More adorable cat pictures. I'm shameless!
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| Wanna bath? Who me? |
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| My boy Rosie and his buddy Dood |
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| Ah, it's just my size |
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Mama's Boy
Last Saturday, we took our cat, Rosie, back to the vet to have his sugar level rechecked (this was part one of the birthday day). Thankfully it was much lower than before, about 260 points lower, but that doesn't mean his condition has reversed or that he won't require shots. We are simply getting some data to proceed with.
Next up was a trip to the Bo (BoJangles for the uninitiated) for some lunch. It would have been breakfast except for the cat thing. We stopped by the car dealer for a stroll around the lot in the wind. The lot is on a hill and the wind cuts across it like a knife through butter. Nada.
On to Wal-Mart for more Fancy Feast for the fussy feline, and a diabetes testing kit and strips. I guess it's official now. Face the facts, you're little boy's diabetic, at least for now. In treating diabetic cats, the key is partly in what you feed them. The lower the sugar and carbs and higher the fiber the better. Certain varieties of Fancy Feast canned food were recommended by our vet and also by some on-line sources. This has had an unfortunate result. Rosie wasn't crazy about the new "diet kibble" we got. You know, that high dollar prescription stuff that you can only get from your vet. Well, when you combined his obvious distaste for that with the yummy new "treat" food, you get one fabulously fussy feline. All three cats are used to free feeding, which, in fact, is good for the diabetic cat as it helps keep their sugar level on an even keel. However, free feeders graze throughout the day versus eating regular meals, and canned cat food does not lend itself to this method. Now Rosie wants the "good stuff" whenever he gets the urge to graze. What to do? That's one of the questions we're trying to figure out.
The other problem is using the glucometer to do the blood sugar test on his poor little ear. I suspect that it hurts me more than it does him. Our first attempt drew nothing to test with, and only served to traumatize him. He was beginning to tremble like when he goes to the vet. After all, he'd just had this done the day before.
This is new to all of us, and we're just muddling through the best we can. Our vet recommended we get a glucometer especially for cats for, oh, around $175. I did a little on-line research and discovered nearly everyone uses regular "human" glucometers. We took advice from someone who has worked with diabetic cats both personally and professionally, as well as humans, and got a $12 one from Wal-Mart. I expect that will be just fine, especially if we actually get a sample to work with.
Anyone have experience with diabetic cats?
Next up was a trip to the Bo (BoJangles for the uninitiated) for some lunch. It would have been breakfast except for the cat thing. We stopped by the car dealer for a stroll around the lot in the wind. The lot is on a hill and the wind cuts across it like a knife through butter. Nada.
On to Wal-Mart for more Fancy Feast for the fussy feline, and a diabetes testing kit and strips. I guess it's official now. Face the facts, you're little boy's diabetic, at least for now. In treating diabetic cats, the key is partly in what you feed them. The lower the sugar and carbs and higher the fiber the better. Certain varieties of Fancy Feast canned food were recommended by our vet and also by some on-line sources. This has had an unfortunate result. Rosie wasn't crazy about the new "diet kibble" we got. You know, that high dollar prescription stuff that you can only get from your vet. Well, when you combined his obvious distaste for that with the yummy new "treat" food, you get one fabulously fussy feline. All three cats are used to free feeding, which, in fact, is good for the diabetic cat as it helps keep their sugar level on an even keel. However, free feeders graze throughout the day versus eating regular meals, and canned cat food does not lend itself to this method. Now Rosie wants the "good stuff" whenever he gets the urge to graze. What to do? That's one of the questions we're trying to figure out.
The other problem is using the glucometer to do the blood sugar test on his poor little ear. I suspect that it hurts me more than it does him. Our first attempt drew nothing to test with, and only served to traumatize him. He was beginning to tremble like when he goes to the vet. After all, he'd just had this done the day before.
This is new to all of us, and we're just muddling through the best we can. Our vet recommended we get a glucometer especially for cats for, oh, around $175. I did a little on-line research and discovered nearly everyone uses regular "human" glucometers. We took advice from someone who has worked with diabetic cats both personally and professionally, as well as humans, and got a $12 one from Wal-Mart. I expect that will be just fine, especially if we actually get a sample to work with.
Anyone have experience with diabetic cats?
Monday, March 1, 2010
Reusable Shopping Bags
Do you use reusuable shopping bags? They're everywhere these days. It's the green way to shop, and many stores offer them for sale, sometimes free or discounted with your purchase. Some stores even offer cents off your bill or a credit for using them. This is all good, and I use them too. My one complaint is that when the cashier or bagger puts as much as will possibly fit in the bag. If you have a lot of heavy items, this can make the bag too heavy to carry comfortably.
To all the baggers out there, please ask us before filling it to the brim, and offer plastic or paper bags for the excess if we don't have more reusuables.
Happy Birthday Part 2
Yes, there is more. I am fortunate to have some very wonderful friends, and they invited us to join them for dinner last night. Kevin worked his kitchen magic again and turned out a Spanish tortilla. Now this is a simple dish with few ingredients but it's authenticity will simply transport you. It was accompanied in the Spanish tradition with fresh, unadorned bread, and we had a Spanish-style Tempranillo along side to round out the experience.
The short story behind all the Spanish dishes is that Kevin's parents were missionaries, and they lived for a while in Spain. They brought back with them flavor of Spain in these recipes. Unfortunately I missed most of the preparation of this dish because I was in the other room catching up with Ashley. Kevin's mom, Pauline, joined us for dinner, too. It was a delightful evening as always, and topped off with Kevin's chocolate cake with praline icing. Absolutely delicious and better than many restaurant desserts.Quote of the Week
It's not who you are that holds you back, it's who you think you're not.
- Author Unknown
You have everything inside you that you need to succeed. You only fail when you don't look deep enough.
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