11.30.2008
Christmas Tree Shenanigans
We put our tree up Saturday. Maybe it's a little early to some, but not to all, and since it's artificial, why not get it up now and enjoy it for as long as possible, right? We are also experimenting with giving Spike and Shelby free (almost) reign of the house. They aren't doing too badly, aside from being overstimulated. Also, they have a fondness for climbing the tree. At first it was just the bottom half or so, but as the day progresses, they are climbing higher and higher. See the picture below of Shelby almost to the top.
11.26.2008
Appointment Update
So, we're upping Spike's medicines, and he goes back on Friday. Which mean's an early escape from the family. Sort of having mixed feelings about that, but it's also Jack's birthday so I'm sure he'll be glad to come home a little earlier.
So, Spike has ulcers in both eyes. The doctor said whatever is going on is probably viral. Which means no real cure. Just treatment and maybe the symptoms will run their course. He might have chronic eye problems. There's no good test for the herpes virus, and the other viral work ups will cost a lot of money and provide nothing more than a potential diagnosis. Because the other cat has already been exposed to whatever it is, and I guess as long as I don't bring any other cats into the house, there's no real point to knowing because again, there's no real treatment other than to monitor and react to the presenting symptoms.
He's still eating, drinking, and playing. He gained 7 ounces in 5 days. But he may have chronic eye problems (can't wait to deal with this for the next 20 years), he may go blind. It seems the biggest concern is perforation, which from what I gather means that the ulcers will eat through his eyes. Lovely.
Oh well. I love them, they're my babies, and I'll do what I have to do. It just sucks, and I feel bad for them, and I want them to be happy and healthy. The pain in the ass related to all these vet appointments, and getting clawed trying to give them various medications, and the cost of the appointments and medications are all secondary, really. I'll do what I need to do, I just wish I didn't have to for their sakes.
So, Spike has ulcers in both eyes. The doctor said whatever is going on is probably viral. Which means no real cure. Just treatment and maybe the symptoms will run their course. He might have chronic eye problems. There's no good test for the herpes virus, and the other viral work ups will cost a lot of money and provide nothing more than a potential diagnosis. Because the other cat has already been exposed to whatever it is, and I guess as long as I don't bring any other cats into the house, there's no real point to knowing because again, there's no real treatment other than to monitor and react to the presenting symptoms.
He's still eating, drinking, and playing. He gained 7 ounces in 5 days. But he may have chronic eye problems (can't wait to deal with this for the next 20 years), he may go blind. It seems the biggest concern is perforation, which from what I gather means that the ulcers will eat through his eyes. Lovely.
Oh well. I love them, they're my babies, and I'll do what I have to do. It just sucks, and I feel bad for them, and I want them to be happy and healthy. The pain in the ass related to all these vet appointments, and getting clawed trying to give them various medications, and the cost of the appointments and medications are all secondary, really. I'll do what I need to do, I just wish I didn't have to for their sakes.
It will all be ok, right?
So, Spike is off to the vet, again, for his eyes, again. Even the receptionist at the vet was suprised. See, he was getting better. I was excited, happy, relieved. Maybe it meant we were done with this. We could follow up with the vet, and he'd get a decently clean bill of health, and we could go on our merry way. Well, it turns out our luck is not that great.
Last night when I got home, one of Spike's eyes was swollen. I worried, but thought maybe he just irritated it a little, playing or scratching or something else these wild kittens are doing when I'm not around. I was hopeful that it would clear up quickly (and in fact, it looked better at bedtime last night), but that hope was misplaced. This morning it didn't look better. In fact, it probably looked worse.
So, off to the vet we go. I figure I have few options. If I wait on it, and go away for 2 days, I will be worried and wracked with guilt, especially if it escalates while I'm gone. And I don't want to waste my holiday worrying when it's something I just need to take care of. I'm trying not to be bitter, and really, my bitterness is just a result of being frustrated and worried.
Whatever. We're off to the vet this evening. I never brought the poop sample I was supposed to bring. Maybe I can swing that tonight. I'll probably get scolded. whatev.
Last night when I got home, one of Spike's eyes was swollen. I worried, but thought maybe he just irritated it a little, playing or scratching or something else these wild kittens are doing when I'm not around. I was hopeful that it would clear up quickly (and in fact, it looked better at bedtime last night), but that hope was misplaced. This morning it didn't look better. In fact, it probably looked worse.
So, off to the vet we go. I figure I have few options. If I wait on it, and go away for 2 days, I will be worried and wracked with guilt, especially if it escalates while I'm gone. And I don't want to waste my holiday worrying when it's something I just need to take care of. I'm trying not to be bitter, and really, my bitterness is just a result of being frustrated and worried.
Whatever. We're off to the vet this evening. I never brought the poop sample I was supposed to bring. Maybe I can swing that tonight. I'll probably get scolded. whatev.
It's Birthday Time
I want to give a shout out to my sister on her 26th (!) birthday.
26 will be a good year. Have no worries, and enjoy yourself.
Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Gasoline,
happy birthday to you!
26 will be a good year. Have no worries, and enjoy yourself.
11.25.2008
Kitten Concussions
So, Spike is doing much better, which is leading to all kinds of kitten antics in the basement. Shelby was bad enough on his own, but with his brother getting more active again, it's one hazard after another. If I didn't know better, I'd think they were blind. Maybe they are just growing so quickly that they don't realize their own size. They are perhaps awkward and don't do so well with depth perception yet. They are stealthy when it comes to sneaking behind the poster barrier to the other room. They manage to sneak through a space 2 inches wide, and go hide in the Christmas tree. The biggest concern, however, is how durable their little heads are.
After taking their mid evening naps, they awoke with full force around 9:30. They leap through the room from surface to surface. They climb up the chairs, they hide behind the sofa. They find everything they aren't supposed to find. They chase each other and do flips through the air, off the sofa, into the table. They run as fast as their little kitten legs can manage--right into large hard objects. The room is full of the thumping of their feet, and the thuds as they ram their heads into the bar, the table, the sofa frame. In their rush to hide under the furniture, the underestimate their size, or overestimate the space limitations. The worst though, are the hard smacks when they run into something that is, for them, pretty immovable. Last night Shelby dove headfirst into a large speaker. It wasn't just a little tap. It was full force. I mean, he hit it and bounced off of it, sitting there for a moment stunned. It worried me, but didn't seem to affect him much at all. In just an instant he was at it again, plowing through the room.
And poor Spike. He who is just recovering from his ulcers, conjunctivitis, etc.,. We've introduced the squirt bottle, in futile hopes of curbing the desire to turn our (discontinued) sofa into a scratching post. Jack complains, but won't enforce. But I made him last night, and I fear it will be the end of Jack's disciplining of the cats. Spike was scratching at the sofa, and Jack gave him one little squirt, that sent the guy running, stunned in the other direction. Right. Smack. Into. a roll of shrink wrap. We watched as he bounced back, and the roll slammed to the floor. This is not light, fluffy or soft. It is hilarious to watch, but still a bit worrisome to see him sulk off and rubbed at his poor nose. Jack felt pretty bad about that one.
These are the worst two incidents we've witnessed at this point. Maybe they'll figure it out soon. Maybe not. As I was laying in bed reading, I heard Jack trying to calm them down and wrangle them as they were doing flips off the sofa and slamming into the coffee table.
They don't seem any worse for the wear. It doesn't exactly give me hope though. I'm slightly dreading the release from the bathroom into the basement, and from the basement into the rest of the house. I expect that they will have the run of the place by Christmas. I'm pretty sure I'll come home one day to find the tree toppled over, broken glass everywhere, and grinning kittens near by.
I'll be sure to post pictures. :)
After taking their mid evening naps, they awoke with full force around 9:30. They leap through the room from surface to surface. They climb up the chairs, they hide behind the sofa. They find everything they aren't supposed to find. They chase each other and do flips through the air, off the sofa, into the table. They run as fast as their little kitten legs can manage--right into large hard objects. The room is full of the thumping of their feet, and the thuds as they ram their heads into the bar, the table, the sofa frame. In their rush to hide under the furniture, the underestimate their size, or overestimate the space limitations. The worst though, are the hard smacks when they run into something that is, for them, pretty immovable. Last night Shelby dove headfirst into a large speaker. It wasn't just a little tap. It was full force. I mean, he hit it and bounced off of it, sitting there for a moment stunned. It worried me, but didn't seem to affect him much at all. In just an instant he was at it again, plowing through the room.
And poor Spike. He who is just recovering from his ulcers, conjunctivitis, etc.,. We've introduced the squirt bottle, in futile hopes of curbing the desire to turn our (discontinued) sofa into a scratching post. Jack complains, but won't enforce. But I made him last night, and I fear it will be the end of Jack's disciplining of the cats. Spike was scratching at the sofa, and Jack gave him one little squirt, that sent the guy running, stunned in the other direction. Right. Smack. Into. a roll of shrink wrap. We watched as he bounced back, and the roll slammed to the floor. This is not light, fluffy or soft. It is hilarious to watch, but still a bit worrisome to see him sulk off and rubbed at his poor nose. Jack felt pretty bad about that one.
These are the worst two incidents we've witnessed at this point. Maybe they'll figure it out soon. Maybe not. As I was laying in bed reading, I heard Jack trying to calm them down and wrangle them as they were doing flips off the sofa and slamming into the coffee table.
They don't seem any worse for the wear. It doesn't exactly give me hope though. I'm slightly dreading the release from the bathroom into the basement, and from the basement into the rest of the house. I expect that they will have the run of the place by Christmas. I'm pretty sure I'll come home one day to find the tree toppled over, broken glass everywhere, and grinning kittens near by.
I'll be sure to post pictures. :)
FYI, I've had coffee this morning.
So, in talking to Jack last night regarding Christmas presents, we decided to do minimal gift giving to each other, with the idea that if we get some cash for Christmas (which we're hoping for, not because we're greedy, but really, we don't need anything little; not clothes, not crap to set around the house, etc.) we might be able to pool that, and take some from ourselves and get a new TV for the Mantuary. I am very excited about this plan.
This plan has led me to thinking about the set up of our house, our TV habits, and how freaking ugly the TV is in our living room. It's huge and basically unmovable. Chances are it won't survive any attempts at moving it. It came with the house so it's sort of like a bonus, and I don't really care if it implodes and turns into dust. At least then I could sweep it out the front door easily enough. I'm not opposed to TV in the living room. I was raised in a house where there was no tv in the living room, and that was fine. I think it probably helped to create some family bonding time that maybe we wouldn't have had if we had different places to watch it. No tv in our bedrooms, none in the living room. Just my parents' bedroom and the basement. Sure, it was annoying sometimes, and occassionally there were issues over what we would actually watch, but all in all, it was better.
Not to mention the fact that I think the television is sucking my brain out. When I come home and want to relax, when I'm bored, or lonely, I turn on the TV in that living room, and let it turn me into an idiot. In all reality I'd rather read a book than watch tv, but it's like some kind of mind control device beckoning me.
The drawbacks to ditching the TV in there are that sometimes Jack wants to play video games that I don't want to watch. Sometimes he wants to watch a movie, or be left alone. This will, in effect, banish me to the bedroom if there is something on that I really do want to watch. But really, there are so few things I really want to watch. The things I want to watch Jack also wants to watch.
It's a tough call, I think, because if I get rid of the TV in the living room, and there IS something I want to watch that Jack definitely does NOT want to watch, my bargaining power will be lessened. He'd probably concede, but I'd be invading his mantuary, and I don't really want to do that. This is just the tv tricking me. It is unnecessary. We are two people in a house with not THAT many rooms, 4 tvs, 4 cable hook ups, and a cable bill that is 150 bucks a month (ok, that includes phone and internet, but still, up to $100 of that is for the tvs). Stupid. Gluttonous. Not to mention that the tv in the guest room is a total waste, as we never have guests. And they could do without tv regardless.
Ok. I'm talking myself in circles, and I'm pretty sure it's because tv has gotten me all hooked like drugs would. But really, I can watch many shows on the computer. I can prop myself up in the bedroom and watch something if I really want to (and can't access the tv downstairs for whatever reason), and I can spend all that wasted time doing something else like reading, or cleaning, or hey, studying, since that is in my near future.
I'm going to talk it over with Jack and see what his thoughts are. I'm starting to really like this idea.
This plan has led me to thinking about the set up of our house, our TV habits, and how freaking ugly the TV is in our living room. It's huge and basically unmovable. Chances are it won't survive any attempts at moving it. It came with the house so it's sort of like a bonus, and I don't really care if it implodes and turns into dust. At least then I could sweep it out the front door easily enough. I'm not opposed to TV in the living room. I was raised in a house where there was no tv in the living room, and that was fine. I think it probably helped to create some family bonding time that maybe we wouldn't have had if we had different places to watch it. No tv in our bedrooms, none in the living room. Just my parents' bedroom and the basement. Sure, it was annoying sometimes, and occassionally there were issues over what we would actually watch, but all in all, it was better.
Not to mention the fact that I think the television is sucking my brain out. When I come home and want to relax, when I'm bored, or lonely, I turn on the TV in that living room, and let it turn me into an idiot. In all reality I'd rather read a book than watch tv, but it's like some kind of mind control device beckoning me.
The drawbacks to ditching the TV in there are that sometimes Jack wants to play video games that I don't want to watch. Sometimes he wants to watch a movie, or be left alone. This will, in effect, banish me to the bedroom if there is something on that I really do want to watch. But really, there are so few things I really want to watch. The things I want to watch Jack also wants to watch.
It's a tough call, I think, because if I get rid of the TV in the living room, and there IS something I want to watch that Jack definitely does NOT want to watch, my bargaining power will be lessened. He'd probably concede, but I'd be invading his mantuary, and I don't really want to do that. This is just the tv tricking me. It is unnecessary. We are two people in a house with not THAT many rooms, 4 tvs, 4 cable hook ups, and a cable bill that is 150 bucks a month (ok, that includes phone and internet, but still, up to $100 of that is for the tvs). Stupid. Gluttonous. Not to mention that the tv in the guest room is a total waste, as we never have guests. And they could do without tv regardless.
Ok. I'm talking myself in circles, and I'm pretty sure it's because tv has gotten me all hooked like drugs would. But really, I can watch many shows on the computer. I can prop myself up in the bedroom and watch something if I really want to (and can't access the tv downstairs for whatever reason), and I can spend all that wasted time doing something else like reading, or cleaning, or hey, studying, since that is in my near future.
I'm going to talk it over with Jack and see what his thoughts are. I'm starting to really like this idea.
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