Friday, February 28, 2014

Carmine Goes to the Vet

Today, we went back to the vet for Carmine's weigh-in.  He has been on Prednisone for two weeks, and we started to taper his dose after one week.  The vet is trial-treating him for IBD before we have to spend $350 on a tummy ultrasound for him (so praying this works!!).

I had noticed Carmine felt pretty light, but I had hoped I was wrong.

Unfortunately, I wasn't.  Carmine lost 3 more ounces in the past two weeks, which is clearly not good.  He is down to 8 pounds, 10 ounces.  This is the least he's ever weighed.

Sorry I don't have a new picture of Carmine.


Our vet is so great about trying to work with my financial limitations.  She said that it's best for us to put him back on one pill of Prednisone in the morning and one-half a pill at night.  Thank God Carmine likes Greenies pill pockets, unlike Jewel.  She also gave us some Prozyme to try in his food as well.

We are also trying B12 injections for the next month - once a week for 4 weeks.  We had initially skipped this because it stresses Carmine so much to go to the vet, but our vet recommended that we do everything we can for IBD before the tummy ultrasound.

In addition to that, I asked her if Carmine could be taking on Jewel's symptoms, and she said it is possible that he's picking up her distress (from the CRF) so we now have a calming collar on him to see if that helps any, too.

She says if this does not work, we can try one other med for IBD, but if that doesn't work, either, we have to get him a tummy ultrasound.

We are also changing his food from Hill's Prescription c/d to Royal Canin s/o.  I've noticed Carmine doesn't eat nearly as many kibbles as Jewel and Lita.  The vet said s/o is tastier, so maybe he'll eat more of those kibbles and gain some weight.

I am verry worried about my little baby.  I just want him to be healthy; he's already got so many medical things to deal with.


Wednesday, February 26, 2014

A Pet Psychic Reading

We were excited when we were asked if we'd like a psychic reading from Nancy from Psychic Source.  I went in with an open mind as I'd never talked to a psychic before.

Nancy talked about Carmine first.  She said that Carmine is the King of the house.  She also said that he is the emporer in the household, meaning that he sees himself as the "father," and when he sees one of his "children" (Milita and Jewel) having a problem, he sometimes takes on the symptoms of that problem.  Nancy says she feels Carmine is depressed because Jewel is in a lot of pain right now.  She suggested that because she's sick, he is taking on the symptoms of her condition, which is why he is losing weight.  She did say, though, that he will gain weight this summer.

She said that Carmine and I have a special bond and that I'm all Carmine needs.  She said he will tolerate other people, but I am his world.  She asserted that Carmine feels jealous of my boyfriend and that he feels my boyfriend is trying to take over his role as my protector.

Carmine's reading seemed pretty accurate.  He is a very sensitive boy and is very attached to Jewel, Lita, and to me, so it makes sense that he would mimic the conditions we feel when we aren't feeling well.  I've always felt a special bond with Carmine, and it was nice to hear that Carmine feels the same way. :)


Nancy talked about Jewel next.  She said that she can tell that Jewel is in pain, physically and emotionally.  She said that Jewel doesn't understand why her former owner has abandoned her and she feels stuck.  She said that Jewel felt that while she was not being cared for properly, she loved her former owner.  She stated that Jewel is beginning to love and trust me now and that I should keep giving her lots of love to let her know that more than one person is capable of loving her.

She said that she thinks Jewel still has a few years left with us and that the CRF won't take her from this world right away.  She also said that Jewel is feeling physical pain, possibly from arthritis.  She said Jewel feels a lot of pain when she tries to get up after laying down for a long time.

Arthritis is something I've highly suspected in Jewel for a while, so when Nancy said this, I put a call in to the v-e-t to see if I could start giving her the arthritis supplement I give to Carmine for his.  She said that was fine, so Jewel has been on that for a few days now.  I really hope it helps her.  Nancy said that as Jewel feels more and more comfortable here in the home, Carmine will also feel happier.


Finally, Nancy talked about Milita.  She said that Milita is a very sweet and intelligent kitty.  She said Milita feels close to me, loved by me, and like I make her feel special.  She told me that Lita loves her colla and pink ID tag, that Lita felt special when I got those for her.

She said that Lita is a little spoiled and she knows she has everyone wrapped around her little finger (er...paw).  She told me that Lita has a very close bond to a male person in my life.  That would be D.  She said that D takes on a major role for Lita and she feels very loved by him.

When I asked Nancy why Lita has been irritable lately, she said that Lita is sick of winter.  I'm a little skeptical of this, but I thought about it, and we've never lived in a place without direct sunlight, so I may look into getting Lita a special sun lamp to see if that helps her at all.  Nancy believes that once Spring arrives, Lita will go back to be a happy kitty.


Nancy said that she can tell I'm a good mother to my fur babies and that when they are going through any kind of problem or struggle, it really troubles me (which is totally true).

Nancy was professional and easy to talk to.  She was pretty accurate with the readings on my fur babies.  It was a pleasure to talk with her, and I thank her for the fantastic opportunity.

If you like more information about Psychic Source and Nancy, you can click HERE.

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Opt to Adopt Miles

Opt to Adopt

Miles

Cat Care Society, Lakewood, CO


Hi!  My name is Miles, and I'm a short-hair brown and white tabby.  I'm a senior cat, but I'm still playful.  I have a lot of love to give and really like being held, pet, and sitting in laps.  Because I'm a senior, I'm in the Perpet-U-Care program, which will cover a portion of my medical care for the rest of my life.  

I am neutered and up-to-date on my vaccinations.  You can find me in the upstairs hallway at Cat Care Society, located at 5787 W. 6th Avenue in Lakewood, Colorado.  I look forward to your visit!


Here I am holding sweet and affectionate Miles.



Monday, February 24, 2014

Mancat Monday

Since today is Mancat Monday, I thought I'd show you some more pictures of my birthday!


I gotted a Yeoww! apple!!  Mes LOVES Yeoww! so mes was so excited when the mom took this out for me.  Mes went nut with it.


The Mom also gotted mes a tickle pickle.  It smells so very nice and mes had a blast with it.



Milita wanted a turn with the tickle pickle, so I let hers have one.  Hers really liked it, too.

The mom also gave mes a bag of Yeoww! catnip, some nice toys from the Winnie's Wish FUNdraiser, and some delicious urinary tract treats.  Jewel even came to play with us and hers no do that much.

Hers made a cake to celebrate and let mes eat ice cream, too.

I think everyday should be my birthday!

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday


Carmine: Thank you, everyone, for coming to my pawty and wishing me a Happy Birthday!  

The humans made an orange cake to celebrate my day, and I got to eat ice cream!  NOM!!!  We will have more pictures of my birthday later this week. :)

We hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday!

Monday, February 17, 2014

Happy Birthday, Carmine!


Carmine: It's my 9th birthday today!!

In honor of my birthday, I wanted to do something for Cat Care Society.  They has a vet clinic that works with low-income peoples, and they've really helped me, Milita, and Jewel over the years.  We wanted to do something to help them, so we're having a COMMENTATHON today!!

For every comment left before 11:59PM MST today (Tuesday February 18, 2014), we will donate $0.50 to Cat Care Society!  One comment per person, please.  

While you are here, we hope you will help me celebrate my birthday.  

Help yourself to some ham.


Enjoy some salmon.



What's a party without cake?


And we has niptinis and milk to drink.


Thank you for coming to celebrate my birthday with me!



HAPPY 9TH BIRTHDAY, CARMINE!!

Mancat Monday

Did you hear that tomorrow is my birthday?  We are doing something special for it!  If you haven't heard on the CB, we are having a commentathon to benefit Cat Care Society tomorrow!  They have been so good to us over the years, and we want to give a little something back to them.  We hope to see you tomorrow to celebrate my 9th birthday!


Thursday, February 13, 2014

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hi Kitties!

The Mom says today is Valentine's Day.  She says that today is a day where we show love to the people we care about.  



So we wanted to let you all know that WE LOVE YOU!!!  We are very thankful to have you all in our lives.  We appreciate each and every one of you!



The Mom says D is coming to kitty-sit tonight.  We figure that since the Mom will be out of the house, we should have a "trashing the house" pawty!  So after the kitty-sitter goes to sleep, everyone is welcome to come over and help us trash the house to show the Mom just how much we love her!



HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Opt to Adopt: Twinkie

Opt to Adopt Update

Pinky has found a home!  I hear he's enjoying his new fur sibilings as well as the human children and parents. :)

Now that Pinky's got a home, it would be great if his brother, Twinkie, could find one, too!

Twinkie

Cat Care Society
Lakewood, CO


Hi!  My name is Twinkie.  I'm a handsome six-year-old brown tabby.  I'm really affectionate and playful.  If you bring a feather toy when you come to visit me, I'd be happy to chase it around!  

I am a special needs kitty.  I promise I am worth the extra attention I need.  I am already neutered, up-to-date on my vaccinations, and litter box trained.  

Won't you stop by Cat Care Society and let me show you how sweet I am?  You won't regret it!  You can find me in the upstairs hallway.  

Cat Care Society is located at 5787 W. 6th Avenue in Lakewood, Colorado.  


Monday, February 10, 2014

Mancat Monday


Carmine: The Mom feeds Milita hers stinky goodness up heres.  Maybe if I sit here, she'll bring mes some stinky goodness, too!

We has an exciting update to share tomorrow on our Opt to Adopt post.  We hope you'll stop by to see the update!

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Easy Like Sunday



Jewel: Hi Kitties!  Do you notice anything new about me?  Look around my neck.  I have a collar and a tag!  
At first, the collar irritated me.  I had never worn a collar before now, so it took a little time getting used to it.  But now I don't mind wearing it.  

My collar is purple with paw prints on it.  The Mom thinks it's a cool collar because it glows in the dark!  The Mom also got me a purple tag to match my collar.  The Mom says purple looks nice with my furs.

In other news, I've been spending a lot of time on the couch with the Mom lately.  The Mom likes how social I'm being.  Here I am (in the photo) watching some TV with the Mom today.  There's plenty of room over here if anyone wants to come and watch with us.  We can watch Meerkats or put on some cat TV.

What is everyone doing today?  We hope you have a wonderful Easy Sunday!

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Vet Visit + Test Results

Hi Kitties!

The Mom here.  On Thursday, I scooped up Carmine and Jewel and took them to the vet for some tests.  As you may recall, Carmine was losing weight in his previous couple of visits to the v-e-t.  The v-e-t and I wanted to investigate what is going on with him further since all of the normal blood work came back fine.

So Carmine had his blood pressure taken.  This was quite the challenge!!  Carmine is a very nervous cat when he goes to the vet.  The first couple of tries to get his blood pressure didn't even work.  When we finally got one to register, he was off the charts.

We ended up covering him with a towel because he kept trying to hide somewhere.  I pet him and tried to soothe him the best I could.  Finally, his blood pressure came down to a decent level.  So his blood pressure isn't the issue.

Thankfully, Carmine maintained his weight this visit at 8 pounds, 13 ounces.

We decided to do a blood test for pancreatitis the same day.  The good news is, he does not have pancreatitis!  However, we still aren't sure what is going on with him.  The vet and I decided the best thing to do for him is to trial-treat him for Irritable Bowel Disease.  She said Carmine's intestines feel thick, which is supportive of an IBD diagnosis.

Carmine will be starting treatment for IBD with the tablets next week.  We will monitor his weight in response to treatment.  If he does better, then we know we've found the problem.  If not, we will have to do further testing - most likely an abdominal ultrasound.




I really hope this treatment works for my baby.  I feel so bad for him for all the health problems he has to deal with.

Jewel went to the v-e-t to recheck her kidney values and to measure her potassium levels.  Jewel managed to gain four ounces this time!  My friend, D, has been feeding her lots of treats, and she's been eating a good amount throughout the day, too.  I was really happy about her gaining a little weight.  She currently weighs 8 pounds, 7 ounces.

Her kidney values are holding pretty stable.  Thank God!  Her creatinine went down from 3.1 to 2.7, so the v-e-t wants me to continue to give Jewel her fluids every other day.

Jewel has been very happy lately.  She's socializing a lot, enjoying lots of time on the couch, and even gets in my office chair sometimes.  I'm just so happy that I'm able to give her a good quality of life right now.



The v-e-t suggested some more supplements to help Jewel's kidneys, which I will research some.  She's suggesting Vitamin E, omega-3 fatty acid, and Welactin.  If anyone happens to know how these supplements help the kidneys, I'd appreciate if you share.

Also, I know nothing about IBD in cats.  Does anyone know a good source of information on this?  I always like to do my research and learn all about what my babies are facing and how I can best help them.

Sorry for the long post.  I truly appreciate all the support you all give us as we go through this journey with Carmine and Jewel.  Your friendship means a lot to me.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday


Carmine: I'm staying nice and warm here with my fleece blankies, but it sure is cold outside!  The Mom says there will be a high of 9F today, and we've gotten a lot of that white yucky wet stuff the past couple of days, too.  

We hope you are all staying warm and cozy today!



Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Cat Care's "Sweethearts" Adoption Special

VALENTINE'S SPECIAL FOR BONDED PAIRS AND TRIO

CAT CARE SOCIETY, LAKEWOOD, CO

During February, Cat Care Society is having an adoption special on all its bonded pairs as well as one trio.  "Senior Sweethearts" include Cirrus, Muggins, and Braveheart and Wind-Up and Ohms.  Adoption fees for "Senior Sweethearts" are flexible, and all seniors come with the Perpet-U-Care program, which covers a portion of kitty's veterinary expenses at The Cat Clinic at Cat Care Society for the rest of kitty's life.

All "Adult Sweethearts" have an adoption fee of $75 per pair.  Available "Adult Sweethearts" are Crash and Coltrane, Isaac and Gracie, Lenny and Leo, and Kyrie and Kiki.  

Featured Pair: Crash and Coltrane

Photo from Cat Care Society's blog.

I've spent a significant amount of time visiting with Crash and Coltrane.  They would make great companions for anyone looking to add two wonderful kitties to their home.  


Crash has a great personality!  He is shy and quiet around strangers, but once you get to know him, he opens up.  He is nervous around other kitties, but really loves people.  

Coltrane is very outgoing and loves being hugged and pet.  He warms up to people pretty quickly.  I'm a handsome 7 year-old lynx-point Siamese mix, and Crash is a 9 year-old seal point Siamese mix.


We came to the shelter when our humans had a baby.  They didn't need to give us away; we would have been very kind to the little one.  

We would prefer a home without dogs.  We are the best of friends and want to be adopted together.  We really compliment one another and make a great pair of companions!  

You can find us in the upstairs hall at Cat Care Society.  Please come by and visit with us and see for yourself how great we are!

Cat Care Society is located at 5787 W. 6th Avenue in Lakewood, Colorado.  

NOTE: You can learn more about each pair or trio of kitties available for adoption by clicking on each cat's name in the post.  


Saturday, February 1, 2014

Carmine is #UnitedInOrange


Carmine is United In Orange for the Broncos!  He's currently resting up before the festivities begin.  It's the year of the horse, so that's a good sign for the Broncos, right? :)

Who are you rooting for in the Super Bowl this year?

We hope you all are having a wonderful weekend!!