Micia RIP

She was such a good girl. She even managed to get upstairs this morning, though I don't know how--she was back downstairs by the time I was abluted & dressed. I gave her a little food mixed with pain medicine, but that just made her miserable--she didn't want to throw up--and could not, in fact, stand up to do it--she tried to sit, but just collapsed. She mewed a little when I put her in the carrier, and when we went into the vet's office, but did not protest when I took her out, or when the vet gave her the first shot. Then I just held her until the sedation took effect, and it took only a minute or two after the second shot.

I wish there had been something we could do, but it seemed all the alternatives would have been traumatic for her and for us. As Jim said, "For a few months we expanded her world by three." And she did seem  happy with that--and certainly we were with her. When we got home, there was no one to greet us.

Yesterday, Micia spent the whole day under the chair in the downstairs bedroom. At noon I was looking for her, and she'd jammed her little self so far back between the wall, the fountain & the chair that she was very hard to see, being the same color as the rug, and all. Jim found her, as I was scouring the house. Her left eye is mattering a lot, but she's no longer sneezing, and she does appear when she wants to eat, though she didn't take much milk. We'll see if she'll take some tuna juice today.

This morning, I woke up coughing, so went down to get some OJ & Tylenol, then went back up to bed. I got up & took my shower, and when I came back to the bedroom, she had come upstairs & was ensconced next to the bed on an old wrap. She doesn't seem to want to get onto the bed. I brought her breakfast up to her, and actually got a purr for snuggling & scratching her ears & neck.

Amazing

Micia is almost back to normal. When we got home from the LCW meeting, she was in Jim's dining room chair, just like always. She's able to get up on our bed and down, and she's asking for food when she's hungry, and will drink water & milk, but the solid food still needs the syringe.I still haven't measured her, but she's quite content for me to pick her up like a baby to feed her, and her tummy isn't nearly as big. I cannot believe it. Oh, and she actually made a little poop in the litter box last night! And she doesn't make that gurgling sound when I pick her up.

Well, she's not dead yet. Last night when we got home from Evening Prayer she was gone from the spot she'd spent the day: she'd gone down into the basement for whatever reason, and I found her on the futon, shaking her paws as if they were wet, though they weren't--no vomiting, no diarrhea--they were just cold. She had used the downstairs litter box. She had also drunk quite a bit of water through the day, though she hadn't taken any of the slurry I'd put down for her.

This morning, I was still in bed & she came up the stairs to get me. She took all three syringes without a problem, and her tummy appears to be shrinking, though I haven't measured her waist. I've brought her upstairs, and she's on our bed now (fingers crossed: I don't want her to hurt herself if she needs to get down, but I put her on the floor in the sunny spot & she just looked up at the bed, so I put her back up). I do think the pain meds make her a little loopy, so I've decreased the amount by half, although last night she wouldn't even take that much. She starts licking her chops whenever I pet her, so I guess that means she approves the regimen, and if whatever that is/was in her tummy is shrinking, I'm going to try to get more calories in her. The ampicillin & pain med are q.12h, so I can give her slurry every hour if she'll tolerate it. Now that she's hydrating herself, we might make some progress.

Micia is sick. She has stopped eating, unless I squirt food into her mouth with a syringe. The vet we took her to last Saturday (our vet is out of town until Wednesday) says the x-ray shows a "solid mass" compressing her internal organs up towards her spine. The doctor took her off the Prednisone & gave me liquid medicine (praise be) for pain, an antibiotic and a higher calorie food that I am mixing out with milk.

So yesterday she hardly moved from her chair at all. This morning she hopped down & presented herself in the kitchen as though she wanted breakfast. However, she sniffed it & decided not, but opted for water, which she hadn't been doing. Now she's moved down the hall to the chair in Jim's office. So, after discussion with Christine, we will keep on keeping on, though it may mean I won't be traveling to Minneapolis for a while: we'll just take one day at a time.

Doc put Micia on an antibiotic (oral), but seemed to believe the problem was more crystals than microbes. Since I'm in MSP, it's up to Jim to handle her. She has been drinking copious amounts of water, though the holistic vet site says cats cannot & will not drink sufficient water to keep the urine sufficiently clear--according to the writer, they tend to be chronically dehydrated if fed only kibble, though Micia gets 1/4 of a can of meat a day. I'm seriously considering gearing myself up for a raw food diet for her. I'll have to find a health food store, I guess. I've seen one in Mason City, but haven't stopped in.

There's something about having a kitty sleeping in my lap that makes me want just to sit wherever & am & let her sleep. Not very productive, but it probably lowers my blood pressure ;)

New pictures

On the one hand, she looks pretty much the same as always.

 On the other hand, there's nothing quite like a kitty asleep in your lap.

 "What are you doing?"

 Ok, now you've had your dinner: I want mine!

I guess I've been forgiven for going away. Micia seems very happy to be back to routine: she's very fond of our morning quiet time. In the meantime, some pics that I took before we went on vacation, but didn't upload until today.

Evening game: (that's my knee) "Meow, meow, meow" "Do you want up?' "Meow, meow, meow" I lean over to pick her up and she walks away. I sit back & go back to what I was doing. "Meow, meow, meow."

This was before we left for Illinois. I left the suitcase out so Jim could put his stuff in, and came back to find this. :D

We played make the bed this morning--Jim went downstairs first, let her out & made the coffee, but didn't feed her. She was very annoyed when I came downstairs. She actually frowns--I really want to get a picture of it, because it' sooo funny--ears flat, eyes squinty.

I put the cupcakes for the chicken barbecue in a box on the table. Jim found her on the table inspecting them, so he closed the box. She begged & begged last night while I was mixing them up. Christine, did you let her lick the bowl when you were baking? ;) I understand deboning chicken & opening cans, but running the mixer?

Micia has suddenly decided she can be friends with Jim, too. The other day she plopped into his lap for the post-prandial, and she's much more willing to play with him & the string on a pole. I've started brushing her after breakfast, or snuggling. Then when breakfast comes to the table, she goes upstairs & prompts him to come down, whci tickles him to death.

Micia is not fond of this weather! Whether she has a touch of rheumatism, or something else, she has been very cranky. And although she wants her evening smackerel promptly (I give her a teaspoon in the morning and a teaspoon at night), she tries to push it earlier, and then doesn't want to go to sleep, but to stay up & then have a third one later 8-D. This actually happened the other night when I had a meeting: she heard the car come in, so she was waiting for me on the step. Followed me, meowing, while I put my stuff away, and I gave her her smackerel, forgetting it was "pill night." When I went to take my own pills, I remembered, so I did give her a third smackerel with the pill.

I'm contemplating how things will be when I go to Minnesota after the baby comes. 

So I sat down to enter my WW stats, played with the kitty ahile, brushed her--and she stayed on the floor. Then I go0t out the stuff to mend Jim's black pants, and she just HAD t0o get in my lap. Go figure!

So this is Micia, refusing to look cute 'cause the camera is out. She's been very chatty recently. Sits at my feet meowing, then when I bend over to pick her up, she runs off towards the food bowl. Jim thinks it's very funny.

She scared me to death yesterday. After breakfast she was meowing at the fountain in the bedroom, for no reason that I could figure. She came out to the dining room and her left eye was shut. Prying it open, it just looked black, and I panicked, called the vet, got an appointment. Half an hour later she was fine: both eyes open, clear, no mattering or redness. Who knows? This morning, I think she got two breakfasts. Jim had an early dentist appointment and let her out, and I think he fed her, but she swore she hadn't been fed, then couldn't eat it all :D

She was moving so slowly this morning, she was still in the chair when I opened the door. She likes lying next to me on the futon during my quiet time, but she's taken to avoiding the camera, so I have to sneak up on her :D

So cute!

Ready for lunch, Dad!

I guess we're getting used to each other--not so much new going on. We did have a little episode of vomiting last week--interestingly the night Micia went upstairs with Jim and I just left her in the bed with us. She was sick about 2 in the morning--just a little. I brought her downstairs & gave her a ill & put her to bed, and with a pill every 3rd day, things seem to be fine.

We did leave her in the basement while we were at synod assembly Friday thru Sunday. She was annoyed when we got home, but not for long. Then I decided the nails needed clipping. I pulled the hair between the toes on the last one, and she was gone, but back--just out of reach--to make sure I was aware that I'd hurt her. Today all is forgive, and she got a good (aqnd needed!) brushing.

I've been hoping that maybe she might not need the second shot, but she has begun licking herself, though no inappropriate peeing or apparent pain. Last night her right ear was very hot, and she didn't want me to look at it or rub it, so I'll have to ask him to take a look when I take her in tomorrow. We had a mighty thunderstorm last night. At one point there was a very close lightning strike a couple blocks to the southwest. It got us all sitting upright, and Micia went tearing from the living room back towards the basement, though she didn't go all the way downstairs. I think she's still afraid the door might get closed & she would be shut in down there. She'll follow me down, but she wants to come right back up. When we got home from the Memorial Day service at the high school, she plopped herself down by the Sansevieria and just looked at me as if to say, "I'm just thinking about chewing on this." But she didn't. We had a nice snuggle this morning before the service. The heat earlier this week made her VERY furry, so everything needs a good vacuuming.

When we came home from lunch at Cattlemen's with Joyce & Cliff yesterday there was a strong smell of urine in the kitchen--but no place else. We of course assumed she had used one of the rugs, though even when she was sick her urine didn't smell like that--it was reminiscent of Clement, our evil cat from the '80s. I tossed all the rugs downstairs & swept, but I also closed the window over the kitchen sink that I had opened for circulation. This morning the kitchen was no longer smelly, but neither was the laundry room that had the rugs in it all night, so I'm thinking one of the stray boys must have left a marker under the kitchen window.

34 pounds of the World's Best Cat Litter is a lot of litter--it'll last at least 6 months. But I sure like the smell of it better than the traditional litter, and I think Micia does, too.

So last night I gave Micia her pill, which is not nearly as difficult now that it's not every night, and I gave her some z/d treats (found out this morning that at some point she got up on the dining room table & took a bite out of the loaf of bread I hadn't yet taken back to the kitchen). I didn't close the door to the room, so she decided to take herself to bed--in our bed upstairs :D. I found her when I came up to take my shower. Since she's never in her life before now had to sleep by herself, it doesn't surprise me at all that she thinks she should sleep with us. She also believes her food should be in the kitchen. If G&G come to visit, things will have to be rearranged. She's crying more this morning, but she tends to do that the day after her pill. I'm contemplating asking Dr. G to give her her shot today rather than waiting until Tuesday.

So I shouldn't be so crabby. I love having her, and I told her yesterday when we were making the bed that when Christine reclaims her, we'll have to have a replacement. Between the heat, humidity & cystitis, she's probably not 100% yet, although it has cooled off, thank goodness.

We have meat! Now she thinks it's all she should eat :( She also seems to believe that if I'm in the kitchen I should be feeding her. Unfortunately, she started the day by pooping right inside the door to the bedroom, so that when Jim let her out, the door ground the poop into the carpet. She does seem to be able to pee OK, and isn't going on the futon, carpet or bed. She did go downstairs to poop in the little box.... The internet vet (Ohio State) said the canned food would be preferable with the cystitis, as it would up the intake of fluid. I cut back the pills to twice a week, since she's had no vomiting (fingers crossed).

Here she is before lunch today, playing with Jim. She seems to prefer this plain string.

The second call this morning was from the vet, who was checking in on Micia. She is doing better, though she was crankier this morning--I gave her a pill last night. His test on the bacteria indicates that the antibiotic he gave her was "moderately" effective, so she still needs another shot in two weeks, but he may give her something different "if it comes back" 8-( I don't need both the cat and the husband sick.

Boy, was she mad at me when we got home! Just sat with her back to me for a long time. In the evening she sat on my lap for a while, but got down when I sneezed, then went up & went to bed in our bed--she was still there when we came upstairs. She seems to be feeling better this morning.

Home again. He says there was pretty much bacteria. He gave her a shot of antibiotic, and wants to shoot her again in two weeks, and refilled the prednisolone. They have the prescribed food right on their shelves, so I can just drop in when I need more. I ordered the world's best cat litter yesterday. Next time we're in Mason City I'll insist we go to Pet Smart, so I don't have to pay for shipping!

There was a cat that could have been Oboe's sibling there this morning. Micia growled at it (it lives on the front counter). I wonder whether she'd tolerate a kitty. I wonder if Jim would tolerate another cat 8-\

She's mad at me: left ear flat--doesn't want to snuggle. I expect she'll get over it. I hope. I have to do her claws soon.v

Sick :(

Really. Doc says she has cystitis. She "can probably" come home today, bur he's runnung more tests and they'll call me. :(

Vet

Micia met the vet today. She was following me around. She'd cry, then squat, pee about six drops, then walk off. She peed three times on the futon (covered it w/plastic Saturday) while I was sitting there. Followed me down to the laundry room & peed on the door mat that I haven't put back outside yet. I called the Chicago vet from the office & they're faxing her medical records over. She was very polite: just squeaked as he inspected her (the assistant said she didn't look her age--which she doesn't)--even let him look in her ears with nary a peep. They had the cutest little kitty, and a simply gorgeous mama cat who's about to give birth. I told him I was just about to put my name on his kitty list when Christine called to ask if we'd take Micia. Don't know whether Jim would tolerate a kitty from that mommy--she's very furry. They're refilling Micia's prednisolone. She's using the litter box, but she doesn't like the lid all of a sudden (in the last week--used it to pee but pooped on the rug 8-( ). Maybe it's PTSD? We'll see. She's eating & drinking & snuggling & playing like normal...

She wanted me to lift her up onto the bed this morning (though she's perfectly capable of getting up herself). 

So we started out like this.

But she got tired of having her picture taken, turned herself over & covered up 8-D

It was too cool to open the windows this week, so we put the chair where she can look out:

When she heard the camera:

I wish I could upload her talking.

Her favorite position

Rainy today--house kinda smells like wet cat :(

I guess the honeymoon is over :( This morning she "missed" the litter box & peed over the edge & onto the paper, which meant onto the rug. So I cleaned the box , sprayed the carpet, and moved the box onto a plastic-backed mat (too late smart).When we sat down for breakfast, she climbed up on the pedestal table & tried to chew on the plant (she has only ever chewed on any of the plants when someone was there to see it and say "no.") Tonight she led me into the bedroom so that I could see that she'd peed on the futon, so I cleaned the litter box, and while I was doing that, she jumped up on the futon and peed on it again. Little litter box downstairs; big, covered litter box upstairs. Don't know whether she's sick or the windstorm/thunderstorm is bothering her. Oh, dear. We're going to Mason City tomorrow, so I'll drop by the Fleet 'n Farm, which I think carries the World's Best Litter (they carry Micia's food). She's in "her" room now, but if I can't figure this out, she'll have to be removed to the basement. 8(

In the meantime, the peaceful part of the day:

The kitty is in my lap and the camera is on the dining room table, with new pictures. She talks with her ears--she's so funny! She spends the morning in the middle of our bed, then spends the afternoon either in my lap at the computer (decidedly uncomfortable and inconvenient) or in Jim's recliner.

Showers

She knows that when we're taking showers and/or gwtting dressed first thing in the morning that she's going to be left alone. This is what we got yesterday as we prepared to leave for the funeral--with kitty "humphs." (I wish I could figure out a way to upload the sound effects, which are quite as funny as the mannerisms.

Isn't it nice how she matches the carpet?

I did my long yoga tape for the first time in a while this morning, and when it came time for relaxation at the end, there she was at the "head" end of the sticky mat, waiting to be petted during the relaxation. Nicky always took the middle, so this was a pleasant surprise.

She is, as Jim says, very bossy. Or, she has no doubts about what she wants and when she wants it. She was especially pleased to lick out the tuna cans at noon.

I've lost the other pictures. Hmm.

Sneezes

I've never figured out why cats do not like sneezes--at least, Nicky didn't, and neither does Micia. Though it isn't her fault that there's so much pollen in the air this year that even I am sneezing & sniffing, sneezes inevitably launch her off my lap.

(Pictures coming--can't upload them from this computer.)

Mealtime

She's getting into the habit of hopping up into Jim's chair when I bring the food to the table. Then she just waits for him to come & boost her out. He says when he sat down for his post-prandial nap, she (very gently) came up & settled on his stomach. Unfortunately I was at the gym, so no pics :(.

But here is an earlier one. She likes under the blanket, but it's too hot for me!

OK. I really want to finish this Ravenscroft project--there's so little to do--and there's this cat who just wants to lay in my lap, which means I can't read the text because it's in a little book that has to be propped open! Aughh! Go sit in the window in the sun! 8-)

Smoke alarm

One of the "quirks" of our house is that the hood in the kitchen vents back into the kitchen, which is inconvenient, at the least: the broiler & the self-cleaning oven don't get used much. Last night it was hamburgers on top of the stove, but all the same it set off two of the alarms--the one in the dining room and the one going down to the basement. Set Micia flying straight up the stairs, which was the only place something wasn't beeping raucously.

The pill giving did not go well last night--Jim did it, but it was pretty bad--for both of them. Fortunately he was clear enough to sing at the WELCA retreat this morning, but I think I'll just do it from now on.

She is delighted that it's warm enough that I could open the windows today. But is she sitting in a window now? No--she's on my lap at the computer.

Pills 8-(

Last night I got Jim to do it. She really hates it, and I don't want to hurt her, so I'm tense. She stomped off in a pout, so now I shall go check on her and then, I think, trot off to bed. Church starts at 8:30 during CDT, so we've been up a long time today.

She "sings" her way through the house periodically. She'd really prefer to be carried around, but most of the time, I let her go on her own. We're still learning her language: this afternoon she was making a painful sort of growling in the bedroom, so I checked on her. She wasn't in the litter box--just sitting in the middle of the room. This morning she had eaten all her meat, most of her kibbles, and most of her water. When I gave her her meat, she scarfed it down like she was starving, so I gave her a tad more. It being Sunday afternoon, we pretty much vegged out, with her curled up in my lap while I did the puzzles.

Saturday morning

On Saturdays, I change the sheets, and now we play the kitty game. :D

She is ready for bed now--she's upstairs on our bed, quite comfortable. She pretty much followed me around today--racing to get up the stairs or down the stairs first. Watching her go downstairs is a hoot. She did start using the large litter box while we were gone: she pointedly indicated that it needed cleaning :). And she seems to believe that if we are eating, she should get some, too. She's quite happy that we're home, I think.

We're home

She was to the top of the stairs the minute the door opened tonight. Tried to convince us she was starving, though there were plenty of kibbles. She "talked" her way through the house (except the basement, of course--I suspect she will avoid going downstairs for a while). I've returned her "stuff" to the downstairs bedroom, but I pretty much think that we should be able to let her come upstairs with us at night, and I can keep the small litter box & food in the downstairs bathroom. She hasn't touched the "Maria plant" since Christine sprayed her the first night. She's a little more stubborn about the pothos upstairs, so I just keep that door closed unless one of us is in there.

She saw the suitcases come out, found a place in the sun & studiously ignored what was going on. However, we decided that, at least at this point, we'd like to have her in the basement while we're gone (no plants--no carpet to vomit on). Gave Cindy the tour--I expect she will let Micia come into the house during the pill-ing, litter cleaning, feeding, etc. (Micia actually ate 2 [tiny--1 tsp.] spoons of meat yesterday! Finished the first & plopped down in front of the 'frig for more. She's a very smart cat.) Anyway, I left it to Jim to bring her into the basement. He said she was very, so when we picked up the dry cleaning so Jim would have a jacket for the banquet, we didn't bring the rest home--just pitched it in the car & brought it with us.

She's very at home. I think the basement-when-we're-gone business won't be permanent. It makes me sad to leave her so soon after she's come, but I'm confident in Cindy's loving ways, so it won't be too traumatic.

The morning after

I was exhausted after the party, and Micia was quite happy to snuggle in my lap until I had to get up to do the dishes. She actually ate most of her meat yesterday, and is not drinking so much. The litter box in the basement is still pristine, though she has been down there several times. I got her comb out yesterday' and that was just heaven for her. Cindy is coming after the WELCA meeting to get instructions, so I'll have tp print out the veterinary instructions.

Ladies Day

I was up at the crack of dawn to get ready for the ladies who are arriving at 1:30. Micia clearly heard me in the bathroom above her, and was meowing loudly by the time I got downstairs. She has attempted to chew on the pothos in the computer room, climbed up on the dining room table to see whether the bowl with the dregs of the leftover risotto was still there (from last night--we'd already talked about that, and the bowl was moved to the kitchen): she saw me come into the room and promptly removed herself, without even being told. She also contemplated chewing the dry herb plants next to the worm farm, but found that too unappetizing. :)

She is eating, not tons, but sufficiently to poop, and the pilling is getting easier: she didn't like it last night, but didn't growl and was happy to go get a drink & pop back up into my lap. She's still very verbal in the morning, but I realize she always was at home, too, so this is not surprising. The ladies don't mind Cindy's cats, so perhaps I'll let her out. We'll see.

While I struggled with producing the handouts for the meeting, she finally decided to go back to bed with Jim.

Tuesday

She was quite ready to come out of the bedroom by the time I got downstairs this morning. She wants her food in the kitchen & her litter box in the bathroom. So although she knows where they are, and uses them (she is drinking a lot an eating a little), she still goes where they "belong" and then tells me about it. She also announces her arrival in every room--and there are a lot of rooms in this house! I carried her down to the basement--she sits on the top step and meows--and showed her the large litter box--the good, "Private" one from home--and she went on in. I have a box & the carrier in that room, too. Then I brought her upstairs, and she stayed up here with me for a while, then announced she wanted to go back down. I informed her that she's going to have to learn to maneuver them herself. I hope not to get accustomed to carrying her around with me!

Pills

The pill is down. Very itchy-eared, annoyed cat who had been sleeping peacefully in my lap since I got home from choir practice. I have a nick on my thumb and a great deal of fur on and about my person. I promised her I'd get better at it.

Monday

She was most annoyed that I wasn't coming to bed last night. Since she's used to having the bedroom door closed, I put her in "her" chair and closed the door. She meowed a couple of times, then settled down.

This morning, as usual she was most annoyed to wait until I refreshed the meat, kibbles & water. She seemed to want me to stay with her. She drank a little water, then came out, meowing, looking all over the house--for Christine, I suspect. We snuggled a while (and I cried), then she went back to the bedroom & settled down in the chair.

Must see if I can find the litter she's been using--what we have now is really basic clay, which gets smelly quickly.