I hope to make people realize how totally helpless animals are, how dependent on us, trusting as a child must that we will be kind and take care of their needs.-- James Herriot

Mr. Creme’s blood glucose was tested with our home kit on Monday.  He was 438 which is a little high.  We have been giving him one unit of insulin for the past two weeks.  He has been drinking more water and eating more, yet apparently losing weight.  These are symptoms of diabetes that we’ve seen before.   I made an appointment to have another fructosamine test done.  We wanted to see if the vet wanted to increase the insulin.   

The vet did a fructosamine test and also a urine test, to make sure MC didn’t have a bladder infection.  In addition to drinking so much water, he is also peeing quite a bit.  We were told to increase the insulin by one unit, so now it will be one unit twice a day. 

The fructosamine test came in high, just as we expected.  But, the doctor says to stay on two units a day and bring MC back for recheck in a month.  I hope we can get him stabilized again.  We were hoping he would stay in remission, but now we need to make sure he starts feeling better.

Lexi also went to the vet that day.  She is still sneezing and congested.  She had a chest X-ray.  It was clear, thank goodness.  So her blood tests are good, there are no parasites, her lungs and other organs look fine.  We started her on Prednisone and Amoxicillin.  The doctor thinks Lexi might have a food allergy which is causing her irritable bowel syndrome.  Poor little thing still has diarrhea.  But, she is eating fine and as active as she usually is.  I bought some food for her which is grain free.  She’s only been on it a couple of days.  The doctor said to give it a couple of months.  We should see some kind of improvement by then.  If not, I don’t know what to do next.


When Jezibel and her five kittens, Lexi, Ellie, Mr. Creme, (Grady and Toby), were young, Charlie and I talked about how, one day, we would probably be dealing with several of them having ailments at the same time because they are all the same age.  They are 12 years old now.

Jezibel is 13, but she was only about 6 months old when she had these kittens.  She seems to be in pretty good health.  Right now we are dealing with Mr. Creme and Lexi's problems.  Ellie has the asthma, but otherwise is doing fine.     

Charlie and I went to a Padre game last Friday night.  It had been over a month since we’d been there.  We lost to San Francisco 10-1, but it was still fun to have a night out.  It was warm, even when the sun went down.  Usually we need our jackets, but I didn’t even bring one that night. 

We managed to get out of the house again today.  We went to the movies and saw “Hope Springs”.  It was a comedy with Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones.  It was one of those movies that I had read nothing about, so I didn’t know what it was about until I saw it.  I think Charlie had seen reviews on it.  Anyway, it was very good.  Charlie is not a Meryl Streep fan, but he said he thought this was her best movie.  It was one of those movies that had an ending that made you feel good.

More later....
TazzyD.... _^..^_

“Whenever I feel the need to exercise, I lie down until it goes away.” ― Robert Maynard Hutchins

I made my monthly visit to the chiropractor today.  He said I was doing fine and once a month seemed to be working for me.  I know I’m feeling much better. 

I’m trying to walk every day.  It’s been hot and even humid here and if I don’t get out to walk early enough, I wait until after 5:00 p.m. when it starts cooling off.

When I go to the chiropractor, I usually stop at Miramar commissary, on the way home.  Today, in the produce section, I saw a lady who looked just like my sister, Jennifer.  I mean this lady had the same hair style, same color, same type of clothes, etc.  It was amazing.  I couldn’t help but stare.  She was busy shopping and didn’t notice me.  We were on opposite sides of the area.

I managed to get my fruits and vegetables and go on with my shopping.  But, then I saw her down at the end of one of the aisles and it just struck me again how familiar she looked.  I got out my phone and, without drawing attention, of course, took a couple of pictures.  I will send them to Jennifer, but won’t post them on my blog.

When I got home though, I pulled the pictures up on my phone and showed them to Charlie.  I said, “Who does this look like?”  Sounding puzzled like, ‘why are you asking me this?’ he said, “Your sister.”  Then I told him it was the lady in the commissary.  I guess everyone does have a double somewhere. 

We have an avocado tree in our yard.  It was started from a seed we planted over 12 years ago.  We planted it in a pot and then transplanted it to the yard.  It is a true survivor. 

We moved to Virginia for two years in 2002.  Our house was rented to people who, let’s just say, were not very good renters.  They didn’t water the yard or plants. 

When we returned to move back into the house in 2004, we were amazed to see that the little avocado tree had survived.  It was stunted, but alive.  Over the years it has grown and we’ve trimmed it.  Now it is over 10 feet high.  In May, Charlie discovered that there is one avocado growing on it.  Just one, but it’s the first one ever.

A salad is waiting for you!

We check it regularly and it is getting bigger, but nowhere near big enough to pick yet.  I don’t know how long it takes for them to mature because I’ve never had an avocado tree that bore fruit.  If we’re able to eat it, it is going to go into the biggest, best salad I’ve ever made.

Mr. Creme is doing fine, back on insulin again.  I check on him regularly.  He’s usually lying on the concrete floor in the garage, stretched out.  It has been warm and humid here for the past few days.  We don’t usually have much humidity, but lately it’s been at least 60%.  He’s eating well and looks forward to the attention he gets when he gets his B12 and insulin.

Lexi, still as pretty as ever

Lexi still has some congestion and sometimes she has a sneezing episode.  But, she’s still eating well.  I’m giving her the probiotic for her food.  It doesn’t seem to be doing much for the diarrhea though.  We are planning to take her back to the vet for some blood work.  Because of her thyroid problem, she is due. 

Ellie usually spends her time in my computer room.  Since she has weak back legs, she can’t jump up on things.  A three foot gate is all it takes to keep her in the room.  She can walk and get around, but her legs do give out if she tries to move too fast. 

Ellie, when she used to like my rocking chair

Early one morning I woke up and was surprised to find Ellie sleeping at the foot of the bed.  Apparently she has discovered a way of pushing the gate open far enough to slip out.  She comes downstairs and then she can get up on the bed by climbing the steps that are next to the chest at the end of the bed.  We bought those steps for Rowdy years ago when he started having trouble getting onto the bed.  What we do for our pets.....So now, Ellie can be found sleeping on our bed. 

We bring her back upstairs several times a day so she can get some food or water and go potty.  I usually put the gate back across the doorway so she will stay in her room and take care of things.  But, it doesn’t take long before we see her back on the bed.

The flea problem has subsided.  I applied Frontline to the cats the other day.  They’re not constantly scratching now, so I hope we have it under control.  If not, Charlie would be scratching because if there’s a flea or mosquito within range, it will get on him.

Our new walkway

About two years ago we had our back patio textured and coated.  The coating is stenciled to look like flagstone.  It is a great improvement and we were really happy with the work.  We decided to have the same done to the front entryway and walkways of the house.  The same company was hired and they did an excellent job.  We will probably have the driveway done at a later time.  We have to budget for these home improvement jobs.

No one likes to get weighed!

Charlie has been taking Sheila out for a walk every morning.  Her stamina is improving.  She is a lazy dog and would be happy just to lie around the house all day.  But, she was gaining too much weight, up to 74 pounds.  Charlie weighed her the other day and she was 69, which is much better.

More later....
TazzyD.... _^..^_

Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as gods. Cats have never forgotten this. --Anonymous

Last Friday night, Charlie returned from his vacation.  He enjoyed his visit with the relatives, but was happy to be home again.  We were all happy to see him, but I think Jezibel was happiest.

When he left, I asked him if he could bring me some of my favorite Carolina barbeque when he came back.  My very favorite is from Moore’s Barbeque in New Bern, NC.  My  next favorite is a place called Smithfield’s Chicken ‘N Bar B-Q.  That is a chain which is located in several areas.

When I talked to Charlie while he was gone, I didn’t mention the barbeque to him again, so I was really surprised when he came home and unpacked containers of Smithfield’s bbq!

Apparently it was not easy to come by.  There are no Smithfield’s bar-b-q's in Virginia.  They are only in NC, which I didn’t know.  Charlie said the closest one was about two and a half hours away, in NC.  It just so happened that his brother and girlfriend were going down to NC anyway.  He gave him some locations and they picked up some bbq.

When Charlie got home with the barbeque, it was still frozen.  I couldn’t wait to have some.  It had been over a year since I eaten it, but I had to wait until the next day.  It was well worth the wait though.


I really appreciate Charlie and the rest of the family who helped him to be able to bring barbeque home to me.

We found out that we will be able to order this barbeque and have it delivered to us after October 1.  I don’t know what the price will be, but I may have to splurge once a year or so.

Mr. Creme has started drinking more water and using the litter box more.  That’s a sign that he may be coming out of his remission.  We took him to the vet to have his blood glucose and fructosamine test.  He hasn’t had to have insulin since the end of May.

The vet called with the blood test results.  Mr. Creme’s numbers are higher and he’s lost some weight.  She wants us to put him on a unit of insulin a day for now.  We’ll test him again in two or three weeks.  We are definitely going to start testing his BG with the kit we bought before he went into remission.  It was nice while it lasted.

Kiki is still allowed to have the run of the house.  So far she is doing fine.  We leave her out of her kennel all day and then before bedtime, we put her in to sleep in her cat tree.  She hasn’t been bothering any of the cats and now that the mystique is gone, Rhody just ignores her.  He thinks she’s very boring to watch.  She usually goes to one place to sit and groom and then sleep.  He used to follow her and lay and watch her.  It made her nervous.

Lexi

Last week I took Lexi to the vet.  She was sneezing and was very congested.  She also had diarrhea.  I was concerned about everything, but mostly her sneezing, etc.  The vet was more concerned about the diarrhea.  I was given a couple of medications, Metronidazole and FortiFlora.  The Metronidazole is an antibiotic.  If her diarrhea is caused by bacteria, it will fight it.  The FortiFlora is a nutritional supplement which contains a special strain of probiotic to help the intestines.  Poor Lexi also had to give a fecal sample, she didn’t have a choice, they took it.  The vet called the next morning and the sample was negative, no parasites.

Unfortunately, a week and a half later, Lexi still has diarrhea and she is still congested.  I can’t give her the Terbutaline, like I give to Ellie and Jezibel for their congestion.  She is hyper thyroid and the vet says it could raise her blood pressure.  If she doesn’t get better, she will have to go back to the Dr. 

The flea problem we had seems to be better.  I’m sure the yard treatment helped.  I also treated the floors inside the house and garage.  The cats aren’t sitting around itching and scratching now.  They are due for Frontline next week.

Sheila is on Comfortis.  She hates it and I don’t blame her.  The pill is huge and it smells like strong medicine.  I tried to get her to chew it up, and she wanted to please me, but she couldn’t make herself.  I finally crushed it up and put it in some canned dog food.  She likes wet food and normally doesn’t get it every day.  I watched her eat it and she choked it down.  It seems like they could make it a little more palatable.  I need to remember to give her wet food more often, not just when she needs to take her medicine.

While Charlie was gone, I had lunch with a good friend.  She used to live in Palm Springs, but moved to Encinitas a few months ago.  It’s been quite a change for her, coming to the cooler, sometimes foggy coast, from the sunny, hot desert.  She says she is getting used to it though.

from The Beach House Restaurant

We met at the Beach House restaurant at Cardiff by the Sea in Encinitas.  I’d never been there before.  It’s right on the beach.  We sat on the patio, which overlooked the ocean.  The food was good and we had a really nice time.  I plan on going there with Charlie for lunch one day while it’s still nice and warm.

More later....
TazzyD.... _^..^_