Introducing Betty White

[Margot Lane]

Speaking of earlier breakfast...

On a Tuesday that the team meeting was cancelled, Betty decided to mow down her breakfast directly after the pouting rather than have a gaba nap first. I wasn't sure she would make it to lunch having polished that plate so early.

Whether it's breakfast or dinner shift, I'm finding that about half the time, I have to medicate her and she's in her cave. I used to just reach in and grab her. But lately, I've been taking advantage of her sweet nature. I sit on the floor and either pull out my phone or some baseball cards and wait for her to come to me. I make sure she sees me come in with that syringe so I'm not always tricking her into an ambush. So we're not doing meds like we used to, but she's still sweet on me and we make meds work for her. She doesn't like the taking of the meds, but she enjoys sitting with me for scritches afterwards in the evening and for a third sleep snuggle in the morning.

I think I have some sneaky Covid or something. Sore throat, an underpowered cough, and not much else. No fever or nose stuff. And no muscle pains or GI stuff either. Just a nagging throat and a naggier wimp of a cough. If I take a sick day or not, the exposure to others is the same. And right now, it's not disruptive enough to take the day off. My only Covid test had a June 2023 expiration date. I would have trusted it with a positive result. But I don't trust the negative result to be accurate.

A little straight elderberry syrup is great for a throat tickle! (Tastes great, too!). I wonder what team Betty likes.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Good suggestion, Margot Lane
daftcat75 Hoping it's just "something else" rather than the nasty COVID. Do you have to work from office at times now? *I still mask when I go out. Always will. Because, you know, COVID is still out there.*
Sounds like you and Betty have a good agreement going. But you know, it sounds suspiciously like she's a (not-so-?) secret baseball (card?) fan. Or maybe she just yearns for her own phone?

 

[daftcat75]

Margot Lane Betty is on the same team as me at that hour: Team Third Sleep. It isn't easy finding a meeting time for the whole team across three continents. The last two or three times I tried to attend that meeting at 7:00am, Betty wasn't happy with the disruption to her routine. She did not eat breakfast until it was much later. And it came back up on her because of that. The last couple of meetings I skipped to give Betty a break from barfing. The last few years, the meeting shifted to late night Pacific Time when the clocks changed. I'm not sure that will happen this year. It sounds like it was just going to get pushed back to 7:30am. But then yesterday's was cancelled so the issue was moot for another week.

I have this "Sambucus" spray which if I squint and hold the bottle far enough away, it looks like it is just another name or elder berry. That's what I've been spraying to the back of my throat the past few days.

tarasgirl06 Betty is a binder and boxes gal. She doesn't care about the cards. But she will rub up those binders and boxes. Sometimes she'll step on a card on her way from a binder to a box or to my face and I say she "pawthenticated" that card. I don't ever handle cards at Betty level without the assumption that they may get pawthenticated. Still working from home. I thought about taking a sick day. But I'd probably log on and do work anyway. Figure I would save a sick day for when I'm truly sick. Whatever it was, it seems to have crested and is fading from yesterday.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Margot Lane Betty is on the same team as me at that hour: Team Third Sleep. It isn't easy finding a meeting time for the whole team across three continents. The last two or three times I tried to attend that meeting at 7:00am, Betty wasn't happy with the disruption to her routine. She did not eat breakfast until it was much later. And it came back up on her because of that. The last couple of meetings I skipped to give Betty a break from barfing. The last few years, the meeting shifted to late night Pacific Time when the clocks changed. I'm not sure that will happen this year. It sounds like it was just going to get pushed back to 7:30am. But then yesterday's was cancelled so the issue was moot for another week.

I have this "Sambucus" spray which if I squint and hold the bottle far enough away, it looks like it is just another name or elder berry. That's what I've been spraying to the back of my throat the past few days.

tarasgirl06 Betty is a binder and boxes gal. She doesn't care about the cards. But she will rub up those binders and boxes. Sometimes she'll step on a card on her way from a binder to a box or to my face and I say she "pawthenticated" that card. I don't ever handle cards at Betty level without the assumption that they may get pawthenticated. Still working from home. I thought about taking a sick day. But I'd probably log on and do work anyway. Figure I would save a sick day for when I'm truly sick. Whatever it was, it seems to have crested and is fading from yesterday.

Really glad to hear you're feeling better! and WFH. *I much prefer WFH to office. Elvis is the main reason, but the serenity and ready availability of food are more. Among others*
Yeah, I work 7 days a week and if I even think about taking a day off, that think doesn't last long

 

[tarasgirl06]

Hoping you and Betty are having a good day and getting ready for a good weigh-in, taproom, and weekend

 

[daftcat75]

Betty started the week burrowed like a gray Garfield. Ugh Mondays.

And finished the week in an old favorite spot. I haven’t seen her in this fluff hut in a long long time. I washed the removable pad and it has taken her months to come back around to it. I didn’t even use a scented dryer sheet. I haven’t used scented laundry stuff in years! I think the warmer weather and the sun in general has driven her to sunnier haunts.

And I got a new binder. So we’ll be spending time between taproom visits sleeving up cards. She doesn’t care about the cards. But she’s excited about a new binder, new binder rings, and a slip cover.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Betty started the week burrowed like a gray Garfield. Ugh Mondays.
View attachment 472397
And finished the week in an old favorite spot. I haven’t seen her in this fluff hut in a long long time. I washed the removable pad and it has taken her months to come back around to it. I didn’t even use a scented dryer sheet. I haven’t used scented laundry stuff in years! I think the warmer weather and the sun in general has driven her to sunnier haunts.
View attachment 472395
And I got a new binder. So we’ll be spending time between taproom visits sleeving up cards. She doesn’t care about the cards. But she’s excited about a new binder, new binder rings, and a slip cover.
View attachment 472393

Ah. Well, but that very attractive and comfy-looking floof cave had HER scent in it. She owned it. Olfactory is powerful in cats. It informs them and others that a place with their scent is THEIRS. *I so agree with you, Betty, about MOANDAZE. We don't like 'em. We don't want 'em. We'd rather there weren't any. There could be two Sundays. Or two Tuesdays. Even better, how about just CATurdays? We like that.*
Looks like she may be thinking, "Keep buying those, Dad. I like this smooth cool plastic."

 

[daftcat75]

Doh! On the rise again.., 9.96

 

[tarasgirl06]

Doh! On the rise again.., 9.96
View attachment 472493View attachment 472494View attachment 472495View attachment 472496

*Dad. DAD! I just might be in the mood for da Bird right about now. What do you think?*

 

[daftcat75]

*Dad. DAD! I just might be in the mood for da Bird right about now. What do you think?*

She doesn't play much. Though lately I have been seeing her play a little more on her own. I'm sure she, like myself, just needs to get back into a habit of activity. And I need to help her with that. She got a couple of minutes of laser and koosh play before lunch today.

I feel like I might be underfeeding her now. Though her body condition and the scale says otherwise. She's been finishing her portions almost as quickly as I put them down. Sometimes she doesn't even wait for the meds to kick in to polish off breakfast or dinner. Then I feel bad that she has to wait that entire time until the next food bus comes along. (Cat meals are like buses around here. If she misses one, there's another one coming in just a few hours.)

 

[tarasgirl06]

She doesn't play much. Though lately I have been seeing her play a little more on her own. I'm sure she, like myself, just needs to get back into a habit of activity. And I need to help her with that. She got a couple of minutes of laser and koosh play before lunch today.

I feel like I might be underfeeding her now. Though her body condition and the scale says otherwise. She's been finishing her portions almost as quickly as I put them down. Sometimes she doesn't even wait for the meds to kick in to polish off breakfast or dinner. Then I feel bad that she has to wait that entire time until the next food bus comes along. (Cat meals are like buses around here. If she misses one, there's another one coming in just a few hours.)

That's good for anyone, and especially for a cat. Yeah, it is bizarre that you've said her intake in oz. is so little and yet she maintains a healthy weight, or even gains a bit. *My dad always said I had hollow legs because could eat a lot but it didn't show. Maybe Betty's the opposite, somehow. ???* Whichever and whatever, exercise is a good thing!

 

[daftcat75]

She is eating junky prescription food that has a lot of carbs (rice!) I ate bagels all winter and it made me fat. I wonder frequently about metabolic syndrome and whether cats, like people, can negatively adapt to less food--like people who starve themselves and still gain weight because their metabolism slows down. But I can also see it in the way she moves that I don't want her gaining more weight. So yeah, even if it's just a few minutes a day, let's see if some exercise can help speed up that metabolism of hers.

She sleeps a lot more than Krista did. I mean Krista slept too. But she would also have playful spurts on her own and she liked to get up on the media bench and surf the counters and plop herself on the desk. I feel like Betty is mostly just sleeping her days away waiting for meals and the few checkpoints we have in the day--lap time in the mornings and evenings and a couple of fuss breaks in between. Krista would have loved the ripple rug. Betty doesn't seem all that interested in it. I do like that she's gone back to using the fluff hut in the sun. Feels like more of a happy cat thing than sleeping another afternoon away in the cave behind me.

 

[tarasgirl06]

She is eating junky prescription food that has a lot of carbs (rice!) I ate bagels all winter and it made me fat. I wonder frequently about metabolic syndrome and whether cats, like people, can negatively adapt to less food--like people who starve themselves and still gain weight because their metabolism slows down. But I can also see it in the way she moves that I don't want her gaining more weight. So yeah, even if it's just a few minutes a day, let's see if some exercise can help speed up that metabolism of hers.

She sleeps a lot more than Krista did. I mean Krista slept too. But she would also have playful spurts on her own and she liked to get up on the media bench and surf the counters and plop herself on the desk. I feel like Betty is mostly just sleeping her days away waiting for meals and the few checkpoints we have in the day--lap time in the mornings and evenings and a couple of fuss breaks in between. Krista would have loved the ripple rug. Betty doesn't seem all that interested in it. I do like that she's gone back to using the fluff hut in the sun. Feels like more of a happy cat thing than sleeping another afternoon away in the cave behind me.

So for all the reasons, play is good. And my guess would be affirmative on the second sentence/thought. BUT having said that, bagels can do no wrong. Since my supermarket has started stocking Western Bagel, I do not shop without picking some up. They bring immeasurable joy to my lunchtime and I will not give them up, period, the end.

 

[Margot Lane]

Well I know my day is bouyed by the sudden appearance of SUN! I was reading another recent thread where a cat was enjoying some grass cuttings (blast if I can recall which thread now) that the owner let it sit in for awhile. It might be fun to see if Betty is stimulated by the scents of certain fresh things, like—- oh I don’t know what. Dandelions, or clover, or mint leaves, or bee balm. (Maybe there’s a community garden where you could snatch a few things, just out of Springtime curiosity & circadian rhythms!).

 

[daftcat75]

Oh boo! Betty missed her breakfast bus. We both overslept. While I was brushing my teeth, I saw her sitting in front of and looking down at her fountain like she was considering loading up on water. But it’s been longer than a week since I cleaned it.
While I was cooking my breakfast, I tried to settle her stomach with a Greenie topped with CBD oil. Not five minutes later, she wailed and spit up a couple piles of saliva. I didn’t see the Greenie come up. Maybe the CBD will do its thing after all.
Not sure if she’ll rally before lunch or take her time back to food.

 

[daftcat75]

It's like watching a car crash in slow motion and not being able to stop it. I saw her doing the nauseated lips thing. I went to wash her fountain (she has another) and came back to her tail sticking out of the corner cat tree, licking her moist lips, and mouth. But for the life of me, I can't find the spit. Her fountain is clean now. I spent some time giving her some fuss. And now what? If I sat with her all morning, she would absolutely enjoy that probably to the exclusion of trying to eat again. So I'm sitting here at my desk watching her trying to decide her next move this morning. So far, it's laying next to her beauty bar. She isn't laying by the radiator or taking a cave nap. But on the other paw, she isn't looking for carpet to eat. I wish there was something I could give her that could help her through this--whatever this is. We almost made it through the month without an incident.

 

[tarasgirl06]

It's like watching a car crash in slow motion and not being able to stop it. I saw her doing the nauseated lips thing. I went to wash her fountain (she has another) and came back to her tail sticking out of the corner cat tree, licking her moist lips, and mouth. But for the life of me, I can't find the spit. Her fountain is clean now. I spent some time giving her some fuss. And now what? If I sat with her all morning, she would absolutely enjoy that probably to the exclusion of trying to eat again. So I'm sitting here at my desk watching her trying to decide her next move this morning. So far, it's laying next to her beauty bar. She isn't laying by the radiator or taking a cave nap. But on the other paw, she isn't looking for carpet to eat. I wish there was something I could give her that could help her through this--whatever this is. We almost made it through the month without an incident.

*Time, love, and patience* is a mantra here. But yeah, I know. Sometimes I hear the pre-pukescent Elvis announcing an impending ejection. Sometimes it's at dark-thirty. So next morning, I get to go on a search-and-mop-up mission. *I guess you could say it makes life interesting. You COULD.*
Hoping Betty's CATurday improves and that you're able to enjoy some snorglings as well as taproom and burger.

 

[daftcat75]

I had a second cup of coffee. Then when I left to the other room to pay the second cup of coffee tax, Betty finally made her way to the plate. Indeed she finished it. This is how I know her meals are right-sized when she can finish one and it doesn’t immediately come back up. So I guess crisis averted. I’ll wait at least an hour to make sure this isn’t coming back up before I plate lunch and begin my afternoon.

 

[daftcat75]

There we go! ‍

That’s what I’ve been waiting for. Some signal that she’s returning to normal activities instead of being a hovering .

UPDATE: I found the Greenie from earlier. Apparently she swallowed it whole and projectile spit it back up whole--separate from the spit pile. At least I was wearing socks when I found it.

 

[tarasgirl06]

View attachment 472854
There we go! ‍

That’s what I’ve been waiting for. Some signal that she’s returning to normal activities instead of being a hovering .

UPDATE: I found the Greenie from earlier. Apparently she swallowed it whole and projectile spit it back up whole--separate from the spit pile. At least I was wearing socks when I found it.

Love that pic!
Yeah! They're kinda like Legos, only smaller and potentially squishier