So at the “Toast to Surviving the Holidays” party the other night my cat was being passed around like a pack of cigarettes. It’s what happens. She’s my little show stealer. Anyhoo, somebody kept telling me about a Siamese cat they had had, “just like this one but with blue eyes”. It was making me crazy. I kept explaining how it was too dark in the room we were in but my cat’s eyes were totally blue. It never sunk in, but here: for my own sanity, look at those baby blues!

tagged: party cats pets versace siamese proof blue eyes

Have you seen my cat lately? Probably not, as my 365 has turned into more of a *whenever I feel like it* project. Well, whatever. She has gotten big. Not big as in regular-cat big, but for her she’s enormous! And I am a proud parent. Today we had Derek (the window repair man) and his assistant over to re-repair the bedroom window. As they were trekking up the stairs I warned them about the new overly-friendly kitten that may be under foot. She chose that moment to appear out of nowhere. She was standing tall with her neck fully extended (she’s like ET with that neck of hers). Her bright blue eyes glinted in the afternoon sun coming in. When the burly repair men saw her they both did an “Ooooh!” and tried to pet her.. Aw! Sadly they must have not smelled as good as the Cable Guy that was here 2 weeks ago that she was literally ALL OVER, as she would have nothing to do with them.

Either way, I was inspired to take her photo later today when she was being especially cute, albeit less striking than she was with the men:

tagged: cat pets versace kitten siamese

Versace drank water. Like plain, right out of the water bowl, water! AND had kibble. Not a lot, but she ate it on her own!

Also, she’s been on the counter. I couldn’t be happier!! My baby is feeling better! Really actually better. *sigh* All this within the last hour too. Weird how sudden it is. Hrm. I just hope it lasts!

I am a proud papa tonight. I just hope she doesn’t injure herself with all of these shenanigans. I had forgotten exactly how “death defying” her “normal” really is… Good gawd. Hang on… VERSACE!! Get down!!

Gotta run.

tagged: cat versace kitten siamese spay complications

I am not neglecting you. In fact I have lots to talk about. My lesbian aunt, for one. Of course I have much to say regarding veterinary medicine and female cats as well. That topic enrages me… I cannot wait to let it all out. (I will flag those entries, in case you are sick of my cat-blogging).

In the meantime, my little kitten Versace is having an awful time post-spay. She has been to emergency care twice since the operation. At this point we should be almost done with the healing process. Versace has only started healing, and the situation is still very “iffy”. My energy and focus are with her now. I chose to put her through this. I need to be with her until the outcome. If I hadn’t elected to spay, hadn’t insisted on buying HER, had just kept quiet, none of this would be happening to her. I have cried every day since the operation. The guilt of it is killing me.

Right now I am regretting the whole thing. If you are the praying sort, please include her. Or send some healing mojo. Or a wish. We need all the help we can get. I don’t want her to suffer more. I don’t want to lose her.

tagged: cat versace kitten siamese regrets

My cat was almost back like she was on Sunday when I took her to the Emergency Hospital last night when I got home. I couldn’t believe it. Richard had been with her all day! Apparently she had been acting normal until an hour before I got home. Frantic, I canceled our dinner plans. I needed to keep an eye on her. She got worse within the next hour. I was about to take her back to the ER, when her regular Doctor called to check on her. After talking with her we thought forcing water down her throat to keep her hydrated would be fine till morning. Then I was going to drop her off at the vet, and skip the expensive ER. So we gave her about 2 ounces of water, and let her sleep a bit. She woke up around 9 and was obviously feeling better. She ate and drank on her own, her fur looked normal, and she was alert again. Relieved, we all got on the couch and watched TV before bed. This morning she seemed fine too. She drank water as soon as she was up and about. She ate breakfast. I called the vet and let them know I was going to watch her at home, and not drop her off since she still seemed okay.

Later in the afternoon I became concerned. I hadn’t seen her drink anything. I tried to give her water, but she turned away. So I tried her moist food. She went for that, so I mixed it with more water and hand fed her. After a few more hours she still hadn’t drank on her own and was starting to look gaunt again. Dehydrated again. I gave her more canned food with water and called the vet again. She said we should bring her in. We just dropped her off. I hope to hear something by 5:15. That’s when they said I should return. I just hope she’s okay. I thought this “spaying” was a Routine Procedure. I thought there were rarely complications. I thought most cats were feeling normal after 24 - 48 hours. It’s been nearly 5 days. The ER vet thought she was fine. My cat isn’t acting fine. Is she in pain, tear a stitch, or just a drama queen? Hopefully I’ll know in an hour.

I am so afraid I am going to lose her. For something I elected to have done. I cannot explain the guilt and remorse I already feel. If this gets worse… I am going to be a mess.

tagged: cat versace kitten spay

Well, I just returned from the Emergency Pet Hospital.

After a day and a half of feeling fine and being far too active Versace was feeling the effects of her spaying this morning. She didn’t want to get out of bed, and when she did she was moving slow. I noticed right away that she was shivering. I figured she was cold so I popped on the heat and went about my morning routine. I started by putting down cat food. Coco of course came running. Versace did not. Odd, but I had figured she was finally feeling all the jumping around she had been doing. I felt bad so made her food a special treat by mixing in some cottage cheese (loves it, and good for her coat… they say). I even brought it up to her. She didn’t want it. She wasn’t even interested. Worried, I went and got the other treats she really *REALLY* likes. She sniffed at it a bit but only ate it after I tore it up small. Scared, but still thinking she was hurting I gave her the pain medication. She slept for a bit, but was clearly feeling and looking worse when she woke up. That’s when we went to the Emergency Room.

tagged: cat versace kitten emergency surgery spay

*Read no further if you are sick of Cat Blogging*

So as it turns out, my kitten has an amazing threshold for pain. Or she’s insane. Or both. I went to pick her up at the vet at 4. She had been out of surgery for about 4 hours from what I was told, and she was just waking up from the drugs. Groggy. And all dolled up in one of those e-collars. Poor thing. The tech told me she had chosen a soft collar for comfort. Comfort. In an e-collar? Right. So I pay my 3 billion dollars and off we go. She was in her Portable Pet Home in the seat next to me. As soon as I got the car out into traffic she started thrashing about and screaming in there. By thrashing, I do mean just that. Throwing herself about in there like an insane cat. I am lucky I didn’t get into an accident on the way to the house with all that going on.

After what seemed like an eternity we finally get home. I let her out of the carrier, expecting her to settle down a bit. She was clearly still drugged after all, and was quite wobbly on her feet. She didn’t care. She was all over the living room. Circling. Then she went down the stairs. Then she came up. Then down. Then up. Stairs are to be avoided! The instructions upon discharge made that very clear! She was not “settling down” so I tried the recommended “isolating her in one room” method. I even brought up her box! She could be in there, avoid stairs, and recover in peace. She didn’t want no peace. She was up and down on the bed, circling around, NOT holding still. I was panicking at this point. She’s just stitched and glued shut from the operation. All this activity and she’s gonna pop her seam!

tagged: cat versace kitten emergency surgery vet recovery

I just heard back from the vet. Versace’s surgery went fine. I can pick her up at four. *phew* I am relieved. I am sure I had no reason to worry, but I was. I had looked up what a “spaying” entailed the other day and it freaked me out. They pretty much remove all her stuff. The whole “area” gets deleted. Ew. On boys it’s a lot less invasive I think. I didn’t look, but one assumes. Anyhoo. She’s fine. No more “Heat”, and with any luck no more big vet bills for a while. I swear, all this has literally cost me more than the actual cat!

Okay. Enough about that. Back to my dinner preparations. I am making salad, and since I hate doing it, I do the whole head of lettuce. We get a few days out of it that way. One less thing to make each day.. Ta!

tagged: versace surgery vet spay

What? Thursday? Well, for most folk, I am sure it is. However it is a three day weekend for me! A much needed one. work has been totally sucky this week. I need a short escape! But it won’t be all fun times on the 3-dayer. My kitten, using the term loosely since The Heat, is going in for her spay tomorrow. It is something we need to do as responsible pet owners. Sure she is purebred, but we have no intention of breeding her. In fact, we didn’t even purchase her with breeding rights. But all that aside… I am worried about it. She is a bit young as far as normal spaying age. She is also a bit small. Siamese are narrow mid-sized cats and she is nowhere near full grown. So as easy and common as a spaying is I am concerned about my baby.

So Friday morning I drop her off. I plan to then do my errands around town so that when I pick her up later I can stay home and observe… Like a good cat-dad. If all goes well and there are no issues with healing or getting picked at by Coco we are going to a Game Night (yet to be confirmed tho, where’s the official email?) on Saturday. Sunday I’d like to Geocache or rollerblade if the weather holds.

Hmm. Sounds basic. I need to throw in bacon somewhere in these plans…

*this entry posted while not wearing pants

tagged: pets versace siamese coco spay 3 day weekend

I knew the Siamese, as a breed could be vocal and distinct. I was totally prepared. When things are normal I get a lot of joy from little Versace. However, last night things weren’t normal. She clearly was not herself.

She started acting a bit off in the afternoon, a bit moody, a bit nervous and distracted even. As we neared bedtime she seemed a bit clingy, and still distracted. Not even interested in her “bedtime toy”. (Yes, “bedtime toy”. It’s totally not weird if you have had a kitten. 20 minutes before bed she gets to play with a toy that only comes out at that time to burn off that last bit of energy so she’ll sleep through the night.) Anyhoo, so no-go with playtime. So I shut out the light and we attempt to sleep. Versace placed her self on my chest, which is totally not where she normally sleeps. She purred and was still for about 20 minutes. I know this because she purrs really loudly. Then she was up and about the room crying, then down the hall, then down stairs. Crying. All night. Of course on the night before Richard and I were due back to work.

Now I know you have all heard about a Siamese cat’s cry. It is often compared to a crying infant. Only louder. And, as Randy Jackson would say, “pitchy”. So I got no sleep, and I am sure Richard only got about an hour or 2 during those brief times I was able to get her calm. When morning came I got on the net. (Sounds exciting when you say it like that! I also leapt into action!) I researched her symptoms and came up with a lot of sources regarding “cats in heat”. Erm. I thought she was a bit young for that, but apparently Siamese will go into “heat” as early as 5 months. Sometimes as early as 4! I freaked out a bit. I mean, talk about an abrupt end to Kittendom! Also, she didn’t quite have all the symptoms… but her constant cleaning of her kitty-zone had me really worried. So I called in sick so I could watch her, just in case. I also put a call in to the vet. Since I had no appointment I had to wait for a doctor to call me back between appointments. Hours later I spoke to a doctor who felt she had an infection in her urinary tract, not an early “heat”. He advised I bring her right in. I did.

200 bucks later and we have a diagnosis, a prescription, and hopefully a cat that will sleep tonight. (Thank gawd for pet insurance!!)

UPDATE: Things have escalated! Gotten louder! And it’s odd how my cat can walk in reverse with her ass poking out like that… I think we have been miss-diagnosed.  This heat thing, if that’s what it is, can go on for 2 weeks, only to start up again a week later… Ugh. I hope I am wrong.

tagged: cat loud versace kitten siamese