Post by Honeylioness on Jan 22, 2010 21:18:03 GMT -5
18 January 2010
Just a quick check-in, it's been a LONG day. A friend called for a chat early this morning until his wife got off work and they went to the vet with a sick puppy. He wanted to know how to make cornbread and a pot of beans to surprise her. I hope the puppy is OK. He didn't say what was wrong. Then I headed off to the chiropractor to be pushed around a bit. I wasn't expecting to have my physical therapy routine bumped up a notch or two. I came home and crawled up the steps in pain from the extra workout just in time to look out the window and see Miss Onyx streak across the yard after a big old stray cat twice her size. Across the yard, under the gate and down the alley with her tail puffed to three times normal size. While she was protecting her world TJ was curled up on the recliner on the deck. He raised his head from the cushion and looked with a sleepy squinty gaze and decided to let her take care of things. You should have seen her strut her way home.
Someone is dive-bombing my head from the back of my chair, I guess it is bedtime. Yup, TJ is already in bed, the last few nights he has waited until the light goes off then he uses his step stool to crawl up to snuggle with me (much to Onyx's disgust). He will lay his head on my wrist and grab my thumb with his paw and sleep "holding hands" for much of the night.
I'll check in tomorrow.
22 January 2010[/b]
this has been such a strange morning. It started off when Onyx woke me with her morning hug. She gives a mighty leap, landing on my chest then getting nose to nose to make sure i'm awake then hugs my neck and purrs in my ear. However, all this love and affection vanishes if i don't immediately make moves in the direction of the food bowl. I was more than willing to get moving today to banish the nightmare I had awakened from. I dreamed I was IRONING a T-shirt!
After banishing that horror I checked on TJ and decided I had to get him to the vet. There was a bloody spot on his jaw the size of a dime. Now visiting the vet is never an easy experience with him. Being born a feral cat he is never willing to give the decision making to me. Getting him into a carrier is never a given. Picking him up is never a given. Today I readied the carrier, PICKED HIM UP and popped him in the carrier with no objections from him. When I got to the vet he was yowling his displeasure but not hyperventilating. When he was on the table and the doctor started examining him he started PURRING! LOUD! Her comment, "what is wrong with you TJ?" (Turns out he must have been in a fight. Minor for the other cat, but serious for a cat of his advanced age.) After an injection of penicillin and anti-diarrheal he scurried into the carrier ready to depart ASAP. I was told to feed him baby food until he starts eating normally again. I am also to add yogurt to his diet. Go figure. I guess if it makes people regular it might help a cat. He has been following me around from room to room since we have been home. The vet told me to watch for behavioral changes that might signal the end. I wonder if purring for her was a signal. So I spent today, but there was enough in the envelope that I don't have to count it. I love filled envelopes.
23 January 2010
This has been a stressful day. I saw TJ in his basket about midnight last night but I couldn’t I find him this morning. By noon I was starting to panic and thinking of all the hidey-holes he could find in the house. About 1:00 he strolled up from the basement and into his basket. I can’t get him to eat more than a teaspoon of baby food every two or three hours. I’m not used to such a delicate appetite from him. But at least he is getting better! Tomorrow will be better.
25 January 2010[/u]
TJ is feeling better, I think. Saturday he hid out in the basement most of the day. Sunday he stayed on his basket in the den most of the day. Last night he was on the bed most of the night curled up against me. Saturday he ate about 2 teaspoons of baby food (turkey) and today he has already eaten about one tablespoon of baby food and I will try again later in the day. I'm glad no strangers walked past the window this morning to see the pile of bedding on the unmade bed with a kitty lounging in the midst of them being spoon fed baby food. That would be a hard one to explain. I also think he is on a slow path towards recovery because Onyx is not standing guard in whichever room he is in.
28 January 2010
TJ is definitely feeling better. He ate most of his food this morning and this evening. He sat by the door asking to go out so I opened the door and he just sat there. Finally I realized that stare really meant "I want to go out, Mom, but will you come out with me in case the bully cat is out there?" Hopefully, his courage will come back with his strength and health. Onyx is no longer hovering in the room where he is sleeping. I actually saw her wiggling and anticipating pouncing on his tail, at least until he turned and gave her "the look".
Just a quick check-in, it's been a LONG day. A friend called for a chat early this morning until his wife got off work and they went to the vet with a sick puppy. He wanted to know how to make cornbread and a pot of beans to surprise her. I hope the puppy is OK. He didn't say what was wrong. Then I headed off to the chiropractor to be pushed around a bit. I wasn't expecting to have my physical therapy routine bumped up a notch or two. I came home and crawled up the steps in pain from the extra workout just in time to look out the window and see Miss Onyx streak across the yard after a big old stray cat twice her size. Across the yard, under the gate and down the alley with her tail puffed to three times normal size. While she was protecting her world TJ was curled up on the recliner on the deck. He raised his head from the cushion and looked with a sleepy squinty gaze and decided to let her take care of things. You should have seen her strut her way home.
Someone is dive-bombing my head from the back of my chair, I guess it is bedtime. Yup, TJ is already in bed, the last few nights he has waited until the light goes off then he uses his step stool to crawl up to snuggle with me (much to Onyx's disgust). He will lay his head on my wrist and grab my thumb with his paw and sleep "holding hands" for much of the night.
I'll check in tomorrow.
22 January 2010[/b]
this has been such a strange morning. It started off when Onyx woke me with her morning hug. She gives a mighty leap, landing on my chest then getting nose to nose to make sure i'm awake then hugs my neck and purrs in my ear. However, all this love and affection vanishes if i don't immediately make moves in the direction of the food bowl. I was more than willing to get moving today to banish the nightmare I had awakened from. I dreamed I was IRONING a T-shirt!
After banishing that horror I checked on TJ and decided I had to get him to the vet. There was a bloody spot on his jaw the size of a dime. Now visiting the vet is never an easy experience with him. Being born a feral cat he is never willing to give the decision making to me. Getting him into a carrier is never a given. Picking him up is never a given. Today I readied the carrier, PICKED HIM UP and popped him in the carrier with no objections from him. When I got to the vet he was yowling his displeasure but not hyperventilating. When he was on the table and the doctor started examining him he started PURRING! LOUD! Her comment, "what is wrong with you TJ?" (Turns out he must have been in a fight. Minor for the other cat, but serious for a cat of his advanced age.) After an injection of penicillin and anti-diarrheal he scurried into the carrier ready to depart ASAP. I was told to feed him baby food until he starts eating normally again. I am also to add yogurt to his diet. Go figure. I guess if it makes people regular it might help a cat. He has been following me around from room to room since we have been home. The vet told me to watch for behavioral changes that might signal the end. I wonder if purring for her was a signal. So I spent today, but there was enough in the envelope that I don't have to count it. I love filled envelopes.
23 January 2010
This has been a stressful day. I saw TJ in his basket about midnight last night but I couldn’t I find him this morning. By noon I was starting to panic and thinking of all the hidey-holes he could find in the house. About 1:00 he strolled up from the basement and into his basket. I can’t get him to eat more than a teaspoon of baby food every two or three hours. I’m not used to such a delicate appetite from him. But at least he is getting better! Tomorrow will be better.
25 January 2010[/u]
TJ is feeling better, I think. Saturday he hid out in the basement most of the day. Sunday he stayed on his basket in the den most of the day. Last night he was on the bed most of the night curled up against me. Saturday he ate about 2 teaspoons of baby food (turkey) and today he has already eaten about one tablespoon of baby food and I will try again later in the day. I'm glad no strangers walked past the window this morning to see the pile of bedding on the unmade bed with a kitty lounging in the midst of them being spoon fed baby food. That would be a hard one to explain. I also think he is on a slow path towards recovery because Onyx is not standing guard in whichever room he is in.
28 January 2010
TJ is definitely feeling better. He ate most of his food this morning and this evening. He sat by the door asking to go out so I opened the door and he just sat there. Finally I realized that stare really meant "I want to go out, Mom, but will you come out with me in case the bully cat is out there?" Hopefully, his courage will come back with his strength and health. Onyx is no longer hovering in the room where he is sleeping. I actually saw her wiggling and anticipating pouncing on his tail, at least until he turned and gave her "the look".