Introducing Betty White

[tarasgirl06]

Caught Betty having a banana party this morning.

A Betty and Her Banana 🍌

• daftcat75
• Feb 8, 2024

Caught her going to town on this for several minutes.

Is there any cat who doesn't love YEOWW! bananas?

 

[daftcat75]

Is there any cat who doesn't love YEOWW! bananas?

Yes, but I don't often see this gray Garfield playing. If she's not eating or sleeping, she's watching and judging me. That's not to say she doesn't play. She just usually does it in the middle of the night when I'm not watching her. Every now and then I'll catch one of those play spurts on a camera.

Dunkin’ Mouse

• daftcat75
• Nov 11, 2023

 

[tarasgirl06]

Yes, but I don't often see this gray Garfield playing. If she's not eating or sleeping, she's watching and judging me. That's not to say she doesn't play. She just usually does it in the middle of the night when I'm not watching her. Every now and then I'll catch one of those play spurts on a camera.

Dunkin’ Mouse

• daftcat75
• Nov 11, 2023

That's some SERIOUS hunt-and-catch, Ms. Betty!

 

[daftcat75]

She doesn’t look or feel fat. But she needs to stop gaining weight soon. Can’t be good for her joints. 9.8. Even with poop in the chamber, this is a significant gain from last week.

I was experimenting with trimming her gabapentin by 10%. But I think I’ll suspend that trial while I try to trim the A/D mix some more. If she’s putting on extra weight, she’ll need the medicine. I will order Vitality Science’s Flex N Free which is their version of Cosequin with a few extras. Maybe I’ll see more play sessions out of her.

So the doc said last year that she has hip dysplasia. She doesn’t think an FHO surgery is necessary. But she does want me to watch her weight. I didn’t mention it earlier because she’s had higher order problems to deal with. She still gets around pretty much everywhere she wants to go and still makes her jumps. But she doesn’t do it with the same ease as other cats.

 

[tarasgirl06]

She doesn’t look or feel fat. But she needs to stop gaining weight soon. Can’t be good for her joints. 9.8. Even with poop in the chamber, this is a significant gain from last week.
View attachment 470110View attachment 470111View attachment 470112
I was experimenting with trimming her gabapentin by 10%. But I think I’ll suspend that trial while I try to trim the A/D mix some more. If she’s putting on extra weight, she’ll need the medicine. I will order Vitality Science’s Flex N Free which is their version of Cosequin with a few extras. Maybe I’ll see more play sessions out of her.

So the doc said last year that she has hip dysplasia. She doesn’t think an FHO surgery is necessary. But she does want me to watch her weight. I didn’t mention it earlier because she’s had higher order problems to deal with. She still gets around pretty much everywhere she wants to go and still makes her jumps. But she doesn’t do it with the same ease as other cats.

Your plan sounds good on all levels. Now I hope you're enjoying the game together.

 

[daftcat75]

Betty’s got her game face on.

And I got a Betty on my game face.

 

[daftcat75]

Betty’s over her barf budget this month. She woke from third sleep and ate most of her breakfast. Then she dropped a third leg in the litter box. And finally she came back out to the front room and gave back her breakfast. I think it may have simply been the timing of a big poop immediately following a brisk breakfast.

She seems okay now. Hungry. But I’m not going to feed her too soon. I told her I will start her lunch prep just as soon as my 11am meeting lets out. That’s the earliest I want to test her tummy again.

Ugh! I also missed the team meeting again this morning. 7:00am. It’s awful time.

And it’s three minutes to 9am and the landscapers are already blowing it out their….

 

[daftcat75]

And she’s doing the nauseated lip licking now. Poor girl. I wish I could do something. But I know from experience that it’s just best to let it run its course.

 

[daftcat75]

She made it to her early lunch time without any further incidents. Other than some staring and judging that her early lunch wasn't coming soon enough. She got a 3/4 portion just to be on the safe side. Assuming no further excitement, she can be back to regular portions and regular timing for dinner.

I didn't see any signs of straining on the cloud recording of her poop. (And this is why her poops get recorded to the cloud.) It was just a big one. It literally could have stood in for one of her arms.

 

[tarasgirl06]

She made it to her early lunch time without any further incidents. Other than some staring and judging that her early lunch wasn't coming soon enough. She got a 3/4 portion just to be on the safe side. Assuming no further excitement, she can be back to regular portions and regular timing for dinner.

I didn't see any signs of straining on the cloud recording of her poop. (And this is why her poops get recorded to the cloud.) It was just a big one. It literally could have stood in for one of her arms.

Betty. You want to keep the food IN the cat. Not on, around, beside, or in the vicinity of the cat.
Hope it's no harm done after missing the meeting!

 

[daftcat75]

The other day I was wondering how I got a cut on my finger. Then a few hours later, I was medicating Betty and answered my own question.

I used to say, “open up” as I touched the syringe to her teeth as a verbal cue. But I thought there may be a remote chance I might use that phrase in some other context. Even if she never learns the verbal cues, I prefer to keep those signal channels clean and not reuse the cues in another way that might confuse her. So her new medicine cue is:
“Pop a smile, crocodile”

Another cue I reserve just for her, is when I serve her food, instead of saying “Bon Apetit”, it becomes “bone ape tit” or sometimes “Bonny Ape Tit.”


The benefits of being a cat dad: the dad jokes always land.

 

[tarasgirl06]

The other day I was wondering how I got a cut on my finger. Then a few hours later, I was medicating Betty and answered my own question.

I used to say, “open up” as I touched the syringe to her teeth as a verbal cue. But I thought there may be a remote chance I might use that phrase in some other context. Even if she never learns the verbal cues, I prefer to keep those signal channels clean and not reuse the cues in another way that might confuse her. So her new medicine cue is:
“Pop a smile, crocodile”

Another cue I reserve just for her, is when I serve her food, instead of saying “Bon Apetit”, it becomes “bone ape tit” or sometimes “Bonny Ape Tit.”


The benefits of being a cat dad: the dad jokes always land.

True dat! I never appreciated mine while my dad was here. Hope he knows I do now

 

[daftcat75]

Another thing I have taken to saying to Betty usually when we’re going back to bed for third sleep after her morning meds:

“When you’re done pouting over the foul, come sit on me, and try to snuff me out.”

She sometimes likes to get in there so close, she’s like her own pillow over my face. 🪦

 

[artiemom]

When piling Geoffry, I also say "Open, Open" , while touching the pill gun in the front of his mouth. Usually he obeys the command.. but sometimes, I just have to cover his eye with my left palm, and just put my fingers gently on the corners of his mouth. He will open automatically-- but desperately try to push the capsule out with his tongue!! Smart Cat...

I have to gently, physically, keep his mouth closed while he swallows it.. wiping up the spilt water from the syringe water chaser. This is how I also get some miralax into him.. with the chaser syringe..It is a 2 for 1 or a 3 for one, depending on which dose.

 

[tarasgirl06]

daftcat75 Third sleep? Sounds like our house/routine. Elvis sleeps on my head, though, not on my face
artiemom Geoffrey is amazing! How many cats does anyone know who would do this? I'd guess exactly NONE.

 

[daftcat75]

One of my favorite acts of service for Miss Betty that I'm doing sometimes daily, sometimes more than once a day:

I've talked about how Betty moves like an old girl. She has hip dysplasia and arthritis and we don't really know how old she is. She loves to sit in my lap when I sit in the front room rocking chair. She'll lay there the entire breakfast or dinner shift before we move on to work or bedtime. When it's time to move her, I will lift her onto the pillow stack on the ottoman. Sometimes she'll just lay right there on the pillow stack. But other times, she wants to come back to the chair and sit where I've made it all nice and warm. And when she does start to move back into the chair, I rock the chair forward so the gap from the ottoman pillow stack to the chair is reduced/eliminated (just a step down now instead of one also across the gap.) It's just a couple inches difference. But I just know that she really appreciates it.

 

[tarasgirl06]

One of my favorite acts of service for Miss Betty that I'm doing sometimes daily, sometimes more than once a day:

I've talked about how Betty moves like an old girl. She has hip dysplasia and arthritis and we don't really know how old she is. She loves to sit in my lap when I sit in the front room rocking chair. She'll lay there the entire breakfast or dinner shift before we move on to work or bedtime. When it's time to move her, I will lift her onto the pillow stack on the ottoman. Sometimes she'll just lay right there on the pillow stack. But other times, she wants to come back to the chair and sit where I've made it all nice and warm. And when she does start to move back into the chair, I rock the chair forward so the gap from the ottoman pillow stack to the chair is reduced/eliminated (just a step down now instead of one also across the gap.) It's just a couple inches difference. But I just know that she really appreciates it.

This is kind of similar to what we do. Elvis gets on his cat blanket on my lap or on the seat next to me. If I need to move him, I pick him up from underneath his blanket. If I come back, and he wants to return to the warmth, I just lift him from beneath his blanket.

 

[daftcat75]

No picture this morning. Our first attempt at a weigh-in resulted in a bogus reading. Having eaten her treats, there was little to keep her there when I tried to plop her down for a second reading. But the second reading looked like it was going to settle around 9.82. It didn’t settle because she moved off too quickly. But if that second reading is accurate, then she might finally be leveling off.

 

[tarasgirl06]

No picture this morning. Our first attempt at a weigh-in resulted in a bogus reading. Having eaten her treats, there was little to keep her there when I tried to plop her down for a second reading. But the second reading looked like it was going to settle around 9.82. It didn’t settle because she moved off too quickly. But if that second reading is accurate, then she might finally be leveling off.

Sounds good so far. Maybe you can do a repeat later, with a pic.

 

[daftcat75]

Sounds good so far. Maybe you can do a repeat later, with a pic.

Nah. She’s done with the scale this week. We’ll try again next Sunday. She had her first chance to do it willingly. She did. Except the scale was reading only half what it should. Second try was a catch, carry, and plop. She didn’t stay so it was another lift, plop, please stay. Fine. Close enough. See you next week.

Here’s your pictures: