Worried about my kitty

Oh, kitty seem to be doing better than I expected so far! He's doing all his normal behavior and ate fairly well yesterday.

Have you and your kitty in my thoughts . Wishing kitty the best recovery.
Jess and Loro xx

It makes me sad that some people don't consider science to be necessary. It seems like it's always one of the first things to be cut. And then others talk about needing more STEM students, which makes no sense when scientists are underpaid as it is and funding is constantly being taken away.

ScooterNScotty wrote:

he was an auto mechanic before he was an astrophysicist!

THAT is awesome!

ScooterNScotty wrote:

We'd almost certainly have to move someplace cheaper as our mortgage swallows a lot each month. We bought at the very top of the market, and our home value has come down some much we no longer have much equity at all.

Try doing the federal "making homes affordable" program. It cut my mortgage pretty much in half. From my understanding not many people end up qualifying, but I did and can give you tips on what I did.

I will look into that! I doubt we'd qualify now, we have a pretty strong income. If that changes... And we do have a good mortgage rate, it's just that the going price for 1600' ranch homes in decent neighborhoods was getting alarmingly close to a million bucks four years ago. Fortunately I had decent equity in the townhome I'd bought. At least we aren't upside down! The mortgage isn't actually the worst part of it, the CA property taxes are painful as well. But we also don't really love LA, moving has a lot of appeal, it's the jobs that kept us here in the first place.

Happy to hear your baby is doing better. Every time I see you post here, I dread reading your post in fear of bad news.



As to the scientist thing, I totally agree with K. Years back I worked as a consultant to Lockheed and was involved in many of the NASA projects, namely the development of GEOS satellites and the databases that ran them. People don't realize that simple technology helps to grow all technical arenas, even if its to set off some tech in a completely erroneous field that see something someone else does and has an AH HA moment. I was crushed when they canned the space program.



Good luck in your pursuit, I understand completely. I am way off from your field but find myself wanting a new career as well. Something without a 1:15 commute, little stress and enough money to pay bills. If I could work from home I would, have been considering starting a birdy supply store online to suppliment my income. Already make toys for the rescue, why not make double and sell them, right?

ScooterNScotty wrote:

the CA property taxes are painful as well.

Los Angeles county property tax decline reassessment: http://assessor.lacounty.gov/extranet/guides/prop8status.aspx

If it's not an auto reassessment for you I think you can still put in a reassessment request. First request will probably be denied and you'll have to appeal. It might be worth paying a couple hundred bucks for a formal appraisal to support your reassessment request.

Sorry for spoon feeding you if this is stuff you already looked into.

patdbunny wrote:

ScooterNScotty wrote:

the CA property taxes are painful as well.

Los Angeles county property tax decline reassessment: http://assessor.lacounty.gov/extranet/guides/prop8status.aspx

If it's not an auto reassessment for you I think you can still put in a reassessment request. First request will probably be denied and you'll have to appeal. It might be worth paying a couple hundred bucks for a formal appraisal to support your reassessment request.

Sorry for spoon feeding you if this is stuff you already looked into.

No, I appreciate it! We have had a few automatic reassessments which did help a bit. We do have a recent appraisal. Well, the bank does... we applied for a HELOC and didn't have enough Equity for the CU to write one. Tax assesor calls it a bit higher, but the base rate is so high to start with... there are places where one doesn't pay several months mortgage in taxes every year. Not that I actually mind paying taxes, I don't. They just hurt.

I'm glad to hear your kitty's doing okay

Kitty has me worried again. He had a really good couple of days, but didn't eat or drink well last night and pretty much just stayed curled up in his bed. He was dry as a bone (somehow I can tell) before I gave him fluids this AM. That perked him up somewhat. I'm about to head to the vets to pick up an appetite stimulant... but I'm getting wrapped around the spindle again about what to do about being away next week. We leave Sat AM, and I'm frantic with preparations on top of work on top of worrying. I was up half the night last night alternately worrying about Ariel and worrying about Death Valley logistics.

Is it possible for you or the cat sitter to handfeed him some kitten formula if he's not eating? Or maybe give him a super special treat he doesn't normally get.

KayLayUh wrote:

Is it possible for you or the cat sitter to handfeed him some kitten formula if he's not eating? Or maybe give him a super special treat he doesn't normally get.

Yes, I'm going to pick up some "Stage 1" meat babyfood my previous kidney cat would eat on the way home after the stop at the vets... However, this isn't something he's going to get any better from... he's on borrowed time and if he gets to the point where all he feels like doing is lying in one place and he doesn't feel like eating or drinking... that's getting to the point where quality of life is not very good. What I fear is that he will be hanging right on that border when we leave and while the sitter is very competent and is fully on board with the situation, I'm afraid I might be dumping the life and death decision on her, which really isn't fair to anyone including Ariel. But we'll see how some extra yummy food and an appetite stimulant do for him. If there was some possibility he'd actually recover from this, it would be different, but it's really almost a hospice situation except that we're providing a level of care that does extend life, hoping that life will be of good quality.

What would you all do?

I'd do as you do. He's in the best hands , your doing all the right things and none of it will be enough.He's lucky to have you .I wait for you to post every day and I'm with you all the way.

ScooterNScotty wrote:

(...)What would you all do?

The same what you're doing- providing the best care as long as I would be able. From what you was writing before, I got impression, that your sitter knows what she is doing.
Go, do that "thing" with your husband, what may happened, it may happen anyway when you'll be at work, sleeping, on any trip.
If times come, your sitter will know what to do the same as you. I understand that you want so badly to be with Ariel, but be realistic...
I'm with you on my thoughts Deb.

I'm with Ma. you have faith in your sitter, trust her to do right.

You are making him as comfortable as you possibly can, and doing all you can do. I feel that you are being the best owner you can under the circumstances, and I would do the same.

Thanks guys, you're the best. Hopefully the appetite stimulant will perk him up some and I won't be feeling as shaky. He ate the pill pocket with the med in with some enthusiasm, and I have some temping treats to tempt him with later. You know, I really DO trust my sitter, but I almost feel it is unfair to her. OTOH, I think she'd be mad at me if I boarded him at the vet... she has been taking care of him several times a year for most of his life, she's attached to him, too. He's such a sweetie.

ScooterNScotty wrote:

Thanks guys, you're the best. Hopefully the appetite stimulant will perk him up some and I won't be feeling as shaky. He ate the pill pocket with the med in with some enthusiasm, and I have some temping treats to tempt him with later. You know, I really DO trust my sitter, but I almost feel it is unfair to her. OTOH, I think she'd be mad at me if I boarded him at the vet... she has been taking care of him several times a year for most of his life, she's attached to him, too. He's such a sweetie.

Talk it over with the sitter. Maybe she would like to be there for his end if you can't. Both of you with the understanding not to let him linger if it comes down to it (if that's what you want). Just as with human hospice, my "opinion" is that it's probably less stressful for it to be at home. Sometimes it seems death from old age isn't all that painful. Seems to me the person/animal kinda "clocks out" as all the organs shut down. That's my experience with my grandmother, mother, a couple of cats, assorted rats, mice and hamsters. My dog's death was ugly though. Not trying to creep you out or make this any worse for you than it is. . . Sheesh. i don't think I'm good at these emotional issues.

I haven't been here in a while and i am just reading this thread.
Deb I know you must hurt for your long time friend. I know how hard your decision is I have been there. I think that your sitter has been with you for so long because she is competent and you trust her emergency instincts. As long as both of you are on the same page then I think you can go on trusting her judgment. Often animals amaze us and I truly hope Ariel runs to greet you when you return home. My heart hurts for you both and you are in my prayers.

Thanks Josie and Roz... Roz, my folks did not go gently into that good night... it does I suppose make a difference. Josie, thank you so much. Thank you everyone!

I'm pleased to report that the appetite stimulant seems to have a good effect and I found him up and drinking when I went to check on him and then he ate a bunch of chicken babyfood. He was getting it at the vet's office and it it's a once every 3 days dose, so that may be a key.

Did I mention I appreciate y'all listening?

we all care, we are extended family...good luck


dusty

Just hoping into this thread. I kept reading and wanting to ask how he was...then I'd see another page of responses.

SnS, you're doing a great job and you're keeping his quality of life in mind. So many people would be more concerned with how long they would be able to keep him alive instead of what that life would be like. It's not an easy choice at all.

Right before hubby and I got married, our dog was going in to be fixed (hubby said,"I want to be a responsible pet owner and have him fixed") Great! So he goes in for the snip and come back out ok...except he won't stop bleeding, and the vet couldn't do anything. They started running blood tests and doing all sorts of things. He had a pressure bandage on his little rear and was completely miserable. He ended up being driven to an emergency care center and THERE they found that he was not able to clot. Yep, my dog suffers from hemophilia. They had some options but none were guaranteed to work. I told hubby to choose what to do, because I just couldn't (I was about 250 miles away at the time doing all this by phone.) If the treatments they did on him did not work, we had to contemplate putting him down. It was the toughest thing. He hadn't been our dog long, he was a rescue from some very hard situations and the sweetest little snot ever. He could have been on transfusions his entire life and even that might not have helped. Well, they did two sessions of transfusion and he started clotting. We didn't have to make that choice then...but it was on the table. We had to think of what his quality of life would have ended up being. We also have a cat...that the dog likes to mess with. If he got in a fight with the cat...and got scratched...the kinds of things that could happen to Chevy started to form a list in my head.

All this is to say that when you're faced with how to handle the care of your furry family member it's just as hard as facing quality of life questions for any family member. I can understand feeling horrible...but I can also understand wanting what's best for him. Ariel knows you love him, he knows you care. He's had a happy life with you and will not hold it against you if you decided his quality of life is not what it should be.

How's the trip planning and how is Ariel and his eating?

He did much better overnight, so I'm feeling a bit better about leaving him with the sitter. The appetite stimulant prompted him to start drinking, which made him feel better, so that's all good. Hopefully he won't stop again while we are gone. I'm pretty sure now that I'll leave him with home care, he'll be happier, and I think it is very possible he'll survive another week comfortably.

Logistics, yikes. I need to get into the office for an hour or two, but I've been up to my ears in cat nursing, bird food making, satellite phone testing and a bit of work from home. Badwater ultra planning is right up there, if not harder than, rocket science, and I can say that with some authority. (Pardon if I said it before, I'm getting worn a bit thin).

Well, take care of yourself as well. You can't do much for the furry and feathery family...or on your trip...if you're not doing too hot yourself.

Glad Ariel is eating! Yaaaaay! Home care will probably be less stressful and if he's doing ok and your sitter can do the nursing then it'll probably be better for him.

If we were still down in LA, I'd offer some help w/the kitty while you were gone...but we're in Fresno now.

You're in the Montrose area? My husband used to live in that area and the church we served at is over there too.

Technically I'm in Tujunga now, but just one street over from the edge of Montrose. Small world!