Daily Photo: Mimi’s Weekend Veterinary and Back Yard Adventures
I knew it was only a matter of time until Mimi discovered the three chairs just past the vegetable garden as part of her back yard adventures. She is curious and not much gets past her!
Despite the fact that Mimi also went to veterinary urgent care over the weekend (more on that below) she can’t pass up a sunny afternoon in the back yard. She kept wanting to go outside and, well, I couldn’t pass it up either.
She enjoyed walking back and forth from one chair to the next and checking the view. I enjoyed taking photo after photo. We work well together.
Hi! This is pretty fun. I know you want a good photo of me but I’m just not going to hold still for very long. (Well, sometimes we work well together.)
She did like the middle chair for quite a few poses, but really just enjoyed walked on them and rubbing her face on them. They belong to her now!
Mimi’s visit to veterinary urgent care
Hello from Rivers Veterinary Urgent Care! Mimi and I made a little visit there Saturday.
She’s been experiencing a lot of pain over the past couple of days and we really couldn’t wait until Monday to see what was up. She’ll probably need an ultrasound eventually but for now we’re definitely going to try another antibiotic and some other pain relief efforts and possibly some special foods for renal issues to keep her comfortable. It’s really been hard to keep up with and an emergency visit was unexpected, so if you want to help us out any little bit would help. Venmo @Bernadette-Kazmarski, PayPal @bernadettekazmarski1
Let’s hope for a day free from emergencies! (So far, so good)
Later Saturday…
Sleepy Mimi is home after a big day.
This urinary tract issue has been with her for almost a decade. There’s a good possibility it’s antibiotic resistant.
There’s also a small possibility that she actually has a growth of some sort somewhere in her bladder, kidneys or urinary tract. Only an ultrasound, which can also look for possible pancreatitis, will tell us for sure.
So for now we’re going to try a new antibiotic and modify some of the pain treatments so that she has more support.
She lost about a half of a pound, and when you’re only 5 lb that’s a significant amount of your total weight.
She also has renal issues creeping up that need to be taken care of, which we’d already discussed with her regular vet, and I’ve been preparing for.
But for now she’s home and we’ll see what stepping up pain meds and palliative measures along with a new antibiotic do for her.
I can tell you that Mimi will not be taken down easily. She’s tough, that little girl.
And on a sunny Sunday and Monday, and a rainy morning today!
From around this date in past years
Outdoor Fun and a Vet Visit With Mewsette, 2023
This post from 2023 is from just before she started declining and was probably her last great day out in the yard; she was just not as active or energetic after this, and no more rolls on the concrete. But I want to share it with joy because we had so much fun, and I’ll remember it forever.
Mewsette certainly has her full attention focused on something out in the yard. I would not want to be that thing, even if I was the six-point buck who visits our yards. Luckily Mewsette is a peace-loving kitty, as she lets me know when I ask her who will be her next victim since all she’s ever chased is a butterfly.
Aside from having a blast outside in the back yard on the sunny and warm days lately, I’ve noticed Mewsette has not gained back any of the weight she lost prior to her diagnosis with hyperthyroid disease. Her appetite was never the ravenous hyperthyroid appetite I’ve seen, not any more than it was ravenous all her life. Mewsette has always loved her food and I always gave her a little extra but watched her weight. I had to be careful to make sure she didn’t steal any of Mimi’s when she was finished with her own. But her appetite was moderating last year at about the time Mr. Sunshine had been diagnosed with not-cancer, and as soon as he was in the clear I made an appointment for Mewsette. Now she gets her felimazole but her appetite is still not robust, and she needs a dental to take care of the tooth resorption and and cleaning. Her teeth are painful and the gabapentin seems to affect her in a way that appears like nausea. I work with the pain meds and famotidine to get the best balance, feed her as much extra as I can, but still no weight gain.
I had planned to take her to her regular veterinarian last month until Morty’s urinary obstruction came up. I was concerned enough about her on Thursday that I decided to take her to PetWellClinic on Friday where she would get an exam and blood tests and I could probably find out a good bit. Below, veterinary technician Angel works his kitty magic to keep Mewsette calm as Taylor prepares for her blood draw.
I don’t take for granted that because she’s so friendly here she won’t be a little frightened away from here. Though these are the cats who greet people at the door and stay with them for attention I realized when I took Mewsette to her vet last August that, because we had a house call vet for all their lives, she hadn’t been anywhere in a car since she was spayed 15 years before. So we eased her into this and petted her and let her walk around during the discussion so that by the time Dr. Sudberg saw her she’d hold still long enough for an exam (but purred loudly), and then later for her blood draw. They couldn’t draw from her neck, so a little scruff to get her to lie down, then lots of petting to keep her there. She was a good girl even with the needles and things.
In addition to the blood draw she received her first of another series of Adequan shots for her osteoarthritis and came home with a bottle of Dasuquin. We will go back on Tuesday for the next, and talk to Dr. Sudberg about her blood tests.
They were able to post the test results to Mewsette’s account for me to see but they were closed by the time I was able to log in and look at them. There’s nothing too alarming or life-threatening but she’ll need some medication adjustments and some intensive care to get her appetite back to normal and gain weight, and she really needs that dental sooner rather than later—that one thing will make a huge difference for her.
Here is Mewsette earlier this week enjoying one of her thermonuclear treatments on warm concrete.
And then she practices her elegant walk along the top board of the woodpile.
I’m so glad I was able to clean up the upper portion of my garden because the two of them love it. It’s the sunniest area of the yard and there are just enough things to walk and scratch and nap on that they are fully occupied—especially when a sparrow starts singing in the forsythia and they are both on alert.
And Mewsette asks if we really need to go in. I’m not the one to ask because I don’t want to go in either!
The video and all of these photos were also from this past week. She’s feeling okay, but there are times she feels distinctly un-okay. She is not interested in therapeutic foods and supplements, but I’m hoping Mirataz changes that. I’ve been cooking foods for them so I can add to those, but she is most interested in Fancy Feast. That’s fine, I can keep it on hand for her.
I knew this was coming as they reached 15 years old last year, but Mr. Sunshine cleaned out the savings I’d put by. As always, if you would like to help me with veterinary costs, which would include four dentals for all four of them, and Giuseppe and Jelly Bean haven’t had their senior exams yet at all. Morty still needs prescription foods until I can get him back to the veterinarian for some blood tests so we can find out more about his particular condition, and all of them need to eat.
- Consider a Custom Pet Memorial Votive for yourself or a family member or friend. Remember that they don’t actually have to be memorials—a votive with someone’s pet on it while they are very much alive is also a nice custom gift!
- Visit www.PortraitsOfAnimals.net. I’ve been preparing my basement studio for handmade goods but it will be a couple weeks before I start stocking things, but look around in my Handmade Gifts Gallery.
- I have four Stained Glass Cats small votives which I now offer with string lights in addition to an LED votive for your choice of lighting.
- I still have plenty of feline garden flags, though I’m currently out of a few designs.
- I have one of each of the Tortie Girls block prints and one of Awakening, all are matted and framed.
If you have any questions, please let me know! And thanks for any help.
From around this date in past years
Mewsette With Daffodils, 2022
Mewsette supurrvises from my back while I lie on the ground to photograph the daffodils from ground level.
We had a great time with the daffodils this afternoon. I’ve been getting ready for the event this weekend but I like to take an afternoon break, and Mimi and Mewsette agree.
Mewsette sleeps on me so settling on me while I’m lying on the ground was just like normal. She was happy to check out the daffodils while I photographed them, and above you can see Mimi’s silhouette up on the picnic table, probably glad for once it was Mewsette and and not her who had to pose with the pretty flowers.
I was a little shocked at how muddy I was when I got up, but it all comes out in the wash. Back to work!
Mewsette gets the last word!
~~~
From Instagram
Mariposa basks at the furnace vent
Mariposa is basking in front of the furnace vent, the warm air blowing her fur around, and air kneading with her paws. Quite a difference from the abandoned house she grew up in. This is the life.
Last week and over the weekend, getting ready for my Saturday event.
Quality control for my Bella dish towels. Getting ready for the event tomorrow. Everything must be scrutinized by at least one feline, preferably more. Sewing eyes on the dishtowels I printed. Do your dishtowels have eyes?
Sometimes their help is, well…
My display at the Pet Search Spring 2022 Art, Craft and Vendor Show. The event went well and was fun, lots of sharing stories and talking to other creative people, crowd was good even though it snowed all day.
Hamlet is wondering why Sienna is in his favorite crawl space on top of the boxes on top of the shelves between the rafters next to the furnace vent in the basement, but this morning Sienna got there first, and it looks like she means business. Who will win this prized cozy spot on a blustery, snowy spring day?
From the garden and beyond
I’m really ready for spring, but the snow squalls were really spectacular over the weekend.
From around this date in past years
Lunchtime Fun With Giuseppe, 2021
Just having a little lunch time fun in the kitchen with Giuseppe. We play a little treat game in the middle of the afternoon for enrichment and extra food for Giuseppe. It’s really fun for both of us! He doesn’t always have to wear the yellow striped bib because he has to be able to run and jump for his treats, but he’ll suffer a small indignity for his treats.
I shared this photo last week and everyone really enjoyed it, so I decided to feature Giuseppe rather than stash him down in the Instagram section. He puts up with a lot from me when I get in a silly mood. He doesn’t look like it, but he loves it. You can’t hear him purring.
Off and on for the past couple of years Giuseppe has had some GI issues, vomiting foam and liquid before and between meals, and losing some weight. He was not lethargic, but not his usual active self. Since my veterinarian retired I’ve been talking to a few other veterinarians, but even with that there is a wait for an appointment, and trying to figure out what the problem is could be several appointments. My former veterinarian and I talked on the phone regularly as part of care, rather than scheduling multiple appointments, and that was one of the things I appreciated most about working with her. But Dr. Michelle gave Giuseppe some treatments and then I decided on a few things that would help in between. We decided that if he improved, we could wait for an appointment.
Giuseppe has always wanted more attention than his siblings. He needs to feel special, and sometimes with nine other cats he doesn’t feel so special. He could be a little reactive, even with his mom and his siblings, and I recognize that in his demeanor. Add to that the GI issues and possible nausea, stomach and intestinal cramps and just general unease, and we had a number of things to work on, including some supplements and adding an extra meal.
I am not a big fan of the red dot, but when I used to play with them with it Giuseppe was obsessed. It’s on a keychain, so any time he would hear the little jingle of the keychain he would be on red alert. Years ago he would even come running over and sit waiting if I opened the drawer where I’d kept it. I decided Giuseppe and I could have a little red dot game at some point during the day, in the kitchen, and integrate some food into it. He wasn’t finishing his food at breakfast, so I held that for early afternoon, and this worked out well because I’ve also been considering a third meal each day for a couple of years. So Giuseppe gets to chase the red dot around the kitchen for a few minutes, then I start tossing freeze-dried meat treats around and following them with the red dot. After a few minutes of that, Giuseppe gets his leftovers. He is thrilled just to chase the red dot and will chase it even without me tossing treats around. But put it all together and he is one happy cat.
But every so often I dress him up in something stupid and he loves that too.
~~~
From Instagram
Yes, Mariposa, just like that. She is such an intuitive little meowdel.
There are birds right outside the window! Windows open for the first time. It’s the Fancy Boys.
From the Back Yard and Beyond
First daffodil, one of the tough old vintage ones that I dug up from an abandoned farm about to be plowed under for development. Glad to keep them going and preserve them for the people who planted them along the road to the upper pasture decades ago.
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It’s the first day of spring and a gorgeous morning. Mimi waits by the door, keeping an eye on me over her shoulder so I don’t wander from the kitchen and forget the importance of getting outside before the busy part of the day begins. Read more and purchase.
Copyright
All images and text used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission, although links to your site are more than welcome and are shared. Please ask if you are interested in using and image or story in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of an image or a product including it, check my animal and nature website Portraits of Animals to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit Ordering Custom Artwork for more information on a custom greeting card, print or other item.
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Weekly schedule of features:
Sunday: Essays, Pet Loss, Poetry, The Artist’s Life
Monday: Adoptable Cats, TNR & Shelters
Tuesday: Rescue Stories
Wednesday: Commissioned Portrait or Featured Artwork
Thursday: New Merchandise
Friday: Book Review, Health and Welfare, Advocacy
Saturday: Your Backyard Wildlife Habitat, Living Green With Pets, Creating With Cats
And sometimes, I just throw my hands in the air and have fun!
Beautiful Mimi, we hope you are feeling better soon sweetie.
Thank you! The new antibiotic has her feeling better already.
Sending Mimi purrayers and Power of the Paw.
Thank you so much–even with a new antibiotic we can still use them!
Praying the new antibiotic works.
So far so good, Ellen! I’m so happy, and Mimi’s just going back to living her best life.