Astro, meet the nice vet October 26, 2009
Posted by Sarah in Pets.add a comment
Astro and his big pointy teeth
Astro’s settled in quite nicely, but his shelter records show that he had a heart murmur, so I’ve been meaning to take him into my vet for a check up. This kept falling off my radar, though, as my last vet visit was…eventful. Mosca + vet = tasmanian devil cat +/- loss of vet tech life. (More on that here.)
I finally made the vet appointment for Astro after he had a few days of loose stools and throwing up, both of which cleared right up as soon as I made the call. But since I still had the little matter of the heart murmur, I dragged Astro to the vet anyway. This involved a bit of a tussle to get him into the damn carrier…
Astro weighed in at a perfect weight of 15lbs and the vet was unable to hear any signs of a heart murmur, so he gave me a handout on feline heart disease just in case. But the vet also mentioned one last thing that completely stunned me.
He said, “Astro has a very charming personality.”
Wow. Let me just say in my eleven years of cat ownership with Mosca, I have never, ever heard such a thing come out of a vet’s mouth. I figure if nobody calls the paramedics, it’s a good visit. To hold out hope for a compliment on my cat’s personality? That has always been a pie in the sky dream.
Aw well, now I guess I have to keep Astro around. :)
Astro love August 31, 2009
Posted by Sarah in Pets.2 comments
It’s been awesome getting to know Astro. As any cat lover will tell you, every cat has its very own personality, thankyouverymuch, and Astro is no exception.
He meows with a New York accent.
He’s not a lap cat, but he loves snuggling next to you.
He loves all things string and carries his favorite bits from room to room.
He acknowledges you if you whistle or call his name.
The water bowl does not belong where I left it, nor should the water remain in the bowl. It is as much for drinking as for playing with.
He never punks Mosca when I’m in the room. His preferred ambush time is when I’m in the tub. Sneaky fellow.
He really, really wants to catch the computer’s cursor. So far no luck.
Astro would like to put in one serious complaint to the management. “Table scraps, lady!! How hard is that concept!?!” Unfortunately, my other cat has a delicate digestive system and I don’t want him to learn that people food is tasty. Any bets on who is going to win this standoff?
New kitty! August 12, 2009
Posted by Sarah in Pets.1 comment so far
Since my old roommate moved out with her cat, Mosca has been sad and lonely. He looks so depressed when I leave for work that I finally decided to get him a feline friend – I hope that midnight crazy sprints and synchronized napping will make up for the initial trauma of bringing a new cat into the house.
I hit up petfinder and talked to a few women in cat rescue – due to the housing crisis and economic meltdown, lots of animals have been dumped at the shelter, so they are a little overwhelmed right now. In any case, I checked out a couple of adoption events to meet a few kitties in person. I wasn’t expecting to find my new cat right off the bat, but then I met Astro*, described as a “gentle giant” on his jail card, and promptly fell in love. I filled out the application form, and they delivered him later that evening! Just like pizza, except fuzzier. :)
Fingers crossed that the eventual kitty introduction goes well, and huge thanks to Give Me Shelter for saving this awesome cat from death at the pound.
*I’ll be renaming him at some point. Right now he’s going by Mr. Kitty.
365 update June 1, 2009
Posted by Sarah in Humor, Pets, Photography.1 comment so far
I’ve been pleased with my choice to follow Dustin Diaz’s 365 project. He’s not only a great photographer, he’s super geeky, funny, and is one half of an incredibly cute couple. He also includes all the strobist information for his shots, which photography geeks just lap up, but by doing it pictorially or by video, he makes it interesting for the rest of us as well.
When I saw the video for the picture above, I had to share.
Area rug April 20, 2009
Posted by Sarah in Home, Pets.add a comment
After much searching on the net, I found a rug that was both cheap and attractive. I’m loving the calm ocean colors and the natural and sustainable bamboo – no off gassing period for this rug! And when Mosca was kind enough to give the rug a housewarming hairball, I discovered that the bamboo is ridiculously easy to clean.
Home decor win!
I’m back! April 19, 2009
Posted by Sarah in bicycles, Bicycling, Hockey, Mountain biking, Pets.add a comment
It’s been a little while since I’ve posted because I’ve been out conquering the world. I had an awesome last three days filled with mountain biking (and a deliciously greasy burger), late night hockey practice followed by an early morning 70 mi ride with the Velo Girls. For the first half of the ride, I felt like I was hauling about fifty extra pounds around, but after a leisurely and large lunch, my legs kicked back into gear and I had an awesome ride.
Today, predictably enough, was about eating. Two breakfasts and lunch with friends at Big Nate’s BBQ. And just because I hadn’t had enough fun, I hopped on my bike and rode to the gym for a short workout. So another 13 miles in 90+ weather. I had to lie motionless under the ceiling fan for about half an hour after that! Mosca was also prostrate from the heat, so I’m chalking it up to a bonding moment with my cat.
I’m whipping up posts for this week – stay tuned!
Ted Talks: “The Dog Song” February 10, 2009
Posted by Sarah in Pets, Video, Web Comics, xkcd.3 comments
I’m posting this one because, after my brush with my cat’s mortality last week, it put a smile on my face.
And for the xkcd reference, because you know there is one, click here.
Furniture February 9, 2009
Posted by Sarah in Home, home decor, Pets, Visual stuff.add a comment
As a cat owner, I find it much easier to drool over expensive pieces of furniture if they are not upholstered. Any of these pieces would inject all kinds of fabulous into my home. The first is from Wisteria, the second two from Etsy.
Kitty update February 3, 2009
Posted by Sarah in Pets.1 comment so far
Mosca is still hacking, but he ate two meals since getting home from the vet last night, so that’s a very good sign. This morning the vet remarked that Mosca looked basically healthy and drew a little more blood to test for thyroid disease, but it came back negative.
There are more tests we can do, but anything we find is going to be a big ugly untreatable disease. I’m going to keep an eye on him and then talk to the vet in a couple of days if he hasn’t improved.
Fingers crossed that it’s just a weird presentation of an upper respiratory disease.
Tasmanian devil cat February 3, 2009
Posted by Sarah in Pets.3 comments
It’s never a good evening when you’re sitting in the emergency vet listening to the otherworldly sounds of your scared and flipped out cat as the entire vet staff tries to get him back in his carrier. :/
Mosca’s been throwing/coughing up foam for the last few days. Because he didn’t eat his dinner last night, I took him to the emergency vet. Neither the physical exam blood work showed anything wrong, so the vet and I decided that the next step was to take a few xrays. Mosca had other thoughts on the matter and opted for a complete transformation into Tasmanian devil kitty. I only saw three of the four vet techs after Mosca was captured, so I can’t say for certain that there was no loss of life.
We’re heading to the regular vet this morning for heavy sedation and a second round of testing. I’m hoping for a diagnosis of nothing serious, but he’s an eleven year old kitty and we might not be lucky.
