Here is my sweet boy looking out through the window at our snow filled sunrise. He is not impressed with the icy world in which he finds himself right now, and was a little grumpy that I left him inside to go take pictures of the yard. I, however, liked the light and shadows, so I snapped off a few pictures of him, even if he does look like a grouch. Today is our two year anniversary of the second diagnosis with feline diabetes, and I think somewhere around year 3.5 altogether. It also happens to be my birthday. And since my whole city is snowed in right now, I’m a little grumpy too. Spending my birthday at home isn’t exactly the best way to celebrate. But it does give me time to write a little update on how Sam is doing…. Since the New Year, he’s settled back to his “normal” dose range again, and has spent more time in healthy numbers. The bouts of pancreatitis are less often, and don’t last quite as long as they used to, so for that I am grateful. I am planning on weighing him today, but right now he is snoring like a lumberjack and I can’t bear to wake him just to get his weight for this post, so I’ll leave you all in suspense on that one (I’m pretty sure he’s still around 11-12 pounds). A little heavier than he should be, but it’s winter, so let’s just blame it on the extra thick fur this time of year He’s eating raw food almost completely. I do occasionally put out a can of food just to keep him willing, though he clearly prefers the raw now. For anyone who still struggles with kibble – I feel ya. It was probably two years of no kibble before I felt like he was really okay, and I think it was transitioning to raw that finally made him stop begging at the old kibble cupboard. My hunch is that when I finally got him to a healthy, species appropriate diet, he no longer felt the need for other things. He still gets more treats than he should though – freeze dried salmon is his favorite, followed by bonito flakes, and then freeze dried chicken. And he likes to gnaw on gizzards from time to time as well. Honestly those gross me out – he has a bad habit of trying to walk around the house with them, so if I forget to watch him I’ll find gnawed gizzard bits on my bed! His energy lately has been off the charts – he is running around and playing like a kitten – and getting into everything. I can’t go anywhere without him following along. And he’s decided that it’s his job to clear the table. And the counters. And the bookshelves. And the top of the dresser. Watching things fall down seems to give him endless delight. He’s adapted really well to walking on the leash and insists on regular turns around the yard. Since we moved, he has a big yard to explore with a wide sunny patch of lawn surrounded with a stone wall to keep him safe, and a woodsy area off to the side. He loves exploring and using the giant trees as claw posts. They don’t seem to mind too much. I’ll be glad when the sun is a bit warmer as he sometimes wants to spend more time out there than I do. I think that’s about it. I am so grateful for this community, the collective wisdom, the camaraderie, and the shared stories. Thank you all for being a part of our journey. Here’s to many more healthy, happy years for all of our extra sweet kitties, ourselves, and our families.
Happy birthday!! That was a great post. You made me literally laugh out loud as I can relate to many of his behaviors and I’m sure most cat parents do. Glad he he is feeling good. He is very lucky to have you as a mom and as you said we are all lucky to have this group. Thank you and all here who consistently help me through the trials and tribulations of this yucky disease. And speaking of yucky... gizzards on the bed? That is way worse than the occasional dingleberry have a great birthday!!
What a great report, Djamila - heartwarming and humourous and it shows how much you love your boy. Happy Birthday! You're only one day older.
Happy birthday!!! I'm sorry it's snowy and yucky. I love your update and that sweet, cute, grumpy picture! HUGS!
Happy Birthday Djamila! I know it's cold and snowy where you are, we are getting the same here on the other side of the state. Idjit has the same look on his face as he looks out the window! Sam is so handsome, and he looks so healthy. Tell him Spring is on the way, and we can all go out and play. BTW, Idjit likes to carry his gizzards away from his food station also, what's up with that? Thank you again so much for providing the information on raw feeding, and your encouragement. Idjit is loving the new food and I think this is a huge success. His coat is shiny and soft, and he has begun playing with some toys a bit, so he's feeling good, other than being crabby about the snow on the ground and the cold weather! Hugs to you and Sam, I hope you had a good B-Day.
It is funny that there seems to be some common instinct among cats to knock things off high places, and to bring their "prey" somewhere else. Sam doesn't do it with treats or regular food, but chunks of raw meat and giblets seem to require a different location and a lot of happy "smacking" noises and squeaks. Thank you all for the birthday wishes. It turned out to be a nice day. The sun was shining, my neighbors visited for a little bit and shared some cupcakes with me, and there were phone calls and FaceTime so I didn't feel quite so alone. As Kris said, I'm only one day older -- still plenty of time to celebrate Oh, and it turns out Sam is 12.2 pounds . Time to start cutting back on the treats....
SAME. And why we take everything off the counters that doesn't have some weight to it before bed. I can't tell you how many times the dish drainer - full of dishes- hit the floor before we learned our lesson. Happy Birthday! And he may be grumpy, but Sam sure is beautiful!
Y'all don't sleep with your kitties curled up on the bed?!? I thought that was a requirement of having cats! I've tried to lock Sam out a couple of times, but then he sits outside the door pawing and singing the song of his people loudly enough to wake the neighbors.
Happy late birthday @Djamila. Hes such a cutie. Hope the snowy wonderland has all gone from out side and you've both managed to go out
My kitties don't sleep when I sleep, so if they are in the same room with me, I don't get to sleep either. They tear around the house, nose boop my face until I wake up, attack my feet while I sleep. It's total chaos. So unless they are sick and I need to watch them closely, sleepy snuggles only happen during day naps. Sometimes I even wake them up and tell them I want attention while they are deep snoozing during the day, just to be a jerk. How does it feel ya little terrorist? Ya tryin ta sleep? Oh, I'm sorry! I just want attention real bad right now. Make me breakfast too, will ya?
Lock the cats out of the bedroom for a better and more restful sleep! The first time I read that I wondered if the person who wrote it lived on Earth. Can I get some magic beans with that as well? Maybe some low fat frozen cookie dough? I know Djamila has seen this before. Cats in the bedroom are fine but the sink is mine. This is our Sam, aka Pudge, The Mop.
Tina, I read this at work yesterday, and laughed out loud. I've done that too! And lordy am I familiar with the middle-of-the-night nose boops! and many a nail trimming has been inspired by Sam's middle of the night whacks across my face when I don't wake up to the gentle nudges. I should learn from all of you wise folks who lock the kitties out and prioritize your sleep! And thank you everyone for the birthday wishes!
Ha! I lock the kitties out while I sleep most of the time...every now and then they convince me they should come in. We locked them out since one time Oreo peed on us (sigh) and another time, one of them attacked my boyfriend's feet under the covers....and unfortunately got a claw stuck in the bottom of his foot and sort of hung off the edge of the bed for a minute until she got detached. He was in some pain for a few days. We've let them in off and on and usually they don't even really want to be there. Oreo likes to sleep by my head and wake me up for breakfast, but most of the night they stay downstairs anyway!
We (or me) forget how quickly those nails grow and how painful it must be to snag a nail or worse. Daniel gets downright nasty some days and then I find he's missing a nail. It's easier for us to take the car friendly cats and let a tech clip their nails which is a bit shameful. What am I missing? Is there a clipping for dummies video.
I'm sure youtube has videos for nail trimming cats. My cats both need something different. With Sam I kneel on the floor, put him facing out between my knees, lean over him and gently lift a paw. Every 2-3 nails he wants out and gets a treat. Then I tuck him back in and we keep going. Atty on the other hand prefers to lie down on his side, and I can only trim the paw that is on the ground side. Then I have to roll him over to do the other paw. He doesn't want treats, but requires lots of intermittent chin and head scratches between nails. My sister lays her cat on his back on her lap, kind of between her legs, and can do all four that way with periodic belly rubs if he gets restless. Like anything around here, ECID.
Andrew was a "responsible scratcher", he clawed away at the same stud in our unfinished basement until it was a toothpick, never touched anything else in the house. He made up for that good behavior by emptying his water bowl every other day by splashing. Nothing beats walking the cat minefield in the dark and making it all the way down the stairs into the kitchen thinking you've made it and squoosh!
