Introducing Betty White

[tarasgirl06]

Betty had a milkshake spit this afternoon. It wasn't hair and it wasn't regurgitation. It didn't look like food. It was thick like a chocolate milkshake. I mean it may have been leftover food that couldn't get past a hairball that didn't come up. I went running for the first time in a few weeks. Just as I was walking through the door, Betty was giving her lunch a sniff and snub. As I'm taking my shoes off, I see her sitting there doing the lip lick thing. I know from Krista what that means and when a barf is imminent vs just a "are you hungry, thirsty, nauseous, or nervous?" Sure enough, she took a couple of steps and positioned herself over the area rug. No! Not there! I rushed over, picked her up, and put her back down about two feet away where she could spit on carpet that I can clean. The area rug is probably machine washable. But I just stuck it to the pad and so far it's been holding. Betty spit once on the carpet in the front room then took her second spit into the office. Both very Bissell-able spots. She returned later and swiped about 1/3 of lunch. By dinner she was hungry again and the plate is clean. I'm just waiting for one last result to come in from work so that maybe I can sign off with a win and a mostly accomplished "later list." Boom! PASSED! Time to slide down my dinosaur and drive my foot car the 20 steps into the kitchen. Cat, don't put me out tonight!

I have one good rug. It has been the favorite puke place for many, many cats. Fortunately, Fluff doesn't seem to like the master bedroom these days so it remains unpuked-upon by him, at least for now. Yesterday morning I came into the breakfast room to see what looked like a couple of on the table. Okay, so go grab some TP and the Nature's Miracle. But upon investigating, they turned out to be a 2-part furball! More Petromalt is in Fluff's immediate future.
Wishing you and Ms. Betty the best CATurday PAWSible under the circumstances.

 

[daftcat75]

I suspect this is not a mistake. I tested with a dumbbell before and after.

Loss: 8.88

Too shocked and saddened by the reading to get the other shots.

I wonder if Betty is having trouble with daylight saving time. Yesterday she didn’t touch lunch until about 5 pm. An hour later than she should be having her final pass on lunch. That meant she was late on starting and finishing dinner too.

I decided to test that theory this morning and plate lunch an hour early. That also takes me off the clock for the run I’m about to go do. Sure enough. She’s already made a first pass on lunch. And often that first pass is the hardest. Once she has food in her belly, she’s more likely to return to the plate later than if she slept through a normal first pass time.

 

[tarasgirl06]

I suspect this is not a mistake. I tested with a dumbbell before and after.

Loss: 8.88
View attachment 488333
Too shocked and saddened by the reading to get the other shots.

I wonder if Betty is having trouble with daylight saving time. Yesterday she didn’t touch lunch until about 5 pm. An hour later than she should be having her final pass on lunch. That meant she was late on starting and finishing dinner too.

I decided to test that theory this morning and plate lunch an hour early. That also takes me off the clock for the run I’m about to go do. Sure enough. She’s already made a first pass on lunch. And often that first pass is the hardest. Once she has food in her belly, she’s more likely to return to the plate later than if she slept through a normal first pass time.

For whatever it's worth, Fluff is foregoing food again, too, after his former winning scores of 5.5 oz and 3 oz daily. But it goes up and down. Yeah, maybe Betty is having trouble adjusting to the new normal. A lot of folks are, so I hear.
It almost looks like a post-power outtage read. I know it's not. But just sayin'

 

[daftcat75]

For whatever it's worth, Fluff is foregoing food again, too, after his former winning scores of 5.5 oz and 3 oz daily. But it goes up and down. Yeah, maybe Betty is having trouble adjusting to the new normal. A lot of folks are, so I hear.
It almost looks like a post-power outtage read. I know it's not. But just sayin'

It does look like a TILT reading. Maybe this is her reset. She nearly finished lunch on her first pass even before I got out the door. Took so much pressure off my afternoon. I'm trying to get back into the running schedule again. Instead of putting on winter weight and getting seasonal depression, I'm going to see if I can learn to become an all seasons runner. And my run today ran long because I'm out of practice. But it didn't matter. Because Betty already had most of her lunch. She finished lunch before I came back from the taproom. Dinner is already finished too. I have an 11am meeting on the weekdays. But maybe I'll use the 10:45 first Outlook reminder to fix her lunch and see if moving her lunch up an hour might result in more clean plates. As long as Betty maintains a healthy weight, and three years in and I still don't know what that is for her, I won't sweat the remainders too much. But last week, possibly because of the time change and her lunch effectively coming an hour later than usual, there were more lunch remainders. That's why I'm saddened, but not entirely surprised by this week's reading.

Betty's spending more time overnight trying to spoon with me in one fashion or another. Or simply sleeping on my head. I think it may be time to enable an hour or two of "Office Radiator" runtime at bedtime. I love snuggling with this girl. But I need my sleep. I will pay PG&E a fair bit extra to maintain those sleep hours over the cold winter nights. And anyways, it's much easier to heat up the office than the front room.

 

[tarasgirl06]

It does look like a TILT reading. Maybe this is her reset. She nearly finished lunch on her first pass even before I got out the door. Took so much pressure off my afternoon. I'm trying to get back into the running schedule again. Instead of putting on winter weight and getting seasonal depression, I'm going to see if I can learn to become an all seasons runner. And my run today ran long because I'm out of practice. But it didn't matter. Because Betty already had most of her lunch. She finished lunch before I came back from the taproom. Dinner is already finished too. I have an 11am meeting on the weekdays. But maybe I'll use the 10:45 first Outlook reminder to fix her lunch and see if moving her lunch up an hour might result in more clean plates. As long as Betty maintains a healthy weight, and three years in and I still don't know what that is for her, I won't sweat the remainders too much. But last week, possibly because of the time change and her lunch effectively coming an hour later than usual, there were more lunch remainders. That's why I'm saddened, but not entirely surprised by this week's reading.

Betty's spending more time overnight trying to spoon with me in one fashion or another. Or simply sleeping on my head. I think it may be time to enable an hour or two of "Office Radiator" runtime at bedtime. I love snuggling with this girl. But I need my sleep. I will pay PG&E a fair bit extra to maintain those sleep hours over the cold winter nights. And anyways, it's much easier to heat up the office than the front room.

Good idea. And I've read/seen/learned that cats don't use devices to tell time -- they use the sun so an earlier lunch might be just what Betty wants! *Three years! Time screams by, doesn't it?*
Shouldn't be difficult for you to get into a run schedule, being who you are I miss VERY few workouts, because of who I am. The exercise, whatever it is, boosts endorphins, so it should help with the SAD, too. I get that in summer, and good neighbors help as far as cutting the bad feelings caused by noise; the heat, though, is just something to live with.

 

[daftcat75]

I had a captive and restless Betty at 10:30am this morning. Rather than make us both wait another 15 minutes, I started the lunch prep. Lunch was served 5 - 10 minutes later. And before my meeting even began at 11am, she is already mostly finished with lunch. Works for me. We'll see if that works for her later this afternoon. But at least now she can do her Gray Garfield and burrow under the blankets on this gray bogus rainy Monday.

 

[tarasgirl06]

I had a captive and restless Betty at 10:30am this morning. Rather than make us both wait another 15 minutes, I started the lunch prep. Lunch was served 5 - 10 minutes later. And before my meeting even began at 11am, she is already mostly finished with lunch. Works for me. We'll see if that works for her later this afternoon. But at least now she can do her Gray Garfield and burrow under the blankets on this gray bogus rainy Monday.

...and you can always give Second Breakfast. Who doesn't love Second Breakfast?

 

[daftcat75]

...and you can always give Second Breakfast. Who doesn't love Second Breakfast?

Second lunch?

She is going through a 5.5 oz can a day. It's not perfect because out of 42 grams that go into the staging can, 34-35 come out after the hot water bath. About 7 grams gets lost to the nooks and crevices in the staging can. So it's really more like 4.5 oz. The point I'm meandering to make is that unless I break out a guest star in the afternoon, there isn't enough food in her 5.5 oz can for an extra meal in the day.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Second lunch?

She is going through a 5.5 oz can a day. It's not perfect because out of 42 grams that go into the staging can, 34-35 come out after the hot water bath. About 7 grams gets lost to the nooks and crevices in the staging can. So it's really more like 4.5 oz. The point I'm meandering to make is that unless I break out a guest star in the afternoon, there isn't enough food in her 5.5 oz can for an extra meal in the day.

So...you can do that. Fluff, on his good days, eats a 5.5 oz and a 3 oz. Half of the 5.5 oz. is out of the refrigerator, so he's in basically the same position as Betty. I'm pretty good at scraping the last morsel of goodness out of those tins but you're right, there's always residual that can't be recovered. I've always fed poultry or meat in the morning, and seafood, which almost every cat in my history, including Fluff, prefers. I've had to relax that "rule" somewhat with this stubborn, finicky/picky new version of the Fluff, and on the last auto-delivery, I tweaked, subtracted and added to the standard shipment. Usually I get seafood versions in the 3 oz. and meat/poultry in the 5.5 oz. but this time I varied each of those, even trying some new things I had never bought before. *ANYTHING to please a cat, right?*

 

[daftcat75]

Early lunch has not been working out like it did on the weekends. She's also been leaving half meal remainders on most of her middle meals now. She's on pace for a Mirataz wet willy and a call to the dentist. I will likely have to try middle meal guest stars again. Today I put three pieces of kibble on top of one of her piles to see if she would be interested in eating some kibble with her middle meals if she's not going to finish them. That would help on the calories and nutrition front. Tonight I'll probably try a small mound of Rawz or Mouser to supplement her usual.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Early lunch has not been working out like it did on the weekends. She's also been leaving half meal remainders on most of her middle meals now. She's on pace for a Mirataz wet willy and a call to the dentist. I will likely have to try middle meal guest stars again. Today I put three pieces of kibble on top of one of her piles to see if she would be interested in eating some kibble with her middle meals if she's not going to finish them. That would help on the calories and nutrition front. Tonight I'll probably try a small mound of Rawz or Mouser to supplement her usual.

Yeah, when the going gets tough, the tough get creative Hoping Betty will take the bait! Fluff is doing fairly well on his fish & shrimp, which was a favorite, then a snub, and now back in the running. He loves a fuss before he eats. So he's getting one. His new thing is to jump up on me and use my legs as a scratching post. So yesterday, we had a claw clipping. That's helped somewhat, along with redirects to his angled double scratcher, which is in the breakfast room, next to his current favorite bed and near his food and water.

 

[daftcat75]

Betty may have narrowly averted a wet willy tonight. At 4 pm, she was still burrowed and lunch was untouched. I went on a Betty hunt and found a sleepy head. She eventually came out. I put down a carpet morsel for her which she took up. Then I stepped out to take out trash and pick up mail. I had the piece of mind to bring my phone with me. When I got back to my door, I checked the camera and she had finally started in on lunch. I guess I'll go walking because I'm not interrupting that. Did a lap around the community and came back to the door. She was just finishing up. Good. Now I can enter my own apartment again. She should hang a napkin on the door knob so I'll know to not disturb because she's eating. She even ate the three kibbles I left her. I'm leaving them off the meds meals because she's got pain meds on board and doesn't seem to need the help with the meds meals. Hopefully a few kibbles with second dinner might encourage a bigger pass/smaller remainder.

She's been showing up on the counter at meal times though. That's fun!

 

[tarasgirl06]

Betty may have narrowly averted a wet willy tonight. At 4 pm, she was still burrowed and lunch was untouched. I went on a Betty hunt and found a sleepy head. She eventually came out. I put down a carpet morsel for her which she took up. Then I stepped out to take out trash and pick up mail. I had the piece of mind to bring my phone with me. When I got back to my door, I checked the camera and she had finally started in on lunch. I guess I'll go walking because I'm not interrupting that. Did a lap around the community and came back to the door. She was just finishing up. Good. Now I can enter my own apartment again. She should hang a napkin on the door knob so I'll know to not disturb because she's eating. She even ate the three kibbles I left her. I'm leaving them off the meds meals because she's got pain meds on board and doesn't seem to need the help with the meds meals. Hopefully a few kibbles with second dinner might encourage a bigger pass/smaller remainder.

She's been showing up on the counter at meal times though. That's fun!

Maybe a "DO NOT DISTURB" sign would be in order for you to put on your door when you go out. Or just a tie
Fluff jumped onto the counter this morning. He never does that. I removed him and when I went into the dining room to check out the scene on the street, he sailed and skidded onto the table. I removed him. He re-launched. He's being very hyper this morning. I threw out most of his tin of fish & shrimp, a fave in the past, and offered him salmon, another fave. He did make a dent in it. We'll see how he does.

 

[daftcat75]

Maybe a "DO NOT DISTURB" sign would be in order for you to put on your door when you go out. Or just a tie
Fluff jumped onto the counter this morning. He never does that. I removed him and when I went into the dining room to check out the scene on the street, he sailed and skidded onto the table. I removed him. He re-launched. He's being very hyper this morning. I threw out most of his tin of fish & shrimp, a fave in the past, and offered him salmon, another fave. He did make a dent in it. We'll see how he does.

I like having Betty on the counter. As long as it's the counter with the coffee maker, sink, and her cat food prep station. The other counter with the stove and microwave has clutter blocking its access and approach. Thankfully Betty has learned that there's nothing on that counter for her except an elevator ride back to the ground. With both Krista and Betty, I have always viewed it as a good sign when they show interest in the meal prep.

Betty avoided a wet willy yesterday. She finished lunch with the few kibbles. She finished her overnight with the few pieces of kibble on it. And today, she was back on the counter supurrvising the lunch prep. When it was served, she was all too happy to scoop up the first mound with the kibbles on it. Her lunch was already half finished before I even started mine. That's how I like it. I don't know if she gets back up to 9 lbs for Sunday's weigh-in. But if she holds steady at 8.9, that would be okay with me.

I might be pregnant. I'm buying pickle flavored toothpaste. What?!
Boka x Grillo's Pickles Cucumber Dill n-Ha Toothpaste

I have enjoyed most other flavors they have come out. I'm really enjoying their Chocolate Peppermint seasonal kids flavor which is not nearly as chocolatey or pepperminty as it sounds. But still a subtle enjoyable flavor. I'm also hoping their Cherry Blossom flavor comes back next Spring. That was another I enjoyed. They have an Apple Pomegranate seasonal flavor too. It's good. But I'm enjoying the Chocolate Peppermint too much. I still don't know what to make of pickle flavored toothpaste. But my brain won't stop thinking about it until I try it.

 

[tarasgirl06]

I like having Betty on the counter. As long as it's the counter with the coffee maker, sink, and her cat food prep station. The other counter with the stove and microwave has clutter blocking its access and approach. Thankfully Betty has learned that there's nothing on that counter for her except an elevator ride back to the ground. With both Krista and Betty, I have always viewed it as a good sign when they show interest in the meal prep.

Betty avoided a wet willy yesterday. She finished lunch with the few kibbles. She finished her overnight with the few pieces of kibble on it. And today, she was back on the counter supurrvising the lunch prep. When it was served, she was all too happy to scoop up the first mound with the kibbles on it. Her lunch was already half finished before I even started mine. That's how I like it. I don't know if she gets back up to 9 lbs for Sunday's weigh-in. But if she holds steady at 8.9, that would be okay with me.

I might be pregnant. I'm buying pickle flavored toothpaste. What?!
Boka x Grillo's Pickles Cucumber Dill n-Ha Toothpaste

I have enjoyed most other flavors they have come out. I'm really enjoying their Chocolate Peppermint seasonal kids flavor which is not nearly as chocolatey or pepperminty as it sounds. But still a subtle enjoyable flavor. I'm also hoping their Cherry Blossom flavor comes back next Spring. That was another I enjoyed. They have an Apple Pomegranate seasonal flavor too. It's good. But I'm enjoying the Chocolate Peppermint too much. I still don't know what to make of pickle flavored toothpaste. But my brain won't stop thinking about it until I try it.

Betty and Fluff seem to be on an eating thing of some kind. Fluff is on his final third of a 5.5 oz salmon. He loves salmon. So I'm hoping he puts a good dent in it.
Well, yeah, pregnant men is a thing. Just don't even THINK about any BC. Even here. Are you having kittens?
I'm surprised you're not eating that toothpaste. *Squeeze-ups for humans?* Which wouldn't probably be advisable. But these days, ya never know. I haven't had pickles, apart from my favorite dill relish, for yonks, but I have fond memories of going with my grammar school BFF and our moms to our local kosher deli and having corned beef on rye, a pickle, and a chocolate phosphate. That was gastronomic heaven!

 

[daftcat75]

Betty and Fluff seem to be on an eating thing of some kind. Fluff is on his final third of a 5.5 oz salmon. He loves salmon. So I'm hoping he puts a good dent in it.
Well, yeah, pregnant men is a thing. Just don't even THINK about any BC. Even here. Are you having kittens?
I'm surprised you're not eating that toothpaste. *Squeeze-ups for humans?* Which wouldn't probably be advisable. But these days, ya never know. I haven't had pickles, apart from my favorite dill relish, for yonks, but I have fond memories of going with my grammar school BFF and our moms to our local kosher deli and having corned beef on rye, a pickle, and a chocolate phosphate. That was gastronomic heaven!

Shoot! After an impressive healthy first pass on early lunch, she slept the entire afternoon under the covers. So she ended up leaving half her meal after all. I just got meds and her post med treat into her. And about 30 minutes later (plenty of time for that medicine to start absorbing), she had a sour tummy spit. Hopefully she'll rebound quickly enough. Thankfully there was nothing but spit in her spit. No lost calories. Yet.

I highly recommend Brent's Deli in Northridge. It's a bit of a drive from Glendale. But it's absolutely worth it. Sit at the counter or you'll be waiting awhile for a table.

The toothpastes are safe to eat. They are not fluoridated. Not that I want to eat my toothpaste. But sometimes I'll do a finger brushing at my desk and I'm too lazy to get up and spit. These days though, I have so many of their flavors, I can almost brush each tooth with a different one. I can certainly do a different flavor each day of the week. Except I'm autistic and that's not how we work. The wide variety of flavors appeals to my ADHD. But my autism just wants to use the chocolate peppermint one every time. The net result is that I have been brushing my teeth more often. And that's not all bad.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Shoot! After an impressive healthy first pass on early lunch, she slept the entire afternoon under the covers. So she ended up leaving half her meal after all. I just got meds and her post med treat into her. And about 30 minutes later (plenty of time for that medicine to start absorbing), she had a sour tummy spit. Hopefully she'll rebound quickly enough. Thankfully there was nothing but spit in her spit. No lost calories. Yet.

I highly recommend Brent's Deli in Northridge. It's a bit of a drive from Glendale. But it's absolutely worth it. Sit at the counter or you'll be waiting awhile for a table.

The toothpastes are safe to eat. They are not fluoridated. Not that I want to eat my toothpaste. But sometimes I'll do a finger brushing at my desk and I'm too lazy to get up and spit. These days though, I have so many of their flavors, I can almost brush each tooth with a different one. I can certainly do a different flavor each day of the week. Except I'm autistic and that's not how we work. The wide variety of flavors appeals to my ADHD. But my autism just wants to use the chocolate peppermint one every time. The net result is that I have been brushing my teeth more often. And that's not all bad.

No, it isn't And I know. About flavors. I like Pepsodent Original. I never get tired of it.
You gave me a great memory with the pickle toothpaste! I looked up the deli where we used to go. It closed in 2012 and you probably don't know it. Rothbard's on Van Nuys Blvd. Best deli on the planet. Over here, there was Billy's, which was not kosher; it's closed, too. I used to go there a lot. And then there's Canter's. Not exactly the best, but probably one of the oldest. I used to go there at late-thirty and watch all the denizens of the night come in and act out. I miss all that. If I ever get to Northridge, where those friends used to live BTW, I'll definitely take your advice.
Poor Betty! Hope she feels better soon and that her weekly weigh-in is at least satisfactory. Fluff is iffy on his chicken breakfast this morning. But he did finish his 5.5 oz salmon and most of his 3 oz. chicken last night.

 

[daftcat75]

I missed Betty's captive attention period where she was trying to get my attention and dang it, I was too busy with morning email. She ended up burrowing into her blanket nest and I may have missed her early lunch window. I dug her out, partially, to many super cute annoyed sounds objections and when it was apparent she wasn't interested in coming down for the prep or the plating, I brought her a single solitary kibble piece to hopefully prime her tummy for later food.

She rebounded quickly enough last night and finished her dinner and her overnight. So only a half meal missed yesterday. But those half meal remainders add up. Or subtract as it were.

 

[tarasgirl06]

I missed Betty's captive attention period where she was trying to get my attention and dang it, I was too busy with morning email. She ended up burrowing into her blanket nest and I may have missed her early lunch window. I dug her out, partially, to many super cute annoyed sounds objections and when it was apparent she wasn't interested in coming down for the prep or the plating, I brought her a single solitary kibble piece to hopefully prime her tummy for later food.

She rebounded quickly enough last night and finished her dinner and her overnight. So only a half meal missed yesterday. But those half meal remainders add up. Or subtract as it were.

Yeah, how well I know on all. Sometimes I wish I could be cloned (of course, not really!) so one of me could be tethered to the machine and the other could be with the Fluff. Although we each work at home and are so fortunate as to be near our cats, it's not the same as being right there with them.
Looking forward to a good weigh-in for the grey Garfield.

 

[daftcat75]

Shoot! I thought I was doing her favor by pulling the covers back on her after my came back from my lunch run and asking her to eat half her lunch as carpet morsels. I thought she did a good job of that. I was feeling pretty good and was going to let her decide if and when she would finish the second half. Then I heard it. It sounded like a HORK! And sure enough, she gave back her lunch. No idea what that was. Maybe she wasn't ready for lunch yet. Maybe that single kibble already soured her tummy. She doesn't do well with dry before wet. Or maybe having to eat from the carpet instead of elevated off the book had acid coming back down her throat. Who knows! Cats, right? This one's on me. I put it at about 40% that she'll return to the plate before dinner. I wouldn't worry if she wasn't also starting to feel skinny again. Spine feels alright. But ribs and shoulders are starting to feel a bit more pronounced. She still looks alright, though. If I knew her age I might feel better about these ebbs and flows... I don't know if this seasonal or age-related or.... ?