What a week

This last week and a half, starting on Monday 8/13, has been kind of a rough one for just about every member of our little family, including the four-legged variety.

Hyperion
On Saturday we noticed Hyperion wasn't feeling too well.  He tried to go to the litter box, then came out and laid under the end table yowling loudly.  He's done this before and it usually passes after an hour or so.  This time, not so much.  I looked up the name and information of an emergency vet in our area and then I had to go to work.  Nathan felt that if we watched Hyperion on Saturday and he wasn't better the next day, we could take him to the vet. 

I wasn't at work an hour when a co-worker told me Nathan was on the phone.  He was at the e-vet in Aurora with Hyperion (having dropped Elijah off at his parents' house).  He told me he had watched Hyperion try to use the litter box again, and the poor little guy fell over.  We found out Hyperion had a blocked urinary system, which apparently is common in male cats.  Unfortunately, the sure-fire fix cost much more than we were comfortable spending on the cat.  Instead, they catheterized him and sent Nathan home with a bunch of medications for this week including an IV bag for subcutaneous fluid injections.

It's been kind of dicey on whether or not we thought he was going to make it through the week. On Monday night, Nathan even made the comment "If he makes it to tomorrow..."  But today he seems much better.  He's been walking around with his tail up and eating and even got into a little trouble.


Hecate
One of the only family members having a good week is Hecate.  Hyperion's illness means we've been leaving canned food out for him to try to get some fluid into him.  They have also been accessible to her.  Also, we felt bad that we've been keeping them closed downstairs for the summer so we could keep the nursery door open.  So on Saturday night, we closed the nursery door and opened the stair door.  She has been enjoying the opportunity to sleep on our bed again.


Me
Last Monday Nathan and I woke up bright and early and drove down to Chicago.  Unfortunately, we were not going there to enjoy ourselves.  I was scheduled to have a cardiac catheterization.   Basically, the doctors make small incisions in the femoral artery and slip a tube in and run it up to the heart so they can watch the blood flow around and measure pressures and things.  I've had this procedure many, many times before and it is probably my least favorite.

To make it worse, everyone at the hospital seemed confused about what kind of cath I was having.  They kept saying "right heart cath" but all my paperwork said "bilateral," meaning they were going in on both sides and not just the right.  After the procedure I had to stay flat for six hours so I didn't rupture the closures over the incision sites.


We got home around 9 pm Monday night.  Thankfully Tuesday my mother and in-laws were all free.  I was so sick I had to spend the whole day in bed.  And someone had to look after Elijah.  Poor Elijah, I was not allowed to pick him up for three days after the procedure.  It was fine on Tuesday, because the grandparents were there.  Wednesday and Thursday were not so fun...


Elijah
Really, he was kind of a lucky little guy because he got to spend a lot of time with his grandparents.  My dad and mom watched him while we were in Chicago, and then of course he had everyone's attention on Tuesday.  Wednesday I took the day off work, and since wasn't allowed to carry him around we spent the whole day playing on the floor in the nursery.  Eventually, he got very bored.  Thursday he was having teething pain from his second tooth.  All he wants when his gums hurt is for Mama to hold him and walk around, but of course, I couldn't do that.  It was the most heart-breaking thing ever to stand up and have him reach up his little arms, screaming to be picked up and cuddled, and know I couldn't do it.  Friday, and every day since then have been better.

Nathan
Probably the busiest of all of us has been Nathan.  First he had to sit with me in that boring cath lab waiting/recovery room, then he had to take care of me.  Then he was the one home when Hyperion got sick.  On Monday he had to come home at lunch and help me give Hyperion his medications, because medicating a cat is not easy.

Hopefully this coming week will be easier/less stressful/healthier.
 

The "Holy Crap" List

Our social worker is coming to inspect the house on October 15.  I have no idea how old this house is as a structure.  It has a history as a carriage house before it was turned into a home, so it is quite old.  It was also badly treated in the recent past.  So, we have quite a few things  to do around the house.

1. Clean and organize our breezeway (the space is newly bereft of our old refrigerator and I hope it will make a good mudroom)
2. Clean both bathrooms and wash/scrape the walls.  The paint needs a good touching up.
3. Clean and organize every room
4. Sweep and mop all floors
5. Sweep garage and basement
6. Adjust temperature on water heater
7. Trim the lovely vine that grows up the trellis on one side of our house
8. Reattach the downspouts to the garage
9. Hang and put batteries in smoke detectors/CO detector

 There are also quite a few things we need to do outside the house

• The cats need rabies shots and I was hoping we could get Hyperion professionally groomed (he needs it)
• We need to have our fingerprints done
• We have a few finance matters to get ironed out
• We need to get our references back from friends 
• We have to purchase a fire extinguisher
• Some of the pictures we submitted for the parent profile were rejected because they were too blurry so we need to find a time and someone with a good camera and have a bunch of pictures of us retaken

We also have a series of 3 adoption classes on Thursday nights beginning October 14.  Our anniversary is the 21st (it's our fourth, we'll be in class).  But then on the 22nd we're going out for a nice dinner and to a play.

As you can see, the next few weeks are going to be quite hectic for us as we try to get our home ready for our home visit.  By the way, if you're in the area and bored one day, please feel free to stop by and help out!

Happy Halloween

We hope you all had a fun and happy Halloween. We were excited all season, hoping to have trick-or-treaters for the first time since we got married, since we are living in the house now. We were not disappointed, we have had several groups of children and a few teenagers stop by for candy. I stock piled chocolate and fruit candy and yesterday Pam gave me a whole bag of individually bagged SweetTarts that the library is trying to get rid of.

We carved pumpkins at my parents' house a few nights ago. I picked out Nathan's design of the Headless Horseman and he picked out the Raven with witch silhouette that I carved. I think Nathan's looks much better.
He even carved the little face on the pumpkin the Headless Horseman is about to throw...it's so cool.
I didn't realize until I was finished carving it what was so weird about the witch part. The witche's hat is not pointed like we're used it, it's flat...like a fedora.

We even took our traditional "cat hat" picture. This year I asked Nathan to hold the cats so they would sit still for the picture.

Life in an Ice Box

Nathan tried to turn our heat on last week. Nothing happened. I don't know quite how things got confused, but there is an east and west of our street and we live on east. The gas company seems to think we live on west. Nathan had to fax them a copy of our lease, a copy of his driver's license and a few other things to try and prove to them we do in fact live where we say we do.

It was fine not to have heat least week. It wasn't that cold. I put flannel sheets on the bed and we just dealt, mostly. It made the cats a little more cuddly, trying to absorb our heat. It's not so fine this week. While I was gone this weekend, Nathan, who probably should have gone to spend the weekend with his mom and dad, just borrowed some of their space heaters and set them up in the bedroom. Now, we have enough heat in our room, but the rest of the house is at the very least, chilly.

This is fine during the day, since I spend most of my time at my desk in the bedroom anyway, but it's doing nothing for the pile of dirty dishes in the kitchen or the pile of bills on the desk in Nathan's office.

We were told it would be anywhere from five to ten days before we had heat.

Under the knife

We really hoped we wouldn't have to do it to him...

We got Hecate's claws out when she was six months old, because she used them on us....mostly me. But Hyperion has never clawed us and we thought we could just let him keep them. It's true, it makes his fights with Hecate a little one-sided, what with his being twice her size as well. But after what Hecate went through, and what we went through because of her, we thought it would be better if Hyperion could just keep his claws.

Then, he started using them on the furniture. He very nearly ruined one arm of the couch I bought for the sun room. We've given up on the couch in the living room, and he claws the wooden furniture as well, making troughs and puncture marks. Now, it's worth more to us to have the claws out, than to let him continue to ruin things. So, next Thursday, he's going to the vet and having his front claws taken off. Poor little guy.

The Adventures of Half-Cat and Fat-Cat

Hyperion had a bad weekend, see two blog posts ago. But that was nothing...nothing...compared to what Hecate put me through this morning.

I woke up and made breakfast, toast, and didn't see her anywhere. (Side note: she lost her collar in the house somewhere last week and we still haven't been able to find it.) This is strange because she usually follows me everywhere, and loves bread, so toast is enough to make her come running.

I came back upstairs to check the news and the blogs I read and get ready to start applying for jobs for the day and still didn't see her. I started to get concerned, so I went and looked under the new couch, where she likes to hide and she wasn't there. I checked all the other rooms and could not find her, so I started to panic.

For those of you who don't know, Hecate has a habit of turning up in very strange places when I don't know where she is, like inside my in-laws' couch or behind a wall. But this time she didn't seem to be anywhere. Finally I went to the side door and looked out and there she was, sitting on the stoop outside...OUTSIDE...meowing. I hadn't closed the inside door, so I was standing in our breeze way with Hecate outside and Hyperion right next to me. I was terrified to open the door because Hyperion would try to slip out.

I put him back inside and opened the door, to call to Hecate and she ran from me into the bushes and I couldn't see her. I ran back into the house and called Nathan at work, who asked if I wanted him to come home. I assured him I didn't, (he came anyway) and called my dad, who said to put some food out and call him back later if I still hadn't found her. My mom was at work and my in-laws weren't home, though I left them a rather panicked message.

So it was left to me to run around the house and put little dishes of cat food at all the doors and sit on the front stoop and cry (this was partially a lure, usually when I cry Hecate comes to console me.) But this time she didn't. I circled the house calling for her. I checked the food dishes repeatedly and didn't see her. Finally, I stood on the stoop in front of the house and looked into the bushes. There, I could barely see her back as she lay in the bushes. I ran around behind them and she walked to the front, so I ran to the front and grabbed her by the neck and pulled her out.

I was so happy, but Hyperion was sitting at the door when I wanted to put Hecate inside, so I couldn't just open it. And I waited too long...she jumped out of my arms and back into the front bushes again. About five minutes later, Pam showed up and I accidentally chased Hecate out of the bushes around the side of the house. Nathan came home about two seconds later and the search continued. Eventually we found her laying close to the foundation at the side of the house. She let Nathan pick her up and we got her safely inside.

Nathan didn't remember seeing her this morning, either, so the closest we can figure is that he went out for a cigarette last night and she followed him out. But it was dark and she is dark and now soundless without her collar, so he didn't realize it. So she was outside all night last night.

All the doors and windows are now closed, but if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go check and make sure she's still under the couch.

Kitty Sign Language

We've had a cat now for almost two years, and I've learned a few things about them, or at least about Hecate and Hyperion.

When Hecate needs to use the litter box, she needs it NOW and if it is unavailable, or below her standards, she will use whatever box is at hand. Fortunately, she does give us a few signals first. Usually a fairly reticent animal, she will become vocal and clingy, wandering around my feet and whining. Then she climbs into whatever box is nearby. She did that the other day when the litter box's cleanliness was not up to her standards. I noticed her start to squat and jumped up to clean the litter box. Cats always seem to get what they want.

Every day, when I sit down at my computer to start looking through the job listings, almost without fail, Hyperion will decide that is the very second he needs attention. He'll come sit by my chair and whine, and for such a big cat, he has a very small high pitched whine. Then he'll wander closer to the chair and try to rub his cheek on my foot or hand, or whatever is closest.

Ever since we moved, and are now at ground-level, instead of the second floor, Hyperion's main activity seems to be looking out the window. And opening the blinds, as in making them lay flat so you can see out, is not enough for him. He'll pull a few slats down with his paw and stick his head through them so he can see better. I call him "nosy neighbor kitty." I haven't been able to get a picture of him doing it yet, but it is vaguely hilarious.

25

Today is my twenty-fifth birthday. I am spending it with Nathan and most of my family and my good friend Jules. My dad made pizza, and his pizza is my favorite food.

Here is a list of 25 things you may not know about me:

1. I am afraid of any bug with more than two eyes.
2. I hold onto three impossible dreams from my childhood: to climb Mount Everest, to live a summer in the Antarctic, and to compete in the Iditarod.
3. I aspire to be more like my sister-in-law, Janelle.
4. Every day, I think about the three months I lived in England, and if Nathan agreed to go, I would move back in a second.
5. I have one weird superstitious quirk, when I write, I get freaked out if I have to use anything other than a blue ballpoint Papermate pen.
6. I think my sister's name: Anne Cecilia, is the most beautiful.
7. The thought of putting in my contacts is enough to make me not want to get out of bed.
8. I hated my wedding dress.
9. I consider Anne and Elizabeth my best friends. (Nathan has moved above best friend status.)
10. I still hate taking my medicine every morning.
11. I'm extremely susceptible to nightmares.
12. When Nathan is gone overnight, I have to sleep with the closet light on.
13. I can recognize qualities I admire in people I don't.
14. Books are my favorite presents.
15. Giving up my maiden name is one of the hardest things I've ever done. If I weren't too afraid of needles, I'd get it tattooed on my hip.
16. I will do almost any chore before washing dishes.
17. I realize he was not the best actor, but I love every movie John Wayne ever made. They help me relax when I'm stressed.
18. I love getting to see my brother Nate and sister-in-law Alicia.
19. My friend Bonnie is one of my favorite people to have a conversation with.
20. Any day I don't write, I feel I've wasted.
21. My favorite thing about my life is my big family.
22. Nathan and I have favorite cats: mine is Hecate, his is Hyperion.
23. I actually do miss Macomb.
24. The only state I have ever lived in is Illinois.
25. I am lucky enough to have parents and in-laws I love.

Kitty update

Nathan took Hyperion to the vet today. Apparently he was just very constipated. However, because his fur is so long, his poops were getting suck to his butt. So his butt became infected and inflamed. They gave us a tuna-flavored kitty laxative to make sure it doesn't happen again. We also have butt cream so the swelling will go down and an antibiotic.

Other than that he seems fine. He's even walking around with his tail held up again, which I take as a good sign.

Thanks, Jules, for referring us to the vet, Nathan said he was good.

Poor Hyperion--Warning...disgusting content

This Saturday, Hyperion is one year old. At a year old, you're supposed to switch cats to cat food from kitten food. Hecate has been a year old since last August, but to save money we've been keeping her on kitten food until Hyperion was ready too.

Normally, the food switch is pretty academic. They get sick for a day or two but then they are okay. And it was really easy with Hecate. Hyperion, however, has a sensitive gastrointestinal tract and the switch has been very difficult for him.

He was sick and throwing up for a couple days and, I think because of his inactivity, he acquired a rather interesting odor. But, he started to look better on Sunday. He was moving around and playing and all kinds of things.

Then, suddenly and inexplicably, two days ago things took another bad turn. He started vomiting again and got a little lackadaisical. He also started smelling bad again.

Then, we found out why. His little butt was matted with catpoop. We did our best to clean it using paper towels, a wet washrag, scissors, Nathan's pocket knife, and even a partially filled lukewarm bathtub. We were able to remove most of the poop, but his little bumhole seemed stuck open and we don't know if that is just because he still has to poop or he is having serious trouble.

Our poor little guy.

Easter news

For those who were concerned, which mostly means my immediate family, Hyperion seems to have come through the food switch just fine...if a little stinky.

For those who don't know what I'm talking about, Hyperion will be a year old this week, so we switched to adult cat food this past week and Hyperion has a very sensitive little stomach. He became very sick. I wasn't sure he was going to make it. He threw up all over the house and other than that just laid around. For some reason this two days of inactivity gave him a really foul odor. But today he's been following us around and he seems to be feeling much better. Hecate was queezy for a couple hours, but not nearly as sick.

We hope you all had a good Easter, we spent the morning and early afternoon with my family having brunch in Oregon, like we do every year. Then we went to Nathan's parents', but Pam was working on hours of bookkeeping and we didn't want to distract her, so we went home and raked at least three years of leaves and burned some of them.

All in all a productive day.

While we were at Nathan's parents' we took advantage of being dressed up and having someone on hand with a good camera and Craig took a picture for us. We have so few of the two of us not from the wedding.

Happy Halloween

This isn't only the first year we've had a pumpkin, it's also the first year we've both dressed up. Nathan's office had a costume party for which he was one of for to come dressed and my department decided independently to celebrate the holiday.




While it may look like Nathan dressed up as Nathan, he's really Indiana Jones...or a farmer. He decided to let everyone else pick which one he was.





I have wanted to dress as the Wicked Witch of the East for quite a while. I already had the outfit except for the socks and hat. The shirt is one of my favorites and the skirt is actually the lower half of my only good formal dress. After wearing it all day I remembered why I try not to for more than a couple hours, there is a layer of crenoline lining the bottom of the skirt, which makes it really itchy, and later really painful to sit on. I've had the shoes for a couple of months and everyone at work loved them with the socks.




Do you see two Hecates? Her little doppleganger was a present from Elizabeth, my youngest sister, and one of Hecate's biggest fans. It is roughly the same size as the real Hecate and I'm not sure how she feels about it. She knocks it over, but I don't know if she's playing or trying to destroy it.

My Husband the Poet

We have two cats. Nathan is very definite that this does not make us "cat people" just animal people with cats. My family has always had a penchant for strange animal names and when we got our first cat, almost a year ago now, it was near Halloween and she is a black cat, so we named her Hecate, after the Greek goddess of witchcraft. Our other cat is a white male we named Hyperion, mostly for the alliteration and that Hyperion is a Titan of the dawn.

Anyway, that was a very long explanation to come to this point. They were both sitting on the couch today and my husband busted into spontaneous rhyming.

We has two cats on the couch
We has two cats, one's a grouch
We has two cats, one's a slouch
We has two cats on the couch.

For the grouch part, Hecate isn't much of a people cat. And I don't know where he got the slouch part from, Hyperion is very active.