Almost Done!

Phew! We've been MIA for quite awhile! This tax season has been been one of the worst we've ever worked through because of new tax laws coupled with new software. Oh, and a puppy...

Lexi tolerates taxes when she's sleeping but when she's awake, she has ants in her pants! She's still leashed to the desk most days because she's stealthy and leaves the room when we're sleeping working and gets into things she's not supposed to like our foods. Mommy isn't too keen on her looking out the sliding glass door in the bedroom and barking at the neighbor either. The neighbor doesn't hear her but we all have to be peeled from the ceiling. Anyway, she gets better every day but we're all glad when Daddy comes home and puppy sits so we can get the warm spot work done...

One last update on us. We're both on the same meds for hyperthyroidism but Angel was on the transdermal kind. Well, she had a really bad reaction that caused her to scratch her head so bad it was bright pink and covered with open sores. The vet said to stop the meds for a week to see if she gets better and then give it to her again to see if it's really the meds causing it. Since nothing else had changed, there's no way Mommy is going to experiment on her and possibly cause it to happen again so Angel will be getting the same pills as me. We get them in pill pockets because it's easy for me to swallow half of a pill pocket since I have no teeth. Angel turns into the Tasmanian devil when given a pill but she doesn't know it's in a pill pocket. Hopefully this continues to work for my little sisfur. Anyway, that's a quick update on us. Only two more weeks for the end of tax season so please be patient with us!

Hope all is going well with you! 

Isabella

Tortie Tuesday

It's my day so I thought I'd update everyone on what's been going on around here. I'll start with me, of course. I'm doing well and come downstairs frequently now despite the crazypants puppy. Sometimes I can sneak onto my cat tree and she has no idea I'm here...

It helps that she's usually preoccupied...

She's a few days shy of six months old now and is mellowing a smidgen. A very little smidgen. Let's just say it's a good thing she's cute...

My little sisfur, Angel, is doing well after her dental last week. She's still unable to eat treats and lets Mommy know how she feels about that...

She's also hungry all.the.time. so we get fed eight times a day. I'm certainly not complaining! Anyway, that's what's going on around here. I'm going to go nap in a sunpuddle now before our next meal!

How's everything going in your neck of the woods?

Enjoy your Tortie Tuesday!

Isabella

Today It's All About Me! It's My Birthday!

My little sister has hogged the attention this week and yeah, I suppose she deserves it but now that she's doing better it's my turn for all the attention especially since it's my 12th birthday! So come on, get out of that cozy bed...

And let's kick our feets up!

Yeah, okay, I've been awake more in the past three days than I have in the past three months so I'm a little loopy. Our motto from the beginning of the year of living in the moment has been reinforced by Angel's scary episode so I plan to celebrate every moment of this birthday. Frosting would help the celebration immensely! 

I hope you're able to enjoy a little celebration in my honor today! 

Have a little frosting for me!

Isabella

PeeS: Even though it's MY day, I'll update on my little sister. Angel woke up yesterday much better and more her old self. She ate a little bit and even had some baby food. I may have had more than she did but hey, it's my birthday! Anyway, she's come a long way and we're all very grateful. We know your purrs and prayers helped her make this recovery and there's no way we can explain how much we appreciate you. If there was a way Mommy could give you each a hug, she would. 

This and That

Thanks to everybuddy for the birthday wishes yesterday! You helped make my 10th birthday a special one! I was spoilt treated just as I deserved to be. In other words, I was treated like I am every day - like royalty! 

Do you remember how something happened earlier this year that stopped me from jumping on the counters? Well, despite hesitation, I jumped on the bathroom counter to get scritched every day our Grandpa from Kansas was here in June but I've only jumped up a handful of times before and after then. I make Mommy and Daddy pick me up. I do want to jump up there really bad but for a reason I'm not saying, I just won't.

In other news, Mommy had a great time with her friends in San Jose! They stayed in downtown San Jose and the weather was perfect and the city was beautiful with lots of trees, parks and art including this under the highway overpass...

This was the same overpass lit up at night after the concert...

Speaking of the concert, Mommy said Adele put on an incredible show. She was beautiful, funny and she sang songs from all three albums. She sang with just guitar and cello backup...

Full band on a big stage...

And also by herself on a stage in the middle of the floor...

The screens were raised after the first song she sang on that little stage so Adele could interact with the crowd. Her image was still projected on the screens so everyone could see her.

Anyway, we're glad Mommy had a good time but we're really glad she's home with us now and no more trips are planned for the entire month! 

That's about all I have for today. 

Hope you have a fabulous day!

Angel

UPDATE: My Horrible Morning!

I didn't get away with hiding out and was put in my PTU for a car ride. Oh how I hate car rides!

Mommy gave me Rescue Remedy starting early this morning and she talked to me and pet me the whole way but I still got sick. Once I was at the vet's office, Daddy took me out of the PTU and held me and I was much better. It helped that everyone told me how beautiful and soft I was too. They said I am so mellow I'm very un-Tortie like which makes no sense because I'm me and I'm a Tortie so how can I be unlike me? Anyway, I didn't like the cold exam table so they let me lay in the scale. The sides made me feel secure and so did Daddy petting me...

I met the dental specialist and she was very nice. She has asthma too so she understands how afraid Mommy and Daddy are of me having an attack while being under anesthesia. Since she only works in our town on Wednesdays and I have to undergo extra precautions, my dental surgery is scheduled for November 25th - the day before Thanksgiving. A week before this I have to start taking antibiotics and also have a cortisone shot to help prevent an asthma attack. I'll also have two daily treatments of my inhaler instead of one for that week before. Additionally, she gave Mommy and Daddy two estimates for my surgery. Daddy had said he bet there'd be a 2 in front and he was right...

The low one on the left is for surgery lasting 1.5 hours and no board certified anesthesiologist and the other is for 2 hours plus an additional $600 for a board certified anesthesiologist which the specialist recommended since I'm a special needs kitty. Mommy agreed to the board certified anesthesiologist because, well, I'm worth it but as she thought of it more she couldn't believe that all anesthesiologists aren't board certified. This was something she hadn't ever considered before but it seems so logical. Is it something that's not common and she just didn't realize? Anyway, while they discussed the estimate and the board certified thing, I just wanted to get the halibut home!

Are we there yet?

My little sisfur has hissed at me and also bopped me on the head but Mommy yells "HEY!" and she runs away. For awhile. She better be glad I'm mellow.

Hope your day is a good one!

Isabella

Tortie Tuesday and An Update

It's Tortie Tuesday and the first day of September. I'm ready to watch falling leaves and also watch football with my Daddy...

I'm a Daddy's girl, what can I say?

I realized that it's been awhile since I've had an update on my asthma so I'll do that today. I'm still on Flovent HFA 110mcg and am getting it via the AeroKat once every evening. I'm still having one or two attacks a week but that's much better than the 6-8 attacks I was having daily while just on prednisolone and not on the Flovent. My attacks are considerably less intense than before too. I do have more energy than I used to but I'm back to sleeping more during the day. A Tortie needs her beauty sleep right? Anyway, just wanted to update my progress with asthma since I feel so much better!

Are you ready for some football or just falling leaves?

Hope you have a great Tortie Tuesday!

Isabella

Update on my Kitty Asthma

We interrupt this rainy day Tortie nap for a rather lengthy update...

As a recap, four months ago we went to a new vet (Dr. T) because our old vet (Dr. H) was dealing with kitty asthma by just giving me prednisolone.  Since it's not good for my svelte figure or my health to be on that medication over time, Dr. T put me on the inhaler Flovent 110mcg once a day.  It worked to cut my 5-6 severe asthma attacks a day down to 1 or 2 mild attacks.  It also made me more alert which is something I'm still getting used to...

Anyway, Mommy has been talking to Nicki from Fuzzy Tales' mom since he's also on an inhaler.  She told us that 110mcg is the minimum here in the US and since I am still having attacks, I could have that upped to 220mcg.  When I needed a new inhaler, Daddy called Dr. T* and asked for a higher dose but instead she wanted to put me on an antibiotic, a wormer and hairball medicine* - all decided without even seeing me or doing any tests!  Daddy let her know in no uncertain terms what he thought of her using me as an experiment!  He then called Dr. H again and talked to her.  He relayed what we'd learned from Nicki's mom and Dr. H researched more before my appointment this week.  She saw my x-ray and test results and agreed that Dr. T had no basis to put me on the antibiotic, wormer or hairball stuff* but she also wouldn't increase my dosage to 220mcg.  She wants me to have 110mcg twice a day instead of once for a total of at least 7 breaths.  She was surprised when Daddy told her that I take 25 breaths because I fall asleep during my treatment!  Hopefully twice a day treatment will help me finally stop having attacks.  The prescription now costs $200.36 for 60 days worth but I'm worth it!  It's been frustrating for Mommy and Daddy and I certainly don't like having attacks even if they aren't as severe or long lasting.  I do sorta kinda like being awake more and I do enjoy playing with my sisfur Angel.  She's a lot faster than me but I'm a master at the sneak attack! 

We all have to be proactive about what's going on with us because as we're finding out firstpaw, even vets don't know about everything!  

Hope you have a healthy day!

Isabella

Notes from Mommy:

*Isabella has never had a hairball and the now old new vet (Dr. T) couldn't believe that.  The now new again old vet (Dr. H) has a 7 year old kitty who's never had a hairball either so she believes us.

*I don't do well with vets which is why Isabella's Daddy took care of all this.  I did go to her appointment with Dr. T because I had no experience in that place.  I cannot go back to see Dr. H because that's where my cat Panther and also Sadie went to the Bridge.  I start crying in the parking lot so I'm useless there.

*Despite being off prednisolone, being much more active and not eating a lot, Isabella lost no weight.  Once we get the asthma taken care of we'll figure out if something is causing her to not lose weight.  

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

*

PeeS:  Isabella's lab results came back and she had a basal cell tumor but it's benign and has been totally removed from her neck so all is well.  Thanks again for all the purrs!

Saying Goodbye

Live each day with joy.

Tell those you love how you feel.

Experience all that makes you happy like running on a beach, hiking a forest trail or strolling through you neighborhood.

And always wear a smile on your face because that smile will be returned by all that you meet.

Sadie let us know it was time to cross the Rainbow Bridge.  We need time to deal with the sadness and heartbreak but wanted to let her friends know.  Sadie was always happy so wouldn't want us to be sad so do something this Sadieday to make someone smile in her honor.  

Thanks again for all the words of love and support.  She knew how loved she was and we hope you know how loved you are too.

Goodbye baby girl. 

Thankful Thursday

Hello everybuddy!  I just wanted to check in to let you know that I'm doing alright.  I have my moments (okay, a lot of moments!) when all I want to do is sleep and I'm still not eating much but I still go outside to guard the yard from neighbor cats...

Coast is clear so time to go back inside for another nap...

I want to thank everybuddy who's commented, emailed or asked about me on Facebook.  There's no way to say how much your words of support means to me and my family.  My mommy is still having a tough time with this so she's very grateful for the thoughts and prayers too.   I know she's scared but I'll be okay.  Both Mommy and Daddy have been spending lots of time with me and I've got more kisses than I can count.  We never know what tomorrow will bring so be sure to enjoy every moment of today!

Lots of woos, love and gratitude,

Sadie

Positive Thoughts Needed

We received some news today that we weren't ready for and are having a hard time dealing with.  The radiologist told the vet that the initial report we got after my ultrasound yesterday was wrong and I have cancer on my liver and spleen.  This news has devastated my Mommy and Daddy but I'm trying to stay positive for them and of course I always put on my cute face for them...

Truth is, we're all very worried and Mommy isn't dealing with this well so I told her we need to take a blog break for awhile so she can spend extra time with me.  We had wanted to personally comment on everybuddy's blog who's taken the time to send me well wishes and prayers but please know we appreciate all of you and have read them all (even if through blurry, leaky eyes).  

Be sure and hug somebuddy you love since we never know what tomorrow brings!
(Some of my sisfur Isabella's Tortie wisdom must be rubbing off on me.)

Thanks again for all the love and support everybuddy has given me and my family!

Sadie

Update on Sadie

First of all, we want to say a heartfelt thank you to everybuddy for the well wishes, crossed paws and purrs for Sadie.  We can't thank you enough for keeping her in your thoughts and we appreciate all of you!

Although Sadie is still at the vet's, we wanted to update everybuddy on what they found out today which is basically that she's a mystery.  The ultrasound showed that she has old lady kidneys but it didn't indicate kidney failure so there's no explanation for why her kidney enzymes are sky high.  There's no sign of cancer or anything like that either.  There was a spot on her spleen and something else, which we forgot what Daddy said, that confirms the Cushings disease diagnosis but doesn't explain why she is feeling lethargic and won't eat and just makes a mess with her food like this:

  She's never been a messy eater but now she just licks her food and spits it out or most of the time she won't even touch it.  She did eat a little wet dog food (when mixed with cat food!), a little pancake and some ham yesterday.  Daddy also made cookies without chocolate chips so she could have some (actually, we all did!) and she liked those.  She turned her nose up at turkey, roast beef and even her favorite treats though so we don't know what's going on.  We've tried a lot of tricks (except baby food which Khyra just told us about) but hopefully we can find something that'll get her to eat.

A radiologist will look at the test results again tomorrow and the vet will call Daddy with a full report (because Mommy can't handle vet news - she's weird that way).  We're hoping to find something that we can fix instead of this big mystery of what is happening to her.

Thanks again for keeping her in your thoughts!

PeeS:  Another update:  The vet looked in her mouth while she was still sedated and didn't see anything causing her to have pain when eating but said that if she has an upset tummy she would act like something is bothering her mouth because she's not wanting to swallow the food.  We tried giving her Xantac but it made her throw up so we don't want to do that again!  We don't think she wants to do that again either!

It's Me Again...

Hello furiends! My sisfurs are napping so I thought I'd update you about my health since some of you asked about me yesterday. My v-e-t is pretty sure I have Cushings disease. I had some tests done last month and they found that my liver enzymes are very high. This is what started efurrything.

I also had proten in my pee (I won't go into how they got my pee but let's just say it involved my daddy following me around the yard in the early morning - Ha roo roo!). Anyway, I had another test done this past week and the proteins were higher than before but the results show it's related to Cushings disease and not kidney problems thankfully.

All this is stressing out my mommy but the v-e-t says that as long as I am feeling okay then we can wait 4-6 months before testing again. I appreciate the purrs and crossed paws I've received and I'm sure efurrything will be just fine.

Now I think I'm going to go nap like my sisfurs.

Have a great Sunday!

Sadie