650 AM Sunday

 Lukas is sleeping and I've got a second pot of soup on the stove. The first, made several hours ago, is safely stowed in the refrigerator and will provide three lunches this week. Someone asked how I could stand to eat soup when our weather is so hot. My answer is,  easily. I can make it ahead to re-heat, it is cheap and it is both filling and warm when I want a hot but not heavy repast. Additionally, since I purchased multiple packets of peas, lentils and a mix for minestrone, making weekly soups uses them and allows another way to use veg other than steaming or salad.

With inflation here above the national average and everything now expensive, I plan my meals down to the last crumb. I limit myself to $35 per week, sometimes a bit longer, for groceries which is the minimum necessary for delivery and try to vary meals so that boredom does not set in. My choices for this week include a frittata,  pasta with puttanesca and zucchini, an assortment of steamed veg and baked sweet potato and some veggie meatball sandwiches with mozzarella, along with the two soups.

Apart from this, I plan to attack pantry, closet and cabinets this week for a bit of a clear out if I can muster the energy, Sleep has been problematic and I am often up at 3 AM and napping in the afternoon. On several occasions, my intended nap became a sleep from which I awoke after 8PM to a cat asking for his dinner. That really messes with my body clock.

Since this is a long weekend for many, I will not have to get up early on Monday to get Lukas out the door for his fluid appointment. I hope for a peaceful day with no mass shootings, no escalation of foreign conflict. no political hyperbole and perhaps a chat with a friend...I know, I must be dreaming...

4 AM...

 I've just had an early breakfast after being awakened by texts and voicemail messages. My service provider is based on the west coast so I often get messages a day later than they first appear. Because I forgot to turn the phone off before going to bed, my mobile bleated loudly at 3 AM, rousing me and sending my no longer happily snoring feline off in search of the noise.

He is holding his own and enjoys me, our bed and his favorite chair. Otherwise, things here are not great. We have many problems with the buildings which need attention, profound problems with our board and a president residents are attempting to oust via recall, along with two of her board members.    Additionally, she is being investigated by the State for issues related to association finances. These are not a matter of ignorance because she has a financial background and the individual who reported this is fully qualified to spot irregularities. Such cases are not rare in my state. What is rare, relatively speaking, is prosecution because certain limits must be reached before states attorney or law enforcement are willing to devote resources to the matter and by the time this occurs, an association  may have little left. This can lead to large assessments. For those on fixed incomes who cannot pay or others who lack the means, the association has the right to take the unit, effectively leaving its owner homeless. How this will all pan out at this point is anyone's guess. I remain concerned.

In the meantime, Lukas must be readied for his mid-week visit for fluids and I face a pile of laundry.

Cheers...

Early Morning Quiet...

 It is 445 AM and the moon is out in full, accompanied by a lovely light breeze. Himself has had an early breakfast and is sleeping peacefully in our bed. I took out the household trash and await a grocery delivery. Saturday was spent catching up on calls, correspondence and napping and today I plan to prepare two or three soups and vegetables along with baking some potatoes for the week.

I just finished the memoir by Marie Yovanovitch, the former US ambassador to Ukraine which I would recommend to anyone with an interest. Though I grew up around military and government kids overseas and knew a few whose parents were Foreign Service professionals, this book provides more than a passing glance into the life of a Foreign Service Officer as well as the successes and pitfalls of diplomacy.

Wishing everyone a happy week!

Poop and other things...

 The above post shred via You Tube concerns those injured by COVID vaccines typically because those injecting fail to aspirate before completing the injection, and inadvertently hitting a vein which sends the vaccine directly into the bloodstream rather than through the deltoid muscle. MRNA vaccines are not meant for this and people in the US, and the UK have reported heart problems and other health issues as a result. The man in the video is a professional athlete who had no underlying health issues prior to his COVID vaccines and he is also young. Aspiration just prior to injection involves drawing the plunger back to check for the presence of blood to make sure the vaccine goes into muscle. This was once standard protocol but is no longer. The COVID vaccines are a different bird from others and are not meant for the bloodstream and people are now learning that the old ways of doing injections may actually prevent people being medically compromised from COVID vaccines. The man doing the interview in the video is a nursing instructor with a PHD in health analytics from the UK.

In other news, Lukas had fluids at his vet's early today and is happily enjoying an early dinner. He's pooped a bit so must feel a little better. Since his days are numbered, I'll take a happy cat who wants to eat. Thanks for all of your kind words of support.

Kyle's vaccine injury update

More From Nurse Ratched...

 Lukas was again hospitalized and has come home. He is on several drugs and will be getting fluids subcutaneously three times per week at the vet. I have hired someone to take him back and forth without having to come in. We will be getting up early and if things go as they did today, Lukas will be home in a snap.

As I said in a previous post, any improvement is short lived because chronic kidney disease is always ultimately fatal. The only thing one can do is manage symptoms and keep the cat comfortable until the drugs no longer work and the animal ceases to eat, interact, eliminate properly or shows signs of pain. Because cats are experts at masking pain, this can be tricky but vets typically advise looking at changes in eating, drinking, sleep and interaction as well as personality.

At the moment, Lukas is beginning to struggle with signs of osteoarthritis in his back legs which may also mean that he is in some pain. He briefly collapsed against my bedroom door on Friday night when one leg gave out. He was able to right himself quickly but he is also hesitant to jump up or down and has missed when several jumps have been attempted. Right now he is licking and playing in a box in our front room but that aside, I don't believe he has long. 

I will enjoy what I can and hope that I am giving him some good days...

A New Routine...

 This was Lukas's second day as the almost full time inhabitant of our only bathroom. Things are improving, however. I was so concerned that I called a friend who is a retired vet to ask and she said that every cat responds differently to an enema and that it can be as long as forty-eight hours before things normalize and the cat can once again have the run of the house and that I should let his vet know. on Monday. For his part, Lukas is cooperative and has even allowed me the honor of sitting on my lap, a first in our time together. He purred and licked my hand, obviously glad of company.

I caught him sleeping curled up in the clean litter box and fashioned him a makeshift bed from a cardboard box, towels and his most loved blanket into which I left two favored catnip toys. To my delight and I hope his comfort, he is using it, Though he doesn't care to have his nether regions inspected and wiped, he wiggles a bit but offers no meows of offense. So far, the bathroom hasn't required another mop and he was calm when placed in his carrier while I used and cleaned the bathroom early afternoon. He has taken all meds without a fuss and left me to sporadic sleep.

I am hoping for an easier week and more rest and wish you all the same. Thanks for your kind words of support.

I 

All Nighter

 Lukas saw his vet early morning today. He was given an enema which is primarily water since he had not had any luck with the Miralax in a week, subcutaneous fluids and drops for the herpes flare up in his eye.  He came home at 4 PM. He was alert and talkative and wanted to be wherever I was and resumed his habit of following me around our home.  Lots of slow blinks, licking and head butting, tall tails and happy purrs.resulted.

About 9 PM I went to turn in, only to discover small trails of poop almost everywhere, including the towels placed on his favorite chair, those in his carrier and others on the bed. He is now in the only small bathroom and confused about why he is alone and his litter box is in my shower. I have wiped him down several times only to have to do it again...

While the vet did shave that area in an effort to make it easier to clean, there is some in the remaining fur of one leg. My bedding and towels have been washed and dried and are in a large pile awaiting folding and I will re-make the bed before mopping the kitchen and calling it quits, probably around 430 AM.

Someone left a comment to the effect of  "don't  you think it is time for him to go..."

Obviously, someone must think I am delaying his demise...Not so. I have discussed the situation with his vet twice in the last two weeks. I will be calling the hospice vet soon. They come to the home which is less stressful for Lukas than carting him to his vet or an after-hours emergency clinic. 

In the meantime, I will take care of him and do my best to take care of me. The blog entries I make about this are intended to describe life with a kidney cat. Jacob went through some of the same but did not have so many underlying conditions.

Now, I have to figure out cleaning the bathroom...