I finally went to the doctor this week. They ran a whole battery of tests and everything came up normal, so for the moment we're just assuming that I've got some sort of a virus.
And to add insult to injury, the weather here has been absolutely beautiful! February is normally the coldest month here, with snow and winter in full force. But this year we've had sunshine and temps in the 60's! But instead of being out enjoying it all, I've been laying on the couch whimpering.
Anyhow, I still feel a little bit crummy, but hopefully I'm on the mend and I'll be able to get out there an enjoy some biking and early gardening soon!
In the meantime, all of the nice weather has meant that hairball season has arrived early. Yup - there's a whole lotta barfin' goin' on around here!
So the other day, I was mindlessly reaching for my hand lotion, when I almost got a nasty surprise!
Look at this:
Not sure if I'm just inexplicably drawn to products that come in green tubes, or if there's some sort of a conspiracy out there against absent minded people! But this looks like a mishap in the making to me!
Thankfully I caught my error before I slathered hairball treatment all over myself!
Anyhoo... that's the news from the funny farm. Hope you're all enjoying a pleasant February!
Hope you get past that virus. Even though you describe it as just general yuck, it still needs to go away.
ReplyDeleteFunny about the green tubes. Yea, it would be an easy mistake.
Thanks Cheryl, I'm hoping that it's over soon!
DeleteHope there's a turn around soon in how you feel. Do your cats have a hairball season? With the warm weather, do they shed more? I've never noticed a season with mine. One of the other of them is always trying to bring up a hairball.
ReplyDeleteI used to treat for hairballs, but the vet said recently that they have changed their mind about them. They don't treat them, and then when it's gone, the cat just eats a little more and all is back to normal.
My cats definitely have a shedding season. I'm not sure if it's triggered by weather or light or what, but there's a minor shed in the fall and a major one in the spring.
DeleteI don't worry about hairballs if the cat is able to either barf them up or pass them easily. Smoky generally doesn't have too many problems so I don't worry about him. But Jasper gets them more often and has more trouble with them than his brother.
One time he tried to pass one and it got impacted - the poor little thing... he got completely backed up and his abdomen swelled up like a balloon. Thankfully he was able to pass it with the assistance of the meds because there was talk of surgery if that didn't work.
So I have to keep an eye on him, and when he starts showing signs of having trouble passing one (unsuccessful attempts to bring one up, diarrhea, barfing up foam etc.) he gets dosed pretty well with the goop. Thankfully he thinks the stuff is delicious!
Luckily, we've (the cats) have never had diarrhea from a hair ball. Occasionally, it takes them several attempts to get one all the way up, but eventually it comes. Not surprisingly, Lucy used to get the most hairballs because she was the best groomer.
DeleteHope you're a little better today and every day. I imagine that when you've been sick for this long, it's going to take a while before you're back to normal.
Thanks June, I'm continuing to improve. My step-mom (the doctor) thinks I may have actually had a mild case of the mumps! I didn't get the chipmunk cheeks, but definitely had pain and swelling in other salivary glands, and there's been an outbreak here in Denver. I remember getting an MMR booster in my 20's, but apparently the immunity can wear off.
DeleteAnyhow, if that was indeed a "mild" case, I sure wouldn't wish the real thing on my worst enemy!
Hope you're feeling better and back on the bike soon!
ReplyDeleteThanks Melissa, I think I'm on the mend so hopefully there will be some spokes in my near future! :-)
DeleteSo glad to see a post from you. I have been wondering. Sorry you're ill, and hope you improve quickly.
ReplyDeleteYikes - those green bottles are so alike.
Have you heard from Eco Grandma? I have not had a post from her in quite a while, and had become worried about her. When I tried to get her blog yesterday I got a message that she had been hacked.
Although i rarely comment, I enjoy your blog very much. We have two cats and one dog. This morning the newest cat (we've had her about 6 weeks) was following the older cat and as usual the older cat protested loudly. Our 7 year old boy (human) said "I wish I lived in a peace house." When I asked him what he meant, he said that the two cats don't bring 'peace'. I worry how long this adjustment phase will take for the older cat to tolerate the young one who follows her everywhere!
Hi Jan,
DeleteThanks so much for your comment! Yup, Lois got hacked. After a week or two of trying to fix it, she finally gave up and just started a new blog. You can find her here: https://livingindenim.wordpress.com/
In terms of the cats - I'd say that if the kitten is following the other one that's a good sign. As long as there isn't fur flying and bloodshed I think she's on her way to tolerating the little one.
My experience is that female cats seldom form strong bonds with other cats unless they're related (litter mates or mom & kitten). Apparently they're sorta wired to have separate territories in the "wild." So I'd expect that eventually they will each carve out their own spots in the house - but be sure to give your adult kitty lots of love right now because it can be very traumatic for them when they feel like their position in the home is threatened. Hope it gets better soon!
THANK YOU for your information about Lois - and also about the cats. We have been trying to be extra caring for our older cat, she is very 'touchy' these days - hissing at us, and even snapping at the dog, something she never did before. We have two cat litter boxes now, but the new kitten seems to prefer the older one's box. That's a problem we've been trying to remedy, but to no avail. I really enjoy your blog & your cat-writings & cat-pictures.
DeleteWell... if it gets bad, you can always try separating them into different rooms or sections of the house. Some people have reported good luck with that system - letting the new kitten establish its own territory, litter box etc. I only did that once as a last resort when I had two warring females who just couldn't get along. Unfortunately for us it ended up being a permanent thing because they never could get along without bloodshed.
DeleteI hope you feel better soon. That is funny about all the green tubes.
ReplyDeleteThanks! CatMan was joking that perhaps I just have a hairball myself! :-)
DeleteI think you need to wrap masking tape around the hairball medication tube, just in case!
ReplyDeleteSo sorry you've been ill. So frustrating for you! At least you have your cat to talk to. I have conversations like that with my cat--he has a whiny voice when he really wants something (food or to be put to bed)--it cracks us up.
Thanks so much for your well wishes, and you know, it would never have occurred to me to mark the tube somehow so it looks different! Apparently I'm more of a "curse the darkness" kind of a girl... :-)
DeleteAnyhow, aren't talking cats hilarious? Smoky even talks to CatMan on the phone. The funniest is when he wants to wrestle with Jasper, but Jasper doesn't want to play. Smoky will try and try to get him to play but eventually he gives up and goes off down the hall crying inconsolably until I go and comfort him. He's such a sweet baby!
I had to mark my cooking spray at Christmas. Aldi has a "regular" version and a baking version (with flour added). They are in the same color can and I used the baking version when I wanted to saute something, which was not ideal, so I pulled out my handy-dandy Sharpie and marked up the baking version. My brain needs these prompts. :)
DeleteI read somewhere that cats tend to get more vocal with their humans than they would be with other cats.
Now, that just seems like poor marketing on the part of the people making the cooking spray!
DeleteWhat was more alarming to me was when a coworker's husband thought he was buying a gluten-free food item (because the boxes looked very similar) and fed it to his son with with a celiac disorder. Poor kid got very sick from eating it. The dad, of course, was horrified, but I think the manufacturer needed to make it more visually obvious.
DeleteYikes! That could be really dangerous!
DeleteSorry to hear you've been feeling grotty. I hope you feel better soon. If it's any consolation, I haven't been able to appreciate the lovely weather here, either (bright and sunny, but cold) as I've been stuck behind a computer, proofreading for my husband. When I started this, I thought I might try to get more of this kind of work, but now I'm not so sure!
ReplyDeleteOY! I think I'd rather be sick than have to be stuck doing proofreading. Of course, I may be the worst proofreader on the planet, so I'm pretty sure nobody in their right mind would want me to do it! Here's hoping we both get to enjoy some outdoor time soon!
DeleteSorry you've been sick; that sounds miserable. I hope you feel better soon, and that the warm weather lasts so you can go out and enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteThanks Danielle... I think I am better enough to call myself cured - and I'm really hoping for a bike ride tomorrow!
DeleteSorry you've been feeling yucky but at least you've been able to sit in the sun. The Smoky video is just too cute. What a charmer he is!
ReplyDeleteHe's the cutiest!!!
DeleteSo sorry you are still feeling sick I hope it's over soon for you. After winter even sick I'd be sitting outside if we had a 70 degree day.
ReplyDeletePoor Smoky! I understood him perfectly, he was saying "How come I can't go outside too?" Speaking of your cats, I didn't know they made hairball treatment. Good thing you caught that one.
Thankfully I'm feeling much better - now I'm just trying to play catch up on everything that I didn't do while I was laying on the couch for several weeks!
DeleteI may try taking Smoky out on a leash - CatMan's cat love it. I tried once a few years ago, and he sorta freaked out - he pretty much froze in place! But we'll see... maybe he'll decide it's fun this time!
Are you feeling better? I love that you can still keep your sense of humor, even when you're feeling crappy. On a practical note, I just added "hairball treatment" to my shopping list. If this prevented a few hurking episodes with our kitty Jackson, both of our lives would improve immensely. One more thing - I laughed out loud when I saw that you tagged your post with the label "whining." Ha! xo
ReplyDelete"whining" yes... I'm a firm believer in truth in advertising. Anyhow, I'm feeling much better now, just trying to dig out from all the chores that didn't get done while I was sick. Too bad cats can't be taught to do laundry!
DeleteGood luck with the hairball stuff - thought it's probably best to only use it if your cat is having symptoms of not being able to bring one up - it's got mineral oil in it which can interfere with their ability to absorb certain nutrients if used frequently. I think plain old petroleum jelly is safe for daily hairball prevention, though neither of my cats will go near it!