Amy, live and online, with the kitten she and Nicky found on the porch of a house under construction. It's cute. It's tiny. It has fleas. Who cares? :-)
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Little Miracle
This kitten is sitting in a saucer, not a plate ... and the bottle of soda is 20 oz., not 2 liter. She is TINY. Amy and Nicky found her on the porch of a house under construction ... no mom in sight ... and the remains of a second kitten scattered in a corner of the porch. Nicky wants to keep her; Nicky's husband doesn't sound so convinced. Either way, thank goodness the little one is somewhere more safe now, and has a vet appt for Thursday to be checked over.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Waxing nostalgic ... and strangeness in the McCarragher pride of kitties
Amy has been waxing nostalgic about our kitties ... with new comments on old Flickr photos, so I gave her an update on the clan. You can read it, following the pictures.
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1 view  | 1-2003 Reggie on Amy 1.JPG
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1 view | 5-27-2000 Amy & Mack.JPG
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5 views | Amy + Spare Cat 10-15-1994.jpg
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Sunday, August 05, 2007
Personalities
For years, my children have been teasing me that "my cat" is stupid. They're not trying to be mean ... Lucky really is "special" in ways we are not entirely proud of. He's the one in the center of the above picture -- and I have to admit that his blank stare is quite characteristic. He doesn't catch on quickly, he seems bewildered more often than not, and he's a bit slow, both mentally and physically. Mack, on the left, looks to me as if he's saying, "What do you want NOW? I'm busy."
And Reggie, on the right, always seems to be posing. He knows he's good looking. See how he's flirting with you?
A minute later, Mack is back to observing the out-of-doors, Lucky is wondering what it was he was thinking of doing a second ago, and Reggie is checking out the spot on Lucky's back that regularly gets rumpled when Reg gets frisky. Ahem.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Mack got to play outside!
I don't know why ... maybe because I'm still so thrilled he is alive, and he ALWAYS wants to go outside. Maybe because the weather has been gorgeous, and I wish I could take him for a walk. Maybe because I'm crazy ... the last time I was at the pet supply store (getting canned Wellness brand cat food for Mack, of course), I also bought a harness and leash.
At first, he just laid in the grass. Then he started exploring. I had to rein him in when he took off after a moth -- I wasn't prepared to move that fast. I took some video, but it's not very exciting, so here are the still photos.
As you can see, his fur has grown back fully, and he's back to being a pleasantly rounded kitty.
For the record ... I suppose I AM playing favorites. However, the truth is that Reggie really wants nothing to do with going outside, and Lucky would just lay in the grass. I will probably give each of them an opportunity to enjoy the outdoors, too. For now, though, Mack is the only one who has had this treat.
Monday, July 09, 2007
No Worries!
Amy stayed with Mack overnight several times while we were away, and made sure he kept eating.
When we returned on Saturday, making several trips to empty our cars, Mack was feeling spunky enough to watch the door for an opportunity to zip by us and get another taste of the outdoors. Fortunately, he was unsuccessful.
I picked him up and cuddled him for a minute when we first arrived, which seemed to satisfy his need to be touched ... in fact, I'd even say he seemed a little standoffish as we settled back in. But he was eager for his canned food treat by 4 p.m., and presented himself for a good belly rub later, spreading out on the sofa next to me as John and I watched "Muriel's Wedding" from Netflix.
Now I'm in Duluth for a conference until Wednesday night ... but I'm not worried. John is home, and Mack is fine!
When we returned on Saturday, making several trips to empty our cars, Mack was feeling spunky enough to watch the door for an opportunity to zip by us and get another taste of the outdoors. Fortunately, he was unsuccessful.
I picked him up and cuddled him for a minute when we first arrived, which seemed to satisfy his need to be touched ... in fact, I'd even say he seemed a little standoffish as we settled back in. But he was eager for his canned food treat by 4 p.m., and presented himself for a good belly rub later, spreading out on the sofa next to me as John and I watched "Muriel's Wedding" from Netflix.
Now I'm in Duluth for a conference until Wednesday night ... but I'm not worried. John is home, and Mack is fine!
Monday, June 25, 2007
Talk to the Animals
My neighbor, Gordon, is a real down-to-earth guy. He has two bearded collies that are simply adorable, clever, and fun. He keeps them busy with agility training, and it keeps him on the go, too.
This weekend, we had a rummage sale. It was an opportunity for all the neighbors we never see during the wintertime to come over and visit for a while. Gordon stopped in with both his collies, Molly and Annie, in tow. He told us his daughter had been in town over Father's Day weekend, and as part of the visit his wife had arranged for a consultation with an animal communicator. He hadn't expected much, but thought it might be fun -- what he didn't expect was to come away wishing he had prepared better for the session, because he has questions he wishes he had asked!
Okay, you can think what you want ... but Gordon was most amazed when the animal communicator asked Molly and Annie if there was anything they wanted him to know ... and they responded that they really missed the chew treats he used to give them. Now -- NO ONE knew Gordon had stopped giving them the rawhide treats three weeks prior to this session ... not the wife, not the daughter, and certainly not the animal communicator. Only Gordon, Annie, and Molly knew!
Another thing Gordon wondered about was how Molly and Annie felt about the little cockapoo his wife had just gotten. The bearded collies' answer? They don't really see the little dog very often, so it's okay. What? Well, Gordon and his wife life on opposite sides of town, and when they do see each other, the dogs aren't always with them! Interesting.
Other things were communicated: Molly is older, and said she is having some pain in her left front "ankle" and her back. Gordon suspected this, from the way she moved after agility training ... but she wasn't showing any signs of it at the consultation. Annie, young and energetic, was asked how she liked agility training; she said she was having trouble with the "teeter" (like a teeter-totter on a playground) ... which Gordon says was the only thing they had a problem with that day at practice! Gordon asked what he could do to make it easier for her, and Annie said she'd like it if he would stay near her until she was off the teeter and feeling more confident. They tried it in their next practice session, and it worked like a charm! Annie also said she liked agility except when she does things wrong, and then she doesn't like doing it anymore because she really wants to please Gordon. Awwwww....
Okay, so where am I going with this?
Sometimes, like most pet owners, I wonder what my cats are thinking. When Mack was sick, I NEEDED to know why he wouldn't eat. I know the answer, once he was in the midst of liver failure, would have been that he just didn't feel well. But before that ... why did he stop eating?
Amy wants to know, so she can feel better ... she doesn't want the answer to be, "because of the little cat" that Amy brought home. That's what WE think was the problem. Along with losing our 16-year-old dog, Cinnamon. And the fact that mom and dad went away for a week and some of our pet-care plans fell through. Not enough to have a dramatic impact, under normal circumstances. But the combination of factors, we're thinking, might have been the reason.
Why does it matter?
Our week-long vacation starts Sunday.
I was feeling desperate to have one of these animal communication consultations, so I could tell Mack that we'll be gone -- that *I* will be gone -- for a while, but that I need him to be okay ... I need him to keep eating.
The animal communicator website says we are all born with the ability to communicate telepathically. There are classes to help us enhance our abilities.
Well, I thought, maybe I should just TELL him myself.
Mack was in the other room, in my line of sight, grooming himself, when I had this thought. I looked intently at him, and thought, "Mack, I NEED YOU TO KNOW ..." Mack stopped his grooming and looked up at me, staring straight into my eyes. I continued, "We're going away for a while, but we'll be back. I NEED you to keep eating!"
He continued to stare at me for about 30 seconds. Then he went back to grooming himself, as if to say, "yeah, yeah, yeah. stop worrying."
Then he curled up and rested his chin on the side of the carpeted nest.
Maybe, just maybe, we had a moment of cross-species communication?
This weekend, we had a rummage sale. It was an opportunity for all the neighbors we never see during the wintertime to come over and visit for a while. Gordon stopped in with both his collies, Molly and Annie, in tow. He told us his daughter had been in town over Father's Day weekend, and as part of the visit his wife had arranged for a consultation with an animal communicator. He hadn't expected much, but thought it might be fun -- what he didn't expect was to come away wishing he had prepared better for the session, because he has questions he wishes he had asked!
Okay, you can think what you want ... but Gordon was most amazed when the animal communicator asked Molly and Annie if there was anything they wanted him to know ... and they responded that they really missed the chew treats he used to give them. Now -- NO ONE knew Gordon had stopped giving them the rawhide treats three weeks prior to this session ... not the wife, not the daughter, and certainly not the animal communicator. Only Gordon, Annie, and Molly knew!
Another thing Gordon wondered about was how Molly and Annie felt about the little cockapoo his wife had just gotten. The bearded collies' answer? They don't really see the little dog very often, so it's okay. What? Well, Gordon and his wife life on opposite sides of town, and when they do see each other, the dogs aren't always with them! Interesting.
Other things were communicated: Molly is older, and said she is having some pain in her left front "ankle" and her back. Gordon suspected this, from the way she moved after agility training ... but she wasn't showing any signs of it at the consultation. Annie, young and energetic, was asked how she liked agility training; she said she was having trouble with the "teeter" (like a teeter-totter on a playground) ... which Gordon says was the only thing they had a problem with that day at practice! Gordon asked what he could do to make it easier for her, and Annie said she'd like it if he would stay near her until she was off the teeter and feeling more confident. They tried it in their next practice session, and it worked like a charm! Annie also said she liked agility except when she does things wrong, and then she doesn't like doing it anymore because she really wants to please Gordon. Awwwww....
Okay, so where am I going with this?
Sometimes, like most pet owners, I wonder what my cats are thinking. When Mack was sick, I NEEDED to know why he wouldn't eat. I know the answer, once he was in the midst of liver failure, would have been that he just didn't feel well. But before that ... why did he stop eating?
Amy wants to know, so she can feel better ... she doesn't want the answer to be, "because of the little cat" that Amy brought home. That's what WE think was the problem. Along with losing our 16-year-old dog, Cinnamon. And the fact that mom and dad went away for a week and some of our pet-care plans fell through. Not enough to have a dramatic impact, under normal circumstances. But the combination of factors, we're thinking, might have been the reason.
Why does it matter?
Our week-long vacation starts Sunday.
I was feeling desperate to have one of these animal communication consultations, so I could tell Mack that we'll be gone -- that *I* will be gone -- for a while, but that I need him to be okay ... I need him to keep eating.
The animal communicator website says we are all born with the ability to communicate telepathically. There are classes to help us enhance our abilities.
Well, I thought, maybe I should just TELL him myself.
Mack was in the other room, in my line of sight, grooming himself, when I had this thought. I looked intently at him, and thought, "Mack, I NEED YOU TO KNOW ..." Mack stopped his grooming and looked up at me, staring straight into my eyes. I continued, "We're going away for a while, but we'll be back. I NEED you to keep eating!"
He continued to stare at me for about 30 seconds. Then he went back to grooming himself, as if to say, "yeah, yeah, yeah. stop worrying."
Then he curled up and rested his chin on the side of the carpeted nest.
Maybe, just maybe, we had a moment of cross-species communication?
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Long overdue - Mack update
Last night I woke up to the touch of something soft and warm very lightly pressing on my eyebrow. My hand discovered that it was Mack's paw -- he was stretching in his sleep, curled up in the space above my pillow.
Sometimes, I feel as if he's just reaching out for the reassurance that I'm there.
Sometimes, I think he doesn't consider me a person at all, but sees me as a fellow feline. This was reinforced recently when I read a tip from CatAge.com that said cats don't meow to each other -- only to humans. My cats are singularly silent, most days. Why should they meow, when we're the same species?
Ah, but which species do they think we are?
I've come to the conclusion that they think THEY are people, not that I'm a cat. It explains why they think they belong at the table when we're having a meal, and why Mack believes breakfast (and dinner) in bed is the way things ought to be.
Really.
I can put the dish of canned food on the FLOOR in our bedroom, to keep it away from the other two cats ... but he will often ignore it, and wait for me to serve the same dish ON the bed, instead. (Mack is still the only one who gets canned food, since Reggie and Lucky don't NEED more calories or more reasons to be obnoxious.)
I try not to indulge this eccentricity, but when the food has been sitting, untouched, for hours, there are times I will lift it to the bed, just to see ... yes, there he goes ... that's what he was waiting for.
Other times, simply conceding the bed is not enough to make up for my neglecting protocol. Sometimes, he won't touch it unless I lift the bowl to within an inch of his face, at which time he will bend ever so slightly and begin nibbling daintily, as if to communicate that he does, after all, forgive me for expecting him to eat on the floor.
There are other residual behaviors that Mack displays, and I'm not sure when they will fade. At times, all I have to do is hold him and cuddle him for 30 seconds, giving him my undivided attention and love ... and when I put him down, suddenly, he'll walk over to the food dish and dig in.
Certainly the 4:30 a.m. expectation that if he paws the hollow-core door (exceedingly loud at 4:30 a.m.!), someone (me) will get up and put food in the dish and coax him to eat. THAT has not happened for at least a month, so I'm not sure WHY he still hopes it will!
In fact, John has adopted a new behavior of his own, in response to Mack's early-morning demands for attention. He keeps his slippers by the bed, not to slip onto his feet when he gets up -- but to fire at the door when Mack is particularly insistent about early-morning in-and-out and in-and-out of the bedroom routine. (We hate to ignore his request to leave the bedroom, since we don't have a litter box in there anymore!) Don't worry ... John only throws the slipper when Mack is OUTSIDE the door, and only after he has gone in and out, in and out at least a couple of times.
The long and the short of it is that Mack is fine -- a bit more eccentric than before he took ill, and even more cuddly and loving. Our biggest worry now is what will happen when we go away to summer camp in early July. We're hoping our daughter might stay at our house to keep him company, just this year, so he doesn't decide to stop eating again.
Otherwise, I think it's safe to say -- we're home free.
His fur is even growing back!
The top two pictures below are of Mack today. The bottom two are of him right after the feeding tube was removed. I think you'll agree ... he's looking pretty good!
Sometimes, I feel as if he's just reaching out for the reassurance that I'm there.
Sometimes, I think he doesn't consider me a person at all, but sees me as a fellow feline. This was reinforced recently when I read a tip from CatAge.com that said cats don't meow to each other -- only to humans. My cats are singularly silent, most days. Why should they meow, when we're the same species?
Ah, but which species do they think we are?
I've come to the conclusion that they think THEY are people, not that I'm a cat. It explains why they think they belong at the table when we're having a meal, and why Mack believes breakfast (and dinner) in bed is the way things ought to be.
Really.
I can put the dish of canned food on the FLOOR in our bedroom, to keep it away from the other two cats ... but he will often ignore it, and wait for me to serve the same dish ON the bed, instead. (Mack is still the only one who gets canned food, since Reggie and Lucky don't NEED more calories or more reasons to be obnoxious.)
I try not to indulge this eccentricity, but when the food has been sitting, untouched, for hours, there are times I will lift it to the bed, just to see ... yes, there he goes ... that's what he was waiting for.
Other times, simply conceding the bed is not enough to make up for my neglecting protocol. Sometimes, he won't touch it unless I lift the bowl to within an inch of his face, at which time he will bend ever so slightly and begin nibbling daintily, as if to communicate that he does, after all, forgive me for expecting him to eat on the floor.
There are other residual behaviors that Mack displays, and I'm not sure when they will fade. At times, all I have to do is hold him and cuddle him for 30 seconds, giving him my undivided attention and love ... and when I put him down, suddenly, he'll walk over to the food dish and dig in.
Certainly the 4:30 a.m. expectation that if he paws the hollow-core door (exceedingly loud at 4:30 a.m.!), someone (me) will get up and put food in the dish and coax him to eat. THAT has not happened for at least a month, so I'm not sure WHY he still hopes it will!
In fact, John has adopted a new behavior of his own, in response to Mack's early-morning demands for attention. He keeps his slippers by the bed, not to slip onto his feet when he gets up -- but to fire at the door when Mack is particularly insistent about early-morning in-and-out and in-and-out of the bedroom routine. (We hate to ignore his request to leave the bedroom, since we don't have a litter box in there anymore!) Don't worry ... John only throws the slipper when Mack is OUTSIDE the door, and only after he has gone in and out, in and out at least a couple of times.
The long and the short of it is that Mack is fine -- a bit more eccentric than before he took ill, and even more cuddly and loving. Our biggest worry now is what will happen when we go away to summer camp in early July. We're hoping our daughter might stay at our house to keep him company, just this year, so he doesn't decide to stop eating again.
Otherwise, I think it's safe to say -- we're home free.
His fur is even growing back!
The top two pictures below are of Mack today. The bottom two are of him right after the feeding tube was removed. I think you'll agree ... he's looking pretty good!
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Monday, May 14, 2007
Hallelujah!
You've got to be tired of good news by now, right?
Well, I'll bore you with one more delightful fact: Mack has been spotted eating REGULAR CAT FOOD, *twice* yesterday, alone -- for the first time since he's been sick.
I've hesitated to announce "Mission Accomplished!" before now, for fear it would prove to be premature and overly optimistic -- but I feel pretty safe, now that he's overtly eating with the other guys.
That means we can gradually wean him off the Kitten Chow and Wellness canned foods.
The whole crew may get a treat now and then, but our goal is to get everyone on the same food again.
Every time I have given Reggie & Lucky little bits of the special foods, it has crossed my mind that I'm taking a chance that Lucky will get another urinary blockage (he's had 4-5 already in his lifetime ... most recently about 2 years ago). That's why everyone has been eating Purina ONE Special Care - Urinary Tract Health Formula for years and years. We had tried moving them to the older-cat formula because they are all really pretty much couch potatoes ... but even as an older cat, Lucky's body accumulates crystals that create blockages and threaten his life ... so -- Special Care it is!
We've been monitoring Mack's caloric intake since the tube was removed 1 1/2 weeks ago, just to be sure he's within a healthy range. The values have varied wildly, from a high of 442 (oink!) to a low of 129 (not nearly enough).
Based on what I've read at the website of the Hill's Prescription Diet a/d food that brought him back to life, a cat his size that is recovering from hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver) should get about 231 calories ... the vet estimated 273 ... so we're trying to be sure he's somewhere in that range.
My question is: what about a WELL cat? We don't want his weight to go so high that he's at risk of hepatic lipidosis again ... so I have to research what his range should be, now that he doesn't need to GAIN anymore weight. (At his last vet appointment, Mack was 9.25 pounds. This morning, on my unscientific scale, I'm guessing he's nearer to 10 pounds. Enough!)
Oh! One more detail: Mack's neck has healed beautifully! The area that was sore around the feeding tube, as well as where the tube entered, is all closed and healed with no complications at all. He's still a little bare, of course --- I'm surprised how long it's taking to grow back that fur on his neck and legs --- and I've discovered the true purpose of cat fur is to insulate unsuspecting humans from scalding themselves on the true body temperature of a healthy cat. Zowie! They're warm!
Our next challenge is getting a good night's sleep ... Mack has still been in our bedroom with us, and (affectionate as it is) I'm not getting much sleep when Mack decides to park on my chest and poke his nose into my face!
This is a small price, though, for having this cuddler back in true form. I find myself petting him and saying things like, "You're such a good boy ... and so ALIVE! What a wonderful kitty!"
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Friday, May 11, 2007
Mack video
Mack playing with daddy - April 13, 2007 - 2 weeks with feeding tube and feeling better!
Mack - April 13, 2007 - Now that I have it ... what do I do with it?
Mack - done playing - huddled near the heater - April 13, 2007
Mack - healthy and relaxed - May 11, 2007
Mack - eager to enter the "dining room" - May 11, 2007
Mack - May 11, 2007 - "This is where you offer me the delicious expensive canned food in a bowl ...."
Mack - April 13, 2007 - Now that I have it ... what do I do with it?
Mack - done playing - huddled near the heater - April 13, 2007
Mack - healthy and relaxed - May 11, 2007
Mack - eager to enter the "dining room" - May 11, 2007
Mack - May 11, 2007 - "This is where you offer me the delicious expensive canned food in a bowl ...."
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Calories per can of Wellness brand cat foods
Just received these calorie counts for the Wellness brand cat food Mack will eat.
Since we're supposed to be getting him 273 calories every day, this is important information ... but it wasn't listed on the cans or on the company's website.
Their customer service department is very responsive, though -- I got these values this morning, after sending an email request yesterday in the evening!
I'm posting them here for future reference, and in case it will help anyone else in a similar situation in the future!
Since we're supposed to be getting him 273 calories every day, this is important information ... but it wasn't listed on the cans or on the company's website.
Their customer service department is very responsive, though -- I got these values this morning, after sending an email request yesterday in the evening!
I'm posting them here for future reference, and in case it will help anyone else in a similar situation in the future!
Calories in Wellness Canned Cat Foods- by Can Size
Chicken
3oz 120
5.5oz 220
12.5oz 500
Chicken & Herring
3oz 103
5.5oz 189
12.5oz 429
Beef & Chicken
3oz 105
5.5oz 193
12.5oz 439
Turkey
3oz 119
5.5oz 218
12.5oz 495
Turkey & Salmon
3oz 99
5.5oz 181
12.5oz 412
Sardine, Shrimp & Crab
3oz 89
5.5oz 163
12.5oz 370
Salmon & Trout
3oz 113
5.5oz 208
12.5oz 472
Chicken & Lobster
3oz 107
5.5oz 195
12.5oz 444
Kitten
3oz 121
Nicole Bibeau
Specialist
Consumer Affairs
(request #000026373B)
Monday, May 07, 2007
Appetite stimulant and new toys
My friend Mary wrote:
Just read your Sunday post and had a thought - check the cans for additives/preservatives. Mack didn't "eat" for such a long time that maybe these "extras" have a smell of their own that he only now notices? Just a very wild guess. It's just good to hear that he is eating on his own (and with your cross-town trek, apparently eating very well-traveled cat food : - ).
That's entirely possible, Mary. I do know, after further research, that the Wellness brand uses human-grade food products in its line of pet foods -- which makes it less icky for me to be stirring it up with my *fingers*! Some of that canned pet food is absolutely disgusting, from a purely human mostly-vegetarian point of view!
Last night before bed, since Mack hadn't eaten enough food all day, I popped a half-tablet of appetite stimulant down his throat. He wasn't happy with me, but it was pretty quick with the new pill plunger I picked up at the Cat Doctor on Friday, for just this purpose. It places the pill well past the cat's tongue, so it's less likely to end up getting spit out!
Anyway, between 10 p.m. and 6:30 this morning, Mack ate a whopping 5 2/3 tablespoons of Kitten Chow (compared with 4 1/3 all day yesterday). He *really* wanted his canned food, too -- and gobbled down 2 1/4 oz. before I left for work! That's as much as he ate yesterday, all day!
He was really bouncy and energetic yesterday, though. I bought some new cat toys, and Mack (along with Reggie and Lucky) played with every one of them. The first one, a 2 1/2" glow-in-the-dark white pom pom with metallic blue threads, Mack tossed up in the air (I swear!) about 4', and followed with a leap of his own, about 4" behind it -- but he did a flip instead of catching it, and landed smack on his back on the hardwood floor. Didn't hurt him -- he took off like a demon, and hid under the papasan for a while. Didn't play with THAT toy again.
I coaxed him out, and he wasn't hurt, just shocked and embarrassed, I think. I had to laugh out loud, though!
He's been darting around, in and out of doors as if we can't see him streak by ... just like before he was sick. He's DEFINITELY feeling better.
This morning, though, after gorging on the canned food (which was less than we'd been stuffing into his tummy when we were tube-feeding, so I wasn't worried that he was overeating), he was all relaxed and curled up for a nap at the foot of the bed. Made me smile.
Mack is back.
Just read your Sunday post and had a thought - check the cans for additives/preservatives. Mack didn't "eat" for such a long time that maybe these "extras" have a smell of their own that he only now notices? Just a very wild guess. It's just good to hear that he is eating on his own (and with your cross-town trek, apparently eating very well-traveled cat food : - ).
That's entirely possible, Mary. I do know, after further research, that the Wellness brand uses human-grade food products in its line of pet foods -- which makes it less icky for me to be stirring it up with my *fingers*! Some of that canned pet food is absolutely disgusting, from a purely human mostly-vegetarian point of view!
Last night before bed, since Mack hadn't eaten enough food all day, I popped a half-tablet of appetite stimulant down his throat. He wasn't happy with me, but it was pretty quick with the new pill plunger I picked up at the Cat Doctor on Friday, for just this purpose. It places the pill well past the cat's tongue, so it's less likely to end up getting spit out!
Anyway, between 10 p.m. and 6:30 this morning, Mack ate a whopping 5 2/3 tablespoons of Kitten Chow (compared with 4 1/3 all day yesterday). He *really* wanted his canned food, too -- and gobbled down 2 1/4 oz. before I left for work! That's as much as he ate yesterday, all day!
He was really bouncy and energetic yesterday, though. I bought some new cat toys, and Mack (along with Reggie and Lucky) played with every one of them. The first one, a 2 1/2" glow-in-the-dark white pom pom with metallic blue threads, Mack tossed up in the air (I swear!) about 4', and followed with a leap of his own, about 4" behind it -- but he did a flip instead of catching it, and landed smack on his back on the hardwood floor. Didn't hurt him -- he took off like a demon, and hid under the papasan for a while. Didn't play with THAT toy again.
I coaxed him out, and he wasn't hurt, just shocked and embarrassed, I think. I had to laugh out loud, though!
He's been darting around, in and out of doors as if we can't see him streak by ... just like before he was sick. He's DEFINITELY feeling better.
This morning, though, after gorging on the canned food (which was less than we'd been stuffing into his tummy when we were tube-feeding, so I wasn't worried that he was overeating), he was all relaxed and curled up for a nap at the foot of the bed. Made me smile.
Mack is back.
Sunday, May 06, 2007
When did we get a finicky cat?
So, I'm driving down the street, with the express mission of buying a reasonable supply of the one brand of canned cat food that Mack will eat. I've already called our local natural foods coop - the Outpost - and they say they don't carry any canned Wellness brand products, just dry. So the only store I know that carries the stuff is Beans & Barley, where I happen to have had dinner with a friend on Friday night. Before we had dinner, I picked up samples of canned cat food, to see whether they would appeal to Mack's appetite.
The good news is that I picked TWO WINNERS.
The weird question is: what if I hadn't scheduled dinner at Beans & Barley on Friday night? What would Mack be eating????
The bad news is that I only bought two cans. I did get a can of some other brand, as well, but Mack won't touch it, after a few initial licks.
So, I'm on my way to B&B to buy more Wellness canned food. And I realize I'm passing Pet Supplies Plus. I wonder if THEY carry the Wellness brand canned food -- that would save me several miles and several more minutes on my errands. So I pull into the parking lot of Pet Supplies Plus. They do not carry the Wellness brand, but they have a fabulous selection of Purina Fancy Feast products -- none of which were on the recent recall list of foods contaminated with melamine. (Remember melamine plates, from the 50s and 60s? they were just plastic? why didn't they just call them plastic?)
Aware that this is a risky business, I decide to buy about a dozen different flavors of Fancy Feast, hoping one or two will appeal to Mack, and that I can save 60 cents per can over the Wellness brand, which is also several miles farther away.
Quite pleased with myself, I bring my selection of Fancy Feast home, and crack open a can of Salmon Feast -- Sue's recommendation when we were trying to get Mack to eat prior to intubation. I mix it up and call Mack to the dining room -- he follows eagerly because he's hungry ... he hasn't had anything but Kitten Chow since 7 a.m. when he finished off the first can of Wellness brand.
Mack jumps up on the bed, eager, excited. He sniffs the food in the can I'm holding. He bumps my other hand so I'll pet him.
I stir the Salmon feast with my finger (eeew), and offer it to Mack. He bumps my hand so I'll pet him.
I try again. He bumps my hand for petting.
Salmon Feast is rejected.
I try a can of Purina Friskies Kitten Formula, which I picked up on a whim because Mack liked the Wellness Kitten formula. This, too, is painfully rejected. (Well, not painful -- just smelly and messy.)
Sigh. I will not open the other ten cans to see if any of them appeal to Mack. It's just too wasteful and frustrating!
John and I get in the car and drive down to Beans and Barley, have a nice early dinner, buy 14 cans of Wellness brand canned food in the two flavors Mack has not yet rejected -- aware that, at any moment, his taste may change and this investment, too, may be wasted.
When we get home, the first thing I do is pop the top of a can of the Kitten formula, call the cat to the dining room, and offer it to our recuperating cat (I have to remind myself of why I'm going through this trouble ... he is still recuperating ... he is still recuperating ... he is still recuperating!).
Same procedure, very different result: Mack dives into the can, nose first, and gobbles about a half ounce of the canned food. I'm relieved. He will get his nutrition today. But I'm puzzled, too. How does he know this is the right one!?!?
More importantly, what the heck would he be eating if I hadn't found the "right" one?
Wow. I just don't know the answer to that.
The good news is that I picked TWO WINNERS.
The weird question is: what if I hadn't scheduled dinner at Beans & Barley on Friday night? What would Mack be eating????
The bad news is that I only bought two cans. I did get a can of some other brand, as well, but Mack won't touch it, after a few initial licks.
So, I'm on my way to B&B to buy more Wellness canned food. And I realize I'm passing Pet Supplies Plus. I wonder if THEY carry the Wellness brand canned food -- that would save me several miles and several more minutes on my errands. So I pull into the parking lot of Pet Supplies Plus. They do not carry the Wellness brand, but they have a fabulous selection of Purina Fancy Feast products -- none of which were on the recent recall list of foods contaminated with melamine. (Remember melamine plates, from the 50s and 60s? they were just plastic? why didn't they just call them plastic?)
Aware that this is a risky business, I decide to buy about a dozen different flavors of Fancy Feast, hoping one or two will appeal to Mack, and that I can save 60 cents per can over the Wellness brand, which is also several miles farther away.
Quite pleased with myself, I bring my selection of Fancy Feast home, and crack open a can of Salmon Feast -- Sue's recommendation when we were trying to get Mack to eat prior to intubation. I mix it up and call Mack to the dining room -- he follows eagerly because he's hungry ... he hasn't had anything but Kitten Chow since 7 a.m. when he finished off the first can of Wellness brand.
Mack jumps up on the bed, eager, excited. He sniffs the food in the can I'm holding. He bumps my other hand so I'll pet him.
I stir the Salmon feast with my finger (eeew), and offer it to Mack. He bumps my hand so I'll pet him.
I try again. He bumps my hand for petting.
Salmon Feast is rejected.
I try a can of Purina Friskies Kitten Formula, which I picked up on a whim because Mack liked the Wellness Kitten formula. This, too, is painfully rejected. (Well, not painful -- just smelly and messy.)
Sigh. I will not open the other ten cans to see if any of them appeal to Mack. It's just too wasteful and frustrating!
John and I get in the car and drive down to Beans and Barley, have a nice early dinner, buy 14 cans of Wellness brand canned food in the two flavors Mack has not yet rejected -- aware that, at any moment, his taste may change and this investment, too, may be wasted.
When we get home, the first thing I do is pop the top of a can of the Kitten formula, call the cat to the dining room, and offer it to our recuperating cat (I have to remind myself of why I'm going through this trouble ... he is still recuperating ... he is still recuperating ... he is still recuperating!).
Same procedure, very different result: Mack dives into the can, nose first, and gobbles about a half ounce of the canned food. I'm relieved. He will get his nutrition today. But I'm puzzled, too. How does he know this is the right one!?!?
More importantly, what the heck would he be eating if I hadn't found the "right" one?
Wow. I just don't know the answer to that.
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Macks-a-million Kitty update
Two weeks ago, the vet cleaned up Mack's tube-insertion site, gave him a clean tape collar to hold things in place, and sent us home with instructions to put antibiotic ointment on the area if it looked inflamed.
After about a week, Mack started scratching at his tape collar more and more often. Soon, we noticed that it was looking dirtier -- and getting kind of smelly, too. I thought, maybe, the petroleum base of the ointment was turning rancid?
By last Monday, I was on the phone with the vet's office, asking about getting it cleaned up again. They suggested that, with warm water, we might be able to take care of the problem ourselves. We tried, for a couple of days. Things only seemed to get worse. So, on Friday, we took him in to the vet again.
Apparently, Friday afternoon was a busy time at this vet's office. By the end of the day, when we arrived, they were not only short one doctor (on vacation for 2 weeks), but also short on patience. The vet examined Mack, and pulled at the tube-entry site in ways I would never have thought -- much less have the confidence -- to do. Under the tape, where I hadn't ever looked, was greenish goo -- the source of the smell I was detecting. I felt like a bad parent.
The vet took Mack to the back room to clean him up and put new tape on the tube -- but came back empty-handed. His sutures were out, and the tube was in danger of popping out anytime if she didn't suture it back in place right away. To do that, she'd have to sedate him. Did we want her to take the tube out, or suture it back in?
Fortunately, we'd brought the three sheets of graph paper on which we'd documented every speck of food Mack had eaten or been fed for the last six weeks, since the intubation. His oral intake, primarily Kitten Chow, had been all over the map. Some days, it was as low as 2 1/2 tablespoons, some as high as 10 1/2. There seemed to be no relationship between the oral intake and tube feedings, the oral intake and appetite stimulant, or any other discernible pattern.
The vet said, "If he's eating pretty well on his own," it was safe to take the tube out. We appealed to her to tell US, based on her expertise and our records, whether he was actually eating enough. After an extended consultation, (which left her pretty impressed with the extent and detail of our record-keeping!) we all decided it would be best to take the tube out -- his neck needed to heal, and if worse came to worse, we could always syringe-feed him orally to supplement his voluntary intake. But it was a scary step to take! "What if ... what if ... what if ...?"
Since Mack hasn't shown much interest in eating anything besides Kitten Chow -- with the exception of 2 1/2 T of that Trader Joe's Ocean Fish & Salmon over the course of 2 days, and a single tablespoon of the Purina Urinary Health formula over a period of one full week! -- we were a bit worried about him getting enough nutrition and calories without the tube.
The great news: since we brought him home, Mack has gobbled down about 2 oz. of a Kitten Formula canned food by Wellness, as well as about 1 oz. of the Wellness Turkey & Salmon! All this in addition to between 4-6 T of Kitten Chow. This may not sound like much, but I can't tell you how relieved we are!
I don't even mind (much -- yet) that he seems only to want to eat the canned food when I'm physically holding the can or bowl it's in. That will get old quickly, but right now, it seems a small concession.
Also, his neck is showing excellent progress in healing, already. This is the Amazing Healing Cat, I gotta tell ya!
As Sue would say, "Go, Mack, go!"
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