Morty’s Big Adventure
Morty shows off the stylish shaved area on his right front leg. He went to visit his friends at MedVet Pittsburgh last night because, oops, he had a #urethralobstruction. He looks mighty serious because it’s a mighty serious condition. Please send purrs !
This first came up right after he came here in December 2021, but since then we’ve managed it with diet and some supplements. Not sure what was special about yesterday, but we’ve got to look things over and make some new plans.
He’s home and feeling well, but I’m not entirely sure yet whether or not he’ll have to go back for an encore. Right now I’m easing each symptom as it appears with medications and treatments for pain and inflammation and lack of appetite. Ironically, I had spent most of Sunday through Wednesday in here with them working on two new book cover illustrations and I did not see any dire symptoms in all that time. I look for symptoms each time I’m in here, and even check in here between times to be sure he greets me as he usually does, he’s moving around normally, his appetite is good, and I find a normal amount of pee in the box. But I didn’t start a new painting today and had other work to do at my computer downstairs, and that would be more work to keep this site from going up and down as it has been* as well as continuing to rearrange my work space in the basement to accommodate the big puddle in the corner and the little trickles here and there, each time-consuming. But I’ll be starting a new painting tomorrow, so I’ll have sessions in here with him that we’ll enjoy.
They originally wanted to keep him for 48 hours and do more tests, which I would prefer, but I don’t have a spare $3-4,000 right now. They’ve seen me there before—with him—and the veterinarian and I have had several conversations about him. She knows HCMT and the rescues I volunteer with, so after she had checked his vitals and he seemed to be very early into this with no sign of an infection or blood she offered to just unblock and stabilize him, then send him home with medications for a little less than $800, still more than I have at the moment but I could piece it together using all the resources available to me at the moment.
Expenses and income
I did some research last autumn and in January to bring in a more secure income from a variety of sources. I have a bunch of things in the works and also finished that will turn into income in the coming months so I don’t have to rely so much on shows and events with unpredictable income. And I turn 62 in March so I applied for my Social Security and will receive enough for a base income so my creative income fills out the rest and refills my savings. But where I’m usually starting the slow time of the year, January to March, with a buffer that turns into my savings/emergency account later in spring when shows start, there was nothing left over last year. None of my new income will arrive until April.
An unexpected expense, especially on top of other unexpected cat expenses within the past month, makes things a little difficult, especially following up after the past year of Mr. Sunshine’s adventures. Even though Morty is home, I have some follow-up tests and my ultimate goal with him is to get him to the point where the condition is under control and he’s adoptable by someone who can continue managing his condition, and that will take more tests. I also have follow-ups with Mr. Sunshine and Sienna. And a few other seniors haven’t had their first time around for their senior panels that I’ve been planning since 2020. Had sales last year been on average what they usually are it really wouldn’t be an issue.
So, if you’re looking for cat gifts, visit www.PortraitsOfAnimals.net and do some shopping! More links at the bottom.
I’m gonna wash those bots right out of my site!
*I’ve also been working on the up and down issues with www.TheCreativeCat.net and we’ve got more uptime than down time at this point but it may still be rocky. Last night when I got home I wanted to post right away, and in between getting other things done well after midnight the site wasn’t up long enough to compose anything, and the same this morning.
As I mentioned my service provider set me up with a VPN, a virtual private network, so I’m not knocking everyone else offline on the shared server, and it’s also a little easier to diagnose what’s happening. About two weeks ago a “scraper” site, one that populates its articles with content they copy and paste from other sites and blogs, had started republishing the entirety of nearly every post including the copyright information which explains how they are violating my copyright! I repeatedly pursued notices to them and their host and registrar, and then another started up. I had had some high activity spikes for months that were causing problems on the server, but the constant high spikes of activity that don’t amount to actual visits to articles started right about that time. Today I set up a buffer account that will deflect most of the robots that scrape content, in time. Until about an hour ago I couldn’t keep the site open for more than five minutes, but I think we’ve gotten past some bad spots.
I hope I can get back to regular posting! It’s so frustrating and even kind of confusing every week when I have posts planned and then the activity spikes get in the way.
I know I’m always asking
Visit my website, www.PortraitsOfAnimals.net, and do some shopping! I am currently rebuilding some of my galleries so some pages may look different from others. I am placing my handmade goods for sale in holiday gallery displays and a few stores and deciding on the holiday markets that are available.
Also consider a portrait, or a portrait certificate for the holidays! It would make me very happy to pack and ship things to you in return for money.
As always, thanks for following us, and thanks for caring! I always appreciate hearing from you, no matter how that happens.
And if you did want to donate, my Paypal address is bernadette @ bernadette-k . com and my Venmo is @Bernadette-Kazmarski. And thank you for caring, whether you buy something or donate or not.
Gifts featuring cats you know! Visit Portraits of Animals
Fine Art • Photography • Gifts • Greeting Cards • Books • Commissioned Portraits & Artwork
I prepare and print your photo or artwork of your pet onto a frosted vinyl label, then burnish it onto a cube-shaped glass vase 3″ in each dimension. A sympathy card and an LED tea light are included. The price includes shipping, whether to you or a friend, within the continental US. 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!
I am praying for Morty. I wish I had money to donate, but I ran up my credit card keeping Emmy alive a few extra months.
Boys that is scary. Purrs to sweet Morty from all of us.
It is–I had loosely planned to visit a customer Wednesday-Thursday, glad I had to call it off in this case.
We send Morty purrayers and Power of the Paw that he gets his condition managed and can stay well !
Thank you! He seems to be recovering somewhat. Update later.
Nothing worse than a blocked urethra!
For man or cat!
It really is a horrible thing! Poor guy.