Awwwww.. Betty looks so content and so cute.. OMG>. melts my heart. 
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Introducing Betty White
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It’s hard to believe that it has only been six months. We’ve been through so much already, and she’s so bonded to me, it seems like I have known her six years.
On a bitterly cold morning in January, just a few days after the late actress Betty White’s 100th birthday, I went down to the animal shelter to meet a five year old adult cat named Pink. I already knew I was going to change her name. Because the shelter was still closed to the public due to the pandemic, we met through the holes in her carrier on a cold Tuesday morning. I looked like Bernie Sanders all wrapped up on Biden’s inauguration. She was just a pink nose and eyes that were all pupils. We barely had any interaction but I was struck by her picture and her story and had a good feeling about her.
When she came home, I opened the cardboard carrier for her and she just sat in that box, probably scared. I had to lift her out of the box and she made her way to a hiding spot under a cat tree. There she stayed much of the day except to use the litterbox I had set up for her. But by evening, she had found her courage. Upon the advice of a poll I created, I left the office door open for her to allow her to explore the rest of the home if she felt up to it. By the end of the night, she had found her courage and a catnip banana. And when it came to bedtime, she knew she was home. While it took three months for her to work up the courage to sit in my lap, that first night, she cuddled into my armpit nook—a favorite activity of hers that she has not skipped a night in six months.
I knew there was no replacing Krista. And Krista left some pretty big paw prints to fill. But Betty, much to my daily amazement, has become every bit the love bug that Krista was—a fact that shocks me even more when I consider that she had five years and another home before me. For an owner surrender and a shelter cat, she is remarkably well-adjusted, confident, and comfortable in her new home with her new pawrent.
I can reminisce all morning. Except that I have to try to get back into my work routine.
Today is day 14 since my Covid infection. Although I still feel like garbage this morning, it’s been an improvement over previous mornings. And last night was much more pleasant without the breezes blowing directly on me. It was more like the cool air laid on top of me like a blanket. And I was able to sleep under a blanket the whole night without having to kick it off. Indeed, as the room continued to cool, I was able to tick the Dysons down a few notches as the night went on the room got colder. Now if I can just sort out the new mattress and box frame, we just might make it through the summer.
On a bitterly cold morning in January, just a few days after the late actress Betty White’s 100th birthday, I went down to the animal shelter to meet a five year old adult cat named Pink. I already knew I was going to change her name. Because the shelter was still closed to the public due to the pandemic, we met through the holes in her carrier on a cold Tuesday morning. I looked like Bernie Sanders all wrapped up on Biden’s inauguration. She was just a pink nose and eyes that were all pupils. We barely had any interaction but I was struck by her picture and her story and had a good feeling about her.
When she came home, I opened the cardboard carrier for her and she just sat in that box, probably scared. I had to lift her out of the box and she made her way to a hiding spot under a cat tree. There she stayed much of the day except to use the litterbox I had set up for her. But by evening, she had found her courage. Upon the advice of a poll I created, I left the office door open for her to allow her to explore the rest of the home if she felt up to it. By the end of the night, she had found her courage and a catnip banana. And when it came to bedtime, she knew she was home. While it took three months for her to work up the courage to sit in my lap, that first night, she cuddled into my armpit nook—a favorite activity of hers that she has not skipped a night in six months.
I knew there was no replacing Krista. And Krista left some pretty big paw prints to fill. But Betty, much to my daily amazement, has become every bit the love bug that Krista was—a fact that shocks me even more when I consider that she had five years and another home before me. For an owner surrender and a shelter cat, she is remarkably well-adjusted, confident, and comfortable in her new home with her new pawrent.
I can reminisce all morning. Except that I have to try to get back into my work routine.
Today is day 14 since my Covid infection. Although I still feel like garbage this morning, it’s been an improvement over previous mornings. And last night was much more pleasant without the breezes blowing directly on me. It was more like the cool air laid on top of me like a blanket. And I was able to sleep under a blanket the whole night without having to kick it off. Indeed, as the room continued to cool, I was able to tick the Dysons down a few notches as the night went on the room got colder. Now if I can just sort out the new mattress and box frame, we just might make it through the summer.
On some of the ceiling fans, there's a button to change the direction. Counterclockwise for hot months, clockwise for cooler months.
Glad the taproom experience was cathartic! And yeah, once you jump off the cliff into the abyss and survive, you come back stronger. That's been the result for me, anyway. That's great that you had a better night!
HAPPY SIX MONTHS GOTCHA DAY, beautiful Betty! and you are a STAR for demolishing your food, pills and all! *I miss Krista, too. I miss seeing posts and pix about her. But Betty is a sweet and pretty girl! and I'm so glad you found one another.*
Big scare for me this morning. Got what passes for breakfast these days, and went in the fridge to get something--no lights. No sound. OH NO. I can't deal with this!
Looked around. Everything else was silent and dark, too. Blackout. Called the power company and entered the case.
It was over an hour until we were back up. Strange, because it was early morning and cool. No idea what caused it but my washer came back on and I knew it was time to power everything back up and change clocks. SO glad to see those lights and hear that sound again!
Glad the taproom experience was cathartic! And yeah, once you jump off the cliff into the abyss and survive, you come back stronger. That's been the result for me, anyway. That's great that you had a better night!
HAPPY SIX MONTHS GOTCHA DAY, beautiful Betty! and you are a STAR for demolishing your food, pills and all! *I miss Krista, too. I miss seeing posts and pix about her. But Betty is a sweet and pretty girl! and I'm so glad you found one another.*
Big scare for me this morning. Got what passes for breakfast these days, and went in the fridge to get something--no lights. No sound. OH NO. I can't deal with this!
Looked around. Everything else was silent and dark, too. Blackout. Called the power company and entered the case.
It was over an hour until we were back up. Strange, because it was early morning and cool. No idea what caused it but my washer came back on and I knew it was time to power everything back up and change clocks. SO glad to see those lights and hear that sound again!
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Yeah. I have the ceiling fan creating quite the downdraft. But that’s only useful if you’re sitting under it. I set up a box fan on that cat bench next to the fountain that Betty rarely uses anyway. The theory is that the box fan is pushing that cool downdraft to the front of the room. Not sure how effective it is. It’s loud. So I have it on a smart plug so I can turn it on and off and from my phone. But just pointing the two Dysons above me rather than on me made a huge difference. It felt like the room actually got cool instead of just blowing breezes around. Having the large Dyson elevated meant I could crank it up without having it on me. We started the night at 8. Each time I woke, I would kick it down a notch and we finished the morning at a 5 or 4. None of the sleeps were sweaty affairs.
Excellent! They really do help if they're employed to the best advantage.
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Oh poop!
I was just writing a "how far we've come" post while Betty was plowing through dinner.
And then...
She regurg'ed right next to her plate.
She's such a creature of habit that she left for the home office for her after dinner nap.
If I had to venture a guess, I coated her pills in AD from the fridge without making an attempt to warm it up. So she got a couple fridge cold AD bombs and then maybe she ate too much too fast because she finished lunch early. Her barf had her meds in it. I picked those quarter pills out of the barf. I did not repack them. I'm not that mean. We'll call this a missed dose, and we can resume her normal med schedule tomorrow. We'll both get to see whether she really needs tonight's mirtz or ondansetron.
I re-plated another dinner for her. She can revisit that when she feels up for it again. I don't know if I've ever seen her scarf and barf before. Once. I don't remember what that was about either.
Just in case, I dumped the can of A/D and we'll start a new one in the morning. In the evening, I'll make sure I nuke-warm a mound of the fridge AD before I coat her pills.
Anyway.
What I was saying is that although we still have hiccups even today, we have come so far. And even our hiccups and hairballs seem to keep teaching us and refining our protocols. I feel really good about feeding her only the I/D, and saving the A/D only for meds (and emergency food.) And seeing how readily she eats her only I/D meals, it seems she prefers this to the mix as well. But I hadn't yet figured out details like, "do the med mounds need to be warmed first?" (yes, they do) and "how long we can use one can?" (7 days, says VCA.) And I'm still not certain how to distribute the extra half ounce throughout her meal schedule. I will scale the med meal back a couple of grams and add those to the overnight. Last night she slept right through second dinner.
But our weigh-in says that she's in no danger if she misses a meal or two. We'll sort this out. And perhaps by the end of summer, we'll have her off the meds except maybe the AnimalBiome pills. I have a stretch goal of making her sitter ready by Thanksgiving. My parents are getting up in the years. I can't take "next year" for granted.
I was just writing a "how far we've come" post while Betty was plowing through dinner.
And then...
She regurg'ed right next to her plate.
She's such a creature of habit that she left for the home office for her after dinner nap.
If I had to venture a guess, I coated her pills in AD from the fridge without making an attempt to warm it up. So she got a couple fridge cold AD bombs and then maybe she ate too much too fast because she finished lunch early. Her barf had her meds in it. I picked those quarter pills out of the barf. I did not repack them. I'm not that mean. We'll call this a missed dose, and we can resume her normal med schedule tomorrow. We'll both get to see whether she really needs tonight's mirtz or ondansetron.
I re-plated another dinner for her. She can revisit that when she feels up for it again. I don't know if I've ever seen her scarf and barf before. Once. I don't remember what that was about either.
Just in case, I dumped the can of A/D and we'll start a new one in the morning. In the evening, I'll make sure I nuke-warm a mound of the fridge AD before I coat her pills.
Anyway.
What I was saying is that although we still have hiccups even today, we have come so far. And even our hiccups and hairballs seem to keep teaching us and refining our protocols. I feel really good about feeding her only the I/D, and saving the A/D only for meds (and emergency food.) And seeing how readily she eats her only I/D meals, it seems she prefers this to the mix as well. But I hadn't yet figured out details like, "do the med mounds need to be warmed first?" (yes, they do) and "how long we can use one can?" (7 days, says VCA.) And I'm still not certain how to distribute the extra half ounce throughout her meal schedule. I will scale the med meal back a couple of grams and add those to the overnight. Last night she slept right through second dinner.
But our weigh-in says that she's in no danger if she misses a meal or two. We'll sort this out. And perhaps by the end of summer, we'll have her off the meds except maybe the AnimalBiome pills. I have a stretch goal of making her sitter ready by Thanksgiving. My parents are getting up in the years. I can't take "next year" for granted.
waves hello to you and betty white
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She ate most of the replacement first dinner. Much of second dinner. But she slept through overnight portion altogether.
In the morning, she took her ondansetron. But she was being very stubborn about the
. We went through several tries and two pills and she wasn’t taking them. When I finally gave up, she didn’t want to touch breakfast. She got a few mounds of AD in the effort though. I tried to tempt her into eating breakfast by butting some AD and even a little kibble up against her ID. She took a couple kibble pieces and that was that.A very short time later, she started yowling. I don’t know it was nausea yowling or loneliness. I followed her into the office and sat with her for a good half hour giving her pets and watching some Tom and Jerry with her on my phone to see if I could buy us enough time for the ondansetron to hit bottom. (
“Is you is or is you ain’t my Betty?” 
)We seemed to have avoided a barf. But breakfast still remains untouched.
If she’s true to form, she may revisit that plate around 11am.
I think we’ll advance the mirtz schedule. Rather than making her wait until her next regularly scheduled dose tomorrow night, she’ll get it tonight. She missed last night so tonight becomes the new dosing day and tomorrow the off day with Thursday being the next one on the new schedule. I will change my Apple Calendar event to reflect the new schedule.
The only thing I can really say about last night’s unintended med holiday is that quitting her meds cold turkey probably won’t work. But I had no intention of doing that anyway. That’s the thing I’ll be discussing with the specialist next week: how to wean her off the mirtz properly.
Today is day 15 of Covid. Head and gut symptoms are slowly abating. But still not gone. Baby step progress.
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YEAH. It's tempting to dive right back into "normal" as I well know but it can lead to relapsing, which neither of us want! Your diet is good now, and you're being more active, but if behind all that is a feeling of not-quite-100%, better to be careful for awhile. That's where I am, too. I had a normal day yesterday, doing online work, work in the house, and even a full workout! I felt better for it. But you have COVID and I have gastroenteritis, so it's a little different, I guess. Starting out normal today. The difference is that I'm still on the BRAT diet and even though it's boring, I don't feel up to my usual very high fiber, very spicy normal diet yet. I'd much rather be bored than sick. No coffee yet, either, and no black tea, just herbals without caffeine. Now I'm drinking a borage and lime blend that is a standard for me, but I haven't really had it for years. It's good and somewhat relaxing.
She ate most of first dinner. Much of second dinner. But she slept through overnight portion altogether.
In the morning, she took her ondansetron. But she was being very stubborn about the
A very short time later, she started yowling. I don’t know it was nausea yowling or loneliness. I followed her into the office and sat with her for a good half hour giving her pets and watching some Tom and Jerry with her on my phone to see if I could buy us enough time for the ondansetron to hit bottom. (
We seemed to have avoided a barf. But breakfast still remains untouched.
If she’s true to form, she may revisit that plate around 11am.
I think we’ll advance the mirtz schedule. Rather than making her wait until her next regularly scheduled dose tomorrow night, she’ll get it tonight. She missed last night so tonight becomes the new dosing day and tomorrow the off day with Thursday being the next one on the new schedule. I will change my Apple Calendar event to reflect the new schedule.
The only thing I can really say about last night’s unintended med holiday is that quitting her meds cold turkey probably won’t work. But I had no intention of doing that anyway. That’s the thing I’ll be discussing with the specialist next week: how to wean her off the mirtz properly.
Today is day 15 of Covid. Head and gut symptoms are slowly abating. But still not gone. Baby step progress.
One thing I've noticed with Elvis, who is a speed-eater and regurger, is that he usually turns up his nose at refrigerated food. I don't ever heat it up, because I don't think he'd like it. Cats' sense of smell is 3x humans'. Reheating does change the smell of meat -- my sense of smell picks that up. What usually happens here is he waits until it gets warmer and then returns to eat.
Hope you can visit your parents soon. None of us ever knows how long we have, and it's so important to, as my mom loved to say, "Give me my flowers while I can SMELL 'EM!"
Oh, this is such a big question! With Edwina it can also be a neutral "feed me." We're headed for all sorts of new things for her today, though: she had surgery yesterday and had a few things (spleen, a couple lymph nodes, part of her stomach!) removed. We're about to go pick her up -- all your tips on medications and feedings may come in very handy again, thank you so much for all your details!
I'm glad you and
tarasgirl06
are both starting to feel better. Same for our cats! We don't have a microwave oven so that's not an option anyway, but just letting food warm up seems to work for our two.
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I don’t ever put her I/D in the fridge. I empty the can into a gelato container and leave that on the countertop. She doesn’t ever get a fridge portion of I/D. I don’t know if A/D would hold up outside the fridge. And since we switched to an only I/D diet, the only A/D she gets is just enough to coat her two capsules. I can’t stomach dumping the entire can when I’m only taking two pinches out. She did take her pills the other day with a nuke-warm AD. But I was experimenting to see if that very tiny amount could be stomached from the fridge. It cannot. If she’ll take her pills with the nuke-warm (a couple of seconds, mix it, a couple more seconds), I don’t mind adding that step to our prep.
She ate her hairball treats this morning. The ondansetron must have finally kicked in. She’s currently sitting in my lap while I finish breakfast and enjoy my coffee.
I am enjoying coffee again. I am enjoying a lot of food again. I don’t really have any restrictions here anymore. Except that eggs still don’t sound appealing. Thankfully I’m able to get through morning nausea with bagel, lox, and cream cheese. I don’t have that anxious feeling in my chest anymore. But I still have cloud head for much of the morning. It seems perhaps the Chang Shan (immune support) and Gui Pi Tang (anti-anxiety) might be working as advertised.
Poops are getting better. But still not quite right. Instead of satisfying logs, they are still on the thinner side. And it takes a few trips over the morning to get it all out.
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Wow! Poor Edwina! Hopefully that all helps and she’s able to bounce back quickly enough. Are you waiting on biopsies now?Oh, this is such a big question! With Edwina it can also be a neutral "feed me." We're headed for all sorts of new things for her today, though: she had surgery yesterday and had a few things (spleen, a couple lymph nodes, part of her stomach!) removed. We're about to go pick her up -- all your tips on medications and feedings may come in very handy again, thank you so much for all your details!
I'm glad you and
Same for our cats! We don't have a microwave oven so that's not an option anyway, but just letting food warm up seems to work for our two.
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Her feed me meows are quite distinct from her yowls. She will occasionally let out a yowl or two after the bathroom. But we were told last ultrasound that she no longer has crystals in her bladder. So it may just be an exclamation of pride. She will also yowl in the middle of the night when she’s playing by herself. I don’t think she understands how alarming that sound can be. But then she also yowls right before throwing up. I don’t know if she was having, “stomach hurts” or “I’m lonely” yowls. Regardless, it seems like we avoided the barf. She showed up in the kitchen and put on her feed me meows for her hairball treats while I was cooking breakfast. Then she proceeded to eat all four fish halves. At least that little slice of normal has returned. I think she’ll eat at least half breakfast before lunch. She will probably finish lunch because she has almost five hours to do so.
It’s upsetting and confusing because I can’t tell if it was the missed mirtz or the missed ondansetron (or both!) that caused the overnight and morning grief. Then there is the fact that mirtz is an antidepressant with a munchies side effect. I can’t know how a missed dose affects her beyond the absence of munchies. Perhaps she’s going through a low point if her body is acclimated to getting this medicine on a regular schedule. Yet one more reason I need the specialist guidance in weaning her off it.
I'm glad to hear you're on coffee again! And how nice that a bagel helps with the morning nausea!
Thank you for the good wishes! Yes, the biopsy results should be available in about a week. The surgeon said he's not sure about margins for the stomach mass/tissue he took out... though he sounded pretty confident. We were so lucky that our vet got us in to see him soon! Now to put Ireland in her carrier so she can go for a ride with us to get Edwina. Last time Edwina went to the vet by herself we had a multi-week episode of nonrecognition aggression so we're hoping this at least helps. (And prepared to put the cats as far away as possible (in a Honda Civic!) if Ireland gets particularly nasty!)
daftcat75
Maybe what you used to do for Krista, running warm water over refrigerated portions (or letting them soak for awhile in a bowl of warm water?), might succeed? Just a thought.That's great about coffee and food! But sometimes it takes longer than we want/think for everything to be restored to normal.
Heartfelt *PRAYERS*,
lisahe
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Again. It’s not really a portion that needs to be warmed. It’s just a couple pinches of the AD to coat her pills. Her I/D food doesn’t go into the fridge. She usually doesn’t have an issue with her I/D. You saw the clean plate I posted from Sunday.
That's great about coffee and food! But sometimes it takes longer than we want/think for everything to be restored to normal.
Heartfelt *PRAYERS*,
Our med meal routine is:
1. Repack whatever pill she is taking into a capsule. Take whichever AnimalBiome capsule she is getting this shift, and collect both pills into a tiny tray (the pill tray that came with a cutter.)
2. Grab the AD can from the fridge.
3. Her I/D never goes into the fridge. I dump that can into a gelato container and that sits outside the fridge. Usually no longer than six hours.
You saw the clean plate on Sunday. She doesn’t have an issue with room temperature I/D.
The sticking point right now is that can of A/D from the fridge. Previously, I would scoop out 40 grams and mix it with the I/D and then I’d take a couple pinches out of the A/D can to coat her pills. I dumped the fridge can at the end of the shift and we always started with a fresh can. So even though a can was going into the fridge, once I had made her mix and did her pills, that can in the fridge was just for a mid-shift emergency supply, if needed.
Now, I only take a couple pinches out of the A/D each med shift. I can’t stomach dumping two cans of A/D a day just to grab a couple pinches to coat her pills.
I don’t have to worry about whether the microwave will change the taste. She’s only eating the smallest amount that coats a couple pills. So the plan tonight is to grab out a small mound and nuke that for a couple seconds. Mix it. Another couple seconds and mix again. That mound will be about a spoonful and should be enough to coat a couple pills. I’m okay dumping whatever I don’t use of that mound rather than a whole can. I don’t know if I’ll get a full week out of an AD can. I don’t know that I trust it that long. But even a few days would be better than two cans a day like before when I was using only a third of a can for both food and meds.
Yeah! Expensive!
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Is you is or is you ain’t my Betty? 
She came into the office at fifteen minutes to lunch licking her lips and mouth. Well, let’s fuss you first.
Then I’ll go check on your breakfast.Not only did she finish breakfast, but she left the A/D and kibble enticements behind. Purrfect! I just wanted her to eat the I/D. Clearly she understood the assignment.
Lunch is plated. I’ll be stepping out soon to pick up her corrected mirtz prescription. Still no sign of the pills that were dropped in the mail last week. This is ludicrous! The hospital is ten minutes away. How can USPS take longer than a week to deliver them?!
So it seems like we’re well on our way back to normal again. Full credit for breakfast and she has five and a half hours to eat lunch.
Betty deserves a BIG fuss and some treats. Maybe even a new toy! or a cat wand session if she likes those.
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She came into the office at fifteen minutes to lunch licking her lips and mouth. Well, let’s fuss you first.
Not only did she finish breakfast, but she left the A/D and kibble enticements behind. Purrfect! I just wanted her to eat the I/D. Clearly she understood the assignment.
Lunch is plated. I’ll be stepping out soon to pick up her corrected mirtz prescription. Still no sign of the pills that were dropped in the mail last week. This is ludicrous! The hospital is ten minutes away. How can USPS take longer than a week to deliver them?!
So it seems like we’re well on our way back to normal again. Full credit for breakfast and she has five and a half hours to eat lunch.
Your first experience with "ludicrous" business stuff? I attempted to overnight to Vegas via Fed-Ex. Not only was "overnight" apparently an alien concept, but "Las Vegas" was interpreted by them to mean "New Jersey." I kid you not.
They did get it to its proper destination the next day. No apology, no explanation. Fed-Ex. I guess I should be glad it wasn't an organ transplant or something.
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Google apparently thinks airline luggage horror stories is now my jam because it keeps feeding them to me in the app. And some of them are so *clickbait* shocking that I end up reading them and perpetuating the preference.
One of the stories I read this weekend was how a guy was refused passage on his flight from Toronto to San Francisco. But his cats got checked and sent all the way to SF. Then Air Canada had the gall to tell him that he would have to find his way out to SF to pick them up. Wait what?!?!?! 
The cats eventually did make it back to Toronto; very tired and very hungry! I wish this was a rare story. This just reinforces that I won't be returning to air travel any time soon and certainly not for anything where I have to be there on time.
