Projects, interests, and pontifications of Joby Walker
Chloe doing what she does best:
Emma wondering what I am up to:
Hoth (neighbor cat) striking a pose:
And finally Basement Cat (Shadow, the other neighbor cat):
All of the pix of Shadow came out a bit blurry — must be one of Basement Cat’s powers.
So after an unbearable wait (both for the product to be released and waiting in line to buy) Aly and I have upgraded from our bargain basement crappy phone to the iPhone 3G. So let’s start off with some cat pix:
Chloe Looking confused:
Emma trying to ignore me:
As I was getting ready to leave for work on Thursday, I noticed a squirrel eating while perched on a stump very close to the front window. Assuming the cats would like to see the squirrel, I snatched them from the couch (where they were passed out) and put them in front of the window. While Chloe immediately focussed on the squirrel, Emma couldn’t care less — she just cocked her head and gave me an exasperated look before heading back to the couch. The squirrel could see the cats, but seemed to understand that they couldn’t get it — so it finished eating and then wandered off.
Some cats are hunters, others are lovers. Apart from the occasional spider and moth our cats are not hunters — Chloe runs and hides when it rains to hard… (seen at The Volokh Conspiracy)
So Chloe decided that food without Froot Loops isn’t worth eating. Sigh. You’d think a cat so obsessed with a regular supply of food would care that much. So to account for her finickiness we’re slightly decreased the proportion of Kidney Diet food and increased her share of Friskies. We still hope to force her onto more Kidney Diet food, but we’ll have to be more subtle and gradual.
So it seems that our cats (Chloe and Emma) were exposed to the tainted cat food manufactured by Menu Foods. We took Chloe to the vet last Saturday because SnarkyKat noticed that she was drinking more water than normal — there was also a drop in their appetite that was most pronounced that Saturday. On Monday, her blood tests came back and confirmed that her creatinine levels were 2.1, just above the normal range of 1.0 - 2.0, indicating acute kidney failure. I took Emma in that afternoon and they confirmed that Emma’s kidney function was even more impacted — creatinine at 2.5 and an elevated BUN.
We have begun transitioning both cats to a kidney diet, which has gone quite well. Their current mix is about 50% Drs. Foster & Smith, 40% kidney diet, and 10% Friskies. The current plan is to continue to eliminate the Friskies and then slowly scale back the Drs. Foster & Smith. No more Froot Loops for Chloe.
In three weeks, we’ll go back to the vet to have their kidney function tested again. I am quite optimistic. The reading I’ve done on acute kidney failure indicates that it is frequently reversible (assuming the cat survives the initial poisoning), but since this is new it is unknown what the future impact will be. Both of the cats have been acting more normal in the past few days. Chloe has normalized her water consumption and resumed screaming at us to feed her. Additionally both cats are eating everything we give them and they have increased their “playing” (a.k.a. fighting).
So with the food that we normally feed the cats recalled we’ve had to find another solution. Emma doesn’t seem to care what she eats: expensive or cheap, dry or wet, cat food or a sausage… But Chloe, “I’m so hungry I’m about to die”, decides to be picky.
So we’re using the same technique my Mom used for me. She wanted me to eat a healthy cereal for breakfast, but of course I wanted something loaded with sugar. So as a compromise, I got two boxes of cereal one healthy the other good — such as Cheerios and Froot Loops. My Mom would then mix the two cereals together so with every bowl I got about a 50-50 mix.
So now we’re feeding Chloe about 50% Doctors’ Foster and Smith Country Classics and 50% Friskies. With the yummy Friskies crack/gravy mixed over the healthier food she is happy. We should have known there would be a problem when we first smelled the Doctors’ food — it smells kinda like a stew — not cat food.
I always knew cats where evil. Why else would I have a couple? But I never knew they could be this evil:
Blogged with Flock
Scout (1995-2005)
On Saturday at little after 3PM, Aly and I lost Scout to her kidney disease. Despite being very weak, Scout was able to show a bit of her normal personality at the end by hissing at the Vet.
Scout was originally diagnosed with kidney disease last October, shortly before the Election. We were very fortunate to have nursed Scout back to health for the holidays and her 10th birthday. But over the summer she began losing weight and we both knew that the end was approaching.
Despite knowing for nearly a year that this was going to happen, both of us have been hit hard. Scout has been with us for as long as we’ve been together so everything seems different — many of the little quirks of our home behavior have a connection to Scout. There is definitely a hole in our family now.
Chloe was a bit panicked yesterday and today, but seems to finally be calming down. She doesn’t seem be to aware, but she hasn’t come to the full realization of her new situation. During the week she will quickly discover the meaning of the word “Diet” that we have been telling her about. And since she won’t be able to binge on Scout’s food, she is in for a rude awakening.
Despite the pain now, I will always fondly remember Scout. From the tiny crack-baby that we had to chase down and hold until she calmed down. To the bitchy adolescent that drew blood on my Mom who didn’t believe that she was not all hiss and no claws and teeth. Then the adult that loved to sun herself in the south facing windows. And finally, the dignified elder watching the neighborhood through the front window.
See ya Scout, you’re in charge till I get there.
Chloe considering the most important thing in her life — food.