Blogging is like my diary

I remember a few times I got a "My Diary" as a Christmas gift and I'd eagerly await 1 January so I could start to write in it. My blogging is alot like my diary experiences. I'd write in my diary every day for about the first 2 weeks and then it'd be once or twice a week for another 2 weeks and then it'd be about 3 times for the whole year. I have concluded "My Diary" and my blog reflect my life ... too boring to put into words.
I started part of this blog as a way to keep track of Chessie's medical history. She has now been on Denamarin for a year and liquid milk thistle for cats. So far it seems to be working fine. Chessie is still the one in charge in this house and demands much loving and play time. However, whenever she appears sick I panic. She has had one runny eye for about 5 months now and Paul thinks she's looking a little skinny lately. After looking at her this morning I have to agree she's looking thin. Now the panic begins. I worry so much about the FIP and her liver condition. Her appetite seems to be okay but she doesn't seem to be eating as much as she used to (progression from kitten to cat?) and she seems to tire faster when chasing paper balls (again, is it that she's outgrowing being a kitten?). More panic. I think maybe it's time to take her in for a checkup.
Lizzy, on the other hand, is still Lizzy. She doesn't particularly like to be petted nor picked up and of course any loud noise sends her running. I guess she's healthy except for the normal hairball hurl. She has started to jump up into my lap occasionally while I'm reading the morning paper so that's a nice thing. And Lizzy is usually the first one to greet me as I get up in the morning because she knows I'm going to feed her. She is definitely a chow hound although it has to be something she likes.

Good News

Here it is almost the end of July already. It's hard to believe how fast time flies. I never seem to have enough energy or ambition for all the things that need to be done or things I want to get done. I won't even try to fill in the gap between Feb and now except to mention I've driven to Florida and back and been to a week-long Polymer Clay Mixed Media retreat. And of course many other happenings took place but that's water under the bridge now.

It's so hard to believe that Shamu had her stroke 2 years ago today. We still miss her terribly and talk about her often.

Chessie started acting weird last Wednesday night doing what we call "the lick, lick, lick, jerk and run away". We're wondering if she has Feline Hyperesthesia (FHS). Anyway, after a few days of not eating or drinking much and doing the lick-lick we took Chessie into the vet. They thought she might have an allergy or something and asked about what was new around the house. Nothing! The vet then started looking through Chessie's fur all over her head, back, and legs. When she flipped Chessie over started on her stomach she discovered a hernia in her abdomen. That was Friday and we scheduled her surgery for Monday. As long as she was there we also had a full blood work panel done on her since it's been 7 months since we started her on Denamarin. Poor kitty was miserable Friday & Saturday until Sunday morning when she was suddenly more or less her normal self with only the occasional lick-lick. Monday the surgery went well and the vet said it's a good thing she had the surgery done because "it was a nasty mess" (whatever that means). Now we're supposed to keep her in a crate (yeah, right!) and not let her run, jump, or climb for 30 days (in your dreams!). So if we can keep her somewhat calm and let the hernia sutures heal she should be fine. However, the really good news is that the results from her blood work is great! The vet was very, very pleased with the results. Chessie's liver functions are in the normal range except one is slightly below and that may have been because of the hernia and surgery. I guess the Denamarin and milk thistle must be working!!!

Rough time

Has been a rough week or so in the household. I came down with a nasty cold and of course shared it with Paul (he says he's going to kill me). We seemed to be getting better and then the next day were worse again. Haven't done too much during this time since neither one of us were too motivated.

I did some research on the Internet and ordered a liquid milk thistle (silybin) product for Chessie. We were giving Chessie 3 pills a day because we had to cut the Marin in half in order to get it into her. That did not make life pleasant for any of us. Boy, this liquid stuff makes life so much easier, I just hope it's as good as the Marin. There is no taste or smell to it so we are able to put it on her dry food and she eats it up. Now she gets her prescription drug, Denamiran, first thing in the morning, the milk thistle at cocktail hour and again at bedtime. In any case, Chessie seems to be back to her normal "War Kitten" status. We just wonder how long it will last.

It's Not Fair

What a tease the last several days have been. First we started out with a day or two of temperatures above freezing, then we had a day in the 40's, and then the 50's and today we actually made it all the way up to 61 degrees. Oh, it was glorious out today. The snow is just in patches and piles now and we can actually see the earth. Of course, there's water, puddles and mud everywhere but it was so nice today. The weather forecast is for more freezing weather but we sure enjoyed the last few days.
Not much going on this week. Just the normal schedule of going to Scranton for shots and groceries. Did some research on the internet for other animal drugs that contain milk thistle and printed off some product information for Dr. Kipps to review. We are having such a hard time getting that Marin pill down Chessie and she's getting resistive to being picked up. I ordered a bottle of milk thistle drops today.