4-26-13

Posted on by Robyn

Jump to comments

While we await the tiny dragons, I have a problem I’d like advice on: my 13 year old female cat has had 4 UTIs in the past year. Sigh. What can I do about this? She already has allergies and frequent vomiting, for which she receives pepcid and steroids (a few times a month for the ‘roids). She eats exclusively canned food with about 4 treats a day after meds. We bought a fountain that she ignores (old cat loves it); maybe she wants the yicky plastic one instead of ceramic? We have a Feliway plug-in. There’s always fresh water. 2 litter boxes, though only scooped (yuck) 2x week because that’s husband’s job and he’s crappy at it.

What else???? Ugh. She’s a raging beyotch at the vet, so she has to get tranquilized every time.

I don’t have any helpful suggestions here – I feel certain that there are some readers out there who can help (and in case you didn’t see them Rebecca, Connie and GD left responses on the original comment). Please chime in, y’all!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Oh, and I am going in search of that “S-curve”. I am sure I will have no trouble but if anyone has a link handy you could post it up too please.

In case you haven’t already found it, you can find it at Amazon!

I happened to be at Walmart the other day and saw one, so grabbed it for Khaleesi’s room. It was $19.88 at Walmart – and then I saw another one at Target yesterday for $19.98. Both of those are cheaper than Amazon, so if you don’t mind leaving the house, check out either of those stores!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

An update from Holly:

Thanks for all the help you gave me and my friend by putting up the picture and info about her disabled cat Honey. She had also contacted some local shelters and others and has now had a lady step up and contact her. This lady has said she will be glad to care for Honey for however long he needs. The details have yet to be worked out but it has been a relief to my friend to know the possibility exists. I thought you and the readers would be happy to know all of that. Thanks again 🙂

Great news! Thanks for the update, Holly!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“The Viruses” or “The Diseases” might be a good family theme for names. They probably haven’t been used.

I can only imagine the look I’d get from the shelter manager if I said “Yeah, I’m going to name him Colon Cancer!”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I was just looking at the sidebar. Is Lilybet still at Petsmart? She had been returned, right?? Any updates on her? She is so beautiful. I can’t believe she has not been adopted 🙁

I happened to see Lilybet yesterday when I had to run to Petsmart to get canned kitten food, and she looked pretty happy. She was stretched out in her cage, taking a bath, and when I went in and gave her petting and kisses, she purred and seemed happy to see me. So yes, she hasn’t been adopted yet, but she’s not suffering. Of course, she SHOULD have been adopted by now, but sometimes it just takes a while, you know?

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Can you see Corbie’s belly button when he’s lying like that? My Maia (who is his female clone!) has the brightest white belly button in the middle of all that fur, and she can’t hide it! My black cat Barney also has the same, plus his nips are bald as well! I just wondered if any of your kitties have an obvious belly dot when they lie all gorgeous on their back?

I can’t see Corbie’s belly button, but that’s probably because his belly fur is very very thick. Tommy, on the other hand, practically blinds you with his belly button and nipples when he rolls onto his back!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

It sounds like your hack was a different issue, but in case you haven’t heard about it, there’s also been a pretty widespread attack on WordPress blogs going on.

Typical suggestions I’ve seen are to install the Wordfence plugin, which does all kinds of security stuff like limiting login attempts and doing regular scans and warning you if any WP files have been tampered with, and also to make sure the admin username isn’t admin, since this attack is trying to guess the admin password.

A couple of people suggested the Wordfence plugin. I did install it last week, and it has been pretty amazing. It found one line of spam code buried in a file and deleted it (at my okay). And any time someone attempts to log in and fails, the program alerts me. I LOVE it and highly recommend it if you’ve got a WordPress blog!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I want to thank everyone for the advice and encouragement you gave me for my friend Amy and her diabetic kitty, Tommy. He is feeling MUCH better and his blood glucose readings are in the normal range. They have mastered the glucometer and giving the shots is no problem. Amy wanted to thank you all for the support. I bought Tommy a kitty sofa – here is a pic of him with it. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of it at first but he loves it now.

Thanks again – you are the best.

What a cutie! Great to hear that that sweet boy is doing well. 🙂

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Saw this and thought of you and how much of an issue it was getting the ducks in the pond.

I love that video!

Would you believe that despite their love for the pond, when I went out and cleaned and refilled the dogs’ water dishes yesterday, the ducks STILL climbed in and splashed around? SO RUDE.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Ok, I’m back and have picked myself up off the floor from the cute… I just came across the following Game of Thrones reference… One that I am of the age to relate to!

Warning: if you aren’t up to date on Game of Thrones THERE ARE SPOILERS in this awesome, awesome video.


YouTube link

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Sort of off topic: Have you ever considered a superhero alter-ego naming theme? I bring it up because I still think about the dynamic duo of Batman and Robin, who captured my heart thanks to your captions of hilarity. I know regular names aren’t all that exciting but I think a litter of Clark (Kent), Bruce (Wayne), Reed (Richards), Oliver (Queen), Norrin (Radd), etc would be cute… unless a lot of those names have already been used (I know CH doesn’t like to re-use names).

I LOVE this idea – and I have added it to my list of potential kitten litter naming ideas!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Ok, so how DO you pronounce Khaleesi? See, as an avid trek nut, I see it and cannot help but think “Kahless” the Klingon, (pronounced Kay-Less) but with the I on the end, I think Kahless-ie! (Kay-Less-EE)

and

I thought y’all would like this. The Game of Thrones language maker (official title) is upset people pronounce Khaleesi “wrong”. Claims its “KHAH-lay-see,” not “ka-LEE-see.” Of course, then the argument might be made he is spelling it wrong since he wants it it be Khalaysi (seriously, pronouncing “EE” as a long “a”, what?).

Kelly actually left this link on my Facebook timeline, too! I contend that we are NOT pronouncing it wrong, because that’s how they pronounce it on the series and he should just stop being a big baby. I’m pronouncing it “ka-LEE-see” and I recommend y’all do it that way, too!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I know I’ve said it before, but this time I mean it. These are the cutest kittehs evah!!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


I love how Leia’s all “YOWZA!” and Aslan’s giving her an amused look.


I call this one “Leia and the eye boogers.”


Aslan and Jareth in the cat tree. I actually walked into the room last night and there were four kittens stuffed in that part of the cat tree. I’m not sure how they did it or how it could possibly be comfortable.


Jareth loves to clean his mama’s ears.


And he’s pretty diligent about it.


Charming, up close. He has such a big, round head.


Aslan, appalled.


“Break out the milk bar, Mama! I’m hungry!”


Hungry, hungry babies.


Don’t be fooled by that look she’s giving me, she was purring up a storm.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Checking out the potential birthing crate.

I had to run a few errands yesterday morning that had me out of the house for almost two hours. I just KNEW I was going to walk into the house and find that Khaleesi had had her babies while I was gone. I was wrong.

I truly don’t know how she can possibly be keeping them in there. Her belly is HUGE and her milk sacs are full (or close to it.) I even bought her a bigger crate to use as a birthing bed in case the bed Kate used didn’t meet with her approval. All systems are GO. Can we get this show on the road? PLEASE?


“Maybe tomorrow.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Corbie, sitting on my desk, and wondering why I’m not petting his beautiful, beautiful self.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Previously
2012: “O joy, it’s my second-favorite human!”
2011: “Hey, you guys, I haz THREE FEET, and you don’t got none! Ha ha ha!”
2010: “How YOU doin’?”
2009: Maximum occupancy: four kittens.
2008: Hissing babies.
2007: “This dressing looks odd,” I said to myself. “I wonder if it’s out of date?”
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.

Comments

64 thoughts on “4-26-13”

  1. Colon Cancer. I’m hysterical.

    Measles would be a cute name, though. Shingles. Bubonic Plague. Myocardial Infarction. Strep Throat.

    Poor poor Khaleesi. Look at that belly.

    1. Truly, I do NOT know how she’s holding those babies in there. She’s going to bust open like an overripe melon!

      1. I keep thinking that Khaleesi’s bullseye must be huge by now, as if it’s pointing out “Babies Here!”

  2. For Rebecca – 2 of my cats have struggled with urinary issues this year, they are now on prescription food. But the one thing that really makes big difference is making sure that they are drinking distilled water. I pour it into their fountain and attach a bottle to their automatic water dohicky. Have even switched my dogs to distilled water from bottled filtered water.

    2. I agree with the bottled water. My vet stressed that when my girl kitty was having problems. We did the special food for a while, but the vet said the water needed to be permanent. But then again, we have very lime-y water in this part of the world so YMMV

    3. Interesting…out water isn’t terribly hard, but it wouldn’t hurt to try!! Thanks!
      (sorry for the delayed response, it’s been a crazy week!)

  3. All weekend, I’ll be saying “I need to check Facebook to see if there are kittens.”

  4. I’m a lurker on the blog and have been for years now. In response to Rebecca’s comment/request for help, I had a similar situation with one of my cats. She actually had a year long UTI. We originally thought it was just chronic UTI’s but eventually (and much money later) discovered it was just one that was highly resistant to antibiotics. But like you, my cat is a Beyotch with a capital b at the vet so it was stressful on everyone. A few things that helped with her – a supplement called D-Mannose and it is supposed to help prevent bacteria from sticking around in that general area (or something like that). The brand we originally got was by Pure Encapsulations which came with a scoop that we used and gave her half of. We eventually got a cheaper brand but it didn’t come with a scoop for the serving. Our vet actually recommended it to us. The other thing we did was switch my cat to a raw diet, specifically Instinct Raw by Nature’s Variety. She had some other dietary issues that made her very sick and that diet has made a world of difference. When she went in after being on it for 6 months our vet was shocked at the difference in her. Much happier and healthier. The raw diet requires a little more work but isn’t bad and while I know that some people are not fans of a raw diet, it has worked wonders in our house. Finally, as much as it stinks (no pun intended), the vet recommended to us to keep the litter boxes cleaned out. Cats (according to my vet) are very tidy creatures by nature and sometimes if their litter box is too dirty they will hold it in for too long which can lead to a UTI. We clean ours out 2 times a day, I take the morning shift and my husband takes evening. Okay, well that’s my novel on our cat and her UTI and what worked for her. Hope it helps.

    1. D-mannose is totally going on my shopping list! The vet said part of her problem is that she doesn’t clean well enough, so the bacteria gets back in occasionally. The litter box duty has been increased, and if she gets another UTI I’ll consider a raw diet. Thank you so much! And I really hope this isn’t a resistant strain…they’ve tried a couple different antibiotics already, and she’s on a longer dose with this round.
      (sorry for the delayed response, it’s been a crazy week!)

  5. I’m home from work today with a sick five-month-old (actually, she’s fine now, but boy, there was a lot of blorting last night. “Blorting” is our family term for barfing and arose as onomatopoeia when one of our cats ate dinner, starting playing too soon after, and immediately, well, blorted) and I am really hoping Khaleesi gives up those babies today so I can follow along.

    The five-month-old is a human, just in case anyone was confused. She attempts to talk to the cats, and they make their feelings clear by immediately getting up and walking away.

    1. I will be stealing “blort” from you and will likely forget to credit you for it. Feel free to call me on it when I do. 🙂

        1. “Hornking” over here. Same genesis as blorting, but with a dog who did his (or maybe her, I can’t remember) “huuuuEH… huuuuEH… huuuuEH…. HORNK” just as we were all digging in to Thanksgiving dinner. Fun times.

          1. My husband will be very happy to know that “blort” is working its way into others’ lexicons (lexica, I suppose). I like “yark” and “hornk” too — I’ve heard both of those sounds as well.

  6. Hmmm. I live in that area and I have enough space in my house to foster. My problem is one of time. I work full-time, have a busy social life, and have three resident cats who are already all over me all the time. How much time does fostering actually take? I’m willing if I can devote the time to it.

    1. It depends on the cat. Some of them just need a safe place to stay until there’s an opening at an adoption spot. Some of them need time and attention to get over whatever it was that landed them in rescue in the first place- maybe just kindness and good food, but some have had it worse and need a little more. The shelter would evaluate your situation to see if it’s a good place to foster, and then match you with the cat that would do best in your environment (they DO have to evaluate, since one common type of hoarder is the sort that claims to be a rescuer!).

      My permanent residents are quite definite about the fact that I can never again fail Fostering 101 (this is what it’s called when you foster and decide to adopt them yourself), but are perfectly willing to ignore the existence of other cats who remain confined to the spare bedroom and do not rudely intrude their existence elsewhere. It works well for me because it’s enough to keep the foster cat happy for a while, but less than they need as a permanent home, so I’m able to foster and still glad to move them on to another family when the right match is found.

  7. Nothing is cuter than nursing babies!!!

    (Why is your water marks so BIG now? – sorry – )

    1. A combination of accidentally deleting my saved watermark and being unable to remember what settings I used, and being annoyed at seeing pictures of mine used without attribution on Facebook no less than four times this week. Give it time, it’ll go back to what it was eventually. 🙂

  8. I have another naming scheme idea: for a litter of all boy kittens, you could name them after ancient Roman emperors (some in the order I can think of them: Claudius, Julius, Augustus, Nero, Domitian, Vespasian, Hadrian, Tiberius, Gaius, Titus –I’m sure there are more) You could add in some of their wives too, if you have girls: Livia and Drusilla and Julia and Flavia come to mind. I’d love to see a set of little Romans!

    1. As a Latin teacher I LOVE this scheme! You could also do ancient authors: Homer, Vergil, Horace, Erinna, etc. I was about to add Cicero, but then I realized: STOMPERS.

    2. Ooh, I don’t know if Nero’s a very good namesake. You might be asking for trouble; he might grow into that personality!

  9. As much as I adore Kate’s litter (but Kate is still my fave in that family), I do think Khaleesi’s batch is going to trump them. I just have this weird sense that she is going to have SUPER adorable fuzzpoppets. I love the “CHALLENGE ACCEPTED” picture. 😀

    1. Me too! I snickered at it as I scrolled past, then paused, scrolled back up, studied it for several seconds, and gave it the belly laugh it deserved.

      I, too, suspect that Madame Khaleesi is going to make all our heads explode when she finally delivers the goods! Also, judging by her belly pics up there, she may make me happy and give you an even dozen kittens, to boot. (c:

  10. For a moment I thought the label on the cat tree said “ARMANI” and I couldn’t figure out why they would make cat trees. I think I watched WAY too much Project Runway last night.

    Oh those baby blues on Charming…wish they would stay that way!

  11. Khaleesi has a very smug look on her face in those two last pics. It’s as if she is thinking, “Yeah lady, you ARE my servant and I know what you want: my kittehs.”

  12. Huh!! snerk, giggle..kittens named Caligula,Typhoid, Fistula and Dick (Grayson) now dancing through my imagination…that just sounds so wrong!! but very funny, haven’t we seen fictional villains somewere?
    Voldemort,Vader and Jadis.A Dark Lords and Villianesses litter would be so fun!
    FYI my Tuxie boy Commodore Fluffy Paws III has a natural brazillian and loves to have belly rubs so lots of very pink skin and yes, hairless nips.He also has a very sparse tail and a balding rear end and its always been that way we had him as a kitten and he’s just made that way.

  13. Poor Khaleesi, her saddle bags are packed full of kittens. I hope she has them soon, just because that looks like a lot of babies to be carrying around. I can’t wait to meet them.

  14. Re: the pronunciation of Khaleesi. As a Dutchie, we do pronounce long ‘e’ as ‘a’. So Khalaysi would be how I would say it had I not already been fully influenced by the show and general anglophile pronunciating of things. 😀

    1. The things you learn on this blog. I am American but have a Dutch coworker named Steven and I couldn’t understand why our other Dutch coworkers pronounce it Stay-ven. Thanks! 🙂

  15. Ok, disease naming theme? Awesome! Cholera, Dysentery! And then you could create a Meme, a pic of you holding Dysentery and a caption from Oregon Trail “You have Dysentery”! I love it.

  18. For Rebecca’s cat with uti I would suggest trying d-mannose…google it. Also I agree that cats don’t like dirty litter boxes and holding in urine because box is not clean can cause uti. If you are using a good scoopable litter it is so easy to clean I use the Worlds Best Cat litter. It is more expensive but so easy to scoop and lasts a long time.

    I just saw this Robyn, got the giggles http://lovemeow.com/2013/04/shark-kitty-and-ducklin

    1. I LOVE that video. That cat is so CASUAL as it rides back and forth on the Roomba. I don’t have a Roomba any more, but I wish I did! 🙂

    2. Definitely trying d-mannose, that sounds like it might help a lot! And husband has been duly informed about the need for more scoopage (I’m off task as we’re trying to conceive). Going to explore litter options as well!
      (sorry for the delayed response, it’s been a crazy week!)

  19. UTI are a pain to deal with. Honestly, my male cat spent six months in a bathroom due to UTI and crystals as I had to monitor him. I started him on cosequin. For a different issue. However, the vet told me that it has helped with UTI as well We spent years fighting UTIs and since the cosequin haven’t had a flare up

    1. Cosequin? Hmm. We used that for the elderly cat. I’ll put that on the list of things to try! Thank heavens it’s a female cat and not a male! UTIs are scarier for male kitties! Ours just had a few crystals in the urine, so nothing major.
      (sorry for the delayed response, it’s been a crazy week!)

  20. I’m just going to pile on with what others said: if a female cat (or human) is holding their urine too long, the bladder can stretch and then be unable to fully empty. That will cause UTI’s.

    And, not to be too mean, but seriously! If your husband won’t clean the litter box, you should step up and do it! Twice a day, NOT twice a week.

    1. I admit, I missed that the litter box was only being scooped twice a week. I’d suggest either adding more litter boxes or scooping more often. Yeah, it sucks – but you get used to it. 🙂

      1. Not to be contrary, but it doesn’t suck if you do it two or three times a day! I know it’s different for the boy cats, who sadly seem more prone to crystals and so on, but the one time a cat of mine (RIP, Molly) got it was when I switched to that litter made from paper (Yesterday’s News?). The Mollster hated the texture and made it clear that that would be the most expensive litter ever owing to the ER visit and later complications. But back to the present: here’s hoping that Khaleesi is happily divesting herself of several healthy, soon-to-be-spoiled poppets. Didn’t Fred prophesy that today (er, among other days) was the day?

    2. I COMPLETELY agree about the litter box. It’s an ongoing battle for us. I used to scoop it every other day, then when we started trying to conceive, the duties (heh heh doodies) went to him. Then after a miscarriage, we decided it was more fair for him to keep scooping so I wasn’t “punished” for what happened. I just assumed it was gross but not detrimental, but I’m seeing a link between the UTI string and his duties. Plus the cat got fatter briefly because of a brain fart in feeding amounts. The vet theorized that her decreased ability to clean her rear made it more likely that the bacteria could work their way back up the tract.
      Between the UTI and the credit card bill, hopefully he’s convinced.

  21. Thanks for giving your pigs cookies and talking about it on the blog. I just got pigs for the first time and I knew I had to make cookies for them because of you. I’ve only had them for 6 days and they are eating out of my hands and coming when called. Thanks for making their lives that much nicer while they are with us. I never would have thought of it without you!

    1. Ha! Love it. Speaking of Game of Thrones (and knowing how Robyn likes sweet snacks given the past two DCEP entries), I have to share the newest ice cream flavor at our local fancy ice cream shop:

      “The Iron Cone (NEW!):
      Our tribute to the Game of Thrones: The cream is dark and full of cherries (black cherry ice cream), the blood of the dragon (spicy dark chocolate swirl) with every bite a stab from the Kingslayer (pierced with broken sugar cones).”

      The shop is Ample Hills in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn — highly recommended if you’re ever in NYC. They try to make everything from local and organic ingredients on site, including the stuff they mix into their flavors. Try Peppermint Patty or Salted Crack Caramel. Or whatever. They’re all great.

      I have not even seen the show, but this ice cream and Khaleesi make me want to watch it.

  25. You know why she hasn’t had those babies yet, right? BECAUSE YOU HAVEN’T POSTED AN ALIEN BELLY VIDEO YET.

  27. Come on, Kalayleelayleesie, give us those babies!!

    I can’t believe how quickly the Royals are growing, seeing them nursing, compared to Kate. They were so teensy just a few weeks ago. Must be some good Mamajuice that Miss Kate is brewing!

    1. HA! You do have to wonder if that’s what they’re saying to themselves when they knock stuff off of surfaces.

Comments are closed.