22
May
2009
Pidden got a visit from the groomer the other day! I found a really great grooming service in Davis. This woman has a trailer that is a full service grooming salon. She actually comes to your house and grooms your pet in her trailer. This works really well for us because A) after Pidden got sick, she developed quite a dislike of leaving the house (can you blame her?), and B) it saves me a lot of time! I don’t even have to leave the house. The woman just swoops in, takes Pidden away, and I can still do homework or whatnot. So it saves us a lot of time and unnecessary stress.
While it may seem odd that we get our cat groomed, we actually have some pretty valid reasons we go through the trouble. First of all, Pidden’s fur is super long and thick, and since her body is pretty rotund, she can’t quite comb out all of her fur. So she’s developed quite a few knots on her lower back, and the knots are pretty painful for her. Rather than trying to comb them out (which is in fact impossible) we have the groomer shave them off. I’ve finally realized that I need to be combing her fur more often, so the knots don’t develop to begin with. But the main reason we get her groomed is to have her ass shaved. Again, her fur is so long that poop and pee get stuck in her fur, and let me tell you, it freaking reeks. I suppose we could shave her ourselves, but we don’t have the appropriate kind of razor, and quite frankly, we are afraid of what Pidden would do to us if we attempted to shave her ass. It would be a blood bath of sorts I’m sure. So, instead, we send her away to the groomer in hopes that she won’t sever the groomer’s carotid artery. We’ve done this twice now, and it seems to go relatively well. This time the groomer did complain that Pidden kept pissing on herself every time she tried to dry her off!
At any rate, Pidden came back smelling and looking good! Her fur looks so pretty and it feels nice and soft. She looked a bit traumatized when she came back in, but after a little snack she was back to normal again.
Posted: pidden
4
August
2007
Well, it’s been a week since we brought Pidden home and she has shown a lot of improvement. She’s been munching on her food, jumping up on the bookshelf, and getting lots of love from me. She even woke me up last night to get some love. She hasn’t done that in a long time.
We took her in for a check up on Tuesday and we found out that she is cancer free! Also, she gained a half of a pound! Soon she’ll be just as plump as she was before!
She still doesn’t like to be fed but Kyle and I no longer care. We just feed her and she has to deal with it.
We have to take her in again next Tuesday so they can test her blood again. If her billirubin count is down then that means her liver is starting to heal.
Well, that’s about it for updates. We’ll know more after her next appointment.
Posted: pidden
4
August
2007
Yesterday was the first day we had Pidden home for a whole day. It was pretty tough on us. We fed her at 10 a.m., 3 p.m., 8 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. Believe me, the time between the feedings goes by very quickly. We’ll feed her and then in no time we are back in the kitchen blending rabbit and pea food in our blender and crushing up medicine. It’s quite exhausting. Pidden is getting a little more used to it, but she still tries to worm her way out of it. The worst is when she whines. It’s as if she knows that it makes me sad and I want to let her go.
Yesterday was bad. She barely even moved. She just stared listlessly into space. I think it was the pain meds.
I’ve been monitering her pretty closely and I really don’t think she has slept since we brought her home. It’s almost as though she is emotional distraught and can’t sleep. I say this because I’ve caught her slowly nodding off, and then suddenly opening her eyes wide, as if to ward off sleep. I left a message at the vet at 4:30 this morning to ask if her insomnia is due to the medications and if there is anything I can do. I know that cats sleep an average of 20 hours a day so this can’t be good.
I woke around 4 this morning and quickly went to Piddy’s litterbox to see if she had been busy while I was sleeping. I was so happy to see that, yes, she was quite busy! It’s the first time she has really pooped in I don’t know how long! I was so excited, I wanted to take a picture! (I restrained myself though).
This morning she also jumped up on my lap for about 30 minutes and then jumped up to her spot on the couch. She is definitely showing signs of progress. Although right now she doesn’t look too happy. Probably because we just fed her the most we’ve fed her yet (60 ml). Plus, she has been munching on her dry food every now and then, so I think she is really full.
Posted: pidden
4
August
2007
It's crazy how sudden things can go downhill. I don't know what I've been doing wrong, but it seems as though this year I am receiving a lifetime's worth of karmic retribution. The most recent bad news that has been dumped on me is that my precious baby is sick.
I've never worried about Pidden's health before. She has been painstakingly spoiled ever since I got her. Nevertheless she got very sick. She wasn't eating or pooping very much for a few weeks, but her behavior was relatively normal so I didn't think much of it. But I soon realized that she basically stopped eating and pooping altoghether and finally, when she woke me up in the middle of the night "meowling" I decided that it was time for her to see the vet.
I soon discovered that this the best idea I ever had. After having blood tests, an ultra-sound, and a biopsy, Piddy was diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease and fatty liver disease. These diseases are treatable, as long as the treatment is aggressive and early on. Along with taking 5 medications (2 antibiotics, 1 pain killer, 1 supplement, and 1 anti-depressant), we have to feed her four times a day through a feeding tube.
This feat has proved to be quite difficult, as Pidden hates it and Kyle and I are nervous and inexperienced. I suppose after some practice we will get the hang of it.
I'm just happy that she is home where she belongs. She (obviously) isn't her normal self yet. She pretty much just sits and stares, although she doesn't object to a nice face scratch every now and then. She hasn't been sleeping, but I attribute that to her medications as well as the two days worth of trauma in the hospital. I'll keep updating this as things (hopefully) improve. I hope I can post some not-so-pathetic pictures.
Posted: pidden
