Happy Caturday

Good evening everyone. Angel Clarissa here to share some good news. Mom finally has a job. On July 1st, she was offered a position in the department of public health and wellness for the city of Louisville. She started on July 11th and just finished her second week. So far she likes it. Her position is Clerk Typist II. She's the first point of contact when people get off the elevator on the second floor.

So what does she do, you ask? Right now she is answering the phone and routing calls to the proper person. She's working in environmental health. That department covers inspections of restaurants and food trucks, inspection of public facilities, and control of mosquitos amongst other things. Eventually she will take payments for licenses. She has already taken calls regarding possible food poisoning, roaches, and mold in apartments.

Mom has a four month probationary time to complete, and she'll have to join the union. She's never had a union job before. She has two days of new employee orientation this coming Monday and Tuesday. She should find out more about that then.

Is it hot where you are? We are indoor cats, so we don't experience the great outdoors. We've already had a few days when the temperature reached 100F. Generally the temperature has been in the high 90s with the heat index making it feel hotter. For instance, we hit 97F but the heat index made it feel like it was 111F! Mom doesn't have air conditioning in her SUV so she isn't a fan of this super hot weather. 

Uncle is doing well at the nursing home. He has lost some weight, which is a good thing. We may have mentioned that before. And mom turned 62 on this past Friday. She said that couldn't be possible! MOL. She's old. Don't tell her we said that!

We hope everyone enjoys the rest of their weekend. 

Purrs,

Angel Clarissa

Checking in Before Bed

Hi friends. Angel Clarissa here. I wanted to check in and let you know what has been happening with mom. Mom had filed for unemployment right after she lost her job in May. Unfortunately it was denied and she has filed an appeal. In the meantime she has applied for more jobs than she can remember. The bad news is she hasn't been hired yet. The good news is she has had a second interview with a property management company, and she has an upcoming second interview with an assisted living facility. Both are receptionist positions. One place isn't far from our house.

Keep your paws crossed that one of these positions works out for her!

Purrs,

Angel Clarissa

Thank You For Your Kind Words

 Good evening friends. I want to thank everyone for their kind words. They mean so much to me. The last time I lost two so close together was in June 2018. Clarissa left us on June 2, 2018 and Batman left use on June 25, 2018. The worst year was 2017. We lost Johnny to liver failure at the end of September 2017. We lost Spunky in early October 2017 to cancer. We lost Lily Rose DeWinter in November 2017, to old age and kidney failure. We lost Memphis Meezer in early December 2017 to mouth cancer.

It always so hard to say goodbye to a furry family member, but it is the kindest thing to do for them. No one wants to see them suffer. It doesn't matter how much time they have with us. There is never enough time. 

I also want to thank Ann from Zoolatary for the memorial pictures of Bart and Arson. It means so much.

I'll turn this blog back over to Angel Clarissa soon.

Cat Mom Malinda

Too Much To Handle

Hello friends,

Angel Clarissa has granted me the honor to hijack her blog tonight. We haven't posted since January 9, 2022. So much has happened since then. If I posted everything that has happened since that time I think this post would be a novel. Before I start I want to send my sympathies to Paula Burr's family. I always enjoyed reading her "Sweet Perfections" blog. I found out about her passing tonight. It hurt my heart to learn this sad news. Paula will be missed.

Now on to us. Brother Greg is still living in the nursing home. We were hoping that this would be a short stay, but it isn't so. Greg is doing well there. He finished his physical therapy, but the therapist and social worker thought it would be in Greg's best interest if he stayed there. The physical therapist said she thought Greg had progressed as far as he was going to do. He continues to have falls at least once a month. He is safer there than he would be at home. Anytime he has fallen at home over the past year or so I would have to call 911 for assistance. He is unable to get up on his own, and I certainly can't help him up. He and I will be having another meeting with PT and the social worker on Tuesday to review his health plan.

I, myself, have had a couple of falls since the first of the year. I wasn't hurt, but I had to call for help getting up. If I could put weight on my knees I think I could pull myself up. Unfortunately I can't kneel on them without severe pain. I'm trying to be more careful, and I always take my phone from room to room with me.

My job description changed in the early spring. Everyone who was an account specialist was gradually switched to customer service officer. It really wasn't much different from what I had been doing since October 2020. I had a zoom meeting with my manager regarding a possible merit raise on April 28. I don't know why she bothered because I was terminated from their business on May 2nd. To be honest, I wasn't that upset by it. I won't name the company, but I had been working for them since lat January 2020. This company owns a lot of hospitals and also works with many that they don't own. The many goal of my job was to collect payments from account holders. I started as part time making outbound calls. I would either leave a message or try to get the person transferred to an account specialist (aka debt collector.) I moved to full time in September 2020 and started working as an account specialist in October. I took inbound calls and would take payments by phone, set up payment plans, offer settlements, and/or send financial aid forms out. Once in a while I would have to final notice, but only when the account holder refused to pay. When I was switched to customer service I only dealt with hospitals that were owned by the company. Besides assisting account holders, I also spoke with providers office reps. It was a stressful job and I can't say that I miss it.

And now for the hardest news I want to share. Both Bart and Arson are Rainbow Bridge angels now.

Bart (aka Old Man Bart) started failing in February. By mid-March it was time to help him cross over. He was close to 18 years old. Bart joined us in December 2019. He was the only shelter cat that wasn't adopted at an "empty the shelter" event. When I saw him on the news, I knew I had to bring him home.

Bart wasn't the most social of cats. He hated to be picked up, and he was never a lap cat. He really didn't care for any of the other cats in the household. He spent most of his days sleeping on the kitchen counter or in a sun puddle on the floor. His crossing was easy and I was with him the whole time.

About a week after losing Bart, I had to take Arson in for a possible UTI. He was treated and did well for a month or so. On the night of April 27th Arson acted fine. On the morning of April 28th he was laying on top for the floor vent in the bathroom floor. I was a bit surprised, but it was still chilly in the mornings and the heat would come on. I figured he was cold. To my knowledge he didn't leave the bathroom. He had water and a litter box. I was in the back room working. That evening I brought him into the living room. He stayed with me for a while, but soon went back to the bathroom. I called work that night and left a message saying that I was going to have to take him to the vert in the morning and I would be in as soon as I could.

Arson was still in the bathroom when I got up Friday morning. He came into the kitchen and hunched in front of his water bowl but wouldn't drink. I called my vet as soon as they opened. They were booked and couldn't work him in as a drop off. I called a couple of emergency vets. I couldn't go in with him a one, but I could with the other. Of course I was barely holding it together because I didn't know how I was going to pay for this. I told the tech when we were taken to a room that my finances were tight and she said she would let the vet know.

When the vet came in she explained that Arson's bladder was hard and it was painful when she feeling it. None of the options I was given were good. Ideally, she would keep him there for the weekend (this was on a Friday morning.) She would insert a catheter and give him fluids to try to drain and flush his bladder. The cost would be around $4000.00. I didn't have that kind of money to spend. The next option was x-rays and possible surgery. Once again, it was more than I could possibly afford. The next option would be to keep him for the day, try to catheterize him to drain the bladder and give him fluids, then send him home. Still talking close to $1000.00. My last option was to say goodbye to him. I had no choice but to do that. Arson was in pain. If the money was there I would spend every cent to help me get better. I held him like a baby and rocked him in my arms. He lifted his front leg and touched my cheek with his paw. All I could do was sob and tell him I was so sorry and that I loved him with all my heart.  The vet charged me for the office visit and said I could pay for the euthanasia and cremation later. A friend called them and paid for the cremation. I still owe them $80 that I plan to pay this week.

Losing Arson has been a devastating loss. He was only 4 or 5 years old and had been with me since late January 2020. I love all of my kitties, but there was something about Arson that made him extra special. But mostly I feel awful because I couldn't help him. Please be kind with any comments. My heart hurts so much as it is.

With love to all,

Malinda.

ARSON WELLS

 

We Are Still Here!!!

Happy New Year! We haven't posted since who knows when. The important thing is we haven't forgotten about you and we hope you haven't forgotten about us! Last year was full of ups and downs. We'd like to think that there were more ups than downs, but you will get the highlights and lowlights of 2021.

Mom is still working at the call center. She's been there almost two years (January 27, 2020). She's still working from home and we like having her home.

Our Uncle Greg (mom's brother) had triple bypass surgery on January 22, 2021. He did well and spent a week in the hospital. He was released and sent to a nursing home for physical therapy. Mom couldn't visit him because visitors weren't allowed due to Covid-19. While he was there he tested positive for the virus and spent around 10 days in isolation. Uncle Greg never showed any symptoms, which was a good thing. He was released to home in mid March. He started cardiac rehab as an outpatient in May.

We had an ice/snow storm in February 2021. Mom hadn't started her SUV for a week or better and thought it would be a good idea to go outside and start it up. As soon as she stepped out and onto the front porch she should have come right back inside. The steps were covered in ice. Mom carefully held onto the handrail. She stepped down with one foot. So far so good. You know where this story is going. Mom moved her right foot to step down. Her feet went right out from beneath her. She fell down three ice covered steps only to land flat on her back and smack the back of her head on the sidewalk. She laid there, stunned for a moment, and the started yelling for help. No one heard her. It the dawned on her that she had her cellphone in her purse. She called 911 and they sent help. The firetruck showed up first. The firemen helped her up, then took their axes and chipped away at the ice on the steps and then put ice melt down. The paramedics showed up and asked mom if she wanted to go to the hospital. She declined. They were concerned that she might have had a concussion. They did help her inside and checked her blood pressure. Within two or three hours mom started hurting all over. She took some OTC pain relief and that didn't phase the pain. When she tried to go to bed she almost screamed because her left side hurt so bad. Although she works from home, she didn't work that week because she hurt so badly. She slept in her recliner for a week because she could get into her bed. Mom did go the immediate care center where she had some x-rays taken. There were no broken ribs, a good thing, but more than likely had twisted and bruised herself when she fell. That happened on Valentine's Day weekend.

The spring and summer were uneventful. Well, there was that incident of filing for bankruptcy. Tell you purrents to get rid of their credit cards! They were nothing but trouble for mom. She had stopped making payments in late 2020 because she was getting nowhere getting the balances down. Basically she was paying the interest each month. Money is still tight here, but mom has been credit card free since January of 2020.

Mom got her septum pierced over Labor Day weekend. She said it hurt for less than a minute when the needle went through. She was very pleased with the result. The day before Thanksgiving one of the balls came off the curved barbell. She went to a different tattoo/piercing shop and had it switched out and then got a traigus piercing of her right ear. It's still healing. Eventually she'll get the left ear done.

Mom had fall No. 2 on Halloween night. She was her friend's house. She stood up and either tripped on an area rug or on the chair leg. She twisted her back and had to come home. She had no time off so she worked through the pain on Monday. It took about two weeks to stop hurting.

Uncle Greg went into the hospital in December. He was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and afib. While he was in the hospital our sweet Seren crossed the Rainbow Bridge. Mom couldn't find her during the day. She finally found Seren curled up in a corner underneath a table. This was around 9:00 PM. Mom got her out and was going to wrap Seren in a blanket and just hold her. Seren wanted no part of it. She sunk her teeth into mom's thumbs!!! Mom managed to get Seren into a carrier. She was going to take Seren to the vet the following morning. Seren crossed the Bridge overnight. It was a blessing as she had grown very thin and had kidney failure. It was almost 24 hours before mom got started on an antibiotic. She had waited too long.

 Serendipity - May 2004-December2021

 

Uncle Greg came home on that Friday. Mom went to the immediate care center on Sunday. They took one look at her thumbs and said she needed to go to the hospital downtown because that hospital had a hand surgeon there! Mom was admitted to the hospital because she needed to have a course of IV antibiotics. The following day, mom had minor surgery as the bites needed to be opened and cleaned out. She three nights there. She has a followup appointment with the surgeon on January 19.

Uncle Greg went back into the hospital on Christmas Eve for fluid in his chest. He was there for four days, then moved to a different nursing home. We are hoping that he will be able to come home soon. Mom said he should be able to get a home health nurse to come to see him.

Mom had fall #3 in early December. She literally rolled out of bed and hit the floor. She needs to be wrapped in bubble wrap.

There are pictures below of mom's thumbs. You've been warned. It's not pretty.

  Bonus Picture, Bruise from mom's fall out of bed.

This, That, and the Other

Good evening friends! We have lots of news to share. I'm going to turn the beginning of this post over to Old Man Bart (OMB). He had an adventure exactly one week ago.

Hi all! Bart here. Angel Clarissa is right about me having an adventure. She forgot to mention that it was not a pleasant adventure. You see, I had a urinary tract infection (UTI). Mom was on her computer and she noticed that I was restless. I would go into the bathroom where there are 3 litter boxes. Then I would pace and walk behind mom's chair. Then I would try to lay down but I would get right back up an repeat the process. When mom caught me peeing on some papers that were on the floor, she knew what was up. She packed my into the Cat Transport Unit and took me to the 24/7 animal hospital. Mom had to wait outside in the car since procedures for the Covid-19 virus are still in place. I was poked and prodded and had one x-ray taken. Mom was right about the UTI.

The v-e-t told mom that I also had an ear infection in my crumpled ear. I was sent home with a bunch of medicines, 6 cans of SO/Royal Canin food, and a bag of SO prescription kibble. My adventure was costly. It was a little over $600!!! I'm feeling better now since I've been taking my medicine like a good boy. I don't like it, so I do have to put up a little struggle. Every med is liquid except for one pill that I take for pain. I get half of one pill twice daily. I have a follow up visit with my regular v-e-t on Thursday. They won't sell the prescription food to mom unless they see me in furson. Our regular v-e-t's office is just blocks from our house and will more convenient for mom to get my food.

And now it is Tovah's turn to tell you all about her adventure which included an overnight stay at a different v-e-t's office.

Hello friends! I'm Tovah and I'm going to tell you about my not-so-fun adventure. It really started on Saturday. I kept gagging and appeared to be trying to cough up a hairball. The only thing that came up was some clear liquid and my breakfast kibble. Like Bart, I couldn't get comfortable. Mom kept an eye me and decided if I didn't improve on Sunday, then she would take me to the v-e-t. I wasn't any better on Sunday so off to the vet I went. I had an 8:30pm appointment at a different office that had Sunday hours. Mom was hoping it wouldn't be quite as expensive as the emergency visit for Bart. MOL (meowing out loud). I had some blockage in my intestines and some pockets of gas. They found that out on my x-ray. I ended up staying overnight so I could get IV fluids and anti-nausea medicine. I was scared and I wouldn't eat anything while I was there. I had another x-ray on Monday morning. There was a little movement, but the v-e-t couldn't tell if I an eaten something that wasn't food. I ended up having to take barium and have another scan that afternoon. I stayed on fluids while I was there. Another x-ray that in the early evening, and then I was allowed to come home. I tried to tell them that I only eat my food and not anything like hair elastics or plastic or rubber bands but they wouldn't listen to them. Friends, if you thought Bart's adventure was expensive, you ain't heard nothing yet. With everything that was done plus tax, my bill was $1007.00!!!! I'm feeling fine now.

Clarissa here again. Mom said it was a good thing she loves us and could use her Care Credit for Bart's and Tovah's visits. Mom went to her own doctor on Tuesday. She had a little red, rough patch break out on the side of her nose about 3 weeks ago. She thought it was acne, but it never cleared up. Sometimes it hurt, sometimes it burned, and sometimes it itched. Sometimes it did all three together. Mom mentioned on Facebook and one of her friends said it might be shingles! That never crossed her mind. Guess what? Shingles it is!!! Mom's been taking a steroid since Wednesday and the area is starting to clear up.

Mom picked Daisy's ashes on Tuesday. We are glad she is home. We want to thank all of you who have left messages of condolences. It means so much to all of us. We also want to thank Ann of Zoolatary for this beautiful memorial pic:

2004 - August 26, 2020.

We wish everyone a happy and safe Labor Day weekend!

Purrs and Whisker Kisses,

Angel Clarissa and Co.

And then there were six: RIP Daisy

 Dear Friends,

It is with a heavy heart that we tell you of the passing of Daisy. She crossed the Rainbow Bridge sometime Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning. The last time mom remember seeing Daisy was on Tuesday afternoon. It wasn't unusual for Daisy to go off and snooze is some unknown location. On Wednesday morning Daisy was not in the kitchen. She normally would be having some kibble when mom gets up in the morning. Mom and her brother started looking for Daisy in every place they could think of. They checked the closets, beneath the beds, and in some of the cat beds that are somewhat hidden. Daisy was nowhere to be found. They tried calling her name, although she rarely responded to it. They even thought she may have door dashed. Late Wednesday afternoon mom's brother found her. Daisy had curled up beneath an end table that was in the corner of the living room. Daisy had passed away in her sleep. 

Although Daisy received a good report on her lab work and senior exam earlier this summer, mom was aware of Daisy's activity. Daisy was slowing down and sleeping longer and longer. She didn't think Daisy would be here by the end of the year, but she didn't expect her to go this summer. On Monday night, mom watched Daisy sleeping in one of the cat beds. She told her brother that when Daisy's time came, she hoped Daisy would curl up and leave us in her sleep. Maybe Daisy heard her and thought that was mom giving her permission to go. We will never know.

Daisy was a rescue cat. Mom's best friend had spotted Daisy at a place called Yew Dell Garden. Daisy was living outside and being fed by staff. No one knew where Daisy had come from. Jen asked mom if she would take Daisy in if Yew Dell agreed to trap her. Our vet estimated Daisy's age at one year old and said she had been spayed. Her ear wasn't tipped, so we don't think she had been part of a colony. This was in June 2005.

Daisy had always been a healthy cat until her teeth started bothering her. Eventually she had all of her teeth removed except for her two bottom fangs. She started eating again and even gained some weight. Other that having a wound abscess shortly after her arrival, she had no other problems.

Although we referred to Daisy as Daisy, her full name was Princess Daisy Thistlechaser of Yew Dell Gardens. Daisy will be deeply missed. Fly high and free sweet girl. You have earned your wings.

Purrs and Whisker Kisses,

Clarissa & Co.