Wild Times in Henryville

 It's high time we had a Formerly Feral Friday, starring Henry The Ninth.

Yes, that's ME he's draped across!

What can I say; I'm squishy enough to be a terrific human cat bed.

Again, he's sitting on my torso, but I cropped myself out.

Foo foo in the air, like he just don't care!

His belly fur has grown in nicely.

Henry has been doing well, until I mentioned to the vet that he's still got loose poop.

Dr. Vani suggested a liver support med, since his last tests showed he needed help there.

The trick is that this new med made him NOT EAT!

Henry not eating is what got us here, so we stopped that med.

Will walk through everything when we attend Monday's vet appointment.

AND...

The food that Henry was eating up nicely is now NO LONGER AVAILABLE where I've been purchasing it.

We picked up what I thought was a good replacement, and have mixed a bit into the last packages of his 'old' food, but he doesn't seem to like it.

Damn and drat!

It's possible to purchase the food online, in a different package size, and for twice the cost, and we may have to go this route.

Despite all of this song-and-dance, Henry is being cute, snuggly, and has chomped through another catnip ball.

If I felt that anything we've done severely lowers Henry's quality of life, I'd modify or stop it.

While he doesn't enjoy getting his pills twice a day, he's used to it now, and I get it done quickly, with copious amount of smooches.

List of Henry's medicines:

Proviable Fiber Supplement: 1/8 teaspoon twice a day.

Proviable Forte capsule: one a day

Amoxicillin antibiotic: twice a day

Metronidazole antibiotic: twice a day

Denamarin Advanced Liver support capsule: one a day (on hold)

Mirtazapine appetite stimulant: one a day

Cerenia anti-nausea: one a day

Prednisolone steroid: one a day

Cobalequin B12 capsule: one a day

Chemo: every two weeks, five capsules remain

The two antibiotics for his liver run out tomorrow: "use until gone".

Monday's blood tests should give us some answers.

Feral to spoiled, and we love The H Man ❤️

Bite 'em

It's Henry's Former Feral Friday.

Henry's appetite is excellent.

Solid poops too!

Watching birds and squirrels is a favorite pastime.

He's playing with his toys; see below image of his destroyed less-than-a-week-old catnip toy.

Med delivery hasn't been too difficult, even if I want to cry every time for being such a meanie, but he accepts smoochies on his wee little forehead afterward.

❤️ ❤️ ❤️ 

 

7-7-5-5-7

May 12 is National Limerick Day!

Here are a few that I made up using a limerick-creating app, which I've promptly forgotten:

 Henry

There once was a cat named Henry,  
Whose whiskers were long and quite fancy.  
He’d pounce on a mouse,  
Then lounge in the house,  
A feline both bold and so dandy!

Da Boyz

Two black cats, twins sleek and sly,

In moonlight would prowl and then fly.

With eyes gleaming bright,

They vanished from sight—

Mischief kings under night’s velvet sky!

Eastside Cats

There once were some Eastside Cats,

Who lounged on their sunny mats.

With whiskers so bright,

They purred through the night,

And chased all the neighborhood rats.

An additional bit of comedy in the Irish vein:

😹

Henry Update:

Our dear boyo has had diarrhea for too long, so off we went to the vet's office Monday morning.

He's been lethargic too, so we made additions to his med routine:

New antibiotic (on order).

Return to daily steroids.

Fiber supplement.

Weighed in at 10.68 lbs; he was 9.16 lbs on April 20. 👍🏻

He put up a fight getting into that crate, which I always take as a good sign! 👍🏻

Follow-up vet visit in a month. 👍🏻

Henry is a trooper, and although he hid under the dresser when first home again, he reappeared after only a short while, ate everything (including his new fiber supplement), and asked for brushies, which he most certainly received.

Someone managed to wrench her back while loading that carrier, and a nice late afternoon out-of-nowhere nap with The H Man snugged up against was just the ticket!

❤️ ❤️ ❤️

Let's Hop!

Demanding

Queen Sweet the First has demanded her fair share of blog posting, as she was rudely IGNORED for the past two Wednesdays aka Sweetnesdays.

Yes, Ma'am...as you wish!

Sunshine stripes

"It's MY bed, not yours!"

A nice stealthy look, Sweets...but that tailio...

Sweetie KNOWS when we mix her meds into her food, and she avoids that meal.

Little sneak!

Putting 1/2 of her ground meds in for breakfast, and the other half in the evening seems to work most of the time.

Our list of priorities: 1) she eats, 2) she gets her meds, 3) she gets her kidney Omega 3 oil.

Luckily, she drinks water, and is using the litter pan like a champ.

While I was away, The Hubby and Sweetie began a 'thing'; he lies on the bed, and she walks over his torso.

Her Murder Mitts are trimmed, as the vet tech takes care of that at every Solensia shot visit.

Now, if only I can get a chance to work on her matted fur...

Love her so much, despite her often prickly demeanor.

😽😽😽

Sweet-nesday

X: extracted last week
O: missing
Adult cats have 30 teeth; Sweetie only has 4 now!

I'll do anything to get her to eat, even if I must serve her on my bed!

Cutie Sweetie!

It's over a week since Sweetie had her dental extractions.

While not altogether a smooth sail, we've managed to get her meds into her by various means...or she's had to lick some off of her fur; oops!

All medications cease by the weekend.

Sweetie enjoys being combed, and is so playful when the mood is on her!

At night, she crawls onto my torso, and we sleep quietly together.

Some of her newer nicknames:

Sweet Pea

Midget

Wee Cat

Girlie

Gorgeous

😼😺😼

And an online jigsaw puzzle!

120Sweetie Chillaxin'

Late Update

Angel, at Saturday's vet visit

This morning, as she noms a little

An update!

Saturday's vet visit went much better than I'd dreamed of.

By adding an appetite stimulant and pain meds, the doc is sure Angel will eat more soon.

The snowstorm took my mind off of my concerns for Angel, then the wonderful staff at Cats Veterinary Hospital easily gave me instructions and loaded us up with needed items.

I left the office with wings on my heels, and my heart as light as air.

She isn't cured, but she will stay with us for awhile longer...YAY!

💕😻💘

As for that storm, Paddy and Sweetie are fine!

The PO'M, using my lap as his look out

We received about 6 inches of snow...with huge drifts, and then it rained.

We shoveled the heavy, wet snow.

Overnight, the temperature dropped into the basement.

The photo above was taken at 5 pm today, when the windchill was in the single digits F.

Sweetie and The PO'M were happy to have dinner and fresh water, and I was delighted to pet them and give them love.

I'll share more photos tomorrow.

🌨⛄❄

Vet and Weather News

Chucky, before the echocardiogram.
The walls are painted green,
which reflected in his eyes.

The veterinarian says that Chuck's heart muscle is beginning to weaken, and there isn't enough strength to push the blood out all of the heart. She says that means the blood swirls around in there, and that may lead to clotting.  Therefore, she's upped a couple of his meds, to help avoid clots.  She thinks he's been feeling a bit punky because of this swirling business, and that's why he's not eating as much.  He's lost a full pound since the last visit.

However, she was very interested in the news that the usual food he's been getting is disappearing, and that we are switching...slowly...to Salmon and Green Pea, which is what the holistic vet recommended. She is thinking the new med amounts AND new food might entice him to eat up.  She wants to see him again in 2 to 3 months.

Chuck howled the song of his people all of the way to the vet's office, but going home he was mostly quiet.  I took the opportunity to make up my own songs, with his name inserted.  Not only was he manhandled and had blood stolen, but then he had to listen to me singing too!  Oh my, poor kitty.

The vet tech who handled Chucky was wearing too much perfume. Therefore, Angel began hissing at Chuck Friday night, and kept it up all day Saturday and Sunday!  She may have given it up today, but she is still moving around the house with her tail down, and looking around furtively.  How do I tell the vet's office to advise their staff to get their perfume jollies OUTSIDE of the office?  Even The Hubby couldn't stand the flowery smell on Chuck's fur!

Thank you all for your comments about online ordering.  I heard from Natural Balance today, in response to my email, and they said once supplies for Venison and Green Pea are gone, they are going to STAY gone for a very long while.  So, I'm glad I found that last case of the old food, and have already started transitioning Chuck and Angel to the new.  My plan is to add a second brand too, once we have them settled into the first.

AND THEN...SNOW!

Pawprints on the feeding station

"Let's eat before the food freezes!"

Snow on Sweetie's fur

The backyard

Snowy Ghost Cat 

If I cannot have them inside, I can at least shovel and sweep The 'O' Cats's territory, just so their paws don't have to get snowy.  First thing Monday morning, I shoveled snow from the front door, around the side of the house, and around and over the back deck.  Patty thinks the shovel is a toy and barely avoided getting shoveled up and dumped unceremoniously into the snow pile!  Sweetie is sure the shovel (and any broom) is on this earth to harm her, so she stays hidden or runs away when I do this work.  Temps are dropping into the sub-zero range soon, so any snow left will become ice.  The Cat Car drives in the slush and snow like a champ!

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.