Hope for Liver Shunt Cats

Happy Thanksgiving!

To all of Newt’s American fans, Happy Thanksgiving!

On this national day set aside to demonstrate gratitude, Cat Daddy is in his element. The man loves to cook.

Hey, if it makes him happy to do all that work, who am I to argue?

It has been our annual custom to begin our celebratory meal with a list of things for which we are thankful. Having an awesome husband who loves to cook is always on my gratitude list LOL.

As you can imagine, Newt’s continued stability and good health was once again at the top of the list for both Cat Daddy and me. Additional thanks were made for Newt’s many friends and fans around the world, whose support, empathy and encouragement have come to mean so much to us – in particular, our growing community of shunt cat parents, who continue to be a source of information, love and Hope for us.

Newt has been enjoying his Thanksgiving feast throughout the day. Due to his dietary restrictions from his liver shunt, he is not allowed to gorge and stuff himself silly (at least not when we can catch him!) Therefore, his menu for has been designed as a four-course meal, served in shifts.

Newt has partaken today from an assortment of items selected and prepared especially for his pudgy Pookie palate, including: cheese and broccoli casserole, baked ham, carrots, cucumber salad, freshly roasted chicken, roast pork and warm buttered croissant. Dessert will be a bit of Danish apple yogurt artfully adorned with a splash of cream.

Yum.

And if you tell anybody that Cat Daddy cooked for the cat, he will lose all of his man points.

So let’s keep this between us, shall we?

The Great Procraftinator

So, since Newt has made so many wonderful friends around the globe, I wanted to make some of them a small token of his appreciation (like a key fob, or such), and to mark another year of Hope for our liver shunt cats.

Never mind the fact that I am:

In the middle of a humongous work project (36 MB and counting);
Just double-booked myself with a second, time-sensitive contract;
Wanting to sew five pet beds, a pair of pajama bottoms, a superman cape for a cat, and a slip cover for The Dog’s chair;
Needing to crochet and wash a swatch before crocheting two towel toppers;
Wanting to knit two stuffed animals;
Wanting to make 10 sets of stitch markers, and,
Trying desperately to clear out and donate much of my craft inventory,

I have become obsessed with making my own free, Shrinky Dinks from recycled #6 plastic containers! Perfect way to re-use all those empty containers from the salad bar where we have splurged and gotten Newt’s bits of fresh broccoli and mini veggie assortments.

Was I satisfied with my quick experiment with a pen, doodles on a piece of plastic, and three minutes with the stove last night? Could I simply be free, and indulge in a burst of spur-of-the-moment creativity?

All together now, say it with me, “Noooooooooooooooooooooo!“

Once again, we had the ongoing Battle of the Brains – Right vs. Left. A life-long 50/50 split down the middle, where my logical and analytic side fights for dominance with the random and intuitive side.

I had to:

Spend hours looking at various sites for techniques while making detailed notes on the process;
Spend more time oohing and ahhing over images of finished projects, seeing that others had accomplished what I was envisioning;
Bemoan all of Newt’s salad bar containers that we’ve recycled the last two years;
Run a mathematical computation (approximate number of containers per week x average number of weeks; variable z includes container size) to estimate how many trinkets I could have made with those recycled bits;
Re-organize my Sharpie inventory (by tip size, and colour, of course!);
Draw images on several canvas bags and bits of cardboard for design inspiration;
Colour those images and determine approximate final size of completed objects, factoring in approximate shrink percentages (variable includes oven temperature);
Retrieve my coloured pencils from the “to donate” box, and re-sharpen all of them to lovely crisp points:
Doodle designs on card blanks with the lovely, freshly-sharpened, coloured pencils;
Find out that Shrink Film is available so you can actually print things from your computer!
Generate a spreadsheet comparing prices and online sources on various types of printable film (variable includes shipping costs);
Decide that I really should see if I can find a small toaster oven at the thrift store so I can heat them up outside, so the fumes won’t adversely affect Newt;
Realize that I can probably use my gift basket heat gun to shrink them outside;
Spend even more time comparing different die-cutting options, because it would be soooo much faster and tidier to cut them with a machine instead of by hand (again with the spreadsheets!);
Retrieve my hole punches from the “to donate” box;
Use the punches on the previously doodles cards to make them even more artistic;
Coordinate ribbons for finishing touches on the cards;
Visually inspect ribbon rolls for potential use as hangers on the as-yet, still un-started tokens;
Re-organize ribbon inventory (by ascending widths – colour coded, of course);
Realize that the old CD rack will make an excellent free-standing ribbon spool holder;
Roughly compute the quantity of ribbon against the available surface area of the rack to determine size adequacy;
Fight the overwhelming urge to immediately hack that rack so the ribbon can be taken out of bins and be more readily available to use on the tokens (plus it will look sooooo pretty!);
Realize that the method of dissecting the plastic is still undetermined, so, check out various types of larger hole punches to achieve the same results as a die cutting system, only cheaper (again, again with the spreadsheets!); and then,
Check Black Friday ads for any of the machine systems, punches and Shrink Films to be on sale (detailed list, of course, showing cost, any additional coupons, item location, sale times, and, travel time between locations).

::sigh:: I’m already exhausted and I haven’t even started ! LOL

I really better get back to WORK so I can afford all the tools I wanna buy for my “free” Shrinky Dinks!

Fish Filching Fiend

Little brat broke into the “food safe” and ate eight times his normal amount of fish last nite! He’s okay so far this morning, but monitoring closely.

We had prepared cod for his upcoming meals – at least 1/2 cup of it. Some for yesterday’s snacks, and the rest to freeze for later. We placed it in the “food safe,” also known as a bigass, glass cake dome, which has worked very at preventing Pookie’s pilfering.

Until last night.

Totally my fault. Was motivated and productive yesterday, clearing out excess crafting supplies to donate. (An aside – do any of you know any animal rescue groups, or struggling owners who may want supplies to make things to raise money for their pet’s care? Please let me know! I really prefer to have my stuff go to help liver shunt kitties, or rescued animals, if at all possible.)

In my rush, I may have not gotten the cake dome flush against the stove, and possibly a small sliver of entrée was left – just enough for a mangy tabby’s little lizard toes to slide underneath, crack open the safe, and gorge on the contents like a deranged and starving piranha.

I left for the dog park to sneak in some knitting at 9:55 pm. When Cat Daddy got home at 10:07pm, the dome was slid across the stove, and fish flakes were scattered across the stove, the counters, the floor, the Newtster …

Yes, I smelled his breath!

Not surprising, as that boy inhales his food, and can clean out a full bowl of food in seconds. Ten minutes would be a veritable eternity for him to burp, slurp and gorge himself silly on whatever he happened to find. We’ve already had to put safety locks on the cabinet to keep him from breaking into where The Dog’s kibble is kept, and move any appealing items in the fridge up on the top shelves (and yes, we have caught him clinging like a limpet as he climbs the shelves to get to the good stuff!) So, a valuable lesson – Schnookie is a safecracker!

His usual protein per meal is approximately one (1) US Tablespoon. We’re estimating he ate at least eight (8) tablespoons. Immediate direct dose of Lactulose, followed by another dose three hours later. Needless to say, he did NOT get his midnight snack last night.

Yes, I confess, I punished my Pookie by sending him to bed without any supper!

Monitored closely through the night for any signs of trouble. He was fine, but I wasn’t LOL.

So far, he’s okay today. I, on the other hand, am a bit groggy and nervous, but hopeful that today will be normal for him.

Scaling Mount Refrigerator

Mount Refrigerator Most of our cat liver shunt friends have commented on their kitty’s appetite extremes. They seem to roughly fall into two categories – the Ravenous Rogues, or the Finicky Fussbudgets. Guess which our Pudgy Pookie is?

While diagnosed as a kitten with probable brain damage, (later rescinded as his HE symptoms got under control), Newt had no problems with food finding. Once he located a food source, he would return again and again to see if he could snag more snacks.

As we began implementing Newt-rition 101 and began cooking fresh meals for him, he soon discovered that the Source of All Good Things was Mount Refrigerator. We learnt very early on to ALWAYS do a fridge check!!! Especially when he was a wee kitten, it was too easy for him to hide behind his veggies. Now, it’s a bit harder to miss the ten-pound tabby swinging from the vegetable crisper.

Some cats come when the can opener beckons. Newt comes thundering into the kitchen when the fridge door is opened. Not only does he peer into the fridge, lately he’s begun climbing it!

Note his little lizard toes clinging tightly to the bottom shelf as he
scales the precarious cliff wall to reach the summit, containing the forbidden
fruit of Other Cat’s Food!

Pizza Pilfering Pookie

Little brat jumped on the stove and licked the pizza where I’d left it cooling. Fortunately heard the odd sounds in time to intervene before he managed to eat the whole thing.

I’m pretending not to know that he LICKED MY PIZZA!

Cat Daddy gently corrected me – “It’s Newt’s pizza now …”

So scoundrely Schnookums is resting after his pizza-licking dessert, nestled in my arm and making satisfied little Newt grunts while I nibble on his lizard toes.

I lub him.

Happy Howl-o-Ween Rant?

Hope that those of you who celebrate Halloween had a wonderful time. Me, not so much.

Oh, Newt was fine! His costume was that of a healthy, happy, slightly poochy-bellied, adorable cat with mesmerizing and exotic copper-coloured eyes.

Me? thanks to my cycle coming for the second time in less than a week, obviously I was costumed as an angry, menopausal woman. Spent the day whining and moaning under my heating pad, bemoaning my ill-fated womanhood, and cussing about hormones and the apparent diminishing lack thereof. Raiding the cupboards for scraps of chocolate and potato chips, and seriously considered ripping the stuffing out of one of Newt’s toys so I could have some catnip tea.

Don’t get me started on my epic Halloween rants! Years of stories, I gots ’em – similar to several I’ve heard from others. The “Hey” people, the fully-grown and bearded men, the non-costumed, pillowcase people, the “I don’t like that kind of candy,” and “I WANT more candy” brats, the “after 10PM beating down the door with ALL the lights in the house OFF” idiots, and on and on. Add to that, a neurotic, hyper-vigilant watchdog who barks. And barks. And BARKS – non-stop.

Almost all of our neighbors have also stopped participating, due to the ongoing trick or treater frustrations we’ve had in our neighborhood over the years. I think there were only two lights on in the whole street last night.

Strangest part of the evening was the 5PM doorbell ring. Too early for trick or treat, I thought. I ignored it. Then, pounding on the door. WTF?!? I forgot my self-imposed rule to NOT answer the doorbell for any reason, stomped down the stairs, tripped over the barking dog, angrily threw open the door, and yelled “WHAT?!?!”

It was as if Obi Wan Kenobi had waved his hands, saying “These are not the trick or treaters you were looking for.”

Not the trick or treating toddlers one might expect, but … wandering evangelists?!? At the very start of the witching hour?

Conservatively dressed and polite young women. Both were wearing some sort of Jesus church name tags, but, I could swear that one of them was wearing a small *tiara*.

I blinked.

I blinked again.

These were not the normal prosthelytizing visitors we usually get. Oh, yes, the earnest, “Jesus loves you” opening salvo, followed quickly by something about being saved (sorry, all I could think of at that moment was that I wished I had saved more chocolate in my emergency stash), and when I mumbled a “no thanks, I’m busy,” more earnest insistence that Jesus REALLY loves me.

“Uhm, yeah, right … sorry, I’m busy.” (Busy being an angry menopausal woman!)

Didn’t have the heart (or presence of mind) to blurt out the first words that came to my lips… “Hey, great costumes!” Still am not sure if they really WERE evangelists, or very clever Trick or Treaters. But it sure was the most unusual Trick or Treat thing to ever happen at our house.

Usually I make a costume for me and the Dog and we escape the worst of it while trick or treating at the pet places. Alas, everything was closed last night so we huddled under darkness. Only one small group of TrTers came by – nobody knocked; nobody barked; and, I sat quietly under the heating pad and ate an entire tub of chocolate frosting.

Ahhhhhh bliss.

A Poem for Newt

Once again, I am overwhelmed by the compassion and support of Newt’s friends and fans around the globe.

While celebrating yesterday’s excitement over Cat Liver Shunt Support Group celebrating its first Birthday / Anniversary, Newt was having another rough day. Not nearly as bad as last weekend’s episode, which resulted in the 3AM trip to the ER for precautionary fluids, but moderately symptomatic nonetheless.

On top of the ever-present anxiety induced by another round of drool and lethargy, I was dealing with a puking cat, an abscessed tooth, an out-of-town Cat Daddy, an incessantly barking dog, a bout of doggy diarrhea, and a last-minute set of major changes on the current project.

I was tired. Whiny, achy, emotional, frightened and frustrated. And … just tired.

So very, very tired.

But I was not alone.

With the well wishes for Newt winging their way across the globe, and a wonderful, empathetic pep talk from “the best friend I’ve never met,” I found comfort and encouragement, and the strength to soldier on.

Our little group has developed such a sense of community – of family – it’s wonderful and amazing, and so welcome – especially at times like these.

And to top it off, an extra special surprise arrived today.

There is a cat on our group, a very special older gentleman named Pingu, age ten, who has been medically managed for the last five years. He has experienced several major setbacks of late, but through it all, his mum is always welcoming the newbies, and leading the cheering and support when we need it.

Today, upon hearing that Newt was still episodic, she emailed him a Get Well Poem that she’d written.

A Special Poem for Newt ( as he,s poorly!!XX)
Reprinted with Permission from Gayla Lamb

I know this wonderful handsome cat, he,s gorgeous , his name is Newt
He has a wonderful mum and a wonderful dad and he,s just incredibly cute!
But he get,s these days, just like his friends when he feels all yukky and sick
So extra cuddles from his mum and his dad i think could do the trick!
It,s sad to see , to have to watch to see him sleep and drool,
To know he feels so awfully sick when he,s usually so bloomin cool
He,s Newt the cat, well he,s the man, a dude to all his friends,
Whatever he says whatever he does yay Newt sets all the trends!
We love him to bits, and we hate to know he,s having some really bad days,
And that we all want to help as much as we can in all our different ways!
So sending him hugs sending him love and sending extremely good vibes
From Pingu and me and Sharky too and all the rest of the tribexxxxxxxxxxxxxx

GET BETTER SOON NEWTxxxx

Folks, I got shivers when, a few moments after reading her poem to Newt, the drool stopped, he ate a bit of lunch, had a drink, a bath, and then, curled up comfortably to sleep.

Never underestimate the power of friendship, love and Hope.

Happy Birthday, CatLiverShunt.org

Just a quick note to say Happy Birthday to us. Our little support group – www.CatLiverShunt.org – is One Year Old today, and like any kitten, my, how we have grown!

From our very basic beginnings of an experiment in trying to provide real-time communication between shunt cat owners, and a group effort to assemble anecdotal information on caring for our shunt kitties, and through some growing pains, we have grown to include 62 members from around the globe, representing: Guam, Taiwan, Canada, Australia, Spain,Scotland, England, the Netherlands, and 22 of the United States.

WoW!

Among other things, as a group, we have:

Assembled a data repository of 147 discussion topics pertaining to the care and comfort of our special kitties, and our shared sense of community.
Unearthed interesting tidbits previously un-noted in research papers on the condition (such as the changing eye colour).
Generated a wonderful list of the various types of food and treats.
Compared various medication and treatment options.
Analyzed differences in symptoms and how to recognize oncoming episodes.
Celebrated our cats’ successes and milestones, and mourned setbacks and losses.

Cat Daddy and I are so amazed and humbled by the warmth, camaraderie and overwhelming support we have seen on this site. We thank each of you for your efforts to share information, love and Hope to fellow owners. Special thank yous to members who have made donations to help fund the site, and to our European Moderator.

And the true thanks goes to you – each of you – who have contributed and been a part of our group. Knowing that there are others just like us -dealing with drool, sticky Lactulose and odd behaviors, juggling schedules, coordinating menus, fretting over treatment/surgery options,and, generally being totally smitten with your kitten – has been a lifesaver.

Together, we have achieved what previously had never been attempted or accomplished. We are no longer alone!

Happy Birthday to Us!

On Newt and Nerds

Newt has been having a period of medium days. Not quite normal, but not quite symptomatic. He has been tweeting fairly regularly, and he had his first international video chat (the first Transatlantic Cat Liver Shunt Conference!). Too bad he wasn’t feeling quite up to his normal self.

He refused his chicken breakfast today, after being all cuddly, flirty and normal last night. Direct dosed 2 ml Lactulose, and he is now in his newest nest, right here under my computer. While he was lounging, I took one of those silly online quizzes.

Alas, Cat Daddy is right. He has always lovingly called me his “Geek Goddess” (silly boy) and now this quiz would seem to agree with his assessment. Apparently, I am an “Uber Cool Nerd Queen.” Am not sure if I should be excited or bemused. I mean, I know I have some pretty geeky tendencies, but had no idea they were that strong LOL.

To maintain my newly acquired status of “Uber Cool Nerd Queen,” I am compelled to point out that a more etymologically correct spelling, sans umlaut u, ist “ueber.”

::snork::

Site Upgrades, Transfers and Changes this Weekend

Finally looks as if we will be making the big changeover this weekend. Keeping all paws crossed for a smooth transition.

This is a test of the Donate Button for PayPal as we make some new and exciting changes to the Cat Liver Shunt Support Network.

Experimenting with ways that you can help us to help other owners of cats with liver shunts, and increase awareness of the condition.

Phase 1 of the major overhaul is complete.

Newt is on Twitter !

Visit Cat Liver Shunt