Old Cats

My cats are old. Old enough that they're pretty set in their ways. I know that Clawdio (15) is the cat that no one sees. Luke (13) is the big, friendly guy who doesn't make eye contact. And Maya (12) will cuddle with just about anyone as long as they sit still.

Lately, when I crawl into bed at night, Clawdio has been curling up on my hips and shoulder diving into me for attention. If anyone else comes near us, he whacks them away with an open paw and a hiss, but no claws.

When I am sitting at my desk downstairs, Maya comes over stares at me. She climbs into my lap a lot and just sits there. I thought she was deciding she would be the "downstairs" cat. But now, I think she's just annoyed that I'm in her favorite chair.

Before my surgery, I got tired of moving of the kitchen table chairs back and forth to the desk, so I broke down and went to Pier One during one of their sales and got this blue flowery chair. It's probably the girliest thing I've every purchased. It was comfortable to sit in and it was 40% off with an extra 10% for getting a Pier One credit card. That's not bad.

And since then, Maya has been sleeping on it. So, if you see me walking around town with a bunch of cat hair on my behind -- it's courtesy of Maya, who would like me to very much go mow the lawn so that she can take a mid-morning snooze, now that X-man is at school on HER chair.

Clawdio, Luke and Maya

I just had all three cats at the vet and only two of them got to come home with me.

Clawdio, who will turn 15 in October, got a check up and his vaccinations. He's really in tip top condition.

Luke, who was diagnosed with pancreatitis in the spring and has developed a grain allergy, is doing wonderfully. He's holding his weight at about 12.5 lbs, which is a wonderful weight for him in his senior years. He's 12 years old and living large on the fancy ass cat food we've been buying. (Clawdio also made the change to grain free quite successfully.)

Our hold out is Maya. Maya, age 11, has fatty liver disease and her glucose levels and white blood cells are up. We're also still waiting on blood work to rule out any autoimmune diseases. She's lost weight quite suddenly and appetite stimulant shots/anti-nausea shots haven't helped her regain any of the weight. In fact, our "big fuzzy" is only 8.2 lbs. And she's supposed to be 11.

So, Maya is spending today in the hospital. MacTroll will go back to get her tonight and then tomorrow I'll take her back at 7:30 a.m. They've got her on fluid nutrients right now. They also started force feeding her prescription AD food and giving her her meds to treat the liver issue. We're watching her glucose numbers like a hawk, too.

Tomorrow morning before I take her back, I'll be giving her Denosyl on an empty stomach. Once we know she's stable with the feeding, I'll be able to force feed her at home.

Blissful Agony

I went out and ran my first run since, um, May. It's hard after an injury to realize exactly  how hard it is to start entirely over as a runner after being off your feet for so long. And all the cross training in the world might keep your cardiovascular system going, but it all goes to hell when your body isn't used to running carrying a weight bearing load. Particularly one that is registering at 173 rather than 160 these days. But it's not the 250 I was, so I'm totally keeping perspective.

I followed my podiatrist's directions and ran a block, walked a block. I lasted 27 minutes and went 1.92 miles. I'm trying not to think of the time when my daily routine was an easy 5-7 miles... with no walking. I'm trying to think about how thankful I am that I can run at all. In all honesty, the big accomplishment here that I am most proud of is that I was up -- and out the door by 5:15 a.m. Holy cow am I ready for that whole "fall back" thing this Saturday.

In other running news, in my running absence, my Polar ran out of batteries. I apparently didn't read the fine print when I bought it because I have to SEND it somewhere to get the battery changed out to ensure I don't mess up the "water resistant" elements of my watch. The closest approved service center is Michigan, so off it goes in the mail today. I guess while they're changing the watch battery, I'll just have them change the transmitter one too, so that in three weeks, when I'm using it again, the other half doesn't go out. :-)

My orthotics came in the mail, too. I'm going to wear them to work today and see how they go. The doctor said they might need to be "filed down" to fit better.

After Thanksgiving, I start a twice a week, three week workout routine with Kari Gardner. She works with some of my friends, and I'm really excited about it. I'm hoping to get rid of the doughy middle I've accumulated by February. I work out with her, and then she gives me a plan to follow for a while. Then I can return and update as needed. I'm also hoping to be able to join her post-holiday fitness classes on Saturday mornings this winter.

In cat news: Clawdio came home. All of his labs were normal (hooray). But his temp was low and he was dehydrated for some reason. They think he had a vagal response or a seizure, but in a cat his age, it's kind of hard to know unless it happens again and I can get him to the vet quickly or they're around during an episode.  Since the vet is a 20-minute drive, that's hard to do, when the episode only lasted 3 minutes. But he's only had one of them, soooo we'll hope it doesn't happen again. Right now he's trying to scam a second breakfast off of me. :-) He knows I'm a sucker.

Other than that, want to see something funny?

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming...

I know I only had 20 readers out there, and I'm sure that taking a 3-week break that was both sudden and unexpected seemed rude, but it couldn't really be avoided. I needed something, and in a lot of ways, I found it.

In a giant axe on social media I stopped blogging. I also fell off of the Facebook wagon. I'd been doing daily updates there, sometimes multiple updates, since 2007, when I taught at Millikin. And although I understand and totally believe that I have been able to maintain and even rekindle friendships that I haven't had in years with people that I've always felt very positive about. I also felt like I was doing most of my relating through a computer rather than in person. And it annoyed me. I also wanted to see how much time I'd free up and how much more sleeping I'd do if I wasn't just meandering around Facebook (and Foursquare) during my down time. 

The truth is, I'm probably much better off Facebook. You have no idea how many times in the last few weeks something has happened that I boiled down to a 15-word update. My life shouldn't be boiled down. In addition, it was also hard to realize that some things are better to just keep to yourself. This applied with both good and bad things. So, the decision is still out about whether I'll ever go back to Facebook or check-in again on Foursquare. Right now I've removed both from my phone and iPad. But I also realized that I kind of missed my blog. It let's me process things, and although I tried to write in a journal about them, I'm a much faster typer than I am writer any more. And I wanted to save that paper for elements that I can't put in a public forum. Stuff that I'm still cooking in my brain.

So, what's been going through my mind lately?

First and foremost, work. I've been working a lot. I'm getting ready for my first section of parent/teacher conferences and that takes a lot of prep work. We're hiring teachers at MMO, but not having much luck attracting folks. We only pay $9.65 an hour, but the work is great for a student or a working parent. You can choose 5 days, 2 or 3 days or to sub. You need to have an interest in early childhood education and development, the college credits to back that up (6 credits to sub, more to be a teacher) and you have to be reliable, punctual and patient. On the flip side, I've never ever worked with more wonderful people. They're kind, flexible and totally invested in the students and their families. It's really the best job, I've ever had, in a lot of different ways. I know it's hard to justify working somewhere that requires educational background when you can make more money working for Schnuck's, but it's a non-profit pre-school. We work with babies... and it's amazing to watch them transform. 

Second, I got my walking cast off. I've been on a few walks for exercise, but MacTroll's been gone and the two hours I have to myself have been eaten up by filling out P/T evaluations for work. So I'm not back on the fitness wagon. But I have some personal trainings sessions to use with Kari Gardiner starting after Thanksgiving. So, hopefully I'll get my body back into it before too long.

Third, I start back at Weight Management in the weight loss phase on Thursday. That means I'm in their box. I can eat all kinds of fruits and vegetables on my own but my protein and carbs are controlled, but if I turn you down to eat out or come to a party, don't think it's because of you. It's totally a thing for me. I'm doing this for the next 12 weeks. That's a lot of holiday crap to avoid. Plus, I've been a vegetarian for almost 3 weeks. It's going well. 

Fourth, I'm ready for 2011 to be over. I'd like to start over with some new positivity. I had a very good friend lose her mother and her twins (a boy and a girl) during birth this week. My heart goes out to her because as difficult as I found the pregnancy/labor/delivery part of motherhood... I still got to take my baby home. She had to say goodbye at the hospital. You're supposed to leave with a baby, something that makes all that trauma and body change worthwhile. So many people say goodbye at hospitals, that I think they firmly need to have more hellos to balance out the sadness in the rest of the building. 

Fifth, one of the realities of motherhood is that you just can't be friends with someone who appears to not like your child, but does appear to like you. On the flip side, I'm totally willing to put up with an annoying parent if my child is in love with his/her child. Oh, and if someone gives you one of those Boo things on Halloween, please put the stupid ghost on your door. Because you can be sure that the child who handpicked who he wanted to give them to will ask his mother to drive by your house every day until Halloween asking why they didn't put up the ghost to show that they got your gift -- that my five year old picked out and did his "secret" drop off in the pouring rain because he took it to heart that there was a time deadline and wanted to give your child something special. It makes him feel like you don't like him -- even though it's a secret gift and you have no idea it came from him.

Sixth, I do not believe my child is ideal. He's human. He's totally too rough and tumble. He sees things still from his own perspective. He's impatient and often annoying. But he's also kind and gentle. He's also giving and generous. He's as smart as he is not. He's as manic as he is calm. He's walking a line that's different from other children, just like other children are different from him. I'm very happy that he has a teacher and administrators at school who understand that. His 60-day observation came back that he was just like a normal kindergartener. (Hooray.) 

Seventh, I've been hearing a lot of "blame the teacher" lately around parentland.  I was raised by a teacher. I know better than that. Everyone is doing the best they can. The point is that parents and teachers are supposed to be a team -- like on the same team. You work together for the benefit of a child. You put your adult-sized panties on and stop whining and get in there and dig. And most of all you have patience and a good sense of humor mixed with some optimism. Each teacher has different strengths and weaknesses. And each year you have to get used to a new one, just as that teacher has to get used to your child. It'll be okay. Just breathe -- and for shit sake stop talking bad about people behind their backs. Particularly to other parents. If you're frustrated, talk to your teacher. Don't talk around your teacher. 

Eighth, being on the Savoy Rotary rocks. Anyone want to come and visit with me at lunch one day as a potential future member? We do service projects once a month for 2-4 hours. And we meet each Thursday at the Windsor of Savoy for lunch at noon. It's a great way to make connections inside the Savoy community if you want to connect to businesses and residents. And it's small (only 30 of us), so you will get to know everyone. 

Nineth, it pretty much looks like we'll put our house up for sale in February 2013. You got that right, in 15 months. We'll see how long it takes. I've had friends going on taking two years to sell their homes now. Hopefully, there will be a good buyer out there somewhere when we need them. 

Tenth, I'm sick today. I had a fever on/off all last night. So I thought I'd take the day off and rest. Except that my cat Clawdio  cried out this morning at 6:30 a.m. ran out from under my bed, opened his mouth and let out a bunch of saliva and had some clear fluid run out of his eyes and then he started panting like mad. I rushed him to the emergency vet. He still had labored breathing and his temperature was low. They transferred him to Dr. Mary at All Creatures at 8 a.m. I haven't heard anything yet. He's 14 years old with cardiomyopathy, pancreatitis and feline herpes. He lost his best friend, Nyssa, not long ago. And I know that's what old people do... they lose their loved ones and then end up passing a couple months later. But he's my cat. He's supposed to live to be 23 and be cranky and not like anyone else but me. 

And that's what you missed that I'm willing to write about right now. 

This is Clawdio

We adopted Clawdio in November 1998 from Fancy Cats Rescue Team. He was our second adoption there and was around 1 year old when we brought him home. He has always been my cat. He's afraid of men, not fond of dogs or children, but is fine with others of his own kind. He hides from most pet sitters until he's sure they're there to feed him. He's been diagnosed with feline herpes (at his first vet visit in 1998), pancreatitis (in 2005) and a heart murmur (2010). He's awfully cute. 

Why am I blogging about my cat today? Because I realize that in the last few months (since his heart murmur diagnosis) he's been sleeping pretty much solely in my place on the bed. Every morning I get up and go do my morning thing, he's immediately in my warm spot and will stay there all day. (He's our most nocturnal cat.) Anyway, when I come back to bed, he's been standing up, moving a couple feet away, waiting for me to get comfortable and then curling up with me. It's nice, the cuddling. But now, all of his brothers and sisters are following suit. This morning I woke up with a cat on my head, one on my right hip, one curled into the crook of my left arm and one by my feet with his head resting on my left ankle. (And let's not forget the 45 lb, itchy dog who was on his back snoring with a giant elizabethan collar on his head -- he has allergies-- leaned up against my right side. It must be because it's getting colder, and I have no intention of turning the heat on for 50 degree nights. :-)

I was pinned there, by softness. And the looks I got when I insisted on getting up -- It's how I imagine X-man's going to look at me when he's 10. Annoyed, embarrassed and put out... 

The best of all cases

Clawdio's ultrasound results came back today. And they came back normal. That is the structure of his heart is good. However, due to genetics, he has one valve that is not closing all the way. Usually this kind of thing is degenerative and we apparently caught it just at the beginning. There's no real treatment for the fact that my cat is getting older and things don't work the same.

So, next week Clawdio gets to go in for his dental to fix his sore tooth. Then every six months we'll go in for check ups and he'll get an ultrasound once a year to monitor his condition, so we'll know when he starts to deteriorate and hopefully prevent him from having any pain and be able to help him with any meds further down the line.

I know a lot of people know this. But getting old is a bitch.

Clawdio Update

MacTroll and I took Clawdio to see the vet this a.m. His blood pressure was fine, but they couldn't get any urine from him, so he's spending the day on fluids until they can see if the Clavamox got rid of the bacteria issues. On the flip side, that means he's not hypertensive and the hyperthyroid tests came back fine, so he's scheduled for an ultrasound on Tuesday that will get sent to a kitty cardiologist to determine what kind of heart disease he has.

There are two treatable heart diseases but there's only a slim chance that he's got one of those. The most likely illness is Cardiomyopathy. There's not really a good treatment plan for cats. If it's what it turns out to be, he'll go in for x-rays every six months to watch and make sure he doesn't have any extra fluid... and then he'll just live until he doesn't. Kind of like everyone else.

The hard part is that this time we had Dr. Mary, our usual doc. She's very thorough and she noticed that one of his back molars is cracked. It's probably the reason why he's been shying away from eating and showing up for his antibiotics like clockwork. She can't do a dental to remove the tooth until she gets the okay from the cardiologist that it's safe to put him under. So, even if the diagnosis next week isn't good, we're hoping he gives the okay, so she can take out the bad tooth and relieve him of some discomfort and then clean the rest. Because it maybe the last time he's able to go under...