Hope for Liver Shunt Cats

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

What an interesting day today – definitely a combination of good, bad and ugly.

As with everything though, if you break things down, and try hard enough, you can find the good in everything, right?

The Good

I was delighted to hear that Newt is being RAKd by one of his Ravelry fans! OMG how COOOOL is that? The RAKs (Random Acts of Kindness) are such a wonderful idea, and I hope to participate in them soon, but never imagined that Newt would be a recipient.
Two projects have landed, woohoo! Work is good, especially after so much downtime that I’m having delusions of sheep and bunnies LOL
Another shunt cat has found Newt’s site. Jet is being medically managed and doing well.

The Bad

Newt is intermittently drooling again today.
One of our shunt cat friends, Simon, is having post-operative challenges.

The Ugly

Two projects have landed. Simultaneously. That means at least 18-20 hour days for the next couple of weeks or so. Which means that I won’t be able to have Newt with me while I am on-site at the client. Ouch.
Sari yarn. Oh my word, that stuff is a PITA to handle. But I looooooooooooooove it!

Now, how to flip the bad and the ugly into good?

Well, Newt is drooly, but not overly so, and only intermittently. He’s eaten most of his snacks today, snuggled with Greycie, and has spent some time in his sling snuggled on my chest. Gazing into those magnificent copper eyes and cuddling his warm little body brings an indescribable love and joy.

And while I would never speak for Simon’s family, I’m in awe of the fact that we now have, I believe, around 30 cats from all over the world who are in contact with one another, able to lend support and encouragement to Simon and each other. Knowing that we are not alone in our struggles and challenges and can act as a united support system is so awesome!

As far as the long days go? Cat Daddy does an amazing job with Pookie Bear, so I know Newt will be in very capable hands. And being able to juggle multiple projects and extended days during my busy season is exactly what enables me to have that wonderful downtime at home.

And I really shouldn’t call my luscious recycled Sari silk yarn ugly. Far from it – it’s fabulous. Was a gift from a dear friend and fellow rescuer, and I’ve been waiting for the right project to use it as a gift in return. Experimenting with slip stitch crochet / shepherd’s knitting of the faux knitted kitty has been wonderful.

It is an amazing yarn – fuzzy and thick in places, practically threadbare in others; it twists and turns and kinks unexpectedly – much like life. And yet, as I am working it up, bringing its rough and ragged pieces together in a dizzying tapestry of color, it seems impenetrable, while soft, sturdy and beautiful at the same time. It’s difficult to work with, but has been so very rewarding. The most challenging yarn I’ve worked with and certainly the most instructive.

Life’s lessons from yarn? Or more lessons from Newt? Take the bad with the good, and understand that ultimately “it’s all good.”

Baaaaaaaaaad Idea

I reaaaaaaaaaaaally need to get back on a project ASAP. Have had entirely too much time to think. Thinking usually leads to grandiose ideas, which tend to get me in trouble.

Somebody PLEASE convince me that I do NOT want a spinning wheel? And of course, the attendant sheep, bunnies, and various assorted furry creatures to go with it? Pretty please?

Cat Daddy has decreed that this is a “baaaaaaaaaad idea” ::snork gasp wheeze OMG that man is so funny.

In drooling over fat, funky yarns and fainting at the prices of them, I had the brilliant idea that perhaps I should just spin my own. And he agreed! Oh boy. I’m in trouble now.

Makes sense though, as my stash is becoming depleted at a rapid rate, and one would hope that the act of spinning would be relaxing and calming, right? The poor man is forever after me to relax, spoil myself with a creative bender, and have FUN. Spinning sounds like a good match to me!

But before I go all crazy and buy a bunch of tools and gadets about which I have no idea, perhaps I should start small – like maybe a drop spindle? Not to mention, I can put rabbit ears on Newt – we call him the kitty bunny anyway, and with the Collie, I have enough “wool” output for a small sheep farm!

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!