Baldy

It's PO'Monday!

April, 2019

Celestial Paddy O'Malley enjoyed the bright Spring sunshine.

It seemed that every year, The PO'M would have some injury.

In 2019, he'd licked a bare patch on his belly.

Other years, he'd scratched himself so much that he was covered in scabs, or have a large patch of fur missing.

Perhaps these were signs of the illness that later took him.

The couple of vet visits that we'd managed, as I had to trap him, proved fairly unhelpful.

Was told each time that he'd have probably healed on his own, so they gave him antibiotics, then patted both of our heads, to send us on our way.

After that, I used holistic and DIY injury care on The PO'M.

Let's face it...he did it his way.

❤️❤️❤️

Angel versus Vet!

Waiting...for the doc to come!

The small peeballs at the bottom

Angel had a bladder infection awhile ago, and we thought it was all gone. Last week, The Hubby noticed that she was going in and out of the litter box with greater frequency than usual, and the evidence of little peeballs the size of marbles instead of big peeballs the size of a 1/2 of an apple made it clear: our girl either has a new infection or the old one just never quite went away.

On Friday, October 7, we went to the vet's office, but Angel proved to be a sneak!  She had no urine in her bladder for the doc to test.  The doc did not want to give her a Covenia shot, which is what she received in August. This time, we are giving her Clavamox every 12 hours.  I am not crazy about her recovery; those peeballs are growing in size, but not fast enough for me. The Hubby and I have agreed to give her the seven days of antibiotics, then decide if she needs to make another trip to the vet.  She's also developed diarrhea, poor thing!

Here's the kicker:  we believe that it's TRIPS TO THE VET that are making Angel so nervous to cause her bladder issues!  It was MY idea to take her to the holistic vet, but in my defense I did not know that we needed to go back again every few months for rechecks.  Angel has had at least six vet appointments this year; three (at least) to the holistic vet, once to get a dental, and now twice for her bladder. Poor kitty!  Yep, this was all my idea, and no good deed goes unpunished, as they say.

We will see her through the bladder thing, but no more vet visits for her for at least six months after this.  Angle obviously takes after The Hubby, who dislikes going to the doctor so much, that he hasn't gone in about 40 years. That really is a four and a zero!  

Cat Health News

Angel gives me the stink eye!

The vet said that Angel's urine had bacteria, white blood cells and all kinds of riff-raff that shouldn't be in there.  Namely: a bladder infection.  She received a shot of Convenia, plus some holistic capsules that improve bladder health.

"Mama, let's go HOME!"

When we see our holistic veterinarian in a few weeks, we'll zero in again on Angelova's overall health, to see what we can do to get her into optimal ranges.

On the Chuck side of life, look at what I found when I got home yesterday, before Angel's vet appointment:

Wooly migration!

Chuck was herding my woolies again!  Well, just one wooly, but that's one more than any in a long time.  The Hubby and I take this as a good sign, and think that perhaps Chuck is feeling a little bit better.  We are now orchestrating meals with all of the holistic vitamins carefully crushed up and mixed in, and perhaps they are beginning to work for Chuck.  

P.S. Please visit Four White Paws blog and leave a note; their dear kitty Buddy left for the Rainbow Bridge.

Chucky, the Cat Bomb

I just love this boy!

Lots of box tops around our house!

WARNING!  TALK ABOUT CAT BATHROOM HABITS AHEAD!

Chucky is not using the litter box anymore for #2.  This is why we have been to the holistic vet, since the 'regular' veterinarian's do not seem to have a handle on it.  However, the holistic vitamins and even a chiropractic adjustment have not changed this fact.  Because he's not constipated nor has diarrhea, we really aren't even sure if he HAS Irritable Bowel; we've just been giving him the meds for it because at one time they worked.

The Hubby and I feel that Chuck is actually AFRAID to go poops.  He holds it and holds it, until he cannot anymore, which is why it's like a cat bomb when he finally 'let's go'.  Often, he's asleep somewhere, and he wakes up in a panic...because he has to 'go' RIGHT NOW!  His recent procedure is this: he poops right where he was napping, then races around as if the demons of h*ll are chasing him, and he leaves a little trail in his wake.  He'll finally settle in a corner or a window sill, breathing hard and looking scared. Chuck is very unhappy when this happens.

For awhile, he would only do this ON SOFT CLOTH, meaning the bed or any towel/blanket.  Lately, he manages to only dirty a box, or the hardwood floor.  This makes cleanup easier, however we are clueless now how to help him return to the litter box.  Is this a behavioral issue, or is he in some kind of pain or discomfort?  We could put diapers on him, and it may come to that.  We have also tried Zoloft, in the hopes he would settle down a bit, but have no positive results.  For about 15 minutes every other day, Chuck goes off like a cat bomb; at ALL other times he is his usual, loving and luscious self.

A long time ago, we kept Chuck inside a large room, with his own litter box, bed, etc.  He went crazy (peed and pooped everywhere!) after a couple of days and we scuttled that experiment. I've even talked to three animal psychics; their information did not help us either.  There is no specific time of day that the bomb explodes, so locking him in a room overnight won't mean anything.  We added a new litter box, and cleaned and sanitized all of them, and filled all with new litter.  He uses them for #1, after all!

It's a puzzlement.

P.S. Angel is eating almost at 100% again, thank goodness!  When I set down the two food bowls this morning, both Angel and Chuck got to eating immediately.  The Hubby made fun of me, saying out loud, "Fat cats make Mama happy!"  Go ahead, joke all you want, but having a cat bomb and a non-eating cat at the same time was testing my ability to keep it together!  Plus having our old veterinarian shut me down yesterday, did not help my mood.

Results of Recent Holistic Vet Visit

Vitamin Bottles
"C" for Chuck
"A" for Angel
Both get the unmarked

Instructions

"See?  I'm fine!" 

"I don't like going to the vet!"

First off, Angel really wasn't enjoying this vet visit; her fur was flying off in clumps. Every person in the room...doc, two assistants and myself...were covered in fur.  However, she stayed still during the exam, and all in all her systems are doing well.  Our goal for her: increase her energy levels.

Chuck, on the other hand, just kept wriggling and trying to jump off the exam table, so in the end we wrapped him in a towel to keep him still.  The doc was happy with his heart and lung signs; they are remaining stable. Yay!  We are really working on his intestinal woes; our goal is to reduce or stop completely the five different medications he's currently on, or at least the digestive ones.

To make this magic happen, Chuck gets pilled twice a day; The Hubby packages all the pills and vitamins inside a glob of pill paste, which he pops into Chuck's mouth.  Lots of cuddles and lovey-dovey stuff happens before and after.  Angel now gets pilled...er...'vitamined' twice a day too, but she's not used to it and The Hubby is hoping she'll relax into the procedure someday.  I smash up two additional vitamins and mix them into both of their meals; morning and evening.

On top of all that, the vet gave us 'mood drops' to give to Chuck, to help brighten his outlook.  They will make up a bottle for Angel at the next visit.   I am in charge of the mood drops, and I'll admit to forgetting them completely for days!  Shame on me, but I promise to do better.  Plan is to put the drops into his meals, because he won't lick it off of my finger.  The vet says I can just rub it on his gums, but he's already being man-handled twice (or more!) times a day, so less is more in this case.

When we first began the holistic vet visits, I was uncertain if The Hubby was going to be 100% on board with me.  Once we realised that Chuck's heart condition is poor, but that he's not immediately terminal, he agreed with me that we should do all we can do, BUT ONLY AS LONG AS we aren't freaking Chuck out, or seriously compromising our own health and well-being with endless office visits and goofy, impractical processes.  The Hubby actually has taken on the lion's share of duties, and the bond between him and both cats has grown stronger.  They feel his love, even if they don't like him stuffing wads of bacon-flavored (so the package says!) balls down their throats.

Two for One!

Both Angel and Chuck were rudely scooped from their noon naps, for a trip to Dr. Sheppard at Sheppard Alternative Animal Care on Saturday.  I managed to pull Angel out of her crate, but she hid in the bookshelves.  In the end, we had to unbuckle Chuck's crate into two halves, for his examination!  This was Angel's third visit; Chuck's first.  Angel is doing well, yet we've got some vitamin and herb work to do with her.  The doc got Chuck's full vet file, including his asymmetric cardiopathy, kidney issues and digestive problems too.  We have five bottles of remedy pills for Chuck now, because in spite of everything, Dr. Sheppard noticed that Chuck's liver needs some real help.  Heavy metals may be good to listen to, but not in a kitty's liver!  The idea is to crush up the vitamin pills, and mix them in to each meal.  Angel and Chuck share three vitamins, so that part is easy. The extra amounts will be sprinkled on their respective bowls.  In Chuck's case, we may simply add the pills to his twice-a-day routine.

However, Chucky hasn't taken to his new stuff well, with another accident late last night.  Today's blog post at The Whiskeratti conveys just how hard it is to know if we are doing to right things for our kitties.  We certainly don't want to make our feline's lives more difficult, and yet there is a need to keep a certain quality of life for the household.  Quite the balancing act, and The Hubby, unfortunately, bears the brunt of much of this because he's home more than I am.  Both Angel and Chuck tend to run to him when they are nervous or worried (or, having digestive issues).  And what can I do from 45 minutes away?

Angel's 2nd Holistic Vet Visit

Angel, in her favorite napping spot

On Saturday, Angel and I visited Sheppard Alternative Animal Care, and she is doing very well! With some slight adjustments to her daily vitamins, the doc said she's in good shape.  I made a follow-up appointment for Angel and Chuck's first visit for early April.  I believe the holistic approach may really help Chuck's intestinal issues.  Hopefully, we can do away with his IBD medicines, by using vitamins and a diet change.  Dr. Sheppard will know the way!

It was such a beautiful day on Saturday, and I walked the yard a bit, with Patty O'Malley trailing my every step.

Snow Drops!

"Pet me, pet me, PET ME!"

We are under a Winter Storm Warning for this afternoon and evening...some inches of snow are coming.  But...up in more spring-like temps on the weekend!  YAY for that!

Thanks all for your words of encouragement about my last post.  The whole incident really shook me up!

What the Toof...?

Oh noes!

Angel had a broken toof!  The nice veterinarian made it all better for her, and she is acting perfectly fine this morning.  Yesterday, as I held her before she was whisked into the bowels of the vet's office, she managed to shed a ton of fur...on me!

Fur all over my front

Fur all over my arm

These photos do not convey the extent of furs stuck to my winter coat! Poor Angel, she was not a happy camper yesterday morning.  But...I am glad we got her teefs cleaned and serviced, since she'd lost some weight since her last visit.  Her bloods came back normal...yay!

Chucky did not take Angel's capture and removal from the house well, however.  I had explained to him what was going to happen, but he was very unhappy all day, says The Hubby.  He even had an accident outside the litter box, and when I got home from work, his tail was low and he needed lots of lovin' and smoochin'.  So, that's what I did to both kitties, and all seemed normal when I left this morning.

And I received a surprise!

Sweet!

A co-worker gifted me with lovey dovey cat socks!  See what happens when people find out I'm a crazy lady with cats?  Totally unexpected; I will wear them this Sunday on St. Valentine's Day. Thanks, CS!

Holistic Vet Visit

Her Pills

Cute Angel!

On January 28, Angel and I visited Sheppard Alternative Animal Care in Utica, Michigan.  Such a calm and peaceful office!  Angel, however, was not calm; she cried most of the way there, and the drool!  I had no idea what to expect, but was delighted by the professionalism and obvious care every staff person radiated.  In a nutshell, the doctor and assistant, by touching Angel's body with their hands and small, sealed glass vials of different liquids, determined her system's strengths and weaknesses. Their website here says, "We use a non-invasive system of analyzing your pet's body through Nutrition Response Testing℠."

Angel, they determined, has a few food sensitivities, one of them being moose!  All in all, Angel's health is good, scoring 10 of 10 or 9 of 10 on most things.  The doctor suggested that I crush up two selected vitamins for her, to aid her digestion especially.  See the photo above of her pills.  He said to start slowly, just a sprinkle on her food for awhile.  She did not hesitate at all with the sprinkles, so I quickly began to give her full doses within days.  Where we've lucked out, is that there is no need to change her canned food.

I see no difference, honestly.  Yet.  I will continue to give her the vitamins, and go back for her return visit on February 27.  Her dental appointment is this Wednesday.  Chuck goes for his heart echo-cardiogram on February 19, at which time I will discuss the holistic approach with the heart veterinarian.

February is Veterinary month in our house!

Angel: Good!

"Mom, I want to go home!"

Just a quick note from Angel's holistic veterinarian visit yesterday: she's good!  She drooled A TON, which is something she's not done before. Angel is in good shape, if a tad round, and I've got a couple of bottles of vitamins to crush and mix into her food.

Surprisingly, there were no hisses and floofy suits when Angel and I were home again, so the nice herb and calming oil air scent that clung to us did not anger Chuck...(or The Hubby, ha ha!)  Angel does need a teeth cleaning, so that's on the list next.

More details about the holistic experience soon; there is a lot for me to think about.  I was so nervous! Lucky for me, my friend (who recommended the vet) unexpectedly showed up just when we had arrived, so it was fantastic to talk to her and catch up on all things animal and human.  Thanks, BG!

Wednesday Why

Why? Oh Why?

Do I tend to find wet and awful 'presents' from the kitties

while in my stocking feet?

Some cat...see picture below but I won't name names...

apparently has been losing her lunch

in the early morning hours.

Enough for a veterinarian visit this Thursday afternoon...

Shhh...be very quiet and don't say a word!

"WHATTT!!!  Oh, heck NO!!!"

Yes, my little flower...

You and I are visiting a holistic veterinarian recommended HIGHLY by 

cat friends.

Honestly, you are past due for a check-up, my black-and-white-and-pink cutie!