Introducing Betty White

[daftcat75]

I guess Betty was hungry this morning. This is the plate I picked up before lunch. She pushed it right off the book despite the museum putty.

 

[tarasgirl06]

I guess Betty was hungry this morning. This is the plate I picked up before lunch. She pushed it right off the book despite the museum putty.
View attachment 471560

Bravo Betty!

 

[artiemom]

Glad Betty licked her plate, forcefully!! Good going girl!!

Yeah, Geoffrey finally pooped--- after miralax and 2 doses of laxatone! He pooped twice in one day, was playful, and back to being 'my cat'... I swear if he does not go every day, he will get backed up, and vomit.... weird.

I wonder if he has a small case of pancreatitis? He has a Vet appointment in 3 weeks.. scheduled semi annual appointment.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Glad Betty licked her plate, forcefully!! Good going girl!!

Yeah, Geoffrey finally pooped--- after miralax and 2 doses of laxatone! He pooped twice in one day, was playful, and back to being 'my cat'... I swear if he does not go every day, he will get backed up, and vomit.... weird.

I wonder if he has a small case of pancreatitis? He has a Vet appointment in 3 weeks.. scheduled semi annual appointment.

Good reports from two of our favorite cats

 

[daftcat75]

I just finished paying the last vet bill. And I swear Betty wants to go back.

She had a moaning/wailing barf about 30 minutes after she finished her breakfast this morning.

I don’t think I can call that a regurgitation. I didn’t see any hair in it.

She has been having snarfle coughs and coughing fits. It’s entirely possible that there’s too much dust here. But I don’t think so. I think she maybe inhaled one of her liquid doses. I don’t know how long it takes to work that out if she did. For now, I’m taking extra care to try to angle her dose down onto her tongue rather than to the back of her mouth like before. I may get more bouncing doses. But I can’t afford to put any more down the wrong tube. Betty is on tummy rest this morning. I’ll offer a half portion closer to 2 pm today. Sooner (maybe) if she settles down and stops doing trips to the fountain.

On top of it all, I log on this morning to a build breakage. I had to revert the change and recover three different testbeds. Now I’m finally getting a moment to myself since Betty and then work drama began two hours ago. I get a minute or two anyway before the next storm rolls through. Figuratively and literally.

 

[tarasgirl06]

I just finished paying the last vet bill. And I swear Betty wants to go back.

She had a moaning/wailing barf about 30 minutes after she finished her breakfast this morning.

I don’t think I can call that a regurgitation. I didn’t see any hair in it.

She has been having snarfle coughs and coughing fits. It’s entirely possible that there’s too much dust here. But I don’t think so. I think she maybe inhaled one of her liquid doses. I don’t know how long it takes to work that out if she did. For now, I’m taking extra care to try to angle her dose down onto her tongue rather than to the back of her mouth like before. I may get more bouncing doses. But I can’t afford to put any more down the wrong tube. Betty is on tummy rest this morning. I’ll offer a half portion closer to 2 pm today. Sooner (maybe) if she settles down and stops doing trips to the fountain.

On top of it all, I log on this morning to a build breakage. I had to revert the change and recover three different testbeds. Now I’m finally getting a moment to myself since Betty and then work drama began two hours ago. I get a minute or two anyway before the next storm rolls through. Figuratively and literally.

*You needed that. All of that. As contrast.*
But I hope that's all of that. All of that.

 

[daftcat75]

*You needed that. All of that. As contrast.*
But I hope that's all of that. All of that.

As contrast to what? Sometimes my aspy brain train gets lost trying to follow yours.

 

[tarasgirl06]

As contrast to what? Sometimes my aspy brain train gets lost trying to follow yours.

Contrast to the calm, good, everything's-going-right days. Because as we all know, it's not good to get used to all of that. Because sooner or later, $%!^ happens.
*sorry*
*And that's MEWtual on the following. Which I find reassuring, somehow*

 

[daftcat75]

No further excitement from Betty. The builds are another story. That's been one fire after another.

Betty got a half portion at 2 pm mostly because that was the earliest I could break away myself. Thankfully she was sleeping through much of the worst of my dumpster fires today so I didn't have one more voice crying above the rest. She was grateful and finished her half lunch right when I plated it. "Bonnie Ape Tit!"

I just tricked her into her dinner dose. I don't like fishing her out of her cat cave. So I pulled down an album of baseball cards to the floor and started going through them. Sure enough, she came down to join me. I put away a couple recent purchases before I squished her for her dose. Tonight's was a touch more squirmy because I'm really trying to get that dose down on her tongue--even if that tastes the worst!--rather than choking her with a back of the throat shot. I'm hoping her snarfling coughs clear up soon. Fewer of them today. I looked up asthma and she isn't taking the crouch position. I'd really rather give it a week to clear up than rush her in for another $600-1k that my insurance may or may not cover. It doesn't seem to be affecting her appetite.

Finally called up Cauldryn support. I swear it must be a "ghost kitchen" for tech support. I didn't catch how the guy answered. But I asked, "is this Cauldryn support?" and he answered, "it could be." It was feeling a little sketch. But he asked for an order number and that was the only personal information he asked me for (if you can even call that personal information.) He punched the order number into the system and brought up my name and order. I told him I wanted to return it and he said, "Sure. Send it back to us and we'll process your refund when we receive it." Couldn't have been easier. Except maybe if I made the call two weeks ago or if they gave me a postage paid shipping label. Oh well. I'll eat some shipping cost to get this desk weight out of here. To be honest, their earlier models look more promising. But I may look at a simpler electric kettle and a simple generator. I checked my radiators' smart plugs and one consumes about 3.5 kWh per day and the other consumes 5 kWh per day. Most of the solar generators come in under 2kWh. So my hope that I could offset a radiator with solar panels is fading quickly. I should get an electric kettle and see how much energy it consumes and then pick a generator size from there. Because most everything else I want during a power outage can run off USB power banks (of which I always have at least a couple high capacity ones always charged.) I want to prep. But not $$$$ more than I need.

 

[Margot Lane]

…you mentioned the possibility of too much dust? I thought I read you had air filters. I’ve been ogling those little Bessel pet vacuums but can’t tell if they really work. Is Betty able to get fresh air at all through a window crack, or is that nixed by the apartment gods? Pore lil Betty…I hate those moaning wails.

 

[daftcat75]

…you mentioned the possibility of too much dust? I thought I read you had air filters. I’ve been ogling those little Bessel pet vacuums but can’t tell if they really work. Is Betty able to get fresh air at all through a window crack, or is that nixed by the apartment gods? Pore lil Betty…I hate those moaning wails.

I do have Dysons and they aren't telling me anything scary. But the kind of particulates that I bought those for are much smaller than dust. I bought them for fire season because they can filter out the very small particles that can reach deep into the lungs and cross the blood brain barrier--aka the wildfire headaches that many office building HVACs don't filter. This is the larger dust that collects everywhere because I'm just not up on dusting (or vacuuming) like I should be.

I have many Bissell products. Here are my quick reviews.

Pet Hair Eraser (handheld battery-powered dry vac): Definitely worth it! I keep this next to Betty's food and use it to pick up any old wet food crumbs and crusties.

Pet Stain Eraser (I think that's what it's called--it's the handheld battery-powered wet vac): Skip it. Underpowered. It will take you many passes and still not really clean the mess. Same with their "robot" that you drop on the mess and let it do it's thing. tarasgirl06 likes this. But I don't like mine. I never use it anymore.

If you're looking for a wet vac, I recommend their Revolution. It plugs into a wall. It's not the cordless one. But it's powerful and it gets the job done. I don't even fear her messes anymore because I know the Bissell wet vac upright will take it up in three wet passes and three dry passes. It takes more time to fill it with hot water and detergent and clean up both receptacles (clean water and detergent in one and the dirty uptake in the other) afterwards than it does to clean the mess. It's also kinda gross to clean the bottom piece which pulls up a surprising amount of hair. If you try to clean a whole room with the Bissell, expect it get hairballs. But at the same time, wow! All that hair came out of the carpet. So yeah, it is probably the most high maintenance on the prep and cleanup. But it does the best job of all the wet vac products of theirs that I have tried. They have a cordless wet vac that I haven't tried yet.

I also have a Bissell Bolt which is a cordless handheld that has an upright cradle. In other words, it can be an upright. But the handheld can detach and become a handheld. It's okay for quick cleans, small jobs, far away places (far away from plugs), and those times I don't feel like dragging the Dyson around from one plug to another. I like the concept. But it could use more power. I may eventually upgrade this with a Dyson cordless upright.

Finally, I have a corded Dyson upright that is the best vacuum in my fleet. But it's also a pain as I have to move it from outlet to outlet as it doesn't clean the whole front room on one outlet. This one is quite old. But it still works quite well. When I actually use it. Most of the time, I'm just doing spot cleanup around her food area with the first handheld and quick cleans with the handheld/upright combo.

And that's why I have a dust problem. I just don't dust like I should.

 

[Margot Lane]

…while you were typing all this very helpful (thank you!) information, I did a quick Google about dust mites and how they can effect cats & fervently wish I hadn’t. There are even dust mite testers, like pregnancy kits, that instantly tell you whether or not you have them.

 

[daftcat75]

…while you were typing all this very helpful (thank you!) information, I did a quick Google about dust mites and how they can effect cats & fervently wish I hadn’t. There are even dust mite testers, like pregnancy kits, that instantly tell you whether or not you have them.

I have daydreams of getting a Roomba and it actually makes my life easier (and Betty befriends it and has a taxi to ride.)

But I also have nightmares of it spreading around cat barf or not quite crusty crumbs that came off her plate.

Or more realistically, that it would be annoyingly loud for what it does and still won't pick up the stray litter pieces that Betty tracks out. And that Betty would find it annoying or alarming and has to leave the room that it's cleaning.

 

[tarasgirl06]

TYSM, daftcat75 for those reviews! Very helpful. As for dust, I'm not good on it, either, and as I have lots and LOTS of pictures, ceramics etc. on LOTS of furniture in this big house, I don't doubt it's all around. Also, living mere blocks from our municipal power plant and not at all far away from several of our (in) famous SoCali freeways adds to the equation. BUT having been born and grown in L.A. County, I'm not unduly stressing over it. I'm just not. Because there are so many things to do that about. And having generally long-lived healthy cats from day 1 of my earthly existence, I'm pretty confident of that.

 

[tarasgirl06]

No further excitement from Betty. The builds are another story. That's been one fire after another.

Betty got a half portion at 2 pm mostly because that was the earliest I could break away myself. Thankfully she was sleeping through much of the worst of my dumpster fires today so I didn't have one more voice crying above the rest. She was grateful and finished her half lunch right when I plated it. "Bonnie Ape Tit!"

I just tricked her into her dinner dose. I don't like fishing her out of her cat cave. So I pulled down an album of baseball cards to the floor and started going through them. Sure enough, she came down to join me. I put away a couple recent purchases before I squished her for her dose. Tonight's was a touch more squirmy because I'm really trying to get that dose down on her tongue--even if that tastes the worst!--rather than choking her with a back of the throat shot. I'm hoping her snarfling coughs clear up soon. Fewer of them today. I looked up asthma and she isn't taking the crouch position. I'd really rather give it a week to clear up than rush her in for another $600-1k that my insurance may or may not cover. It doesn't seem to be affecting her appetite.

Finally called up Cauldryn support. I swear it must be a "ghost kitchen" for tech support. I didn't catch how the guy answered. But I asked, "is this Cauldryn support?" and he answered, "it could be." It was feeling a little sketch. But he asked for an order number and that was the only personal information he asked me for (if you can even call that personal information.) He punched the order number into the system and brought up my name and order. I told him I wanted to return it and he said, "Sure. Send it back to us and we'll process your refund when we receive it." Couldn't have been easier. Except maybe if I made the call two weeks ago or if they gave me a postage paid shipping label. Oh well. I'll eat some shipping cost to get this desk weight out of here. To be honest, their earlier models look more promising. But I may look at a simpler electric kettle and a simple generator. I checked my radiators' smart plugs and one consumes about 3.5 kWh per day and the other consumes 5 kWh per day. Most of the solar generators come in under 2kWh. So my hope that I could offset a radiator with solar panels is fading quickly. I should get an electric kettle and see how much energy it consumes and then pick a generator size from there. Because most everything else I want during a power outage can run off USB power banks (of which I always have at least a couple high capacity ones always charged.) I want to prep. But not $$$$ more than I need.

So she took her meds like a heroine? And they -- and everything else -- stayed ITC? Excellent!
Enjoyed your tale about the Cauldryn. I had a parallel experience yesterday, also parting with some shipping funds to send an HDD back to NewEgg.com. But I didn't get the "it could be."

 

[daftcat75]

I may be watching her latest bad morning unfolding.

I missed with this morning’s dose. In an attempt to shoot it down on her tongue instead of back into her throat, I ended up missing her mouth altogether and getting her chest. I was considering re-dosing her. But while I was assessing just how wet her chest was, she took it for a rubdown and there was nothing doing but completing the task. I wasn’t going to re-dose her after such a lovely rub the flub. I’ve missed doses before. Let’s see how this plays out.

She woke up more interested in eating the tag on her self heating mat than food on her dish a few feet away. I tried my usual forward fold to see if I could tempt her into a breakfast overshoot. It works more often than it doesn’t. Nothing doing this morning. I couldn’t wait in bed any longer. While I was gone, Betty took her leave to the office. No eats. Just treats. This usually ends badly when she’ll only eat the tap room treats or maybe the kibble layer.

Rather than wait for the bad, I decided I would give her that dose she missed hours earlier. So now we’re rewinding our morning to third sleep again while I let her have a gabapentin snooze on my chest and hope she wakes up hungry this time.

 

[tarasgirl06]

I may be watching her latest bad morning unfolding.

I missed with this morning’s dose. In an attempt to shoot it down on her tongue instead of back into her throat, I ended up missing her mouth altogether and getting her chest. I was considering re-dosing her. But while I was assessing just how wet her chest was, she took it for a rubdown and there was nothing doing but completing the task. I wasn’t going to re-dose her after such a lovely rub the flub. I’ve missed doses before. Let’s see how this plays out.

She woke up more interested in eating the tag on her self heating mat than food on her dish a few feet away. I tried my usual forward fold to see if I could tempt her into a breakfast overshoot. It works more often than it doesn’t. Nothing doing this morning. I couldn’t wait in bed any longer. While I was gone, Betty took her leave to the office. No eats. Just treats. This usually ends badly when she’ll only eat the tap room treats or maybe the kibble layer.

Rather than wait for the bad, I decided I would give her that dose she missed hours earlier. So now we’re rewinding our morning to third sleep again while I let her have a gabapentin snooze on my chest and hope she wakes up hungry this time.

What kind of an area did the chest shot occupy? Wondering if doing this all the time would result in Betty's acceptance of it/licking it off her chest? Probably not. But it doesn't hurt to ask.
It's CATurday morning. Hoping for success.

 

[daftcat75]

What kind of an area did the chest shot occupy? Wondering if doing this all the time would result in Betty's acceptance of it/licking it off her chest? Probably not. But it doesn't hurt to ask.
It's CATurday morning. Hoping for success.

She didn’t and wouldn’t lick it off her chest.

When I tried hairball gel with her, she was stubborn enough to just leave it there on her paw. I don’t see her wanting to or even reluctantly licking that foul off her chest. I plan to brush it out of her fur later this morning. After fourth sleep. She’s having a really good nap. I’m a little nauseated because my stomach was ready for breakfast and now I’m on her schedule this morning. But I havent barfed four times last month. It’s alright if I have a rough morning if I can spare her the same.

 

[tarasgirl06]

She didn’t and wouldn’t lick it off her chest.

When I tried hairball gel with her, she was stubborn enough to just leave it there on her paw. I don’t see her wanting to or even reluctantly licking that foul off her chest. I plan to brush it out of her fur later this morning. After fourth sleep. She’s having a really good nap. I’m a little nauseated because my stomach was ready for breakfast and now I’m on her schedule this morning. But I havent barfed four times last month. It’s alright if I have a rough morning if I can spare her the same.

Understood. And empathize.I used to put hairball gel on paws when cats would NOT take it other ways. So any observant person walking through the house may observe signs of the flick on various feline furnishings.
Hope Betty will understand and that you can get it all out of her fur.

 

[daftcat75]

Understood. And empathize.I used to put hairball gel on paws when cats would NOT take it other ways. So any observant person walking through the house may observe signs of the flick on various feline furnishings.
Hope Betty will understand and that you can get it all out of her fur.

She loves a good brushing. So that won’t be a problem.

She’s off this morning. She usually gets at least a two hour nap after her dose. But I couldn’t manage it. I was cold. And hungry/nauseated. I hate that feeling. I’m sure Betty knows it too.

I finally got up for my breakfast usually the sound of me rustling through the freezer bag of veggie sausage and setting the microwave timer summons her for a treat. But it didn’t this time. She just lay there on the bed.

I got her to come to the floor and even sniff her breakfast a couple times. But no dice. I even tried to put a couple morsels on the carpet. Still no dice.

I don’t like treats before eats. But I also think this might still be salvaged. Dad swears by CBD when he’s nauseated. So I put a couple drops of her oil on a Greenies treat. She hesitated at first. But eventually picked it up. I wish it was this easy to get her other meds into her.

My breakfast is done and she’s back to napping in my lap.

No idea how this is going to play out.