Jewel Went to the Vet Today...

I took Jewel to the vet yesterday (Wednesday), and the news was not that good.

I knew she was continuing to lose weight, but I wasn't sure quite how much as I don't have a scale.  She's lost another 11 ounces in the two months since she saw the vet in November.  So, now she's 9 pounds 1.5 ounces. :(

After some discussion about how much of the NF wet she's actually eating, the vet said it's better to give her a food she likes with her Epakitin.  I thought this would be the case, but I'm glad she confirmed that.

We discussed her letterbox behavior, and of course I can only tell her what her daddy tells me and what I observe on weekends when she's here with me.  Jewel's been having a lot of diarrhea, so the vet decided to check her anal glands.  They were very full, so she expressed them.  She says if Jewel continues to have diarrhea the next two or three days, she will need to go on another medication to help with that.  This means I get to keep Jewel here a few more days (which is perhaps the only good news I got all day).  On the way home, she had diarrhea in the carrier on the way home and at least once since we've been home, so she'll probably need to go on whatever this medication is.

I mentioned that her coat feels quite greasy, and the vet agreed.  She said this could mean Jewel's kidney disease is getting worse :(

She ended up taking a urine sample and blood to test kidney function and to retest for hyperthyroidism.  We should have some results later or Friday.

Some day, like today, are quite hard on me emotionally.  Jewel is not my responsibility, no, but she is my baby in the sense that I love her as much as Carmine and Lita.  Seeing her get worse makes me very sad. :(

Winners Announced!

Thank you to everyone who submitted names and/or voted in our "Name Our New Blog" contest!  We got some really creative names!

Mom loves two of the names, so this is what we is going to do.  We are going to combine the first and second place winning names and BOTH submitters will get a prize!!

Our new bloggie will be: Carmine's Orange Pages: Cats from A 2 Z

We think the names fit nicely together!!  What do you think?

Congratulations to Cathy Keisha and Dave for the winning names!!

We will be contacting you both to see where to send your prizes.  We hope everyone had fun with this contest!  We appreciate all who participated :)

Handsome Carmine and Some News About Amber

We checked our e-mail and found out that our handsome Carmine was featured as a Hot Mancat of the Blogosphere this week!!!  You can read all about him (and see how handsome he is) and Troublin' Times.  We hope you enjoy his interview!!



I talked with Amber's dad tonight and have an update for you all.  If you missed the first post on Amber, you can go here to read it.

Amber's tumor is still growing.  Her breathing is a little raspy, but the vet says she is not in distress. She's stopped bathing herself, but her daddy is helping her stay clean (and he says Amber smells nice with the shampoo he uses). :)  She is still getting medication for her pain.

If all the kitties could continue to purr and pray for her, that would be much appreciated.  None of us want her to suffer, and I know this is so hard for her daddy.  I so wish I could do something to help them.

We love you, Amber!!

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday with Carmine

Mom, I want to pick a show on Netflix this time!

But I'll have a nap first.


Don't forget to vote on our new blog name on the poll on the right sidebar! 

Name My Blog!

You can now vote on which name you like best for our new cat resources blog!! We can't wait to see what everyone chooses!

The poll is on my right sidebar.  Voting will be open until Tuesday Jan. 29 at 12am.  Good luck to all those who submitted the great names! :)

Easy Like Sunday with Jewel

Jewel's daddy and I decided Jewel can stay with me on weekends.  YAY!!!  This way, I get to spend time with precious Jewel on a regular basis. :)  Obviously, I am very happy about that.

Here she is enjoying one of my favorite blankies. :)

Urgent Purrs and Prayers Needed

A close friend of mine has a kitty with cancer, and she seems to be suffering a lot lately.  Kitty's name is Amber.  Isn't she pretty?

I feel so badly for them both.  It hurts me to see my friend and Amber go through this.  It is a very tough situation, and I pray they can both get through it with as little pain and suffering as possible.

Please purr and pray for them.  They do not have a blog, but I will keep you posted, with Amber's human's permission.

Name Our Blog Contest

Our mom wants to create a new bloggie.  Hers is going to make a bloggie full of kitty resources - no-kill shelters, low-cost vet care, the best feline health websites, and so on.  But our mom is not very creative, so she thought we should make a little fun contest to help hers name hers new bloggie!

HOW TO ENTER

If you want to enter the contest, leave a comment on this post:

1. With a name for our new bloggie.
2. With a way for us to contact you if you win the contest, such as an e-mail address.
3. What your favorite flavor of Greenies treats are. If you cannot eat (or do not like Greenies), please tell us what other kinds of treats you like.

RULES

You may submit a blog name suggestion from Monday January 14 through Monday January 21, 2013.

After all the names have been submitted, we will compile a list of the names in another blog post.  You will then be able to cast your vote for your favorite blog name from Tuesday January 22 through Tuesday January 29, 2013.

One blog name submission and one vote per household, please.

PRIZE

The submitter of the winning blog name will receive a bag of Greenies treats.  If your pet cannot eat or does not like Greenies, we will send a different kind of treat to you.

We hope this little contest is fun for everyone!  We is looking forward to all the creative suggestions!

Purrs,
Carmine, Milita, and Jewel

Tabby (Photo) Thursday

This is a difficult time of year for me, so Jewel's daddy brought is letting her visit me this week.  Isn't that nice of him? :)  The only thing that's better than two kitties I love more than anything is three! <3 p="p">
Anyway, I was copying pictures from my smart phone to my computer earlier and ran across several really adorable ones.  I'll be sharing them with you all as time goes on, but I thought I'd share a few tonight.

These were all taken at the old place.

Jewel likes to sit in her daddy's blue chair.

I got this blanket for Jewel for Christmas in 2011, but Carmine also took naps on it. 

I need to get more pictures of Milita.  For whatever reason, it is much more difficult to get her to look at the camera than it is Carmine.  She likes to steal my office chair anytime I'm not in it (there's a towel on it to protect the seat.  Lita likes to scratch it, so it's a good way to protect the seat part). 

I hope you all enjoyed the photos!  I'll work on copying the rest and sharing more with you.  There are a lot of really cute photos on my phone :)

First Vet Visit of 2013

On Tuesday, I took the babies to the vet.  Carmine had to go in for his quarterly "butt squeezing" (anal gland expression) and Lita went in for a regular check-up.  I feel bad for Carmine because he has to go to the vet so often.  He gets so scared. :(  We had to take the top off his box to get him out for the vet.  Then he kept trying to crawl back into it.  He would slink along the table, very low, hoping the vet wouldn't see him.  Poor baby.

The good news is that he now weighs 9 pounds 7 ounces!!  He's gained two ounces, yay!  I know that doesn't seem like much, but after more than a year at a measly 9.5, it is a good improvement.  It just supports what I've thought all along regarding him and stress.  He is much less stressed these days, which is why, I believe, he is finally gaining some of his weight back.  The vet was also very pleased by his weight gain.

After Carmine had his little "butt squeeze," he went and hid behind the mini-fridge in the exam room.

It was Lita's turn, and she was very happy to walk out of the carrier by herself.  Her happiness was short-lived, though.  She growled - a lot - at the vet.  She is always so friendly and loving.  The only time I see her act like that is at the vet or around people she really doesn't like (which is quite rare).

I did not know this as one of my friends had dropped her off for her dental work last Feb. and when I came to get her, the vet didn't tell me this, but apparently Lita had lost weight before her last visit.  Again, I think the stress had a lot to do with that...  She gained the weight back in the four months we've been at our new place, though, so I'm happy about that.

The vet said she has a red lesion (a really little one) on her head, and she's worried Lita might be allergic to her food.  We had to flip Lita over on her back (oh boy, was she not happy!) so the vet could look at her tummy to see if she was pulling out fur.  There was no missing fur on her tummy, so the vet and I concluded that maybe Carmine accidentally smacked her on the head or something.  She told me to keep an eye out for more red dots, missing fur, or itching.  We want to make sure it is not a food allergy since Lita has had allergies to other food (Evo) before.

Other than that, Lita is a healthy baby.

She wasn't very nice to her brother, though....when the vet was done and we were talking, Lita got down on the floor and found Carmine behind the fridge and started growling at him.  Poor baby, he was already scared enough!

We put the babies back in their carriers and took them home where they were happy again.

While at the vet, I made an appointment for Jewel.  She goes in on the 30th to get her T4 count rechecked.  I've sort of been appointed to oversee her medical care.  Is there such a thing as a cat medical power of attorney? ;)


All in all, I am glad that the babies seem to be doing well.  I hope Lita does not have another food allergy, but only time will tell.  Carmine goes back in April again.

Happy New Year

We just wanted to say that we appreciate everyone's friendship.  You all have been so great this past year, through all of the struggles and the good times.  We feel very blessed to know each and every one of you.  We hope you will all continue to be our friends, and we hope to make some new friends this year, too. :)

Happy New Year's everyone!  We hope that this year brings health, joy, and blessings to all our kitty, woofie, and human friends!

Do you have any New Year's resolutions?  Or maybe you have some hopes for this year?  Please share them with us, we'd love to hear about them!