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      Sunday, July 05, 2020


catstuff
08:43 AM - 07/05/2020

The topic: Happy gotcha day, Mario!
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Twelve years ago today, Mario came to live with us. And this was his past week.

A lot of what I'm posting here, I've posted elsewhere, so bare with me.

Thursday Mario had me on Xanax. He normally poops in Brian's shower. This isn't a problem. And Brian will relate the properties of said poop. (So if I need to start giving Mario Miralax to soften the stool.)

 Mario threw up foam in the living room, then fell over (he was on his back like a turtle when I went out to see what was going on).

Mario was mighty uncomfortable at his tail end. And his belly. He actually growled and bit me when I was gently palpating the areas. Pee problem or poop problem? I gave him some Miralax yesterday morning, then he ate some A/D (I figured that would help move things along, if it was poop).

He slept for a while, then got up. I carried him outside into the tall weedy grass. He walked around a bit (still didn't like being touched below the waist) and I was pulling grass from around his paws when I realized my hand was getting wet. Okay, he can pee, he's not blocked. That leaves constipation.

He got more Miralax late that afternoon. He slept pretty good most of the afternoon and evening. He did get up a couple of times during the night. Since we lost Rachel, he's the only cat you potties outside of the litterbox. This morning (Friday), I found a short wide turd in the garage, on the floor. There was a pointy dry end. I assume this was from Mario. He got more A/D with Miralax this morning. He'll be getting Miralax on a regular basis now.

I asked Brian Thursday "did Mario poop yesterday?" meaning Wednesday. He thinks about it "yes, just a small hard one". I said "you need to tell me about this. You're the only one that sees what he does and I depend on you to share that information with me".

So, I'm thinking, no enema at the vet, Mario IS feeling better today (Friday), I can softly rub around his tail without him getting pissed like he did Thursday.

Then, yesterday happened. Mario wasn't good. At all.

We had a pretty heated discussion before taking Mario to the emergency vet . Brian's all "I don't want to be spending thousands of dollars on a cat that's old and in bad shape!"

And I can understand that. And my comeback was "I don't want him to be in pain. He's in pain. I don't know how to fix it. I can't fix it. I won't do an enema on a cat, I don't know how and I could really hurt him. I don't want him to be in pain. What do you suggest?"

Crickets. Then, a little while later the discussion continued. I know all he needs is an enema. He's peeing fine, he's eating, he's not vomiting, he just has a hard as a rock piece of feces stuck in his bowels that the Miralax isn't helping. There was runny stool around his butthole this morning, but that's from the soft shit (Miralax was working on something) that's squeezing by the rock. We had this with Annie all those years ago.

And he said "if we can take him in somewhere and just get the enema, I won't have a problem with that".

I call around. The place that wanted to charge us over $4000 for running tests on Monica (who, in fact, had cancer in her tummy, they found that out before running any super expensive tests) was the first place I called and this time, they answered the phone. I explained the situation and she said the exam is $95 and we can take it from there. Just bring him in. So, we did.

We waited in the car, then one of the workers yelled out the door "Mario?" and I took him over, bringing the notes I'd typed out on his history, his symptoms and what I'd done so far. And we waited.

While we waited I said something to Brian about him being in a bad mood. And one of the things he said is "if I'd told you about how bad his poop was getting, we wouldn't be here. I feel responsible". Because I'd have started Mario on Miralax days earlier that I did.

When the doctor called a half hour or so later (we were in the car), she explained what they'd done so far and what the plan was. (His back is really hurting him, I should ask the regular vet about pain management for that.) And we agreed that right now it's a quality of life thing, to make him as comfortable as possible. So, the exam, x-rays, an enema, pain meds. Then I asked if she had any idea how much it would be. She said probably around five hundred. So, that's not a problem.

I asked if it was okay if we went home, told her we lived about twenty minutes away and she said it was fine, they'd call and give me a proper estimate since hers was just ballpark. And call they did, it should be around $485 to $502. I guess they'd already taken the x-rays and figured all he would need is the enema to solve the problem.

Now, we waited for a phone call to come pick him up.

They called around four and said he was all done, the doc went over his treatment for the next few days and that they'll be emailing me the paperwork.

They called again for payment info, then sent an invoice and payment mail. I had to sign that and we were all done. All we had to do was wait for the call to say we could come get him (they had other people to check out before us).

The call came around five and we got to the parking lot, I called and less than ten minutes later we were on our way home.

Gabapentin and lactulose were sent home with him.

He peed in the carrier on the way home (there was a blanket in it, so he didn't get real wet, just his tail), Brian let him out in the bedroom, he cruised the house, did a tiny poop, then climbed on the bed and last I saw, he was cleaning himself. Scratch that, he was just walking down the hallway.

And he's walking much better. Losing the built up stool and the pain meds, he must be feeling a lot better.

So, that was yesterday. He cruised the property, checking things out. He was walking a lot better than in the video I posted on YouTube last week. He settled in nicely for the night. This morning, I gave him the gabapentin around six, the lactulose around seven. I opened a can of beef and chicken Fancy Feast before eight, gave it to him on the bed. He just laid there, eating from the plate, then tried to stand up when he'd had enough (over a half of a can).

Houston, we have a problem. He was having an incredibly difficult time standing up. AARRGGHHH! My first thought was the gabapentin. I knew there was a reason I quit giving it to him when his stenosis was first diagnosed. We're going to have to work on the dosage, for sure. In the past hour or so, I've taken him outside to see how he was walking. Pretty wobbly. His back legs are having a hard time staying in the upright position. Damn it. I let him walk for a while, but he was clearly out of his element. I took him back into the bedroom and put him on the bed. He laid down and I thought he was going to sleep. I checked about ten minutes later. He wasn't on the bed. I checked around and found him on the throw rug next to the bed, under the stool. My guess is he slipped off of the side of the bed. Not a good thing.

I went out to Brian, Mario in my arms, and explained the situation. What would we do? Then the simplicity of the solution slammed me right between the eyes. Remove the stool. Duh. No stool, he can't get on the bed. If he can't get on the bed, he can't fall off of it. Common sense, am I right? Brian also cut a piece of foam to fit across the bottom of the door so Mario couldn't get out of the bedroom. No problem for the other cats, they aren't blind. And the humans won't have a hard time stepping over it.

So, for the past forty-five minutes or so, Mario has been in the bedroom with no bed access and he can't leave. I put a blanket on the floor for him and there are rugs next to the bed. I put a small bowl of kibble for him, there has always been a big crock of fresh water available. And I just went to check on him and here's something only a dedicated pet parent will understand.

HE POOPED IN THE SHOWER! The biggest piece in days, it wasn't hard, it wasn't light colored and dried out. Probably about three inches long. I picked it up in toilet paper and proudly took it out to Brian's shop and showed it to him. He was just as excited as I was.

Now, all I need is to see Mario resting on a rug or the blanket. Since I found him on the floor, he hasn't calmed down. I know he's safe where he is and I can check on his potty progress. And hopefully, this will be done in a few days, we can get back to normal. Well, a new normal. More meds for Mario, because this isn't going to ever completely resolve.

Hell of an anniversary, wouldn't you agree?

mario    gabapentin    emergency vet    conversations    constipation    catstuff   

      Wednesday, July 08, 2020


catstuff
06:06 AM - 07/08/2020

The topic: Mario is doing much better!
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He's perked up quite a bit in the past week. And he's pooping. That's very important. And the stools are not little round rock hard balls.

I cut back considerably on the pain med for him. This is for his back. The vet believes the pain prevents him from defecating properly. (Have you ever had sciatica and been a little constipated? Yeah, it's bad. When I ended up in ER for sciatica, they prescribed opioids and never mentioned the side effect of constipation. I guess it doesn't happen to everybody, but it sure happened to me and none of the push muscles were very excited about this amid the pain in lower back and buttocks. I never want to do that again. But it gives me some idea of what Mario is going through.)

But at the dose the vet prescribed, he was pretty loopy. He just had a hard time and was whacked out, couldn't walk on the bed, stumbling...cutting the dosage back really helped. He'll be getting the lactulose on a daily basis. Holy moly, is that stuff nasty. Only because it's so sticky. I've taken to taken a couple of paper towels with me when I give it to him since he'll do that open mouthed "ew icky stuff" cat thing and a small amount drips out after I syringe it in his mouth.

I'm hoping we're back on track now. Get the process down and stick to it. And maybe we'll have a few more years with him.

mario    lactulose    gabapentin    enema    constipation    catstuff   


otherstuff
06:23 AM - 07/08/2020

The topic: In other news…
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I don't know if I've mentioned the raccoons and possums we get in our garage. Free food and water. The raccoons like to use the water as a wash basin as well. 14110418  This was happening a lot last month. The water crock was pretty dirty every morning. We thought the raccoon was trapped in the yard and one night closed the cats in the house and shooed the raccoon out through an open gate. Aaaannd the next night the raccoon was back. Even if we didn't see it, we knew it had been here by the dirty water. But then the water was dirty every other day and now, it's only dirty from cats with leftover kibble in their mouths getting a drink. Or is it? Cats?

So, we get raccoons and possums in our garage. Not as many raccoons as possums. In the winter months, the possums move in. Actually, that should be singular. Possum. I don't think it's always the same one, but it will take up residence in the bottom of one of the old cat condos. It doesn't bother the cats, the cats don't bother it and possums are great pest control.

Well, last month, on the 26th, there were noises from behind my beading storage cabinet. It's against the big garage door (our garage is another storage room, hasn't had a car in it in decades; probably around the time we modified the fence to keep the cats in our yard), not flush against, so there is maybe five or six inches between them. I want to make sure whatever is back there isn't stuck. Got the flashlight, checked him out. Not him. Her. And I saw one little possum baby, hairless. I don't know if there are more.

Yeah. The only birth at this property in over thirty four years was possums. She's still out there. She'll move from one side of the garage to the other. She keeps herself well hidden. She's super good about using the litter box to poop, not so sure about the urinating part. ne_nau

A couple of days ago I checked on her and saw a baby feeding. heart I'd love to see more, it was just a quick glance with the flashlight, I don't want to spook her, I want her to know she's safe. I just hope there's not a problem once she comes out of hiding. Hopefully, the baby(ies) will be in her pouch so the cats don't take notice and she'll just move on.

But....BABIES!!!!

raccoons    raccoon    possum    babies   


craftstuff
08:57 AM - 07/08/2020

The topic: One thing leads to another
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I love Lawn Fawn products. I want them all. Every. Single. Last. One. I started "collecting" them last December. Except at the time, I didn't realize I was going to do this. It started with a dinosaur.

For my bestie's birthday, I made her a really cute card. It was one of the few that I have designed myself. I didn't use a kit from SVGCuts or 3DSvg this time. And it turned out really cute.


I figured I’d make a shaker card. With a volcano as the background, some red and orange glitter flakes and a little dinosaur on the front.
I found a free volcano photo on the interwebs, cartoonized it and used a Wink of Stella pen to outline some of the black outlines.
And a yellow pen around the lava flow.
It looked so good, I didn’t add any glitter, so the card turned out to be a shaker card with no shake. I used the Cameo to cut out the base, frame and acrylic piece.


Stamped and embossed the sentiment - used a stitched die for the card and the Happy Birthday in the center was made from this Bo Bunny set.

I had so much fun making that card, I started checking out other types of dies. I watched tons of videos. And I watched videos that had INTERACTIVE CARDS! Okay, sure, there was that one year I made the snow cards, that was fun. It looks like I never shared in the weblog. I've been remiss. I posted them on another forum and Facebook, but never here. WTH? Oh, yeah, I remember. I didn't want to post them before Christmas and in January 2019, I was in pain from that old hip, so didn't take the time. I also didn't post the second Heirloom Christmas Tree I made for the vet's office. Or the photos of the box and little balloons I made as ornament. Making these posts with photos involves a lot of sitting. lol I'll do that later. Social media is starting to either bore me or upset me. So, back to the old, personal weblog.

Anyway, about that rabbit hole.

The idea of interactive cards really grabbed my attention. I'll link to a couple of the videos that sucked me in - some of these are lists on youtube because there are so many fun things to do with Lawn Fawn products and these will show the add-ons. Rabbit hole. Deep, deep rabbit hole. 

Lawn Fawn's Magic IrisLawn Fawn Reveal Wheel. Magic Picture Changer. A light up card made with Chibi lights and Lawn Fawn stamps. Some of this work is pure sorcery. I dream of being this creative. And God knows at this point, I have the supplies I need, for sure.

I made a Reveal Wheel card for Little Bitty Dawg's old mom and I mailed it to her. It was fun to make. Here's a video of the card:

Now, here's where I am right now. If you've taken the time to watch any of the videos, you'll see some really neat inking and blending on the paper. And coloring the little critters and stamped images. Those are parts of the videos I'd rewind and rewatch. How on earth do they do it? I started my papercrafting using pre-printed pads. This actual coloring and shading and blending was above my paygrade. I told myself that I could do it, just practice, practice, practice. I have paper. I have markers. I can do this.

You can see in my little video, where I colored in the critters and the grass. The sentiment I made with my Minq laminator and the font "I love glitter". My first attempt with the glyphs at the beginning and end of the sentiment. Much learning has been done this year.

I noticed in the majority of the videos, the marker of choice is Copic. Holy spit! Those cost a bunch of money! I can get multiple dies and stamp sets for that much money! There has to be something that is close to as good for less money. I'd saved up for the new Cameo 4 pro, but it doesn't come out until this fall, so I got a Cameo 4 plus, it's cut area is five inches less that the pro, but I really don't need a twenty inch wide cut, my printer only does thirteen inches wide, so being realistic, why waste the money on something I have no use for? So, with what was left over, I figured I could get more markers than I have. Better markers.

And the search started. Looked up types of markers, costs, reviews...and I found that a brand by the name of Ohuhu! has real good reviews and I found a couple of side by side reviews on Youtube. This was one of them.

I was sold. So, I bought the 200 piece set from Amazon. It was a hundred dollars and there was a coupon for 5%. With tax, I paid a little over that. It got here on Sunday. And my first plan was to try to put the in some sort of order. Then what? I did some more research. And got some great ideas. The one I went with is here. And that's what I spent the day yesterday doing. I had a tub full of markers and separated them by maker. (I was just putting them all in the same place, with no thought of organization.) Once I had that done, the ones that didn't have color numbers (you know, the cheap ones) got put in plastic bags (I'll probably number them myself in the future). But I do have some Tombows that are numbered, some Sakura and Prismatic markers, as well. Then I got to work. I printed out a table that was 10 x 20 and got busy filling in the blanks.

The nice thing about this set up, is I can see the color. I won't have to be testing many markers to get the color I want. And I got a little binder, only a half inch thick. I can't imagine needing anything bigger than that.

And having done that?  Now, it's on to the stamps. And I found a perfect organization idea for those. It's gonna take time to implement, but I've got lots of that. The sweet thing about this way is I will be able to have the same stamp set in different categories. Say a stamp in the sentiment category could also be in the birthday category. The colored dot stickers are what will make this work. The supplies I'll need for this should be here by the end of the week and I can use my existing storage containers. All I need are binders, dividers and sticker dots.  I'm looking forward to having this done. The scanner is going to get a workout.

And there you have today's rabbit hole.

organization    ohuhu    markers    lawn fawn    craftstuff    cards    birthday card   

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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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