Monday, November 2, 2009
The day began with a sunny clear blue sky, but still cold in the early hours. I had a fire to warm the sunroom and fixed my coffee as usual. I gave Rusty his pill and noticed a lot more discharge coming from both eyes and his nose. He was sneezing regularly and looked miserable. He wouldn’t eat the canned food I gave him and barely touched his water. After nine days on the antibiotics, he should have been improving, not going down hill, so I put him in his crate and drove with Zack to the Divide for a cell phone signal.
I called my vet, explained the situation and finally got them to let me bring him in to be seen. I emailed most of you the following, but will put it in for my blog post so that others can read it.
Rusty was taking a nose dive again and aside from not eating and drinking, he was having trouble breathing and just laying like a rag doll, not wanting to move, so I drove him to the Divide, where I could get a phone signal, and called my vet, hoping to have her see him today.
I managed to get Rusty in even though they refused at first. They said that because I hadn't officially adopted him and he was just placed in my care as a trial, they couldn't treat him without the Humane Societies permission. Well, after a lot of discussion, and the assistant running back and forth to the vet, I found out the Humane Society is closed on Monday, but I finally convince her (my vet is a woman) that he needed to be seen today.
They told me to bring him in and she would work him into her schedule, but to keep him in the car so the facility wouldn't be exposed to the disease. I went in and notified them I was in the car in the parking lot, and they should let me know when they were ready to see him. I had barely gotten back out to the car when an assistant came out and led me through the back door and into an isolated exam room. Julie, my vet, came in and recognized Rusty as Herbie, the poor kitten that almost didn't make it. It turns out that she was the vet that the Humane Society sent him to when they first got him. She was the one that nursed him back to health and told me that he was so bad off that she actually took him home with her so she could keep an eye on him through the night.
When I told her the story of events and the medication the Humane Society had him on, plus the fact that they recommended aspirin for him, she about flipped. The antibiotic they had him on is too strong for a kitten and she agreed that aspirin could be deadly for cats and I had done the right thing to NOT give him any. She questioned me about the girl that told me these things, saying that the Society doesn't have an in-house vet, and while she didn't know the person I described, two of her vet assistants work as volunteers for the Society and she would find out who the girl was and set her and the Society straight.
Julie wanted to keep him for a couple of days to hydrate and keep him in a cage with a humidifier, but I told her that he had been bounced around enough and I felt capable of caring for him. She agreed and prescribed a subcutaneous injection of fluids and a milder liquid antibiotic. Two assistants came in to give him the fluids and immediately recognized him as Herbie. Everyone made a big deal over him and said they almost adopted him themselves, and they were glad to know he was in a good home.
Julie came back in, gave him an injection of the antibiotic and gave me the liquid of the same, with instructions on administering it. Due to the circumstances, they are billing the Humane Society, even though I told them I'd pay for it. Now I am not sure if I should go ahead and adopt him now, or wait until he is healthy and let them pay for the vet bills and medicine. Julie said that some kittens can take months to recover and are kept on antibiotics. She also told me that excessive antibiotics can be harmful and I mentioned the killing of good bacteria in the gut, causing problems with digestion, and she said no, it could damage their joint development. I hadn't read anything about that, so I am now guarded on this his third round of antibiotics. She asked that I contact her in a week and let her know how he is responding. She also gave me a couple of cans of high protein canned cat food to help him regain his strength.
We stopped at Target to buy a humidifier and then after stopping briefly at the RV, headed for home. It was dark by the time we arrived and I unloaded Rusty and built a fire. I then set up the humidifier and fed him the canned food. He ate it all and was acting more normal, so I guess the fluids and shot acted quickly to help him recover some energy.
I had promised Zack some inside play time so we played keep-away and tug-o-war for about 20 minutes, while Rusty watched with great interest. I then fed Zack and Zoey, showered, ate, and relaxed for the night. At bedtime, I followed Julie's suggestion, put Rusty in the carrier, and positioned the humidifier so it was putting steam into the crate.
I think you can see from the above that it consumed my entire day.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
When I got up at 5 AM, Rusty heard me and was crying, so I let him out of the crate only to discover that he was all wet. The humidifier must have been putting out too much steam, even though I had it set on the lowest setting. I shut it off and dried him, putting him on my chair and building the fire up. I went back to bed and Zack asked to come up, so I let him. Rusty started crying so I called him and to my amazement, he climbed the stairs and jumped up into bed with us. I covered him and snuggled, which caused loud purring and much contentment. After awhile he decided he wanted to explore this new world and jumped down to explore all of the upstairs. Even though Zoey was upstairs, I never heard a hiss or any disturbance, so I guess Zoey just kept a close eye on him.
It is cold this morning and overcast, looking like it may rain. I hope it clears up and gets a bit warmer as I planned on collecting and repairing all of the wind damaged items.
By noon, the sky did clear and the sun came out, but it was still cool enough to need a jacket outside. I had my coffee while warming the sunroom with a nice fire, and collected my emails, letting Rusty purr in my lap. After having some fresh biscuits and honey, I changed into my work clothes and went out to collect the items that were still in the creek after the windstorm. While in the creek bed, I noticed that several rails of my Jack Leg fence were down and went to investigate. It seems that the wind knocked one of two dead standing trees down and it landed on the fence, breaking several of the rails.
I reattached the tin to the roof of the firewood storage area, securing all of the panels with numerous extra screws so it will hopefully stay. I refastened the tarps and decided that I’ll need to buy new ones the next time I am in town. These were pretty torn up and I wasn’t able to attach all the edges like it needs to be. I put the outside freestanding fireplace back together and then changed the oil in the little generator. I had a choice to make about working on the platform for the big generator, or hauling the downed tree to the cabin and cutting it up. I decided to haul the downed tree, so took the Argo over and bucked the fallen tree, hauling it to the cabin. I decided to take down the other dead standing tree as it was probably going to fall during the next storm, so I fell, bucked and dragged it to the cabin.
I started cutting the first tree into sections and got half way done when the weather turned uncomfortably cold, not cool, but cold, so I put my things away and came in. I discovered that it was only 4:15, but the sun was behind the mountain, so I will leave the rest of it to be finished another day. I have a chiropractor appointment in town tomorrow and need to make a decision about Rusty and the Humane Society while I am in town. I probably won’t get back to dealing with the firewood until Thursday.
I started a fire and played with Zack before sitting down to write this update. I’ll shower and then eat something before resting for the evening.
Just as I was getting ready to take my shower, the power went out so I traipsed out in my underwear, thinking I would simply start the generator and return to the cabin as I usually do. Well, it was 35 degrees outside and the generator refused to start. I spend a half an hour working on it to no avail. I found a ground wire broken, so made up a new one with new connectors and installed it. It didn’t help. I returned to the cabin and tried to light my Coleman lantern but the propane tank was empty. I then tried to light my kerosene lamp and found that Rusty had knocked the chimney over and it destroyed the mantle, so I found another propane tank and got the camp lantern lit. I put on some more clothes and went back out to work on the generator.
I checked everything I could think of and found too much oil in the foam air filter, so cleaned and reinstalled it, but it still wouldn’t start. I though maybe it was flooded, so pulled the plug and it was dry. I had a new plug so installed it and after much pulling I got it to run. I guess I’d better work a little faster on getting the big generator installed and make sure all of my back up lighting is in good order.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
It is cold this morning, with the low being 17 at 5 AM. The high thin clouds broke up by 10 AM, the sky cleared, and the sun began warming things up. I still built a fire to take the chill off the cabin and the propane stove in the living room, which is set at 55, was on when I came down stairs. The barometer is indicating a low and showing the possibility of rain, but NSW is predicting clear and sunny, with the possibility of snow on Friday and through the weekend.
Last night, I took Rusty upstairs with me and he slept under the covers next to my head, purring all night long. I know he is feeling better and was so happy to be with me in a nice warm bed. He didn’t move or get up until 5 AM and then came back to bed with me when Zack did around 6 AM. Zoey joined us briefly and I don’t think she even knew that Rusty was under the covers.
Zoey is still acting put out and wants to make friends and play, but doesn’t know how to do it. At one point this morning, they were both on the stairs, Zoey coming down and Rusty going up, but when Rusty was one step away, Zoey hissed and acted as if she was going to swat him. They stayed that way the entire time I was doing my morning routine in the bathroom, and then Rusty left, following me into the kitchen for some breakfast. He has been packing away the high protein canned food like a starving kitten. He also finished off a cereal bowl full of dry kitten food, so he should be bulking up any day now.
I am giving him the liquid antibiotic morning and night, but he hates it and slobbers most of it out. I wish the vet had given me the pills instead as he didn’t mind taking them. I have to go into town today and will stop by the Humane Society and make a deal with them. I can finalize the adoption, at no additional charge due to knowing he is going to need further medical treatment, or I can extent the temporary custody and let them pay for his treatments. I already paid a $35.00 fee and the adoption cost for a cat is $85.00, which covers the neutering and shots, so I think them absorbing the remaining $50.00 would be fair. We shall see what they think of the deal and go from there.
I made the trip to town, stopping at the Humane Society as I said I would. I didn’t need to make a decision about finalizing Rusty’s adoption as they offered to extend my agreement and they will pay for all vet and medicine needs until he is completely healthy. I spoke with the woman that is in charge of the Society and let her know about the advice to give Rusty aspirin and she was unaware that it had been used on cats. She will look into it and I hope for the sake of the cats, she does.
I stopped to get some prescriptions refilled and pick up a couple of items and then we headed for home, arriving around 4 PM, which is about the earliest I’ve gotten back from a trip to town in a long time. I unloaded the items from the Jeep and played with Zack before fixing dinner for all of them and sitting down to relax in front of the fire before fixing my dinner and watching some television.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Except for some high thin clouds, the sky is mainly clear and sunny. I am hoping for a repeat of yesterday’s high, which was 62 degrees. NWS is predicting a snowstorm for Friday and through the weekend, so I hope to get some work outside completed before that happens.
I changed into my work clothes and went to work on splitting and stacking the firewood. I finished, getting about a half a cord of wood, and stacked all of it. Even though it started getting cool, I decided to fall a couple of more trees and get them to the cabin. By 4 PM, the sun had disappeared behind the mountain and I had downed two more trees, dragging one of them to the cabin and sectioning it. The other tree has a lot of limbs that need bucking, so it will have to wait for another day.
By the time I sectioned the tree and stacked it next to the log splitter, it was getting dark and had dropped in temperature to the point I had to put my sweatshirt back on. I took care of a couple of more things, put away all my equipment and came in for the evening.
Rusty is improving to the point he is acting like a normal kitten. He is ALWAYS under foot and I have accidentally stepped on him twice and swiftly moved him out of my path, unintentionally, with my feet. He is eating and drinking a lot, playing with toys and generally getting into mischief, which is pretty normal. I am teaching him the meaning of the word, NO, but he is fighting it, getting into and onto everything he can. Last night, he jumped about two feet from a chair right into the middle of my steak dinner! He is a character and I can tell by his behavior that he is afraid to let me get out of his sight, and I am sure it is because he's been moved around and left so many different places.
Friday, November 6, 2009
The weather is cloudy with the threat of a storm. NWS is still saying snow today and through the weekend, so we shall see. The low was 31 with a high of only 37 for the entire day.
I over did it yesterday while cutting wood and my lower back and shoulders are hurting, so I opted to take it easy today and only do some light cleaning of the cabin. Joe and Michele are coming up tomorrow evening and spending the night; so I will pick up and do some cleaning so the cabin is more presentable.
I decided to move the couch in the sunroom against one of the sliding doors and when I pulled the couch away from the wall, I discovered that it must have gotten wet under there as the ASB flooring under the carpet is bubbled up and spongy. I also discovered that something, probably a mouse, died and literally melted under the couch. There was a rather large area of some substance pooled on the carpet. It was about a 1/8 of an inch thick and I had to use a putty knife to scrape it up. I vacuumed and then used carpet cleaner four times without being able to remove the stain.
It became too dark to see what I was doing, so I’ll left things as they are and will wait until tomorrow morning to peel the carpet back and inspect the bubble in the flooring.
More playtime outside with Zack and then I fed all the critters and took a shower. As soon as the sun ducks behind the mountain to my west, which is by 4 PM, it gets really cold, so our playtime outside was a short one.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
The wind has picked up again and it was 22 degrees with horizontal snow this morning. The snow isn’t sticking and the wind is blowing it around.
I had a shorter than normal morning, as I wanted to do some laundry and finish the cleaning. I cleared and oiled the dining room table, scrubbed the kitchen and island, mopped the floor, cleaned the bathroom, finished arranging the furniture in the sunroom and vacuumed the entire cabin. I also cleaned the sunroom windows inside and out before stopping at sunset and taking a shower.
I relaxed in front of a nice warm fire and watched some television while waiting for Joe and Michele to arrive. They got here a little after five and we visited for a short while as they became acquainted with Rusty, then I put a couple of frozen pizzas in the oven for our dinner.
After dinner, we watched a little television and then Joe and Michele retired while I stayed up to watch some additional television before going to bed.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
It got down to 18 degrees before midnight last night, and is still cold this morning, but no snow. There are threatening clouds to the west, but so far it is sunny with a strong breeze. The wind gusts are in the 20 mph range and causing a wind chill that exceeds my comfort zone.
Joe and Michele were up before I climbed out of bed, which is usual. It seems that Rusty enjoyed spreading the cat litter on his wet feet in Joe and Michele’s bed during the night. He only visited me briefly in the early dawn hours. He is acting normal for a kitten and I am hoping that this latest round of antibiotics will put an end to his infection. He doesn’t have any discharge from his nose or eyes, other than a little from his bad eye, which has nothing to do with his cold. He is breathing normally and active, so with the additional days of antibiotics to give him, I’ll hope for the best and see how he does.
I have discovered a couple of more things about him, one of which is that he is double jointed in both front paws and sometimes he will stop walking and one paw seems to be doubled back and looks very odd. He also seems to have some mental processing problems as he will jump up and head somewhere and then just stand still like he forgot what he was doing. He has a look of confusion on his face, but after a short time, he continues to do whatever it was he started to do. I wish I could read his mind and tell what was going on. He is a funny little fellow and I enjoy all of his idiosyncrasies.
After my morning coffee, Joe played with Zack outside while I started breakfast of bacon, eggs, hash browns, toast and orange juice. After breakfast, we visited and then started a round of Yahtzee. The score sheets provide for 6 games and we usually play that many. We did take a break after the fourth game and Joe played with Zack again while we stretched our legs.
Back at the game, I finally won one, while Joe took the majority of the six games. We put things away and started dinner, which consisted of some huge T-bone steaks, large baked potatoes, and artichokes. I sautéed some fresh mushrooms to go with the steak while Joe BBQ the steaks outside, and we all had a great dinner. Michele and I split both a steak and a potato, as we knew that we wouldn’t be able to finish them on our own, while Joe ended up taking part of his dinner home.
After cleaning up and after doing the dishes, we sat around the fire and let the meal settle, while visiting some more. It was almost 7:30 by the time they packed up their things and headed for home, while I added to the fire and watched some television until midnight.
