After two days of recuperation from the apparent onset of her symptoms, Norn seems to be doing a lot better. She's breathing much more easily, and seems to be much more relaxed. She doesn't growl when I pick her up anymore, which tells me that her gas pain (from swallowing air while she was trying to breathe) has gone away, and hopefully her spleen may be going down.
She even seems to understand that the enormous dose of liquid antibiotics I give her every morning is a necessary (if unpleasant) thing - she isn't spitting them out anymore.
The other two kitties, Frigga and Freyja, have been very respectful of Norn's space during this time - they're starting to close in again, which tells me that they know she's feeling better too.
::BIG SIGH OF RELIEF::
We have a follow-up appointment next Monday, so by then we should know more about what's going on. Thanks!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
When it rains...
I came home from work yesterday, pretty drained about everything that had happened with Taz. My comfort is that he was 16, and had a pretty darn-tootin' amazing life - every summer getting to while away the hours running free on the family island, being spoiled absolutely rotten by our family, having a big wooded backyard to run around in at his leisure. He had a pretty awesome life, and we were very lucky to have him be a part of our family.
So after reeling from his loss (despite being expected, it still hurt), I came home to spend some time with my little animals. I fed the cats, and took Pan out for a quick 'walk' in the backyard. When I came back inside, I could hear Norn yowling - not unusual, she goes through yowling phases on and off.
But when I realized that she was yowling TO me, calling me, I realized something was wrong. Norn is a 'recovering feral', and while she is an amazing and loving cat, she is not big into the cuddles. So when she begs me to come pet her and rub her ears, cries out when I get up to leave, I know something is up. That coupled with odd panting (it was hot yesterday, but not THAT hot), had me whisk her to the vet's.
I was fully expecting that Dr. Morris would give me a pat on the head and a 'try not to be a hypochondriac FOR your cat' speech. Instead, she came out and told me she was very concerned - Norn's breathing was extremely labored, and her stomach was distended.
At first we thought it might be FIP or some other horrendous disease, so I stood in Petsmart bawling like a child, thinking that yesterday would see me say a long-distance goodbye to Taz and a way-too-soon goodbye to Norn. But after waiting at the vet clinic for hours, an X-Ray and an Ultrasound (not to mention a toe-curling vet bill), we discovered that Norn has acute pnemonia, coupled with an extremely swollen spleen.
Goddam spleens. They always get in the f*cking way. So, we know for sure she has a bacterial infection - either it's standalone (which is pretty unlikely given her spleen), or is secondary to a virus or cancer. A virus can't be treated, so we're just treating the bacterial infection and riding out the virus (if there is one). If it's cancer, her symptoms would indicate that it's very advanced, and there's nothing much we can do.
I'm trying to keep her comfortable. Last night I stayed up the whole night, lying beside her on the floor for hours, petting her and trying not to fall asleep. A couple times I gave up and tried to climb into bed, but she would cry and cry for me, and I ended up piling some pillows on the floor and just sleeping next to her. I felt bad leaving her alone, and was worried that letting her cry would hurt her lungs.
Today she seems more comfortable - the gas pain she was experiencing from swallowing air while trying to breath seems to have abated, and she's resting. She's still crying a lot, but it's not as insistent as it was yesterday. I hated leaving her alone today, but I had to go to work. After checking up on her at lunch, I'm pretty confident that she's at least okay for now, and more comfortable than she was yesterday.
We won't know what the ultimate outcome of this will be until it happens - either she'll be better, or she won't be. Only one thing is for sure - when it rains, it really pours, doesn't it?
So after reeling from his loss (despite being expected, it still hurt), I came home to spend some time with my little animals. I fed the cats, and took Pan out for a quick 'walk' in the backyard. When I came back inside, I could hear Norn yowling - not unusual, she goes through yowling phases on and off.
But when I realized that she was yowling TO me, calling me, I realized something was wrong. Norn is a 'recovering feral', and while she is an amazing and loving cat, she is not big into the cuddles. So when she begs me to come pet her and rub her ears, cries out when I get up to leave, I know something is up. That coupled with odd panting (it was hot yesterday, but not THAT hot), had me whisk her to the vet's.
I was fully expecting that Dr. Morris would give me a pat on the head and a 'try not to be a hypochondriac FOR your cat' speech. Instead, she came out and told me she was very concerned - Norn's breathing was extremely labored, and her stomach was distended.
At first we thought it might be FIP or some other horrendous disease, so I stood in Petsmart bawling like a child, thinking that yesterday would see me say a long-distance goodbye to Taz and a way-too-soon goodbye to Norn. But after waiting at the vet clinic for hours, an X-Ray and an Ultrasound (not to mention a toe-curling vet bill), we discovered that Norn has acute pnemonia, coupled with an extremely swollen spleen.
Goddam spleens. They always get in the f*cking way. So, we know for sure she has a bacterial infection - either it's standalone (which is pretty unlikely given her spleen), or is secondary to a virus or cancer. A virus can't be treated, so we're just treating the bacterial infection and riding out the virus (if there is one). If it's cancer, her symptoms would indicate that it's very advanced, and there's nothing much we can do.
I'm trying to keep her comfortable. Last night I stayed up the whole night, lying beside her on the floor for hours, petting her and trying not to fall asleep. A couple times I gave up and tried to climb into bed, but she would cry and cry for me, and I ended up piling some pillows on the floor and just sleeping next to her. I felt bad leaving her alone, and was worried that letting her cry would hurt her lungs.
Today she seems more comfortable - the gas pain she was experiencing from swallowing air while trying to breath seems to have abated, and she's resting. She's still crying a lot, but it's not as insistent as it was yesterday. I hated leaving her alone today, but I had to go to work. After checking up on her at lunch, I'm pretty confident that she's at least okay for now, and more comfortable than she was yesterday.
We won't know what the ultimate outcome of this will be until it happens - either she'll be better, or she won't be. Only one thing is for sure - when it rains, it really pours, doesn't it?
Monday, April 27, 2009
The Passing of a Titan
When I was about 14, my family adopted a 2 year old dog named Taz. He was amazing, and we got him from the local shelter. When he came to us, it was obvious that he had not been in a good home - he shied away from our hands like we were going to hit him, was deathly afraid of water, and was EXTREMELY skinny.
14 years later, he was a happy watermelon of a dog that absolutely adored everyone. He was so sweet and gentle and just the perfect pup - one of the most 'grateful' animals I have ever met. Taz would be content to have his hand shook for hours, and grew very adept at flipping dangling hands up over his neck to be petted.
Today, Taz passed away from kidney failure. I know exactly where he is right now - running at top speed all over the family island up in Canada, just like he did when he was younger. It's always going to be summer for him there, and there will be no end of smelly messes to investigate, squirrels to chase, water to stand in and pontificate, and daylilies to crush by lying on them. We'll be petting him with our hearts from now on - we miss you, Taz.
14 years later, he was a happy watermelon of a dog that absolutely adored everyone. He was so sweet and gentle and just the perfect pup - one of the most 'grateful' animals I have ever met. Taz would be content to have his hand shook for hours, and grew very adept at flipping dangling hands up over his neck to be petted.
Today, Taz passed away from kidney failure. I know exactly where he is right now - running at top speed all over the family island up in Canada, just like he did when he was younger. It's always going to be summer for him there, and there will be no end of smelly messes to investigate, squirrels to chase, water to stand in and pontificate, and daylilies to crush by lying on them. We'll be petting him with our hearts from now on - we miss you, Taz.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Pagan Crafts! (Ostara)
With Ostara well behind us and Beltane creeping up (well, SPRINTING more than creeping, but whatever...), it's hard to believe the year is passing by so quickly. I guess as you get older, your frame of reference for the passage of time continues to increase, which (inversely) causes your actual experience of the days going by to decrease. EXPONENTIALLY.
I've had several wonderful opportunities to get more involved with the Fellowship up here in Northern New Jersey. I got to be the 'Kitchen Witch' for Ostara, and helped organize the Craft Night for the ritual. I wasn't able to attend because of an illness, (which has yet to go away, but that's another story), but I was able to organize and get everything together. A sweet woman from the Fellowship actually opened her home and ran the event, which was the hard part (she gets the glory for this one!).
Since it was our first foray into Pagan Craft Night, we made it pretty simple - just Ostara Eggs decorated with various spring-y symbols. The woman I mentioned earlier actually got the PAAS egg decorating kit that comes with gold leaf to rub onto your eggs (they were gorgeous!).
Check out the finished product:
I made up a 'craft instruction sheet' for the eggs, but we were unfortunately unable to use them as we had intended - they were left unrefridgerated and could not be eaten! You can check out the Ostara Eggs Instruction Sheet in PDF below, though.
I've had several wonderful opportunities to get more involved with the Fellowship up here in Northern New Jersey. I got to be the 'Kitchen Witch' for Ostara, and helped organize the Craft Night for the ritual. I wasn't able to attend because of an illness, (which has yet to go away, but that's another story), but I was able to organize and get everything together. A sweet woman from the Fellowship actually opened her home and ran the event, which was the hard part (she gets the glory for this one!).
Since it was our first foray into Pagan Craft Night, we made it pretty simple - just Ostara Eggs decorated with various spring-y symbols. The woman I mentioned earlier actually got the PAAS egg decorating kit that comes with gold leaf to rub onto your eggs (they were gorgeous!).
Check out the finished product:
I made up a 'craft instruction sheet' for the eggs, but we were unfortunately unable to use them as we had intended - they were left unrefridgerated and could not be eaten! You can check out the Ostara Eggs Instruction Sheet in PDF below, though.
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