A day with cats

I didn't blog yesterday. Well I did write about low self esteem after ailments but I didn't publish it. I just needed to vent. I was also really tired and busy. I had a dentist appointment in the morning and then I thought I had a 1230pm meeting but that was cancelled and my knitting group was postponed until 3pm. I arrived at 1245 for a 3pm meeting because of my inability to read an email. This meant I had a long day and was very tired.

Also, it was a day of cat vs rodent adventures. In rushing to my meeting, I went down to the car through the garage and found the cat, Boots, frantically looking behind folded cardboard boxes along the side wall. I moved the cardboard and the cat dashed and pounced on a chipmunk cowering behind it. There was an ensuing race around the garage and then out the door.

I went back upstairs and then downstairs again. Boots was outside and then proudly walked toward the garage carrying the chipmunk in his mouth, a gift for me, which he then deposited IN the garage. The chipmunk was alive and ran off again with Boots chasing. I left with the garage door closed firmly in hopes that there would be no repeats of live animals carried into the house.

After I finally returned at 5pm, exhausted from being out for so long, both cats were no where to be found. However they reappeared and were chasing yet another mouse who was hiding in the day lilies. We went to make dinner on the grill on the deck, I found a mouse nest IN THE GRILL. I needed back up.

I went and grabbed Boots, who hates to be carried, and brought him over to the grill so he could evict them for me. He ran off because he wanted to go catch his other mouse. Then I grabbed Zdpot and he climbed in the grill and tried to remove the mice. My husband intervened and the mice were evicted. The cats went back to their mouse hunting at the other end of the house.

When it was time to call them in for dinner, they were chasing yet another critter in the front yard. I intercepted them by opening a can of cat food in their ear shot and they came running in. 

Why am I blogging about our cats? It has been almost one year since we adopted our two cats. They have impacted our lives and made it warm and fuzzy. As my health has lessened, they have made things nicer for me by entertaining me, cuddling with me, chasing my yarn, and just being companions. Here are before and after shots of the two of them.

Boots before adoption	Zdpot before adoption
Boots now	Zdpot now

Boots came to us a very shy boy who was desperate for attention. He wanted to cuddle but was too concerned about being scared and abandoned. Now he sleeps next to me in bed. Zdpot, or Evil Kitty because he picks fights and steals Boots' food, was malnourished with white skin showing through thin short fur. He also had ear mites and internal parasites. He also did not know how to be a cat - he didn't meow, didn't know about toys, didn't know there was an outdoors, and had no idea how to be nice to anyone - human or feline.

Its been a nice year with our new cats. They like to take care of us and we like to take care of them.

Would you get a dog?

I am a cat person but after reading this article about dogs who sniff out cancer, I briefly considered getting a dog. I am not a dog person. Its not that I don't like dogs, I do. I think for a pet they are a lot of work. You have to make sure you are home to walk them etc.

However, if my dog could sniff out any cancer in me before it could be found by a scan or test, I would be very happy with a dog. It would save me a lot of stress and anxiety.

Like all other cancer people, I have more concerns about another cancer than the average person. There is only so much kale and greens eating, green tea drinking, alcohol avoiding, and exercising that a person can do. We get examined, tested, lectured, and any other things our doctors tell us we should and shouldn't do often.

But we still have those 'what if' moments in the middle of the night. So if when one of those moments occurred and we had a cancer sniffing dog sleeping next to the bed who was not concerned about any cancer scents coming from us, we would be reassured that there was no need to concern and more easily go back to sleep.

So I will follow this research and consider getting a dog. I'll have to ask our cats about this as well.

Pets make the best medicine

My husband is a bit irked with me these days. Our cat died in April and his passing upset us both greatly. We had long agreed when he was gone, we would adopt two cats, so they would not be bored and likely to become destructive.

Once Shere Khan was gone we agreed not to adopt cats until our vacation in May to Florida was over. Then we decided we shouldn't adopt until the end of summer due to our summer travel plans. Then I kept looking at pet adoption sites finding adorable, homeless kitties.

Finally I got him to agree to adopt sooner as opposed to later. Then we started fostering three cats. Then I went away for five days and left him alone with all of them. I came home and will leave for three days starting tomorrow morning.

Now I have proof that pets are the best medicine.

So maybe we will keep all three. I mean anything to keep me as healthy as possible.

Its been sad

The last picture before we went to the vet.

On Thursday, we had to put our cat, Shere Khan, to sleep. He was my chemo buddy. I would sit on the couch and watch bad TV and he would snuggle. He was with me through lots of health issues in the last ten years. And he snuggled and cuddled through all of it.

My husband got him in the fall of 2001 shortly after he bought a condo. He went to a dinner party and mentioned that he was thinking about getting a cat. Presto, he went home with a cat. Shortly after, I met them both, three years later we got married and moved into a house together. Then my health started to fall apart and both of them stuck with me. I think he knew when I wasn't doing well and he supported me through it.

He was born in November 1994 which means he was over 20 when he died, old for a cat. We knew he was having health issues in the past few years and his health really went down hill in the past few months. It finally got to a point where he wasn't eating or drinking. When we brought him to the vet on Thursday, she told us he was starting to suffer from being dehydrated and it was time.

It has been incredibly difficult for me. More than I ever thought. As someone at the vet told us when we left in tears, time will heal. I have been a little depressed and been isolating myself as I mourn. I think I am turning the corner and will begin to feel better soon.

We will go on vacation soon and I hope that helps me recover more. I just need to be sad for a while.

Cats Help Researchers Develop Treatment for Breast Cancer

A couple of years after my breast cancer diagnosis, a friend called and told me her cat, Abby, had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Abby was fairly young, about 6 (the cat, not the friend) and she felt lumps on her stomach when picking her up. She took her to the vet and was told the not so good diagnosis.

For cats, there is no chemo or radiation. They basically can  have a surgery that can best be thought of as a kitty mastectomy and that's about it. For Abby, even after the surgery, she lasted less than a  year before it became obvious that the cancer had spread and was causing her lots of pain and very difficult decision was made.

That was my first knowledge of feline breast cancer. And then I did some research and found out it is a fairly common killer of female cats.

But now, cats are being used to help find a breast cancer treatment. Cats are more closely related to humans than mice. I don't even know if mice get breast cancer. Usually for clinical trials they are bred to have certain conditions so they are more appropriate for the potential trials.

The cats get an injection before surgery and then again a month later. They are then monitored to see if there is a recurrence - which is usually what kills them now. The hope is they will live longer, healthier lives.

So in my (tiny, non-medical, chemo impaired, fibro fogged) mind, it would make sense to do research for breast cancer on animals that actually get the disease in hopes of curing them as well as humans. I am not in favor of animal testing as a rule but in this case, they are hoping to cure the cats from something for which there is no current cure.

I am a cat lover and am typing this while being supervised by my 20 year old cat. I would hope this would be a treatment for them and us.

My cat doesn't understand me.

Many people may say 'my spouse doesn't understand me' or 'my family doesn't understand me'. I am an exception - well I always was a rule breaker so I'll always be the exception, never mind all my health crap.

First I need to state the cat was in no way harmed by the writing of this post. I was pestered to nearly to death from my point of view. The vet just said his blood work is very good and he should be good for another 19 years. Yes, 19 years. My husband does understand me pretty darn well (sometimes its scary). Its just the cat.

You say, train the cat. Have you ever tried to train a cat? They are above that. Have you ever tried to train a deaf cat? A deaf, mostly blind cat? A deaf, mostly blind, cat who is 19 and can't smell either? Its not possible.

There are two human beings who live in this house. The other human, my husband, owned the cat before I cam along and he proved he is capable of feeding the cat. Now, the cat insists I be the one to feed him. If I want to sleep in, the cat wants breakfast around 7am - I should feel privileged - in his younger years the preferred dining time was 5 am.

Once my husband heads downstairs, he waits about thirty seconds before he tries to figure out if I am awake. He will come over and look at my face. He will walk across me. He will settle down on top of me.When the cat wants, he sleeps for hours on end. When he wants something he has no problem waking me up.

The problem is my cat doesn't understand me. Here are the issues.

I need sleep in my life. Uninterrupted sleep. Uninterrupted sleep without being poked, prodded, or walked on by the delicate 15 lb pointy paws of the cat.

I have multiple ailments which cause things like fatigue, insomnia, and require sleep for healthy healing. He disagrees. I am supposed to live my life the way he wants.

Right now he is standing on my right shoulder with his front paws and his back paws on the pillows behind me. This is slightly better than when he stands on my left shoulder which has more pain issues. I can stand this for a few minutes before I shove him off.

He likes to sleep on my knees which I keep elevated by a pillow so my back is more relaxed when I sleep so I have less pain. He squishes my knees down making my knees compress and makes my back hurt. So I wake up in pain. Without enough sleep. That makes me cranky.

He just doesn't understand me and will continue to stand on my shoulder until I get up and go feed him.