My New Fountain & Updates on Dandelion

Dandelion goes to the veterinary clinic tomorrow at 9:30am. I’m to take a stool sample which I hope to find in the litter box because she did her business on the carpet. She is still stinky, so I hope and pray Dani just needs a bath. The groomer has yet to return my call. ~sigh~ Last night I cut out a bunch of the mats, at least, and used a cleansing cloth on her fur again today.

The faint gray patches on her pretty head
match the tip of her floofy tail. :D

Like our other two girls, she loves (!) her catnip flavored treats. But I’m concerned about the fact she doesn’t seem to be drinking. Maybe she needs moving water. If her checkup goes well, I’ll probably buy a new one. The old plastic ones were tough to clean. Terra and Polly drink well out of simple glass bowls.

Terra, by the way, hissed and spit when I brought Dani inside, and hissed again at the ball of fur I let her sniff. I’ll deal with introductions as soon as Dandelion gets a clean bill of health. ~fingers crossed~ Thanks to Eastside Cats (bless you all), I know having segregated cats thrive on separate floors of my home is doable.

Meanwhile, Dani supervised while I played with decorating my new in-ground fountain. I cannot believe how solar panels have improved while coming down in price.

Have you ever used solar power? Are you familiar with the silly website I Can Has Cheezburger? If you’re familiar with their slang, isn’t it funny that I have a ceiling (white) cat downstairs and basement (black-furred) kitties above?

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Eye Twitches and Dandelions

Caring for my husband is not difficult when compared to what many folks face; I’ve nonetheless developed a tic under my left eye. Gardening and/or just sitting outside (such as I am now) help my sanity.

However, I have a new concern. The kitty who’s been visiting my garden is now ours. She belonged to the young couple across the street. But when I spoke to the husband while she sat beside me, I learned he hadn’t seen her in five days (!) and was happy to relinquish her. His wife called her Mama or Blurry Face (?) and let her roam day and night. As is obvious, she birthed a litter and I am told she is about seven years old.

Concerned about our coyote population, I brought her inside one evening and had treated her for fleas a while back. So my husband and I already discussed adoption.

Her fur is dirty, stinky, matted, and she has terrible breath, but good food should help with the latter and disposable bathing cloths from my husband’s hospital stay have helped until I can get her to our usual pet groomer. She resides in our closed basement for now. I’ll call when they open at 9am tomorrow. They’re closed Sundays, Mondays, and Wednesdays, so wish me luck.

A vet appointment is scheduled for Wednesday morning since I must drive him to see his primary care physician tomorrow. This new responsibility feels a bit much, but maybe the distraction will be good. Whether you, dear reader, believe or not, I like to think that God has plans.

Meanwhile, the neighbor’s next door have a severe dandelion problem. Oh, well. That inspired my naming our new kitty. I’m calling her Dandelion, or Dani for short. She kept popping up in my garden, after all.

What do you think of the name? Did you know that white cats with blue eyes are often deaf, and the pale fur can lead to sunburn?

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Second Post of the Day - My Blog-time Visitor

Appreciation Day

I cannot express enough how much comments on my last blog post meant. Thanks to everyone for the kind words, support, and suggestions. My hope is to get back to visiting my blogging family and sharing silly things here. By the way, I’m enjoying a gorgeous day outside (with cell phone in case my husband needs me) surrounded by beauty as I type.

He is doing much better even though recovering has been harder. He developed a urinary tract infection a month after surgery and spent almost a week in hospital. By the way, they kept him one night (or two?) after last month’s surgery and the same with triple bypass open heart surgery in 2011 (!), which still amazes me.

Did you know that dehydration is a major factor in developing a UTI? And such an infection can affect (especially older folks’) cognitive ability?

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Missing

I’ve missed blog posting and reading others’ these past several weeks. Life took an unexpected and unwelcome turn. Following his successful surgery, my husband turned into a lump on the couch. A friend gave me a pep talk inspiring me to get him walking. That lasted three days with him shuffling to the edge of our narrow property and just a few succeeding feet further. Day four, Sunday May seventh, he complained of excruciating pain.

While I shopped for something, anything, he might find palatable, he at last slept in the bed for the first time since his prostatectomy. We thought that might help. Alas, he requested an ambulance late Sunday night. A panicked Polly tried to bolt as paramedics wheeled out his gurney. Gathering her up, thereby getting a favorite shirt plus myself ripped open a bit by one of her many extra claws, I failed to hear where my husband wanted to be transported.

By four o’clock in the morning I’d ascertained his location and drove over to visit. At any rate, he’s home resting after the better part of a week. God forgive me, I wish they had not released him today, hoping his helplessness would remain someone else’s problem for a while longer. ~hangs head~ Bless those who take care of invalids full time.

My mother proved a trial before her passing but at least I had an excuse to leave town and return home. This is home. ~sigh~ Getting him in the car, driving to pick up medications, abandoning that to receive delivered medical equipment, being trained on it, settling him on the aforementioned couch, returning to the pharmacy, and picking up fast food, I found still more needs to fulfill. Thank heaven for kitty antics making me laugh.

His brothers are coming to visit this weekend from various hours away. My tearful conversations prompted the fraternal visit, making me feel thankful and guilty at the same time. His care seemed beyond my ability. But we seem to be doing better than I expected. Forgive me also, dear reader, for my whining.

How sweet is it that my husband’s siblings want to check our wellbeing? What might you crave after a week of hospital food?

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Tips and Tricks

I have become a real fan of fresh fruit, whether in a smoothie or whole. By happenstance, I learned that pineapple juice is an excellent preservative. I’d bought some to make homemade sweet and sour sauce. It turned out okay but my crab Rangoon wasn’t worth the effort. Grapes, apple slices, banana bits, and what have you stay fresh in the refrigerator with a dose of the sweet/sour nectar – for over a week! I also learned that black cherry Kool Aid powder gets everywhere, yet putting the water filled (or empty) pitcher on the fridge door shelf contains the annoying dye.

Outside the kitchen, I learned that hummingbirds don’t need their sugar water dyed red. And powdered sugar is bad for their health; they don’t need the cornstarch additive.

Remaining on the outside, where I’m now enjoying a lovely evening, I’ve discovered that I can legally own a flamethrower. Flame’s a great poison free weed killer. For now I enjoy using my little butane torch purchased for cooking use.

Still in the garden area, one of the best things I ever did was take a free course on pruning woody plants. You want to cut at the branch bark ridge, especially for trees. Otherwise, they can become diseased or even dangerous from sudden breakage. A local arborist calls this method ‘Treevorkian’, per Dr. Kevorkian’s infamous legacy.

On a funny note, years ago I purchased a pot of what the garden center called ‘snake plant’. He could tell me little else about it. After moving the withering, tropical looking plant to a shadier region I know have a spreading monstrosity that, while beautiful, shoots up stinky flowers – cadaverous smelling. Right this moment I see three shoots from where I sit. Hence I will never try selling this house in April or May. ~grin~ A contractor almost gagged one spring. Heh… And the same goes for prickly pear cactus. A single pot has overtaken parts of my yard.

Outside the home, my little town needs a lesson. Please mark a closed road before resients drive blocks out of their way. There are exactly two intersections allowing entrance and egress. And while I appreciate the infrastructure improvements, not knowing which way to go is annoying. It’s a first world problem, for sure, however this adds stress I don’t need.

My husband’s surgery was an apparent success – no cancr cells detected around the surgical sight. Therein lies another tip. If you require general anesthesia, know that a paralytic is included. This restricts bathroom activity, shall we say, and taking steps pre-op make the tummy region much more comfortable days after.

Forgive me if you’ve read any of this stuff here before. I appreciate you stopping by. Connecting with awesome bloggers keeps me sane.

Did you know that any cacti species are a Midwestern United States native?

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A Sudden Farewell

Monday, April 10 started out better than most of late. My husband had surgery the Tuesday prior and I’d been coughing for weeks. So I woke feeling pretty well and decided on a garden center visit.

Then I saw Jezebel stumbling around. It was as if her left rear leg wouldn’t support her weight. I immediately called our vet clinic.

A sleepy Jezebel back in February...

No doubt my post title tells the tale. With the clinic’s booked schedule, I dropped her off so they could fit her in and called hours later to learn her status. As it happened, the vet was about to phone me.

She said nobody believed her geriatric age (about 20) but the planned X-ray showed a tumor. Almost guaranteed aggressive cancer, she could prescribe an anti-inflammatory and tranquilizer.

Huh? Why?

I drove back with tears pouring down my face. Due to his post surgical condition my husband couldn’t attend. Thankfully, our kitty sisters keep me laughing. Yet the house seems too quiet.

Jezzy was almost certainly deaf and I took to calling her ‘Mighty Mouth’ (like Mighty Mouse come to save the day!) because she would meow shout for food/attention. Thank heaven we had so much time with her.

Can you believe several staffers, who see euthanasia daily, cried with me? How can I convince my husband’s lack of attendance shouldn’t make him feel guilty?

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Strong Bonds and Good Memories

I like Strayer’s comment, that Jezebel and I are linked rather like an old married couple. Bathwater made a similar observation. Funny enough, dear departed kitty Luna was my soul mate. My husband, far from jealous, agrees one hundred percent. Among other adorable things, she would stand on me and stare into my face while I watched TV. He said she was worshipping me.

Vets and Techs always remarked on
her Angora rabbit soft fur...

Our Saturday mornings were awesome. I’d slip an undergarment on beneath my pajama top (protecting tender areas from wayward claws – lol) and we would snuggle on the couch together for a comedic skit show called “Mystery Science Theater Three Thousand”. My mother got to witness this.

In fact, Mom also noted how Luna, Tilly (rest her sweet soul), and Jezebel acted like my trio of satellites. This brings me back to “MST3K” because the setting where our human and robot protagonists were subject to bad movies was called The Satellite of Love. Those improv artists remain a group, riffing on bad movies in front of a live audience.

Do you appreciate improvisational comedy? Did you ever watch “Whose Line is it Anyway?” in either its British or American incarnation?

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