Yuck! Today is the opposite of last weekend--chilly, slimy, and dark. There might be thunder, lightning, and pouring rain outside, but here's a cozy scene from my couch.
Mimi's all snuggled up while I work on mandolin practice. She even occasional provides vocal accompaniment--and by "vocal" I mean "soft snoring noises."
This week has been CRAZY, people. Mostly with good stuff, like a friend visiting from out of town. And finally getting a diagnosis for our senior cat, Mimi--she has diabetes! The vet says it should be totally manageable, but we're still getting used to the new routine of her special food and insulin (more about all that in another post).
It's all a lot to deal with while mainly, during everything else, my days have been filled with this:
My workplace has officially moved out of our old space and into the new. We're not re-open yet because, well, relocating is a huge undertaking. We work hard all day every day, and by nighttime it looks like we haven't even made a dent. But we have! We really have! And when we're done, it will be awesome.
Gotta go--there are more shelves to be moved and boxes to be unpacked!
Thanks so much to all of you have emailed or left comments lately! My work situation is still up in the air, unfortunately, so the anxiety level remains pretty high. My employer might be going out of business in the new year. Worrying about that is pretty stressful.
However this mess plays out, I'll be okay. In the grand scheme of things, if this is the worst thing I have to worry about, that's not so bad. I keep reminding myself of that. Keep calm, carry on, serenity now, etc.
Tomorrow I'm getting on a plane to go visit my family for Christmas, so HURRAY about that! A change of scenery and some family time will do me a world of good. Meanwhile, at home, Anthony and I have put up a Christmas tree for the first time in several years. This is one of the few advantages of having older pets--these cats have zero interest in climbing the tree or tearing the ornaments off. Now it's more like this:
So cute and cozy! I hope you're all having a joyous, peaceful holiday season. This is such a hectic time of year, but try not to let it overwhelm you or stress you out. It's supposed to be fun. If you can't do everything you want to do, that's okay. Just enjoy what you can!
Stupid cancer. It came back to our sweet Little Kitty again. She had surgery today to remove two small lumps from her breast tissue and is now, as they say, "resting comfortably" at home. The cancer could come back, or not. (Let's go with not.)
In the meantime, Little has no idea there was ever anything wrong with her, and we'd like to keep it that way. Except for finding that bumpy place (we check her regularly, since we knew it was likely to recur), we wouldn't have known either. Little is a content, playful, affectionate cat with a good appetite. She loves looking out the window (aka "watching cat TV"), getting brushed, and chasing the laser pointer--when she's not napping in a sunbeam or on her favorite fleecy couch blanket, that is. Simple pleasures.
We, too, take simple pleasure in having Little as part of our family--enjoying the feel of her soft fur, the sounds of her happy purr and sassy meow, the hilarious way she frantically chases the red laser dot. Sharing your life with a pet is a privilege, and one that I don't want to take for granted.
I keep thinking about a passage in Ann Patchett's novel Bel Canto, which I read recently.
"Carmen prayed hard....What she prayed for was nothing. She prayed that God would look on them and see the beauty of their existence and leave them alone."
That pretty well sums up my attitude toward life in the past couple of years. I no longer bother to wish for great things; I just wish for nothing to mess up the good things I already have. And sometimes, I just wish that not too many terrible things will happen all at once, and that's all I can hope for.
Have I lowered my expectations, or just developed a deeper appreciation for life's small joys? I'm not sure. Either way, this evening Anthony and I are reveling in the joy of having our beloved kitty home, purring on her blanket as she recovers.
It's been just over 24 hours since the shocking, sad loss of our Nacho Kitty. While those last moments were terrible, and I'm sure I'll never forget them, I don't want them to overshadow the four years of happy memories our little pip squeak gave us.
This was one of the first pictures I ever took of her, shortly after she appeared on our doorstep one cold evening in November 2007. She was so friendly, I thought surely she must belong to someone. But we put up posters and no one ever claimed her. By then, she had claimed our hearts. Just look at that adorable face! She was about 6 months old when she found us.
She quickly settled in as part of the family and developed a wonderful friendship with Little Kitty. They were snuggle buddies and playmates. The day before Nacho died, they were up in the window watching birds together. I wish I'd taken a picture of that.
One of her favorite activities was "helping" Anthony while he was working at his drawing table. She always wanted to be where the action was.
Case in point: here's our party animal, wiped out after a whilrwind of Christmas festivities.
Despite her chronic breathing problems, this kitty was unstoppable. She might have a coughing fit one minute, but then as soon as it was over, she'd be back to her normal mischief-making.
She wasn't supposed to be on this high shelf, and she certainly wasn't supposed to be in this flower pot! Fortunately, I'm a terrible gardener, so whatever had once been growing in there was already ruined anyway. Besides, this photo brings more smiles to my face than any plant could have done.
I miss you, pip squeak. It's not fair that your life had to be cut so short by an ailment you were born with. You got a raw deal in the lung department. But did you ever let it get you down? No way. I've never known any animal who was full of so much pure joy and zest for life as you were.
Having you in my life taught me two important lessons: 1) Although losing a pet leaves a big hole in people's hearts (as I was still grieving for Dinah when I met you), that hole can heal when the people let a new pet into their lives; and 2) When you have a bad spell, don't let it stop you. Just get through it, and get back up, and go right back to making mischief and living life to the fullest.
This morning a friend reminded me of an old song, and this line sums up what I'm feeling as I remember my furry little sidekick: "You didn't have to love me, but you did, but you did. And I thank you."
Readers, I am typing through tears today. This morning Anthony and I had to say goodbye to our beloved pip squeak of a cat, Nacho.
She has had a mysterious breathing problem her whole life. X-rays showed that her lungs were malformed--some kind of birth defect--resulting in asthma-like attacks. Last week she had a particularly bad spell in which the vet had to give her oxygen. She came home and had a few pretty good (not great) days.
But early this morning she just could not get her breath, period. We rushed her to the emergency vet, where they tried to help her with an inhaler and more oxygen. But she continued to struggle. At that point the doctor told us that in his opinion, we should let her go. We knew it was true. Anything else they could have done for her would have been only a temporary fix, at best. As horrible as the choice was, the thought of her asphyxiating alone during the night or while we weren't home was worse. I held her on my lap as the vet administered the final injection.
We've been trying to think about some happier stories about our sweet little sidekick. Believe me, there was much more to her than her medical problems! I will write more and share some of these memories when I feel up to it.
RIP Nacho, 2007-2011
For as long as she's lived with us, our four-year-old kitty, Nacho (the tuxedo cutie seen here with her sister, Little) has had a chronic cough. It sounds kind of like a hairball cough, but it's not. Her vet has taken x-rays and done blood tests, but has never been sure what it was. Since the cough wasn't "interfering with her lifestyle" (the vet's words)--meaning she has a great appetite and runs around playing like a maniac--and a specialist would be quite expensive, the vet said we should mostly just keep an eye on it.
Over time, the cough has gotten worse. In the past week or two, Nacho was having at least a dozen coughing fits a day, and even when she wasn't coughing, her breathing was very loud and rattly sounding. We decided it was time just to suck it up, pull out the credit card, and take her to the specialist. The first step was to take her to her normal vet for some preliminary blood work.
Anthony had smartly taken video of Nacho having one of her fits to show the vet (because of course she never had one in the vet's office!). This, along with some new x-rays, has led the vet to believe that Nacho has asthma.
Yes, cats can have asthma! And apparently, it's not terribly uncommon. We're still waiting for results of another blood test to rule out one other possibility, but either way, the treatment is the same: steroids. The vet said we should try that, and if it works, Nacho wouldn't need the specialist after all.
On Friday, we started Nacho on a twice-daily dose of Prednisone, which she happily gulps down in a Pill Pocket. Well, it's only been 36 hours and I can tell you, the results have been dramatic. Already her breathing is much quieter, and she's only had four or five minor coughing spells, compared to the dozens (some pretty bad) she'd had in the previous 36 hours. It's amazing!
I reported the good news to the vet on the phone and she said our course of treatment will be to keep Nacho on this high dose of steroids for the short-term, and then we'll go from there. She might continue taking steroids regularly at a much lower dose (a high dosage can have bad cumulative side effects), or possibly just keep some high-dose pills in the house for times when she seems to be having a bad spell.
I hope Nacho's story can help some other asthmatic kitties and their people! Maybe you know a cat with similar symptoms and the vet, like ours, has been stumped about what is going on. Here are some links you might find helpful:
This week's mini- challenge over at the MMJ Flickr group was to take our picture with an animal. No problem for me, as we have four resident felines here at Stacyverb HQ (aka Boogaloo Acres, for those of you who've not been formally introduced to our humble home).
So here I am on Day 24 with my beloved sidekick, Nacho Kitty, aka Pip Squeak. Her cuteness is 100% self-made. She was born that way, baby.
Top: Same as Day 2
Skirt: Same as Day 14
Necklace: Me-made from various random gemstone and glass beads, seen frequently throughout MMJ
Day 25 finds me running out of me-made garments, but finding a new combination.
Top: Same as Day 8
Skirt: Same as Day 13 and Day 15
Necklace: Me-made from thrifted beads, same as Day 4
Only a few days to go in MMJ! Overall, I'm pleased with how it's gone, and still have hopes for another new me-made item by the end of the month (fingers crossed!).
Big thanks to all of you who have sent your good wishes for Little Kitty. The news from the vet this week was mixed. On the downside, Little's lump was cancer. We were expecting that. But on the upside, it was small, it had not spread, and the surgery got it all out. So that's all great! What we do now is just monitor her carefully for any more lumps that may appear. But for now, she doesn't need any more surgery, or any chemo, or anything like that. Hurray!
