Stacyverb

The good things

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.

 

A typical post-breakfast nap

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.

Thanks for the memories

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."

Heartbreak

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

Kitty on steroids

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:

• YouTube video of a cat having an asthma coughing spell (notice the lip-licking and head-shaking--different from a hairball cough)
• Fritz the Brave, an extensive site with lots of useful info
• A cat named Rocky receiving asthma meds via an inhaler (yes, this is an option for kitties with severe asthma!)

Me-Made-June, Day 24 & 25

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!).

Best possible news (under the circumstances)

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!

Rehab = sunbeam + brushing

Little Kitty is recuperating from the lumpectomy she underwent on Friday.  The vet was pleased with how the surgery went.  We'll know more about Little's diagnosis and prognosis when the labwork comes back in a week or two.  In the meantime, she's enjoying some extra TLC, like being brushed in a sunbeam as seen here.  You can also see her shaved area and incision with twelve stitches.  She was sore at first, but seems to be much more comfortable today and is in good spirits.

I can haz Mimosa necklace?

This is a recent picture from a day when I was trying to have a photo shoot of my Mimosa necklace for my Etsy shop.  As you can see, Little Kitty wanted to get in on the action.  I have so much "help" around here sometimes!

This morning Little is at the vet for surgery.  I found a lump on her this week, and the vet thinks it's a tumor in her breast tissue, which probably means cancer. :(  She's having the lump removed today, and then we'll know more.

Please think good thoughts for our beloved Little.  I hope she'll be home, healthy, and "helping" me again very soon.

Stacybeads benefit for Bibi

Two reasons for this post.  One is to tell you that I've been busy creating new jewelry and focusing on growing my Etsy shop. It's a lot of work, but I'm having a great time! For spring I'm working on fun, colorful items such as the "Lucky" earrings shown here. Also in my Etsy shop right now you'll find an emphasis on one of my favorite materials, Czech glass. From opaque beads that remind me of candy, to faceted fire-polished beads with a glamorous sparkle, Czech glass never fails to inspire me.

(By the way, Stacybeads now has its own newsletter!  To subscribe, email me at stacybeadsjewelry [at] yahoo [dot] com.) 

The second reason for this post is to say thanks to all of you who have offered kind words and/or donations for Bibi, the Sheepish yarn shop cat.  Bibi wanted to make a personal appearance on the blog to greet her many fans and well-wishers.  She's still recovering from her surgery (see her incision on her side?), and will begin seeing a specialist next week.  Other than being tired and uncomfortable from the surgery (she sometimes has to wear the dreaded "cone of shame"), she's in good spirits, enjoying her meals and purring when petted. 

Throughout March, I will be donating 25% of all jewelry sales toward Bibi's medical care.  So if you've been thinking about buying some Stacybeads jewelry but have been putting it off, now is a great time to splurge a little and help an animal in need at the same time. You can also still contribute directly by clicking Bibi's Chip-In over there in the right-hand column, or if you happen to be in Decatur, stop by Sheepish and slip a donation into Bibi's jar on the counter.  Every little bit is greatly appreciated.  Thank you!

Attention, animal lovers!

A lot of people have been asking me when I'm going to get back into the habit of blogging, and I keep meaning to do it, but today I have an important reason for doing so.

I work in a yarn shop, and we're lucky to have a beautiful and charming kitty named Bibi as our shop cat.  Recently, we found a lump on Bibi's side.  Yesterday she underwent surgery to have it removed, and although we haven't received the official lab report, the vet believes the lump is cancer.

We don't know what the future holds for our beloved Bibi, but the tests and surgery she's had so far have already been quite expensive.  We've set up a donation site so people can contribute to her care.  I know most of you have never met Bibi (although some of you have been lucky enough to make her acquaintance!), but if you could find it in your hearts to spare a little something for our furry little staff member, we would really appreciate it.  Even if everyone reading this only donated $1.00, it would make a big difference!  Thank you so much.