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Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Lily Update - Looking Better Every Day

We wanted to let our furiends know that Lily Rose is looking better every day. She is still not able to blink her left eye, but the lid relaxes and almost closes when she goes to sleep. She is one week post-op now and acts pretty much like her normal self. Her shaved fur areas are starting to appear fuzzy.

This is Lily's 3rd day going to work with mom. The office staff fuss over her and she likes the attention. We think mom's boss is awesome for letting Lily come to work with mom. But we also know that is a temporary arrangement and if Lily's condition becomes permanent than another arrangement will have to be made. The first day Lily was at mom's office, she spent the day crated. Yesterday, one of mom's co-worker's let Lily roam in his office so she wouldn't have to stay in the crate. He's out today so Lily has his office all to herself. There is a nice window for her to look out of. And a holly tree is right there and it is full of squirrels and birds for her to watch!

Lily will go back to see her surgeon on Monday, November 1st. Hopefully her stitches will come out then.

Also, we've been reading all of our friends' blogs, but we always haven't had the time to comment.

Purrs,
Clarissa & Co.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

We Made the Top Ten Most Haunted Places in the World

Well, not exactly. What I mean is a place in our hometown made it into the top 10 most haunted places in the world.

Here is the link to all 10 places:

World's Most Haunted Places

And here is the direct link to Waverly Hills.

Mom said she has never been out there, although she knows exactly where it is. She said the last she heard is the current owners want to turn part of the place into a bed and breakfast. Mom also said she doesn't matter what they make of the place, she would not go there! She's a big chicken. MOL

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Another Update on Lily

Mom was going to drive to North Carolina this coming Wednesday to pick up a good friend of hers. She was going to take Miss Lily with her since she needs her eye ointment. However, after discussion with her friend it was decided that the travel might be too much stress on Lily. Therefore mom's friend has made other arrangements to get here.

Lily looks a little better each day. Her head and neck furs are starting to grow back, so now she feels more like a slightly fuzzy hot water bottle. Mom would have sworn she saw Lily's left eye blink yesterday morning, but she hasn't seen it happen again. She says it must be a case of wishful thinking.

Mom's boss did say that Lily can come to work with mom this week. She is going to try if for a couple of days and see how it works out. Lily is still sleeping more than she did before she had surgery. But we know her body is healing and she needs her rest. Mom makes sure Lily eats her food and drinks her water and is using the litter box. So far Lily has been doing all of that.

It looks like the surgeon actually stitched the opening of Lily's ear together so it appears to be closed up now. Maybe that was done to keep any bacteria from getting back down in there.

Mom took Friday off and stayed home with us. It was nice to have her here. The house was cold Friday morning, so she got Lily and put her in bed with her. When mom woke up later, she still had Lily with her, along with Fiona, Fred, Bandit, Sable, and Memphis. Mom says she needs a bigger bed!

We hope everyfur had a good weekend.

Purrs and good nite,
Clarissa & Co.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Lily is home!

I brought Lily home late this afternoon. Currently she is resting on my brother's bed. Her left eye is totally dilated. I'm hoping the light won't bother her too much during the day. Her left ear looks like it is down on the side of her head more than usual. Over half of her neck has been shaved, and her pink skin looks somewhat bruised from the surgery.

I have ointment to put in her left eye to keep it moist. This has to been done every 4 to 6 hours. I'll be doing it again shortly before I go to bed. I also have a number of syringes that are filled with a pain killer for her. Thank goodness they are to be taken orally and not injected. Lily will get one of those shortly too.

I'll have to come home from work during my lunch break so I can check Lily's eye and put the ointment in it. My boss is out of the office until Friday. I may ask her if Lily can be our office cat while she needs the ointment in her eye. It will take me an hour to get home, take care of Lily, then get back to work. Technically I'm suppose to get only a 30 minute lunch. I'll have to use either vacation time or sick time (if I can) to make up that other 30 minutes.

I'm glad to have Lily home where she belongs. She was quite restless when she first got home. I'm glad that she has settled down and is resting.

Thank you all again for your prayers for my girl. I think she is going to be just fine.

Lily's meowmie, Malinda

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Lily/Surgery - Update!

We have great news! Lily went into surgery around noon and was out and awake a bit after2:00pm! The surgeon said she did fine and he was able to remove all of the icky stuff that was causing her problem. He did say that she has some transient paralysis on the left side of her face.

Lily will spend tonight at the animal hospital and should be able to come home tomorrow. She will be sent home with some ophthalmic drops to keep her left eye wet in case she has trouble blinking.

Thank you all for you purrs, barks and prayers!!!

Purrs,
Clarissa & Co.

Lily/Surgery

We wanted to ask all of our friends to keep Lily in their purrs, barks, and prayers this morning. Mom took her to see the surgeon yesterday. After going over Lily's x-rays mom could see what was going on inside of Lily's ear.

All cats have bacteria in their ears. If their ears are kept clean it's usually not a problem. In Lily's case the bacteria gets trapped, and even cleaning can't reach all of it. The bacteria grows and multiplies, eventually forming an abscess. The abscess will rupture and drain out through Lily's ear. This has happened repeatedly, causing scar tissue to form, plus some of the softer tissue has mineralized and has hardened so it is more like bone fragments.

The surgeon is going to remove all of that tissue and any bone fragments. Lily has always been deaf on that side, so she won't notice anything different. She may have a problem with balance after the surgery. She also may have some drooping on that side of her face. The surgeon said the drooping is usually temporary and will go away as she heals up.

Lily stayed at the surgeon's office last night. He was hoping to do the surgery yesterday afternoon, but they had a couple of emergencies and couldn't do it.

Mom said they will probably keep her tonight for observation.

We will keep everyone posted.

Purrs,
Clarissa & Co.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Happy Caturday

First of all, we want to thank everyone for their kind words and positive prayers for Lily. She's acting perfectly normal even with the tubes in her neck. Mom woke up this morning and found Lily sleeping in her regular spot at the foot of the bed. Even though Lily really doesn't like us we still want her to be okay.

It's a beautiful fall morning in Kentucky. The sun is shining brightly and some of us have found sunbeams to nap in. Mom is going to be home with us most of the day and we imagine we will get to nap with her later. She's been cleaning the house this morning and took a break to help us with our blog. She said she has to go out later to take our uncle to work and to pick up the sucky monster from the Oreck store. She had to have it serviced and has been without it since last weekend. We are up to our knees in cat fur!

We hope everyone enjoys their Caturday!!!!

Friday, October 15, 2010

Lily Rose...Needs to see a surgeon on Monday....

When I got home from work on Thursday night I immediately noticed that the left side of Lily Rose's neck was swollen again. For those who don't know, Lily Rose is my 9 year old white kitty who has one blue eye and one gold eye. Her blue eye is on the left, and she is deaf (as far as we can tell) in that ear.

I knew exactly what this swelling was. It happened at least once before that I know of late last year. Lily had been feeling puny and was running a low grade fever for a couple of days before Christmas. Out of the blue, on Christmas night, she perked up and was behaving like her normal self. On the morning after Christmas I started to pet her head and noticed that her fur was wet beneath her left ear. On closer inspection I found that whatever the fluid was, it was draining from her ear. It was cloudy and I could see minute traces of blood in it. Being the day after Christmas the two vets I see were on holiday so I had to take Lily to the emergency animal center. While waiting to see the vet I then noticed the swelling in Lily's neck. Lily was sedated and the side of her neck was shaved. The vet made a small incision and drained out what she said appeared to be fluid from an abscessed wound...except there were no visible scratches or bite marks on Lily. Lily was placed on an antibiotic, the swelling disappeared, and we didn't pursued it any further.

I was able to get Lily into the vet at 9:00am yesterday. Dr. Green said the lump definitely felt as if it had fluid in it. She took Lily to another room, shaved her neck, and drew a sample from the lump. Once again, it appears to be an infection and had traces of blood in it. It would definitely have to be lanced and drained. Since Lily would need to be sedated I left her with the vet. Dr. Green asked if she could take x-rays of the area while Lily was out. I agreed. A couple of hours later I received a call from Dr. Green.

The good news is Lily did fine and was still sleeping at the time. She inserted a small piece of tubing through two incisions in Lily's neck so the place would continue to drain. I have to clean around it twice daily, and I am suppose to flush the inside of the area with this solution would send home with me.

The bad news is the x-rays showed thickening of the tissue surrounding the fluid filled area, plus two minute objects that could be foreign matter or bone fragment at the end of her ear canal. The whole mess presses on Lily's ear canal which is probably why she can't hear. Dr. Green also said that Lily's ear was so inflamed that she couldn't see into it with the otoscope. She strongly recommended that I take Lily to see a surgeon and the sooner I could get her in the better. Dr. Green also said that due to the location of the swelling, etc., it may be a risky surgery. The area is near Lily's lymph glands in her neck, her caratoid artery, plus her facial nerves. There is a possibility that a surgeon won't want to work in that area.

Lily has an appointment for a consultation with surgeon at 9:00am on Monday. I have her x-rays to take with me. Any other information will be faxed there from my vet's office.

My gut feeling is this place is NOT cancer. I could be totally wrong, but I don't think I am. A sample of the fluid has been sent to the lab. Hopefully the results will tell us exactly what type of bacteria or viral infection this is.

Lily is 9 years old. She was 7 when she joined me. I know she's had that drainage from her ear two or three times since she's been with me, although last December was when I first became aware of that swelling. It may have been there before and I just hadn't noticed it. Whatever the case is, Dr. Green said this is something that has been going on for quite some time with her.

I was suppose to go to Nashville next week to see Alice Cooper/Rob Zombie, and for various reasons it just was not working out so I decided not to go. I am so relieved that I'm not making that trip. Now I know why it wasn't meant to be. I need to be here to take care of Miss Lily Rose.

Malinda
Lily's Meowmie

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

It's Time to Meet Ginger!

Without further ado, it is time for everyone to meet my adopted sisfur, Ginger!:



Hi everyone. My name is Ginger (aka Gingersnap). I'm really friendly and not as huge and grumpy as that above picture makes me look. With that said, I must confess that I am a large girl. I weigh about 14 lbs.

I moved to my forever home from Ohio in June 2007. Mom told you our story when you met Batman. In a nutshell, our first mom wasn't taking us with her when she moved.

I was born in Ohio (along with my siblings Panda & Spunky) under the front porch of our first human mom's house. At least that's what our forever mom was told. We lived at that house for four years.

You've probably notice I have a lot of dark goop around my eyes. I have some scar tissue on my eyes from the infection I had as a kitten. My eyes water a lot and I get a lot of that nasty goop around the bottom of them. Mom will try to clean it off, but I hate to be held and I make it really hard for her to help me. However, my brother, Spunky, takes care of me and he washes my face and cleans me up. We are very close and could never be separated.



I love attention from mom and her brother, and I will rub around their feet and ankles. They don't make me get down from the breakfast bar either. It's one of the few places I will get where I let them scratch my ears and pet me. I will sleep on mom's bed and sometimes I will even spend the night with her.

I'm usually pretty quiet unless someone tries to pick me up! Then I meow loudly and twist around and squirm until I either get away or they put me down! I've only laid down willingly in mom's lap one time. That was back in the summer. And for the record, Spunky and Panda will not let themselves be picked up either! But they will lay down in mom's lap.



That's me (above) sleeping in one of the kitty beds.

I'm a little shy around people I don't know, and I pretty much spent the first week in my forever home hiding. I would come out if the house was really quiet or wait until everyone was in bed. It was a bit of an adjustment for me to leave a house with only five kitties and move into a house that now had 13 kitties!

My favorite place to sleep is close to my brother, Spunky. But if Spunky doesn't want to nap, then I'll lay down to whoever is the closest and will let me snuggle. That's me with Sable in the photo below:



My eyes are a little light sensitive, which may be why I look a little grumpy. Or maybe I just woke up!

Mom calls me and Panda and Spunky "cow cats" because of our markings. And she says I have the softest fur our of the three of us! I have a half-brother, Puff, too. He is a long-furred gray and white tabby. His face is marked just like mine!

I think I've told you everything I can about myself...at least for now!

Purrs,
Ginger
(aka Gingersnap)
(aka Ginger Pie)

Friday, October 8, 2010

Hoping for a less eventful day!

So when mom was on her way to work yesterday morning, she saw an ambulance, two university police cars, and another car stopped at one of the intersections on campus. She suspected that a student was probably hit while crossing the street. She was right. No word on the condition of the student but we are purring that he/she is not hurt.

Then yesterday afternoon another student pulled a handgun out of her bag in a meeting at the college of education on campus. Faculty members were able to disarm her and hold her until the police arrived. So far the word is she told the police she was going to kill herself and no one else. She has been taken to the hospital for psychiatric evaluation. Thank ceiling cat that no one was hurt!

Then around 11pm last night a small 4-seater airplane landed on the expressway about a block from our house! The pilot said he was trying to get to Bowman Field (which is a few blocks away from us) because he was running out of fuel. He couldn't make it and decided to put the plane down on the closest "runway" available. No one on the road or in the plane were injured. Mom actually saw the plane this morning on her way to work. It was over in the grassy area between the highway and the sound barrier wall. One of the wrecker services was there, along with the police. The wrecker had a crane on the back of it. Mom said it looked like they were going to have to lift the plane out of the grass.

We are really hoping nothing that exciting happens today.

Purrs,
Clarissa & Co.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Introducing Frederick Jerome DeWinter

Hello everyone! It's time for you to meet my youngest brofur, Fred.



Hi all! My name is Fred and I've been living in my forever home since April 2008. Mom saw me and my adopted sisfur, Lily, at Feeders Supply. We are both white kitties and mom couldn't chose, so she adopted both of us. Although we were at Feeders Supply, we were actually adopted through the Kentucky Humane Society.

Mom was told that I was two years old, and it hadn't been too long since I had been neutered. My name then was "Crazy Cat" although I never acted crazy at all. Mom couldn't decide if my name was Fred or Jerome and I was no help at all when it came to telling her. She decided that it was Frederick Jerome DeWinter in the end, although most of the time I'm plain old Fred. Sometimes I'm "Freddie J."

I'm very friendly with the other cats and I love to snuggle with Spunky or Bandit. And I like it when the other cats wash my ears! My favorite place to sleep is on my mom's right leg when she is sitting in the recliner. She says it makes it hard to knit sometimes when I do that, but she usually finds a way to work around me.

Mom says I'm probably an average sized mancat. I weighed around 10 or 11 lbs. I'm not real talkative, but I will meow to get mom's attention. My favorite thing in the world is to have mom rub my chest and belly. I will lay on my side and curl my body around her hand and go to sleep while she is rubbing my tummy. I don't like having my claws trimmed although I will usually let mom do it. Generally I'm just not fond of having my feet touched. My paw pads and my nose are a pale pink and I have big gold eyes. I like to eat stinky goodness and dry kibble and an occasional treat. I do not like the PTU and going to the vet (although I usually do behave once I'm there).

The two pictures that I've posted were taken on my second night in my forever home.



I have some catitude going on in that picture. I'm not a big fan of the flashy box.

Anymew, it's great to meet everyone and I'm sure you'll hear from me again!

Purrs & Headbonks,
Fred

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Catching Up on the Happenings at Home

UPDATE ON HOPE:  We wrote about Hope, the dog that was thrown from a moving car, in our last post. Her injuries were more serious than first reported. Since then Hope has had two surgeries. Hope sustained two fractures of her back, a crushed pelvis, and two broken legs. Her first surgery was to repair her back. She came through that surgery without difficulties. Yesterday she had surgery on her pelvis and legs. We haven't heard how that went for her. We are still purring for her. As of yesterday, there is still no arrest of the person who did this horrific crime. Unfortunately, we have a feeling that he/she will not be caught.

Clarissa Report:  Unfortunately the antihistamine did not work for me and I continued to chew on my belly. Mom called the vet on Saturday morning and asked if she thought it would be okay for me to have my Depo injection now. The vet okayed it so it was into the PTU for me and a short trip to the vet. My belly is pink and bare, but the chewed places have scabbed over and are healing. I even have the back of my hind legs bare.

Other Vet Visits:  Bandit, Batman, Clarissa, Ginger, and Panda were all due for vaccines in September or October. While mom had me (Clarissa) at the vet's, she asked if they had an opening to bring in the September cats. I was due in September, but mom is debating whether I should be vaccinated. I'm 10 years old now, and I stay inside all of the time. We've heard a lot of people say they don't vaccinate their "senior" cats.

Mom made an appointment to take Batman, Ginger, and Panda in to see our vet later in that morning. She took me home and got out two more carriers. Ginger and Panda HATE to be picked up and they will squirm and twist and turn and yowling to get away. Mom learned a long time ago that she needs to wrap them in a bath towel when she picks them up.  Mom was able to grab Ginger because she was sleeping on the cat tree. The next "victim" of cat-napping was Batman. Unfortunately for mom, Panda was quicker than her and she got away and hid under the bed. This was good news for Panda. It was bad news for Bandit. He was cat-napped instead!

Bandit is so scared at the vet's office. It is the only time he will lay in mom's lap. And then he will stick his head under her arm or in her armpit to hide his head! But he did very well once the vet appeared. He's lost about a pound since last year, but the vet said that was fine. And both Batman and Ginger received good reports too! They all needed their rabies vaccine, and two of the needed that other vaccine that covers several things. I don't remember what the initials are.

Other news:  The nights are getting cooler here and we are snuggle more with mom when she goes to bed. Fiona always snuggles up against mom's chest or back. Bandit will lay between her legs and he is next to impossible to move once he goes to sleep. Mom said she has never seen a cat sleep as deeply as he does.  Lily takes one corner at the foot of the bed and Jazzpurr takes the other corner. The rest of us come and go during the night. Panda has a feather pillow on top of a storage bin that she likes to sleep on. To mom's knowledge, Panda has never slept in any of the human beds.

Guess that's it for now! Hope everyone is staying warm or staying cool, depending on where you live!