What are you doing New Year's Eve?
So it's been a very...hectic ten days. Work alone has been insane. And then with the holidays added in, I've just been buried under things to do. About half of them are getting done.
Xmas was nice. The 24th, Sean and I rented a Subaru Outback, loaded up the dog, Sean's new snowshoes, my new snow boots and rented snowshoes, and took off for Snoqualmie pass for the day. We had a fun time, although it turns out that the snowshoes that Sean's coworkers gave him as a going away present don't fit right, so he'll have to take them back to REI and exchange them. Luckily, REI is good about that. But Mingus had a fabulous time romping, and we had ourselves a nice little picnic in the snow. We found out that Sean's old rain pants that I borrowed Do Not Work, so, er, yeah, that got uncomfortable. But we were there for a few hours, and then headed home just as it started to snow really hard. It was a good time.
That night we kind of hung around the house. I made cinnamon rolls, we watched some movies, and went to bed when it was time for Santa to come. The next morning we had Santa presents for the animules, and Sean and I ate cinnamon rolls for breakfast and then opened our presents. I ended up getting him a 4-cup coffee maker (for his early morning drives), and some coffee to go in it, because we've never had one. (I don't drink coffee, and Sean doesn't really drink that much, so it's never been an issue.) I also got him the widescreen edition of the Indiana Jones trilogy, which he really liked. And some silly stocking stuff. He got me the new Christina Aguilera CD, which, if you're scoffing, you really should listen to. She reminds me of Aretha Franklin on this one. I swear. And he got me a lovely pair of earrings from Holly Yashi, and the most fantabulously soft and fuzzy big bathrobe you've ever seen, in a pretty lavender. I love wearing it so much, and it's so warm. Yummy.
Xmas dinner was very nice, with a new tablecloth in bordello red that I bought, and candles and candlesticks we got as wedding presents but have never used, because we just aren't that fancy usually. And the turkey was delicious, and the mashed taters garlicky, and the raspberry applesauce jello was *way* better than anything with yucky cranberries in it. (Ahem. A personal issue.) And I made an apple pie. Also delish.
But since then it hasnt been all that great. For the last few weeks, our younger cat, Reggie, has been eating less than his norm, and throwing up occasionally, and just acting like he's not feeling great. I started to notice the cats were going through more water than normal. And then Reggie started turning up his nose at food. It's happened a few times before, and teh vet thought it was gastroenteritis, and we've treated him for that. So we took him in a few weeks ago, and that's what they gave us medicine for. But he still wasn't really eating. Then, on Xmas, we had the turkey out of the oven, and Sean was carving it, and Reggie stayed in the living room, asleep. Even Abby, our picky girl with the kidney issues, came out and tried to get some. And the dog was of course begging. But Reggie did not care. Once, during dinner, he came out, ate a few tiny pieces I'd left out on the counter for the cats (it had fallen on the floor) and then left to go sleep some more.
For those of you who don't know, Reggie is the cat that when we got him as an only recently neutered two year old in 2003, broke into our freezer and ate two entire frozen dinners, and started on a bag of peas. He broke into the cupboards and tore into the bread. He even ate egg noodles. He jumped six and a half feet into an open cupboard, broke into the cat food, and gorged himself sick. He has to be put in the basement whenever we do anything with meat, olive oil, or butter. And he completely ignored a 12 pound turkey, accessible to any cat with a little gumption. Something is seriously wrong, here.
When I took him back to the vet on Wednesday, they needed to take blood and urine to see what else might be wrong. Now, Reggie can be a sweet boy, but he only puts up with so much before he takes flesh. I don't know what they do to take urine from a cat, but when they brought him back in, there were two people holding him, saying "he got a little upset." Yeah. I did warn them. When the vet called on Thursday, it was to say that his kidney values were pretty high, and he recommended bringing him in for a hospitalization stay, where they'd pump IV fluids into him, and some antibiotics. They took xrays and ultrasounds, too. (I called my friend who's a vet, and asked her opinion on getting those, and she said it would be a good idea, so they could see what might be wrong) So I dropped Reg off on Thursday afternoon, and he was unhappy about that. We went to see him Friday evening, just to check on him and let him know he wasn't abandoned. They all commented on how he was really sweet up until he'd had enough. I just laughed.
We brought him home yesterday, with a shaved belly and a shaved arm where the catheter went. His poor pink little skin is showing (he's a white cat with orange spots). The vet said one of his kidneys is a little enlarged, and it might be from an infection, but they're not entirely sure. His toxin levels were down, but not all the way. So I have to bring him back in Tuesday for another blood draw. We have to give him fluids under the skin here, like we do with Abby. And Abby's stopping eating, too, so we need to up her fluid intake. Neither cat is particularly fond of this process. It takes both of us to get it done. Plus I have to give Reggie pills, which he's impossible about. I bought one of those plastic pill dispensers, and I'm hoping it helps. Because if you have to hold him down for something, he completely freaks. And since the vets have also commented, I don't feel I'm a total wimp for saying so.
I'm faced with the possibility that something in our house is causing kidney problems, because it's really not common for cats this young to have this problem. Abby started having problems at about 7, and she's nearly 9 now. Reggie is only about 5. It's weird that all three (counting our old cat, Wendy, who died in 2000 of kidney failure at 10) of our cats have all had kidney problems. We don't keep antifreeze or daylillies in the house. The daylillies outside, the cats never go in them when they are outside, which is about once a week when it's nice. (Although I'm totally getting rid of those, now.) The only thing I can think is they're not drinking enough water, and/or stress. So I got one of those constant flow water bowls, with a quiet motor and a water ramp, and Reggie seems to like it. Abby hasn't made up her mind. I still have the other water dish there, too. And I guess we'll feed Reggie in a more secluded area, away from the dog. Usually he eats so fast that it isn't a problem, but that's certainly not the case lately.
And that' brings you up to date for the end of the year. Tonight Sean and I are supposed to go to a party where you dress up as your favorite dead person. I'm not really in a costume mood. But if pressed, I may go as the ghost of a Christmas Present, to be cheeky. (Notice, not Christmas Present, but A Christmas Present, with a bow on my head and some wrapping paper on my butt, or something. Like I said, cheeky. Because that's just the way I am.)
Writing-wise, I took a conscious decision to let things slide while my life took a turn for the insane. There's some family stuff going down, too, that I don't really want to get into, but suffice it to say that my energy is drained, and my ability to come up with anything on a blank page is next to nil. I did try a few times, but it depressed me so that I thought a break was in order. I will renew myself post-haste with the new year. And start keeping a closer count on my pages, so that I can make my goal of finishing some things in a reasonable amount of time. Won't that be nice.
Here's to a happy and healthy new year for all. Let's go be silly for tonight, and forget the depressing crap.
Xmas was nice. The 24th, Sean and I rented a Subaru Outback, loaded up the dog, Sean's new snowshoes, my new snow boots and rented snowshoes, and took off for Snoqualmie pass for the day. We had a fun time, although it turns out that the snowshoes that Sean's coworkers gave him as a going away present don't fit right, so he'll have to take them back to REI and exchange them. Luckily, REI is good about that. But Mingus had a fabulous time romping, and we had ourselves a nice little picnic in the snow. We found out that Sean's old rain pants that I borrowed Do Not Work, so, er, yeah, that got uncomfortable. But we were there for a few hours, and then headed home just as it started to snow really hard. It was a good time.
That night we kind of hung around the house. I made cinnamon rolls, we watched some movies, and went to bed when it was time for Santa to come. The next morning we had Santa presents for the animules, and Sean and I ate cinnamon rolls for breakfast and then opened our presents. I ended up getting him a 4-cup coffee maker (for his early morning drives), and some coffee to go in it, because we've never had one. (I don't drink coffee, and Sean doesn't really drink that much, so it's never been an issue.) I also got him the widescreen edition of the Indiana Jones trilogy, which he really liked. And some silly stocking stuff. He got me the new Christina Aguilera CD, which, if you're scoffing, you really should listen to. She reminds me of Aretha Franklin on this one. I swear. And he got me a lovely pair of earrings from Holly Yashi, and the most fantabulously soft and fuzzy big bathrobe you've ever seen, in a pretty lavender. I love wearing it so much, and it's so warm. Yummy.
Xmas dinner was very nice, with a new tablecloth in bordello red that I bought, and candles and candlesticks we got as wedding presents but have never used, because we just aren't that fancy usually. And the turkey was delicious, and the mashed taters garlicky, and the raspberry applesauce jello was *way* better than anything with yucky cranberries in it. (Ahem. A personal issue.) And I made an apple pie. Also delish.
But since then it hasnt been all that great. For the last few weeks, our younger cat, Reggie, has been eating less than his norm, and throwing up occasionally, and just acting like he's not feeling great. I started to notice the cats were going through more water than normal. And then Reggie started turning up his nose at food. It's happened a few times before, and teh vet thought it was gastroenteritis, and we've treated him for that. So we took him in a few weeks ago, and that's what they gave us medicine for. But he still wasn't really eating. Then, on Xmas, we had the turkey out of the oven, and Sean was carving it, and Reggie stayed in the living room, asleep. Even Abby, our picky girl with the kidney issues, came out and tried to get some. And the dog was of course begging. But Reggie did not care. Once, during dinner, he came out, ate a few tiny pieces I'd left out on the counter for the cats (it had fallen on the floor) and then left to go sleep some more.
For those of you who don't know, Reggie is the cat that when we got him as an only recently neutered two year old in 2003, broke into our freezer and ate two entire frozen dinners, and started on a bag of peas. He broke into the cupboards and tore into the bread. He even ate egg noodles. He jumped six and a half feet into an open cupboard, broke into the cat food, and gorged himself sick. He has to be put in the basement whenever we do anything with meat, olive oil, or butter. And he completely ignored a 12 pound turkey, accessible to any cat with a little gumption. Something is seriously wrong, here.
When I took him back to the vet on Wednesday, they needed to take blood and urine to see what else might be wrong. Now, Reggie can be a sweet boy, but he only puts up with so much before he takes flesh. I don't know what they do to take urine from a cat, but when they brought him back in, there were two people holding him, saying "he got a little upset." Yeah. I did warn them. When the vet called on Thursday, it was to say that his kidney values were pretty high, and he recommended bringing him in for a hospitalization stay, where they'd pump IV fluids into him, and some antibiotics. They took xrays and ultrasounds, too. (I called my friend who's a vet, and asked her opinion on getting those, and she said it would be a good idea, so they could see what might be wrong) So I dropped Reg off on Thursday afternoon, and he was unhappy about that. We went to see him Friday evening, just to check on him and let him know he wasn't abandoned. They all commented on how he was really sweet up until he'd had enough. I just laughed.
We brought him home yesterday, with a shaved belly and a shaved arm where the catheter went. His poor pink little skin is showing (he's a white cat with orange spots). The vet said one of his kidneys is a little enlarged, and it might be from an infection, but they're not entirely sure. His toxin levels were down, but not all the way. So I have to bring him back in Tuesday for another blood draw. We have to give him fluids under the skin here, like we do with Abby. And Abby's stopping eating, too, so we need to up her fluid intake. Neither cat is particularly fond of this process. It takes both of us to get it done. Plus I have to give Reggie pills, which he's impossible about. I bought one of those plastic pill dispensers, and I'm hoping it helps. Because if you have to hold him down for something, he completely freaks. And since the vets have also commented, I don't feel I'm a total wimp for saying so.
I'm faced with the possibility that something in our house is causing kidney problems, because it's really not common for cats this young to have this problem. Abby started having problems at about 7, and she's nearly 9 now. Reggie is only about 5. It's weird that all three (counting our old cat, Wendy, who died in 2000 of kidney failure at 10) of our cats have all had kidney problems. We don't keep antifreeze or daylillies in the house. The daylillies outside, the cats never go in them when they are outside, which is about once a week when it's nice. (Although I'm totally getting rid of those, now.) The only thing I can think is they're not drinking enough water, and/or stress. So I got one of those constant flow water bowls, with a quiet motor and a water ramp, and Reggie seems to like it. Abby hasn't made up her mind. I still have the other water dish there, too. And I guess we'll feed Reggie in a more secluded area, away from the dog. Usually he eats so fast that it isn't a problem, but that's certainly not the case lately.
And that' brings you up to date for the end of the year. Tonight Sean and I are supposed to go to a party where you dress up as your favorite dead person. I'm not really in a costume mood. But if pressed, I may go as the ghost of a Christmas Present, to be cheeky. (Notice, not Christmas Present, but A Christmas Present, with a bow on my head and some wrapping paper on my butt, or something. Like I said, cheeky. Because that's just the way I am.)
Writing-wise, I took a conscious decision to let things slide while my life took a turn for the insane. There's some family stuff going down, too, that I don't really want to get into, but suffice it to say that my energy is drained, and my ability to come up with anything on a blank page is next to nil. I did try a few times, but it depressed me so that I thought a break was in order. I will renew myself post-haste with the new year. And start keeping a closer count on my pages, so that I can make my goal of finishing some things in a reasonable amount of time. Won't that be nice.
Here's to a happy and healthy new year for all. Let's go be silly for tonight, and forget the depressing crap.