Julie's mysterious condition...

Julie

A mystery...

Julie, our 15 year old black and white DSH has not been herself for the last few months... but we couldn't put our fingers on what it was that caused us to realize this. She did have a small wound on the left side underneath her neck that she kept scratching at and making bleed. I would clean it with some peroxide and it never changed much... but neither did it heal - 1st thing we noticed, but didn't take too much concern with. 

Then we noticed that she was shaking her head and scratching at her left ear. It was very pink... (from the scratching or ?) I watched this for a while and it never seemed to get any better, so we took her to the Vet about a month ago to check her ear and that wound under her neck. Vet was not worried about the neck wound - looked like it was healing and may not be a wound, but a small growth that wasn't a problem except that Julie kept making it bleed. She was diagnosed as having a yeast infection in her left ear and we were given some Tresaderm to treat this. We did this. She didn't seem to be shaking her head much any more, but the outer ear remained pink.

A month passed and she kept scratching at the left side of her face. We also noticed that she had lost her voice (she talks a lot - or did) . She only squeaks now... and barely that. Then the week of Christmas I also noticed that she was having some difficulty eating. Thought to myself  -  OK, maybe it's a tooth problem and tried to open her mouth to check. I could not get her mouth open - and certainly didn't want to force it. Around this time I also noticed a slight discharge from her left eye... clear but still. 

This did it. We took her to the Vet again the Monday after Christmas. By this time I was getting really worried. She was losing weight, but as cats get up in age, again this isn't unusual. She acted fine as far as running around and jumping on counters and all - but something wasn't right. 

We told the Vet that we needed Julie to be thoroughly checked over... a complete physical exam, but to concentrate on the left side of her head/face. We were told to leave her at the clinic and they would sedate her, examine her, and run some blood work. We agreed to this... reminding them of her age. I told them to call me as soon as they knew something. 

As it turns out, the exam and blood work all came out normal except for one thing: her jaws are locked shut. The Vet could not open them even under anesthesia. What could cause this? Many things apparently could, but all unusual. Where to start?  They recommended an x-ray of her skull. Did this and didn't see any abnormalities. I asked about antibiotics, muscle relaxants, etc.  Vet consulted with other Vets on premise and recommended we try a steroid injection to start, and some liquid steroids given orally to see if it would reduce inflammation.

Julie was one of 5 kittens born and left in our backyard by a feral mother 15 years ago.  Actually she was one of 5 that we took in (adult kids took 2 and we kept 3). These kittens/cats were/are the sweetest, most loving creatures we've ever had in our house-hold (and we've had many).  She has never been outside since we took them in at about 4 weeks old. And she's never had to go to the Vet's except for annual vaccinations.

Julie is kitten in front at 6-8 weeks when oldest grand daughter (now 18) was 3

I cried that Monday afternoon when the Vet called. First of all I felt awful that I didn't notice that her jaw was locked. How could I have not known this?  She and the other 2 are constantly in our face and on our laps. She showed up and seemed to eat and drink as usual at mealtimes. It wasn't until this last week that I noticed her having difficulty eating. The Vet said that she believed this was a gradual thing and had only become worse recently. 

Anyway, I mentioned cancer, a tumor of her jaw, her larynx? Possibly. But also possibly an arthritic condition that might benefit from steroids. This is what we're trying first. And she is eating fairly well. I blend up her food and offer her the top of the open cans (where the gravy accumulates) and she goes for it. Still not opening her mouth much, but possibly a little more (definitely enough to get that tongue out to lap up food and water). 

If anyone has ever come across anything like this condition in a cat, I would love to hear from you. I had 4 years of Animal Science at LSUBR and 2 years of Animal Medical Technology - but this stumps me (and apparently the Vets also). 

If it isn't something simple like an arthritic condition, the other possibilities are not good. So we are hoping this treatment will bring some results... at least enough to get her mouth open so that the Vet can examine teeth, throat, etc. 

Please keep Julie in your prayers. She means a lot to us.


Hugs,
Rian

(I'm putting this out there so that possibly someone has an idea that we haven't thought of as to what might be causing this. I may put it on Facebook also - to hit a larger audience.)





  

Julie hiding, Book on Kindle, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Julie hiding under chair at ear treatment time

I had to post this as she looked so funny. We've been treating her yeast infection in her ear for 5 days now. We put 6 drops in her left ear at 9am in the morning and 9pm at night. She really is good about it and doesn't fuss. But... after only 3 days she realized the time schedule... and while she spent most of Thursday evening laying on the sofa with us watching TV - at 9pm, she disappeared - to be found under the chair in the dining room looking apprehensive.

Her ear still looks pink, but she doesn't seem to be shaking or scratching at it anymore. (I did tell her that if she scratched at it, the 'cone of shame' would be put back on... and I think she understood as she's been really good about not scratching).

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On another short note:

"Time After Time"

by D'Arcy Regan Hart (pen name) 

Now available on Kindle!

I signed up to do this this afternoon and was told that it may take 24 hours for it to go "live". While the paperback is $15.99 at Amazon for those book lovers who refuse to go digital, the e-book is only $2.99.  I've had so many good responses from people who have read it, that I really wanted it to be available to more readers - and this seemed a good way to do it.
  

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With Thanksgiving coming up this Thursday we have a lot to do this week so this may be my one and only post.  So I'm going to say "Happy Thanksgiving" to every one now. I really hope that all of you enjoy the day with family and/or friends. 

DH will smoke a turkey, and there will be bourbon sweet potatoes, cranberry pecan stuffing, mashed potatoes, broccoli/cauliflower casserole, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, hot rolls, and 2 desserts: Kentucky Derby pie, and a (family traditional) chocolate pudding with a cookie crust.

Thanksgiving day will also be our youngest grand daughter's 7th birthday... (which she is celebrating with her friends at the Zoo this weekend) but we will still have a small family celebration at the house Thursday (so add Birthday cake to that Thanksgiving menu).

Closing this with a picture of Julie checking out the dollhouse that we recently moved to the den for youngest grand daughter to put all her LOL dolls in. This dollhouse was originally bought for oldest grand daughter who is now 18. (I've been using it as a bookcase in our computer room). Time to get it out and use it properly.

Julie says "thanks, I can use this..."

Hugs,
Rian

Books, cats, and other critters...

This is me on days that I've finished all the books I've been reading simultaneously.  When I read the last page, I'm like... 'oh no!'

If I'm completely out of 'real' books, I'll either have to go reread one that I've read before and liked (some stories I find can be reread countless times), or find one from a huge selection downloaded on a friend's Kindle, or perhaps... just go write my own. 

Today I'm reading an old book written in the 40's that one of my pottery friends loved. She found it on Amazon and gave it to me to read. She read my book, "Time After Time" and decided that I'd enjoy this one. It's called "Mrs. Mike" by Benedict and Nancy Freedman. It's about a young 17 year old girl who leaves Boston to live with her uncle in Alberta. She marries a young sergeant in the Canadian Mounted Police and they manage a life in the harsh wilderness.

I've also been reading "Educated" by Tara Westover - but don't find it pulling me back.  I'm about halfway through both books. 

And I'm definitely interested in "Miss Hargreaves" by Frank Baker (that one of you bloggers mentioned in your post)!

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Update: 

Julie's ear continued to bother her even though I cleaned it and treated it for possible ear mites. So yesterday DH and I bit the bullet and took her to the Vet's to have it checked out. I was beginning to worry that perhaps it was an ear infection and might be causing her pain.

The Vet flushed it out, tested it for mites - found none, but did diagnose a yeast infection and sent her home with Rx Tresaderm ear drops and that dreaded cone of shame. So, we shall see what happens. The trip to the Vet's is enough to wear her out (she is 15), so she slept most of the day when we got home. 

The funny thing that DH and I had to laugh about was when Julie walked into the house with that 'cone' on her head, Ghost took off for the bedroom and Tux hid behind the sofa. Don't know if the cone itself on Julie scared them or if they thought they might be next. 

The unfunny thing is what such a quick Vet visit cost us ($$).

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Closing with 2 pics taken recently:

Ghost and Snuffy

Visiting possum this morning

Ghost looked so cute snuggling up with Snuffy on the bed. And our visiting possum was such a chubby healthy looking little critter that I had to take his pic.

Have a wonderful weekend! And as always, thanks for visiting!

Hugs,

Rian

Find Elmo... no, find the feline in the pic!

Find Elmo! No... Find the feline in the tree!

I've always liked this picture. Thought I would share it with you. There's a feral cat up in that tree. Can you find it?

I also wanted to share a video of the little feral Siamese looking kittens in our yard. But I'm not sure how to upload it. Going to try...
So far, no luck.

So here is a pic of 2 of my daughter's 3 dogs. Moose is the Great Dane on the left and Willow is a rescued lab mix on the right. Willow is up in age, Moose is 3.

DH and I had dinner with some old friends this week. The guys grilled outside while my friend and I sat with our feet in the pool and talked. As hot as its been around here, it really wasn't too bad that evening. They have lots of trees around their pool and there was a breeze.  Later we had dessert and coffee inside... and talked some more.  It was great fun spending time with them. DH and I are not very social... meaning we don't do a lot of socializing - parties, clubs, travel, etc. So when we do get together with old friends, it means a lot.

And another dear friend took me out to lunch for my birthday yesterday. We went to Whiskey Cake... and it was really fun. I tried to put some pictures here, but it didn't work, but you can google Whiskey Cake Kitchen and Bar and see pictures. It is an interesting place. Everything they use there is fresh and local.  She and I split a bacon cheeseburger with home-made chips and a side order of fried green tomatoes with a dipping sauce. It was fabulous. Also we had coffee and split a whiskey cake that is covered with some sort of whiskey caramel sauce... with a cup of freshly whipped heavy cream on the side. Delicious!

I guess this is my post for the day. Reading a good book by Rhys Bowen. Think I'll go and make myself a cup of tea and pick up where I left off last night. 

Have a great weekend!

same o'... same o'

Nothing new to post about.  Summer is definitely here... it's 90 F today and will continue to get hotter.  Texas is not the place to be in July and August.  

I'm working on my wind chimes as my summer clay project. Haven't ever tried to make wind chimes before so it should be interesting. We have some out front that make a really nice sound and I've been wanting to get some for the tree out back... so I decided to make my own. They may be all ceramic or they may be ceramic and copper tubing. Haven't decided yet.

Also I took a Word 2016 class this past week. It was offered by the Library and was a beginner class. Now I've used Word 2007 for a long time, but probably only use a small percentage of what it can actually do. We were told that Word 2016 basically does the same things, but may just do them a little differently. Most of the things he showed us I already knew, but I did pick up a few new techniques. There's an intermediate class next week. 

I was talking to someone this past week who has recently retired and we were discussing the pro's and con's of retiring in place as to moving to somewhere they've always wanted to live.
In our cases, we both seem to lean toward retiring in place... as everything familiar is just too convenient... doctors, friends, classes, etc. (not to mention family). Not that we wouldn't mind traveling a little and visiting some wonderful places. But it's expensive to move and feel that retiring in place and visiting the other places would be the practical thing. Starting over (new surroundings, new everything) after a certain age seems difficult. But many do this... and it works out well. What are your thoughts?

clay bowls... and a cat

I have decided to finish working on the bowls that I started this semester. Then I will drop this class and re-register in the Spring under Continuing Education. And I plan to investigate getting hold of a pottery wheel so I can practice throwing at home. Who knows? Small steps...

Here are a 3 of the 4 bowls that I'm working on. Nothing special... just playing around with different underglazes.  These are blue and green underglazes on Cinco Blanco greenware. I will fire these next week and then do a clear glaze over them... and fire again. So the tops will be colored and the bottom halves will be the natural fired clay.

And here's Julie... on the kitchen counter (I know... we try, but she's a stubborn lass).

See that look in her eyes... it's like, "yes... it's my counter too."

DH and I also started on a more healthy diet this week. It's not that we don't eat healthy most of the time - as we do - small amounts of meat, chicken, or fish... with fresh veggies, fresh fruit, and always whole wheat bread or pasta, etc. But we do tend to have at least one sweet (cookie or cake or pie slice) serving daily. So we're cutting back on the bread, pasta, and potatoes, and cutting out the 'sweet' for at least the next week or so. We're also 'up-ing' our exercise a bit.

BTW, anyone out there watching "The Outlander" - the new Starz series. It's been a while since I've read her books (Diana Gabaldon), but they were really a good read. I believe that she had 6 when I read them, but there may be a 7th out now (and there may have been some character spin-offs too).  Anyway, we're really enjoying the new series so far.

Simple snapshot of my life...



Maine chest that we use for coffee table (cluttered)

 I happen to be going through some photos online today when I came across this one taken one night a few weeks (?) ago.  At the time I was sitting on the sofa watching TV, reading a book, and playing with my iphone (I multi-task...) when I snapped this pic of our cluttered coffee table (which is an old wooden chest I picked up in Maine the summer '2000). As you can see, Julie was lying among my knitting, sketch books, and graham crackers.  As I looked at the photo, it hit me like a reality check... this is a simple snapshot of my life.

Isn't it funny how certain pictures, scenes, etc. can invoke feelings?