Diabetes stikes again!

Some days, I feel like it's a never-ending loop of going to the vet, stressing about how I'm paying for it, and which cat is sicker and needs to get an appointment. In this last month and a half alone, I have spent well over $1,500 on vet appointments, tests, and medicine.

While I'm trying to cope with the sudden loss of Rollie, feeling like a failure - Clara ends up needing a vet appointment. Some days it's truly hard to determine if this is just her usual MO or if this is a new issue. She never uses a litter box with regular litter in it. We got a special litter box for her that uses these pellets that don't break down when they get wet. The pee filters down to a tray on the bottom, and poop sits on top for me to scoop. It's hit or miss if she will actually use that. More often, she ends up using a puppy pad taped to the floor or uses an empty litter box with a puppy pad taped inside it.

She started peeing in the laundry room in two spots. I wanted to chalk it up to a change in the pecking order with Rollie gone. It unsettles the cats when we lose one, and they all act a bit different. Gene was like, nope, something is wrong. Off to the vet we go, with me saying I absolutely cannot afford this visit. Side note: I generally pay for all the cat expenses, whether it's meds, vet visits, food, litter, or toys. Gene says he'll cover this visit. To which I say, awesome, thanks - BUT it's going to be $200+ knowing it's an office charge and at least pull a urine sample. He still says he'll cover it.

So, we go - where Clara behaves amazingly. Just looking at everyone with her big green eyes, purring and being super chill. We get all the things done: Exam, Urine Sample, Ultrasound, full bloodwork panel, and a complimentary nail clip. Immediately we rule out a UTI, determine that her urine is extremely diluted, and say bloodwork will confirm, but looking like 1 of 3 things - Thyroid, Kidney, or Diabetes. None of which fall into a simple, easy, and cheap-to-manage category.

So we wait a week for blood work to come back. Dr. B calls and says, "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but she's diabetic." I laugh and say we kind of figured that would be the case. Her brother has it, so it makes sense it's genetic. Gene and I are not thrilled to be doing more daily meds and testing for financial and time reasons, but we are doing it. Like all our cats, she's getting top-notch care, all the love, and has no idea how much it's costing.

Fortunately (I guess?), there's a new medicine for pets that have never been on insulin before. It's an oral medicine given once a day (24 hours apart), we test her ketones with urine testers. So the meds are roughly $250 for potentially a 3-month supply. The ketone test strips are much cheaper, less than $10 for 50 testers. I'm glad now she doesn't use the regular litter as it makes testing her pee very easy!

So, fingers crossed we can continue using this new medicine for her. She doesn't need to go on a strict scheduled diet and can continue being a first-floor cat who goes upstairs for a different flavor of food when she wants.

I know this isn't the last vet appointment we will have, but I would be happy to have a break from all the vet appointments. There are so many other things I want to spend my money on! Bankrolling my vet's office is not one of them!

Hug those fur kids tight, treat them well, and cherish your healthy days!

Till our tails cross again,

Mel

Date days with the hubby!

Many of my friends know, Gene and I are extreme opposites on every level. That's not a bad thing in any way; it just means it's harder for us to find something we both want to do and can enjoy time together. His perfect day is spent inside working on projects on the computer. Maybe it's programming, playing a video game, or studying - but it's definitely inside and revolves around finding ways to advance himself and not spending money. Me, on the other hand, I am always ready to go, looking for an adventure, day trips, or some fun activity to do, a little less worried about saving.

At any rate, a few weeks ago we had planned to go to Knoebels with friends on a Friday. However, the weather decided to not cooperate and called for rain ALL day. After all but 1 friend cancelled, we decided to stay home. He worked on computer stuff, and I had a movie

day with Rachael. Still a great day off from work. We had both been looking forward to walking around Knoebel's, so we decided to go on Sunday instead. The weather was iffy, but we figured we should go for it; if need be, we would just go home. It ended up being perfect - no rain, not too hot. We rode a few rides, got some drinks/food, had great conversation, and then went home. The perfect ending to our day was seeing the newest Deadpool movie. We hadn't gone to the movies in over a year, so that alone was a nice treat.

I don't typically like Marvel movies, but for some reason I LOVE Deadpool. It was a great movie. It truly is a movie that is rated R for a good reason, so if you are the right age, check it out. It's something I want to rewatch as there are some hidden jokes that I missed the first time!

We did go back to Knoebels a second time, which ended up being a day of double dates. Before we met up with anyone, we just walked around, got a drink, and enjoyed the cool morning. First, we met our neighbors' daughter and her boyfriend. I ran to meet them as they were next in line for a roller coaster, leaving Gene at the exit to wait for us. The four of us continued to walk and get on rides, with Gene being the bag holder, patiently waiting for us at the end of each ride. It was great to catch up with them; O is leaving for college, and A is a senior in high school. Lots of big changes are coming their way.

We leave them to enjoy the rest of their day and meet up with Janine and Nick - who are finishing up their lunch. Gene and Nick chat about programming, Janine and I chat about a bunch of different stuff. We head off to hit more rides where Gene once again patiently waits for us to get off the rides. The weather forecast kept saying chance of rain, but no rain actually happened at the park. We are in line for a trackless coaster - one of my favorite rides, when there's literally one flash of lightning. We are pretty much at the front of the line when they say due to the weather they are shutting down the ride, we all have to go back and get our ride tickets back since we can't ride. What a bummer! We take that time to get a snack and ride some other rides that don't get shut down.

Overall, the double date day was fun all around. Good conversations, great company, and lots of fun. Gene even got on one ride because he said people were giving him weird looks when he was waiting for us on the last ride. My favorite part of both our days at Knoebel's - the car ride! We have great conversations in the car with no distractions. Sometimes they get heated - hello politics. I love that we can pass the time in the car chatting, and it's a quality conversation not just about how our day was.

We do have another date day planned - a day at the beach. It's just a day trip, we both have different things we want to do. Me - sit on the beach and read, maybe walk and find shells. Him - walk the boardwalk, get pizza and browse the shops. Here's to another great day spent with my husband, as we are finding things to do together!

Til our tails cross again,

Mel

Cats Rule & Dogs Drool

How much truth is there to the statement Cats Rule & Dogs Drool? While dogs are notorious for drool and sloppy drinking habits, cats are far from being drooler's and sloppy drinkers. Most of the time that is. I have been doing lots of pet sitting and over night stays with dogs. This has been a reminder of just how different they are from the cats with eating and drinking.

I house-sit for quite a few dogs, and honestly, none of them are really big on drooling. They are just really messy with the water bowl - either slurping and then walking away with their mouths open but still full of water, so it's dripping everywhere. Just last week, Blu, a little Frenchie, was blowing bubbles in her water dish. We took her for a walk and had a dish of water that she would stick her whole nose into (practically up to her eyeballs!) and blow bubbles. She would walk away and then come back for her official drink of water. I'm not quite sure what that's about, but honestly, it is the most adorable thing ever!

I sit for Scout - a German Shepherd that I love. She is protective, adorable, and big. She is a very messy drinker. Starting with - she prefers the toilet bowl water over her fresh, clean bowl of water. I guess the toilet water is always nice and cool! But that being said, there is absolutely a line of water drops from the toilet to wherever she lands in the house - on the couch, sprawled on the floor, or upstairs in bed. Thank God it's clean water!

As for the cats in my life - they are absolutely more finicky about drinking. Cats are notorious for running more on the dehydrated side of life. Just my cats alone, have 8 water bowls available at all times to them. All of them different sizes and shapes - three of them are "moving" water, the rest flat water in different sizes/shapes of containers. By far they prefer the moving water. We created a bubbling water fountain for them that most of them prefer. The bubble piece is a smooth piece of ceramic so it keeps the water cooler than just a dish of water and it keeps the water flowing. They are most drawn to the very top where the water literally bubbles and then falls as a thin layer down the rounded ball. Double win in their book for water drinking. Sometimes for a little added entertainment they will dip their paws in the water, make little waves and then have a drink. Occasionally if a toilet seat gets left up, they inspect - getting toilet water on their noses and paws and tracking it everywhere while looking for some nose bumps.

Back to the finicky water drinking - put a cat and dog side by side while they drink, hands down a dog will ingest more water in the same amount of time than a cat will. Not so

shocking, especially because cats are very particular about not getting overly wet when drinking, taking little sips all the time. On occasion, my cats like to "water" their toys and I'll find them floating in the water bowls. They haven't done that since I added a moving whale to one of the bowls. It has the ability to move around, but I just leave it floating in the bowl. No more picking out soggy cloth toys from the drinking bowl. I have yet to see a dog water his toy in such a manner.

Cats may rule the world, but some do drool - take Roughy for instance. The right amount of attention in the right setting and he drools enough to leave a wet spot under his chin. None of my others have picked up drooling yet. But the potential is out there.

Dogs absolutely drool - given all the right circumstances, but in no way can you say Dogs Rule and Drool! Dogs just don't rule like cats do; they certainly lack the attitude that is natural to cats. Dogs rule in a more cute & innocent way. I'm more likely to sneak treats to a dog than a cat because dogs will eat just about anything. Meanwhile, the cats will turn their nose up if the treat isn't the right flavor, shape, brand, or the timing for a treat is wrong.

Leading me to - yep, cats are finicky about food. It takes twice as long to feed a cat and give them medicine if it must be taken with food or mixed in. While dogs, you can put their pills in cheese, a pill pocket, covered in peanut butter, and they have no idea you just medicated them. Cats absolutely know if you added meds to their food or a treat. Mix meds into a dog's food, they still eat their meal in 2.5 seconds. Mix meds into a cat's food 30 minutes later, and you're still walking behind them coaxing them to eat the last of the medication/food mix. This became blatantly obvious this week while doing cat drop-in visits. In the time it took me to scoop litter and handwash cat plates, the medicated food was still being eaten, very slowly.

Cats Rule, sometimes Drool.

Dogs Drool, sometimes Rule.

Till our tails cross again,

Mel