The "What's on your mind?" Thread -2016

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DreamerRose

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What did the doctor say?  Or did the weather keep you from going?

Margret
The doctor sent me for x-rays, which turned out to be normal except for signs of aging, like arthritis. She also referred me to an orthopedist if the pain doesn't get better. I guess surgery would be necessary if a ligament is torn. So far, it's been getting better except I need to rest it more. I'm back on the cane today, but I must clean the litter pans in the basement and wash some clothes, and the stairs are very painful to negotiate. I may scoot up and down on my fanny. Instead of carrying the laundry basket, I'm going to put the clothes in a large garbage bag so I can throw it if needed.

These accidents are a pain in more than one way. 

It looks like we only got 3 inches of snow overnight, so that's good. I have someone to shovel for me, which I can't do anyway because of my back.
 

artiemom

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Well, the saga of Artie continues....

He is now on Cerenia daily for the rest of his life. He may have lymphoma.. I will wait on an ultrasound until, hopefully, after Christmas..He needs some quiet time... he has been stressed enough for a life time..

Artie has switched over to lamb food, for a few days; now he is eating a variety of rabbit and lamb.. whatever he wants he will get it...except chicken (allergic to it)...

He was eating pretty good, at the end of the week but not pooping.. I think the issues with his stomach stopped him from eating, which caused him to miss some of the miralax doses and the probiotic.. I tried my best, but could not keep up with him..

He did have a hard small poop, so I upped the miralax and started some laxatone (fur ball stuff).. The specialist wanted me to take him in for an enema on Thursday.. I said no, because I wanted to see if I could help him.. also, did not want to put him through that. 

By Friday night, he was digging, had the muscle contractions, but nothing came out. 

I took him into his regular Vet Yesterday (Saturday). She only felt a small bit of poop in his colon. She said she had to try a rectal exam... poor baby... 

She felt a rock hard piece of poop right at the tip of the rectum.. She could not get it out.. So Artie had to have an enema yesterday.. I felt terrible.. He was actually dry heaving, so they gave him a shot of cerenia...

I waited a couple of hours, and took him home.. problem is, he got so much of the miralax and laxatone, in addition to the enema, so he was dribbling constantly... Artie was a mess from the hips down.. and on his tail...

Artie made a mess of his bathroom, 2 litter boxes, his carrier, 4 towels.... I had to try to give him a mini-bath with some Dawn soap...

He was eating really good before he went to the Vet... nothing last night and this morning.. He is exhausted and still in pain.. his poop is still water and just a little at a time. He is trying to hide from me.. I have poop spots all over the floor to the great room. His bum is a mess. He is so sore.. I tried wiping him with a baby wipe, this morning--he gave such a pitiful cry...he is so sore...

I also got a prescription for lactulose... I will pick that up later today..

I want him to eat.. so far, nothing..

I tried, NV rabbit, Pride Rabbit, and NV ltd ingredient Lamb...and some plain yogurt.. nothing...

Artie is running away from me.. he has such sad eyes.. I have to wash and dump the 2 litter boxes, clean the bathroom, try to get him to eat, go to the drug store-- all without stressing him out....My apartment smells like diarrhea... and I emptied the Litter Genie also... and dumped the trash....

Tomorrow I hope I can wash the floor in the great room.. I have used up all my spare towels, covering everything...Artie wants to hide, but he does not have his 'tent'... I had to put that away because I cannot get that pooped on.. too hard to wash in my machine..

I am feeling so bad... I keep saying, what did I do to him????   I did this to him??

I know he needed to be able to poop, but was there a better way to do it??

I know I did the right thing, but I have never dealt with a cat who needed an enema... and I do not know what the recovery period is like... and what to deal with...

I am planning on calling the Vet tomorrow...if not today--and they are closed, I may call the Vet on call....

Artie is soooooo super sweet.. despite how horrible he felt, he tried to curl up on my lap last night, in between poops.... and did cuddle with me in bed, for a brief period......

@margaret   tried, but did not work in this case....
 

Margret

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Well, I'm not a litter expert, but it almost sounds as if she's trying out water because she's seen the toilet flushing.  I don't normally recommend trying to toilet train cats, but in this case I wonder whether that would make her more comfortable?

Margret
When Ra was a kitten, he tried to toilet train himself--and AWM saw him sprawled across the toilet lid (he wasn't nearly as big then as he is now) and laughed at him. He used litter until, like the other, he discovered pine needles. (I'm not complaining. We've got six pine trees in the yard, so I have nothing against the cats using the straw at the base of the trees instead of the litter box. Does make me wonder why we spent almost two hundred dollars on litter training them and keeping up with the boxes, though.) So--how do  you toilet train a cat? And how can I tell if she's more comfortable doing that than using litter or pine needles?
 
 
Well, I'm not a litter expert, but it almost sounds as if she's trying out water because she's seen the toilet flushing.  I don't normally recommend trying to toilet train cats, but in this case I wonder whether that would make her more comfortable?

Margret
The new pet shop I mentioned?  They have this little kit that guarantees to train cats to use the toilet in 8 weeks or your money back.  *shrugs*  Might be something to look into.
I bought one of those a very long time ago; I don't know whether they've changed, but I doubt it.

It's a clear plastic tray that you put under the toilet seat and over the toilet bowl, and put litter in.  Gradually you reduce the amount of litter, so that the cat sees the water underneath (if I remember correctly).  The problem is, of course, that reducing the litter leaves the cat unable to cover things, and therefore makes her reluctant to use it.

Some cats have taught themselves to use the toilet; I even know of one who flushed afterwards.  But unless the cat is the one who wants to use the toilet, all toilet training efforts are extremely likely to fail.

@Tallyollyopia, the only way I know is to try it and see what happens.  But, I've been thinking about it, and it could be that she just needs a separate litter box for urine.  Jasmine is that way -- one box for peeing, the other for pooping.  Try that first, if it's possible with the other cats around.

Margret
 

donutte

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Oh, I'm so sorry about Artie! The one lady that works at the cat shelter I volunteer at has a kitty that occasionally has to have enemas. She said it takes him a few days to stop howling. And he howls so much, people have called Animal Control on her because they think he's being abused, so she actually has him stay in the shelter during those times.


It's snowing. And snowing and snowing. Had to clean off my car so I could pull out and let the lady that was parked behind me in the driveway out. Cleaned off the top of the car, went on to clean off the back windshield. I looked up after that, and saw the top of the car was all white again. Another two hours and I go take care of my diabetic kitty client again. Hopefully it will at least stop snowing by then.
 

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Poor Artie.  I just want to cry.  I want to snuggle him and tell him it's ok - covered in poop or not.

I woke up today covered in a fine rash and itching everywhere.  I don't know why.  I have really sensitive skin, but I haven't used any new soaps, lotions, laundry soaps, etc.  It's driving me nuts.  I have benadryl, but it makes me really sleepy and I'm working and I get in trouble if I yawn or if there's "a yawn in my voice."  They've been real jerks to me since I went above their heads about something I was doing right that they said I was doing wrong and caused them all to get retrained on it.  I'll accept criticism if it's deserved, but when I'm right, I will not put up with it.  It's been really stressing me out, though.  I get enough sleep and I've been ingesting so much caffeine it's probably not healthy, but I still have trouble not yawning.  I don't know what to do.  I don't know how to stop myself from yawning.  And if I use my mute button while I'm yawning, I get in trouble for pausing during the survey.  I'm at a loss and it's frustrating.

I also have this bump on my armpit and I don't know what it is.  It started out the size of a pimple, but it was really hard.  Over the past several days, it's gotten bigger and it's almost the size of a marble and still very hard and hurts like heck.  Unfortunately, I don't have the money to go to the doctor.  Hopefully it's not something that will kill me.

On a positive not, I had a blast with the boys and the bagful of new toys I got them.  Hopefully Mickey will get more confident with toys and stop acting so hesitant.  He has fun once he gets going, but he acts a bit confused by them.  Maybe he never had toys at his other place or he got in trouble for playing with things because they were the kids' toys.  I have no clue.
 

donutte

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Poor Artie.  I just want to cry.  I want to snuggle him and tell him it's ok - covered in poop or not.
I woke up today covered in a fine rash and itching everywhere.  I don't know why.  I have really sensitive skin, but I haven't used any new soaps, lotions, laundry soaps, etc.  It's driving me nuts.  I have benadryl, but it makes me really sleepy and I'm working and I get in trouble if I yawn or if there's "a yawn in my voice."  They've been real jerks to me since I went above their heads about something I was doing right that they said I was doing wrong and caused them all to get retrained on it.  I'll accept criticism if it's deserved, but when I'm right, I will not put up with it.  It's been really stressing me out, though.  I get enough sleep and I've been ingesting so much caffeine it's probably not healthy, but I still have trouble not yawning.  I don't know what to do.  I don't know how to stop myself from yawning.  And if I use my mute button while I'm yawning, I get in trouble for pausing during the survey.  I'm at a loss and it's frustrating.
I also have this bump on my armpit and I don't know what it is.  It started out the size of a pimple, but it was really hard.  Over the past several days, it's gotten bigger and it's almost the size of a marble and still very hard and hurts like heck.  Unfortunately, I don't have the money to go to the doctor.  Hopefully it's not something that will kill me.
On a positive not, I had a blast with the boys and the bagful of new toys I got them.  Hopefully Mickey will get more confident with toys and stop acting so hesitant.  He has fun once he gets going, but he acts a bit confused by them.  Maybe he never had toys at his other place or he got in trouble for playing with things because they were the kids' toys.  I have no clue.

That sounds kinda illegal to penalize you for something that is perfectly natural, and involuntary on top of that. That would be like penalizing you for breathing. If worse comes to worse you can get a doctor's note saying you have "chronic yawning" or something I guess, but that should NOT be necessary.
 

Alicia88

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That sounds kinda illegal to penalize you for something that is perfectly natural, and involuntary on top of that. That would be like penalizing you for breathing. If worse comes to worse you can get a doctor's note saying you have "chronic yawning" or something I guess, but that should NOT be necessary.
I'm wondering if I should try something like that.  They say it's "unprofessional" and that I need to be fully rested and ready to work when my shift starts.  It's not that I'm not rested.  I am.  I just can't help it and stressing about it makes it worse.  Every time I think about yawning, like "I'm not yawning; yay," it causes me to yawn.
 

donutte

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I'm wondering if I should try something like that.  They say it's "unprofessional" and that I need to be fully rested and ready to work when my shift starts.  It's not that I'm not rested.  I am.  I just can't help it and stressing about it makes it worse.  Every time I think about yawning, like "I'm not yawning; yay," it causes me to yawn.
I have a friend that is a chronic yawner. If he's having a conversation with people, he'll be yawning. He's been like that as far back as I can remember - I always give him grief for it, lol. He got married in September and told him it was amazing he didn't yawn then! haha. But yawning is involuntary, and is not a result of only being tired. There are theories that it is a lack of oxygen, but I don't think that is proven, and they don't really know what causes it still.

What if you had a cough? Would you be fired?
 

Alicia88

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I have a friend that is a chronic yawner. If he's having a conversation with people, he'll be yawning. He's been like that as far back as I can remember - I always give him grief for it, lol. He got married in September and told him it was amazing he didn't yawn then! haha. But yawning is involuntary, and is not a result of only being tired. There are theories that it is a lack of oxygen, but I don't think that is proven, and they don't really know what causes it still.

What if you had a cough? Would you be fired?
We get in trouble for coughing or sneezing on the phone, too.  We're supposed to use the mute button.  I've been marked below for sneezing before.  I have allergies and sometimes sneezes sneak up on me and I don't have time to hit mute.  And God forbid I get the hiccups.  It's ridiculous.  It wasn't nearly this bad before we switched to working from home.
 

donutte

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We get in trouble for coughing or sneezing on the phone, too.  We're supposed to use the mute button.  I've been marked below for sneezing before.  I have allergies and sometimes sneezes sneak up on me and I don't have time to hit mute.  And God forbid I get the hiccups.  It's ridiculous.  It wasn't nearly this bad before we switched to working from home.
Honestly... what they are doing sounds downright illegal. I know you don't want to cause yourself more grief by going over their heads, but have you talked to HR about this?
 

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Honestly... what they are doing sounds downright illegal. I know you don't want to cause yourself more grief by going over their heads, but have you talked to HR about this?
I don't even know how I would go about doing that.  I don't know if we have a HR person.  I contact supervisors, etc through e-mail and I don't have any contact info for HR.

I would look for another job, but there aren't a lot of jobs available around here and I'm limited as far as what I'm able to do.  I broke my back when I was 16 so I can't do any heavy lifting or be one my feet for too long at a time or my back starts hurting so bad I can barely stand it.  I'm usually ok if I'm walking, but standing still really doesn't work for me.  I also have trouble driving long distances.  If I'm a passenger, I'm fine because I can move around and adjust, but when I'm behind the wheel, I can't adjust that much and more than an hour becomes torture.
 

Alicia88

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OMG; I just had to take an extra break and I don't care if they have a problem with it or not.  I just called a woman who was crying, telling me how well Enterprise treated her when she had to rent a car after an accident that killed her daughter.  So now I'm bawling.  I have to take a few minutes.  That was completely unexpected - I feel so bad for her and I can't even imagine how hard that would have been.  I mean, what do you even say to that???  I'm crying so hard I can't talk.

I get yelled at, cussed at, called every name in the book - that I can handle.  This ripped me apart.
 
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margd

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OMG; I just had to take an extra break and I don't care if they have a problem with it or not.  I just called a woman who was crying, telling me how well Enterprise treated her when she had to rent a car after an accident that killed her daughter.  So now I'm bawling.  I have to take a few minutes.  That was completely unexpected - I feel so bad for her and I can't even imagine how hard that would have been.  I mean, what do you even say to that???  I'm crying so hard I can't talk.

I get yelled at, cussed at, called every name in the book - that I can handle.  This ripped me apart.
Another sign that you're a good human being and not the robot your company seems to expect.  It's ridiculous and impractical to mark people down for yawning or sneezing.  And I seriously doubt that the client even cares if you do make an "unallowed" noise.  I've heard customer service reps yawn before and we ended up getting into a friendly conversation about not getting enough sleep.  I mean, really - who cares about such a minor thing? Obviously it's important to be professional but an occasional yawn or cough hardly hurts that image.   Anyway, getting back to the woman you just talked with, she probably felt comforted by your compassion.  I seriously hope you do not get in trouble for having a big heart. 
 

DreamerRose

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OMG; I just had to take an extra break and I don't care if they have a problem with it or not.  I just called a woman who was crying, telling me how well Enterprise treated her when she had to rent a car after an accident that killed her daughter.  So now I'm bawling.  I have to take a few minutes.  That was completely unexpected - I feel so bad for her and I can't even imagine how hard that would have been.  I mean, what do you even say to that???  I'm crying so hard I can't talk.
I get yelled at, cussed at, called every name in the book - that I can handle.  This ripped me apart.
Of course you need a break. What an emotional whammy. That poor woman and what she's been through. You were a dear to be able to relate to her pain.
 
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