Currently reading: Land of the Living, by Nicci French.
Finished last night: Any Place I Hang My Hat, by Susan Isaacs. Good book, with a somewhat predictable ending.
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This section deals with 24; skip to the next section if you haven’t seen last night’s episode or are uninterested.
I can-fucking-NOT believe they killed Edgar off. THOSE FUCKERS.
If they kill Chloe off, I will STOP WATCHING THE SHOW, I swear I will!
And my prediction for next week is that Lynn McHobbitt will sacrifice himself, since it’s his own damn fault that the bad guy was able to get into CTU and set off the bomb.
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I had to take Miz Poo to the vet yesterday, because her lip is starting to swell up again. We had a good 2 1/2 months of an unswelled lip, but it’s back again. It’s not bad yet, but we figured it was best to see the vet immediately instead of waiting for it to get bad.
Have I mentioned that the vet is half an hour away? I don’t care, though – I really like her. This is the vet’s office (one of them, I guess I should say) that treats the shelter’s foster kittens.
Anyway, I boxed Miz Poo up in the one cat carrier we have (I keep trying to remember to get another carrier, though I really think we need at least three, but I keep forgetting):
Before I get to what the vet said, let me show you something that was sitting in the exam room that I found just the tiniest bit… weird.
What the HELL is going on there?! Is the goat about to get a gynecological exam? But goats with horns are boys, aren’t they? Mr. Goat certainly looks concerned, whatever the problem is, and Dr. Pig seems to be reassuring while educating. I had to get a closer look, and I found
that they’re apparently looking at an X-ray, and Dr. Pig is explaining what’s going on while Mr. Goat contemplatively strokes his pot belly.
Maybe if I’d looked closer at the X-ray, I’d have been able to figure out what the problem was…
Anyway. The vet came in and looked Miz Poo over, then we discussed what’s been going on with her. What it came down to is that the steroid shots that cured her lip before aren’t a great thing to keep giving her, because they can cause diabetes and heart trouble. The vet did some research and found that in a large percentage of cases like Miz Poo’s, the problem is an allergy to fleas or mosquitoes and/ or the food they’re eating. Which we knew, from the other vet, and we also tried switching her food a couple of years ago, and it did bupkis. Anway, she ended up giving me a new bag of Hill’s Prescription food – d/d Duck and Green Pea*, for the record – and we’re to try that, keep giving her Advantage, and keep her inside as much as possible. We’re willing to switch the food and keep giving her the Advantage, but I’m not thinking that keeping her inside is going to work. It’s bad enough now when Fred shuts the cat door so the cats can’t go out after dark – the pretty but kinda dumb Sugarbutt loses his MIND, he just can’t figure out how it was that he was able to get outside earlier but can’t anymore – I can’t imagine how much of a cow they’d have if they couldn’t go out all day long.
I thought about just letting them in and out through the door when they wanted in (or out) instead of leaving the cat door open all the time, but they’re in and out CONSTANTLY (just since I started this paragraph, Sugarbutt ran outside and then immediately hauled ass back inside), and if Miz Poo wasn’t such a social cat I’d consider keeping her locked in one room, but if she couldn’t haul a toy from one end of the house to the other, keening the entire time and drop the toy near me so that she might receive some praise, she’d die of a broken heart. So we’re going to do the other things and pray that it helps.
Oh and by the way, the Hill’s Prescription Duck and Green Pea? So far, not a hit. The cats look at it, look at us, and meow sadly.
*Duck and Green Pea sounds like a cartoon, doesn’t it?
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Yesterday I was sitting at my desk, waiting for it to be time to take Miz Poo to the vet, and I glanced up to find a truck with some kind of official seal on the door, sitting directly in front of the house. An older man was sitting in the truck, and he kept looking at our house and then writing things down.
“Oh crap,” I groaned. “We’re about to get a citation or something!” What kind of citation? Fuck if I know. Maybe a citation for the incredible amount of cat shit we put in the garbage can and expect the garbage men to haul away every week?
The guy sat and wrote on his clipboard for about ten minutes, and then he got out of the truck. I waited for a knock on the door, but he ended up heading for the water hydrant sitting near the street between our yard and the yard belonging to the people on our right (if you’re facing the street; they’re on our left if you’re facing the house OBVIOUSLY), fiddled with the hydrant for a few minutes, and then let loose a spray of water.
I was so very seriously tempted to run out and splash around in the water, but (a) I had to leave for the vet’s in five minutes and (b) I’m shy. Shut up! I am! Anyway, he let it run for about five minutes, then shut it off and drove away.
Do they have to test the hydrants every so often? I don’t remember that ever happening before.
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Fred LOVES to torture the cats by holding up one side of their mouth, exposing their long, scary teeth, and making a growling sound.
Tommy was so dead to the world, his lip stayed that way.
Da Boog is a slut for the belly rub.
I got a bottle of bubbles for Fred at Michael’s last week. He took the cats and the bubbles outside, and I’d say the bubbles were a hit with the cats, especially Tommy. I ADORE the look on his little face.
Tommy always walks around with his tail curved back like that. He’s such a good boy.
All of today’s uploaded pictures are
here.
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Previously
2005: Book recommendations and a meme.
2004: No entry.
2003: Be afraid. Be very afraid.
2002: Food for her youngs.
2001: Not much going on here.
2000: Mean mommy, huh?]]>
Did you know they make catnip bubbles? My wussy cats are afraid of them, but my dogs love them!
Sometimes they’re testing the hydrants and sometimes they’re just using the hydrants as an outlet to flush the gunk out of the water lines.
Maybe the goat has gallbladder problems! poor daddy, I hope he feels better soon.
Girl goats can have horns also (and use them! especially when young children torture her. No, it wasn’t me, I swear!)
Good wishes to your dad!
I bought my cats bubbles once (the catnip ones, even!) and they were scared to freakin’ death of them. Couple of wussies!
My thoughts are with your dad – and since I live in Maine, they don’t have to go too far. A year! Gangrene! Holy moly. Sounds like something that would happen to my Dad. Is it a New England thing, or a guy thing?
*sending good vibes to your dad*
if she couldn’t haul a toy from one end of the house to the other, keening the entire time and drop the toy near me so that she might receive some praise, she’d die of a broken heart.
Our tortie, Lola, does this, too! She makes a high-pitched chirping noise while she’s carrying the toy. She used to just bring her toys to my husband, but she’s started bringing them to me, too, because I am slowly but surely winning her over. And after only 2 years!
Tommy is such a handsome boy! He looks so regal in that last picture. And I totally want to meet the Boog one day and give him a belly rub.
We do that tooth thing with our cats too, (especially the black one…aren’t they SO much more tolerant??) usually accompanied by our best Edward G. Robinson impression….”mah see, maaaaah.” Cracks me up every time. Glad we’re not alone in the kitty insanity!
We do that tooth thing with our cats too, (especially the black one…aren’t they SO much more tolerant??) usually accompanied by our best Edward G. Robinson impression….”mah see, maaaaah.” Cracks me up every time. Glad we’re not alone in the kitty insanity!
Best wishes to your Dad for a full and speedy recovery.
We have the catnip bubbles, but they won’t blow worth a shit. Kid bubbles rock. 🙂
Hope your Dad’s up and on his feet soon and able to enjoy his retirement for many years to come.
Good Luck to your dad, I had my gallbladder out when I was 16, it wasn’t fun.
Best wishes to your dad!
I have the catnip bubbles and they love em but Fred is right, they don’t blow well.
Gosh. If that isn’t the definition of long-suffering I don’t know what is. I hope your Dad gets well real quick Robyn. Sending healing thoughts from Iowa.
Robyn & Fred – have you tried adding glycerin to your catnip bubbles? If you add glycerin to regular kids bubbles they last longer, it might work for the catnip. You can usually find it at any drugstore.
Robyn, many wishes for speedy recovery for your dad.
Look at it this way: his retirement has nowhere to go but up!
I’ve got a cat with flea allergies – not only does she get a puffy lip from time to time, but she also over-grooms to the point of baldness and even scabs. For several years we thought she also had a food allergy (because I was trying EVERYTHING for the fleas) trying every kind of special food you can imagine (duck and green pea, potato and venison, etc) with no respite. After many expensive allergy tests and much trial and error, it turns out she is just extremely sensitive to fleas. I put Advantage on her every three weeks instead of four now – yes, my vet okayed this. She has been free of the puffy lip and over-grooming ever since (almost 3 years) except for one incident where a dose was accidentally skipped.
Also, said cat is a female ORANGE TABBY! You know you want her. If she wasn’t mean, old, and fixed, we could breed her with Sugarbutt!
Pretty much the same thing happened to my mom when she and my dad retired. She was having attacks so they took her gallbladder out about a month before she retired and found cancer when they did the pathology on it. I will keep you dad in my thoughts.
Holy crap, your dad is a trooper! Gall bladder pain is the worst pain I’ve ever been through, and to let it go for a year until it burst and went gangrenous? That’s like the newest circle of hell. No wonder morphine wasn’t touching it! And he thought he had the flu???!!!
Sending “get well soon” thoughts to your dad!
We got the catnip bubbles for our kitties, and they weren’t interested. The beagle, however, LOVED them.
Your Dad must have been in pain for a year and never said a word! Oh! Ouch! Good thing about gallbladders, though, once removed, problem solved! And don’t even get me STARTED on killing off Edgar! Grrrrr! Now, just so you know, those cardboard cat carriers that the vet sells are just the ticket! I had one for Mackie’s sister MaeMae who was at the vets more than she was at home. It was easy to clean and she liked that it was dark inside and she could still look out the peepholes. She felt secure in it. AND! Best of all, it just folds up like any cardboard carton for easy storage. AND! If there is an accident inside? Toss it away and buy another one. She had UTI’s so badly from a neglected kittenhood (before I acquired her). And just as I was reading your post, Mackie decided to get inside the plastic bag I’d brought the groceries home in! What is up with cats and plastic bags? I can carry him all over in it, he just loves it! (I posted some pics over at my place)
I hear you about the Edgar thing! Broke my heart! Poor Edgar!!!! I love your prediction about Lin McHobbit. I’ll keep my fingers crossed!
Sorry to hear about your Dad!! I will be sending him good vibes. 🙂 Hope he gets well soon.
Tommy looks like a show cat! He so reminds me of a short haired Mr. Fancypants.
I’ve got a cat with flea allergies – not only does she get a puffy lip from time to time, but she also over-grooms to the point of baldness and even scabs.
Two of our cats are allergic to fleas. One just scratches herself until she bleeds, and the other one starts losing humongo patches of fur and then grooms her exposed skin completely raw. No puffy lips, though–at least not yet. That’s probably next on the agenda.
By the way, have any of you loverly cat people ever had a cat with a heart murmur? One of mine was recently diagnosed with one (he’s about 4 1/2 and in otherwise good health).
The reason I ask about the heart murmur is that our vet is pretty concerned about this development but won’t really go into detail about what it could mean. And Google’s results, not so good. So I was just wondering, maybe what to expect…
Hope your dad is better soon, he must have been having pains for ages, why didn’t he say something sooner? My husband had gallbladder attacks and couldn’t eat and lost about 40 lbs because of his gallstones. Your dad must be really tough! BTW I’m a RN and I’ve worked with oncology patients, you wouldn’t believe the pain meds they get, you or me it would kill us but it just barely controls their pain.
Hope your Dad feels better soon, hopefully, the sooner, the better, so he can enjoy his retired life!
Will have to get catnip bubbles for my own kitties!
Tons of prayers are going up for your Dad.
An idea popped into my head(hey,it happens sometimes) as I read of Miz Poo lip. Has Miz Poo had an actual culture done of her lip? I know she’s been in the vet’s ofc. a ton of times,but…have they actually tested if it’s viral,bacterial,etc.?
Herpes virus acts up at different times depending on the stress level of the patient which then affects immunity and then the lesions erupt… Just awondering.
Lanna: I don’t know if it’s a Maine thing, since my father’s actually from Alabama – I think it must be a stoic old man thing. 🙂
Pacer: Actually, the vet suggested we dose Miz Poo up with Advantage every 3 weeks instead of four, too. Which we’ll do, as soon as I buy some Advantage off the eBay.
Amy: He looks like a short-hair Fancypants, but I think he’s going to end up being very big, like Tubby. He’s headed that way, anyway!
Whitters: Seriously, your vet won’t go into details about what a heart murmur could mean? In people, heart murmurs aren’t a big deal, but I’m curious as to what it means for cats. If you find out, let me know!
Jen: I think the gallbladder attacks were pretty infrequent, and only really happened when he ate fatty things – and at that point, he thought it was food poisoning!
Rundmc: They took a plug of her lip a few years ago (back when she started having the problem) to check for cancer, but I’m not sure what else they checked for!
Your poor dad – I can sympathise as I collapsed and was taken to hospital with an infected gallbladder 6 weeks ago. The most painful thing I’ve ever experienced – even more so than labour!
Poor Miz Poo…you’d think they would figure this lip thing out. She looks soooooo put out with the whole ordeal. I’d snurl my nose up at duck and peas too.
I’m sorry to hear about your Dad. That is so scary! I’m sending him prayers and good wishes.
My Dad got to “pre-retire” by dislocating a disc in his back. It pinched the nerve going to his leg. He was on his back for 6-weeks. The doc wanted him in the hospital, but my dad could not retire if he was on sick leave. He did not want to mess up his retirement date so he opt’d for the bed at home. Ouch!
Oops – I forgot – hope your Dad recovers and gets to enjoy his retirement soon.
Oh! My Goodness, Your poor Dad, suffering all this time. Prayers and good wishes are heading his way. I hope that he will be well soon and can enjoy his retirement to the max!!! Those kitties of yours are sooooo adorable. Nanamama 🙂
“Lynn McHobbitt” lol…My prediction is someone will take Kim and her shrink/boyfriend hostage…
Robyn, I hope your Dad feels better soon!
Josh does the lip thing, except he does it to the dogs, not the cat because she is busy hiding under the bed. He pries the dog’s jaws open and puts them around his neck and then pretends that she’s mauling him. It’s fun to torment the animals!
Hey, I hope Dad feels better soon. He must have a pretty high pain tolerance if his gall bladder was gangrenous. Sheesh.
I hope you dad feels better soon and can start enjoying his retirement. He must have a big pain tolerence.
My daughter’s cat Sebastian had a swollen lip like Miz Poo. The vet told her that it was an allergy to plastic. She immediately got rid of his plastic food and water bowl and any plastic toys and the swelling went away. I had never heard of that before. It might be something to ask the vet about.
Sending healing vibes your dad’s way. Not a great way to start the rest of his life for sure!
Hi, Robyn!
I’m sending get well thoughts/vibes and prayers your dad’s way.
Years ago, one of our cats had a swollen upper lip. It was growing in size so rapidly that the vet said there wasn’t any time to see if meds would make it go away. He was afraid that if he waited just one day, too much of “Tsuki’s” lip would have to be removed to biopsy it, so he did a biopsy right away. It turns out it was an Eosinophilic Ulcer, sometimes referred to as a “Rodent Ulcer” because it used to (erroneously) be attributed to infection caused by a rodent bite. The vet put “Tsuki” on Prednisone for a bit. When he had a recurrence, we’d put him back on the Prednisone for a prescribed amount of time, (don’t remember how long) but I think he only had a couple of more bouts with it, and he lived to be 21. (He had the first ulcer when he was about 2.)
This is probably totally irrelevant to Miz Poos’ prob. So why did I bore you with this? OMG!! I might be turning into a DAW!!! *slinking away from computer*
Tommy looks like he’s posing for a DOG show in that last photo. What a ham….
One of my cats has an allergy to food … she gets itchy and licks uncontrollably to the point that her hair thins out. I’ve had her on IVD duck & green pea (canned and dry) for about a year now and she is 100% better … it’s expensive but it does the trick for her. Just thought I’d share!
Hope your dad is feeling much better now – looks like he got the “post retirement flu” over with right away ; )
For some reason yetserday (this one) and todays entries went into Junk mail, how dare they, you aren’t junk! Wishing your dad a wonderful recovery, he will feel so much better without his pesky galbladder, I know I do!
Heh, that tooth thing is funny. We (well, I, my hubby has tried it once or twice but mostly thinks it’s mean) like to grab our kitty, Cleo’s, tongue when she’s licking us (in my defense, she licks too much, and won’t stop!). I only hold her tongue for a sec and then let it go. It bugs her a little bit, but she’ll keep licking even if I keep doing it every time she licks. Eventually she will start licking more quickly, pulling in her tongue before I can grab it.
It sounds meaner than it is, now that I think about it, but it’s all in fun, I swear!