The Little Merman

Due to his hind limb paralysis, Evan has always had some very unique positions in which he sits. One of my favorites is what I like to call his merman pose. Somehow, I had never managed to get a picture of him in this pose. That is, until today.

And so, here is Evan's merman pose.

Evan's very proud of this pose and decided to show it off while sitting on his favorite footstool throne (which has been in the family for decades and has been used and abused by so many humans and furballs that it is now being held together by leopard print duct tape).

Every time I see Evan in this pose, it (for whatever reason) brings to my mind an image of Ariel from The Little Mermaid sitting on a rock while singing. Therefore, that makes Evan my little merman. And sometimes this talkative little guy even sings for me!

(Also, as a side note, in the above picture you can see on Evan's left hind leg the callus he's luckily built up from his method of ambulation. I say "luckily" because prior to it being a callus that sore would frequently bleed and even became infected once. But, now that it's a callus, it causes him no issues.)

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend! Tomorrow is Super Bowl Sunday, which means we'll be watching the Kitten Bowl and Puppy Bowl on TV tomorrow!

Thankful Thursday: Snuggle Buddies

Typically it's the cats who seek out Astrid for cuddles. However, last night Astrid decided that she would take the initiative to find herself a snuggle buddy. So who was her chosen one?

Evan! Astrid chose Evan...to use as a pillow.

Evan allowed this exploitation to occur for roughly half an hour, but ultimately decided that he was not cut out to be a pillow. So he wriggled his way free. But, he didn't go far.

Still snuggle buddies. All is well.

On this Thankful Thursday, we're grateful for snuggle buddies!

Wordless Wednesday

Awww Interlude

Astrid's pretty sure that she's a 55-pound lap dog. In this picture she's sitting on the lap of one of her most favorite people - her pawpaw! (Pawpaw is my dad, Astrid's human grandpa.)

Best Buds

Living in a family with a high four-legged furball population, it's nice when everyone gets along. Although it took time, patience, and lots of supervised meets and greets, I now get to see plenty of little moments like this:

More often than not, Astrid and Trapper are good buddies.

Of course, Rosie still offers little tolerance for any of the other furry babies in the family. But, at 21 years old, I believe she's earned the right to shoo away such young hooligans. Anyway, Rosie's got friends like Prickles the Cactus to keep her company.

Rosie and Prickles

I hope everyone's having a wonderful weekend!

Thankful Thursday, Rosie Style

Today I am thankful for Rosie's health! Today marks two weeks since Rosie's eye removal (enucleation) surgery. She was scheduled to go in this afternoon for her suture removal, but I ended up taking her in yesterday after I noticed that the incision had a small yet continuous amount of blood coming from it. The vet said that aside from the light bleeding, which was probably just from it being bumped, the incision looked great! So, the vet went ahead and removed the sutures a day early. I'll be monitoring Rosie's incision for any more blood, but as of this morning the bleeding has stopped.

Rosie's happy to be suture-free!

I promise, she's much happier than she let on in this picture.

As always, Rosie did great at the vet. Her primary vet visit vice is that she is very, very, very loud. She likes to yowl and let everyone in the building (perhaps even everyone in the whole city) know that she would rather be at home on her beloved couch. Nevertheless, she lets the staff at the vet get their job done without much more than a few busted eardrums.

After today's vet visit I gave Rosie a new cactus-shaped catnip toy. Rosie had found the kittens' new catnip toys shortly after Christmas and enjoyed them more than I thought she would, so shortly thereafter I bought her this new cactus one. I held off giving it to her when her eye became a concern, though. But, after being such a trooper through all of this, Rosie got her new toy today, and she loves it!

The toy's package claims that the cactus is named Prickles. Apparently Rosie thinks that Prickles makes for a nice, cuddly pillow.

Wordless Wednesday

Awww Interlude

This is an old shot of little baby Talon. Although I know it's not great quality, it's one of my all-time favorites of him.

Monday Morning

Trapper calls this model pose Monday Morning.

My four-legged furballs and I hope everyone has a great Monday and a great week!

Awww Interlude...?

Not sure how much "awww" factor there really is here. This is Evan's "ewww, what's that smell?" face.

My first attempt at Wordless Wednesday...

Before and After (WARNING: mildly graphic material)

I thought I'd give you a recap of what's been going on with Rosie and her eye, this time with photographic supplementation. If you remember from earlier posts and pictures, Rosie has had a "bad eye" for a long time (roughly 15 years). It had been discolored and bulbous for quite some time, but up until very recently it had caused her no issues.

This is Rosie a few weeks ago. You can see the discolored, bulbous nature of her right eye. It had been this way for quite a while.

About a week and a half ago, on New Year's Eve, I suddenly noticed that Rosie's right eye was displaying a very severe, alarming change. The eye was suddenly misshapen, with a portion of it seemingly protruding from the surface. There was also bloody discharge coming from it, sometimes pouring from it.

After a trip to the vet, it was deduced that the eye would more than likely need to come out, as the entire central portion of the cornea was essentially absent, and it was infected. First, though, Rosie was started on antibiotic eye drops, oral antibiotics, and pain meds. She was to stay on those over the weekend of the New Year, with a recheck and likely eye removal scheduled for the following week (last week).

Rosie went in this past Tuesday, when it was decided that the eye indeed needed to come out. Not only was her eye likely very painful, but there was also the concern that the infection could travel to her brain. The doctor decided to schedule her eye removal surgery (known as enucleation) for this past Thursday. Rosie remained on all of her meds until then, which she did not particularly appreciate.

So, this next picture was taken just one or two nights before Rosie's surgery:

This picture is a bit blurry, but that may benefit you viewers. You can get an idea how the eye had developed a protrusion, had developed a yellowish tint (possibly indicative of infection) as well as a bloody tint, and was secreting a bloody discharge.

I was very anxious about Rosie going under anesthesia for surgery on Thursday, especially given her age (21), renal disease, and heart murmur. But, she did great! She went home that night, still wobbly and a bit lethargic from the anesthesia, but recovering nonetheless. I have been monitoring her to make sure that she does not bother her sutures until they can be removed, and she is still (quite unhappily) receiving oral antibiotics and pain meds.

So, this is Rosie today:

Rosie is resting and doing well, and she has not bothered her sutures at all. She goes back to the vet in just under two weeks to have the sutures removed.

I again want to thank all those who sent purrs and prayers Rosie's way this past week and a half! They were and still are deeply appreciated!

Have a great week, everyone!

Operation Rosie Update

I dropped Rosie off at the vet first thing this morning for her eye removal (enucleation) surgery. As I'm sure was obvious in my previous posts, I was a nervous wreck, especially since Rosie's age (21), renal disease, and heart murmur put her at a high risk for anesthesia.

Well, the vet just called, and...Rosie did great during surgery and is already recovering! There are no words to describe how relieved I am. Thank you all for the purrs and prayers, as I know they helped!

A couple of years ago Rosie's previous vet told me that, given everything she's been through and survived these past few years, Rosie must be something along the lines of "bionic". There may be some truth to that, as Rosie is one tough cookie. On that note, when the vet called today I was told that during surgery her heart rate stayed between 120-140, which is pretty much perfect, especially for a cat Rosie's age and with a heart murmur. The vet said that Rosie just sailed right through the surgery.

Now I'm just counting down the minutes until I can go get Rosie tonight and take her home. I don't care if she's down an eye. In fact, I'll think she'll be adorable one-eyed!

I think I'll post a "before" and "after" picture of Rosie soon, to give you all an idea how bad the eye was and how cute she is now without it.

Operation Rosie: The Continuation

At her vet visit this morning Rosie's eye was examined by the senior veterinarian, who will be performing her surgery. He quickly deduced that her eye really should be removed, not only due to the pain it could be causing her but because the infection in it could travel to her brain if left untreated. This veterinarian is a very nice, honest man. That being said, he openly reminded us that due to her age (21), renal disease, and heart murmur, Rosie is of course a high risk candidate for surgery. Nevertheless, he reiterated the dangers of leaving the eye in, and he admitted that if it was his cat he would have it removed.

Now, as to the when of Rosie's surgery. Unfortunately, the senior veterinarian we saw today decided that Rosie's surgery will be on Thursday instead of today. There are a couple of reasons for this, one being that the clinic was shorter in staff than usual today (we had somewhat of a snow storm last night, and I think some of the staff lives out in the country and was unable to make it in). The other vet was unexpectedly unable to make it in today, leaving the senior vet the only one present. He admitted that he has multiple other surgeries to perform today, and he was honest in saying that, due to her risk, he does not want to rush Rosie's surgery.

Therefore, Rosie will be going back first thing Thursday morning for her eye removal. I am a bit anxious about waiting another two days, but I do appreciate the veterinarian's honesty and desire to perform Rosie's surgery on a calmer day when he can be more focused on her.

I may try to post a picture of the current status of Rosie's eye today or tomorrow. It is not pretty, I'll warn, so for the sake of this blog's audience I'm still debating whether or not I will indeed post such a picture.

Of course, thank you again for the purrs and prayers so far! And please keep them coming, especially on Thursday! This momma is very worried about her 21-year-old baby going under anesthesia, but your purrs and prayers are truly comforting!

Operation Rosie

I'll be taking Rosie in for her recheck exam and likely eye removal this morning. Thank you for the kind purrs and prayers so far -- they are deeply appreciated!

I will keep you updated as to Rosie's status as often as I can, and I will also try not to be a nervous wreck. Please continue to purr and pray for my 21-year-old baby as she undergoes surgery today! Thank you so much for the support!

Rosie Update

Rosie went to the vet this morning for an exam of her "bad eye" since it suddenly started to display severe changes, as I mentioned in my post yesterday. The vet does not believe it is glaucoma causing the issue, but instead it appears that Rosie's cornea (the transparent outer layer of the eye) is now almost completely absent in the central front portion of her eye. Due to this, her eye is on the verge of rupturing. That explains the significant discoloration and discharge.

More than likely, Rosie will have the eye removed on Tuesday (our vet does surgeries on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so that is the earliest it can be done). The vet gave us antibiotics, eye drops, and pain medication to administer to Rosie over the weekend. She was also sent home wearing an E-collar to keep her from rubbing and rupturing the eye when we aren't able to watch her. We have an appointment scheduled for Tuesday at 10 am. The vet will examine Rosie's eye first, and unless some drastic improvement is evident we will move forward with enucleation (removal of the eye) that day.

I'm trying not to be a nervous wreck in the meantime. Rosie does have renal disease, as well as a heart murmur, which both can increase the risk of anesthesia. She will be receiving intravenous fluids during the procedure, though, which aids the functioning of the kidneys during an anesthetic event. Rosie has otherwise been acting great, as she is eating well and cuddles and purrs plenty. Although now, due to her pain medication, she is staring off into space a bit.

I'll be doing my best to stay calm and remain optimistic, but I certainly would appreciate all the purrs and prayers you can spare for Rosie!

This is Rosie a couple of weeks ago. Her right eye has been discolored and slightly bulbous for quite some time, but it had not caused her any issues until this past day or two. I can't wait until the surgery is done and over with on Tuesday so that the eye can cease being a concern.

Purrs and prayers for Rosie please!

I'd like to request purrs and prayers for my sweet, 21-year-old Rosie please!

I'll begin by saying that overall Rosie's health is doing well. Her renal disease is still being well-maintained, and she is eating well and acting happy. Therefore, I don't want to be an alarmist. However, in case you don't remember my mentioning it in my first post about her, Rosie has a "bad eye". Her ocular issues began years ago (as in, roughly fifteen years ago). Long story short, Rosie has been essentially blind in her right eye for a long time, and over time the eye also started to become increasingly discolored as well as more bulbous. Her vet had noted that glaucoma could occur at some point down the line, but that since Rosie had not been displaying any pain or discomfort due to her eye neither treatment nor eye removal seemed necessary. The vet did, of course, inform us to continue monitoring the eye.

So we have been monitoring Rosie's eye, and now a sudden and honestly quite alarming change has occurred. Rosie's eye has quite suddenly and quite severely changed color and shape, and it has started secreting an excessive amount of discharge. Rosie is essentially acting as if nothing is out of the ordinary -- she has been begging for food, talking to me, and cuddling and purring all as usual. Of course her usual vet was closed today for the New Year holiday, but I will be calling the vet first thing in the morning (unless Rosie's ocular disturbance starts to progress more rapidly and turns into an emergency situation, in which case I'll take her to the emergency vet tonight).

I would guess the best case scenario is that Rosie somehow bumped and injured the eye -- which was already fragile -- and may need some antibiotics or other such medications. There's also a very small chance that some dental issues Rosie has recently developed could have spurred a change in her eye. On the other hand, Rosie's "bad eye" could have, after all these years, simply reached its point of no return and require removal at this point. Rosie is otherwise happy and maintaining her old girl health, so if removal of the eye is the way to keep her happy and as healthy as possible then I will absolutely move forward with surgery. Of course the thought of surgery makes me more than a bit anxious, especially since Rosie being renal and her having a heart murmur does increase her risk under anesthesia. But, I'll cross that bridge if and when I get there.

This picture is a few weeks old, and it gives a relatively good idea of the typical abnormal appearance of Rosie's right eye. Except, as of today, her eye looks far worse.

I'll do my best to keep you posted after I call the vet tomorrow and after I take Rosie in.

Thank you in advance for the purrs and prayers for my sweet old Rosie!