Saturday, March 31, 2007

In Loving Memory









Shadow, June 1996 to March 31, 2006


We miss you, Shadow. You are always in our hearts.
Happy One Year Bridgeday, Baby.

Suture Free Saturday

EG here:

GUESS WHAT?! Mom took me to get my stitches out yesterday. I feel soooo much better. The V-E-T that took them out (and did my follow up eye stain for my corneal ulcer) was the same one that I saw when I first went to that hospital. (She's really nice and really cute, but not as cute as Dr. Daisy. I was really hoping that Dr. Daisy would walk through that door yesterday, but I guess Dr. Greene will do in a pinch.) She said that she couldn't believe I was the same cat who was in there two weeks ago. She said my incision looked great and that it's about at about 70% strength, but that I could go back to my regular activity. (Mom didn't tell her that I'd been pretty much doing whatever I wanted for the last two days.) My corneal ulcer is gone, so no more eye drops. Mom showed her the piece of squeaky toy that they pulled out of me since she had gone home by the time they did my surgery. She was shocked and amazed that I even managed to swallow it. Her and Mom joked about it being a million dollar squeaky toy or something like that. I didn't really understand that joke. *shrugging*

I hadn't gained any weight, which she wasn't thrilled about, but she said that it could be the special diet and that all the small, frequent meals makes it really hard to measure how much I was getting (since the tech didn't measure out how much food they sent home with me - she just dumped it in a baggie and told Mom to start me out on 5 or 6 pieces every couple of hours and gradually work up from there). She told Mom to weigh me every couple of days and make sure I put on a little weight. Mom also asked her about my activity level, because I've been pretty lazy since Monday and Mom's been a little worried. She said that she wouldn't worry about it too much as long as I'm eating and using the litterbox and not throwing up. She said that I had been a really sick boy for a long time and then had major surgery so I might need a little more time to heal up. She said that if I didn't perk up in a couple of weeks, to go back and have our regular V-E-T check me out. But check this out - as soon as I got home, I cleaned up my belly really good. Then I chased Tazo around the house and put the bitey on her really good. Mom decided that I really might be on the mend.

Mom took some pictures of my belly before I got my stitches out and then after. I wish she would download them and help me post them. I want all the chicks to see my scar. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers. You guys rock! I gotta go put the bitey on Tazo now...

I Got Tagged!!!

I got tagged for my very first meme by KC

Five Reasons Why I Blog by Earl Grey

1. Lately, Mom wants me to keep everyone updated on my health.

2. I like to tell everybody what's going on in our house during the week. Sometimes, really exciting stuff happens (like my surgery or Titus' overeating problem, or the new turbo scratcher that Mom bought because I ralphed on my other one).

3. I like to read other cats' bloggies. I always learn something new.

4. World domination I like to keep up with what's going on in the kitty world.

5. To meet chicks that dig scars I like meeting lots of new kitties, and dawgs, and their slaves parents.

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

White Dawg Wednesday

















I'm a little embarrassed about this. See, Momma and I were taking a nice nap on a chilly Saturday morning. Daddy got up and started freaking out. He said that my legs were all bloody. Then Momma started freaking out. It turns out it wasn't blood. It wasn't even dirt. It was chocolate pudding! I ate a whole box of chocolate pudding powder. It was delicious!

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Tummy Tuesday (sort of)

Earl Grey here:

I thought I better stop in and give everyone an update. I’m feeling lots better. I haven’t worn my cone since Saturday night (shhhh, don’t tell the V-E-T). Momma said that I could keep it off if I promised not to chew on my stitches. I’ve forgotten a couple of times (and Tazo has tried to help me out a couple of times), but I leave them alone as soon as Mom reminds me.

Mom kept me quiet and exercise restricted for 7 days, just like the V-E-T said. It was supposed to be more like 10 days, but I started squawking whenever she confined me to the dawg prison box. I started jumping on stuff again, even though she yells at me. But I’m so super fast that she has a hard time stopping me. She tells me I’m not supposed to jump, but I spent all those weeks feeling bad, that I have lots of stuff to make up for. The only down side is that instead of her checking my incision once a day, she checks it constantly, and tells me that if it looks bad because I jumped around too much, I might have to get more stitches and be on light duty again.
My stitches can come out sometime between Thursday and Saturday (I wonder if Dr. Daisy could take them out for me?). I can’t wait. I can get back to my regular routine. So can Mom. She’s been way nice to me lately. Getting up every couple of hours to check on me and give me medicine and snacks. I’ve been giving her lots of cuddles and laying on her a lot. I’ve even been purring for her – and I hardly ever do that to anyone but Dad.

I finished up all my medicine last night. No more eye drops, no more pepcid, no more pain pills (unless Mom thinks I’m hurting, but I’m lots better), and no more antibiotics. They were little blue pills. Mom and Dad joked that I had to take kitty Viagra. I don’t know what that means, but they’re always laughing about it.

I’ve started eating more of my regular food and less of the prescription stuff they gave me. I’m still eating small, frequent meals, but Mom is starting to stretch out snack times from every 2-3 hours to every 4-5 hours. I much prefer eating every 2-3 hours, let me tell you.

Mom freaked out about all the recalled pet food (even though we only eat kibble) and decided she’s not going to feed us any food that has anything to do with Menu Foods, so she started giving us a new kind yesterday. She’s hoping that our tummy’s adjust quick. The good thing is that it’s a food that we used to eat, so she thinks it’ll be ok. She’s just worried that it might be too much for my delicate system to handle right now. I keep telling her that I’ll be fine – just keep the kibble coming. Besides, if I can keep a giant piece of squeaky shoe rolling around in my tummy for a couple of weeks, what’s a little switch of the kibble?

This is my fourth day of going to work with her. For some reason, she doesn’t trust me and Tazo to leave my stitches alone. I didn’t want to go today. I hid under the bed and wouldn’t even come out when she rattled the food container. I’m on to her tricks. I did fall for her little Hansel and Gretel trick of leaving a trail of kibble leading into the prison box. Crap. I have to remember not to fall for that one again. Then I gave her the what for the whole way to work. She told me that she didn’t want to go to work either, but that she needs to support our kibble and ‘nip habit. The good news is that we get to listen to her favorite Sirius channel on her computer - 90s alternative. She says it reminds her of her college days.

It’s snack time, so I need to go. Plus, I need to help Mom with her billings today.
Thank you all for all your thoughts and purrayers you've been sending out for me. They have really done the trick. Mom and I are so touched by the outpouring of love and support that we've gotten from all the kitties from Catster and the kitty blogging community.
See ya!

Monday, March 26, 2007

Jersey ~ You Will Be Missed

Jersey crossed the bridge early this morning. :( Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers.

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Jersey Update

Jersey is home with his family, but he only has a few days left. The vet told his mom that he's not in any pain, so they opted to keep him home so they could love on him during the time he has left. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. Jersey and his family have been through so much already.

Friday, March 23, 2007

Urgent Prayer Request Please



One of our dawg friends, Jersey, is really sick. The V-E-T thinks there's something wrong with his bone marrow. It doesn't look like he has very much time left. He just got to his forever home 2 months ago (after 5 years of living with some not so nice beans), and his new family is heartbroken. They would appreciate any pawsitive thoughts and purrayers that you could send their way.

(Jersey's family has already had two dawgs cross the bridge this year and this news just makes them a bunch more sad. Our Momma's eyes have been leaking all afternoon. )

Friday EG News

Tazo here:

EG’s still not up for blogging. He’s eating and drinking a little. Momma’s still concerned about his litterbox stuff, but she’s waiting for the V-E-T to call her back. Don’t tell the V-E-T, but Momma took his cone off last night for a few hours. He got to groom himself a little and was really good about leaving his stitches alone. Momma kept telling him what a good boy he is. I got to see him up close last night, too. I didn’t even growl. Momma says I hissed a little, but I was just whispering to him. She can’t always tell the difference. But she did say that I was a good girl, too.

He went to work with Momma again today. She doesn’t think he likes it there as much today because they were making a really loud noise in the shop and it made him askeered.

I have a bug I need to go put the bitey on (a PBK is always on call), so I gotta go. Please keep EG (and Momma) in your prayers. Momma just wants him to get better. Thank you all.
Love,
Tazo

Happy Blogoversary, Kat's Cat of the Day


Thursday, March 22, 2007

Earl Grey Update - Thursday Edition

We missed our Wednesday EG update because Momma had to take EG back to the V-E-T. He hadn’t gone potty since early Tuesday morning and he hadn’t been drinking very much. So the V-E-T poked at his bladder and said it felt ok and had some potty in there. Dr. P said that he would probably go last night (which he did). She gave him some fluids under the skin again and gave Momma a syringe so that she can help EG drink if he’s still having trouble with his water dish. (He has to wear the cone until he gets his stitches taken out and he has a hard time drinking out of the dish). The tech had to help Momma give him his pain pill and eye drops while they were there because Daddy was at work and couldn’t help. EG didn’t like that at all.

The V-E-T said that EG’s incision looked great, but felt bad because his belly is all bruised. She said that she’s very happy that he’s eating and pooping. Momma just has to watch him and make sure he keeps eating and pooping and hopefully peeing.

He’s still pretty out of it because of the pain medicine. You can tell when it’s starting to wear off because he gets really wild and chatty. Momma took him with her to work today. He’s got a big dawg prison box with a litter box and fluffy towels to lay on and a water dish. Momma has to give him snacks every couple of hours, so he’s happy about that. I wish I could get a snack every couple of hours. That would be sweet!

I’ve got a lot of stuff to do today. My catnip sushi toy is calling me.
Thanks for thinking of us and purraying for us, too.
Love,
Tazo

Thursday Thirteen - V-E-T Edition

Momma counted everything up yesterday and discovered that she’s made 13 trips (well, 14 now – which really depressed her) to the vet recently, so that’s what we’re doing our TT on this week.

Thursday Thirteen - Momma and EG's V-E-T Trips

3/3/07 (morning) – EG had thrown up lots so Momma took him to SVH. They gave him some barfy medicine and some fluids.

3/4/2007 (early morning) – EG kept throwing up all day on Saturday, so Momma took him to the emergency V-E-T. They ended up keeping him because he was dehydrated and had scary liver enzyme values.

3/4/2007 (evening) – Momma went to the emergency hospital to see EG. She got to hold him and pet on him and give him lots of scratches. He had a yellow bandage on his arm.

3/5/2007 (evening) – Momma went back to the emergency hospital to visit him. He had a purple bandage on his arm. His liver enzyme value was half of what it was on Sunday.

3/6/2007 (evening) – Momma and Daddy went to the emergency hospital to pick him up. His bandage was blue this time. The techs said that he talked to them all day. He was tearing around the house and hanging out. I thought he smelled really bad so I hissed and growled at him.

3/8/2007 (evening) – I finally stopped hissing and growling at EG’s stinky self. But then Momma noticed that he wasn’t acting right, so she took him back to the emergency V-E-T. They drew more blood and gave him some fluids under the skin. His liver enzyme was still improving.

3/10/2007 (morning) – Momma took EG back to the V-E-T for a re-check. He was doing ok. His liver enzymes had dropped to almost normal. He got an x-ray which showed that his intestines were sort of bunched up, but the V-E-T thought that might be from one of the barfy medicines he’d been taking. He got more fluids, just to be safe, and got a special prescription food to eat. (I really like this food! It is soooo good, but Momma won’t let me eat it.)

3/12/2007 (morning) – Momma took EG back to the V-E-T for his last re-check. His x-ray showed that his intestines looked normal and his liver enzyme was normal. The V-E-T said he should continue to take his barfy medicine for four more days and eat some prescription food for another week.

3/17/07 (morning) – EG started throwing up the night before so Momma took him back to the V-E-T. Dr. P sent him to a specialty clinic for an ultrasound.

3/17/2007 (afternoon) – Momma took him right to the specialty clinic. The specialist did an ultrasound and found something weird in his tummy. She said he needed surgery and he had to stay there. They called Momma around 6:20 pm and told her that they were getting ready to take him into surgery. They called back at 8:30 and told Momma that his surgery went well and they removed a piece of purple plastic from his tummy.

3/18/2007 (morning) – T ate two pounds of kitty food and Momma had to take him to the V-E-T.

3/18/2007 (evening) – Visiting hours at the clinic were from 6 to 9 pm so Momma and Daddy went to see him. Daddy took lots of pictures of him. They stayed for a while and petted him. The tech said that he could go home that night, but Momma and Daddy asked if he could stay one more night so the techs could keep an eye on him and so Momma could maybe get some sleep.

3/19/2007 (afternoon) – Momma went back to the clinic to pick up EG and bring him home. He has to stay in Titus’ old dawg prison box. I can smell him (he stinks like sterile hospital), but so far I haven’t felt the need to hiss or growl at him. He’s slowing starting to smell better, so I think by the time he’s all healed up, I won’t have to be scared of him.

3/21/2007 (afternoon) – EG hasn’t been going potty, so Momma took him back to the V-E-T. The V-E-T said that he was doing well and gave him some fluids to keep him from getting dehydrated and to make him go potty. The V-E-T said that she hopes everything goes well and that she doesn’t have to see any of us back there until we go get our shots.

Momma has to take him back next week to get re-checked and get his stitches out. She’s really hoping that it’s the only trip she has to make.

Love,
Tazo

Thank You HOT(m)BC!!!

We just wanted to thank everyone over at HOT(m)BC for helping us adopt our squillion, Numi. We love her! Momma thinks she looks a lot like me. She wants a ceramic one, but she’s afraid we might hurt it. We like to make sure all the horizontal surfaces in our house are clear.

Love,
Titus, Tazo, & Earl Grey

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Earl Grey Update - Tuesday Edition #78131354

Tazo here:

Momma’s still wiped out, so I’m taking over as reporter again today. Earl Grey came home last night. The V-E-T said he was a really good patient. He has three different kinds of pills (antibiotic, pepcid, and a pain medicine), plus eye drops. He has to be a cone head until he gets his stitches taken out. He has special kibble to eat and he gets 5-7 pieces of kibble every two hours for the next day or so. Then he can work up to eating more after that. Momma can slowly start adding his regular kibble back in later in the week. The V-E-T tech said they were laffin’ and laffin’ (thanks, Jeter!) at him because when they first let him have food they gave him a few pieces of kibble and some stinky goodness because they didn’t know which one he would eat. They said that he took his paw and swiped the stinky goodness into his water bowl and chowed down on the kibble. I think I probably would've gone for the stinky goodness. We don't get that at home.

He has to stay in Titus’ old prison box. Momma was planning on keeping him in the bathroom, but the V-E-T said that it would be too tempting for him to jump on stuff and he can’t jump around just yet. Momma got the crate all sterile and put a litter box in there and a blankie and a water bowl. I checked it out and it seems pretty comfy. I might move in for a few days after he’s done living there. Momma also got him some disposable litter boxes and she put the extras in the laundry room. They make a really comfy bed. I took a nap in them last night.

EG's got a good appetite and he’s drinking his water. He did have the squirts last night a couple of times. The V-E-T said that a couple of times is ok, but if he still has them today he needs to get looked at again. He was naughty and jumped up on the piano two times last night even though he wasn’t supposed to. Momma couldn’t stop him because she was up to her elbows in his stinky poo. Hee hee

Somehow this morning before Momma got up, he untied his e-collar and took it off. Momma and Daddy had to chase him down and get it back on him. Then while they had a hold of him, they put in his eye drops. Momma said she shouldn’t have to do that kind of stuff before she has her morning coffee. She also said she’s going to call the V-E-T and see if her and EG can camp out in the waiting room for the next week so they can help her with EG’s medicines.

EG smells real funny, but I haven’t growled at him or even hissed. Momma said she was proud of me for being such a good girl. But what she doesn’t know is that I’d be a-hissin’ and a-growlin’ at him if he wasn’t in that giant prison box. Heh heh

That’s about it for now. Momma thinks that EG is going to have to go to work with her at the end of the week. She thinks he’ll be feeling better by then and need lots of supervision. Her boss said that he’s got a prison box EG can borrow so she doesn’t have to haul T’s prison box back and forth.

Love,
Tazo

PS – T is doing much better. He’s had some huuuuuge poops, but other than that he’s back to normal. He’ll be back to blogging soon. Man, being the only healthy furry kid in the house is a huge responsibility. I think I’m going to take a snooze now.

PS2 - I told Momma we should've waited to post EG's pics til today, so we could participate in Tummy Tuesday.

Monday, March 19, 2007

Machete Monday


Tazo here:

Momma says that it looks like EG got in a fight with a machete. I'm having a hard time with these pictures, so here's an explanation. The first one is EG wearing his cone and not looking all that happy.
The second one is a shot of his stitches.
The third one is the piece of latex squeaky shoe that they pulled out of him. It looks huge in the picture, but it wasn't quite that big. It measured approximately 1" X 3/4" X 3/8" thick.
The last picture is another shot of his stitches.

Momma apologizes for the quality of the pics. She had to take them with her camera phone. All I can say is I'm glad my tummy doesn't look like that.








Earl Grey & TItus Update - Monday Edition

Tazo here:

Momma and Daddy went to visit Earl Grey last night. They said he could come home because he had been eating and not puking since 2 pm. Momma and Daddy thought he should probably stay one more night just to be safe, so they’re going to pick him up this afternoon.

Momma said he had two IV ports in his arm just like before and he has a big boo boo on his tummy with lots of ugly stitches. He also has to wear a cone on his head because he tries to eat his IV’s. Momma said he looked real mad. I bet he was because he loves to groom and if he doesn’t get enough grooming time in he gets real mad. He’s real particular about how he looks.

The tech brought in the thing that they pulled out of EG's tummy. As soon as she set it on the table, Momma said, "Squeaky shoe." It was part of a squeaky shoe that Momma threw away almost a month ago. The tech said that Momma and Daddy could keep it as a souvenir. Daddy says it's the most expensive squeaky toy he's ever seen.

As for Titus, he did lots of pooping yesterday. He got a little bit of breakfast this morning. He acts better, so hopefully he’ll be back to normal in a day or so.

I got really bored last night and started chewing on the zipper pull from Momma’s coat. She yelled at me for doing that. I don’t know why. She said something about not wanting me to have a cage next to EG at the vet. I stopped chewing on it, but as soon as she’s not looking, I’m going to go check it out again.

I’ll be back in a minute. I’m going to try to post some pictures of EG at the hospital.

Love,
Tazo


PS - Momma wants to thank everyone again for all their thoughts and purrayers these last couple of weeks. We appreciate it!

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Earl Grey Update - Good News Sunday Edition

Tazo here:

Momma’s really worn out, so she asked me to give you guys an update. Sorry it took so long to update this, but we do have some good news.

Earl Grey’s surgery went great. They removed a piece of purple plastic from his intestine. They told Momma that they saved it for her to look at, but Momma’s pretty sure that it’s part of the purple latex squeaky shoe that she threw away last month. She thought Titus ate it, but now it looks like EG got some, too. All of his other guts looked fine, so we think he should be fine after this. *KNOCKING ON WOOD* As of 11 am this morning, EG is doing really well. He does have an ulcer on his eye now, though, because his eye got too dried out during the surgery. The V-E-T says it should be just fine, though. Visiting hours are tonight from 6 to 9, so Momma and Daddy will probably go see him and tell him that you guys are all rooting for him to get better. Thank you all so much for keeping him in your purrayers. It’s been pretty rough around here lately.

In other news, Titus got into our kitty food and ate about two pounds of it this morning. Momma had to take him to the emergency V-E-T because he was so uncomfortable and whining a lot (and he NEVER whines). They said his tummy is twice as big as it should be, but that the food is moving through, so they didn’t want to make him barf because he might not be able to stop barfing and then it would turn into gastritis. He got some fluids and he can’t eat anything else til tomorrow morning. Plus, he has to stay quiet and not get rowdy or play. Who’s going to play with me today since both my brofurs aren‘t feeling good? Grrr.

Momma’s worried that something’s going to happen to me now, but I keep trying to tell her that I’m lots more careful than the boys. She doesn’t have anything to worry about. I’m gonna go cuddle with her right now.

Thanks again for all the thoughts and purrayers. We’ll post an update tomorrow.
Love,
Tazo

PS - Skeezix, thank you for the banner you made for Earl Grey. That was very sweet of you. It made Momma’s eyes leak.

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Earl McGrey - The VERY URGENT Saturday Edition

Earl McGrey’s mom here:

Earl started throwing up again last night. We went back to the V-E-T this morning and they ended up sending him to a specialty clinic for an abdominal ultrasound. The ultrasound showed something in his intestinal tract that shouldn’t be there and that “wasn’t making his intestines very happy.” They’re going to do exploratory surgery at 6:30 pm EST. Please say a little purrayer for us or think a pawsitive thought. Thank you all so much. We're really worried about our little guy.

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Thursday Thirteen - Earl McGrey Edition Part 2

Thirteen Things I’ve gotten back to doing since I feel better:

1. Blogging

2. Supervising what goes on in the house. Things around here got really out of control last week when I didn't feel well enough to keep everyone in line.

3. Trying to run outside when anyone opens the back door, especially when O'Titus gets to go out and I don't. It's much more interesting outside than it is in here. Mom keeps telling me I can't go outside. Something about it being better to be inside and fat than outside and flat. Whatever.

4. Purring

5. Eating the yummy prescription food that Mom bought for me. It is tasty good. O'Tazo really wants to eat it. I offer to switch with her everyday, but Mom keeps busting us.

6. Fighting Mom and Dad when it’s time for my medicine. I'm sick of it. I hate being wrapped in that towel. Which is made worse, because they oooh and aaah and tell me how cute I am when I'm all wrapped up like a baby. Then Dad jams that barfy medicine (chicken flavored my butt!) down my throat while Mom puts the squeeze on me.

7. Putting the bitey on Mom - just about my very favorite thing to do. It's how I show her I'm feeling better. Heh heh

8. Grooming - I had lots to catch up on. It has been especially hard to get that hospital smell off me.

9. Helping Mom shut off the food alarm in the morning - I'm back to my routine. The food alarm goes off, I jump off the bed, onto the dresser and try to beat Mom to the button.

10. Looking out the window - Like I said before, things just went downhill last week when I wasn't up to supervising. The neighborhood has just gone to pot. I'll have it back in tip top shape by the end of the week, though.

11. Playing with my jingle ball and scratching on the scratching post

12. S-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g - You can't get a good stretch on when your tummy hurts.

13. Giving Mom lots of cuddles to thank her for taking care of me last week. I E-dub under the covers every night, but I've been giving her extra E-dubbing when she's watching TV.

Whew! It feels good to blog again. Mom took a bunch of pictures of us, so hopefully she can get those posted soon. There are some recent-ish ones on our flickr badge if anyone's interested.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Earl McGrey Update - Tuesday Edition

Earl McGrey’s Mom here:

Earl McGrey had to go back to the V-E-T yesterday for another check up. He didn’t have to get any bloodwork done because his values were so good on Saturday. He did get another x-ray and more pokes in the belly (which didn’t seem to hurt this time). His x-ray showed that the bunched up spot in his intestines that was there on Saturday was all gone. No more bunching! :) Dr. Montgomery doesn’t think he has an obstruction any more, but he may have pancreatitis or inflammatory bowel disease. He wouldn’t hold still for the techs to draw more blood to do the check for pancreatitis, so we’re not sure what it is at this point. He has to take his barfy medicine until Friday and continue on his bland diet for 7 days. We can start adding in his regular kibble little by little and if he doesn’t throw up as we’re adding in the kibble, then we can think that it’s pancreatitis.

He was jumping around on the counters yesterday and trying to play with O’Titus, so he’s pretty much back to normal. I stayed home from work yesterday and we all did lots and lots of cuddling.

Thank you all for all your purrayers and thoughts. Last week was a really scary week and it means a lot to us that you all were thinking of us. I appreciate all the supportive notes and e-mails. I’m really new to this whole kitty thing and it’s sooo scary when they’re sick.

Thanks again. The Furry Kids should be back blogging in the next day or so. They’re getting sick of me hogging the computer. :)

Sunday, March 11, 2007

Purrayers for Skeezix and an Earl McGrey Update - Sunday Edition

Earl McGrey’s Mom here:

FIRST - Skeezix, we hope you feel better soon. You helped us so much last week when Earl McGrey was so sick. We are purraying and purraying for you to feel better and sending tons of pawsitive thoughts your way.

Sorry I haven’t posted an update before now. Earl McGrey is doing better, so we’ve just been cuddling a lot.

He went back to the regular V-E-T yesterday. His liver enzymes were good (his ALT was 84 - normal!!!) . He was supposed to get a couple of other blood tests done, but he fought the techs too much and they could only get enough blood for the regular test (which the V-E-T and I were really happy about, since he hadn‘t been putting up much of a fight lately). He still had a sore tummy when she poked at him, but not as sore as before. He’s also done no more puking since Friday morning. His x-rays yesterday showed a bunched up spot in his intestines. :( The V-E-T thinks that he might have an obstruction (because of the spot on the x-ray and the puking), or maybe pancreatitis (sp?), or irritable bowel. She also hasn’t ruled out that he got into something toxic or that it could be a reaction to too much Reglan. He got some more fluids under the skin, some more chicken flavored barfy medicine, and a prescription bland diet since he won’t eat the boiled chicken and rice his dad made for him. We’re supposed to keep an eye on him and if he pukes even once, he needs to go back to the ER right away.

He’s doing pretty well so far. He’s eating the new food and putting the bitey on us a lot. He’s walking around more and jumping up on the counter a lot. He hates his barfy medicine and puts up a big fight when he has to take it.

He goes back to the V-E-T tomorrow for more x-rays, bloodwork, and pokes in the belly. Please continue to purray for him. The V-E-T says he’s doing well, but he's not out of the woods yet.
Thank you again for all the well wishes. It really means a lot to us.

Friday, March 9, 2007

Earl McGrey Update - Friday Morning Edition

EG had to go back to the V-E-T ER last night. He hadn’t eaten very much since he got home Tuesday evening and was pretty lethargic. The good news is that is ALT level was down to 142, so it’s still headed in the right direction. The rest of his bloodwork was normal, with the exception of showing that he was a little dehydrated. He got some fluids under the skin and an appetite stimulant to try encourage him to eat. The V-E-T thinks it may be a reaction to one of the other medicines that he’s been taking (the Reglan), so he only gets that if he seems nauseous.

He chowed down at his bedtime snack (he ate almost as much as he’d eaten in two days), but wasn’t interested in eating this morning. His dad gave him the appetite stimulant a little while ago, so hopefully that will kick in and he’ll eat another snack.

Please keep purraying for him. Thank you so much.

Thursday, March 8, 2007

Thursday Thirteen - Earl McGrey Edition

O’Titus says:

Earl McGrey isn’t feeling up to blogging yet, so I offered to help him out today (especially since O’Tazo’s still not talking to him). Mom and I decided to do a Thursday Thirteen about his hospital visit.

Thirteen Things about Earl McGrey’s Hospital Stay this week:

He got stuck with needles – lots of blood draws, IV’s, and medicines, so he had two ports in his right arm – one for the IV and one for blood draws.
He did get very cool, colorful bandages every day – yellow, purple, then blue. The blue was his favorite.

He had to have an enema – ick. ‘Nuff said. He didn’t want to talk about that.

X-rays – Two sets in two days. He didn’t like it.

Dr. Matt, Dr. Andrea, Dr. Roberts, Andrea, Linda, Liz, Keith, Patrick, Julie, Sharon, and Sheila are all very, very nice. They told him what a good boy he was and cuddled him when he was too stressed out after his examinations.

There was lots of poking at his sore belly. His belly was sore from his liver and the hard poops not moving and they kept poking at him.

Fentanyl (a painkiller) – Way better than the ‘nip. Will make a kitty as high as a kite kitty’s sore tummy feel better.

He got prescription kitty food – YUCK. It smells like stinky goodness, but it is NOT stinky goodness, no matter what the V-E-T says.

He had to go potty in regular litter. Why don’t they use Swheat Scoop? He thought everybody got to poop in a box of wheat. *shrugging*

He got to pee on a towel in the exam room when Mom visited him. The good thing is that it scrunched up real good when he tried to cover it up. It made Dr. Matt giggle to see how hard he was working (he had no idea that Earl McGrey is so meticulous about litterbox issues).

The enema gave him the squirts, which then got stuck in his paw fur (just like what happens to Skeezix!). So he had to get a quick wash of the feets.

He got to supervise the V-E-T and techs while they worked. They said that he talked to them a lot.

There was a very hurted woofie in there on Sunday night so he kept everyone awake with his crying. The V-E-T apologized to Mom because he was afraid that it might have askeered Earl McGrey. Mom said that he was used to woofies, because he has a dawg brother.

As soon as he started eating and got perkier and his liver stuff looked better, he got to come home.

Earl McGrey Update - Thursday Afternoon Edition

Earl McGrey Update – Thursday Edition

Earl McGrey is still at home. He’s eating a little bit at a time and it’s staying down. He had another episode of the squirts last night, but the V-E-T said that it’s probably still just leftover from the enema since it was only one time. He hates taking his medicine. He’s still laying around a lot, but if his dad or I sit down then he climbs on our laps to cuddle.

O’Tazo only hissed at him once today and then licked his head a little while later. Hopefully, the V-E-T smell goes away soon.

Please continue to keep him in your purrayers. He’s still not feeling all that great.
Thank you for all your pawsitive thoughts and purrayers.
Love,
Earl McGrey’s Mom

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

Earl Grey Update - Wednesday Morning Edition

Earl Grey’s Mom here:

Dr. Matt said he had a great day yesterday so he got to come home last night. His ALT value was down to 260 yesterday, so it’s headed in the right direction. He’s got three medicines that he has to take (an antibiotic, a tummy medicine to help things move through, and an antacid). He didn’t like getting his medicine at midnight. He ate a little snack after that. So far he hasn’t barfed up his food or medicine.

He didn’t seem to act that great when I got up this morning. He ate a little breakfast and fought us less than he did last night when we had to give him his medicine (which worried me a little). There was also some diarrhea in the litterbox this morning. I called the V-E-T and they said that the diarrhea might be from the enema that he had yesterday. As long as he’s eating a little, it’s ok. If he acts really listless and/or stops eating, we’re supposed to take him right back. Otherwise, he doesn’t have to go back until he gets his liver values checked on Monday.

I just called to check on him and his Dad said that he and Tazo were cuddling in bed with him. Which is very good because Tazo was very askeered last night. She was growling and hissing at Earl Grey.

Please keep praying for his continued healing. We’re still pretty worried about him. Thank you again for all your thoughts and purrayers.

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Earl Grey Update - Tuesday Morning Edition

Earl Grey's Mom here:
The vet on nights last night called and asked me to bring EG some kibble and some boiled chicken & rice. I took that in late last night, but he wasn’t allowed to eat anything because he had thrown up just before I got there. Dr. Matt said that he was concerned because Earl hadn’t pooped since he’d been there and the x-rays showed he had stuff in there that should’ve come out by now (the syringe feeding should’ve pushed it through). He showed me the x-ray and said that there were two pretty dense areas of (hopefully) stool that just weren’t moving. They were going to give him an enema to try to get them out. They were also going to try to feed him at midnight and 4.

I stayed with him for about an hour and he was a lot perkier. Not quite himself, but way better than Sunday.

Dr. Matt called this morning and said that the enema produced a “moderate amount of really dense material” and then that was followed by some more diarrhea-type stuff which was normal. They gave him an appetite stimulant around midnight and syringe fed him again. They checked his vitals at 4 and he was pretty stressed out, so one of the techs cuddled him and held him for a while. After that, he chowed down on his kibble from home.

I just called a couple of minutes ago and the tech said that he hadn’t thrown up any more and that he had eaten again around 9 (and it was staying put so far). She said they had two emergencies between 6 and 8 am so he missed his dose of the appetite stimulant so he was eating on his own. *thumbs up*

They’re going to check his liver stuff this afternoon and let me know how that’s doing. I’ll update again as soon as I have any more news.
Thanks for praying and thinking about us. We really appreciate it. Hopefully he can come home soon. Titus and especially Tazo miss him a lot.

Monday, March 5, 2007

Earl Grey Update - Monday Afternoon Edition

Earl Grey's Mom here:

I just talked to the vet. He has to stay another night. His ALT value (a liver enzyme) is down to 481 (from 1076). It’s still high (it should only be 120 max), but it’s improving. He won’t eat on his own yet, so they’re still syringe feeding him every 3-4 hours. They’re going to recheck his liver stuff tomorrow at 4 to make sure everything is still headed in the right direction. We're still praying hard that he starts eating and his liver goes back to normal. Thank you all for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. This kitty community is just so super. I'm going to visit him tonight and will make sure to tell him that you all are pulling for him. Thanks again!

UPDATE on Earl Grey

Thank you so much for all your kind words and prayers.

This is Earl Grey’s Mom. They x-rayed him yesterday and didn’t see any obstruction. He is still in the hospital, but is doing a lot better. We visited him last night and cuddled a little. I talked to the V-E-T this morning and she said he’s alert and curious about everything that’s going on in the room. He has been getting stinky goodness by syringe and it’s staying down, so we’re very happy about that. They also started giving him his medication by mouth and that’s staying down, too. *thumbs up* They’re going to re-check his liver values at 4 pm, so hopefully they’ll be better. If all goes well, he can come home tonight.

Thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers. Please continue to keep him in your prayers. We really need his liver values to improve.

Please keep Titus and Tazo in your thoughts, too. They really miss their brother.
Thank you again.
Love,
Earl Grey’s Mom

Sunday, March 4, 2007

Please Purray for Earl Grey

Hi everyone. This is the kids' Mom. Yesterday, Earl threw up pretty much all day. He went to the vet and they gave him some medicine to make him stop barfing, but it didn't work. He also got some fluids so he wouldn't get dehydrated.

He didn't act any better and the non-barfy medicine wasn't helping, so we took him to the kitty emergency room early this morning.
They did a bunch of bloodwork. Everything checked out ok except for 1 liver enzyme (ATP?). The high value is supposed to be 124. His was 1076, so it’s pretty bad. They don’t know what’s making it do that. It could be a virus or something he ate. They also think he might have an obstruction somewhere in his GI tract. They kept him there. He’s getting an IV for fluids and they’re giving him pain meds and antibiotics. I just called to check on him and they said he had peed (which he didn’t do at all yesterday) and he was a little perkier. He also hadn't thrown up since he's been there. They’re going to do more bloodwork in a couple of hours to check his electrolytes. Then around 4 they’re going to do another x-ray to see if they can see any obstruction. If that looks ok, then they’re going to see if he can keep some food down. I’m supposed to call around 6 and see how’s he doing. Please pray for him. We’re so worried.
Thank you all for your kind thoughts and thank you, Skeezix, for getting the word out. We really appreciate everything.

I'll post an update when I know more.

Friday, March 2, 2007

Skeezix and Zeus

Please, please, please don't stop blogging. You guys inspired us to start our very own blog. Skeezix, our Momma loves checking blog every day. Sometimes her eyes leak because she laughs so hard. She also bought two mugs with you on them because they make her smile.
Zeus, we thought it was very cool of you to hold a Mr. Litterbox contest. Even though Earl Grey didn't get to participate (because our Momma is technologically challenged and won't let us blog ourselves), we thought it was very nice of you to go through all the trouble.
Please don't quit blogging. We love to read about all of your adventures.

Love,
Titus, Tazo, & Earl Grey

PS - Earl Grey says:
Skeezix, Tazo has a secret crush on you. She thinks you are a very handsome guy. If things don't work out with Daisy, I bet Tazo would step right up.
Hey, Zeus! Do *you* have a girlfriend? How do you feel about girls with fur? *wink wink*

Tazo says:
Shut up, Earl Grey! *blushes*

Thursday, March 1, 2007

Thursday Thirteen - Oliver Edition




T, Tz, & EG say:
We decided to do one TT today in memory of our cousin, Oliver. Aunt Jen called Momma this morning and told her that he passed away suddenly this morning. Aunt Jen, Opie (his brother), and Momma are very sad. We know he’s up in heaven and that Shadow will take good care of him.

Oliver, We Miss You
October 2000 – March 1, 2007


Thirteen Things about Oliver:
1. He was very cuddly.
2. He had the pinkest nose and paw pads.
3. He had a loud motor.
4. He had a very long, tail – and it was very strong. Momma always tried to play with it because it was so different from Tazo's tail. He had a very strong, manly tail with big tail mussels.
5. He gived Momma lots of kisses whenever she stopped in to feed them when their Momma was out of town. Everytime Momma walked in the door, she would crouch down and he would come over and give her kisses and then rub his cheeks on her head.
6. He had a heart on his left front paw.
7. He and Opie were the first kittens Momma ever got to play with, so they have a special place in her heart.
8. He loved, loved, loved belly rubs.
9. He loved Aunt Jen’s bare feet.
10. He cuddled lots with Aunt Jen whenever she was sick or sad.
11. He started out as a little, baby kittie and grew into a very handsome man cat.
12. He liked playing with his chirpy wand when Momma came over.
13. He gave Aunt Jen the privilege of being with him when he passed away and being able to say goodbye.

We love you, Oliver, and miss you a ton.