TODAY'S WORKOUT: Gilad Janklowicz's Arms of Steel I did an upper body workout with Mr Moo today. It was 45 minutes of sheer misery, but we got through it all. I wasn't doing all that bad until the end when we had to do what seemed like 8 million push-ups. That's when my arms decided they had had enough. We'll both be hurting tomorrow, I'm sure. My knee isn't doing too bad today. It's still sore and a bit stiff, which is why we did a strictly upper body workout today, but it doesn't hurt anything like it did yesterday. I will probably avoid doing any kind of step or other lower body work until at least Monday, maybe even Tuesday. The last thing I want to do is push myself too hard and damage it even worse. Today was weigh-in day. This week's weight loss: 2 lbs. I finally broke through my plateau. Yay! Plateau-ing stinks, but you just have to keep at it. It may take several weeks (mine lasted a month), but your weight will start to come down again eventually. The trick is to not get so frustrated that you give up. You have to stick with your program. I have now officially lost 45 lbs. Almost there. Height: 5' 2" Highest Weight: 167 (January 14, 2006) Current Weight: 122 Goal Weight: 110 - 115 Pounds Lost: 45 |
There was a pool party on my patio the other day. |
Mr Moo made it safely home from his trip not long after my last post. After unpacking, catching up on the week's activities and some dinner, we went out and did a bit of shopping, mostly for groceries. Mr Moo was trying hard to stay awake as long as he could to reset his body clock. He knew if we stayed home and he sat on the couch, he was a goner, which is why we went shopping. It didn't take long after we got home before he started nodding off. He took a quick shower and went to bed before it was even dark outside. If he was half as tired as he looked, he will probably sleep for a solid 10-12 hours. Gotta love the jet lag. EDIT: I was close, but off by two hours. He was in bed for 14 hours. Yeesh. |
Mr Moo called. He's on the shuttle to long term parking to get his truck. It won't be long now. Wheee! |
Good news: Mr Moo is almost home! His flight from Germany is slightly delayed and should be landing sometime within the next 45 miuntes. He should be walking through the front door sometime in the next 2.5 - 3 hours. Yay! Bad news: There shall be no working out for Moo for at least the next few days. I did something bad to my knee while working out yesterday. I was hoping it would feel better today after a night's rest, but it's worse this morning. I have a sharp pain on the back of my leg directly behind my right knee when I put weight on it while it's bent. I'm fine when walking, sitting, etc, but when I push down on it when getting up from a chair, for example, it hurts like a you know what. I'm still hoping it's a hamstring tendon strain, but the location of the pain is odd for that since it's right in the middle of the back of my knee. My big fear is that I did something to my posterior cruciate ligament, which would be a majorly bad thing. I'm going to rest it for another day or two. If there isn't a marked improvement after that, I shall away to see the doctor. EDIT: Just went downstairs for the first time. Not good. The pain was awful and it's a good thing I was holding onto the railing. I'm going to give the doctor a call and see about getting an appointment for this afternoon. EDIT: Another update on the saga of my wonky knee. I went downstairs again to get something to eat. On the way down, something in my leg went "sproing!" and now my knee doesn't hurt (as bad) anymore. It wasn't a pop, but something definitely moved and went back to where it should be. It's still a bit tender and I will continue to rest it through the weekend, but at least it looks like I'm not going to end up on crutches like I was fearing. Ah, the wonders of getting old. |
I gave Zoe an entire jar of pureed chicken baby food by syringe about two hours ago. I always figured she was stuffed after her feedings and didn't eat again for several hours. Wrong. Since she was showing interest in it, I just offered her some canned food and she ate a large spoonful of it. She's turning into quite the bottomless pit that one, but, in her case, that's not a bad thing! I am really excited about Mr Moo coming home later today and thus haven't felt sleepy at all. I don't want to still be sleeping when he gets home though, so I really need to get to sleep soon. Think I'll go crawl into bed and see if I can turn my brain off long enough to catch some shuteye. Goodnight, fishies. |
TODAY'S WORKOUT: Cathe Friedrich's Basic Step & Stability Ball Abdominal Workout There. Done. It was worth doing just to see Josie come downstairs and be absolutely terrified of my stability ball. Silly kitty. |
It's cold, damp and rainy today. I don't want to work out! I just want to put on some sweatpants and a warm sweatshirt, order a pizza and curl up on the couch. However, since I didn't work out yesterday, and I'm determined to break my plateau (finally) and show a loss this week, I know I've got to stop making excuses and just do it. I also know I need to eat the piece of fish I defrosted yesterday and not order a pizza. Doesn't mean I have to like it though! ((whine)) |
It's Mr Moo's birthday today. |
Assuming everything goes according to schedule tomorrow, Mr Moo should be home exactly 24 hours from now. I haven't heard from him directly, but, according to his itinerary, he left Israel several hours ago and should be landing in Germany soon, if not already. They are overnighting in Germany and will fly the rest of the way back to Portland tomorrow. Can't wait to see him again! |
I took Zoe to the vet's office for a check up this afternoon. She's gained almost half a pound in two weeks! Yay! All of our force feedings are paying off. They drew some blood and ran her liver numbers again. The results were all well within the normal range. Whatever was bothering her liver before seems to be gone/over. Her kidney numbers were a little bit high, but just a tiny bit and that's standard fare for her these days. So, in the end, it was all good news. She's in good health once again. The doctor does want us to keep up with the feedings for a while longer. If we can get another pound or so on her, then we'll talk about cutting back to maintain her weight. I am so relieved! |
We recently renewed our auto insurance. The new policy arrived in the mail today. As I was skimming through it earlier, I came across something that made me laugh out loud. |
TODAY'S WORKOUT: Cathe Friedrich's Upper Body Sculpt I normally would do a step workout in addition to this one since it's only 20 minutes long and doesn't include any cardio, but I have a bit of a tummy ache and didn't feel much like jumping around today. My plan is to make up for it with one of my super long step workouts tomorrow, assuming my tummy feels better. |
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It's that time of the year again, fishies. Blueberries are in season! WOOT! It's a good thing because, at the rate I've been eating them lately and given how bleeping expensive they are when they're not in season, we were going to need a second mortgage on the house to pay for them soon. I bought a huge container of them this week for less than what I normally pay for a container a third of the size. Roll on, cheap berries!Ack! What is that? |
TODAY'S WORKOUT: Cathe Friedrich's Low Impact Step It's been over a month since I last did this workout and, amazingly, I didn't feel like dying by the time I got to the end. Hard to believe that, just a few months ago, I could barely get through half of it. Progress! |
What appears to be a miniature Batman visited the birdfeeder yesterday morning. |
TODAY'S WORKOUT: Cathe Friedrich's Basic Step & Stability Ball Abdominal Workout New week, fresh start. I worked out and stuck with my food plan today. Let's see how long I can keep this up. |
Since Mr Moo isn't here to help with Zoe's syringe feeding, I've had to find a way to do it by myself. Seemingly successful solution #1 - put her in the kitchen sink (empty, of course). |
I didn't do a workout today (I haven't all week - ugh!), but I did work outside in the yard for four hours and moved a small mountain of dirt. That's got to count for something, right? Today was weigh-in day. This week's weight loss: 0 lbs. Again. I've really got to re-focus, get better about sticking to my meal plan and work out more often. This is the third week in a row with no loss. I could have dropped a few pounds over those three weeks if I hadn't cheated so much and eaten so much garbage. Sigh. Stats this week are the same as last. Height: 5' 2" Highest Weight: 167 (January 14, 2006) Current Weight: 124 Goal Weight: 110 - 115 Pounds Lost: 43 |
When you've been married as long as we have, you not only start to look alike, you start to act alike, too. |
I received an IM message from Mr Moo a few minutes ago. He's arrived at his hotel safely. He just got back from having dinner with his co-workers and is getting ready to go to bed. One day down. Six more to go. |
And, he's off. Mr Moo is on his way to the airport. He will be walking back through the front door again in 7 days, 2 hours and 30 minutes, assuming his return flights are on time. Begin timer... now. |
Mr Moo is leaving for Israel again tomorrow on another business trip. Given all that's going on in Lebanon at the moment, I am beyond worried. I know that Nahr el-Bared isn't close to the Israeli border and that news reports today say that the fighting is over, but that doesn't mean more fighting couldn't erupt again somewhere else and much closer to Israel. Mr Moo will be in Haifa, which is less than 20 miles away from the Lebanese border and has been attacked before. He keeps attempting to assure me that he will be fine, but it's not really helping. I'll stop worrying when he's home again next Friday. |
A few weeks ago, I was lamenting the vast number of aphids that were destroying the buds on my rose bushes. That is until I found this: |
With all the attention Zoe has been getting lately, Josie has been feeling a little left out. |
My sister is coming for a visit. Yay! She'll be here July 2-13 and I can't wait! I haven't seen her since her wedding in September. I'm really looking forward to spending time with her again. |
"NAME THAT MOVIE" CONTEST - 101 Lots of good guesses last week, but, unfortunately, none of them were correct. Try again, fishies! |
Someone recently submitted the following question for the Ask Moo portion of my website. Since I know not everyone visits that part of my site, I thought I'd post my response here in my journal in case anyone else is interested. what diet are you following? I'm not really following a "diet", per se. Diets don't work. I refer to what I'm doing as a "food plan". I have completely changed what and how I eat. It's more of a lifestyle change than a diet. I started at the USDA Food Pyramid website and learned how many servings of each of the food groups I should be eating every day/week. From there, I made myself a chart to track how much of each thing I've eaten. For example, I should have 1.5 cups of fruit every day. Once I do, I color in the little circles on my chart. By the end of the week, I can see exactly how much of each food group I've eaten. This has helped me learn how to eat healthier. Since I eat pretty much exclusively from the five primary food groups, I now eat very little refined grains, saturated or trans fat, or what they refer to as "discretionary calories". Granted, I still have times when I just have to have macaroni with butter, some pizza, or cookies, but I'm careful not to have those types of foods very often and, when I do, I don't eat too much of them. It's important to not completely deny yourself these things or you'll go crazy and end up binging. In order to lose weight, I've also had to restrict calories. This does not mean I starve myself! Quite the contrary, actually. I'm still able to eat a lot of food since I eat healthy food. However, based on my activity level (virtually none since I sit at my desk working all day long), if I ate every single serving of food recommended by the USDA, I would not lose any weight. I still make sure to eat all of the recommened fruits and vegetables every day, but I cut back a little on everything else. Since I don't always get all of the recommended dairy and other foods, I supplement with a multi-vitamin and calcium tablets every day. The final component to my weight loss program is exercise. Yes, you have to get up off the couch and sweat for a bit almost every day if you want to lose weight. Mr Moo summed it all up nicely when he said, "Calories in versus calories out." You have to burn more calories than you eat every day if you want to lose weight. I don't hesitate to admit that I hate working out. Hate. It. However, I understand its importance in this whole process so I shut up and do it. The important thing is finding something to do that you enjoy. Personally, I've found step aerobics and weight training to be best things for me. I can do them at home and I've purchased many workout DVDs to make sure I have a lot of variety. If step isn't for you, you can always try running, swimming or dancing. Or maybe you'd prefer joining a gym. It doesn't matter what activity you choose as long as you get your heart pumping and get your sweat on several times a week to help you burn those calories. The next question I always get is "How many calories should I eat every day then?" Unfortunately, I cannot answer this question for you. You have to figure it out for yourself based on your own eating habits and activity levels. I always recommend starting a food journal and keeping track of every single calorie you eat every day for at least a couple weeks. Once you know how much you're taking in on average, you can start figuring out what needs to change. Since there are 3500 calories in one pound of fat, you have to create a deficit of 3500 calories per week to lose a pound, either through eating less, exercising more or a combination of the two. There are also many online resources that will help you calculate necessary daily calories for weight loss. However you arrive at a number, it's important to remember two things: 1) You should strive to lose no more than 1-2 lbs per week. Any more than that and you start to lose muscle, not fat. Muscle helps burn up those calories, so losing it is a bad thing. 2) It may sound very cliche, but you have to eat in order to lose weight. Starving yourself does not work! Not eating actually slows down your metabolism, which is the opposite of what you're trying to do. |
TODAY'S WORKOUT: Cathe Friedrich's Basic Step & Upper Body Sculpt My abs have only just recovered from Wednesday's workout and I have a feeling that my arms and shoulders are going to take just as long to recover after today's. It was rough. Today was weigh-in day. This week's weight loss: 0 lbs. Considering I didn't eat all that great this week and I've got my pre-menstrual bloat on, I'm happy it wasn't a gain. Stats this week are the same as last. Height: 5' 2" Highest Weight: 167 (January 14, 2006) Current Weight: 124 Goal Weight: 110 - 115 Pounds Lost: 43 |
Momma! PLEASE, open the window! |
Taken last week. |
We bought a new bird feeder and hung it outside the office window. The birds finally discovered it the other day. |
TODAY'S WORKOUT: Cathe Friedrich's Basic Step & Stability Ball Abdominal Workout I didn't feel too bad today considering how brutal yesterday's workout was, so I pushed myself to do more than just the step workout today. Every little bit counts, right? |
Syringe feeding Zoe last night. |
Not much to report on the Zoe front today. She's continuing to eat well and is getting stronger every day. She's not 100% back to normal just yet, but she's getting awfully close. She's still a little wobbly on her feet at times and, at this point, I'm not sure that will ever go away. We haven't really checked to see if she has much interest in playing either since we don't want her burning a single calorie more than she has to. I think if we can get another pound of weight back on her, then we'll get out the feathers on a stick and see what she does. |
TODAY'S WORKOUT: Cathe Friedrich's Body Fusion Ow. I will be paying for this one tomorrow. |
Heard from the vet, who finally got Zoe's blood test back, today and Zoe is most definitely not diabetic. While I'm happy to hear that, it still leaves us with no explanation for her health crash. The doctor said we'll probably never know and we'll just have to hope that it doesn't happen again. He was very pleased to hear that her appetite is up, she's continuing to eat/drink well and that her weight is stabilizing. He wants to see her again in 7-10 days to check her weight and for another blood draw to check her liver values one more time. Aside from that, we're to just keep on keepin' on with what we're doing. |
More good news on the Zoe front this afternoon. She did a poop! Yes, I realize that most people won't appreciate the significance of that, but right now, for us, that's big news. She hadn't gone since Friday and we were starting to get a bit worried. She's done several deadly farts since Friday (you know, the kind that make you go blind for a few seconds), but no actual poo until today. Even better, it wasn't diarrhea, which is what she usually gets when she eats a lot of soft food. I wonder if her body is coping with it better now because she was on nothing but liquids last week. The other bit of kinda sorta good news is her weight. We just got back from having her weighed and she's up an ounce from Friday. She now weighs a whopping 6 lbs 14 oz. I wonder if I had taken her before she used the litterbox if she would be up two. Heh. Since our vet's office is seemingly on the other side of the planet from here, I called the vet down the street to see if they would just weigh her for me to save me a long trip and they did. Zoe was not at all happy about being back in the car, so it was good we were able to keep it so short. |
After I fed Zoe this morning, I forget to put the lid back on the can, which, I admit, was a totally dumb mistake on my part. I just caught Josie up on the counter eating the food right out of the can. She ate the entire freaking can of cat food. And this was after she cleaned off what was on the plate this morning, too. To say I am upset with her would be the understatement of the year. It was all I could do to not throttle her on the spot. This is the only flavor of cat food that Zoe has shown any interest in eating at all and Josie just devoured one of only two cans we have left. Guess I'll be stopping at the store later today. My patience is running way thin today, dear kitty. For your own safety and well-being, I strongly recommend you cease pushing Momma's buttons immediately. |
So far, so good this morning. Zoe's appetite is still up. She's eaten a couple large spoonfuls of food and had some water already this morning. Mr Moo's mission before he left for work this morning was to lock Josie up in the guest room and set out a plate of soft food for Zoe. When I woke up a few hours later, Josie was asleep on the bed with me and the plate was totally clean. Apparently, Mr Moo didn't securely latch the door to the guest room and she broke out. Mr Moo said he watched Zoe eat some of the food he set out for her this morning, but I have no doubt that Josie polished off the rest of it once she made her escape from the guest room. I've since given Zoe some more to make sure she's eating and she gobbled almost all of it up. I was treated to an even better delight when I got up this morning. We have a very small pan of litter in the guest room for when we lock Josie in there. It's tiny, but Josie's a neat freak and it works fine for her. Zoe, well, not so much. When I got up, I found Zoe in the guest room standing in the litter pan, which is much too small for her. Thinking she was just sniffing around, I didn't rush right over. However, when she squatted down and started peeing, I made like a doping Olympic sprinter. See, Zoe has never learned to properly squat while urinating. She does lower her backside a little bit, but, for the most part, she pees horizontally. This isn't an issue in the regular litterbox because it has a lid and is completely enclosed on all sides. It makes for a bit more work for me since I'm constantly having to wash the inside of the lid, but at least the urine is contained in the box. The pan in the guest room, however, is just that - a pan. The only thing stopping Zoe's wee this morning was the closet door and, when I got closer, my leg. Oh, yay. I managed to get there in time and push her butt downwards so only about half ended up on the floor, but I've still got a lot of cleaning to do. Thank goodness for Nature's Miracle. |
Not much to report on the Zoe front aside from what I wrote earlier. She continued to eat throughout the day, which was wonderful. She did slow down quite a bit as evening approached, so Mr Moo and I decided to fill up her tank just in case. We gave her 40cc of chicken and turkey baby food via syringe about an hour ago. That should get her through the night. The vet did say it was important to get as many calories in her as possible, so we'll probably continue these nightly force feedings for a while to see if we can get her to put some weight back on. I'm also going to check with the vet to see if there is a veterinary formula food that we should use instead of the baby food. Everyone in the Moo House is exhausted and we're all going to bed now. Goodnight, fishies. |
TODAY'S WORKOUT: Crunch - The Best of Crunch Step - Fat Blaster I haven't done this workout in a while and it showed. I didn't fall down though, so I guess I would call it a successful workout. |
And, for whatever reason, today has been a complete turnaround. Zoe has eaten so much already today, I'm worried she's going to give herself a stomach ache. She's had a large spponful of food at 11:20, 12:20 and again just now. We have no idea why she suddenly has her appetite back, but we don't care. We're just happy she's eating. It could be that filling her up with the chicken baby food right before bed last night got her metabolism going again. Or it could be she's decided to eat on her own just so we won't force feed her anymore. It doesn't matter. She's eating! Woot! |
Zoe has continued not wanting to eat today. She's been showing lots of interest in food, but not actually eating any of it, not even the cod we had for dinner. We've had to resort to force feeding her pureed chicken baby food with a syringe tonight. While we don't mind doing it, if she continues to not eat again tomorrow, we'll be bringing her back to the vet's office once again come Monday morning. To say I'm upset would be an understatement. She did so well yesterday. She ate a lot. She was active. She looked loads better. What happened? It's so frustrating not knowing what's changed between then and now. We're offering her all the same foods in the same amounts in the same locations. It's like she's suddenly decided it's bad luck to eat on Saturdays or something. Let's hope things are better tomorrow. |
TODAY'S WORKOUT: Cathe Friedrich's Basic Step Wow. Look. It's a post not about Zoe. I made myself work out today because I can't remember the last time I did and I was hoping it would help take my mind off things for a little while. (It didn't work.) I also decided to change weigh-in day to Saturday since it's more accurately represents the end of the week. I neglected to post about weigh-in last weekend because I was so wrapped up in dealing with Zoe. I was up a few pounds from the week before, which was the wonky 4 lb loss week, so I wasn't completely surprised. This week, I'm back down to the wonky reading. I don't think it's innacurate this time around because I've been so stressed about Zoe lately I haven't been eating much and it's been a consistent reading all week, not the sudden overnight drop like the first time. Height: 5' 2" Highest Weight: 167 (January 14, 2006) Current Weight: 124 Goal Weight: 110 - 115 Pounds Lost: 43 |
Zoe is showing signs that her appetite is waning again. She is acting hungry and getting excited when you go into the kitchen to get her something to eat. However, when you set the food down in front of her, she doesn't want it. I've opened 5 different cans of cat food, and we've tried turkey breast and ground beef. She doesn't want any of it. This is not a good development. |
You know it's been a long rough week when the highlight of the past seven days is your cat eating a spoonful of kibble and doing a solid poop. |
Oops. I forgot to make a post when we got home from seeing the vet this afternoon. Zoe's glucose level was within the normal range yet again. We still haven't gotten the results from the definitive test yet, but it's looking likely that it's not diabetes. While I'm happy about that, I'm still incredibly frustrated that we've yet to find a cause for all of Zoe's recent problems. The doctor is just as baffled as I am. He was pleased to see how well she's bouncing back though. She was very alert and active in the exam room, which makes for quite a change from her usual self-induced coma state when we're there and the near death wet noodle state she was in Monday morning. He thought she was being outgoing, but I knew better. She was making like Paris Hilton and looking for a way to escape. I could see it in her eyes. "Momma! Take me home, PLEASE!!!" The only bit of bad news today is that her weight has dropped again. She's down to 6 lbs 13 oz at the moment, which is getting a bit scary. I know she's recovering from a major illness so I'm trying to not panic about it just yet. It's hard not to though because she's literally disappearing before our eyes. In the end, the only instructions the doctor had for me were to bring her home, keep taking care of her like we have been and do everything we can possibly think of to get her to eat as much as possible. "Calories. Calories. Calories," he said. He doesn't care where they come from, we just need to maximize them. |
My apologies to those of you who are sick of hearing about Zoe. I'm sure there are more than a few of you out there. However, given my poor/complete lack of long term memory these days, I've got to document everything, so you'll just have to put up with it for a while longer. I spoke with the vet again a few minutes ago. He's almost as thrilled as I am regarding Zoe's progress. He doesn't think it's necessary for her to come back in again for another tube feeding. However, the blood test he ordered to check for diabetes hasn't come back yet, so he does want to see her this afternoon to check her blood sugar levels. If she is diabetic, it's critical for us to start medicating her absolutely as soon as possible and he doesn't want to wait through the weekend. I'm sure Zoe is going to be thrilled to find herself back at the vet's office again. |
Zoe got up to eat only twice last night, but that's okay. Sleep is important for her recovery, too. I don't think she managed a full 1/4 cup of food yesterday like the vet wanted, but she was pretty darn close. There has been no vomiting. She's had several long drinks of water. And, she's made urine countless times. She's not completely out of the woods yet, but I'd say she's on her way. The only milestone she still needs to hit is pooping. There's been no sign of a bowel movement since she cleaned herself out in the carrier on Wednesday. The Poop Patrol is now on high alert. The doctor will be calling me this arvo, and I will be sure to ask him when we should expect something to happen and when I should start getting concerned if it doesn't. So, unless he wants more blood or urine from her, I have a feeling that he's going to tell me there's no need to bring her back into the office unless she starts going downhill again. Thank you to everyone for your good thoughts and prayers. They worked! |
Big kitty stretch! |
Just realized I haven't posted a Zoe update for today. She seems to be doing a lot better. She's still extemely weak and tired (she walks around like a drunken sailor at times), but she's been making real progress in the eating department. I'm not sure she's going to consume an entire 1/4 cup of food by the end of the day like the doctor wanted, but she is eating some. I got up with her every few hours during the night to watch her eat and she continued to just lick at the gravy until this morning. She started taking bites of the meat and actually eating them sometime around 0800 this morning. I woke her up about 45 minutes ago (she's still sleeping like a hibernating bear) and she ate what I would call a good teaspoon of cat food then had a nice long drink. Given that she seemed at death's door on Monday morning, this is HUGE progress. I had a quick call with the vet around 1100. He got the test results from the urine he took yesterday right before we left and there is sugar present, which shouldn't be there. This is indicative of diabetes. He's not sure if she truly has diabetes or if the sugar in her urine is a result of the stress of this whole episode. He still has a sample of her blood and is going to run some more tests to determine which it is. I will be calling him again before the afternoon is over for another progress report. So far, so good. |
Good news: Zoe actually ate a bit of food! WOOT! She woke up from her seemingly endless nap a little while ago and went over to the bit of soft food I left out for her. We couldn't quite see if she was actually eating anything or just licking it again. We didn't get closer to check either because we didn't want to disturb her. She wasn't at the dish for long before she walked away. Just for kicks, I put a tiny piece of the food on my finger and offered it to her. She sniffed it a few times then ate it! I was so happy I started crying. I did the same thing again and she ate a second tiny bit, but she refused the third. It was an insignificant amount of food, but it was still progress in my book. Small steps. Small steps. |
SHE'S EATING!!!!!!!!!!!!! Okay, well, not exactly eating per se, but she did lick the gravy off the soft food I offered her. That's the most interest she's shown in food since last week. It's a very small step, but it's still a step. Yay! |
Well, now, that was an adventure. I arrived at the vet's office just after 1430 to pick up Zoe. They got her ready and put her in her carrier while I looked at x-rays and spoke with the doctor some more. If that's not cat litter they're seeing in her gut, I can't even begin to imagine what else it could be. We reviewed the game plan one more time and I turned to head out. The doctor decided he wanted one more urine sample before we left, so he stopped us. Since I was already in back and have always shown interest in the science of it all, he let me watch while he used a needle to get a urine sample from her bladder, which was quite full. So full, in fact, that when we put her back in the carrier and turned to head out for the second time, she peed everywhere. Urine all over inside the carrier, all over her, all over the floor. Great. The vet jokingly started shouting, "Code yellow! Code yellow!" and I added "Clean up on aisle 3!" A nurse ran off to clean Zoe and the carrier up while we got some paper towels to clean up the floor. I got Zoe back and, for the third time, attempted to head out the door. I actually made it this time, but that is not where this story ends, my friends. Oh, no. Not even close. I got Zoe loaded up in the car and we headed out. Just as we were pulling out of the parking lot, I heard her making some strange noises. I figured she was just complaining about being in the car and didn't think much about it at first. However, her complaining got a lot louder very quickly so I turned to see if she was okay. She was standing in the carrier (totally not normal for her) and was drooling a lot. It was at this point I heard "the noise". Zoe was pooing in the carrier and, let me tell you, after being fed through a tube for three days, it was not pretty. The smell was so bad, I almost crashed the car. Since I was still on the same street as the vet's office and hadn't even cleared the parking lot, I turned right back into it and pulled right back into the same parking spot. As I was reaching for the carrier to get her out of the back seat, she vomited right through the front of it - all over my hand, the car and herself. What a frappin' mess. I ran into the office and shouted for some help. They took her straight back to clean her up AGAIN and got me some towels to clean myself up. The vet happened to walk out into the reception area just then and had this "What on Earth is going on?" look. I explained what happened then we went to the back again to check on her. While it wasn't a good thing that she vomited, he was happy that she had had a bowel movement. He put on some rubber gloves and examined it. He couldn't really see anything, but he did say he could feel the granules in it and it certainly seemed likely to be litter. Yes, the man put on gloves and felt through Zoe's diarrhea. This is why we pay him the big bucks. Once Zoe and her carrier were all cleaned up again. We attempted our fourth departure of the day. We were successful this time. I turned to check on her at every red light and stop sign all the way home. She didn't look great, but you wouldn't either if you just had diarrhea and vomited all over yourself. She did start complaining about being in the car more and more, which was a good sign since she hates it so. After what seemed like an eternity (who said they could start construction and block traffic down the road today of all days?!), we finally arrived home. I didn't let her out of the carrier until Josie came downstairs and had a sniff. The last thing we need right now is the two of them not recognizing one another and getting into some huge fight. As soon as I did let her out, she set off to check things out. Her tail was up, she looked alert and I was pleased. I got out a can of soft food to see if she was even remotely interested in eating anything. She came into the kitchen, acted very excited about it, gave it a good sniff when I set the plate down, but still did not eat anything. She showed interest at first though, which is a very good thing. Maybe later. Since then, she did a small pee in the litterbox and gave herself a bath. She's now curled up on the window seat next to me taking a nap. It's so good to have her home again. |
Just had a conference call with the vet and Mr Moo. Let's see if I can remember everything. Zoe's blood results were much better this morning. Her liver numbers, while still a tiny bit high, were way down from two days ago. The x-rays were also productive. He did one last night and saw some unusual calcified material in her intestines. Our theory is she managed to eat a bunch of cat litter. I've noticed in the past that she sometimes comes out of the litterbox with a bunch of it stuck to her paws, which I will clean off as soon as I see it. I'm wondering if, this time, she cleaned it off herself before I got a chance to do it. The doctor also said cats who don't feel well will sometimes just eat the litter. However it ended up inside her, I think we've found the culprit of her tummy woes. He x-rayed her again this morning and it's definitely on the move, which is a good thing. We're hoping once she passes it all she'll start to feel a lot better. The only bad news is that she's still not eating anything. The doctor is hopeful that getting her home (and a bowel movement of any kind) might be the catalyst she needs to start eating again, so I will be picking her up this afternoon. They topped her up with the feeding tube this morning and will leave her hooked up to the IV until I pick her up to make sure she's completely hydrated. She needs to eat 1/4 cup of food and drink some water between the time I get her home today and Friday morning for our plan to be considered successful. If she doesn't, she'll be checking back into "the spa" on Friday. So, please, wish us luck and say a prayer that she'll eat something tonight. |
I slept for nearly nine hours last night. My hacking cough is just about completely gone. Chances are Zoe will be coming home this afternoon. Today is going to be a much better day. I just know it. |
Zoe update #9382. We just got back from visiting her at the vet's office. She seemed more alert and less lethargic than this weekend, but she's still a very sick and weak kitty. We've decided to hold off on the ultrasound for now and leave her there overnight again. They will tube feed her tonight and again early tomorrow. The doctor is going to x-ray her and run one more round of blood tests in the morning. As long as her bad liver readings do not go up any higher, I will bring her home tomorrow afternoon for a trial run. She's always been a timid cat and is terrified of just about everything. Our concern is that a big part of the reason she isn't eating might just be the fact that she is in a strange place with lots of strange people and strange noises. We're hoping that bringing her back to the comfort and quiet of home might be enough to get her to eat at least a little bit. If she doesn't eat or drink anything within 24 hours of coming home, we'll be taking her right back. I believe at that point, if tomorrow's x-ray and tests don't turn up something, we'll do the ultrasound and biopsy. We're rapidly approaching 4 digits in cost. If it was entirely up to me, I would sell the house to give her all the treatments possible, but I know that's not realistic. I can only hope that something turns up in one of these tests soon so we can start treating the real problem instead of just the symptoms because it's going to be hard justifying another thousand dollars worth of tests and treatment that tell us nothing. It's so hard to know where to draw the line. The doctor did assure me that, if we do eventually decide that enough is enough, he will most definitely come to the house to do it. I know how much Zoe hates being there and I'd much rather her go in peace here at home. It felt so good to see her and hold her again tonight. They showed Mr Moo and I into one of the exam rooms, then two nurses came in - one holding Zoe all bundled up in a towel and the other one wheeling the IV machine. She's still receiving fluids through her arm, which is splinted to prevent the IV needle from bending or getting pulled out. She looked so sad and pathetic when they first brought her in, but she perked up a little when she saw we were there. Wishful thinking on my part? Maybe, but it makes me feel better so let me live my delusion. They told us to take all the time that we needed, so we sat and petted her for quite a while. We brought her The Bunny, her favorite catnip toy, so she could have something that smelled of home with her. We also brought some of her favorite treats to see if we could get her to eat a little, but she wasn't interested. Eventually, the doctor came in and spent quite a bit of time with us discussing the test results, treatments and overall prognosis. He is still very confident that she may very well fully recover from this whole ordeal and go completely back to normal. However, he also pointed out that they're just not sure what's going on with her and he can't make any promises. For now, we will take it one day at a time and I will look forward to bringing her home tomorrow. |
Zoe update. Her weight is back up and then some from the tube feeding. However, she still will not eat on her own. Another round of tests today showed more wonky results indicating some sort of liver problem, but nothing definite enough for the vet to pinpoint a cause. Next step would be a $450 ultrasound and a possible $200 needle biopsy, and still no guarantee of a diagnosis. While the vet said there is nothing in her test results indicating anything horrible enough for her to be put down, he agreed with me that if she doesn't start eating on her own soon, we're not going to have much choice. Mr Moo is coming home to get me then we're going to the vet's office to see her and make some difficult decisions. |
I just called the vet's office to check on Zoe. Since Tuesday is his day to work late, the doctor isn't in just yet, so I wasn't able to speak with him directly. The nurse looked at Zoe's hospital sheet and all it said for today was she made some urine. While this is a very good thing (go, kidneys!), it did not say anything about her attempting to eat or drink anything on her own. That's the most critical thing right now. She's got to start wanting to eat again. If she doesn't... Well, I'm not ready to go there just yet. |
I've been awake since 0430. The two and a half hours of sleep I got before that aren't quite cutting it. Time to head back to bed for a while methinks. |
I knew before I went to bed that Zoe is in a safe place and is being well cared for. Why, then, did my brain wake me up at 0430 again to check on her? |
So much doom and gloom about Zoe in my journal the past couple days. Have a picture of her from better days instead. (click to see larger view) |
The vet finally called. Not sure I'd classify any of it as good or bad news, since he's still not sure what's going on. The blood panel results showed something wonky going on with her liver. The problem, however, is no one is sure what's causing it. It could be a reaction to all of her gut problems, an infection, problems with some of her other organs that the liver is compensating for, a tumor, death of part of her liver, and the list goes on. For now, we're going to "treat the treatable", which means IV antibiotics and some other medications. She's going to be spending the night at the vet's office so they can give her the meds, continue with the fluids, and keep an eye on her. She'll also be fed via the feeding tube again tonight (she was given a full tummy this morning and was able to keep all of it down - yay!) and again tomorrow. He'll run the blood panel again tomorrow afternoon to see if the liver values have changed at all. If they go down, that will be a fantastic thing and we'll get to bring her home tomorrow night. If they don't, we will begin trying to find out what is really going on with her liver, starting with an ultrasound. I can't wait to see the bill for this one. |
That was a waste of time. I slept like absolute crap and feel more tired now than I did a few hours ago. I haven't heard anything from the vet just yet. Although, I'm pretty sure there was one phone call from the dentist confirming Mr Moo's appointment on Wednesday morning, but I very well may have dreamed that whole thing. For the immediate future, I hurry up and wait. |
I am back from the vet's office, but Zoe isn't. They're going to keep her for the day. I was sent home to get some sleep. I'm so deliriously tired at the moment that I don't remember half of what the vet told me. I do know that they're going to give Zoe IV fluids to rehydrate her and also use a feeding tube to feed her at least two very large meals before the day is over since she's completely empty. She's lost 1/2 lb in six days. Poor thing. No wonder she's so lethargic. He's not sure what's causing her total loss of appetite though. He said something about how sometimes when cats feel sick and don't want to eat, they get "behind" and spiral downwards from there. He's hoping that getting her hydrated and filling up her tummy will reset her system and she'll start eating again. I can only pray that it works. And now, I sleep. |
I've been up off and on all night with Zoe. She still will not eat or drink anything and she's growing exponentially weaker. I'm getting ready to take her to the vet's office so we can be there the second they open. I'm not sure exactly what they can do for her at this point. I'm hoping there's some way to get nutrients in her with a feeding tube or maybe give her something to re-stimulate her appetite. She can't go on like this for much longer because she was already skinny as a rail before all of this started happening. She doesn't have any spare weight to lose. If we can't get her to start eating again soon, we're going to have to put her down. Please send some good thoughts and wishes her way today. She's going to need all the help she can get. |
Zoe has continued to be extremely lethargic today, much to my dismay. Thank goodness this morning's tablet was the last of her antibiotics because I'm starting to really worry about her. We don't believe she's eaten anything or had anything to drink for going on two days now. Neither of us has seen her use the litterbox either. We've tried offering her all kinds of food, including two of her favorite soft cat foods, turkey breast and tuna, but she wouldn't touch any of them. You know your cat is really not feeling well when she won't even try to drink the water from a can of tuna. Since we don't think she's even drinking any water, we started forcing her to drink some earlier this evening. We have a small syringe (sans needle), which we've used to give her liquid medication in the past, and we've been using it to squirt water down her throat. She's not liking it, but at least she's getting fluids. I've put a call in to the vet (they weren't open today) and expect to hear back from someone first thing in the morning. I can't even begin to describe how stressed and anxious I am right now. |
Forgot to mention the vet called yesterday. Josie's blood results came in already. Almost everything looked good. She doesn't have any kind of infection, spinal, brain or otherwise, which would have caused her episode last weekend. Since there is no infection and she didn't suffer an external injury, we're going with focal seizure as the diagnosis. This could mean last weekend's seizure was a one-time thing and she'll never have another one, or she could continue to have them more and more often as she gets older. Only time will time will tell since they're funny like that. There was one part of her blood results that the doctor wasn't happy about. Josie's kidney values were high. This means she's in the early stages of kidney disease/failure just like Zoe. Fortunately, just like her sister, we're catching it early and we should be able to treat it effectively with medication, which they'll both start later this week. The vet said both of them developing this problem at virtually the same time is not a surprise because of their age. He said every cat, if it lives long enough, will develop kidney problems. That's just what happens to old cats. He's confident, with medication and careful monitoring, they have many good years left in them yet. |
Change in plans today. Mr Moo's allergies are absolutely raging this morning and he feels like complete crap, so we're not going out for brekkie with his family. The restaurant they're going to is almost 90 minutes from here and Mr Moo just isn't up to 3 hours of driving in the condition he's in. The box of Kleenex we'd need to handle the snot that would come out of his nose in 90 minutes wouldn't fit in the car, never mind a second one to handle the return trip home. Not sure I want him driving after all the medicine he's taking either. Amazingly, I managed to wake up in time even though I got so little sleep. Guess I'll put the time to some good use and try to get some work done this morning. |
Considering I have to be up again in less than four hours (we're going out for brekkie with Mr Moo's family), I should probably attempt to get a bit more sleep. I can already tell I am going to be seriously zombified later. Ugh. |
Zoe gave me a horrible fright tonight. We've had her on antibiotics the past few days, per veterinary instructions, and they're making her a bit groggy. She slept virtually all day yesterday and I don't think she ate very much either. When I deliberately woke her up at about 10pm to make sure she was alright, she looked dazed and I could tell she didn't want to be up. I gave her some soft food to make sure she ate something, but she didn't really even want that. She took a couple bites, licked off the remaining gravy and walked away. Proof positive she's not feeling well. Much to my relief, by the time I went to bed about midnight, she was looking and acting a bit better. I chalked it all up to the side effects of the medication (decreased appetite and lethargy are both listed as side effects) and tried not to worry too much. Think my brain could just let it go? HA! No. I had terrible nightmares about her until I finally woke up at about 2:30. I got up to check on her and couldn't find her anywhere. My first thought, of course, was she crawled off into a hidey spot somewhere to die. Great. Thanks for that one, brain. Somehow remaining just this side of sheer panic, I went through the entire house again and still could not find her. (Can I panic now?) I was just about to wake Mr Moo to help me look for her when I found her. She had gone up onto the bed in the guest room (where she isn't supposed to go - bad girl!) and had climbed into a large box of fabric scraps I have in there. When I first looked in the box, I almost missed her. She was buried almost completely in the fabric and just her head was sticking out. Silly girl! I have to give her credit though. That cat knows a good nest when she sees one. |
TODAY'S WORKOUT: Crunch - Total Resculpt It felt good to get a workout in today even though I'm still hacking quite a bit. This workout is all weight training and no jumping up and down, so it really didn't bother me like some of the cardio workouts would have. I was also very careful doing the upper body portion since my back is hurting from all the coughing I've been doing. Man, I'm a walking trainwreck at the moment. |
If it were up to the birds, this would be my full-time job: |
I finally did it. I tore a muscle in my back from coughing. Oh, yay. I'm the final throes of this stupid cold. For the most part, I'm feeling alright except I still have this lingering hacking death cough. If I stay upright and breathe shallow, I'm okay. However, the minute I lie down or try to take a deep breath, I start coughing like my body is trying to turn itself inside out. The fact that I have asthma compounds the issue, but at least I find that using my inhaler provides a bit of relief when the coughing gets really bad. I cannot wait for this to finally be over. |
From this year's Chick-fil-A calendar, The Good, The Bad and The Hairy: |
