Shower Shoes

This was taken when she was getting over being quite sick, so her coat looks a bit frowsy. When she'd get out of her bed, she liked to hang out under the sun room chairs with the heater near by. She's now back to being gloriously fluffy.

Dora Kitty

I had a witty title for this post but forgot it. Such is the way my brain works lately.

Here's what's up:

We had another month of plumbing work done, which I describe as giving the house a full body angioplasty followed by head to toe gel nails because most people do not know what descaling cast iron sewer lines means, nor that they can be lined with epoxy to prevent further deterioration. It was a process, let me tell you. There's nothing like two months of holding your breath every time you flush the toilet to make you appreciate plumbing that works.

In the midst of that, my sweet Goldie Dog's eyelid tumors returned, and the veterinary diagnostician sent us to the veterinary eye specialist in the city. For the specialist, this is an everyday thing and they whisked Goldie off to the back room, sedated her and removed them with cryotherapy. So far, so good.

Her next trip to the vet was for her annual check-ups and shots, for which Dora Kitty always accompanies her because it's time for hers and we get a multi-pet discount. Done and dusted, and all seemed well until a few days later then we realized Dora was not eating her meals and spent all day hiding under the dining room table. She also felt hot, which I judged by lightly holding her ears between my finger tips. Not scientific, but it worked.

We took her back to the vet and she was a very sick cat for the next ten days, getting antibiotics, subcutaneous fluids, shots for a high fever, and an array of diagnostic blood work. It's a good thing she was very healthy going into this because she was approaching death's door for the first few days. One beautiful sunny afternoon when I was so afraid she wasn't going to make it, I held her in my arms and walked her around our fenced backyard so she could look at the sky and the trees. And I whispered, "Please live. I love you" into the soft fluff around her ears.

She made a turn-around a few days later, with nothing that could be diagnosed except that she probably had an very rare reaction to her vaccinations. In the future, she will get only the rabies vaccine -- required by state law -- given with a dose of steroids.

She's a large cat and lost quite a bit of weight during the illness. Because the fever was dehydrating her, we fed her the soupiest food we could find, and she has developed quite a love for pureed cat food in a tube that's sold as treats. I also bought a tiny bag of Royal Canin Fussy dry cat food -- that's what it's actually called -- that is treat-sized and packs a nutritional wallop. I put a few pieces in front of her while she was lying in her bed and said, "You have to eat it, honey. It's French." She was not impressed at first, but as she felt better she started scarfing it down. Victory!

I have to say I had never heard of a veterinarian who specializes in diagnostics before this spring, but am very impressed with the young man both for his expertise and his kindness to the animals. He unfailing would say to Dora how beautiful she is and called her "munchkin." She in turn was just the best girl and would sit on the end of the exam table and not put up a fuss. I think she recognized a kindred cat person in him. :)

Other than that, I've planted the container garden and something is eating the basil. Clearly the pests enjoy Italian cuisine. I'm still going to two different book clubs, but dropped the Saturday one due to a long spell of the chosen books being completely not my cup of tea.

I've done a bit of sewing but have not completed a project yet, as my family keeps me busy mending their clothes. This afternoon I wound up bobbins of thread in all the colors most used on their clothes, and left a few empty for my own project. It's one of those little chores that one is glad to have done ahead of time.

Hope you are all well in these strange times.