Introducing Betty White

tarasgirl06

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In LA, we talked about earthquake weather: a hot spell directly after cold weather that theoretically caused the plates to expand swiftly and violently. Maybe the opposite is true with cats. A cool spell after a heat wave perhaps causes a sudden increase in appetite that’s more than their bellies can take. 🤔🤷🏼‍♂️
You may have a point there. *But if you keep your hat on, maybe no one will notice.* :flail:
 

daftcat75

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*Wondering how Betty is. Wondering how daftcat75 daftcat75 is. Probably coding like mad.*:hellocomputer:🖥🖲
I code a lot less than you think. At this job anyway. Last job I wrote a lot more code because I was writing the tools to get my job done--like building the car while driving it down the road. This job has many great tools already written by someone else.

Betty is on cruise control. I only just this morning created this week's tab in her food diary because it's been so automatic. Food goes down. Empty plates come up. She frequently eats about 3/4 of a plate and has no trouble coming back for its remainder before the next meal. This morning I had so much more difficulty getting my sleepy, dreary eyed butt out of bed at 5:15 than I did getting food and medicine into her. I sleepwalked through the routine and before I knew it, Betty had two capsules and a plate of food in her. She was collapsed into me bearing her freshly stuffed belly and wanting after-breakfast fuss.

I ordered Betty's next month of poop pills. I'm still working only 1/32 tsp of fiber into her diet. At this point, I'd rather keep working the pred taper than get too fancy with the biome stuff. We can start working the biome stuff either after the pred taper or when we've hit a wall with the pred taper. But for now, she's getting even a smidgen more fiber than she was the other week. I may even order another test to see if even the smidgen is helping since the last result came back so quickly.

I also found an alternative to the Pet Naturals of Vermont hairball chews. Vetriscience makes an identical product (which makes me believe that perhaps one is outsourcing the manufacturing to the other.) And so far, Betty is eating them from the Vetriscience batch. They are still chewy and difficult for her to pick up and work through. I fear it won't be too long before she gets tired of these too. For now anyway, I'm happy to give her a Greenies break. Although we haven't had any further incidents. I still don't trust them after the double-ended spits that one time.

We're both grateful for the milder weather. We're both sleeping a lot better. She's even been sleeping in her floof again that she hasn't since the weather got stuck in the 80's (outside and in.)
 

tarasgirl06

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I code a lot less than you think. At this job anyway. Last job I wrote a lot more code because I was writing the tools to get my job done--like building the car while driving it down the road. This job has many great tools already written by someone else.

Betty is on cruise control. I only just this morning created this week's tab in her food diary because it's been so automatic. Food goes down. Empty plates come up. She frequently eats about 3/4 of a plate and has no trouble coming back for its remainder before the next meal. This morning I had so much more difficulty getting my sleepy, dreary eyed butt out of bed at 5:15 than I did getting food and medicine into her. I sleepwalked through the routine and before I knew it, Betty had two capsules and a plate of food in her. She was collapsed into me bearing her freshly stuffed belly and wanting after-breakfast fuss.

I ordered Betty's next month of poop pills. I'm still working only 1/32 tsp of fiber into her diet. At this point, I'd rather keep working the pred taper than get too fancy with the biome stuff. We can start working the biome stuff either after the pred taper or when we've hit a wall with the pred taper. But for now, she's getting even a smidgen more fiber than she was the other week. I may even order another test to see if even the smidgen is helping since the last result came back so quickly.

I also found an alternative to the Pet Naturals of Vermont hairball chews. Vetriscience makes an identical product (which makes me believe that perhaps one is outsourcing the manufacturing to the other.) And so far, Betty is eating them from the Vetriscience batch. They are still chewy and difficult for her to pick up and work through. I fear it won't be too long before she gets tired of these too. For now anyway, I'm happy to give her a Greenies break. Although we haven't had any further incidents. I still don't trust them after the double-ended spits that one time.

We're both grateful for the milder weather. We're both sleeping a lot better. She's even been sleeping in her floof again that she hasn't since the weather got stuck in the 80's (outside and in.)
I'm just musing on what the readout would be if you changed NOTHING for a month and sent in another sample.
I agree 100% on prioritizing the taper at this point. Not that Betty needs my input, or you either, for that matter. Just sayin.' :lol:
Nice that you have an alternative (?) on treats. Betty hasn't had any bad luck with Greenies since that one time, though, has she? :crossfingers:
Well, but I hope your job is sufficiently interesting/challenging that you're not on autopilot. IMHO that's not rewarding.
I thought I might be in that state yesterday morning after setting my alarm for 2:45 am. But no. Instant-up, instant-on. Dragging through the day, though, on 3-4 hours' sleep. Oh well, it was only for one time. Elvis was very supportive.
 

daftcat75

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I'm just musing on what the readout would be if you changed NOTHING for a month and sent in another sample.
I agree 100% on prioritizing the taper at this point. Not that Betty needs my input, or you either, for that matter. Just sayin.' :lol:
Nice that you have an alternative (?) on treats. Betty hasn't had any bad luck with Greenies since that one time, though, has she? :crossfingers:
Well, but I hope your job is sufficiently interesting/challenging that you're not on autopilot. IMHO that's not rewarding.
I thought I might be in that state yesterday morning after setting my alarm for 2:45 am. But no. Instant-up, instant-on. Dragging through the day, though, on 3-4 hours' sleep. Oh well, it was only for one time. Elvis was very supportive.
Betty won't even let me change nothing for a month. But even if I kept everything the same, her pred is still going down--I hope. That alone should make a difference. But yeah. It's going to be whack-a-mole for awhile with the biome reports. Since all the numbers have to add up to 100%, some will necessarily go up while others are going down and vice versa. Some strains (like Blautia) thrive with the s. boulardii that is supposed to be controlling less beneficial strains like clostridium and esherichia. Some of the more beneficial strains are not getting the food they need (inulin or fiber) because Betty won't eat the stuff. I would like to see what a month of even the smidgen of fiber does for her biome. I'd like to see a return of the phyla that are missing. My short-term biome goals are to see if even the smallest addition of fiber benefits the richness and diversity and brings back some of those missing phyla. If the clostridium is still going higher and the other phyla aren't coming back, I'll double up her s. boulardii and we'll tackle the clostridium populations first. I don't yet feel the urgency to tackle clostridium and esherichia when Betty is not sympomatic for either. But I certainly don't want them to get out of control either.
 

tarasgirl06

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Betty won't even let me change nothing for a month. But even if I kept everything the same, her pred is still going down--I hope. That alone should make a difference. But yeah. It's going to be whack-a-mole for awhile with the biome reports. Since all the numbers have to add up to 100%, some will necessarily go up while others are going down and vice versa. Some strains (like Blautia) thrive with the s. boulardii that is supposed to be controlling less beneficial strains like clostridium and esherichia. Some of the more beneficial strains are not getting the food they need (inulin or fiber) because Betty won't eat the stuff. I would like to see what a month of even the smidgen of fiber does for her biome. I'd like to see a return of the phyla that are missing. My short-term biome goals are to see if even the smallest addition of fiber benefits the richness and diversity and brings back some of those missing phyla. If the clostridium is still going higher and the other phyla aren't coming back, I'll double up her s. boulardii and we'll tackle the clostridium populations first. I don't yet feel the urgency to tackle clostridium and esherichia when Betty is not sympomatic for either. But I certainly don't want them to get out of control either.
Exactamente. *C'mon, Betty girl. Your Dad has your best interests and good health and happiness at heart. Help him out, okay?*
 

daftcat75

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I just read AnimalBiome's State of The Gut report. It was way too high level for my taste. But one thing I got out of it was that e. coli is something I should focus on sooner than later.

An inflamed gut sheds damaged epithelial cells, and E. coli uses these cells as a food source to outcompete beneficial gut bacteria and overgrow. Excessive E. coli is harmful because it increases the risk of inflammation and digestive issues. Excessive E. coli also kills beneficial bacteria and scavenges iron, thereby reducing the body’s defenses.
There's some prebiotic and a small amount of fiber in the Gut Maintenance (s. boulardii) pills she's already taking. Except she's been taking only a half dose because of my unwillingness to give her too much s. boulardii and send her poops in the wrong direction (too hard) and the size of the original size three capsules I repacked into size fours.

I made up 10 days worth of size four capsules with fiber and ondansetron packed in them. So we'll finish those. Perhaps I'll order another test after all and see if 10 days of fiber moved the needle at all. And while I wait for that result, I will double up her s. boulardii and see if we can put e. coli and clostridium to rest before they become problematic/symptomatic.

Half-a** ing both the fiber and the s. boulardii does not add up to a whole a**. We're much closer to whole a** with the s. boulardii than the fiber.
 

tarasgirl06

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I just read AnimalBiome's State of The Gut report. It was way too high level for my taste. But one thing I got out of it was that e. coli is something I should focus on sooner than later.



There's some prebiotic and a small amount of fiber in the Gut Maintenance (s. boulardii) pills she's already taking. Except she's been taking only a half dose because of my unwillingness to give her too much s. boulardii and send her poops in the wrong direction (too hard) and the size of the original size three capsules I repacked into size fours.

I made up 10 days worth of size four capsules with fiber and ondansetron packed in them. So we'll finish those. Perhaps I'll order another test after all and see if 10 days of fiber moved the needle at all. And while I wait for that result, I will double up her s. boulardii and see if we can put e. coli and clostridium to rest before they become problematic/symptomatic.

Half-a** ing both the fiber and the s. boulardii does not add up to a whole a**. We're much closer to whole a** with the s. boulardii than the fiber.
Their statement makes sense to me: e. coli is a little like dust mites. 😑
And yeah, you definitely need to go whole enchilada here. Or whole taco. Or something.
 

daftcat75

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I hope it’s significant of nothing. But she left a remainder on the overnight and only ate half of breakfast. Now she can certainly afford a remainder or two. But I fear she’s brewing the first hairball in months just as we’re getting ready for the next taper. One thing that changed recently was switching her from Greenies to the VT/Vetriscience treats. I haven’t yet got her back up to two of these cranberry fish chews. And I’m not sure I will. They have to be broken in half and she has trouble chewing a half. She gets through two halves. But I’m not sure if her enjoyment will last through four chewy halves. I’ll switch her back to a single Greenie this morning and see if that helps get the remainders moving again. As for the second half of breakfast this morning, I have no doubt she will finish it. There’s six more hours to lunch. She’ll return to that plate. 🐷👍
 

tarasgirl06

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I hope it’s significant of nothing. But she left a remainder on the overnight and only ate half of breakfast. Now she can certainly afford a remainder or two. But I fear she’s brewing the first hairball in months just as we’re getting ready for the next taper. One thing that changed recently was switching her from Greenies to the VT/Vetriscience treats. I haven’t yet got her back up to two of these cranberry fish chews. And I’m not sure I will. They have to be broken in half and she has trouble chewing a half. She gets through two halves. But I’m not sure if her enjoyment will last through four chewy halves. I’ll switch her back to a single Greenie this morning and see if that helps get the remainders moving again. As for the second half of breakfast this morning, I have no doubt she will finish it. There’s six more hours to lunch. She’ll return to that plate. 🐷👍
Elvis had a sympathy furball this morning. He really doesn't have furballs. So be prepared. :gaah:
 

daftcat75

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Elvis had a sympathy furball this morning. He really doesn't have furballs. So be prepared. :gaah:
Betty finished most of her breakfast remainder during third sleep (e.g. the interval between her breakfast and my breakfast where I go back to sleep for another REM cycle or two.) I decided to give her the Greenie anyway. We'll do two or three days with the Greenie instead of the cranberry fishies and see if those remainders don't disappear once more.
 

tarasgirl06

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Betty finished most of her breakfast remainder during third sleep (e.g. the interval between her breakfast and my breakfast where I go back to sleep for another REM cycle or two.) I decided to give her the Greenie anyway. We'll do two or three days with the Greenie instead of the cranberry fishies and see if those remainders don't disappear once more.
I must admit, cranberry fishes sound tempting. But Greenies are our treat of choice here.:fish::runningcat:
 

daftcat75

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I haven't seen a post-Greenies poop yet. But it seems like perhaps that it did its trick. She eventually finished lunch and half the feeder. I don't mind one bit if she leaves feeder remainders. Those are there for her convenience, not her maintenance. She would do better at maintaining a healthy weight if she left some feeder remainders. By the time dinner rolled around, she was sleeping hard in her floof. I know the summer heat has become more moderate because she's taken to spending more time in the floof that she practically abandoned at the start of summer. I wasn't sure how she was feeling or if she would rally for dinner. I got my answer pretty quick. I'm not sure what sound she keyed in on. But she awoke from her slumber and joined me on the kitchen counter. I love seeing her on the counter! She's up there for most meals know. When it came time to do meds and food, she was such a pro. Two scoops and and swallows and she hoovered 90% of the portion on first pass. It was one of those where I felt guilty fluffing such a meager remainder. But I would feel worse taking it away. So for now, it seems the remainder scare has passed.
 

tarasgirl06

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I haven't seen a post-Greenies poop yet. But it seems like perhaps that it did its trick. She eventually finished lunch and half the feeder. I don't mind one bit if she leaves feeder remainders. Those are there for her convenience, not her maintenance. She would do better at maintaining a healthy weight if she left some feeder remainders. By the time dinner rolled around, she was sleeping hard in her floof. I know the summer heat has become more moderate because she's taken to spending more time in the floof that she practically abandoned at the start of summer. I wasn't sure how she was feeling or if she would rally for dinner. I got my answer pretty quick. I'm not sure what sound she keyed in on. But she awoke from her slumber and joined me on the kitchen counter. I love seeing her on the counter! She's up there for most meals know. When it came time to do meds and food, she was such a pro. Two scoops and and swallows and she hoovered 90% of the portion on first pass. It was one of those where I felt guilty fluffing such a meager remainder. But I would feel worse taking it away. So for now, it seems the remainder scare has passed.
Excellent! Are you doing a weigh-in this CATurday?
Summer has made a reappearance down here in la-la land, like it always does, seesawing until it finally makes up its mind. I got to water my poor, parched plants today! after fifteen days of "no outside watering" while a main was repaired. A major celebration for me! We made it through; my little palms in front are looking crispy and droopy, but I hope they'll bounce back quickly.
I miss kitchen counter cats. Elvis has been known to cruise, but I haven't seen him up there for several years. He's fifteen now, and I guess he thinks it's beneath him (or above him?) to do this. :disappointed:
 

daftcat75

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I hope your feijoa trees survived. I had a girlfriend who spent a year in New Zealand and told me how much she missed them. I found some at a Whole Foods shortly after so I could understand the fuss—the ONLY time I have ever seen them at a Whole Foods. A short time after, I was meeting her at the house she was renting and, “hey babe, you wanna come out here and tell me what kind of tree this is and what fruit it is currently bearing?” 🤦🏻‍♀️ After months of telling me how much she missed them, they were growing right outside her rented bedroom window. 😹 We had a tasty brunch that morning. You’re lucky I don’t know where you live. I may come raid your tree. And snorgle your cat. 😹

Betty didn’t leave any remainders on the overnight. Indeed. She ate most of the feeder as soon as it opened. I love just how quiet and patient she is at night and in the mornings. She was likely out of food for five hours and didn’t sing or dance once about it all night. I have to set an alarm for her breakfast because she won’t wake me. How do I know? I’ve forgot to set the alarm or sleepily disabled it and went back to sleep at least a couple times and woke up to Betty simply sitting next to a banana or a pickle waiting for me to wake, waiting for me to pee, clean her box, and then grab her plates and say, “let’s do this.”

After supurrvising breakfast prep from the counter—Krista was a counter surfer to the end—sixteen years!—maybe Elvis just needs some steps to get to the counter easier?—Betty ate half of breakfast. By the time it came to my breakfast, she returned to the counter to bark her treat orders at me.
😾😹😽 It took her awhile. But she finally came back and finished the second half of breakfast. Now I’m just finishing my coffee and waiting out until her lunch. Then I can start my day. The big quarterly baseball card show is this weekend.

No Caturday weigh-in. That’s Sundays.
 

tarasgirl06

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I hope your feijoa trees survived. I had a girlfriend who spent a year in New Zealand and told me how much she missed them. I found some at a Whole Foods shortly after so I could understand the fuss—the ONLY time I have ever seen them at a Whole Foods. A short time after, I was meeting her at the house she was renting and, “hey babe, you wanna come out here and tell me what kind of tree this is and what fruit it is currently bearing?” 🤦🏻‍♀️ After months of telling me how much she missed them, they were growing right outside her rented bedroom window. 😹 We had a tasty brunch that morning. You’re lucky I don’t know where you live. I may come raid your tree. And snorgle your cat. 😹

Betty didn’t leave any remainders on the overnight. Indeed. She ate most of the feeder as soon as it opened. I love just how quiet and patient she is at night and in the mornings. She was likely out of food for five hours and didn’t sing or dance once about it all night. I have to set an alarm for her breakfast because she won’t wake me. How do I know? I’ve forgot to set the alarm or sleepily disabled it and went back to sleep at least a couple times and woke up to Betty simply sitting next to a banana or a pickle waiting for me to wake, waiting for me to pee, clean her box, and then grab her plates and say, “let’s do this.”

After supurrvising breakfast prep from the counter—Krista was a counter surfer to the end—sixteen years!—maybe Elvis just needs some steps to get to the counter easier?—Betty ate half of breakfast. By the time it came to my breakfast, she returned to the counter to bark her treat orders at me.
😾😹😽 It took her awhile. But she finally came back and finished the second half of breakfast. Now I’m just finishing my coffee and waiting out until her lunch. Then I can start my day. The big quarterly baseball card show is this weekend.

No Caturday weigh-in. That’s Sundays.
Ah. My bad. SUNday weigh-in.
The thing with the tree is that since we couldn't water for 15 days in the middle of the hottest month of the year, the fruits are falling early, and they're not as ripe as I'd like them to be. I don't mind eating them when they're still a bit green, but they're SO MUCH BETTER when they're ripe! You know there are different varieties? Mine are pineapple guava, which is the most common one here. The tree is going crazy so I'll have to ask my gardeners to prune it a bit when it finishes fruiting.
Yeah, Elvis could probably use some help getting on the counter, but my roomies don't know he does this, and I'm not going to let the secret out to them.:insertevillaugh: So what would Ms. Betty like by way of treats this morning?
Ah! Are you a buyer, a seller, or just a looker? Enjoy it, whichever you may be!
 

daftcat75

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Ah. My bad. SUNday weigh-in.
The thing with the tree is that since we couldn't water for 15 days in the middle of the hottest month of the year, the fruits are falling early, and they're not as ripe as I'd like them to be. I don't mind eating them when they're still a bit green, but they're SO MUCH BETTER when they're ripe! You know there are different varieties? Mine are pineapple guava, which is the most common one here. The tree is going crazy so I'll have to ask my gardeners to prune it a bit when it finishes fruiting.
Yeah, Elvis could probably use some help getting on the counter, but my roomies don't know he does this, and I'm not going to let the secret out to them.:insertevillaugh: So what would Ms. Betty like by way of treats this morning?
Ah! Are you a buyer, a seller, or just a looker? Enjoy it, whichever you may be!
I’m a buyer. A collector. Even though I routinely buy duplicates if it’s a good card for a great price, I still have trouble selling. One day I’m going to gather my dupes box up and use it for a big trade.

Betty got a rabbit bite and a Greenie.

And it’s almost lunch time…
:yess:🐷👍
 

daftcat75

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I think it’s the return of the heat that prompted her to eat only half of dinner on first pass. We have time and pred on our side. She should finish up the second half without issue. 🐷👍
 
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