't understand.
His paws are wet from the water bowl I'd put down for him at home.

We talked to the vet (a different vet than the day before) and we explained how quickly it all happened, how it just knocked us back with the speed of the progression. How he was doing so well last week, then BOOM! She said it was rare that this happened like this, but that sometimes it did.

And since business is better (and we're not paying out a thousand bucks a month in credit card payments), we're going to start taking the older cats in for geriatric tests.

I don't want to go through this again.

Now we watch to see the changing of the hierarchy. What will be different in the clowder with Potter gone. He had a mighty personality.

I just gave chicken to DaNiece and Sagwa. And it was weird. As I was handing pieces to Mystie, Spot, and Charlie, there was no Potter under the table next to Myst. He was a grabby cat and he inhaled the chicken pieces. I kept looking around for him.

Just damn.

broken heart

potter    goodbye    catstuff   


otherstuff
10:31 AM - 09/02/2017

The topic: I’ve come to the conclusion
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That there's more to hell than fire.

There's humidity. Lots and lots of humidity.

You know how they say "it's not the heat, it's the humidity"?

They're right.

And that's what hell is like.

flame


But wait! I'm not done yet!
I've got more to say!

hot   

      Sunday, September 03, 2017


otherstuff
06:50 AM - 09/03/2017

The topic: This heat
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Just stop. Just, please, stop.

It was 90° last night at 9:50. I got up at 3:30, it was 85°.  I watched the news at 11:00 and the weather caster said that the temperature was 15° higher last night than the previous night. This is just nuts.

I got up because I couldn't find Sammy. He went outside last night, we have a flea problem here (Advantage will be put on all cats today, I'm a month late). Some of the cats are getting hit harder than others. Sammy is one of them. I think he likes the coolness of the damp clover on his belly. And I couldn't find him. I didn't sleep. I couldn't sleep. So, I was outside with a flashlight looking for him. We think Sammy has lost his hearing. What you don't do when you're looking for a deaf cat at 3:30 in the morning is call him. It won't work and would probably annoy the neighbors. He finally showed up around five, I don't know where he'd been, but I picked him up, brought him in and took him into the bedroom. And put him on the bed next to Brian. Between the two of us, Sammy got over an hour of one on one attention.

It's almost seven and he's still in bed, face pushed into my pillow.

I checked my Advantage and only had two packets so I checked Amazon. Yay, I can get it delivered today for free! (Being a Prime member comes in handy.)

At one point when I came in the house when I was looking for the big, fluffy white cat, Brian asked if everything was okay. I told him I couldn't find Sammy. And I told him how miserable it was outside. He got up and walked outside. I don't know if he looked for Sammy, I was around the side of the house shining the flashlight into the catnip and when I walked back to the backside, Sammy was next to the shop. I figure he had been under the pool pump.

Brian said in his entire life, he doesn't remember it being that warm at that time of the day. He said that it's usually cooler at dawn. Not today.

We might get some precipitation today. Remnants of Hurricane Lidia.  Up from Mexico. And it's supposed to be cooler. Cooler would be nice. And windy. Wind would be nice. And lightning and thunder, maybe. Calling for temperatures in the 80s this week. Much better than the mid 100s, for sure.

The air conditioner has been running 24/7. I dread the electric bill. I already made a partial payment, for some reason it doesn't bother me as much to make two payments instead of one big one. I don't know why.

Let this heat be gone. And take the humidity with it.

14110206

Save

sammy    hot   

      Wednesday, September 06, 2017


otherstuff
01:27 PM - 09/06/2017

The topic: I’m still here
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Everything is plodding along, I'm just trying to catch up with paperwork. We all know it's the bane of my existence, I've been doing it since I was seventeen. I'm sixty-three right now and I've never really liked doing it.

And age hasn't improved my outlook. It's one of those things I just put off.

Here's the procedure. Brian gets an email, asking for a quote. He emails the quote to both the person asking and me. I print out these quotes. They're kept in date order.

Person quoted decides to purchase a product. They can pay with a credit card, PayPal or a check. I print out a copy of the receipt from the credit card company or PayPal or the check and attach it to the quote. Sometimes the customer pays on a months old quote and it is not fun to dig through the paper trying to find where it was quoted.

I send a copy of the credit card payment to Brian so he can put the order on the board and start the process (right now he has over a hundred orders).  He sees the PayPal payments before I do, they go to his email address.

I set up an account for the customer and input the payment to my accounting software. With PayPal, it's a step more than for a credit card because I also have to deduct the fees they charge us. The credit card company takes them all at the same time, just one monthly withdrawal.

When the order ships, I print a copy of the shipping receipt from USPS or UPS and attach it to my paperwork. And then, ideally, I type up an invoice. Ideally.

Life ain't ideal. lol! Oh, gee, there's only one, I'll do it when I get more. A month or more later, I realize "hey, this stuff is starting to pile up, I'd best get busy". Which is what I did yesterday. I got all the new accounts set up (forty-eight) and the outstanding invoice printed and sent. Which left the bank reconciliations. I don't know what the hell I did (well, didn't do), but realized last month I'd only done two this year.

So, that's what I'm working on. I got all of the payments I had paperwork for input this morning and filed. A lot of stuff that comes out of the bank is done via debit card from Brian. I never see the paperwork, so there's nothing to input. I have to take it off of the bank statements. If something doesn't feel right, I'll ask him, but he usually knows what it was for. But it's really time consuming and it's just a PITA to do. Which is why I don't do it as I should.

But being September, it's possible the liability insurance company might be looking to do a little audit before we renew and I'd rather have it all taken care of than to be scrambling at the last minute.

So, I've got one done, on to the next. Hopefully, I'll be able to get most of them done today. If I can stay focused.

      Thursday, September 07, 2017


catstuff
11:39 AM - 09/07/2017

The topic: You know what’s worse than seeing
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A bird's remains on the lawn? And then you're told that one of the cats ate said remains?

When that cat upchucks those remains in the middle of the floor. Kibble, bones, feathers.....

cwm4

rocky    catstuff   

      Sunday, September 10, 2017


mrs. crankypants
09:23 AM - 09/10/2017

The topic: Ow, that hurts.
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Brian and I were having a little disagreement last night. I had a credit at Petco for that raw food I bought for DaNiece about two months ago, not one cat liked it. They have a sixty day return policy. We had ten days left.

So, we took it back and picked out some other soft food for cats who don't want to eat. Right now, that's Skippy. He's our FIV cat and is having some respiratory problems. Cool mist humidifier is set up in the bathroom and he's spending some time in there. I also started him on l-lysine paste Friday.

The food we got was not Fancy Feast, but other brands, with different flavors, not the common turkey/chicken/fish/beef stuff. Yeah, I got some of those flavors, but I also got some Instinct rabbit and Instinct lamb.Not your normal every day flavors.

Anyway, Skip loved the lamb, the first one I opened for him. So far, he's eaten three different varieties in the past eighteen hours. This is a good sign.

So, I'm looking online for a cheaper price. Amazon wasn't cheaper, Chewy.com was. I was telling Brian a case of 3 oz cans is less than $40. I'm pretty sure Petco was more than that.  "Oh, no", he says.  "Petco was around $1.69."  No, it wasn't. But he keeps saying it was, he was sure of it. I was sure he was wrong. The receipt was out in the car. I went outside and got it.

For the longest time, Brian has cement berms in front of the vehicles. I guess so we don't drive into the garage. I don't know why he thought we'd drive into the garage, they've been an annoyance at times, but no big deal.

Last night, they became a big deal. I hit one with my big toe stepping over it and lost my balance. I was going sideways, not straight and ended up hitting the garage door with the right top part of my head. Then I went down. I hurt both knees, my right wrist/hand and my neck. And my head. I started yelling for Brian, he came out and helped me up. He got ice for my head. You know how a blister feels? Soft and squishy? I had a place on my head (under my hairline) about two inches in diameter, soft and squishy (it's gone down some). For some reason, the left side of my head hurts as well, above my ear. Maybe my glasses did that. I don't know.

My right arm is the worst, below my shoulder. It just aches and it's hard to raise or move. Luckily, I had my hair in a ponytail/bun on top of my head so when I took it out (took forever, lifting my arm to take out the band) and it combed out easily this morning. There was a chunk of hair that came out as well, I'm still trying to figure that one out.

I'm moving pretty slowly this morning. And last night I was pissed at Brian. Because why couldn't he just believe me? Why does he have to question everything I say?  At least that's what it seems like at times.

The cost of the food was $1.99 for the three ounce can.

Cheaper at Chewy.com. I was right. And I hurt.

skipper    ow   

      Wednesday, September 13, 2017


catstuff
11:11 AM - 09/13/2017

The topic: Man, am I tired
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What a stressful few weeks this has been.

So, let's see, where did I leave off? Oh, yeah, my most recent adventure. I'm okay. There's some bruising, my big toe really hurts, the skin on my head is sore, but other than that, I'm pretty sure that the garage door incident will not be the death of me.

I set up a couple of wi-fi cameras, with infrared capablitiy, in the bathroom so I could keep an eye on Skip during the night. One on the counter, one on the floor. Saturday night, Sunday morning, he finished all of the food on the plate. Sleep for me sucked, because my head and I kept wanting to watch the cameras to see how he was doing. His favorite place to sleep was between the toilet and the counter and the camera was right in his face. I watched him blowing snot bubbles. I watched him sleeping with his mouth open because his nose was packed with snot.

During the day Sunday and into Monday morning, he ate three more. Then he quit. All he would eat was Greenies. The treat for teeth. Unlike DaNiece and her love of scrambled eggs, Greenies a nutritious diet do not make. He needed more than Greenies.

I would let him out during the day and it was hot outside. The bathroom with the humidifier wasn't really any more pleasant, just more humid. Cool mist humidifier? I think not. When he was outside, he'd be under one of the tractors, which I didn't mind, I could watch him. And I could easily get him to wipe the snot off of his nose, snot that had picked up grass, dirt and whatever else was out there. I even saw some of those little bees flying around his face. When he took up residence under the pool pump, it wasn't as easy. I'd have to coax him out. With Greenies. gulp

I checked with Doctor Google and found there were a few different possible causes of his repiratory problem. Viral or bacterial, bad teeth, cancer....there were more. I started treating the viral first. That's why the l-Lysine paste, it helps the immune system. I found four amoxi tabs from a million years ago and gave him those over the course of a few days, for the bacterial. Four wasn't going to be nearly enough, I knew that, but I wanted to do something. I wasn't worried about his teeth because he had no problem eating those Greenies.

He was getting the l-Lysine at least twice a day and I gave him 60cc of fluids every day since he wasn't eating or drinking much. Is he getting better?  Sometimes it seems like he is, but I'm never sure enough.. At this point I've convinced myself he needs more help than I can provide. Yesterday morning, I called the vet. Did I want to drop him off (never again, not after the Potter thing) or make an appointment?  We took him in this morning at 9:30.

And the prognosis is great! He has lost a fair amount of weight since his last checkup, but she said that it didn't worry her because it's a seasonal weight loss. And also his FIV status. His blood values were pretty good, some were low, some were high, easily explained by stress or FIV. She'd like to see him put on at least another pound. But she was very pleased that his bloodwork looked so good.

I asked her if it was viral or bacterial. She said how it usually goes is it starts off as viral and turns bacterial.

They gave him fluids so I don't have to today. He's on doxycycline, twice a day for two weeks, I'm to keep up the fluids until he's back to normal and he should be good to go.

I've pulled all of the stuff out of my bathroom and it's no longer a hospital room. The premium food I ordered from Chewy got here a little bit ago.

I need to re-apply Advantage II to the cats (hey, something else I learned this past week; you can apply Advantage once a week, it's that safe - I mentioned that to the vet and she said it's very mild, it won't hurt the kitties).

skipper    photos    catstuff   


otherstuff
03:43 PM - 09/13/2017

The topic: It’s so dark in the morning
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I'd rather have my light in the morning than at night. I'm an early riser. I don't do much in the evening and it most always cools off at night after the sun goes down. Yeah, I'm okay with cooler.

Last week, I was outside after six in the morning, but before six thirty. And the moon looked pretty cool going down behind the hill. I ran in, grabbed the camera and went back out to snap some pictures. I set it on top of the swing so I didn't move it and the moon would be sharp. Imagine my irritation when the flash went off. So, I took another one. Yay, me!  I didn't disable the flash!

Third time is a charm, no flash on the last photo.

Imagine my surprise at how cool the photo WITH flash turned out. The first is with the flash, the second is without, just natural light. These were taken less than ten seconds apart. Oh, yeah, I almost forgot to mention, clicking on a picture will take you to a bigger photo in my family album; clicking on that picture will open a larger photo.

A happy, accidental happenstance. The moon actually was that reddish color. The photo with flash was more true than the one without.

plain

Save

photos    moon   


mrs. crankypants
04:07 PM - 09/13/2017

The topic: Insects
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One of the things with Skippy this past week is it was difficult to get him to run over to me. Sometimes coaxing worked, other times it was Greenie city. Sunday, I sat in the cedar swing and he came over to me. I was in shorts and the sun was setting.

We sat there for quite a while, my Sklppy and me. He laid next to me, got up, turned around, scratched at the wood, and purred. And purred.

And the mosquitoes feasted on me. I never know that I've been bitten until hours later. Monday, I was unpleasantly surprised to discover at least ten bites on my legs, more on my arms. And I itch so much.

Last night at nine, I took a Benedryl. Then again at 2:30, after walking the yard with a flashlight, in search of Sklp (he was in one of the tractor seats), I took another one when I came back inside. I'm going nuts with the itch.

I've tried Aveeno anti-itch cream. I've tried Gold Bond anti-itch. I tried ice packs (that do a fairly good job, but it's not practical where some of the bites are and I've just got so many). I've tried rubbing alcohol. I've tried hydrogen peroxide. I tried washing the area with pretty hot water. One of the suggestions was something like Vicks Vaporub.

Looking for some miracle, in Brian's bathroom, I found some Vicks. I put it on two of the bites. A half hour later, no itch. So, I put some on three bites on my legs. Amazingly, they don't seem to be bothering me anymore. Then I remembered that I took two (TWO!!), Benedryls not that long ago. Maybe that's why no itch. And I'm getting really sleepy....

Damned bugs. We were doing so well this year with so few in the house. Then I go outside and invite them for dinner. Bastards.

 

skipper    mosquitoes   

      Thursday, September 14, 2017


otherstuff
06:40 PM - 09/14/2017

The topic: So, still itching
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It wasn't so bad this morning, but this afternoon, I must have gotten a couple of new bites. One on my wrist and a couple on my feet. Which were bare.

And the scratching started and that got the older bites on the backs of my legs going.

Then, I had a thought. What about the stuff I got for the dogs back when we had dogs for their hot spots (this was before Frontline and Advantage). I didn't use much and have kept the bottle. Last month I used it on Sammy, who was pulling out his fur because of the itching. I sprayed some on a cotton pad and liberally applied it to the red areas. He quit scratching within the half hour.

So, I'm thinking, if it worked for Sammy, maybe it would work for me. I found the bottle and sprayed the bite on my wrist. Within five minutes, no itch. I put some on my calves, my feet and it took a little longer, but the itch is no more. Oh, yeah. I was getting tired of taking Benedryl. And Vicks, which was also greasy. This stuff is nice.  Soothing.

I wondered if they still have it and they do! I found it over on Amazon. Eqyss Micro-Tek Spray. If I can use it on my kitty cats, I can use it on me.

You're welcome.

mosquitoes   

      Saturday, September 16, 2017


catstuff
07:53 AM - 09/16/2017

The topic: It’s cooled off some!
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I am so ready for summer to be over and done.

I've killed two mosquitoes in the past two days with my bare hands. They were flying in front of me and I clapped my hands on the little motherf*ckers. One fell to my desk pad, legs twitching and I smooshed it. There was blood. My blood most likely. Rat bastards. I gotta say that pet spray has made me a little less of a miserable bitch since I started using it.

Skippy seems to be doing better. He hasn't spent the night in the home hospital since last weekend. I do take him in there to give him fluids, which he still needs. But he's running in for eats now and more affectionate. During the night, he ends up in the bedroom on the bed. Sometimes on one of us. He's back outside by the morning.

His nose is still runny and still gets that mixture of snot and dirt, kind of reminds me of the crust on a well marinated roast. You're welcome for that visual.

I was a little concerned with Sagwa yesterday as he didn't want to eat anything. After what we went through with him earlier this summer, I really don't want it to come back, whatever it was. He got lots of love and attention yesterday, lots of flea combing as well. Last night his appetite had picked up and this morning he was in the kitchen begging when I made DaNiece's egg. When I came back to the office to check my morning stuff, Skippy came in looking for food, I got the soft food out of the fridge, he ate his fill, the Sagwa ate a whole lot. He's asleep on my desk right now. Next to the bloody remains of that mosquito.

We have an appointment for Opie on Monday, a geriatric check up. Rocky and DaNiece both need to go in next week for rechecks. Rocky is a horror to medicate. You'd think I was trying to kill him.

I think DaNiece's prescription for the pheno might be a little strong, she sleeps so much anymore. And whatever was going on with her right leg doesn't look good to me. You know how sometimes when you're standing or walking and a knee just noodles for no reason? And you kind of lose your balance? It looks like that. But then she rights herself and it's okay. She favors that side, but can still jump and climb onto the sofa. It's weird. I'll bring that up at her recheck.

skipper    sagwa    rocky    mosquitoes    daniece    catstuff   


craftstuff
04:47 PM - 09/16/2017

The topic: A couple of years ago
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I shared my ideas for keeping things organized.

One of them was to keep a way to view the cutting files I've purchased over time. And it turns out, it's not working the way I'd planned.

Because I have to flip through pages of names of files. And that really isn't a lot of help. If there's a file listed that can work for different occasions, just with a change of paper, well, that's not addressed. Then I end up going through pages of pictures of the files I have, which is time consuming.

I installed a graphics organization program that I can tag pictures, but I never got really far with that. In concept, it's great, but I haven't pushed myself to do it.

Today, it hit me. Duh. Instead of adding the files to one list as I get them, I could make a list for Autumn/Halloween, Spring/Easter, anniversary/birthday....I think you get the idea. And one file could be listed on multiple pages.

Now, I just have to push myself to do it. That five inch binder is about ready to burst, there are a lot of flies in it.

organization    craftstuff   

      Sunday, September 17, 2017


foodstuff
01:39 PM - 09/17/2017
I'm watching Ant-man
The current weather is absolutely gorgeous

The topic: The house smells
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The house smells like roast!

Friday evening, Brian made bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches, with tomatoes picked from our garden. While he was making them, I lamented the absence of a decent deli. I don't consider "Subway" the same as a deli from the old days. Used to get some really good roast beef sandwiches. On thick sourdough or wheat bread, not a roll, but actual bread.

There is a deli section at the grocery store, but somehow the meat you get there just isn't the same. So, he said I should cook a roast and we'd have roast beef sandwiches. And I said "we need roast". 

As we were eating our BLTs, I mentioned how tasty the tomato was. An Indigo tomato. And as I sat there and chewed on it, I said "maybe I should make macaroni and cheese and use a tomato as the topper" and he said that would be great.

After an early dinner, he went to Costco to get some stuff we really needed, like toilet paper. And he got some nice roasts.

Yesterday afternoon, I cooked macaroni, grated cheese, mixed those up with some other ingredients and popped it into the oven. When it was all nice and hot, I pulled it out and put thinly sliced tomatoes on top, covered those in more cheese and back into the oven until the cheese was all nice and bubbly.

Brian came in from working and asked "what's for dinner?" 

It's cooking.

I watch him look around the kitchen. He looks at the pressure cooker. He looked at the microwave. He looks at the stove. No food.

I can see the confusion in his eyes. "In the oven. It's in the oven. We're having mac and cheese." His reaction was one of disappointment, which kind of surprised me.

"I thought we were having roast beef. Isn't that why I got it?" Yeah, I don't recall mentioning when we were having roast and it kind of bothered me. I remember the mac and cheese discussion. Anyway, dinner was great last night. The tomatoes really made it great.

And right now, I have a three pound roast in the pressure cooker. I've not done one this big, I just did a little one that was frozen. I browned the outside first, then put chicken stock in the pressure cooker and set the meat on a wire rack that fits nicely in the cooker. I'm doing it early because I want to give it time to cool down (hopefully it will be fully cooked) before slicing it for sandwiches.

The house sure smells good.

instant pot    food   


mrs. crankypants
01:59 PM - 09/17/2017

The topic: I need to get a Sharpie
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And start marking these damned mosquito bites. Right now, there are only a couple that itch, but I'm not sure they're old ones.

If I start marking the bites on my arms, legs and feet with a Sharpie, I'll know for sure if those little bastards are still feasting on my blood.

Since the weather cooled, I've been wearing socks and sweatpants, not just shorts and a shirt. The bites on my legs don't itch, but the ones on my arms sure do and there's one on the top of one of my feet that has a big crater from me scratching it, most likely with a toenail while I'm sleeping.

That pet spray I mentioned works, but it wears off. Or it's just another bite.

Wonder what color Sharpie I should use?

mosquitoes   

      Monday, September 18, 2017


catstuff
11:14 AM - 09/18/2017

The topic: Another day in paradise
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So, get up this morning, feed DaNiece, I see Skippy in the office waiting for food. By the time I make her egg, he's gone.

I went in search of him and gave him food. And the right side of his face is swollen. Crap. Crapcrapcrap.

Opie had a vet's appointment at 10:00. Geriatric checkup and he's been doing this thing where he kind of hitches his breath when he exhales. I call the office to see what to do about Skip.

"Take some pictures and show them to the doctor when you come in."

Good thing I hadn't taken a shower yet. Skip didn't get fluids yesterday because he was doing so well. But this morning he wasn't. I got his fluids ready, got his meds ready and had to get him from under the pool pump. He wasn't falling for the Greenie trick this morning. I had to move a gate that Brian had resting against the fence and because Skip was too far back for me to reach, I had to go get something to push him out with. An old leaf rake, with the light weight tines would probably work. I got down in front of where he was, positioned the rake behind him and kind of pushed him out. I was able to get to the other side where he came out and grabbed him.

Took him into the bathroom, checked his nose, it was covered in goop and I put warm water on a folded up paper towel, squeezed most of the water out and started wiping off his nose and around it. Got a nice lump of snot. Figured I should save it and take it with us when we took Opie in. I then gave him the meds and the fluids and took a few pictures with the Kindle Fire. I let him out and he went into the office and drank some water from the fountain and I took video of him.

I was very hot and sweaty.  I took a shower. Then it was time to go. Opie didn't go crazy this time, I think Brian was a calming influence on him. The vet said his heart sounded good. They took him into the back for blood work and the results were really good. They're supposed to call with the RBC and WBC since that machine wasn't running properly. She said he may have a slight case of COPD, but at this juncture, there's nothing to be done. If it gets worse, then there will be options.

She looked at the pictures of Skip and took the snot back and tested it. No white blood cells. The line of thought at this point is something bit him. I'm supposed to take him in and they'll give him a shot, diphenhydramine and steroid, to help with the swelling.

I almost forgot to ask about DaNiece who has run her first month of phenobarbital. The vet wanted to recheck her values. So, I'm supposed to take her in for blood work, just a drop off. I'll be taking both Skip and DaNiece in between noon and two this afternoon, since they don't have appointments then.

I'll be glad when I'm home for the day.

vet    skipper    opie    daniece    catstuff   


catstuff
01:23 PM - 09/18/2017

The topic: Back from the vet
----------------------------------------------

We took both Skip and DaNiece down. Saves time and a trip. Brian got the job of getting Skippy from under the pool pump this time.

Skip went first, the doc checked him over and he got an allergy shot.

DaNiece went next and they took blood for her pheno baseline.

This morning after taking Opie in, I told Brian I'd pay for everything. When we left the house with two carriers, I asked if he had his wallet. "Why? You said you're paying."

So, I did. Paid for Opie, DaNiece and Skip. Then DaNiece was brought out and we were told the vet wasn't going to charge for Skippy's shot. Yay! $54.00!!! And Opie's blood work was normal.

The receptionist said "darn, now I have to give you a credit" and I told her not to worry about it, we'll be back in next Monday with Rocky (recheck for him).

Got home, opened the carriers and the first thing Skip did was head for the kibble in the office. DaNiece wanted something special, I think, but also ended up eating kibble, but in the dining room.

vet    skipper    opie    daniece    catstuff   


otherstuff
05:55 PM - 09/18/2017

The topic: Last October
----------------------------------------------

I got a new cellphone. Well, we got new cellphones. We had been using AT&T and for $85 a month, we got unlimited talk and text for two basic phones, service for my iPad and a whopping 300MB of usage.

Brian had been using my old phone. It was the same as his old phone, one of those sliders. His phone died, and since I had gotten an upgrade, he started using my old one. Then that died. He needed a new phone. He didn't want a smartphone, he wanted a basic phone. I wanted a smartphone, but all of the ones available for AT&T were more money than I wanted to spend.

Doing some research, I found that Cricket Wireless is owned by AT&T, so we'll get the same coverage area. And there's a little Cricket store not too far from here. We checked it out. Brian got his basic phone ($29.95, a little flip phone) and I got a free smartphone. Unlimited talk and text. Having a smartphone, I didn't need coverage for the iPad. I never used it anyway. And I got 2GB of data. For $65.00 a month. And using autopay, we save an additional five bucks. Since we've gotten our phones, I doubt I've used a whole gigabyte. And twice, they've upgraded my data an additional GB so now I get 4GB. For sixty bucks a month.

Since I'm always home, I've never sat down and learned how my phone works. I can text. I can surf the internet. I can make calls. I can take pictures. I can send pictures.

But can I answer the damned thing?

As I found out on the day we left Potter at the vet's to find out what was wrong, no. I do not know how to answer my cellphone.

So, a couple of hours ago, my cellphone rings. It was the vet's office with an update on DaNiece's phenobarbital value (perfect, by the way, so the meds she's on are the meds she'll stay on). I had told them to call Brian's cell, but they called mine since it's the number on record. The vet left a message and I also called back from our home line and spoke directly to her. (They can't call the home line because it's a MagicJack and for some reason, their calls do not ring through.)

And I sat down with my cellphone in one hand, the home phone on the other and started calling the cell. And through trial and error, I finally, eleven and a half months after getting it, figured out how to answer a phone call on my cellphone.

Yay!

daniece    cell phone   

      Wednesday, September 20, 2017


catstuff
08:44 AM - 09/20/2017

The topic: I had the best night’s sleep in weeks
----------------------------------------------

No drugs or anything. Nice.

The swelling in Skip's face had not gone down yesterday morning. As a matter of fact, it looked a little worse. I kind of thought the shot would be a miracle thing and in a few hours he'd be back to normal.  It's not the Big Bang Theory (thinks of Wolowitz).

Yesterday afternoon, I saw my first wasp of the season and just out of curiosity, I Googled to see how long swelling from a wasp sting can take to go down. It can get worse for three days.  Hmmm...

I went out and wiped his nose every couple of hours yesterday. He didn't like it, but I think it may have helped. I'd bring him in and sit with him in the bathroom while he ate soft food. Then I'd let him out of the room and he'd go back outside. For my peace of mind, I brought him in last night around eight and he spent the night in the bathroom. I'd given him another can of food and the plate was empty this morning.

I let him out around 4:30 this morning and went back to bed. After the sun was fully up, I brought him back inside.

He got his fluids, his meds and the l_Lysine (yeah, some studies show it doesn't work, but the anecdotal stories speak a different outcome - I figure if it's not hurting him, and may be helping, he'll keep getting it).

And now, it looks like the swelling is going down, I noticed he's actually following me with his eyes when I'm outside. Before, he just kept looking ahead or down. Not much head turning. I think we may be making progress.

I have to call the vet today and get Rocky, DaNiece and Skip's meds refilled.  I don't know if I have enough to give them tonight.

skipper    catstuff   

      Thursday, September 21, 2017


catstuff
07:28 AM - 09/21/2017

The topic: Sleep wasn’t so good last night
----------------------------------------------

And heres why:

The cat you see is Rory. The lump under the covers, to her left, is Mario.

Mario has decided, once again, that he wants to be under the covers. He can't jump well, so he climbs. This is my side of the bed. This is actually the side of the bed.

During the night, he will be there and she will be on the other side of my legs. Both as close as possible to me. I cannot move. I can't change position in bed.

If I move my legs, Mario will claw at them. It's a little easier to move Rory, but two seconds later she's back in position.

I spent an hour last night fighting with Mario. I kicked him off of the bed numerous times. I positioned myself at the very edge of the bed so he couldn't climb up. He walked around to the other side of the bed, walked up the steps and over to me. I'd put him up in the window where he sometimes ends up. He wouldn't stay. When he stayed by my feet on the bedspread, he'd make his way up to my side and start pulling at the covers.

Yeah, me and Mario, man, we had a fight last night.

rory    mario    catstuff    bad sleep   


catstuff
04:03 PM - 09/21/2017

The topic: Skip is blind
----------------------------------------------

This morning, he started doing this weird twitch with his head. It concerned me enough that I called the vet and they said I could drop him off or bring him in at 2:45. That time was over four hours away, but we will never do another drop off of a sick cat. We can't even imagine Potter's time there.

Well, I kept Skip in the bathroom. And around noon, I let him out. Out the door, he looked disoriented. He finally made it outside and over into the garden. He never goes into the garden. He peed a bunch, then he pooped. I watched him and he was walking all over the place, not with any destination in mind. Odd. And he's actually more alert and active than he's been in weeks.

Then it dawned on me. He couldn't see. He couldn't see a damned thing.  I called the vet at around two and I was told to bring him in.

More tests. They tested for hypertension and they tested his thyroid. His thyroid was good. Since he had blood tests last week, we knew his kidneys are okay. She did some research and although it's anecdotal, FIV may cause hypertension. The good news is that his congestion is much better. The antibiotics are working. One more week on those. And he still gets fluids.

So, she gave us a prescription for a drug for him, we have to go to a regular pharmacy for that. The vet said it's possible he'll get some of his eyesight back when we bring the blood pressure down. I hope so. But we're already planning a fenced off area in the yard for him so he doesn't fall into the pool.

When we got home, he went into the bathroom and stepped in the kibble, knocking the bowl over and kibble went flying. And he was all, hey, food! And started nomming. He nommed for at least ten minutes. He's fast asleep right now.

The only other cat we had was who went blind was Lisa Violet. And when she slept, she didn't close her eyes. They were open all of the time. I'm watching Skip on the stalker cam and he's asleep and his eyes are closed. I hope that's an optimistic sign.

vet    skipper    catstuff    blind   


otherstuff
05:56 PM - 09/21/2017

The topic: Yeah, so at the vet’s this afternoon
----------------------------------------------

We're home for the night, did some banking, picked up Skippy's meds, had a fast food sit down dinner; I let Skip out when we got home, he peed, he ate, he got his BP med, now he's back in the infirmary for the night, just needs his antibiotic.

When we were waiting to see the vet (we had to be squeezed in), the receptionist asked if Brian had punched me in the face. This puzzled me. and she said "you're eye is all bruised." Ah, yeah....here's the story.

Remember my earlier post about fighting for my spot in bed last night? Well, when I first got in, I was trying to pull the spread up and was moving my upper body. It just so happened this was at the same time Brian was getting situated and our heads met in the middle. Well, his forehead met my eye. I was headbutted.

He's headbutted me before. He kinda lost his balance and my head stopped his forward progress. I don't think I bruised that time. So, we figure I'll get one more headbutt from him in another thirty-two years. That should do it.

I had no idea I was bruised. Too wrapped up in Skip, I guess.

ow   

      Friday, September 22, 2017


catstuff
10:43 AM - 09/22/2017

The topic: Playing it over in my mind
----------------------------------------------

You know, like people tend to do. Re-running the events of yesterday morning.

I let him out of the bathroom this morning. He stood there, then went left. Okay, this is good. Yesterday afternoon, he didn't know which way to go. He walked down the hallway, whisker close to the walls. He made it out the sliding door, tentatively stepping down.

Then, he stopped. He sniffed. He moved his head this way and that. He made his way back to where the door was open and just sat there.

Then he got up and walked over to the edge of the patio. He did not step onto the grass at all. Opie walked towards him and Skip meowed in his direction. Could he make out something? I don't know.

What I do know is that yesterday, when I let him out to potty around noon, he walked on the grass, he walked to the side of the house. He had some vision left. It was definitely off, but there was some sort of vision. I've read quite a few anecdotal stories of cats regaining their site. Some in a matter of days, some in a matter of weeks.

Time is a funny thing. This next week is going to drag. I just know it. Waiting, watching Skip's every move. This morning he was asleep on the blanket in the bathroom. I noticed during the night, he had peed in the litter box. A little later, when I had his meds ready, I saw that he'd peed on the blanket. So, that little bit of hope was gone.

A while later I was in there, cleaning up  little and he woke up, walked over to the litter box and stuck his head in it. He wanted to eat. I gently guided him over to the food. He ate.

Time. It all takes time. And patience. Which has never been my strong point.

skipper    catstuff    blind   


otherstuff
11:15 AM - 09/22/2017

The topic: I’m so tired!
----------------------------------------------

I got a pretty good night's sleep, wasn't worried about Skip, didn't get up to check on him at all. Nor did I turn on a computer to watch him on camera. I slept.

Mario was under the covers, but far enough down the bed that it didn't bother me. And because of that, Rory's position wasn't a problem, either.

I'm also very hungry. I just finished my leftover Greek salad from last night. When we were waiting for Skip's prescription to be filled, we went to a Greek Chicken restaurant. I assume it was the manager, but when I asked about the size of a medium bowl, the woman pointed to the middle bowl and the manager (who I wouldn't doubt was also an owner) pointed to the big one next to that, saying "that's the medium". She argued with him a little and he said "no, today that's the medium bowl". I got it with chicken and the chicken was the best fast food chicken I've ever had. I don't know what it had been marinated in, but, oh, my gosh, it was like heaven in my mouth. The leftovers were still just as good this morning.

And the pita bread was fresh and soft. I've never had pita bread like that. Two thumbs up from me for the entire meal. It was spendy for fast food, I don't deny that, but damn, was it good.

We're having a couple of days of fall weather. It's so nice right now and it was probably one of the reasons I got a good night's sleep. Right now I have a jacket on because it's a little on the cool side. Alas, it won't be too long before we're back in the 90°. Not looking forward to that.

I ordered some bowls yesterday that are supposedly really hard to tip. I read the reviews, the one who mentioned the puppy who couldn't dump the bowl over made up my mind. I don't want Skip dumping water over and I don't catch it right away. I got one for water and one for kibble. They'll be here tomorrow.

I made coffee. I hope it kicks in. If it doesn't, I'll take a nap. I'd like to do something crafty.  All of the things I got to list out my files is here and I could work on that. That's going to be like tagging each picture, except for each "tag" it will be listed under a different heading. A lot of work there.

But for now, I'll wait for the coffee to kick in.

food   

      Saturday, September 23, 2017


otherstuff
07:12 AM - 09/23/2017

The topic: Last year
----------------------------------------------

Summer was so hot that I felt bad for the birds out front. We kept the bird feeder full, but there was no water. Well, a little thing hanging from the corner of the house, Brian kept that filled.

So, I grabbed a disposable aluminum roasting pan (I got a bunch of them at CostCo one year, worked nicely as litter boxes in the big crate). I put it on the bank out front and filled it with water. I saw mostly crows around it, but they took advantage of having fresh water on hot days.

This year, Brian moved the pan to a location that got more shade during the day. And, once again, he keeps it fresh. And the birds like it. Not so many crows this year, but we have a fair amount of pigeons. And I like to see them at the water and I'm glad we can help out the wildlife just a little.

This past week, Brian went to one of the home stores, not sure which, Home Depot or Lowe's. And he excitedly told me about a new bowl he got, just for the birds. It's thick, it's like pottery, it's probably three inches deep. It looks like a bird bath bowl. He got rid of the aluminum pan and put this in it's place, a little into the pine needles. And he filled it. It blends quite well and you have to look to see it. Much nicer than the aluminum pan.

Late yesterday afternoon, I walked outside and noticed some pigeons at it. I counted eight birds partaking of the water.

And it made me smile.

I need smiles after the past couple of months.

hot    birds   


catstuff
08:12 AM - 09/23/2017

The topic: Gobsmacked
----------------------------------------------

I just opened the bathroom door, Skip walked out, into the wall, down the hallway and is now drinking from the water fountain in the office.

The first time since Thursday morning.

Thirsty boy.  (He is getting fluids to keep him hydrated.)

I just hit Amazon, new fountain will be here today, for the bathroom.

skipper    catstuff   

      Sunday, September 24, 2017


catstuff
06:31 AM - 09/24/2017

The topic: When Skippy could see
----------------------------------------------

He peed in the grass or in the litterbox. Every time.

Since he's lost his sight, he hasn't. Not that it's an issue for me, I've been cleaning up after cats for years. But there was something about his urine, now that I could see it, that was extremely alarming.

It was dark. Very, very dark. Not bloody, not brown, but amber. Not right. Not right at all.

I mention it to Brian he said maybe it was just concentrated. Well, maybe, but he gets fluids twice a day. His output is a fair amount. It shouldn't be concentrated, not like this.

So, I go to Dr. Google. And I search for dark urine and doxycycline, since that's the only medication he's on. Dark urine is one of those "severe" side effects and to stop taking immediately.

Effing great. Just great. So how much liver damage could this have caused? Searching, searching, searching, reading, reading, reading....

Okay, it has a half life of eighteen hours. So, by now, there's fifty percent left in his system. (Eighteen hours was midnight.)  At noon today, there will be twenty-five percent left in his system. I'm sitting there with a pen and pad figuring this all out last night. My mind is racing.

He peed on the blanket twice last night. The first one I cleaned up, it was at the edge. Sometime during the night he peed on the blanket again and I sopped it up with paper towels. Dark. Still dark. But, over at the litter box, he had peed in a corner and some of it shot outside of the box onto the pee pad (bathroom is pretty much covered in pee pads against the wall, mostly to catch spilled water and kibble and loose litter). And it wasn't as dark!  Well, Brian just looked at it and it looks just as dark to him. ohoh

He's not really hungry this morning (he would be if all he got was Greenies, he still likes his Greenies), but Brian reminded me of DaNiece when I pulled all of her meds not so long ago. If I hadn't been impatient and hung up while on hold with the vet's office, she's most likely not be here today.

His fur actually looks a little better this morning, but he's not very active. So, could you send some healing thoughts his way? Prayers, white light, light a candle?

He's just so depressed. I miss my Skippy.

skipper    catstuff    bad drugs   

      Monday, September 25, 2017


catstuff
09:15 AM - 09/25/2017

The topic: Just heartbroken
----------------------------------------------

We said goodbye to Skippy this morning. Last night, he started peeing where he lay. I changed his blanket twice during the night. He turned his nose up at all food.

This morning, he walked down the hall, cried, peed, and laid down, his tail in the urine.

He could barely stand.

His stomach wasn't right. It's hard to explain, but when DaNiece was so skinny, when she lay down, you could see how skinny she was. No belly at all. Skip had a belly. And it wasn't hard like the other cats, it was mushy.

His urine didn't get any lighter off of the doxycycline, but that may be something that would have taken time to resolve. He didn't have that time.

I called the vet right when they opened. We were there when the vet got to work. Skippy had been taken into the back and had a catheter placed in his leg. We were called into an examining room.

The nurse told us that Skip was pretty cold and that he had done this retching thing. He was on a towel and covered with a thicker towel, to keep him warm. While we waited, I had my face against his on the table, when he started to seize. Brian held him down, and one of the nurses quickly got the doctor.

The doctor came in with the goodbye meds and it was over in no time.

I'm just heartbroken. If we could have gotten him over this hump, I'd have done it with no second thought. But there were no second chances. It was done. It was over. He's moved on.

I spent this weekend outside with him. Like Brian said this morning, all of our cats have done one last time around the yard when they're ready to go. Even though Skip couldn't see, he was relaxed yesterday. I had hope.

It wasn't meant to be.

 

skipper    goodbye    catstuff   


catstuff
11:57 AM - 09/25/2017

The topic: There is good news
----------------------------------------------

Rocky had his one month appointment for the crypto. The lump on his back is half the size, the owie on is foot is smaller and is soft, not hard. Which means it's breaking down the fungus.

The vet told me not to stop meds when I mentioned the dark urine Rocky had earlier this weekend (he peed in Brian's shower). He said "always call first".  Dark yellow is nothing to be concerned with. Orange is. Okay. Point taken.

So, Rocky's meds have been reduced to once a day (which means he only missed one dose when I decided to stop them) and will be on a monthly recheck.

I did let the vet know how much Rocket hates taking the meds, so once a day will be good. And I said "yeah, Brian lays on the couch, when he "helps" me, he'll say 'but he's under the tractor' and I told him, then do what I do, get on your knees and go after him. But no, he'd rather lay back on the couch and listen to me bitch."

And we weren't charged for anything with Skip this morning (well, the cremation, but that's through a third party company). The woman checking us out was like "shhhh! shhhh! don't say anything, you've been here so much lately and he was on his way out, there wasn't much they could really do. Why should you pay $155.00 for that?" 

Okay, you twisted my arm. It made Brian uncomfortable, but he didn't want to get her into trouble. Oh, and I brought Skip's blood pressure meds in for them in case they have a future client who needs them. I was told that sometimes elderly folks come in on fixed incomes and this helps them. The vet's office just relabels them and gives them to the client.  I'm also bringing back the doxycyline that we just got last week. I hadn't used any of it.

vet    rocky    catstuff   

      Tuesday, September 26, 2017


otherstuff
09:33 AM - 09/26/2017

The topic: I walk in from outside
----------------------------------------------

Sagwa is in my chair. He's always in my chair. Brian is in the zone, typing a response to an email.

Me, quietly talking to Sagwa, as I move him a little: I don't want to sit on your head.

Him: WHAT? 

Me: I was talking to the cat.

Him: laughs

conversations   

      Thursday, September 28, 2017


otherstuff
11:18 AM - 09/28/2017

The topic: Cats, bats and other stuff
----------------------------------------------

So, Ronnie is sick. I don't know what's wrong with him. His heart rate is good, but all he does is sleep. He's not eating. I haven't seen him drink much at all. He drank a little from the fountain yesterday morning, then I hadn't seen anything since. He slept on the "porch" of the doghouse on the bank last night. He was there in the evening, still there this morning.

He's walking stiffly and, as I said, ignoring food. Brian managed to get him yesterday and when he tried to put him in the carrier, Ronnie went nuts. Even though I'd been able to trim Ron's claws in the morning, I didn't think to trim his back claws. We missed the appointment. This morning, I ordered this from Amazon. That should help. A lot. Both here and at the vet's office with a recalcitrant cat.

This morning, fed up with him not eating, I was able to pick him up, take him into the bathroom and shove some tuna in his mouth. It wasn't much, but I hope it was enough to perk up his appetite. And when I let him out, instead of going left and back outside, he went right, into the bedroom, over to the water bowl and drank longer than I've seen him drink in over a week. Then he walked around the side of the bed, up onto the bed and is fast asleep on my pillow.

Mystie is also under the weather. She's had diarrhea problems for a while, but probiotics help. Last week I noticed her fur was weird and last night I noticed she was dehydrated. I've started her on fluids. And I'm giving her all she wants to eat, she's so skinny. I wouldn't doubt, though, that her kidneys are in pretty bad shape at this point. As long as she's got a fair quality of life, though, we'll just muddle through.

Tuesday morning, there was a dead critter by Brian's shop. I couldn't tell what kind of critter so I pushed it with my finger. A bat. Oops. Brian scooped it into an old margarine container and I called animal control, who sent me to a couple of different people. Brian was surprised since he didn't think we had any bats. Yeah, we do. (I sat on the swing outside and dusk last night and asked if he'd like to sit with me and watch the bats flying around...he passed.)  Since I touched it (the officer was nice, he said "you aren't in any trouble") I admitted to it. That admission pushed the bat testing to ASAP, because there have been rabies in the area. They called yesterday afternoon and the bat was negative, so all humans and cats are safe.

Yesterday I finally called our new health provider and we both have our annual physicals next week. The hospital is only two miles away, so that's really cool. I can drive that, no problem. Hell, if it wasn't hot and my legs worked properly, I could walk there. Yeah, I'm gonna broach this bunion thing with the doctor. It would be nice to have it finally taken care of.

The mosquitoes are (finally) biting Brian. I killed one today, he's killed more than that. He said we should bring in our electronic flying bug zappers. Yeah, I can see some problems there, those things are unwieldy.

And that's it for now. Gonna do a printer cleaning and make these negatives for the stamps.

ronnie    mystie    mosquitoes    catstuff    bat   

      Friday, September 29, 2017


otherstuff
07:10 PM - 09/29/2017

The topic: Who knew?
----------------------------------------------

My eyes were weird this morning. It was okay if I closed one eye or the other. But with both of them open? Problem focusing.

Then my memory went wonky. I couldn't remember words. I thought maybe I was hungry. Brian made a good breakfast, but it didn't help. 

The first word I couldn't remember? Migraine. I asked Brian at least three times to remind me. The other word was "generic". And then the headache hit. Left side of my head. Sneezing or coughing hurt. A lot. I took a generic Excedrin. 

I laid on the sofa, covered in a light blanket. I wasn't tired, but it was a waste of time to watch TV or read or go online. I kept repeating generic and migraine. When they were gone I tried saying them out loud and the words were nonsensical.

I did a search on my kindle fire for memory loss and migraines. And it's a thing! Whew! I slept a bunch today and even though my head still hurts when I cough or sneeze, it's nothing like this morning. And my words are back. That's  a good thing.

Brian went shopping this morning and bought a bottle of Excedrin migraine. I think getting on it early helped. This was no fun at all. Knowing you can't remember words? 

The stuff of nightmares.

 

 

 

migraine   

      Saturday, September 30, 2017


catstuff
06:09 AM - 09/30/2017

The topic: So, Ronnie…
----------------------------------------------

Well, I finally found a way yesterday to get him to eat that didn't include me holding him and shoving food down his throat. He really didn't care much for that.

Nope.

He's actually quite good at staying in the bedroom, or at least he was Thursday afternoon and yesterday. He slept in the bed both nights.

Yesterday morning I got about a half a can of A/D into him (he had another half can the night before).  With the finger thing. Dig a portion out onto my finger and wipe it in his mouth. Then I let him out of the bathroom and he went outdoors.

Well, yesterday  mid-afternoon, I watched him cleaning himself. And I had an idea. When I brought him in, he slept on the bed for a while, then up into the window. And I got a jar of meat baby food.

And I scooped a portion onto my finger. And I wiped it on his front let. He cleaned it off. I did it again. He cleaned it again. It took a little while, but we got a half a jar of chicken baby food into him. Later I got more into him. There was only a little bit left in the jar, but I didn't want him to get tired of it and refuse to eat any.

He spent the night in the house and got up around five this morning. He peed, then he went into the office. I got a fresh jar of baby food and set it down in front of him. He started to eat! On his own! Then I poured some of it into a bowl and he was having none of that. He made his way outside and walked down by the pool, where he pooped in the bark. Yay! So, all of his parts work! He can eat, he can pee, he can poop!

I know it's slow going, and I'll still wipe baby food on his legs, but I think we may be on the way to recovery.

ronnie   

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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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