And he is hungry, and wants to snuggle, and needs to investigate EVERYTHING. Glory, hallelujah.
15 April, 2011
14 April, 2011
Roo update.
Daniel took him back to the vet yesterday, where they poked and prodded and as best they can figure out, he has an infection that is resulting in some systemic inflammation. They wanted him to stay overnight, and around 1300 stuck him on IV fluids, steroids, and antibiotics.
Apparently after about half an hour on fluids, he was feeling so much better that he pitched a fit about his unjust incarceration and started demanding to see his lawyer. Loudly. Very, very loudly. He was working himself up into such a fit that it was endangering his IV line, so they gave him a sedative.
When I stopped in to see him after work, he was stoned out of his little kitty gourd, but more bright-eyed and “with it” than he has been for days, drugs notwithstanding. I sat in the “Comfort Room” and cuddled him and he clearly knew who I was, and did his quiet Roopurr for me, and you could tell that if he wasn’t stoned he would have been up and investigating things.
Then he curled up in my lap, so I gave him a kitty massage and sang his favorite song to him, “Hey Roo” by the Beatles. …what? It’s “Hey Jude”? Pfffft. It isn’t. It’s “Hey Roo” and goes like this:
Hey, Roo, don’t be so sad
You’re a sick cat, but you’ll get better.
Remember to listen to your vet
Then you can start to get better.
Hey, Roo, don’t be afraid,
You can come home when you get better.
Remember to start to eat some noms
Then you’ll get strong, and you’ll get better.
And any time that you’re in pain,
Hey Roo, remain, you carry my heart upon your shoulders
For don’t you know that I’m a fool
In love with you
Without you my world is so much colder
Na na na na na na na na naaaaaaaa
Hey, Roo, don’t let me down
Ellen found you, and you got better
The minute you listen to your vet
Once again, you’ll get better.
You’re curly and you’re full of win, hey Roo, begin,
To whine for breakfast and for dinner
I know you know that I love you, hey Roo, you’ll do,
Just pretty please don’t get any thinner.
Hey, Roo, don’t be so sad,
You are a sick cat, but you’ll get better
Remember to listen to your vet
Then you can start to get better.
He fell asleep somewhere around the third verse and I cuddled him while he napped and then came home. Dr. Andi thinks he’ll have turned the corner by this morning and will probably be ready to come home today. Fingers crossed!
13 April, 2011
Soup for Sick Kitties
As I write this on Monday, Roo is unwell. He got vetted and got a shot of antibiotics, but since he hadn’t eaten for 24 hours he’s pretty miserable with nausea from an empty stomach. I’m hoping he turns around, if he’s not doing better soon I don’t know what I’ll do. I love that little cat so hard — well, I love all of them, but Roo is special.
So anyway, I stopped off on the way home from work to pick up a Cornish game hen for Soup for Sick Kitties. It’s a long way from a complete diet, but it’s a pretty palatable way to get some calories into a kitty who isn’t eating. Roo’s had 10ccs, carefully dribbled into his mouth about two-tenths of a cc at a time.
Recipe:
One cornish game hen
Eggs
Kitten Milk Replacer powder
Cut the hen into quarters and drop in a pot. Boil until cooked. Reserve the broth and keep your burner warm. When the chicken is cooked through, pull it out and strip the skin off and discard (too much fat). Pick the meat from the bones and drop the bones back in the pot and simmer them for a while to get some more micronutrients into the broth. Shred the meat as much as you need to for your blender to handle it, then drop the meat and enough broth to make it liquid into the blender. Liquify the chicken and let cool. This is your soup base.
When ready to feed the sick kitty, pull out however much of a serving you need of liquid chicken. Add the yolk of one egg, no white. Blend vigorously with a fork. When it’s all one smooth, homogenous mixture again, get out your KMR powder. Add a generous scoop of KMR to the mixture and beat with a fork.
Add more broth as necessary. If you need to dribble it into a kitty’s mouth with a syringe, you will need it pretty dang liquid. If you have a sick kitty who will eat on his own, you can leave it more of a wet food consistency. Feed the kitty by whatever method works.
Worry.
Hopefully before this posts I will be able to come back and edit it to tell you that Roo is his usual obnoxious self about food again.
I’m worried.
Tuesday evening: Roo perked up enough to have some water on his own today, but still won’t eat. I just got 24cc’s of Soup for Sick Kitties down him, somewhat faster this time as I gave up coaxing and went for Maximum Calories before he started fighting it. Tomorrow he’ll go back to the vet.
There is nothing worse than wrapping your cat in a towel and squirting food down his throat to force him to live while he glares hate-daggers at you for the indignity.
12 April, 2011
All my crip gear has sparkles.
Granted, I don’t have a lot of crip gear. But it does, in fact, have sparkles.
Exhibit one, my cane:
This, friends, is a black powder-coated aluminum adjustible cane with a plastic derby handle, also black, but with white faux-marbling on it. Immediately below the handle, you will observe that the cane’s handle features a triple row of rhinestones. Because if you’ve got to carry a cane, well, rhinestones make everything better.
Exhibit two, my pill case:
Observe, gentle readers, that this little round pill case has multiple sparkle features. The black background on the top has sparkles, and the skull and crossbones, which is in relief in the center, is filled with rhinestones. See above re: the capacity of rhinestones to improve anything.
Exhibit three, my service dog in training:
Observe that no only does Sid’s black coat shine (and it’s looking quite nice now that he’s done shedding out his undercoat), but that I have purchased for him a black leather collar with a double row of rhinestones on it. In point of fact, this collar is actually slightly too large for him, so he has room to grow into it and wear it for years to come while service dogging.
I am currently exploring methods of adding rhinestones to his mobility harness when he’s old enough to have a permanent one. No one can possibly challenge my right to bring a service dog into a public business if there’s rhinestone fabulosity involved, I am sure of it.
11 April, 2011
I’m not sure what’s funnier…
My deep and abiding love of Lady Gaga’s totally fluff pop dance music, or the fact that every time Tink hears any of it, she comes running and is all “HEY MOM LET’S DISCO!”
Yes, discoing with Tink is one of my guilty pleasures. In fact, because it’s so often the only kind of exercise that doesn’t kill me, I’ve now found a lyrical dance class (they didn’t offer “Disco with Dogs”) where the instructor is willing to work with me and my cane and possibly service dog to teach me to dance.
8 April, 2011
Spring!
Tulips!
We planted some other bulbs last fall, but nothing else is flowering. Daniel thinks we were clever and bought bulbs that would flower at different times. I do not have that much faith in my bulb-selection process (“Oooo, pretty!!!”) but time will tell! Also I have no clue what the bigger green blade-like leaves on the left side are, because we planted bulbs and then threw away the packets.
7 April, 2011
Special bonus post: Puppy needs a home!
Oh my god, you must click here and go look at Arrow. Tilty head, puppy eyes, and adorable half-flopped ears!
He is an Australian Shepherd baby doll who had some spine damage as an even-smaller wee puppy, and while his breeder is committed to his rehab it is likely he will never be totally mobile. I suspect, however, that since it’s been a condition of his entire life as far as he’s concerned, that it won’t slow him down a bit. He’s currently in Northern Illinois, but transport can be arranged for a good home with someone who is right now thinking “You know, what my life is lacking is a small fluffy puppy with the second most adorable tiltyhead in the world.” (Tink has the most adorable tiltyhead in the world. Sid is working on his but lacks full commitment to turning his head sideways.)
And hey, if you can’t take Arrow, can you spread the word? Publicity is the most important thing in finding good homes for pets, so please link away! Facebook it! Tweet it!
Another Dog Song
With apologies to citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (including my patient husband).
God save our gracious Tink
Long live our noble Tink
God save our Tink
Send her victorious,
Mad-teething, glorious
Long to reign o’er us
God save our Tink.
O Tinkerbelle, arise
Scatter your enemies
And make them fall
Mad teeth their slobb’ry licks
Bark at their knavish tricks
On thee our hopes we fix
God save us all! [You have to get the desperation right on this line -- A.]
The choicest bones in store
On her we’re pleased to pour
Long may she reign!
May she defend her toys
From Shedder girls and boys
While we sing with heart and voice
God save our Tink!
Not on the chair alone
But be Tink’s bed claims known
From room to room!
Tink’s marv’lous snarling shows
Bone-stealers face her blows
Just leave her things alone
Or meet your doom!
From thieving, hairy foes
From sneaky feline blows
God save our Tink!
O’er her thine arm extend
For our hearts’ sakes defend
Our mad-teethed Queen, and friend
God save our Tink.
(I told you it was slow around here.)
6 April, 2011
Eggs!
It’s not that I’ve been terribly busy lately, although I have been kind of busy. I’ve also been suffering from the rapid weather changes and climbing a tower at Gettysburg because sometimes my pride gets in the way of my common sense.
No, mostly I haven’t been posting because not much is going on. There’s still not a heck of a lot going on, but to brighten up your Wednesday morning, I bring you eggs! Last night we got four eggs in one day, which is unusual (normally we get two or three) and they are all beautifully identifiable. And, well, they’re just beautiful.
Behold the eggs!
From left to right, the donors of the eggs are Bebelina, Matilda, Lorena, and Ayinnanku. Aren’t the eggs purty? They are nearly as gorgeous as the charming and winsome hens who laid them. A job well done, ladies!
3 April, 2011
Do you sing to dogs?
I sing to dogs and cats, actually. Usually I modify an existing song, and each critter has a signature song. So naturally I’ve been casting around for a song for Sid.
I apologize to all the Beatles fans out there (like my husband).
Siddy has a dorkface in the morning.
Siddy has a dorkface in the night.
Siddy has a dorkface in the afternoon.
He has a dorkface if it’s cloudy or it’s bright.
Ob la dee ob la da Sid’s a dorkface!
La la la la dorkface dog!
Ob la dee ob la da Sid’s a dorkface!
La la la la dorkface dog!
Siddy has a dorkface when he’s crated.
Siddy has a dorkface when he’s free.
Siddy has a dorkface in the backyard.
He’s got a dorkface when he’s leaning on my knee.
Ob la dee ob la da Sid’s a dorkface!
La la la la dorkface dog!
Ob la dee ob la da Sid’s a dorkface!
La la la la dorkface dog!
Siddy has a dorkface when he’s sitting.
He has a dorkface when he’s lying on the floor.
Siddy has a dorkface when he’s standing up.
He has a dorkface when he’s waiting at the door.
Ob la dee ob la da Sid’s a dorkface!
La la la la dorkface dog!
Ob la dee ob la da Sid’s a dorkface!
La la la la dorkface dog!
Ob la dee ob la da Sid’s a dorkface!
La la la la dorkface dog!
Ob la dee ob la da Sid’s a dorkface!
La la la la dorkface dog!