livershuntcat, Author at Hope for Liver Shunt Cats

Jinxed It

Well, rats.

Newt has begun drooling again. Cat Daddy saw drool forming at 1230PM. Newt did not eat his normal lunch snack, but did nosh on a bit of chicken.

Direct dosed Lactulose, and back on the merry-go-round again.

Got the next round of go aheads from major corporation to begin work on a backup project – but not til next week. I love major corporation work when I can get it, but the red tape wait is agonizing. Hopefully it will be fairly steady part-time for at least a couple of months. Still waiting for the main project to kick in; that should be a nice check (I hope). Would be nice to buy some fat yarn to use with more of my stash and make more of the nests. They seem to be a hit, and I am having a blast making them. Nice stash buster, easy to see without having to take of my glasses, and minimal pain and after effects.

Still doing paperwork, and debating about which bit of crochet to do now, if any. Want to finish the current nest / beds to donate, but out of main yarn those in progress. Want to finish the little kitty, but the smalls are wrecking my wrists. Want to find cheapo, bigass, obese yarns beyond a 6. (I’m talking 12s, baby!). Want to get regular income again. Want to take a nap. Want to go sit in the sun. Want want want want ….

Most of all, I want my Pookie Bear to be better.

Boring is Good!

Never thought I’d be so grateful for boring as I have been today.

A nice, quiet, normal, boring day with Newt. No drool, no ataxia, no lethargy, no panic, no inappetance, no pukes, no diarrhea, no calls or emails to the vet.

Just another boring day in paradise.

::sighs deeply and calmly::

Had a bit of false hope this AM on the job front. My most recent client called for an emergency, short term edit, and I was on standby waiting for it to arrive from the other coast. Next call was an apologetic, project’s been canceled. Ah rats. Would have been nice to have had a few hours of fill time while (still) waiting for major corporation to launch their pending project, plus I really enjoyed working with the client previously. But it was nice to know I’m still at the top of their list, right?

Not to mention, it gave me time to play some more with my experiment in converting the knitted kitty to a faux knitted kitty (as in, making up a pseudo crochet pattern for it).

Am maybe 75% done with it. Body is done, tail is (sort of) done, and head is almost done.

If it turns out halfway decent, will add it to the basket of toys to donate to the rescue group. If not, am sure my little beasts will ravage it in no time.

Especially if I lace it with nip and valerian!

Mylo Has Safely Returned Home!

Word just in – missing Mylo has made a safe return home!

He was located two streets over from his house, and a friend of the homeowner had seen his ad in the paper. He’s just returned from a vet check, has a few scratches and/or bites, and is down to 1.5 kg. He’s hungry, but happy to be home.

It’s always cause for celebration when a missing pet returns home, and doubly so in the case of a special needs animal like a cat with a liver shunt. Mylo, like so many of the shunt kitties, is on a special diet and feeding schedule, and has regular medicine.

Many thanks to everyone who supported Mylo and his mum during this frightening time. As for me, I’m going to pop open a can of catnip to celebrate!

Are We There Yet?

Call me conservative, but I’m still not ready to completely relax and believe that Newt is fully back to normal just yet. However, all symptoms are go; and, we have lift-off.

Hopeful signs include at least 36 hours with no drool. (Thought I may have seen a tiny fleck of drool at 1230 lunch yesterday, but could have been paranoia on my part, and simply a moist mouth from him lolling contentedly in the sunshine).

In addition, we have:

Five (5) series of nocturnal, stealth footsies attacks,
Four (4) regular, home-cooked meals in a row – eaten to the last crumb,
Three (3) rousing games of tormenting One True Love,
Two (2) flying feeding forages into the top of the bay window, and,
One (1) guardedly optimistic set of shunt cat parents.

Houston, has the Newt landed?

Phase One Recovery Process?

Busy day planned for today, but just a quick post for those of you keeping track of Newt’s current situation.
bright drop knit ribbon scarf

No drool since last night. He was foraging on the top level of the bay window last night – first time he’s been up there in 20 days. He was quite hungry for his midnight snack, so we gave him his veggie mix. Eyes bright and alert this morning; Lactulose continues to work, and he ate most of his breakfast. We tried getting him back on track with his normal, Newt-ritious, home-cooked chicken /veggie mix. A bit heavier on the chicken and lighter on the veggies than usual, but still. He ate most of it, yay! Napping in his box comfortably. Liver meridian and points seem ok.

Trying to whack some more weeds this morning before heading out to see Reiki clients this afternoon. Was very excited to see that a real knitter commented on the drop ribbon scarf I made, and said I had inspired them. OMG how cool is that?

And a couple of folks have already scoped out my favorite project bag – my yummy yellow Crunchies re-usable shopping bag.Only USD $3 at the holistic pet food store Crunchies in Maryland.

It can carry 5 or 6 WIPs, depending on how large, not to mention a week’s supply of pet food, groceries, books, whatever you can cram into it.

Also doubles as a cat hiding place.

Huge, roomy, lightweight, yet sturdy. And looooove that bright yellow!

The owner is Newt’s honorary auntie, so if you go see her, or order one, tell her that Newt sent you.

Still Up and Down

Newt is back to intermittent drooling, bit o’ the wobbles, and finicky eating. But, he’s drinking well, and having nice comfortable naps.
As per his vet’s suggestion, we’re keeping him at the upper side of Lactulose dosing for now.

::sigh::

Cat Daddy and I are going crazy trying to figure out what is going on with him.

He’s napping in the sunny window now. Newt, that is. Cat Daddy is having a late lunch. As for me, I’m about to go put away the garden tools, bring in my knitting and make the selfish decision to frog the current pet bed I’m making.

Selfish because I don’t think I have any more of the yummy yarn I’ve started with, and now that I’ve found this adorable knitted kitty pattern, I think it would make a very cute little Newt (Warning, the link contains language that could be objectionable. With the frustration I’m feeling right now, it made me laugh.) If you’re interested, I’m pretty sure some kind folks have edited out the ^&%@#$()) language, and I’ll share that sanitized version with you. )

Even more selfish when you consider this will be the second bed I’ve had every intention of donating and yet, changed my mind.

Actually, I’ve got three of the darn beds in progress. The first is being given to a friend; the second, I’m running out of the main yarn; and now, same problem with the third. Oh dear, as if I need a reason to go buy more yarn!

So Far, So Good

Keeping my fingers crossed, and rubbing Buddha’s (aka Newt’s) round, little belly … so far, so good!

He perked up again last night around 1030, went foraging, demanding food, gnawing on his One True Love, Greycie, etc. Sniffed disdainfully at his chicken, but attacked the tuna that she rejected.

Decisions, decisions. Wasn’t about to give him more canned food after the previous incident, so let’s try tuna. Score! He played several rousing games of footsies last night, and woke me up with more. Slept on my feet again all night, no hiding in his red-feathered Newt nest.

Breakfast consisted of a mix of tuna, chicken and even some broccoli sneaked into the mix. He gobbled the whole thing down, and is resting comfortably in his favorite box. Curled up in a ball, little pink footie paws half covering his face. No drool!

Woohoo! Still waiting on confirmation of the project that major corporation has indicated would be forthcoming – two weeks ago – so am working feverishly to tidy up loose ends before it finally hits. Plus, am taking my own advice, (go ahead and laugh, students and clients, I’m actually doing what I try to convince you to do hee hee hee), and doing some things to feed my soul and to relax!

Have spent some time playing in the yard, clearing out some of the Snowmaggedon damage, prepping the flower beds, getting some pics of old knitting projects to post on Ravelry, and, just sitting in the sun with my dog, crocheting a new pet bed to donate. Still haven’t finished the last bit of tax stuff, but have made amazing progress at sorting and re-orging my work space. The yummy new wood and wicker cabinet has inspired me, as has the friend who shared it. Cat Daddy agreed it is quite a nice piece, and immediately suggested it for the kitchen. That’s a good idea, but am selfishly wanting it in my office – for a secret knitting stash LOL.

And so, I’ve been plotting my office overhaul in earnest; and clearing more stuff away. It feels great!

Alas, poor Tinky One Fang’s second favorite perch may be disappearing. Have decided that for the amount of time I actually USE the second desk, it’s not worth the space, and as much as I adore her,she’s going to have to content herself with sunning on the bookshelf that will replace it. Smaller footprint, more functional space, better “Fang Shui”

Creme Fraiche, Tofu and … Pickles?!?

Cat Daddy has long insisted that I eat stranger food combinations than anyone else he has ever met. I prefer to think I am merely creative in my cuisine. Oh perhaps it is merely my predilection for peanut butter. Or from reading too many stories where the characters ate such interesting things.

Peanut butter and mayonnaise, peanut butter and pickles – two quick and easy sandwich options. And I was fully vindicated for my pretzel and ice cream fascination when he found me a commercial brand pretzel ice cream. See, I’m not the only one!

But I am afraid I may have sunk to a new low.

After buying Newt some tofu and creme fraiche in an attempt to entice him to eat something besides chicken of late, of course the little bugger wouldn’t touch it. I blame Cat Daddy, totally. He told the cats I was trying to feed them toefood. Yuck! Bad, Cat Daddy, bad, bad, bad! And I specifically scrambled the tofu in little chunks similar to the shape of his chicken pinches, along with chicken skin and goo so it would taste like chicken! Surprisingly, the other cats weren’t interested in it either.

How humiliating.

But, I’ve resigned myself to the fact that Newt prefers Cat Daddy’s cooking over mine. The question now is, what to do with this stuff? Since the dog has been having digestive issues, he’s on strict watch as far as what he is allowed to eat. And I refuse to throw away perfectly good food, especially if it is expensive, boutique items purchased from the specialty organic market.

So, in keeping with my habit of eating Newt’s leftovers, (no, you silly thing, I do NOT eat leftovers from his bowl!), I tried to figure out what to do with the tofu.

I present to you, toast slathered with creme fraiche, a dollop of chicken-scrambled toefood, and topped with a slice of crunchy dill pickle. Yummmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Go ahead, try it. You know you wanna!

The Newt Saga, Part 18

Thought we were home free last night.

Her Awesomeness, his beloved vet, re-assured that the Neomycin probably was not the culprit. Could be a combination of the impressive hairball and the acupuncture points, as those points can sometimes cause increase in appetite, or vomiting. She called Newt her little overachiever for scoring on both counts.

So back to last night. Around1030 PM, he began foraging, counter stalking, climbing, jumping, playing, bright eyed and bushy tailed (well, as bushy as his ratty little iguana tail can be). Cleaning, pouncing, seemingly fully back to all-normal.

The true test – is the Starving Jackal Piranha Hyena going to snap up his food with gusto?

Poured him a bowl of holistc canned food, and left it on the counter while placing the remained in the fridge. Heard a thump, then growls and grunts and slurps of contentment. Cat Daddy and I were both thrilled to see our hungry little boy perched halfway up the stool, with his front paws raised up on the counter, greedily gulping great gobs of goodness.

Hooray! Fist Pumps and High Fives of Happiness all around. Woohoo! Pookie Bear was back to his loudly slurping, chomping, food-crazed self! We can relax now.

Note to self “When are you EVER going to learn that nothing is certain with your little one?“

After he spent a comfortable night on my feet, I get up to find him once again moderately drooling.

Now to determine if it was the canned food that set him off, or what. It seemed logical to offer it to him at the time, as it contains far less protein than the straight chicken he’s dined on for the last 18 days, but then again, we know how sensitive he can be to food. ::sigh::

Once again, am wracking my brain and feeling guilty that this is my fault. Even though many of the other shunt cats have had very good luck with this food, Newt is not like the other cats in so many ways. In my joy at seeing his voracious appetite return, I probably should have made him wait the extra five minutes it would have taken to fresh mixed his normal home cooked meal instead of letting him have the canned food. It just seemed like a good idea at the time. And oh, how it did my heart good to see how he relished it.

Going to massage his liver meridian, and work those liver points again today. He ate most of his chicken breakfast, came out and helped me do the dishes, helped me clean the litter, and then wandered back to nap with his One True Love.

In other news, his vet has confirmed what Cat Daddy has been saying for months now – Pookie has gotten FAT. He’s not obese or critically overweight, but once he stabilizes, he’s going to go on a diet.

His poochy pouchy is now pudgy!

Oops! And here I keep telling Cat Daddy that I am eating much healthier than he does because I eat what Newt eats. Fresh veggies, chicken, a bit of cream (for my coffee).

Hmmmmmm maybe it wasn’t the blizzard of 2010 that made us gain weight after all

Oh, Puke!

Literally.

Pookie had a pukey this morning. Two of them, in fact.

Unmistakably his, as evidenced by 1) the fact it occurred in his room sometime during his breakfast; and, 2) they consisted of gobs of chicken. No trying to determine the Anonymous Vomitor this time, no sirree bob. Two piles, looked as if it was the entire contents of his chicken snacks over the last three days. Divided into two (2) groups, close to each other, and with a rough estimate of approximately one (1) US cup of chicken, plus a rather impressive, perfectly formed, tubular hairball, approximately two (2) US inches long and.75 inches in circumference, pretty tightly packed. Unlike the Anonymous Hairballer’s pitiful, random offerings of semi-solid squishies, this one was quite impressive.

No, I did not measure exactly, and no, I did not preserve it for the Hairball Hall of Fame. (But I was tempted!)

This came out of nowhere. After his acupuncture yesterday, he spent most of the day quietly snoozing on the bed or in the sunny window. Not really drooling, just seemed to be in his usual post-acupuncture afterglow. Around 10 PM, he really perked up, began wandering the counters, foraging for snacks, waiting impatiently every time the fridge door opened, coming to us and begging for food. Eyes bright, alert, seemingly normal. Ate his two chicken snacks with gusto, and without waiting for the newly customary hand-fed offering of a pinch or three to get him going.

He spent the entire night at my feet in the bed, did not crawl down into his nest in the closet, seemed a bit sleepy this morning, and wanted his hand-fed chicken pinch or two, and then he began to eat.

All good news.

And then, puke happened. Now he looks like he’s drooling a bit, little tongue slightly distended, eyes tired, but is sitting upright in the sunny window looking outside.

Am wondering if the Neomycin may be a contributor. My biggest concern is what seemed to be such a vast quantity of barely (if at all) digested chicken. It definitely seemed to constitute the last five or six snacks, so approximately 18 hours worth?

Will be sending this to his vet, and anxiously monitoring him for any change.